Airchannel Helps With R-22 Refrigerant Phase Out

Airchannel is helping companies comply with legislation that phases out and removes the refrigerant R-22 from their compressed-air systems. Under EU Ozone Regulation EC2037/2000, the use of virgin R-22 refrigerant will be banned from the end of this year, as it contains ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). R-22 is used in a range of industries.

From January 2010 to January 2015, recycled HCFCs will be permitted but it is expected that supplies will be limited. For companies using R-22 within their compressed-air system, this could result in a significant operational headache. The likelihood of compressed-air systems using R-22 as a coolant increases significantly for equipment that is more than 10 years old. However, the legislation also represents an opportunity to help resolve two major issues facing industry - the rising cost of energy and environmental compliance.

Andrew Barraclough, national sales manager for Airchannel, said: 'R-22 will be totally phased out from the start of 2015 and relying on recycled HCFC is a risky strategy. 'To minimise the impact on their organisation, both operationally and financially, companies should address the issue as a priority. 'Essentially businesses have three choices. 'If it fits into the legislative timetable, they can run their chilling equipment to the end of its life and then install new technology.

'The alternatives are to remove the R-22 refrigerant and replace it with another compound that is suitable for their current systems and that complies with the legislation, or outright new equipment.' Airchannel has the expertise to make the required changes or advise if new equipment will be needed to comply with the legislation. It has worked with several customers in earlier gas-removal programmes and is now bringing its up-to-date knowledge of legislation and technical solutions to bear on the issue of R-22.

A number of new products have been put forward as potential replacements for R-22, although some require greater pressures that would have major implications for system components and current system designs. With higher-pressure gases there are several potential problems, such as whether the system can sustain the new pressure, requirements for all-new control switches and difficulty of oil changes inside the refrigerant. As a result this may not be a viable option on the grounds of cost.

However, Barraclough believes the phase-out of R-22 should be viewed as an opportunity that will ultimately offer operational efficiency and has the potential to reduce day-to-day energy costs. He added: 'Some companies are using the R-22 issue as an opportunity to review their entire systems, which has become even more important with the recent increases in energy prices.

'Airchannel has looked to improve efficiency and provide overall savings benefits through updating systems, advising of changes in operational practice or, as a last resort, replacement equipment. 'It is very easy for businesses to take their systems for granted. 'But this is an issue that has a deadline and needs addressing to ensure the appropriate action can be taken in time.' Any company in doubt as to the coolant used in its compressed-air system should contact an independent expert to arrange for an assessment as soon as possible.

E-Xact Helps Travis Perkins Access Product Info

Travis Perkins to give customers access to E-Xact Online, an industry-standard data format with many benefits to builders merchants, manufacturers and suppliers to the construction industry. Maintaining reliable and up-to-the-minute data for its staff and customers is of paramount importance to Travis Perkins, a business justly proud of its service and customer relations.

The company has confirmed its on-going support for e-Xact Online, with a campaign to sign up new suppliers and to enhance the quality of information from existing suppliers. Members have access to information from hundreds of suppliers, covering more than 300,000 separate products, as well as images, health and safety data and pricing. Travis Perkins has been a member of the e-Xact community since its inception in 1999.

"The e-Xact service has come a long way in ten years and has managed to increase it's relevance to our business" says Sean Sinclair, Head of Data Management at the company. "The people at e-Xact are always looking to add new features, giving us and our suppliers more reasons to use the service and providing an ever increasing supply of information".

As well as using e-Xact's product data sets in its internal systems, Travis Perkins makes the information available via its web sites and at point of sale. Live data is held on over 150,000 products, many with images, COSHH data and technical files the majority of which are sourced from e-Xact. Sean is particularly impressed with the additional rich content available to e-Xact users, such as COSHH data, technical files and product images.

"More and more, our customers require us to supplyCOSHH information on the products we distribute and we push that burden back onto our suppliers and manufacturers". "With e-Xact, they only have to provide that data once, so suppliers who are not e-Xact users are at a distinct disadvantage". Using e-Xact means that it is easier to provide the 24/7 data access required by Travis Perkins' systems, in a consistent format using the same standards throughout.

Robotics Collaboration Helps Save Lives

Adept Technology and Prosurgics have reached an agreement to collaborate on the design and development of the next generation of Prosurgics' surgical robotic systems for image-guided neurological and soft tissue surgery. The surgical robotics market in the USA alone is forecast to be worth approximately US $2.5 billion by 2011 (BCC Research) with an expected average annual growth rate of 43% in the period 2006-2011.

Examples of the emerging surgical robotics market include cardiac and prostate surgery. Surgical robots are now performing more than 50% of prostatectomies in the US.

Clinical outcome data for this kind of surgery has shown superior patient outcomes while at the same time delivering a compelling economic benefit.

'The surgical robotics market requires very high precision products with no room for error', said Rob Bucher, Adept's Chief Executive Officer.

'Our goal in working with Prosurgics is to create technology platforms that can be used in a range of surgical systems, thereby lowering these systems' total cost of ownership and expanding the reach of our technology throughout the surgical market'.

'Prosurgics' technology and commercial strategy is complementary to our own and will strengthen Adept's position in this important high-growth market allowing us to more quickly address the market'.

Paul Moraviec, Prosurgics' Chief Executive said 'Adept's position in advanced robotics will enable us to jointly develop competitive and innovative surgical robotic solutions, optimising time to market and reducing cost'.

'Our vision is to provide affordable products that enable surgeons to deliver improved outcomes to their patients and that will optimise economics for healthcare providers'.

Guide Helps Users Cut Compressed Air Costs

EnergAir has released a free guide to reducing costs in compressed air systems. Challenge Convention in Compressed Air details several ways to improve the energy efficiency of compressed air systems. Aimed at plant managers, site maintenance managers and energy managers the intention is to help address preconceived ideas about compressed air generation (one of the major energy costs to industry) that are currently the cause of huge amounts of energy waste, the alternatives can add literally tens of thousands on the bottom line.

'The industry needs to challenge convention on compressed air in order to realise the savings that can be made', according to Peter Tomlins of EnergAir UK. EnergAir believes that it can provide vital knowledge regarding the purchasing and integration of variable speed compressors, compressor sizing, balancing system pressure, providing visibility of actual energy consumption, and monitoring saving when changes are made, information that would not normally be available to individual plant and maintenance managers.

The brochure also contains real examples of how savings have been made by leading UK manufacturers such as Britvic and the equipment used to achieve those savings. The guide also aims to dispel some myths about how much difference new equipment can make without being properly integrated and offers advice on how to get the best from an existing compressor installation. The EnergAir guide to reducing the running costs of compressed air systems is available in paper format free from EnergAir and as a high-resolution pdf from the company website.