Tag: foam

BETE’s Foam-Busting Nozzles: Spraying Suds into Submission with Industrial Swagger

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

When I hear foam, the first thing that comes to mind is my salt water fish tank and the protein skimmer below it doing the dirty work of pulling all the fish waste from the water colum. In this case, the foam is good. It operates on the principle of air-water interaction and the hydrophobic nature of organic compounds. Air is pushed into the water, creating tiny bubbles. All those tiny bubbles provide a large surface area for the organic molecules to adhere to them. The bubbles rise to the top with those molecules and are collected into a cup at the top of the skimmer. Check out the photo below.

Saltwater Skimmer

This is a purpose-built foam generating process that is a huge benefit for every saltwater reef tank.

However, the same thing can happen during industrial processes and, in most cases, becomes a problem to fix rather than a benefit. Foam is undesirable because it can overflow vessels, create slippery and unsafe working conditions, interfere with processing, damage materials, and cause tanks to drain and dry slowly. Controlling foam can be accomplished by spraying liquid onto the pool, vessel, or reservoir’s surface, and allowing the spray’s droplets to impact the foam bubbles, causing them to break.

While breaking this foam sounds easy, “Just spray some water on it” in the process, it can be a challenge to get the correct size of droplets to break the foam. Droplets that are too small often cannot pop the bubbles, and if the droplets are too large they can break through them and create more agitation which creates more foam. You want a sweet spot where they are large enough to pop the foam bubbles while small enough to not create more foam.

Here is a real customer case, where BETE Application Engineers were able to assist the customer with an array of MaxiPass nozzles to knock foam down in a wastewater tank.

Industry: Petroleum Processing
Application: Foam Control
Product Description: MP Nozzle Array

Situation: A customer had processed condensate wastewater in a petroleum processing facility. The wastewater was in a square tank that measured 10’ x 11’ by 9’ (3 m x 3.4 m x 2.7 m) deep.
As the wastewater entered the tank, foam was generated, which was undesirable in this process. The customer had about 25 gpm (94.6 L/min) available to use to control the foam. In
In addition, the customer was looking for a turnkey system that could be installed as soon as it
arrived on site.

BETE’s solution: BETE Applications Engineers first determined that a 3 x 3 array of BETE
MP187M nozzles operating at 10 PSI (0.69 bar) would give the desired flow of 25 gpm total and
knock down the foam that was being generated. The next step was to review the customer’s piping
specifications in order to come up with both a nozzle header design and a feed header design.
Using one feed header and three nozzle headers, the customer simply had to bolt and gasket the
flanges, hook the inlet up to a water source, and they will be ready to go!

Whether you’re looking to optimize your industrial processes, improve efficiency, or tackle specific application challenges, the right liquid nozzle or compressed air product can make all the difference. EXAIR and BETE offer industry-leading solutions designed to meet your unique needs with precision and reliability. From air-atomizing nozzles to liquid-only nozzles, our innovative products deliver top performance across a wide range of industries. Ready to take your operations to the next level? Reach out to EXAIR or BETE today to find the perfect solution for your application!

Jordan Shouse, CCASS

Application Engineer

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Protein Skimmer photo courtesy of Stacina via Flickr Creative Commons License

Cleaning Foam From Beer Bottles

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

I was contacted by a company that was bottling beer; and they had an issue that they wished to solve.  They were producing 35,000 bottles per hour in two different sizes; the 24 oz. (710 mL) bottles and the “stick it in a brown paper bag” 32 oz. (946 mL) bottles.  The problem area was located at the wash system after capping the beer bottles.  They sprayed a solution of water and a low-concentration of chlorine dioxide as an antimicrobial agent.  Sanitation is at a premium to eliminate any bacteria growth. 

Currently, they were using two sets of three liquid nozzles that were spraying a flat pattern at the top and both sides of the bottle, just under the cap (reference photo below).  The issue that they were experiencing was too much solution was being used as well as creating a slip hazard on the floor outside the wash system.  They tried to reduce the liquid pressure to lessen the amount of solution, but the stream was not strong enough to clean properly.  So, they asked if the EXAIR Air Atomizing Nozzles could be a better solution.

Washing system

With liquid solutions, the smaller the particle size, the greater the surface area.  With higher surface areas, less liquid can be used to cover the same target area.  For this application; I recommended the model EF1040SS External Mix Atomizing Nozzle with a narrow-angle flat fan spray pattern.  The liquid spray pattern matched their current nozzles, and the liquid flowrate produced by this Atomizing Nozzle was within their recommendation.  By adding compressed air, we can shear liquid into much smaller particle sizes.  And as mentioned above, we can use less liquid to cover the same area.  Another feature of the EXAIR External Mix Atomizing Nozzles, the liquid and air pressures are independent.  Unlike the liquid nozzles that they were using, the liquid pressure can be changed while the air pressure can be increased.  Now, they can get a hard-hitting force to remove the beer foam while using less liquid.  This was exactly what this customer needed.   

EF1040SS

I suggested six pieces of the EF1040SS to replace each liquid nozzle to keep the same coverage around the caps.  The stainless-steel construction makes the Atomizing Nozzle corrosive resistant for Food and Beverage applications.  The flat fan pattern is able to reach multiple bottles and hit the target area evenly.  The amount of solution can be controlled by the liquid pressure and by the manual liquid needle valve.  So, the setup can be “dialed” in for the exact amount of cleaning solution needed to clean the bottles without flooding the floor.  This was important for safety as well as saving the company money by using less solution.  For this application, they were able to use about 20% less liquid.

