System Analysis and Opportunities for Optimization of Pneumatic Systems in Manufacturing Plants

Compressed air is a reliable source of energy that is widely used in industry and service sectors thanks to the ease and safety of production and processing. In most industrial facilities, compressed air is needed for many aspects of their operations. The nature of the respective production (industry), its scale and the structure of the technological equipment, the life cycle stage, make the task of optimizing pneumatic systems multivariate. In view of this, it is difficult to find a single solution for improving the energy efficiency of using compressed air. The present work aims at systematizing the main factors, the degree of their influence and the possibilities of saving of pneumatic energy. The analysis and evaluation were performed on the basis of quantitative indicators from leading industrial companies in Bulgaria.