New York City, 14 Jan 2019: Air compressors
are versatile tools that have a vast number of industrial and domestic
applications. Air compressors can be used for tasks as simple as powering a
nail gun or for truly complex functions such as injection moulding and loom jet
weaving. Let us briefly explore the development of the air compressor and
examine how this useful device has been impacted by today’s technology. The Global Air Compressor Market was evaluated to be USD 31 billion in 2017 and is projected
to grow at 4.5% CAGR from 2017 to 2026 as per a recent report published by
Polaris Market Research. All the top players in this market are announcing new
and improved products to accommodate the growing demands in this sector. Developing
regions are becoming the new market for the big companies to increase their
customer base and reinforce market dominance.
Compressor
technology has existed for nearly 400 years and from the time they were
invented, there have been remarkable innovations in improving their efficiency
and power. Compressors have gone from air billows to the complex compressor
systems used in large-scale industry today.
The first
artificial compressor was the billows, consisting of a flexible pouch which
emitted a pressurised burst of air used in smelting. In the late 16th century,
an engineer created a blasting machine that later became the basis for the
modern compressor.
A modern air
compressor is a machine that changes power using a gasoline engine, electric
motor or diesel engine into potential energy that is preserved in the form of
pressurized air. Through one of several processes, an air compressor pushes air
into a storage tank at high pressure. Once the air reaches a predetermined
pressure limit, the compressor turns itself off. The compressed air is then
kept in the tank until it is needed. The potential energy stored within the
compressed air can be used for numerous purposes which uses the kinetic energy of
the air as the tank loses pressure. Once the tank pressure reaches its lower
limit, the air compressor reactivates to depressurize the tank.
Air compressors
have many applications such as supplying clean air at high pressure to fill gas
cylinders, supplying clean air at a moderate pressure to drive pneumatic tools
such as high-pressure air tanks, and jackhammers. At moderate pressure, the air from a
compressor can also be used to fill tyres and to provide air for submerged
surface supplied divers. In the last few years, there have been several new
technologies that have led to a significant increase in air compressor
efficiency. These improvements are a result of enhancements to the standard air
compressor design.
One of the most
significant technologies is the VSD or variable speed drive compressor.
Compressors fitted with a variable speed drive can result in 35% energy savings
as compared to the typical load/unload compressor. Combined with other
technologies such as closed oil-circuit cooling and vertically aligned design,
air compressor efficiency has reached to 50 percent; an achievement that cannot
be overlooked.
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