Do you have the full picture of your air compressor’s lifetime costs?

A leading supplier of cooked meat products has significantly reduced its air compressor lifecycle costs by upgrading its existing compressed air system which had an external heated dryer to an Atlas Copco oil-free compressor with an integrated heat of compression dryer.

As a food manufacturer, they needed to achieve ISO 8573-1 compressed air quality standards, with no risk of contamination originating from the compressor and had been weighing up the pros and cons of an oil-injected compressor with filtration versus an oil-free air compressor.

Another supplier had advised an oil-injected system but, although it would have cost less upfront, it would have come with a risk. Following a consultation with Atlas Copco who completed an AIRscan audit, the long-term value of investing in an oil-free compressor with a heat of compression dryer, which uses only a negligible amount of energy, was proven to be the best option.

Significant savings were shown to come from a reduction in maintenance, oil changes, filtration, and energy consumption over time. What’s more the integrated dryer saves space, which was important in the company’s cramped plant room. 

The return on investment of an Atlas Copco ZR 145 oil-free compressor with integrated MDG dryer and energy recovery worked out to be under three years, meaning not only greater financial benefits but also the removal of any risk of product contamination.

Like Atlas Copco, this company has an industry-leading sustainability strategy and Science Based Targets, which requires them to work towards significantly reducing carbon emissions, including taking action to measure and mitigate climate risk within their supply chain.

Why choose a genuine Z range oil-free compressor with an (i)MDG dryer for food applications?
 

• Oil-free compressors operate with no oil in the compression process = fewer maintenance interventions compared to an oil-injected compressor, so are less costly

• No chance that the end-product and application can be contaminated by oil = avoids unsafe products and losses from operational downtime

• No oil-soaked elements to dispose of and no need for oil condensate treatment = better for the environment and can help achieve sustainability targets.
• Oil removal compressed air filtration is not required = reduces capital costs, no filter element replacement costs, and reduces energy loss from pressure drops in filters

• The iMDG removes moisture from the compressed air with a guaranteed pressure dew point of -40⁰C = equivalent to ISO 8573-1 Class 2 pressure dew point.
  
  
• The heat of compression rotary drum dryer is integrated inside the compressor = saving valuable floorspace compared to using external dryers
  
  
• An iMDG uses heat-of-compression technology to regenerate the desiccant = only needs negligible energy to operate the dryer

Do you know the lifecycle costs of your compressed air installation? We would be happy to conduct an air audit and present back the results to you.

Get the full picture with an audit!