Use of CALMS in High‑Pressure PET Blowing: 11% Power Reduction with CALMS CFC + CAL EDGE PM

Industry: Packaging (PET bottle blowing)
Location: Europe (project delivered by 7bar Poland)
Partner: 7bar Poland
Presented: CALMS Partner Meeting 2025 (case shared by Piotr Kozakiewicz)

Summary

A high‑pressure PET blowing line powered by a 200 kW, 18 m³/min compressor was consuming more energy than necessary due to pressure overshoot and venting to atmosphere during blow cycles. By installing the CALMS CFC Flow Controller (“muscle”) and orchestrating it with CAL EDGE PM (“brain”), 7bar Poland lowered the average line pressure while stabilizing demand, cutting compressor power by ~11% during comparable operating windows. Under standard operating assumptions, the project delivers ≈ €14,800 in annual energy savings with ROI under 12 months—without changing existing compressor hardware.

Customer challenge

High‑pressure PET blowing is inherently dynamic: short, high‑flow bursts are followed by idle periods. In this plant, that profile led to:

• Unnecessarily high network pressure to “cover” peaks.
• Frequent discharge to atmosphere—energy literally blown off between cycles.
• Compressor run inefficiency in 100%/50% load mode.

As 7bar succinctly puts it: lower the pressure you need, and you lower the flow (and money) that’s vented away.

Solution

7bar deployed a closed‑loop flow and pressure control built on CALMS hardware and analytics:

• Hardware & sensing

• • Compressor: AF CE 46A, 200 kW, 18 m³/min, operated in 100%/50% load mode.
  • Dryer: refrigeration type.
  • Pressure taps: PI01 upstream and PI02 downstream of the CFC valve to measure differential behavior.
  • Control element: CFC (flow/pressure regulation valve).
  • Power metering: AFC moc on the compressor.

• Control & visibility

• • CAL EDGE PM acting as the supervisory controller (setpoint handling, valve orchestration, and data capture).
  • Continuous monitoring of pressure, valve position, and power to verify results and tune setpoints.

What changed after commissioning

Immediate stabilization: Operators saw a “visible change” on start‑up: the CFC modulated demand to the PET blowing machine so the network could run at a lower, steadier pressure with fewer blow‑offs to atmosphere. The CFC handled fast flow swings; CAL EDGE PM kept pressure where it needed to be—no higher.

Measured results

Two like‑for‑like production windows were compared:

Date & window (2023) May 12, 06:00-22:00: CFC Status Off; Avg. sys. pressure: 33.61 barg; Avg. compressor power: 151.5 kW
May 24, 06:00-22:00: CFC Status On; Avg. system pressure: 31.09 barg; Avg. compressor power: 134.91 KW

Before


After


Outcome: ~2.5 bar lower average pressure and ~11% lower average power (134.91 / 151.5 = 0.89).

A same‑day, same‑bottle production check also showed ~6% less energy (15.41 kWh vs. 14.48 kWh), indicating savings are repeatable at the batch level.

Annualized impact (as presented):

• Operating profile: 80 hours/week, 50 weeks/year.
• Energy price: 0.96 PLN/kWh.
• Estimated savings: ≈ €14,800 per year.
• ROI: < 12 months.
  Savings vary day to day with production, but averaged ≥ 5% in daily comparisons during the study window.

Why it works

• Pressure right‑sizing: Every bar above need inflates leak rate and increases discharge losses; controlling flow to the process allows the header to run at the lowest effective pressure.
• Fast flow control at the point of use: The CFC dampens demand spikes, reducing compressor cycling and wasted venting between PET blowing strokes.
• Closed‑loop governance: CAL EDGE PM coordinates compressor behavior and valve position using real‑time pressure and power feedback.

Implementation notes

• Instrumentation first. Upstream/downstream pressure sensing (PI01/PI02) and power metering were critical to quantify the baseline and prove savings post‑install.
• No compressor swap. The improvement came from control and distribution, not new generation assets.
• Scalable practice. The same method (CFC + EDGE PM + metering) can be replicated to other high‑pressure users and rooms. 7bar regularly applies this approach across >100 compressor rooms they supervise.

Partner profile: 7bar Poland

• 14 years in operation; 500+ leak detection audits completed.
• 1,100+ compressors measured; >300 compressors controlled across 100+ rooms.
• Demonstrated annual client impact: >13,500 MWh saved, €1.28 M annualized savings, and >10,000 t CO₂ avoided.
• Their ethos: “We do not sell compressors. We lead to switch them off.” 

Data snapshot (as presented)

• Process: PET bottle blowing machine (high‑pressure air).
• Generation: AF CE 46A compressor, 200 kW, 18 m³/min, 100%/50% load mode.
• Controls: CFC valve + CAL EDGE PM controller.
• Key metrics:
• • Pressure: 33.61 → 31.09 barg (avg).
  • Power: 151.5 → 134.91 kW (avg, ~11% reduction).
  • Batch energy: 15.41 → 14.48 kWh (~6% reduction).
  • Financials: ≈ €14,800/year savings, ROI < 12 months (at 0.96 PLN/kWh).

Conclusion

This project shows how precise flow control at the process—coordinated by CAL EDGE PM—can unlock double‑digit power reductions in high‑pressure applications like PET blowing, simply by running at the pressure you truly need and eliminating waste between cycles. The result is lower energy cost, reduced emissions, and a more stable process—validated by data, not assumptions.

Credits & source

Case details and performance data were presented by Piotr Kozakiewicz (7bar Poland) at the CALMS Partner Meeting 2025.

**Interested in replicating these results?**CALMS Air Inc. can assess your compressor room, instrument the right points, and deploy CFC + CAL EDGE PM control to capture measurable savings. Let’s talk about your pressure setpoints, not just your compressor nameplates.