Energy Industry Noise Control

Memtech Acoustical has been providing noise reduction solutions to the power and energy market for over 20 years.

Energy Producing Industries face a number of noise-related challenges, including the presence of high noise levels in surrounding communities and the potential of high noise exposure levels for employees.

MEMTECH ACOUSTICAL provides economical and practical solutions to these problems. Our team is committed to assisting energy plants in resolving issues dealing with both internal (employee noise exposure) and external (environmental) noise issues. We are familiar with the processes and equipment used for renewable natural gas, shale oil extraction as well as with conventional natural gas and oil refinery operations.

Energy industry equipment, such as compressors, pumps, heat exchangers and combustion-related equipment can create high levels of noise, which is then radiated to surrounding neighborhoods or businesses. This can result in violations of local noise ordinances and the initiation of class-action lawsuits from nearby residents and/or governing agencies. It also gives the impression of being an ‘undesirable neighbor’ within the community. Memtech Acoustical can verify and document current environmental noise levels, and determine the ‘root-causes’ of annoyance and/or legal noise violations. We have the capabilities to develop computer simulations of noise radiation patterns in the surrounding areas, so that effective barriers and enclosures can be modeled and validated prior to purchasing and installing noise-control structures; this eliminates a ‘trial and error’ approach, and assures the most cost-effective solutions.

In addition, high levels of industrial noise has a direct correlation with employee hearing loss, and can have a negative effect on employee morale and productivity. A recent survey found that one of the largest factors related to increasing job performance was the ability to concentrate and communicate without excessive noise and other distractions. In addition, OSHA can levy fines on industrial operations which have high levels of employee noise exposure.

We take a ‘systems engineering’ approach in evaluating difficult noise problems, rather than relying on subjective or ‘rule-based’ problem-solving methods. By using this strategy, the effects and interactions of individual pieces of equipment along with the characteristics of the surrounding boundary conditions allow for a structured problem-solving approach that optimizes the determination of optimum solutions. Systems-engineering analysis can result in the implementation of effective solutions at much lower cost than would be derived when using brute-force methods of simply ‘blanketing’ plants or equipment with expensive enclosures and noise-walls.

Memtech Acoustical has the capabilities and experience to provide noise control solutions for virtually any energy producing or refining operation.