In an air system, the performance and efficiency of pneumatic tools and machinery depend on the quality of the air they receive. If unfiltered or inadequately filtered air is allowed to flow through the tools or equipment, it can have detrimental effects. Not only can it cause damage and wear down the tools, but it can also lead to an inefficient work environment.
In certain scenarios, maintaining compressed air that is completely devoid of dust, water, oil, and other particles is absolutely crucial. To achieve the desired level of dryness, it is essential to have an exceptional air filter working in conjunction with a high-end air dryer.
To determine the best air treatment setup for your system, it's important to know the difference between compressed air filters and dryers, as well as which setup is right for you.
Article contents:
Compressed air filters and air dryers are a team in creating unrivaled dry air, but what they accomplish individually is different.
Compressed air filters pull out the bulky contaminates - like dust particles, particulates, oils, and liquid water - to prevent equipment damage and to maintain air system performance.
Compressed air dryers are also built to prevent damage in an air system, but their main function is to remove water vapor; known as humidity.
Now that we've talked about the differences at a higher level, let's dive in to understand more:
As the first line of defense, compressed air filters play a critical role in filtering out dust, water, oil and larger particulates.
The type of individual filter or filter package you choose will determine the contaminants that are removed.
For some applications, an air filter package is enough to provide the recommended air cleanliness for that tool or process. Depending on the air standard requirements, an air dryer may not be required.
What is the air filtration process like? In a nutshell, air filters dry air by capturing or absorbing contaminates with each layer they pass through in the filter; but there's more to it.
There are three types of filters: water separators, oil coalescing, and activated carbon. Let's talk about the different types and how they work:
Each filter is created to target specific contaminates. This is to ensure each particular contaminate is fully pulled out of the air flow to give you the purest, cleanest, air for your application.
To explain what they remove, we need a quick lesson on microns:
Microns are used to measure the size of particles that pass through the air. One micron is equal to one millionth of a meter. To put it into perspective, most humans don't have the ability to see less than 30 microns, and a piece of hair is about 70 microns. What this means: these filters are pulling out contaminates that can't be caught by the human eye.
All three filters work similarly. They run well on their own with an air supply, but the more filters added to the process, the dryer and purer air you're going to get. Let's get into what each filter is catching, and how they do it.
Unlike what the name implies, a water separator removes more than just water. Of course it removes the bulk of water, but it also pulls out oil and large particulates down to 10 microns.
A water separator can remove water at a rate of one quart per minute. This is how it's done:
The oil coalescing filter removes bulk oil, aerosols and fine particulates down to .01 microns. This filter runs differently to the water separator:
An activated carbon filter is designed to remove oil vapors and eliminate odors (and even tastes) from the air. Here's how it works:
With the help of an air flow connection, compressed air filters efficiently pull out contaminants. This is accomplished through different processes, with each filter removing a combination of bulk contaminants like dust, water, and oil and smaller contaminants like aerosols and vapors. Having a variety of filters with distinctive functions results in clean air all on their own - but they work better together.
For applications requiring dry air (air without humidity), an air dryer would be required.
Compressed air dryers are vastly different than air filters. They are oftentimes bulkier, heavier, and have one main filter function: to remove water vapor (humidity) from compressed air.
Generally speaking, air dryers are built to accomplish this in one of four ways:
If the goal is to remove or reduce humidity levels in your compressed air system, a compressed air dryer is the perfect solution. By incorporating a compressed air dryer, you will be able to meet or exceed air quality requirements for your tools, equipment, or applications.
In this article, we are going to refer to heatless regenerative dryers for our explanation.
Heatless regenerative compressed air dryers go through two processes to achieve clean air free of humidity: the drying process and the regeneration process.
The purpose of air dryers is to eliminate all moisture from the incoming air flow to ensure the best air quality for any application. Although a simple concept, it extends the life of tools, equipment, and produces incomparable dry air when paired with a pre-filtration system.
A compressed air filters main function is to remove contaminants such as dust, water, oil, and other particulates. In turn, this leads to an efficiently running system, and equipment that lasts.
Compressed air dryers also play a crucial role in compressed air systems, but their main function is more linear. Their purpose is to remove humidity from compressed air systems. This leads to better productivity, reduces maintenance costs, and improves overall quality.
When deciding which drying solution is for you, here is an important question to ask yourself:
Do I need clean air? Or do I need clean dry air?
The choice is yours when deciding if an air filter or an air dryer is the right solution for your compressed air system. Both offer effective ways to filter and dry compressed air - but a combination of both ensures the cleanest, driest air is being used for your applications.
Have more questions about air filters and air dryers? Contact us today.