Handle with (dry) air

November 15, 2022

Air is everywhere around us, always available, not aggressive nor explosive, cost-free, and almost perfect. Yes, almost. There is one disadvantage with air. It still contains water, and water is not something you would want in a compressed air system.

It's in the air, and not just tonight.

Atmospheric air is a mixture of different gasses of which the composition is nitrogen, oxygen, and “others.” The latter is mainly Argon. In addition to this, the atmospheric air always contains water in vapor form. It varies from 1 to 4%. The temperature determines the possible amount of water that can be held in vapor form in the atmospheric air. The warmer the air, the more vapor it contains. 

When water, even in the smallest possible amount, finds its way in a compressed air system, it can have serious consequences. Rust, reduced quality of spray paint, shorter pneumatic tool life, damage to the end-product, etc.

Atlas Copco Rental CD dryer being delivered at a high-pressure and dry air application sit

High or low and dry.

The solution to these problems, and elimination of costs caused by them, is drying of the compressed air. Atlas Copco Rental has two categories of dryers in the fleet. CD dryers and FD dryers.

CD dryers are desiccant, air cooled, air dryers. The advantage is that these dryers have very low dew point levels. When it comes to using them in the field, there is no need to be gentle. The CD dryers usable in extreme outdoor conditions because a robust and portable frame protects it. The dewpoint is -40° to -70°C. It is the combination of these characteristics, which make them ideal for applications such as pipeline drying or generating instrumentation air.

Our FD refrigerant dryers eliminate system failures, production downtime and costly repairs by removing moisture from compressed air with a pressure dewpoint as low as +3°C/+37.4°F. The unique design of the heat exchanger significantly improves the dryer lifetime. Advanced control functions ensure dry air at all conditions and prevent freezing at low loads. Atlas Copco Rental can you with a total solution consisting of dryers, compressors, accessories, etc. 