MechChem Africa July 2018

⎪ Hydraulic and pneumatic systems ⎪

Oil-free boost compressor: a first in SA

As a rental first for SouthAfrica, RandAir has introduced theAtlas Copco DXT85VSD high-pressure ‘boost’ compressor into the local market, which offers oil-free compressed air at a pressure of up to 42 bar.

I n a first for South Africa’s compressor rentalmarket,compressor andgenerator rental stalwart Rand-Air recently took delivery of an Atlas Copco DXT85VSD electrically driven, oil-free air/nitrogen booster complete with high-pressure hoses. Coupledwith its oil-free compressors and dryers, the company can nowoffer a total so- lution for oil-free compressedair at pressures of up to 42 bar. The 100 kW DXT has a high outlet pres- sure range of 25 to 42 bar at flow rates of 1 189 m 3 /h (700 cfm), which makes it eminently suitable for a range of specialised industrial applications, from food and bever- age to packaging. “Previously, we offered diesel-driven oil injected ‘boosters’ or compressors, which we provided to our customers in response to demand from the drilling and geological explorationmarket sector,” explains Rand-Air fleet manager Craig Swart. However, enquiries for high-pressure oil-free compressed air from the local soft drink manufacturing and bottling industry highlighted the suitability of the Atlas Copco DXT compressor. Diesel-driven oil-injected boosterswerenot suitable for this application as there is a certain amount of oil residue in the compressed air they supply. Also, diesel- driven oil-injected boosters are not designed toprovide a 24/7 compressed air tomanufac- turing facilities. “While inEurope, theDXT ismainlyused in steamproduction applications, we anticipate that in South Africa – as industry sees the potential of this compressor – there could be demand for more units of this type from a number of other industry sectors,” continues Swart. For ease of handling and deployment, the DXT has the same dimensions and attaching points as a standard shipping container. “We are pleased to have added the DXT to our compressor fleet, as it is operationally an expansion of our high-pressure oil-free solution offering,” he adds. ThenewDXTcompressor is awelcomead- dition toRand-Air’s current fleet of some 400 rental compressors, which make up part of a total fleet of 1 100 compressors, generators and related equipment. Swart comments that with units of this nature, on a long-term rental, customers have the advantage of knowing exactly what their future compressed air costs will be over

the next five years, for example. “This makes it much easier for our customers to project future input costs, total cost-of-ownership (TCO) and overall return-on-investment (ROI),” he points out. The introduction of the DXT compres- sor – the first of its kind in the local rental market – is a great example of our ethos of innovation and commitment to exceeding customers’ expectations,” he concludes. q

Compressor and generator rental stalwart Rand-Air recently took delivery of an Atlas Copco DXT85VSD electrically-driven, oil-free air/nitrogen booster complete with high-pressure hoses.

July 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 21