Compressed air dryers are an essential piece of kit for many applications due to their ability to remove moisture from the compressed air system and pipework. Moisture ingress into the processing equipment signals bad news due to the damaging and corrosive effects which it can cause, which may be detrimental to your equipment. Compressed air dryers typically come as refrigerant dryers and desiccant dryers, each of which posses different technologies to cater to various applications:
Refrigerant Dryers: Generally the most common due to being suited to a wide range of industrial applications and cheaper than desiccant dryers, refrigerant dryers use heat exchangers to cool the compressed air to ~3C, at which point the water condenses and is removed. The air is then reheated back up to room temperature, thus ensuring a moisture free output air flow.
Desiccant Dryers: Through the use of an absorbent desiccant material, desiccant dryers rely on chemical extraction to remove the moisture from the compressed air. However, due to the limited capacity of of the absorbent materials, two separate chambers containing the material is required which both work on an alternating basis; whilst one chamber is actively drying, the other is being regenerated/re-pressurised, in preparation to take over the drying process. Because of this, desiccant dryers are more costly to buy and run, and are usually paired with larger compressors. They also typically produce air with a dew point of -20C to -40C, meaning they are more suited to specialist applications where exceptional air quality is required, such as pharmaceutical, food or electronics applications.
We stock a range of refrigerant and desiccant dryers, each of which posses different technologies to cater to various applications. Should you be unsure as to what dryer will be be suited to your application, please get in touch today and a member of staff will be happy to assist.
Browse our ranges of compressed air dryers below!