Shell saves with new compressor system at Stanlow
26 Oct 2012
Stanlow, UK – Shell Lubricants’ manufacturing plant at Stanlow near Ellesmere Port uses compressed air in important stages of the production process.
Engineers at the plant were concerned that the existing compressors and dessicant dryers were being asked to operate beyond their service life and called in Thorite for help and advice on installing energy-efficient pneumatic equipment.
Shell engaged fluid power systems distributor Thorite, which started the project by having its engineering design team carry out a power logging exercise at the plant, to determine precise compressed air site usage patterns.
The team found that the three existing compressors, each supported by a dessicant dryer, were operating inefficiently.
Shell Lubricants requires high standards of purity from the compressed air produced, so it was vital that any new equipment could meet or exceed these standards.
Thorite, therefore, installed a HPC oil-flooded, variable speed compressor, sufficiently powerful to run the main plant under all load demands, but supported by two of the original compressors for emergency backup.
It also installed an HPC Hybritec Dryer, complete with an intelligent control system, to replace the existing three dessicant dryers. The new system oversees both a refrigerant dryer and a dessicant dryer, all neatly packaged on a compact skid mounting.
The control system allows either the refrigerant or dessicant dryers to maintain a set dewpoint, providing minimal power consumption combined with high compressed air purity standards, according to Thorite.
Completing the project, Thorite also installed a SAM4 controller with full visualisation, which gives Shell’s engineers remote access and clearly demonstrates that the new fluid power system is optimising energy efficiency at all times.
“The new compressed air generation system. gives “peace of mind [and] is well on track to provide energy cost savings of around $70K per year,” reported Chris Turner, Shell Chemicals’ engineering project manager.
