While the current global pandemic forces many manufacturers to consider the unknown, pollution control equipment should always be seen as part of a company’s decision-making process.
Image Credit: Anguil Environmental Systems
In the face of uncertainty and rapid change, a calculated investment in existing pollution control systems can ensure compliance while providing opportunities for quick return on investment (KING).
These needs may include the addition of new processing lines for new or expanded product offerings, changes in input processes, increasing the speed of processing lines, consolidation of production plants or construction of new facilities. Anguil is on hand to assess current equipment, capabilities and production requirements to create a strategy that will meet the emerging needs of any business.
Rather than investing in new capital equipment, upgrading existing equipment to accommodate tight deadlines and tight budgets might be an option. There are three high ROI equipment renovations to consider.
Increase capacity to adapt to production changes
Adding more throughput to the existing process is a commonly used option, and Anguil can extend the capabilities of existing pollution abatement equipment. Whether production lines need to expand or consolidate, upgrading existing equipment is an option to handle additional flows.
How to assess changes in capacity
When evaluating changes in capacity, it is advisable to first determine the current state and compare its future goals.
For example, checking if the new flow exceeds the capacity of the existing unit by confirming and calculating the existing and new flow levels, VOC load and temperature to the oxidizer.
In general, it is possible to make modifications to existing units in order to increase capacity. This can be verified by looking at the VOC load and confirming that it does not exceed the capacity of the unit type. Anguil’s engineering experts can help you explore capacity modification options.
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Once the capacity parameters have been determined, the next step is to assess the ability of several components to adapt to the further expansion of throughput. This usually involves the following steps:
- Modifying the media design by examining the design of the media bed, including size and depth, speed, pressure drop, media type, TER, and residence time.
- Consideration of fan / VFD sizing for temperature flow rate and pressure rating.
- Addition of an emissions concentrator to reduce the flow to the oxidizer by concentrating large flows of low concentration air upstream of the inlet.
Reduce Downtime with Controls Upgrades and Strategic Spares Management
Oxidizer operators can put in place preventive safeguards to ensure resiliency in instances of unexpected downtime. Judicious use of a spare parts inventory and investing in oxidizer control upgrades are just two high impact, low effort options for reducing equipment downtime.
Controls Upgrades
As oxidizer controls will normally operate without incident, even in conjunction with older software and hardware, they might not be regarded as a priority when it comes to replacement or upgrade plans. However, a lack of spares or a PLC crash can lead to significant downtime for older systems.
Anguil has considerable experience in consulting with operators on their oxidizer control needs. By developing customized solutions, unplanned downtime can be avoided, safety and compliance risks reduced and issues with obsolete parts minimized.
Obsolete parts may continue to operate, but these come with associated risks such as lack of customer service or protracted downtime.
As efficiency control components work in conjunction with each other, the failure of an obsolete or hard to replace component may require a full controls upgrade which can involve a 12 to 16week lead time.
Numerous controllers and I/O components commonly in use were discontinued in 2020. These included control components that were installed on equipment from Anguil that was manufactured prior to 2013.
Image Credit:Â Anguil Environmental Systems
Anguil Aftermarket can help identify components scheduled for discontinuation by carrying out a Controls Review of current installed components and making recommendations for upgrading controls.
Incidents like display failures can impede the safe operation of an oxidizer system, so it is important to be ready to download the HMI program to a substitute display from a spare parts inventory.
Anguil Aftermarket can also perform PLC upgrades, even in instances where the original source code is unobtainable. Electrical and field service engineers from Anguil can specify, supply and install replacement hardware, as well as supplying and/or commissioning new software.
Upholding Safety Commitments
While a system might function adequately using components that are aging or even obsolete, the overal combustion system itself may not be meet current safety standards. Anguil Aftermarket can provide a review of the system’s program logic, suggest operational efficiency and safety improvements and develop a customized solution.
Utilizing hardware improvements such as an HMI (Human Machine Interface) upgrade can deliver improved system control and visibility on machine operations, plus troubleshooting options via the use of improved graphics and diagnostics.
Anguil Aftermarket offers a user-friendly 10†HMI option that combines straightforward operational capabilities with a graphical overview that incorporates loop bar graphs, trends, process values and I/O and purge interlock status.
Further upgrades, including Remote Ethernet Access and Digital Chart Recorders, can unleash the maximum capability of contemporary oxidizer control technology.
