Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA)

22 Source: “Fundamentals of Compressed Air Systems” The Compressed Air Challenge The point at which a leakage is identified as a loss depends on the ratio of leakage to overall consumption. Major leakages – where the air leak is clearly audible – are costly and supposed to be rectified immediately. Similarly, medium and small leakages (leakages with a hole diameter of less than 0.5 mm) which can be detected simply by using professional leakage detection equipment are also supposed to be rectified promptly. It is a thumb rule that 20% of the detectable leakages in existing systems account for up to 80% of the avoidable costs. Therefore, it is felt prudent that leakages be fixed immediately which will ultimately save energy as well as cost of production. Leak detection through ultrasonic leak detector Ultrasonic Leak detectors often called sniffer, especially designed to find small leaks, are being used in Power plants. However, Cement Costs per year Leak size - Diameter (mm) Pressure 0.5 mm 1.0 mm 1.5 mm 2.0 mm 2.5 mm 3.0 mm 3 bar 90 € 361 € 812 € 1,444 € 2,256 € 3,248 € 4 bar 113 € 451 € 1,015 € 1,805 € 2,820 € 4,061 € 5 bar 135 € 541 € 1,218 € 2,166 € 3,384 € 4,873 € 6 bar 158 € 632 € 1,421 € 2,527 € 3,948 € 5,685 € 7 bar 180 € 722 € 1,624 € 2,888 € 4,512 € 6,497 € 8 bar 203 € 812 € 1,827 € 3,248 € 5,076 € 7,309 € plants are still lacking use of ultrasonic leak detector. Since ultrasonic leak detectors search for the sounds of leaks rather than escaping gases, they are able to detect leaks of any gas type. Though the device is unable to measure gas concentration, it is able to determine the leak rate of an escaping gas because the ultrasonic sound level depends on the gas pressure and size of the leak. Note: 1 Euro equals 89.41 Indian Rupee as on 06-11-2023 Table: Leakage costs within one year for operation 24 h/365 days, calculated using compressed air costs of 1.9 ct/Nm³. Figure: Leak detection by ultrasonic leak detector