What to do if compressed air contains water?

What to do if compressed air contains water?

(Sep 11 2021 - Views: 523)

Sometimes compressed air carries water, but industries require high quality and dry compressed air. How to deal with such problems? How is water produced in compressed air? 

Sometimes compressed air carries water, but industries require high quality and dry compressed air. How to deal with such problems? How is water produced in compressed air? 

The harm of high water content in compressed air

  1. The condensed water on the pneumatic equipment will take away the lubricating oil. That can result in low efficiency or even damage to the equipment
  2. Condensate can accelerate the wear of the valves in the pipeline . That causes malfunction or misoperation of pneumatic control equipment
  3. Make piping and equipment corroded. If water freezes at the low point of the pipeline, the pipeline may burst
  4. If the compressed air used for spraying contains water mist, it will affect the adhesion of the paint on the job . That causes the painting to fail.
  5. Because of high water content, it will directly affect product quality. Such as: painting, sandblasting, food, pharmaceutical and other industries.

Reasons and solutions for compressed air with water

Cause Solution
The water in the gas is mixed with the lubricating oil during the compression process. That will reduce the lubricating efficiency and increase the wear of the mechanical parts. In the packing of the glue circulating lubrication, it will cause poor sealing and degrade the lubricating oil. Check the gas-water separator; Discharge the condensate in time if there is a blockage or other faults. If the gas-water separator is not drained in the summer when the air humidity is high, check and deal with it immediately.
If the cooling fins of the cooler of the air compressor are blocked by dust, the compressed air is not cooled well, and the pressure dew point increases. That will increase the difficulty of removing water from the post-processing equipment. Install filter sponges on the windows of the air compressor station, and often blow soot on the cooler to ensure a good cooling of the compressed air. That can ensure that the water is removed normally.
The air supply system contains water. When the temperature is lower than 0 degrees, water will freeze on the inner wall of the duct. That will reduce the pipe diameter. What’s more serious is that sometimes the setting will cause individual pipelines to freeze completely. This hinders work. The phenomenon of icing on the inner wall of the duct in the air supply system:
When the compressed air is discharged after the subsequent start-up operation, the thin ice on the inner wall of the duct will melt. Then it evaporates into the water due to the high temperature of the compressed air. The water will blow out of the duct with the air.
The phenomenon that the pipeline is completely frozen:
Check the air duct regularly. When the air compressor is out of use, do a good job of waterproofing and rainproofing. In the case of low temperature in winter, wrap the air supply pipe with insulation material to protect the air pipe. That prevents the inner wall of the air pipe from freezing.
The dewatering device of the screw air compressor-the steam-water separator is faulty. Regularly check the gas-water separator, and deal with the blockage and other faults in time. If it is found that the air-water separator is not draining in the summer when the air humidity is high, check and deal with it immediately.
The adsorption material used in the adsorption dryer is activated alumina, which is not tightly packed. Cause the dryer to fail, resulting in a large amount of liquid water and slurry in the dust filter. When filling activated alumina, it should be as close as possible to be true, and check and replenish after a period of use.
The compressed air with oil will cause the activated alumina oil to be poisoned and become invalid. Replace the oil separator core and the rear oil removal filter element on time. That can ensure the oil and gas separation of the air compressor and the oil removal filter of the rear oil removal filter. In addition, the amount of coolant in the unit must not be excessive.
The air humidity changes greatly. The drain frequency and drain time of each timing drain valve are not adjusted in time, which can cause more and more water in each filter. This stagnant water can be carried into the compressed air again. The drain frequency and time of the timing drain valve can be set according to the air humidity and experience. If the air humidity is high, the frequency of drainage should be increased, and the drainage time should be increased at the same time. The adjustment standard is to observe that each time the water is drained, the accumulated water can be drained without the compressed air being discharged.
The main reason for the water in the compressed air with the relevant dryer
  1. The air humidity around the air compressor station is high.
  2. The post-processing drying equipment fails.
  3. The configured post-processing drying equipment has insufficient capacity.
  4. A large amount of water in the gas tank is not discharged, so forget to drain it.
  5. There is a problem with the piping design.

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