Maintaining a Spare Parts Inventory
Oxidizer spare parts programs deserve significant attention for a number of reasons. An effective spare parts program can help ensure:
- Increased uptime – Downtime associated with a system problem can be greatly reduced if the right components are available on site.
- Regulatory conformity – keeping an appropriate stock of spare parts for an oxidizer system may be an obligation to comply with an environmental permit.
- Reduced revenue losses – a well-stocked stock of spare parts and components can get a system back online quickly, avoiding long downtime, lost production and revenue, or larger factory issues.
- Long-term compliance – an appropriate stock of spare parts for an oxidizer system is an important element in ensuring long-term compliance with environmental regulations and commitments.
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Anguil Aftermarket can create a customized Critical Spare Parts Package using the system process and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) and bill of materials (BOM) for any oxidizer system, regardless of the original manufacturing source.
Anguil Aftermarket can also provide components for ancillary equipment such as concentrator wheels, scrubbers and dust collectors. Each system component is logged into one of four categories in decreasing order of importance: critical, recommended, convenienceand when needed.
Source:Â Anguil Environmental Systems
| Level | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Convenience | Consumables not critical to system operation | Filter elements, door gasket |
| Critical | High use and high wear parts that are vital to system operation, parts that may have a long lead-time | Actuators, poppet valve components, thermocouples, flow sensors and spark igniters |
| Recommended | These items are not typically known to fail; however, they cannot safely be bypassed if they do | Air proving switches, PLC components and fuel train components |
| When Needed | Parts that are unlikely to fail or not generally critical to system operation | Â Burners, gauges and flex joints |
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The Critical Spare Parts Package
A critical spare parts package puts together the most important spare components for a system, sometimes at a discounted price. This removes conjecture from the process of ordering spare parts while ensuring this process is cost-efficient.
Not only does it assist in adhering to compliance requirements, a critical spare parts package bolsters the system downtime firewall and provides a discount when compared to the cost of ordering parts individually.
Anguil streamlines the procurement of parts because the company’s staff know the customer’s system, Anguil can deliver the necessary parts quickly, and engineering experts can quickly assess an unknown system to ascertain its parts needs.
Anguil also has an extensive system of vendor contacts, priority service and advantageous pricing, which is passed on to the customer.
Increase Thermal Energy Recovery (TER) for High Impact ROI
The media of an RTO is a vital objective area for high return on investment (ROI), something which may be offered through enhancements. Media replacements occur primarily out of necessity due to plugging, but there may be opportunities for improving ROI by focusing on the media’s TER performance.
Until recently, RTOs were designed with 95% Thermal Energy Recovery (TER) or less. If the average RTO outlet temperature is over 100 °F higher than the RTO inlet temperature, the TER% will most likely be less than 95%.
A slight increase in TER% can have a remarkable impact on RTO fuel usage, and in some instances, could completely eliminate RTO fuel use. Advances in ceramic media mean Anguil can enhance TER% in RTOs by swapping out a fraction of the current ceramic media beds, enhancing payback periods.
Anguil has carried out its retrofit process on many RTOs, regardless of the initial manufacturer. Anguil also offers a free Savings Cost Analysis making it easy to commence the retrofit process.
How to Evaluate a Media Design Change
It is advisable to start by ascertaining the current state before evaluating this against all available possibilities. The following should be noted during an evaluation of current media bed design.
- Type of support
- Bed dimensions
- Space availability
The next step involves ascertaining current process conditions and calculating the current performance of the media. This involves consideration of:
- Air flow
- Inlet temperature
- VOC load
- Combustion of the burner air
- Current fan speed and sizing
Image Credit:Â Anguil Environmental Systems
Finally, it is advisable to investigate a range of media suppliers before looking at the array of designs available. Important parameters should be kept in mind:
- Pressure drop across the media beds and its potential impact on the size and speed of the fans.
- Total flow rate requiring treatment, and whether this will impact pressure drop and velocity through the media.
Return on investment is determined by comparing the cost of media modernization against expected fuel savings will determine your return on investment.
Anguil is a supplier of custom solutions, and the company’s team of experienced engineers are available to partner with clients.
This process involves gaining a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s system, taking into account their make, model, configuration, and manufacturer before specifically designing the retrofit project to maximize system performance.
This information was obtained, reviewed and adapted from documents provided by Anguil Environmental Systems.
For more information on this source, please visit Anguil environmental systems.