Needs Towards realization of a carbon neutral future

~Solution for visualizing compressed air leakages, compressor operation rates, and CO2 emissions~

As temperatures rise due to global warming, countries around the world are being called on to take efforts to achieve carbon neutrality. The industrial sector is no exception, with some suppliers having carbon neutrality goals imposed upon them. Carbon neutrality efforts do not only protect the environment, they lead to optimization and savings on energy bills and can increasingly act as a means to gain social trust.

Low-carbon measures in Thai

Around 60% of the fuel in Thailand is imported natural gas, and its price has increased, due to the Russia-Ukraine situation. Power in Thailand is highly dependent on fossil fuels, with research (*1) showing Thailand's CO2 output as 1.5 times the average.

The Thai government has declared to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and reduce its costs for importing fuel. The country must gradually reduce its dependence on imported natural gas and make a change to low-carbon energy technologies.

*1
THE WORLD BANK | CO2 intensity (kg per kg of oil equivalent energy use) - Thailand
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.EG.ZS?locations=TH

Do you have visibility of air leaks at your production sites?

As part of the push for carbon neutrality, energy cuts are sought at production sites. An often-overlooked fact is how high a portion of energy use is used by air compressors.

Energy may be wasted due to the source pressure of a compressor being inappropriately left at its factory setting, or due to air leaks from pipes.

Both cases are difficult to diagnose by simple observance, making it necessary to use a solution that visualizes the usage status of compressors and pipes and reveals wasteful energy consumption.

3 issues to be overcome in visualizing air leakages

Issue 1

Uncovering air leakages from pipes

Due to the difficulty of checking for pipe air leaks by sight and sound alone, in most cases the state of a factory's air compressor pipes is not fully known. In Thailand, there have been cases where 40 to 60% of a pipe's air is leaking.

Issue2

Revealing compressor status and optimizing source pressure

Compressors are said to account for around 18 to 25% of the total power usage of the factories they are in, and lowering the compressor source pressure by 0.1 Mpa is said to give a power saving of around 8.4%.

For example…
While there are many factories that do a few checks a year for air leaks by sight and sound, the human ear can only hear between about 20 Hz to 20 kHz, making it difficult to detect leaks outside this range. Furthermore, in many cases there is no numerical data taken or definite numerical goals worked toward to prevent air leaks. Compressor status, degradation, capacity and pressure level appropriateness is difficult to visualize, and in many cases factories rely on the manufacturer or trial-and-error.

Improving and streamliningequipment maintenance

Air leakage can never be zero. Continuous remedial maintenance of piping with target values is required to minimize air leakage. In addition, even if regular maintenance of compressors is performed, there are many cases where the overall situation, including the operating rate, is unknown. Visualization is also necessary in order to accurately know the capacity and replacement timing of old compressors.

For example…
If unable to fully grasp the condition and deterioration of one's compressors, problems could go unattended, leading to unexpected failure and expensive repair fees.

KDDI's visualization system overview

We build visualization systems using AWS (Amazon Web Services), allowing compressor status to be seen over the Internet.

Free PDF download about achieving Carbon Neutrality in Thailand

Download "Toward achieving carbon neutrality in Thailand"
column by Mr. Ryosuke Fujioka, Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry, and Mr. Akira Omori, KDDI Thailand.

Download PDF