Energy savings solutions in glass industry with VPInstruments

Glass packaging plants use less and less air

When you think of glass packaging, compressed air is not the first thing that comes to mind. But without it, there would be no packaging glass at all. In an average glass packaging plant the need for air can easily exceed 30,000 to 35,000 Nm³/hr. With such volumes, a plant would need over 20 VPInstruments flow meters to measure the production and consumption of compressed air. They would provide a wealth of data to maintain efficiency in the machines and compressors as well as quickly detect any compressed air leakages.

Such plants produce millions of glass containers per year. They use compressed air to drive the glass blowing machines and to blow liquid glass into moulds. All manufacturing companies focus on reducing energy consumption, sometimes up to 50%! Since compressed air accounts for about 30% of the total electrical power consumption of these companies, it makes sense that this is one of their main priorities. In comparison to the entire industry, this amounts to an average of 10%. Most glass plants have separated systems; one for driving the machines and one for blowing into the moulds.

Glass packaging plants are amongst the largest consumers of compressed air in the world. VPInstruments is the preferred supplier of various glass manufacturers, helping them to achieve their energy savings goals.

Compressor room

Compressors in most factories are located in so called “compressor rooms”. Such compressor rooms can contain up to ten machines grouped together. There would be a number of centrifugal compressors present; for high pressure and for lower pressure. The high pressure compressors would need additional rotary screws which deliver oil-free air. Since a glass factory runs 24/7, 365 days a year and every single bottle shape needs a dedicated level of air consumption, it is obvious that a compressor management system is vital to ensure the optimum combination of compressors at all times.

Glass packaging plants are amongst the largest consumers of compressed air in the world. VPInstruments is the preferred supplier of various glass manufacturers, helping them to achieve their energy savings goals.

Flow meters compare how machines perform

Flow meters can be placed on each compressor, as well as on the main lines to the bottle-blowing machines. There are flow meters that monitor the production and consumption of air. The data retrieved is logged in a system that also keeps track of gas, power and water consumption. This can provide a wealth of data that can be used to develop new energy savings measures. The efficiency of compressors can be monitored by comparing the amount of compressed air produced with the power consumption. As soon as a compressor shows a drop in performance, the root cause can easily be located; for example a leakage or a fouled inlet filter. Using the same method the consumption of compressed air of the bottle-blowing machines can also be analyzed. Flow meters play a huge role in employee awareness about responsible energy usage. The great thing about flow meters is that they respond immediately to any changes in the machine settings and can be linked to other VPInstruments equipment that displays real-time data over a web interface.