Compressed air contains substances such as water, oil, and dust. That may contaminate the final products and even increase costs.
So we should choose oil-free or oil-lubricated type air compressor first, then use air treatment such as dryers and filters to produce the dry and clean compressed air to meet your needs.
What is the different between oil-free air compressor and oil-lubricated air compressor?
The difference is the oil content in compressed air.
– For the Class 0 oil-free air compressor, we use water as lubricating medium instead of oil, so there will be no oil at all.
– For the oil-lubricated air compressor, we use oil as lubricating medium, so the compressed air will contain oil. But the use of filters can reduce the oil content down to 0.003 microns.
Should I go with a Class 0 oil-free air compressor or the oil-lubricated air compressor?
First of all, assessing your facility’s needs.
– If your plant can’t tolerate any oil in contact with the product, choose a Class 0 oil-free air compressor is a must. Such as pharmaceutical, food & beverage, hospital, critical electronics, and other industries. To ensure that there is no chance of contamination by oil.
– But, if there is no need for 100% oil-free, the majority of manufacturing, industrial or small workshops use oil-lubricated compressors. Although there is oil in compressed air, they use filters to reduce the oil content. Because it will be more economical.
Do I need clean air?
For oil-lubricated type air compressor, we can find oil and particles in the compressed air. We can use filters to reduce the oil content and particles.
– C grade air filter: Liquid Separator Filter (Oil content:5ppm , Particle:3μ)
– T grade air filter: Particulate Filter (Oil content:0.5ppm , Particle:1μ)
– A grade air filter: Oil Remover Filter (Oil content:0.01ppm , Particle:0.01μ)
– H grade air filter: Charcoal Filter (Oil content:0.003ppm , Particle:0.01μ)
– F grade air filter: High Efficiency Oil Remover Filter (Oil content:0.001ppm , Particle:0.01μ)
Do I need dry air?
All atmospheric air contains water. And when the air is compressed, the water concentration will increase. To avoid future problems in the compressed air system, the wet air needs to be treated by using drying equipment.
- First of all , we need to know What is pressure Dew Point?
Dew point is a measure of the amount of water vapor in compressed air. In other words, the colder the dew point, the less water there is in the compressed air. Simply, it’s the temperature at which water vapor condenses into water.
- Which kind of Air dryer should I use?
Air dryers can help lower dew point temperatures and keep liquid water out of air compression systems. Selecting the right dryer to treat wet compressed air is dependent on the requirements of the machines that use compressed air.
Most industrial and manufacturing facilities can achieve such requirements with a refrigeration air dryer.
While some pharmaceuticals plant, medical operations, laboratory users need an adsorption dryer to supply critically dry air.
– Refrigeration air dryer (Dew point: 2~10℃)
– Heat Regeneration Adsorption Air Dryer (Dew point: <-25℃)
For the costs, the lower the dew point required, the higher the investment and operating costs for air drying.