Top Uses for BAUER Industrial Compressors

August 24, 2023

Top Uses for BAUER Industrial Compressors

BAUER COMPRESSORS offers essential solutions for a wide array of industries that rely on high-pressure gas and industrial air compression. These compressors play a crucial role in various industries, from manufacturing, energy, aerospace, defense, maritime and many others. Keep reading to learn the most common uses for our industrial compressors.

Pressure Testing

All products and equipment that operate under pressure must undergo testing at pressures higher than normal operating pressure to ensure they are capable of enduring the conditions they will be subjected to without leaks or catastrophic failure. Pressure testing is conducted on a variety of products that span virtually any industry, including pipelines, valves, automobile parts, pressure cylinders, tubing, and much more. Every fitting and fastener is a potential failure point for equipment that operates under pressure. High-pressure air and nitrogen are typically the preferred gases used for pressure testing, and BAUER’s high-pressure compressors and boosters are an excellent solution to provide a consistent supply of these compressed gases, saving money when compared to purchasing merchant-supplied gas while minimizing downtime and preventing manufacturing delays.

Maritime

Every commercial shipping vessel in the world relies on high or medium-pressure compressors. They play an essential role in engine startup and shutdown, braking, providing control and instrument air, as well as working air. The working air on ships is used for various purposes, such as valve actuation, leak top-up, fog horns, and other controls. It is also utilized during ship maneuvering to kick the propellers into action. Many ships have 2 or 3 main compressors. BAUER manufactures a number of ideal compression solutions for maritime vessels with features like a compact design, low center of gravity, and the ability to operate with complete efficiency at inclinations up to 30° as experienced during sea travel.

Laser Cutting

Laser cutting operations rely on high-pressure nitrogen, air, or pure oxygen to create a controlled atmosphere for precise and high-quality results. Because nitrogen acts as an unreactive and inert gas under most conditions, it is considered the gas of choice, and not only does BAUER manufacture nitrogen compressors, they also manufacture Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) nitrogen generators and membrane nitrogen generators capable of producing nitrogen from the air. In applications where it is possible, compressed air is a more economical solution. The introduction of one of these compressed “cutting gases” to the laser beam creates an exothermic reaction that transfers heat more effectively than the beam alone. BAUER’s compressors and boosters can accommodate the proper pressures (between 290 to 5000 psig depending on the application) to ensure precision, speed, and efficiency.

Rare Gases

Not only does BAUER offer industrial air compression and nitrogen compression and generation, our product line includes compression and recovery solutions for rare gases such as the inert gases helium and argon. Both prized for their being inert, they each have their strengths in different applications.

Helium is the best gas for detecting small leaks in equipment due to its small molecular size (only hydrogen has a smaller size, and its volatile reaction with oxygen precludes it for use as a leak detection gas). But helium is so rare on earth that its cost can be prohibitive when another inert gas, such as argon, could also function. BAUER’s helium line has been used in numerous applications we covered in a previous blog post, including cryogenic research in national labs and universities, as well as helium products for particle accelerators, military missile applications, commercial merchant gas filling plants, heliostat applications, rocket launching, and nuclear medicine.

Argon gas mixtures are often used in welding because they impart more energy from the torch to the welding surface than helium, making argon gas mixtures the typical choice for MIG and TIG welding. Argon also has medical applications such as argon laser treatments, and it also works particularly well, creating a non-corrosive atmosphere in additive manufacturing (3D printing), a method of producing products that can use up to 90% fewer resources than conventional manufacturing. Argon is also used in the creation of certain grades of stainless steel in a process called argon oxygen decarburization. You can learn more about argon in another previous blog post.

Energy Industries

BAUER compressors are widely utilized in the energy sector for various applications. They play a role in conventional energy, as well as a number of other energy fields such as natural gas, hydrogen, nuclear and steam power plants. Our compressors can be found providing air for pneumatic brakes in hydroelectric turbine operations, starting air for turbines and pistons, adjusting turbine blades and governor valves, preventing pulsation and cavitation, and eliminating air from water to facilitate the smooth startup of hydroelectric dams. Our compressors are also used to fill high-pressure accumulators located in wind turbines to modulate the pitch of the blades.

BAUER is committed to being a part of the solution for a greener future and has also invested heavily into developing and implementing technology that can be used in alternative and renewable energy. We have become an established brand for providing compression for membrane filtration in biogas upgrading, which turns organic waste into fuel-grade Rewable Natural Gas (RNG), which is renewable and chemically identical to natural gas.

Energy Industry Adjacent Applications

BAUER also manufactures fleet fueling compressors. We have hydrogen compressors for use in fueling stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which produce only electricity and water (or water vapor). We also have CNG compressors that fuel natural gas powered vehicles. Natural gas reduces our dependence on foreign oil, burns cleaner and produces fewer pollutants than diesel and gasoline (with no loss of power), and it costs about 1/2 to 3/4 as much as gasoline or diesel.

BAUER manufactures virtual pipeline compressors for filling and evacuating tube trailers, to transport CNG and RNG from areas without pipeline access to places where it can be utilized. Additionally, we manufacture compressors to help natural gas pipeline operators reduce methane emissions with pipeline centrifugal compression methane recovery and pipeline cross-compression to prevent large volumes of natural gas blowdown or atmospheric release.

BAUER can provide a complete turnkey system for almost any demand, and we offer a number of modular systems that can plug in to existing operations. For special requirements, BAUER can modify a standard package or design a custom package specific to the customer’s needs. Our lineup has models capable of an impressive range of pressures from 350 – 7000 psi. Air-cooled, continuous-duty rated systems are available from 1.5 – 150 HP, and water-cooled, continuous-duty systems from 40 – 400 HP.

Our compressors come equipped for the BAUER CONNECT® service, so you can monitor and operate your compressor remotely, receive notifications if your system is operating outside of normal parameters, and more.

Quality is the guiding principle of BAUER, and we are committed to producing the best equipment in on the market with unparalleled lifecycle support and reliability to give our customers the lowest lifetime cost of ownership. BAUER is committed to finding ways to implement our technology for a greener future.

To learn more about how our compression solutions can benefit your operations, email our team of experts at: industrialair@bauercomp.com

You can also visit our website at bauercomp.com, where you can navigate to all of our solutions.

James Womack