Alcoa cuts compressed air maintenance costs, with Hydrovane
1 min read
Thirty-three new 37kW Hydrovane compressors are helping global aluminium producer Alcoa to increase productivity and cut maintenance costs at its San Ciprián refinery, in Spain.
Air is used to actuate pneumatic cylinders in machine tools, as well as for fluidisation in the transport and loading of alumina and for removing liquid metal from tanks, harnessing the venturi vacuum effect.
Miguel Ángel Román Calderero, head of plant maintenance at Alcoa explains that the compressors replaced 30 year-old existing Hydrovane compressors, and were installed on the overhead gantry cranes, working above the electrolytic cells for the conversion process.
"Our compressors are running for almost 24 hours a day, but it is during the casting operation when there is a greater requirement for air," he says. "To achieve a vacuum (known as the venturi effect), the pressure must not drop below 6 kg/cm2."
Due to the complex nature of the application, Hydrovane conducted a site visit to review Alcoa's air requirements, and then provided two trial units. "They suited our needs, particularly as they wer4e a similar size to our existing compressors and offered ease of access to all parts of the machine," states Calderero.
"One of the key factors for installing the new compressors is that the motor runs at just 1,450 rpm," he continues. "The alternative solution was a screw compressor running at 3,000rpm. That would have resulted in increased wear and maintenance costs, especially in an arduous environment such as alumina suspension, where high temperatures and aggressive gases exist."
Calderero also comments on the compressors' oversized oil chamber (which enables faster oil cooling), as well as the high flow fan with oversized cooler, remote cyclonic air intake filtration and motor specification, which ensures that the compressors can be operated efficiently in this harsh environment.
"Since the installation of the new compressors, we have experienced a reduction in the number of incidents or failures during metal casting operations," states Calderero.
And he adds: "The new units' oversized oil chamber allows oil to be changed at 2,000 hours, instead of 500, as with the previous units, which has reduced equipment downtime. The preventative maintenance programme provided by CompAir Iberia has also resulted in a reduction in man-hours devoted to equipment failures."
