With the advanced development and increased use of industrial compressed air systems, there has been a growing need for clean, dry air. The main reason why: because moisture is damaging to compressed air systems.
Moisture that is trapped in a compressed air system will adversely affect the entire operation. For example, moisture has the ability to:
• Adversely affect color and finish of paint applied by compressed air
• Freeze in control lines in cold weather, resulting in faulty control operation
• Quickly cause corrosion of air or gas operated instruments
• Generate false readings
• Interrupt or completely shutdown an entire plant process (it’s that critical!)
Moisture Control is Important for Efficient Operations
Moisture that is accounted for, controlled, and managed correctly will result in the highest possible performance for your entire plant operation. To put this into perspective further, it’s important to understand some of the components of an operation or plant process that are affected by moisture levels:
• Air powered tools that production workers utilize on the job – if a worker begins a task with powered tools that have been exposed to moisture; chances are they will run into issues such as sticky parts and sluggish performance. These setbacks slow the process down and increase operating costs.
• Valves & cylinders – deposits of sludge by dirty, wet air will cause more wear and tear on valves & cylinders, which would require more frequent maintenance intervals. Wall corrosion is also a possibility, resulting in efficiency and production loss.
• Instruments are affected – if a small amount of moisture passes through an orifice, or opening, of an instrument such as a transmitter, integrator, converter, gauge, etc. then malfunction could ensue. All instruments, even thermostats, need clean, dry air to operate efficiently.
The Key is Selecting the Right Compressed Air Dryer
Because dry air is such a critical factor, it becomes even more important in selecting the right compressed air dryer that will be facilitating whether or not your operation will suffer from long-term damage and inefficient, sluggish performance.
As a result, we strongly advise that a professional select the best compressed air dryer for your operation. This is because a professional will possess enough experience & understanding of moisture, it’s application, and dew points which are vital in determining how much compressed air drying is needed.
The fact of the matter is that an operating plant, no matter the application, will need clean, dry compressed air in order to perform at the highest level. This in turn will translate into lower operating costs.
