The use of air dryer compressed in the compressed air world has increased because of the demand for clean, dry compressed air. Air dryer compressed are named as such because they do not use any outside sources for heat. Not only in traditional industrial applications but also in clean industries such as medical, electronics, food, semiconductor, and packaging.

There are many types of air dryer compressed, but they all use different methods of regeneration. The two basic categories of air dryer compressed are heatless and heat reactivated. In this post, we will focus on heatless.

The Advantages

There are many advantages to using an air dryer compressed. The greatest one of all is the lower initial cost of the dryer versus other ones. Here are a few more:

• Low maintenance costs.
• Lower initial cost.
• Capable of achieving very low dew points (-100 °F pdp).
• High reliability due to simplified design.
• Capable of handling inlet air temperatures to 120°F (at reduced capacity).

How These Dryers Work

You may be wondering how exactly these dryers work. Below we will explain how these dryers function and operate.

Maximum Inlet Air Temperature

The maximum inlet air temperature is a very critical factor in using the dryer. The compressed air entering the dryer is normally 100% saturated. Therefore, two factors determine the maximum moisture load that a air dryer compressed sees:

1. Inlet Air Temperature – If the temperature of the compressed air entering the dryer exceeds the design rating of 100°F, the moisture loading capacity of the dryer will be exceeded at maximum load (and the dryer performance will be degraded). The extent of the degradation of performance will depend on what degree the inlet temperature exceeds 100 °F, compressed air flow rate and inlet pressure level.
2. Maximum Inlet Air Flow – The design rating for air dryer compressed is 100 psig. Air pressure above 100 psig will actually increase the capacity of the dryer, while pressures below 100 psig will decrease the capacity.