Water in Compressed Air
and Compressed Air Dryers
Dry Compressed Air
Air compressors draw in moist ambient air, that when compressed, doesn't disappear, it remains in the compressed air. In order to remove the water in your compressed air, you must either cool the air or adsorb the water. As such, the two common types of compressed air dryers are REFRIGERATED or REGENERATIVE DESICCANT.
Refrigerated air dryers are simply refrigerators. They work like a fridge to cool the air to just above freezing. By doing that, it reduces the ability of the compressed air to hold moisture so it condenses out of the air in the form of water. The water is then drained off by a condensate drain.
Regenerative Desiccant air dryers work by adsorbing the moisture. One of the two towers has a dried media, usually activated alumina or silica gel. The moist compressed air travels over this media bed where moisture is pulled out of the air. The second tower has saturated media that is being dried using some of the dried compressed air to carry the trapped moisture out to atmosphere; this is the REGENERATION process. The towers switch jobs after a predetermined cycle time.
Whichever dryer type you you use, you should not pump liquid water into the dryer. Removing any water that has condensed out of the air before entering the dryer by moisture traps and automatic drains is key.
Refrigerated air dryers are simply refrigerators. They work like a fridge to cool the air to just above freezing. By doing that, it reduces the ability of the compressed air to hold moisture so it condenses out of the air in the form of water. The water is then drained off by a condensate drain.
Regenerative Desiccant air dryers work by adsorbing the moisture. One of the two towers has a dried media, usually activated alumina or silica gel. The moist compressed air travels over this media bed where moisture is pulled out of the air. The second tower has saturated media that is being dried using some of the dried compressed air to carry the trapped moisture out to atmosphere; this is the REGENERATION process. The towers switch jobs after a predetermined cycle time.
Whichever dryer type you you use, you should not pump liquid water into the dryer. Removing any water that has condensed out of the air before entering the dryer by moisture traps and automatic drains is key.
Chicago Pneumatic compressed air dryers are the answer to the water in your compressed air system.