Air Dynamics Offers Solutions for Commercial Kitchen Ventilation for EPA Compliance


Air Dynamics, located in York, PA, has been providing services for Industrial and Commercial customers for nearly 25 years. We offer solutions in Dust Collection and Air Pollution, Ventilation, Test Chambers and Vacuum Systems. In addition, we provide turn-key projects including engineering, design, manufacture, and installation services, Next is an example of how we helped a customer become EPA Compliant under new air pollution control regulations.

An Industrial fryer, scrubber or Air Pollution Control Device for commercial cooking is mainly used in two applications:

o Made to order food in commercial restaurants

o Food manufacturing of continuous cooking. This includes mixing and formulation of batches of recipes which are then cooked in continuous fryers.

Most of these operations are running 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Case history:

Problem:

Industrial fryer in non-compliance within a US EPA "non-attainment" area.
This particular site (Potato Chip Maker) was within a US EPA non-attainment area. Upon inspection of the environmental permit, one of the commercial fryers was not in compliance. In this instance, the pollutants in pounds per hours were about a pound per hour (particulate matter in solid and liquid form). The limit was .75 pounds per hour. The commercial fryer was approximately one quarter pounds per hour over the limit.

This issue was brought to Air dynamics by an environmental testing firm because they had prior experience with Air Dynamics success with a different scrubber application.
We visited the site and collected the data. Then, we discussed several approaches with the new client on the best way (at the lowest cost & least maintenance) to solve the problem. The State recommended the "BACT" - "best available control technology". This was a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO). The RTO had a 200hp requirement to run the motors and fans and needed a two inch natural gas line to feed the burner. While this was a viable option, the cost was over $1million to acquire the equipment and many thousands per year to operate and maintain.

Another technology investigated was a Cyclone Scrubber. Basically this is a very tall tower approximately 50 feet high. This tower required substantial steel supports and the equipment required 30hp to operate. The customer did not want to invest the capital to construct the steel structure required.

Solution and Results:

We listened to concerns and designed a scrubber that was easy to access and only 4 feet tall. By using a horizontal configuration and low pressure drop design, we reduced the height significantly and energy consumption was only 15hp. The investment in comparison to an RTO was one fourth the acquisition cost of the RTO and fractionally less to operate. Total cost was approximately 40% less than the Vertical scrubber as well as 50% less in horse power.

We designed the system to remove at least .46lbs per hour, again to minimize cost. During final testing total pollution output was .3 lbs per hour. The design and removal efficiency exceeded our estimates by 40%.

Averse to maintenance ourselves, our goal is to reduce or eliminate maintenance, period. In this case, we designed "CIP"into the system.

Clean-In-Place literally cleans the inside of the unit, similar to a dishwasher. After a year in operation, the result is zero maintenance but still requires periodic inspections. The system is constructed of 100% stainless steel. Even though this was a custom project it took about 10 weeks to manufacture with 6 weeks for the design process.

Project Notes:

Other units would have had to be ground mounted due to the extreme weight:

o RTO system - 100,000 lbs.

o Cyclone Scrubber - 4,000 lbs plus wind loading

o Air Dynamics Scrubber - 2,000 lbs.

This system was 10,000CFM with a stack temperature of 228 degrees and a super-saturated air stream. We were able to use the existing controls from the previous system that provided adjustable flow with a 30% turndown ratio.

This is the first "green" chip manufacturer in the state of Pennsylvania. Other chip makers typically do not have such controls on their fryer stacks. This system has been operating since July of 2010.

About Air Dynamics:

Air Dynamics Industrial Systems Corp. is a custom manufacturer of indoor contaminant control systems. We are a veteran owned small business concern, established in 1991. We offer Dust Collection Systems, Industrial Central Vacuum Systems, Portable Industrial Vacuum Systems, Oil Mist Eliminators, Wet Air Scrubbers, Downdraft Tables, Vacuum Rentals and Industrial Ventilation System Design Assistance

Our home office is in York, PA, servicing all of North America and beyond. For more information, please contact us at info@airdynamics.net,

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