Ibbenbüren power plant lowers energy needs with 18%
The Ibbenbüren power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has lowered its energy needs with 18%, and still relies on an optimal air flow thanks to oil-free ZB VSD centrifugal blowers.
Product range
Turbo blower ZB VSD+: oil-free high-speed air for wastewater aeration
Compressed air solutions between 0.3 and 1.4 bar(g)/ 4 and 20 psig
Key technical specifications
- Description
- Benefits
- Applications
- Specification
- Product 3D view & digital brochure
- Downloads
- Customer stories
- Related products
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Description
What is turbo blower technology?
Energy consumption is the biggest operational cost for a blower. By choosing an energy-efficient compressed air technology, you can drastically reduce your operational costs. High speed turbo blowers are known for their highly efficient operation, resulting in low energy consumption and total cost of ownership.
We offer you a broad range of ZB VSD⁺ turbo blowers so we can always provide the optimal solution for every application. For wastewater treatment operators in particular, the combination of variable speed control and frictionless operation delivers measurable reductions in both energy consumption and maintenance spend.
Benefits
The benefits of our ZB VSD⁺ high speed turbo blowers
Our ZB VSD⁺ oil-free air turbo blowers, also known as centrifugal blowers, with frictionless direct drive are specifically designed for applications that require compressed air at low pressures. Our ZB VSD⁺ high speed turbo blowers are an ideal fit for the aeration applications on large wastewater treatment plants. Our highly efficient and reliable turbo blowers are designed to ensure you a low total cost of ownership. This often results in a payback of your investment over a short period of time.
Superior efficiency
Our Variable Speed Drive (VSD) units, also known as variable frequency drive units, meet the needs of variable air demand. Applications such as aeration on large wastewater or sewage treatment plants will benefit from having a VSD. A VSD automatically adjust the air deliver to the demand, resulting in energy savings.
The low vibration levels ensure a long lifetime of the components and a low noise level. Reducing noise pollution will help you improve your working environment.
High-quality components, such as our permanent magnet motor, further ensure energy-efficient operation.
A complete turbo blower package
Our high speed turbo blowers are delivered as a plug and play package. All components necessary for operation are included in our offer. This will help you reduce installation costs and makes sure operation is possible upon arrival of your unit.
Quality air
Our ZB VSD⁺ oil-free air centrifugal blowers are Class 0 certified. No oil is from our centrifugal blowers will be added to your production process, which helps you safeguard the quality of your end product.
Optimize your turbo blower room
To further reduce the operational costs of your turbo air blower system we offer you multiple ways to monitor, control, and optimize the performance of your solution.
Our Elektronikon® allows you to monitor and control the running conditions of each unit. When you’re dealing with multiple turbo blower units, an Optimizer 4.0 can help you optimize your complete installation, increasing the efficiency of your blower room.
Our wide range of service plans further helps you to minimize downtime. With a worldwide service organization, there is always a service technician near you.
Applications
Turbo blower applications
The ZB VSD⁺ range is designed for industrial processes that require a continuous, reliable supply of low-pressure oil-free air. Variable speed operation makes it particularly well-suited to applications where demand fluctuates throughout the day or across seasons.
Wastewater aeration
Aeration is the largest single energy cost on most municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants. The ZB VSD⁺ automatically matches airflow to biological oxygen demand, cutting energy waste during low-load periods. Its frictionless direct drive and permanent magnet motor sustain efficiency across the full speed range, without the drop-off seen in older multistage blowers. The Ibbenbüren power plant cut energy needs by 18% using ZB VSD centrifugal blowers, while Putzhagen sewage treatment plant significantly reduced running costs after switching from older blower technology.
Food and beverage processing
Pneumatic conveying, mixing, and packaging lines in food and beverage production require a guaranteed oil-free air supply. The ZB VSD⁺ is ISO 8573-1 Class 0 certified, meaning no oil contamination risk at any point in the process. That makes it suitable for direct-contact applications where product integrity and audit compliance are non-negotiable.
Industrial and process applications
Beyond wastewater treatment, the ZB VSD⁺ suits a range of continuous industrial processes that depend on a reliable low-pressure oil-free air supply.
Aerobic fermentation: Food and pharmaceutical fermentation requires uninterrupted, 100% oil-free airflow to keep biological processes stable.
Pneumatic conveying: Bulk materials such as cement, grain, and food ingredients are routinely transported using low-pressure blower systems, where reliability and uptime are critical.
Pulp and paper: Blowers support oxygenation in on-site biological water treatment, where consistent airflow and oil-free air quality are both process requirements.
Flue gas desulphurisation: Power station scrubbing systems require large, stable volumes of low-pressure air to oxidise sulphur compounds.
Specification
Technical specification
Product 3D view & digital brochure
Explore our ZB VSD⁺ product ranges
Downloads
Customer stories
Turbo blower case studies: real-world energy savings
Atlas Copco Centrifugal ZB VSD blowers reduce cost of supplying high-pressure air to deep sedimentation tanks
The exceptional depth of the tanks at the Putzhagen sewage treatment plant made the air blowers very expensive to run – until they were replaced by ZB VSDs
Lead recycling plant saves 600.000€ yearly with ZB VSD
German lead recycling plant Weser-Metall GmbH saves € 600,000 a year with a unique volume-based flow regulation and ZB oil-free VSD centrifugal air turbo blowers