Compressed air is a powerful utility in most industrial facilities and plays a role as important as electricity, natural gas and water. Essentially, air pressure is used to move or push an object. Some common uses for compressed air include food processing, injection molding and warehousing.
Several natural gas compressed air technologies are available on the market today. In selecting a compressor, several factors must be considered to make a well-informed choice:
- Evaluated first cost
- Efficiency
- Controls
- Maintenance requirements
- Usage patterns and flexibility to accommodate any fluctuations
- Cooling requirements for the system (fluid or air cooled)
- Durability
Impact on air quality – does oil from the system transfer to the environment impacting the quality of the product being produced or moved For example, this will be a consideration in food processing applications.