Study and analysis of an industrial compressor facing overheat problem

A compressor in a rice manufacturer, PT. X, got overheated especially on hot days. The overheat makes the compressor shut off and stops the production line. From the observation and data collected in PT. X, it was found that the overheat problem in the compressor was caused by [1] the dust on the surface of the aftercooler and the fluid cooler, and [1] the high temperature of the intake air to the compressor. The management comprehends the suggestion to clean the coolers’ surface, close the door to the compressor room, and install an intake duct to bring in cooler air input to the compressor. Carrying out the suggestion, the overheat problem is overcome and there is saving in operational cost. The savings could be more than 4000 kWh/year for eight hours of work each day. By lowering the inlet air temperature as much as 4C° for the compressor, the CO2 emission could be reduced around 4000 kg/year. A heat exchanger could replace the after cooler and the fluid cooler for recovering the waste heat of the compressor. The heat to be recovered from the compressor is approximately 40 kW. The waste heat recovery framework will produce 13 liter/min water at 70°C.