Mars Energy Savings Out of This World
Mars Petcare Australia implements a customised compressed-air system fromSullair Australia optimising production, reliability and energy efficiency.
Today, much is expected of food manufacturers. Like most industrial businesses, manufacturers of food—whether for humans or pets—are under pressure to optimise production while simultaneously enhancing environmental performance. Part of the challenge for modern food manufacturers is to develop and maintain production facilities capable of generating high-quality products at ever-increasing throughput rates—all while improving energy efficiency and the business’s bottom line.
Essential air
Precision and simplicity lie at the heart of the pet food manufacturing process at Mars Petcare’s Wodonga site. At both the cannery and tray plant, raw meat and other inclusions, such as vegetables are size-reduced and mixed with gravy. The final product is then dispensed into the cans or trays, sealed, cooked in the receptacle, labelled and packed.
According to Paul Timmermans, Site Engineer Mars Petcare Australia - Wodonga, compressed air is critical to the production process at both the cannery and tray plant. “Compressed air is used for control valve and instrument actuation at both facilities,” he says. “Air-driven piston injectors are used to fill the cans at the cannery, while the tray plant relies on compressed air to control the pressure in the facility’s pressure cooker. Without compressed air, production stops, 
so it has to work every time. Furthermore, if we lose compressed air during the cooking process, the product has to be destroyed. This potential loss of production and product is, of course, unacceptable.”
It recently became clear to the team at Mars Petcare Australia that the existing compressed-air systems at both facilities were not performing efficiently and were in need of upgrading.
“The legacy compressed-air system comprised a number of disparate technologies, and was struggling to meet demand,” says Remtron Automation account manager, Daniel Castley. “Furthermore, due to the inefficiency of the existing air dryers, moisture was finding its way through to the valves and instruments, causing additional problems downstream, operationally and from a maintenance perspective.”
As a result, the Mars Petcare Australia team decided to seek out a reliable compressed-air system that could efficiently meet the plant's demand for compressed air, while improving the quality of air, reducing energy consumption and delivering ongoing reliability. “For us, the environmental payback was always a critical consideration,” says Timmermans. “We wanted to continue the company’s long tradition of environmental responsibility, so we implemented a solution with Sullair’s Champion compressors.”A Mars makeover
At the cannery, the compressed-air solution comprises two Champion 90kW VOC90 Series II variable output compressors (VOC), and is complemented with a suite ofSullair’s ancillary air-treatment equipment. These include two refrigerated air-dryers and two filtering systems designed to remove contaminants down to 0.01 microns and 0.01 mg/m³—ensuring that process air is of instrument quality. The compressors are also fitted with integral sequence controllers, enabling automatic rotation of the ‘duty’ and ‘stand-by’ compressors. This designation allows equal load sharing across the two compressors.
Similarly, the tray plant’s compressed-air system comprises a single VOC90 Series II compressor, along with a comprehensive air drying and filtering system, and air receiver. Incorporated into the customised compressed-air system design, is a purpose-built heat-recovery system. The benefits of this ingenious design are two-fold—waste heat in the compressor lubricant is captured and used to help pre-heat water for the tray plant’s hot water supply, while at the same time alleviating the load on the compressors’ internal cooling system.
“Recognising the emphasis that Mars Petcare Australia places on sustainable energy formed the foundation for our design,” says Castley. “Around 90 per cent of the electrical energy consumed by air compressors is discharged as waste heat, so an integrated heat-recovery system was fitted to improve overall energy efficiency.” Additionally, each of the VOC90s is equipped with connectivity to a site-wide SCADA control system, which permits the remote monitoring of power consumption and pressure at various points in the production process. A new compressed-air reticulation ring-main network was also installed at the cannery.
The VOC key
The VOC90 air compressors provided a real point of difference, when compared with other compressed-air solutions considered by Mars Petcare Australia. “Our air demand varies significantly throughout the day. Here, we tend to require large quantities of compressed air in a short timeframe,” says Timmermans. “The variable displacement functionality of the Champion VOC compressors is crucial in allowing us to meet this varying air demand. We were doubtful that other compressor variants would be able to service our air demand as efficiently as the Sullair Champion VOC compressor.”
In applications such as this, variable displacement compressors are a preferred alternative to variable speed drive compressors due to their energy-efficient performance, both at full load and at part load down to 50 per cent capacity. “This compressor is ideal for companies looking for the utmost in reliability,” says Daryl Davis, Sullair Australia’s Regional Sales Manager-Vic/Tas/SA. “By simply varying the compression volume to suit the compressed air demand via the unit’s spiral valve, the Champion VOC compressor can provide exceptional energy savings without the need for complicated electrics or controls as required with variable speed compressors.”Air-driven savings
As a result of the compressed-air system upgrade at the cannery and tray plant, Mars Petcare Australia has been able to achieve significant electrical power savings. With the upgraded compressed-air systems up and running for just over a year, these savings can now been quantified—300 MWh per year in the tray plant and 1500 MWh per year in the cannery.
“Power savings in the cannery alone came to approximately $120,000 per year, while savings in the tray plant were around $25,000 per year,” says Timmermans. “Such high electrical savings have helped to optimise our carbon footprint.”The heat-recovery system integrated into the new tray plant compressor has yielded similar results, with an estimated saving in natural gas of 2000GJ, which equates to approximately $20,000 per year. “Small innovations such as the heat recovery system have really had a positive impact on our energy bill and environmental performance,” says Timmermans.“Typically, compressed-air systems are one of the largest sources of energy consumption in a factory, and overall inefficiencies of 30 to 50 per cent are not uncommon,” says Davis. “For smart operators like Mars Petcare Australia, optimising the compressed-air system can be a good place to start when looking to cut production costs and improve environmental performance.” Mars Petcare Australia’s new compressed-air systems have produced other flow-on benefits. With instrument-quality compressed air—free from moisture and other contaminants—now being supplied, instances of control valve and instrument malfunctions have been minimised. Here, maintenance and repair costs are down and process uptime maximised.Australian reputation
According to Timmermans, the 50-degrees Celcius standard design rating of Sullair’scompressors was another of the features that impressed the team at Mars Petcare Australia. “It can get pretty hot at the Wodonga site, especially in the summer months,” he says. “At Mars PetCare Australia we have a preference for equipment that has been designed and built to operate in such demanding conditions.”
“Hot operating environments will often get the better of imported compressors,” says Davis. “Sullair’s Australia-made compressed-air solutions are designed and manufactured with a number of unique features to ensure peak performance even under the most arduous hot, humid and dusty conditions often experienced in this country’s industrial facilities.”
In keeping with Mars Petcare Australia’s long history of working with local businesses, the company has signed up for a 24-hours-a-day/seven-days-a-week service contract with Remtron Automation. “We’ve provided a ten-year/unlimited hours warranty on the compressed-air systems, says Castley. “This also includes all servicing and parts.”“It’s comforting to know that we have ready access to locally-based support services,” says Timmermans. “Since their installation, the compressors haven’t missed a beat.”With the upgraded compressed-air system working effectively and fully supported byRemtron Automation and Sullair Australia, Mars Petcare Australia can confidently continue—and expand—production, knowing that their energy savings, too, will continue to grow.[ENDS]
Enquiries—Australia
Michael Knowles, Sullair Australia National Marketing Manager
Sullair Australia Pty Ltd
Telephone: +1300COMPRESSOR
E-mail: mknowles@sullair.com.au
Enquiries—New Zealand
Secair
Telephone: +64 9 634 4211
E-mail: secairnz@xtra.co.nz
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