Centrifugal Base-Load Upgrade for a Relay Manufacturer’s 630 m³/min Air Station

A leading relay manufacturer in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, runs its No. 1 compressed air station to supply its production halls. The station had been built up over time with nine screw compressors. As demand grew, the plant needed more capacity. It also wanted to raise the efficiency of the whole station, rather than simply adding another machine.

Relay production is sensitive to air quality and pressure stability, so any upgrade also had to keep supply pressure and dew point under tight control.

A SIND TurboPure MT series centrifugal compressor was added to the station to take the base load. This brought the station’s total capacity to 630 m³/min. The existing screw compressors now cover trim and peak demand, so each machine type runs in its most efficient range: the centrifugal at steady base load, the screws following fluctuations.

The station was also given system-level control and measurement:

• a station master controller that sequences the centrifugal and screw compressors;
• online dew-point monitoring;
• flow measurement for continuous efficiency tracking.

Independently tested by a national testing institute, the station reached the Grade-1 energy-efficiency standard for compressed air stations.

• 630 m³/min total station capacity.
• Supply pressure held within ±0.01 MPa.
• Pressure dew point controlled within 3 °C.
• About 26 million kWh of electricity saved over a 20-year equipment lifecycle (≈1.3 million kWh per year on average).
• More than CN¥19 million (≈US$2.68 million at CN¥7.1/US$) lower electricity cost over 20 years.

Adding a centrifugal base-load machine under station-level control raised capacity and efficiency together, a proven route for large multi-compressor stations.