Industrial air blowers are used in everything from food or mineral processing facilities to sewerage and water treatment plants, but regardless of the application, it’s essential to choose a solution that can do the job in the most efficient manner possible.
Among centrifugal compressors and blowers, single stage solutions are on average 20–29 per cent more efficient than multistage. This is because – as the name suggests – multistage machines achieve the required pressure in multiple stages widening the opportunity for leakage, whereas single stage machines achieve this in a single step.
A turbo-charged solution
The Next Turbo Technology (NTT) integrally geared, single stage centrifugal blower offers exceptional efficiency and turndown across the full operating range (40–100 per cent of full load) at all ambient conditions including 52°C or more.
To achieve maximum efficiency, the most important components used in the compression process are fully customised. High quality parts such as the impeller, gears, diffusers, and inlet contour are designed for each specific application, developed using 3D software and five-axis machines.
This precision in manufacturing is key to reducing clearances between components and increasing the efficiency. Most other components, like the electric motor, starter, control valves, PLC, electric components, and instrumentation are sourced from European suppliers certified to ISO 9001, which are readily available in the Australian market. Not tied to the OEM, these parts can be customised to each project to match preferred suppliers – making maintenance and repairs hassle-free.
Maximising efficiency
The NTT blower functions with a two-point control system, regulating airflow and keeping the compressor operating at the optimum efficiency with fluctuating suction pressures and temperatures. This allows the blower to work without use of blow-off valves during normal operation unless specifically designed to do so. The valve is used only during start and stop, due to the exceptional turndown, so energy is not wasted.
The NTT single stage blower is on average 20–40 per cent more efficient than positive displacement blowers. Putting this into perspective, for a blower of 10,600m³/h operating at 42kPa(G) the electric motor of an NTT blower will be 50kW smaller compared to a PD blower, which is equivalent to up to $85,000 in energy savings per year.
Compared to highspeed direct driven turbo technologies (air bearing and magnetic bearing), the NTT blower’s life expectancy is up to three times longer and lifecycle costs are projected to be 13–23 per cent lower within ten years of operation.
In addition, the NTT blowers do not require harmonic distortion mitigation to meet the requirements of AS/NZ61000.3.6, meaning there are no additional costs or efficiency losses associated with installation and operation of the harmonic filters necessary for highspeed turbo technologies.
CAPS is Australia’s sole distributor of Next Turbo Technology blowers, offering a range from 5,000 to 70,000m³/h and pressures up to 1.5bar. An expert in low pressure air solutions, CAPS Australia offers in-house engineering for custom projects with ten branches nationwide and 24/7 service for maintenance and emergency breakdowns.
This sponsored editorial is brought to you by CAPS. For further information, please visit www.caps.com.au