Thailand
Thailand
A solution for visualizing compressed air leaks, compressor performance, 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.
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(*)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.
| ※ | 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 |
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.
Issue 1
Uncovering air leakages from pipes
Issue2
Revealing compressor status and optimizing source pressure
Issue3
Improving and streamlining equipment maintenance
Issue1
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
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.
Visualize air leaks in the entire factory or for individual production lines. We can help you on your first step towards a carbon-neutral future.
Air Leak Visualization Solution
Installation of flow meters and electricity meters can make it possible to discover air leaks across the factory, or for individual production lines.
For this solution, we provide a PoC & ROI calculation type for detecting air leakages and compressor status for the entire factory, and a type for detecting air leaks from individual production lines.
Install flow meters and power meters to visualize compressor usage data.
Issue3
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.
In addition to measures to prevent air leaks, become able to see the status of your compressors and estimate your CO2 emissions.
Air Leak Visualization Solution
By installing a flow meter and electricity meter for each compressor, air leaks throughout the factory become visible, and compressor operation rates and CO2 emissions can be determined.
See numeric values for power consumption per m3, m3 per kW, and kW x CO2 emission factors (approximate values).
In addition to helping you make concrete plans for reducing CO2 and power consumption, we can also optimize your equipment maintenance, allowing you to achieve an overall cost reduction.
We build visualization systems using AWS (Amazon Web Services), allowing compressor status to be seen over the Internet.
Download "Toward achieving carbon neutrality in Thailand"
column by Mr. Ryosuke Fujioka, Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry, and Mr. Akira Omori, KDDI Thailand.
Please consult a KDDI consultant.
What is the best solution for your problem?
Please consult a KDDI consultant.
