Fulfilling a vital role in a compressed air system, a refrigerant dryer cools the compressed air to allow water vapour to condense and then be separated. Clean and dry compressed air helps make sure a system is never compromised.
Furthermore, with many modern production systems and processes demanding high-quality compressed air, in accordance with the air quality classes defined in ISO8573-1:2010, refrigerant dryers have a critical role to play.
To meet this need, CompAir has launched its new CD refrigerant dryer range. Offering air flow rates of to 191.67 m3/min, the range has been designed to ensure consistent dew points at all times, no matter the load level.
The new CD refrigerant dryer range feature patented heat exchanger technology, which has been designed and developed at CompAir’s dedicated air treatment facility in Fogliano, Italy.
The new heat exchangers also include an integrated condensate separator and are available without the traditional inlet and outlet headers, which can often contribute to restricted air flows. This can result in less efficient air-to-air heat transfer, impacting on performance levels.
Each dryer is fitted with a control panel that allows operators to monitor dew point, high/low temperature and the high ambient temperature. These also feature an anti-freeze mode, which automatically shuts the dryer off to avoid freezing, should the cooling side of the refrigerant circuit ever threaten to overpower the warm side.
For those in the EU, there is also the demands of the F-Gas Regulation and the Montreal Protocol to consider. These aim to move end users away from using harmful refrigerant gases to more sustainable options. In response to this demand, the smaller dryers in CompAir’s latest range use the new R513a gas – a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerant blend – instead of the R134a gas, which is still used in many comparative models and is not as environmentally friendly.
The new CD series of refrigerant dryers are covered by CompAir’s Assure warranty, as long as products are maintained in line with the user manual and the owner uses genuine CompAir parts.
Keith Atkinson, Product Manager for Air Treatment & Gas Generation at CompAir, comments: “From lighter load applications, such as air-powered tools in automotive workshops or light processing lines in manufacturing plants, to higher capacity ones, such as those found in large-scale industrial or petrochemical sites, our new CD series of refrigerant dryers can meet a whole range of applications.
“Depending on an application’s requirements, we also offer the CD range with a number of different technologies, including a scroll refrigerant compressor, a programmable electronic drain valve that features a strainer for faster maintenance, and a powerful no-loss electronic drain. This uses state-of-the-art software and a special transducer interface to measure the presence of condensate, and only discharges this when necessary.
The company‘s five dedicated air treatment facilities – a result of Gardner Denver’s merger with Ingersoll Rand – offer service parts to customers.