Toledo Refinery Replaces Diesel Air Compressor with DIRECTAIR®

Overview

At a refinery in Northwest Ohio, compressed air is essential for critical safety systems, process controls, and overall plant performance. For years, the site relied on diesel air compressors to provide backup air during pressure drops. While functional, their system was inefficient: daily fuel logistics consumed time and labor, deployment was slow and the equipment added emissions and noise to an already complex operation. In a market where responsible energy use and efficient infrastructure are increasingly important, backup diesel compressors no longer made sense. 

To modernize operations, the refinery replaced its air compressor diesel setup with a DIRECTAIR® system. The upgrade removed fuel dependency, simplified operations, and provided a cleaner, more reliable approach to backup air. 

  • Customer: Refining 
  • Length of Relationship: 4 years (Since 2021) 

Challenges

Diesel air compressors were positioned across a 1.5-mile site to maintain air supply during pressure dips. However, this setup created more problems than it solved, including: 

  • Each unit required a 500-gallon fuel tank, refilled almost daily 
  • Refueling operations consumed trucks and labor daily 
  • Response to low-pressure drops were delayed by manual deployment of backup air compressors 
  • Diesel units generated significant emissions and noise  
  • Adjusting, expanding or modifying the system would require additional cost and coordination 

The diesel model had become an outdated layer in an otherwise forward-moving operation. It introduced complexity where reliability was most critical. 

Solution

The refinery replaced its backup diesel system with DIRECTAIR®, a fully managed compressed air as a utility model that adjusts automatically when air pressure drops. The system requires no fuel, no deployment, and no ongoing manual oversight. 

Remote monitoring through MANAGAIR® gives the team full visibility into runtime, event response, and performance data. The system also offers the flexibility to adapt as site needs evolve, without requiring new capital investment or fuel infrastructure. 

Results

  • Eliminated diesel fuel use, emissions, and storage, providing a sustainable compressed air solution for primary backup needs 
  • Removed daily maintenance and deployment labor 
  • Improved response time and system availability 
  • Delivered reliable performance with full monitoring through MANAGAIR® 
  • Aligned backup air operations with broader sustainability and efficiency standards 

Conclusion

Compressed air is critical to safe, stable refining, but the method of delivery matters. Backup diesel-powered air compressors brought emissions, delays, and daily resource drain to a system that wasn’t performing efficiently. DIRECTAIR® replaced that model with a smarter, fully managed compressed air solution supporting operational performance and eco-friendly manufacturing.

The time for a more sustainable compressed air solution is now.  

Find out how DIRECTAIR® removes the burden of ownership by reducing risk, waste, and emissions with a cleaner, more reliable compressed air as a utility model built for today’s demands.