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Kaishan USA | September 4, 2024| Uncategorized
Food and beverage facilities now have an opportunity to increase the reliability and efficiency of their compressed air systems with Kaishan’s new KROF oil-free rotary screw compressor.
A few significant trends are generating interest in the compressed air industry, promising to add greater flexibility, energy savings and air quality to your entire operation.
While two of those trends—new portable air compressors and a next-generation VSD—are only beginning to emerge, the first, a highly reliable oil-free industrial air compressor is now available.
Trend No. 1. Changing the Rules of Oil-Free Reliability
Facilities that need high-quality, oil-free compressed air now have a new alternative offering some compelling new advantages in reliability, efficiency and warranty protection.
Kaishan’s new KROF oil-free rotary screw compressor, produces ISO 8573-1, Class 0 oil-free compressed air that safeguards the integrity of your products.
It is available in 100-, 125- and 150-PSIG models with integrated air or water cooling. And it’s perfect for challenging compressed air applications such as food and beverage, electronics, healthcare and medical devices.
The KROF has robust features that make it the best choice for any application demanding oil-free operation:
- Two intermeshing PTFE-coated rotors machined to micron precision.
- Oversized stainless-steel precoolers on each stage that lower temperatures for both intercoolers and aftercoolers.
- Integrated lubrication passages between stages to ensure proper lubrication and reduce leak points, service requirements and lifetime costs.
- Bearings that eliminate the need for an outdated balance piston and require no maintenance to achieve proper thrust loading.
- An inlet valve featuring closed-system hydraulics to guarantee sealing and prevent contamination.
- Oversized moisture separators equipped with reliable, zero-loss drains that prevent moisture from passing between stages and handle contamination better than traditional, orifice-style drains.
- A dual-centrifugal, electronically commutated (EC) fan to reduce noise and improve cooling efficiency.
And, for facilities placing greater emphasis on sustainability and carbon neutrality, the KROF can help you reduce your lifetime carbon footprint.
With precise engineering and high-quality output, the KROF rotary screw air compressor is a reliable workhorse you can count on to drive productivity for the long haul.
Its unmatched warranty gives you unprecedented reliability in an oil-free machine.
Industry-Leading Warranty
Because of its inherent durability and long-lasting performance, Kaishan backs the KROF with an industry-leading five-year warranty on major components, including the airend.
Kaishan’s new KROF two-stage oil-free compressor is an excellent choice when you need uncontaminated, highly efficient, reliable air.
Best of all, it is the only oil-free compressor designed, engineered and manufactured in the U.S. for a global market. It is manufactured at our state-of-the-art 65,000-square-foot plant in Loxley, AL (currently being expanded to 130,000 square feet).
A second major trend shaping the compressed air landscape is portability.
Trend No. 2. Portability
Many companies are finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 standards are making it more difficult to justify using diesel-driven portable air compressors. Not just because of their emissions but also because of the cost of diesel fuel, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and maintenance.
Kaishan’s proposed portable electric air compressor, scheduled for production in early 2025, can handle any environment and will support outdoor uses like infrastructure sandblasting.
Indeed, portable diesels are an important, flexible alternative for emergency replacements, short-term needs and point-of-use applications. They’re invaluable in mining, rock drilling, sandblasting and construction. You can, after all, move a portable around to service uses like nail guns, impact wrenches, tire inflators, paint sprayers, pressure washers and cutting tools. And they are an obvious choice for outside applications.
Any number of applications like hand and power tools will be able to use our new portable electric air compressor.
For many years, facility managers relied on portable diesel air compressors when their main compressors shut down on needed service. But diesels have many drawbacks.
Depending on the fuel price, diesel compressors cost at least four times more to operate. Plus, they produce emissions and the air is of lower quality. And because some models do not have aftercoolers, they send wet air to the dryer, making it work harder and have smaller, less efficient separators (due to size constraints).
There are also significant maintenance costs. A portable diesel compressor will need oil and filters every 250 hours. If you’re operating 24/7, that could mean they need maintenance every ten days. And then there’s the problem of supplying the unit with diesel fuel every 12 hours.
Because of the limitations of portable diesel compressors, many facility managers are looking for alternatives. They are coming.
The Emerging Landscape in Portable Electric Air Compressors
Kaishan already has customers who rent portable electrics, which, right now, are traditional stationary compressors that they can move around.
Electric air compressors offer the same level of flexibility as diesels, with significant energy savings. Plus, their maintenance is much less of an issue. They will need regular maintenance every three months or 2,000 operating hours, less than 15% of the service a diesel in 24/7 operation would require.
They are a good alternative to diesels right now and we can expect more options to surface in the future.
Our third emerging trend is the continued development and use of variable-speed drives.
Trend No. 3. Next-Gen VSDs: Robust and More Reliable
Also on our wish list is a next-generation variable-speed drive that addresses some of the issues that cause problems for the VSD air compressors currently available. For more on the current state of variable-speed drive air compressors, read our blog post, “How Variable-Speed Drive Rotary Screw Air Compressors Save You Money.”
Until recently, we did not recommend using VSDs in many industrial environments. Especially those where the air was heavy with dust and dirt. Those airborne contaminants tended to clog the VSD’s heat sink, causing it to overheat. As a result, we did not recommend installing VSDs where the unit would be near a welding operation, for example, which adds conductive material to the ambient air.
However, newer, liquid-cooled VSD drives are now coming on the market and may alleviate some of the problems associated with dust and dirt in the air.
A liquid-cooled VSD can dissipate heat using water, glycol or other appropriate coolant. Because of the superior heat-dissipation capabilities of liquids, the liquid-cooled VSD is smaller than an air-cooled model.
So, while a traditional VSD-driven air compressor can overheat when dust, dirt and airborne contaminants clog the drive’s heat sink and fans, newer VSD drives will quickly remove the heat with a water-cooling system.
A next-gen VSD, unlike traditional devices, can work in a welding operation.
Local Help to Stay on the Cutting Edge
Whether you’re looking for an oil-free unit, a portable machine or a cutting-edge VSD air compressor, your local compressed air professional is the place to start. They’ll be the first to tell you when these next-generation developments are right for you. We work with our nationwide network of independent distributors who have the skills and expertise to guide you in selecting the right innovations for your operation.
Plus, they can provide the on-site help and consultation you need to make solid business decisions about your compressed air issues. These factory-trained air compression experts can service your air compressor system without a problem, and they have staff members who are skilled in advanced technology.
Key Takeaways
- Several significant trends promise to add greater flexibility, energy savings and air quality to compressed air systems.
- Facilities that need high-quality compressed air have a new alternative in Kaishan’s new KROF oil-free rotary screw compressor, which sets new standards for reliability, efficiency and warranty protection.
- A new generation of portable electric air compressors may soon replace diesel portables used in many facilities.
- New variable-speed drive air compressors are now coming on the market and may alleviate some of the problems associated with the previous generation of air compressors.
Let Us Help
Staying on top of the latest developments in compressor air is crucial for the operation of your system and all the processes that rely on it. If you need help finding a consultant in your area, get in touch with the experts at Kaishan. Contact us today.
