Refrigerated Air Dryer Dew Point
An ideal solution to the problem of compressed air applications that are sensitive to dew point is to use air compression systems with dryers that can remove moisture from your compressed air.
Refrigerated air dryer dew point. The compressed air is cooled in an air to refrigerant heat exchanger to about 35 f a temperature where the moisture condenses and is drained off. What to look for when buying one. It is not possible to achieve dew points below freezing with a refrigerated dryer. The lowest pressure dew point class for a refrigerated dryer air compressor is class 4.
The air is then reheated in an air to air heat exchanger by means of the incoming air which also is pre cooled before entering the air to refrigerant heat exchanger. They can get dew point to as low as 40 degrees below zero. The compressed air leaving the dryer has a pressure dew point of 35 to 50. This means that the compressed air leaving the dryer has a pressure dew point of 35 to 40 f.
Refrigerated dryers can make the air reach dew points around 36 degrees f but it cannot achieve a dew point below freezing. Class 4 delivers a pressure dew point of 38 f. A regenerative desiccant dryer typically delivers a dew point of between 40 c 40 f and 73 c 100 f a refrigerated dryer delivers a dew point not lower than approximately 2 c 35 f a deliquescent dryer delivers a dew point suppression that fluctuates with air temperature. An air to air heat exchanger is used to both pre cool the incoming air and re heat the outgoing air as it leaves the dryer.
One of the benefits of a desiccant air dryer over a refrigerated dryer is that it can operate at a consistently low dew point. Desiccant air dryers absorb water vapor from the air stream and can drop dew point significantly more. Refrigerated air dryers use a heat exchanger to condense water out the of air stream. The highest pressure dew point for a refrigerated dryer is class 6.
That means that there s still some water vapor leftover in the air. Optimally designed refrigerated dryers can produce air with dew points to approximately 36 f 2 c. A typical air compressor will produce air with a dew point as high as the compressor room temperature. Example of a refrigerated compressed air dryer.
This one is installed after a rotary screw compressor atlas copco ga37 37 kw compressor. Refrigerated dryers work by cooling the air around them and making it cooler thus condensing a lot of the water vapor. There are a few key points to keep in mind when shopping for a refrigerated compressed air dryer. They can usually produce air that has a dew point no lower than 5 degrees celsius 41 f.
If your application requires ultra dry air iso quality classes 1 2 3 or is likely to operate in below freezing conditions this is the best option for your compressed air system. Refrigerated dryers should not operate below the class 4 range because the water vapor will freeze in the dryer.