LAKE CITY, PA, USA -- Van Air Systems announces the successful start-up of four model HB3000-S blower purge compressed air dryers by Intermountain Power Service Corporation (IPSC) at the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) near Delta, Utah.
IPSC projects that the Van Air dryers, which have replaced antiquated equipment, will yield an annual savings of approximately $225,000 attributed to reduced energy and maintenance costs.

IPSC operates a power generating station with a gross output of 1900 MW, delivering electricity to customers in Utah, Nevada, and California. The plant depends on four 700 horsepower centrifugal air compressors for the operation of crucial equipment including valve actuators, cylinders, tools, and motors. Air discharged from a compressor is laden with potentially damaging water vapor and must be dried prior to use. The plant’s four original heatless compressed air dryers were installed in the mid-1980s. After conducting an energy audit in 2008, IPSC engineers determined that operation of the original dryers required $169,470 worth of electricity per year. Also these dryers caused a differential pressure loss of 10 PSID, which equated to wasted compressor horsepower.

“Economics drove our decision to replace the old dryers,” says Bret Kent, Lead Engineer at IPSC. “We examined our entire air system, looking to minimize air consumption, increase efficiency, and improve system reliability. Eliminating the old heatless dryers was an obvious target.”

After writing a detailed specification, IPSC invited four vendors to bid on the dryer replacement project.
“We were firm about needing to fit the new dryers within an existing footprint,” says Kent. “We simply had no additional space or room to install larger equipment.” The project specification also excluded the re-plumbing of existing inlet or outlet piping that would have require shutting down the compressed air system and effectively take the generating station offline. Taking the station offline would have resulted in the need of project participant to purchase power from other sources during the installation.  This would have erased all of the cost savings. 

In response to the bid request, Van Air engineers designed uniquely configured dryers to match the plant’s space and plumbing constraints. Van Air engineers met with IPSC personnel to present and refine these preliminary designs, prior to the awarding of a contract.

“Van Air was the only bidder to seriously address the requirements in our specification,” says Kent. “They didn’t offer an off-the-shelf design, but bent over backwards to meet our needs.”

After winning the project, Van Air manufactured and delivered to IPSC four HB3000-S blower purge dryers with advanced energy management features. IPSC estimates that the cost of compressed air drying has been reduced by more than 93 percent. Also, Kent notes that the differential pressure across the dryers has been reduced to between 1 and 1.5 PSID.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome of our work at IPSC,” says Jeff Mace, Manager of Sales and Marketing at Van Air Systems. “One of our core strengths is the design and production of engineered-to-order products, and the IPSC job clearly speaks to our prowess in this market segment.”

“This was a very successful project,” says Kent. “Working with Van Air was a very pleasant experience.”