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COMPRESSED AIR - THE 4TH UTILITY
COMPRESSED AIR IS A SAFE AND RELIABLE POWER SOURCE THAT IS WIDELY USED THROUGHOUT INDUSTRY.
APPROXIMATELY 90% OF ALL COMPANIES USE COMPRESSED AIR IN SOME ASPECT OF THEIR OPERATIONS,
H
OWEVER UNLIKE GAS, WATER AND ELECTRICITY, COMPRESSED AIR IS GENERATED ON-SITE, GIVING THE USER
RESPONSIBILITY FOR AIR QUALITY AND OPERATIONAL COSTS.
COMPRESSED AIR IS NOT WITHOUT IT’S PROBLEMS, WITH ALL SYSTEMS SUFFERING FROM PERFORMANCE
A
ND RELIABILITY ISSUES. ALMOST ALL OF THESE CAN BE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO CONTAMINATION, THE
MAIN SOURCES OF WHICH ARE :
There are 10 major contaminants found in a compressed air system, these are:
Contaminant removal
Failure to remove this contamination can cause numerous
pr
oblems in the compressed air system, such as:
•
Corr
osion within storage vessels and the
distribution system
• Blocked or frozen valves, cylinders, air motors
and tools
• Damaged production equipment
• Premature unplanned desiccant changes
for adsorption dryers
In addition t
o problems associated with the compressed
air sys
t
em itself, all
o
wing c
ontamination such as water,
particulat
e, oil and micr
o-organisms to exhaust from valves,
cylinders, air motors and tools, can lead to an unhealthy
working environment with the potential for personal injury,
staff absences and financial compensation claims.
Compressed air contamination will ultimately lead to:
•
Inefficient pr
oduction proc
esses
• Spoiled, damaged or reworked products
• Reduced production efficiency
• Increase manufacturing costs
Purification Equipment Technologies
Bulk Condensed
Water
Water Vapour Water Aerosols
Atmospheric Dirt
& Solid Particulate
Micro-organisms Oil Vapour
Liquid Oil & Oil
Aerosols
Rust &
Pipescale
Water Separator ✓✗ ✗✗✗ ✗ ✗✗
Coalescing Filter ✗✗ ✓✓✓✗✓✓
Adsorption Filter ✗✗ ✗✗✗✓✗✗
Adsorption Dryer ✗✓ ✗✗✗ ✗ ✗✗
Refrigeration Dryer ✗✓ ✗✗✗ ✗ ✗✗
Dust R
emo
val Filter
✗
✗
✗✓✓ ✗ ✗ ✓
Micr
obiological Filter
✗
✗
✗
✓
✓✗✗✗
CONTAMINANTS
1
The largest quantity of contamination introduced into the
compressed air system originates from the atmospheric air
drawn into the compressor and not as often believed,
introduced by the compressor itself. The most prolific and
problematic of the contaminants is water which accounts
for 99.9% of the total liquid contamination found in a
compressed air system.
High efficiency compressed air filtration is not only used
to remove particulate and oil, but more importantly it
removes water aerosols and is key to operating an efficient
and cost effective compressed air system.
Regardless of what type of compressor is installed,
the same level of filtration is required.
The t
able bel
o
w highlights each of the purification technologies required to remove the different contaminants present
in the compressed air system.
• THE AMBIENT AIR BEING DRAWN INTO THE COMPRESSOR
• THE TYPE AND OPERATION OF THE AIR COMPRESSOR
• Atmospheric Dirt
• Rust
• Pipescale
• Liquid Oil
• Oil Aerosols
• Oil Vapour
• Water Vapour
• Condensed Water
• Water Aerosols
• Micro-organisms
• COMPRESSED AIR STORAGE VESSELS
• DISTRIBUTION PIPEWORK