Crown cans compressor energy costs

London — Crown Speciality Packaging has achieved a 34% reduction in compressed air energy consumption at its Mansfield site as part of a programme to reduce energy costs. Compressed air is a key energy consumer at the Mansfield plant, which manufactures speciality tins for packaging teas, sweets and biscuits.

The project followed a Carbon Trust review, which identified potential energy savings on the existing compressed air system. The company subsequently engaged Boge Compressors to redesign the compressed air system and install a fixed-speed screw compressor and a frequency-controlled screw compressor.

The frequency-controlled unit is designed to produce the exact volume of compressed air at the pressure required, in accordance with the compressed air demand, according to Boge. The frequency control, it said, minimises idling time and evens out air demand fluctuations.

An energy management system was also installed at Crown to continually audit the compressed air system ensuring that the compressors run as efficiently as possible at all times, said Boge. This included regular air leak detection, which delivered major energy savings in the first few months of system optimisation and now continues to provide on-going energy savings.

“Crown Speciality Packaging continues to enjoy sustained compressed air energy savings at their Mansfield site and is now actively reviewing other potential areas of energy savings such as heating and lighting systems, said Chris Nolan, site service team leader at Crown.