Manufacturing Meets Creativity

« Back to Home

What Type of Compressed Air Dryer Do You Need for Your Environment?

Posted on

In a manufacturing environment, you need to focus on many different elements and utilities if your process is going to be successful. In fact, you may need to re-create a precisely-managed environment in order to successfully produce certain components or to provide efficient and safe working conditions for your personnel.

One of the most crucial components is going to be the compressed air dryer that regulates the level of moisture in each environment and will typically reduce moisture content in the ambient air. There are many different types of compressed air dryer on the market, but one of the most popular is the refrigerated unit, which comes in two different categories: cycling and non-cycling. What do you need to know about this approach?

How the Process Works

A refrigerated air dryer can be compared to a simple air conditioning unit or home refrigerator, albeit with a different objective. The refrigerator helps to keep the internal temperature cool so that you can preserve your meats and vegetables, while the refrigerated air dryer manages the quality of air in your manufacturing environment.

In order to achieve this, the refrigerated dryer compresses the air to extract and drain the moisture. Once this takes place, the dry air is then reheated so that its dewpoint is in the range of 35 to 40° F.

Noncycling and Cycling

The noncycling version is set up to allow the refrigerant to circulate constantly to process the amount of moisture in the air, no matter its level. It is carefully regulated with a bypass valve so that it can adjust to the load as needed. These machines no longer use CFC refrigerants like R-12 which were deemed to be bad for the environment, but now use a new range of refrigerants that are chlorine-free.

The noncycling version can produce consistent results and a very manageable dewpoint due to its continual operation. However, it won't switch into conservation mode at times when airflow is low. The cycling version uses a refrigerant to cool down glycol, which surrounds the air passage. These can be somewhat expensive to run and are much larger than the noncycling version. However, they consume energy much more efficiently when flow levels are low.

Better Than Desiccant

Refrigerant dryers are felt to be a much better choice than an absorption or regenerative dryer because they are relatively inexpensive to set up or operate and cost less through a typical maintenance cycle.

What's for You?

If you need more information about types of air dryer or need to look into the refrigerated version more closely, talk with a supplier like MTA Australasia for their advice.


Share