As an important source of energy to millions of industries around the world, compressed air is rightly called the fourth utility. However, the point to bear in mind is that not every air compressor will meet the requirement of all types of industries. Based on the nature of your application, you have to select the right machine and technology be it rotary screw, rotary tooth, reciprocating or centrifugal from one of the top air compressor brands.
To get your hands on a suitable solution, the right way to go about it is to rest your faith in a reputable manufacturer, like Atlas Copco. In this article, we discuss the ABC of air compressors so that you reap benefits from making the right investment decision.
What is air compressor? Easily explained by the manufacturers
A piece of indispensable equipment to multifarious industries, an air compressor uses either an electric motor (stationary industrial) or a diesel-powered engine (portable compressor) for converting the generated power into potential energy in the form of pressurized air. Compressed air is usually ambient air forced into a smaller space and utilized as energy air (to get work done) or process air (in contact with product).
In fact, compressed air has become such an essential energy element across almost all industries today, that manufacturers are engineering a range of compression technologies to meet specific application requirement in terms of volume, discharge pressure or air quality with suitable downstream drying solutions for air treatment.
As compressors are used for diverse applications and any industry would heavily depend on compressed air generation for its operation, energy efficiency becomes a critical parameter.
Manufacturers like Atlas Copco understand this better and maintain focus on favorable design and use of superior component reliability to guarantee lowest life cycle cost with minimum service inventions needed.
After all we know, energy alone makes up for a significant cost. Example is a new generation of VSD+ oil-free compressors from Atlas Copco with the latest innovation, offering direct drive system and guaranteed moisture free air quality.
Also, the fact that the Middle East and Africa Compressor Market is expected to grow until 2023 shows that air compressor manufacturers are building their presence in the region to meet increased compressed air needs.
Where to use air compressors? Let the manufactures guide you
Compressed air finds its utility and usefulness in every sphere of life. Apart from water, gas, and electricity, our execution of day-to-day activities in the manufacturing world is very much dependent on the availability of compressed air. Coming to its applications in industries, choosing a compressor technology that perfectly fits your application needs and at the same time is rightly sized for the given conditions is an overwhelming task.
To give you a holistic idea about the varying demand levels, we mention a few industries that for continuous operation 24x7 rely on heavy duty machines from top air compressor companies for their needs.
Manufacturing industry
An absolute essential in the manufacturing industry, compressed air helps with pneumatic system, instrumentation, conveying as well as process air like - precise and efficient mixing, injecting, cleaning, separating and other manufacturing processes. Several factories and companies invest in advanced technologies like combination of variable speed rotary screw with base load centrifugal compressors for an efficient system, yet high-quality oil and moisture free compressed air to support their operations.
Food and beverage industry
Given the nature of operations that the food and beverage industry deals in, ensuring clean Oil-Free air with zero impurities is crucial. From moving items along assembly lines to packaging, filling, and ensuring faster processing, compressed air speeds up the food production processes. That is why incorporating a compressor that meets a high cleanliness standard like ISO 22000 certified in your industrial facility is essential.
We’d still suggest also you consult with high pressure air compressor manufacturers like Atlas Copco to discover the benefits and features of their Reciprocating or hybrid (combined Screw and Piston) solutions – popular for PET applications today.
Pharmaceutical industry
Once again, certified and clean compressed air is important in the pharmaceutical industry. Be it medicine hardening/coating or moulding the plastic containers for medicine packaging, each of such applications is carried out in a high-sterility environment. For this reason, companies look for oil-free compressors that eliminate even the slightest scope of oil contamination and moisture free air also benefitting with lowest operation cost.
Variable Speed technology with integrated adsorption drying offered from Atlas Copco is an ideal choice for compact and efficient operation.
Power plants
Air compressors are a lifeline to everyday operation in any power generation plant. Oil-Free rotary screw compressors are the most preferred compressor technology in this industry as they offer clean dry air for instrumentation, turbine ignition or service air applications.
Oil and gas industry
Petroleum refining, petrochemical synthesis, gas injection, and pipeline transportation are some common applications of compressed air in the oil and gas industry. As the world continues to rely on oil and gas, increased demand for compressed air is inevitable. Both reciprocating and centrifugal compressors are designed to perform efficiently in rugged drilling sites.
This list is not exhaustive, for we have added the top five industries requiring compressed air. Steel, Cement, Chemical are some other industries that depend greatly on compressed air to run their operations too.
Nevertheless, now that you know the main industries that require air compressors, next you can look at some tips for a successful installation of a compressor at your industrial site. For gaining deeper insights, download our air compressor installation checklist today.
Choosing an air compressor – tips shared by the manufacturers
With so many factors to consider, selecting the right compressor technology with appropriate air treatment is indeed a confusing decision to make. The right way to clear your doubt is to talk to a leading air compressor manufacturer in UAE who can educate you about different compressor types available, thereby helping you make the right selection. For now, you may want to look into the common points to consider while choosing an air compressor.
Oil-injected or Oil-free
While oil-injected machines are suitable for general industry use where contamination by oil is not a big problem, oil-free compressors is a must for certain specialized industries like - food and beverage, pharmaceutical, power, electronics, chemical etc. where such contamination would be a major concern. So, understand your requirements before taking a pick based on just price and size. You may even want to consult with the screw compressor manufacturers to discuss air quality or even compare life cycle cost to decide whether oil-injected or oil-free would fit your needs.
Compact design
Being compact and easy to install, with plug & play feature is growing in popularity in the Middle East as this offers ready to operate conveniences to the end-users. Heavy-duty stationary compressors driven by electric motors come with a wide range of options including integrated air dryers (full-feature concept) mounted on common industrial skid.
Right compressor size
Choosing a compressor of the right size is more important than you think. If your compressed air requirements are massive, selecting a small-size compressor for your applications will not serve any purpose. Similarly, going for a large compressor for comparatively small-scale operations can cause energy wastage. A range of technologies are available with each having its own optimal range to perform.
Above this for variable fluctuations in air demands, find out more on Variable Speed Drive technology with SMARTLINK remote monitoring feature.
Do you want to explore different other factors to decide the right compressor for your needs? Read our blog How to choose the right commercial air compressor for your needs to get useful insights.
Air compressor offering from Atlas Copco
Product engineers and consultants across multiple industries in UAE rely on Atlas Copco for air compressor solutions. Why? As one of the world’s premier industrial air compressor manufacturers, our products are leading-edge, meeting even the most complex compressed air requirements with ease. Atlas Copco wins customers’ hearts by constantly upgrading and improving its solutions.
