Refrigerated VS. Desiccated Air Compressor Dryer: What’s the Difference?
Air dryers are an essential equipment for delivering quality dry air for various industrial applications - like instrument air, service air or process air.
A clean and consistent supply of compressed air is imperative but ensuring the supply of compressed air is clean and dry is just as crucial.
The atmospheric air contains some level of moisture. High temperatures during air compression further increases moisture retention ability in air, which can lead to corrosion of internal components, or moisture carry-over or a build-up of contaminants such as dirt and other biological materials leading to contaminated production.
For instance, in the food and beverage manufacturing industry, this contamination can cost them thousands of dollars through consumer reporting, product recalls, lost productivity, and bad company reputation. That's why manufacturers need to have a plan in place to prevent contamination in the first place.
The unwanted moisture content needs to be removed to ensure that the connecting pipeline and fittings are not affected and the air quality at end-use application is uncompromised.
That’s where air dryers come into action.
To dry compressed air, the two most popular technologies are refrigerant and desiccant dryers. The two ensure that high-quality dry and dirt-free air is delivered at point of use with necessary downstream filters.
This article will examine the importance of choosing the right air compressor dryer and the differences between desiccant and refrigerated dryers. We will also help you decide the best air dryer for your facility.
What Is the Importance of Choosing the Right Air Compressor Dryer?
Determining the right air compressor dryer is essential as it will significantly impact your compressed air quality, energy consumption and costs.
Before you choose the air dryer for your facility, you must ask yourself the following questions:
1. Am I dealing with one air compressor system or multiple ones?
2. How much compressed air does my facility require?
3. How much dry do I need my compressed air to be?
4. What is the minimum acceptable dewpoint (moisture level) for my application?
5. What kind of air dryer will go best with my compressor operating parameters?
What Is a Refrigerated Air Compressor Dryer?
Refrigerated air dryers are the most popular type of air compressor dryers out there. They follow the exact cooling mechanism as typical air conditioning units in a residential and commercial settings.
The refrigerated air dryer brings the compressed air temperature to roughly +3 °C using an air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger. As the air cools, the water droplets are formed due to condensation. These water droplets are collected in a water trap and removed through an automatic drain valve. The air is then reheated, bringing down the humidity levels and trapping any remaining moisture in the form of vapor.
What Is a Desiccant Air Compressor Dryer?
Desiccant air dryers, also known as adsorption dryers, are used to extremely dry compressed air.
A desiccant air dryer dries the compressed air using a desiccant material filled inside the vessels that may be Activated Alumina, Silica gel, Molecular Sieves or combination of any two. As the air passes through the bed of desiccant materials, the water molecules in the moist air are trapped in the desiccant substance.
A very cost effective technology in desiccant is Heat of Compression Rotary Drum Adsorption Dryer that works on zero loss of air and consumed negligible energy (0.12kW) to deliver very high quality dry compressed air of -40 °C dew point.
Refrigerated VS. Desiccated Air Compressor Dryer: What's The Difference?
- Application
While the refrigerated air dryer uses air from a refrigerant heat exchanger to remove water content from the compressed air, a desiccant air dryer uses a bed of desiccant materials to do the same.
- Cost
Refrigerated air dryers don’t require substantial capital investment and come with low operational and maintenance costs. On the other hand, desiccant air dryers come with low to medium capital investment. However, their ultra-air-drying technology, which brings the pressure dew point to -40 and even -70 Celsius, makes the investment worth it. Desiccant dryers are available as Twin Tower Heatless or Heated Blower type and Adsorption Rotary Drum type.
- Dew point
While refrigerated air compressors are capable of delivering pressure dewpoint of +3° Celsius, desiccant air dryers can ultra-dry compressed air and manage pressure dew points as low as -40 all the way going down to -70 Celsius.
Desiccant Vs. Refrigerated Air Dryers: What Compressed Air Dryer Should I Choose?
Refrigerated and desiccant are the most widely used air dryers for drying compressed air. Whether you should choose a refrigerated or desiccant air dryer depends highly on your application, budget and the location of your air compressor system.
Refrigerated dryers are ideal for general applications to just prevent corrosion in pipelines and formation of water droplets. The modern technology used in these dryers promotes energy efficiency and saves costs. Moreover, the refrigerant gases with a low global warming potential (GWP) make these air dryers environment-friendly. Applications can be found in general across all manufacturing facilities or packaging plants etc.
Desiccant dryers work well in industries or applications requiring higher air quality (lower pressure dew points). They are most suitable for Instrument air applications, medical facilities, pharmaceutical industries, and textile and food factories where compressed air needs to be super dry to ensure that the end products are absolutely contaminant-free and moisture-free.
Install High-Quality Air Dryers with Atlas Copco
Atlas Copco is a premium air compressor manufacturer and supplier. Its comprehensive range of products comprises air compressors, air dryers and other related accessories.
Our extensive range of desiccant air dryers is suitable for various industries and applications with dew points down to -40°C / -70° Celsius. They come with a patented Elektronikon microprocessor based controller that monitors your air dryers’ performances and ensures efficiency with Smartlink feature for remote alarms and monitoring.
We also provide a wide range of refrigerated air dryers that promises minimum costs and maintenance and maximum uptime. The air dryers come with a plug-and-play concept that makes the installation simple and can be supplied with onboard Elektronikon controller for remote monitoring.
If you still have questions regarding the desiccant and refrigerated air dryers, please contact our air dryer experts.
