A refrigerated air dryer cools the compressed air. This lets the water in the compressed air condense and separate from the air. It is an essential part of an air system for applying compressed air drying to a low dew point. In the first step, compressed air comes into the dryer and goes through an air-to-air heat exchanger, cooling the air before going to the next step.
Refrigerated air dryers are essential parts of a system that uses compressed air. Even though moisture is unavoidable in your compressor installation, it can cause significant problems further down the line. Leaving this moisture in your compressor system is not a good idea because it could ruin pneumatic machinery and other parts or contaminate the product.
High or Low Inlet Air Temperature
The temperature of the air coming from the air compressor significantly affects all types of refrigerated air dryers. The higher the air temperature coming into the dryer, the more water vapour it can hold. This means that the dryer has to remove more moisture, which lowers its drying capacity. When the temperature of the air coming in is lower, it can't hold as much water vapour, so drying capacity goes up.
Low or High Inlet Air Pressure
The air pressure coming into the dryer affects all of them. The faster the air moves through the dryer, the less stress there is. This means that either the heat exchanger in a refrigerated air dryer or the desiccant beads spend less time in contact with the air. Because the contact time is shorter, the compressed air does not dry.
When air pressure at the entrance is higher, air speed is slower. This gives the drying medium more time to work with the dried material, which makes the dryer better at drying.
High or low ambient air temperature
High ambient temperature can affect all refrigerated air dryers because it raises the air temperature but affects refrigerated dryers more directly. As the temperature of the air around the dryer rises, it loses heat less efficiently. This makes the cooling process less effective and reduces the dryer's capacity. In an excellent environment, the dryer can get rid of heat more efficiently, which speeds up the cooling process and makes the dryer bigger.
Apply Dryer Correction Factors for Your Conditions
Most of the time, the dryer's documentation has correction factors for conditions that need to be revised. Adding these correction factors to the dryer's rated capacity allows you to determine how much it can hold under your operating conditions. If your working conditions change, use the correction factors for the worst conditions your system will face.
Oversize or Undersize
Some places combine cycling and non-cycling refrigerated dryers to make them more efficient. You should always get dryers for compressed air that are just the right size. If you do this, more water vapour will be left in the compressed air stream after the dryer. So, you might need to get the dryness level (the pressure dew point) that your process, application, or equipment needs. This could damage or break your equipment or make the end product unusable.
One problem with having too big dryers is that they cost more to buy and run. Another problem is that maintenance costs go up, and the equipment does not last as long, especially if it is a refrigerator dryer. Dryers, like all other equipment for compressed air, are made to be used at total load capacity. The dryer's controls are under more stress when the load is light. But the extra cost of "sizing up," even for a desiccant dryer, is small compared to the costs of undersizing in the long run.
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