If you have high-value liquids that you would like to spray evenly, efficiently, and effectively; EXAIR Air Atomizing Nozzles can do that for you.  We offer three different port sizes with a variety of liquid flowrates and spray patterns.  If you would like to discuss more about an application or need help in selecting the correct model, an Application Engineer will be happy to assist you.  For the customer above, the bottles were cleaned and ready to “pop the top”.  

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb

Photo: Empty brown beet bottles by manfredrifchter.  Pixabay License

EXAIR Products: Silencing Mufflers Overview

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.95(a), relating to permissible noise exposure levels, states that when employees are subjected to sounds in excess of 90 dBA, some type of control should be used to reduce the sound level. In an industrial setting, it’s very common to find the exhausting air from air operated devices such as actuators, diaphragm pumps or cylinders for example, to produce sound levels well above the allowable limits set forth in the Standard. EXAIR offers a variety of different Silencing Mufflers that help to reduce this  noise level, while also increasing operator safety.

 

Reclassifying Mufflers are available in 1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″ and 1″ NPT sizes

EXAIR’s Reclassifying Mufflers offer noise reduction up to 35 dB and are available in sizes ranging from 1/8″ to 1″ NPT. These types of mufflers are often considered”dual-purpose” as they not only reduce the noise level but also remove oil from the exhaust airflow by incorporating a removable filter element.  The exhausting oil mist is reduced from 50 PPM (parts per million) to only 0.015 PPM, when the device is operated at 100 PSIG. In addition, there is a bowl on the bottom to capture any residual oil and a 1/4″ tube adaptor to allow for easy draining.

Sintered Bronze Mufflers are available in #10-32, 1/8″, 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″, 1″, 1-1/4″ and 1-1/2″ NPT sizes, as well as 1/2-20 UNF female for use with solenoid valves

Straight Through Mufflers are available in 1/4″, 3/8″ and 3/4″ MNPT x FNPT

Sintered Bronze Mufflers are a relatively low cost option, commonly used with air cylinders as they can be installed quick and easy. We offer 1o different sizes, ranging from #10-32 for small installations, up to 1-1/2″ NPT for larger scale applications. The noise reduction depends on the size of the muffler and back pressure, which can occur from dirt or particulate clogging the muffler, restricting the exhausting airflow from passing through the porous sintered bronze.

Our Straight Through Mufflers are made of corrosion resistant aluminum and are lined with a sound absorbing foam, capable of reducing noise levels up to 20 dB. We offer 3 different sizes, 1/4″, 3/8″ and 3/4″ NPT, with a male thread on one end and female thread on the other. We incorporate this muffler design into our Cold Guns and Adjustable Spot Coolers and they are commonly used with our Vortex Tubes, Cabinet Cooler® Systems and E-Vac® Vacuum Generators as well.

Heavy Duty Mufflers are available in 1/4″ and 3/8″ FNPT

Lastly, the Heavy Duty Mufflers feature an internal, 50 mesh stainless steel screen, to protect against contaminants in the airflow,  and a corrosion resistant aluminum outer shell. In most cases, the sound reduction can be as high as 14 dB and we offer 2 different sizes, 1/4″ and 3/8″ FNPT. These types of mufflers are regularly used on the hot air exhaust of our Vortex Tubes.

For help with product selection or to discuss a particular process, please contact one of our application engineers at 800-903-9247.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

Light Duty Line Vac Conveys the “Slugs” from a Die Punch Application

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

At EXAIR, we get asked a lot of interesting questions about what our products can do. One of them that occurs with some frequency is, “Can your Line Vac convey slugs from a stamping operation?” The answer is usually yes as “slugs” (the material punched out of a sheet of stock to create a hole) are well suited in size, shape and weight to be conveyed effectively with the Line Vac product. We are used to this question from folks who are processing various types of metal sheet. The slugs tend to build up within their tooling and basically get in the way, if not even jam up the tooling from time to time. So getting rid of them from the process becomes a necessity that is, many times, not addressed during the tool making process.

Recently, we had another customer with this same kind of problem with foam. They were processing a foam sheet by punching a many holes in it which generated the waste stream you see above. Little pieces of foam about 8 – 10 mm in diameter and about 40 mm long. As you probably have guessed by now, the area that was set up to receive these renderings quickly became loaded full with the foam slugs. The customer needed to find a way to remove the slugs to a remote area so the receiving container could be switched out easily without stopping production. The original container was small, plastic bin about the size of a kitchen garbage can. The new receiving container was a large cardboard box that typically goes by the term Gaylord. The customer needed to set the Gaylord about 3 – 4 meters away from the die punching area. This is where the EXAIR model 130300 (3” Light Duty Line Vac) comes into play. The customer fabricated a chute that was positioned under the area to catch the slugs. The chute transitions to accept the 3” Light Duty Line Vac for connection at the bottom. Then, a 3” hose is connected to the output side of the Light Duty Line Vac so it could blow the slugs over to the Gaylord.

P1060775
Foam Slugs From Die Stamping Process

The customer chose the Light Duty Line Vac because it uses less air than a comparable size of our Standard Duty units. They didn’t need a tremendous amount of suction power due to the light-weight nature of the slugs. They also wanted a 3” unit to make sure none of the product would get caught anywhere within the conveying stream.

With the new Light Duty Line Vac installed, the operators do not have to spend as much time tending to the emptying of the previous, small containers that had to be used due to their size for fitting into the catch area. For an application where thousands of these slugs are produced in an hour, the productivity gain was significant. The customer didn’t place an exact value on the gain, but are considering this method for other, similar processes they have in the plant.

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
 nealraker@exair.com
@EXAIR_NR