HOW COMPRESSED AIR DRIERS WORK
Compressed air dryers are essential in various industrial facilities. They can be critical in operations where moisture in the air can damage pneumatic systems, cause freezing in pipelines, promote corrosion in metallic parts, etc.
Understanding the different air dryers will help you choose the ideal compressed air dryer for your unique application.
WHAT IS A COMPRESSED AIR DRYER?
Compressed air dryers are equipment designed to dehumidify the air. It separates water vapour from industrial process air by drawing in the humid air and compressing it, raising the air temperature, then cooling it, condensing water vapour out of the unit.
TYPES OF AIR DRYERS
The main types of air dryers include refrigerated, desiccant-type, and membrane type air dryer.
Refrigerated air dryers
Refrigerated air dryers are one of the most common types used in industrial applications. They offer ease of maintenance and are relatively cost-effective. These air dryers are suitable for air-drying applications without special requirements.
Refrigerated air dryers dehumidify air through rapid cooling to about 3°C, condensing the vapour into pure water, and draining the moisture into discharge lines. Then the dry air in the chamber is reheated to room temperature and fed through an outlet.
Refrigerated air dryers are available in cycling and non-cycling, with cycling dryers being 100% duty cycle machines that maintain the dew point at a constant temperature and non-cycling dryers intermittently shutting down and restarting to maintain the required temperature.
Desiccant-type air dryers
Desiccant air dryer systems consist of one tower for drying the air and one tower for regenerating the desiccant. The drying tower contains a porous dehydrated material that traps water molecules as compressed air from the inlet passes over it.
A single tower desiccant air dryer can be used in hazardous and corrosive environments since it contains no mechanical parts that require electricity to operate.
The desiccant air dryers achieve a low dew point, making them ideal for colder climates and industries requiring super dry air.
Heated desiccant air dryer
Heated desiccant air dryers use heating within the drying tower to sufficiently heat the desiccant material.
Heatless regenerative desiccant air dryer
Heatless desiccant air dryers do not contain a heated system in the regenerating tower but use “purge air” to expel moisture from the tower.
Heat of compression
A heat of compression air dryer uses both towers simultaneously to maintain a uniform temperature. This results in lower operating costs but a less consistent dew point.
Membrane air dryers
Membrane air dryers use porous membranes to extract water vapour from process air. They are convenient to use, cost-effective, require less maintenance, and are suitable for low volume air separation.
CONTACT COMPRESSOR VALVES & ACCESSORIES FOR DETAILS
For more information about our range of air dryers, contact a Compressor Valves & Accessories team representative.