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Air dryer suits sensitive applications

A Parker Hannifin - Parker Sales UK product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 15, 2006

Membrane air dryer combines coalescing technology with a membrane system to supply clean, dry compressed air with dewpoints down to -40C.

Parker Hannifin has introduced the Balston Smart Dryer, a membrane air dryer that combines coalescing technology with a membrane system to supply clean, dry compressed air with dewpoints down to -40C.

Suitable for sensitive applications, including pneumatic equipment, analytical instrumentation and general laboratory air supply, the 5000 Series membrane air dryers reduce operating costs and eliminate downtime and repairs that can result from dirty, wet compressed air supplies.

Performance is claimed to be better than non-cycling and cycling refrigerant air dryers.

The dryers operate by passing compressed air through a high efficiency coalescing filter that removes 99.99% of oil and water droplets and particulate contamination down to 0.01um.

The liquids removed by the filter cartridge drip into the bottom of the housing, where an autodrain assembly automatically empties them.

The air leaving the prefilters is therefore laden only with water vapour, which is then removed using selective permeation through a membrane.

The membrane module consists of bundles of hollow membrane fibres, each permeable only to water vapour.

As the compressed air passes through the centre of these fibres, water vapour permeates through the walls of the fibre, and dry air exits from the other end of the fibre as the retentate.

A small amount of the dry air (regeneration flow) is redirected along the length of the fibres to carry away the moisture.

The remainder of the dry air is piped to the application.

The drying power of the membrane is controlled by varying the compressed air flow rate and pressure.

The air consumption is continuously monitored and the system automatically adjusts the regenerative sweep flow as required, without the need for an electrical supply.

The dryers have been engineered for easy installation and operation, and long term reliability, and as they incorporate coalescing filtration and membrane, they provide low cost operation and require little maintenance.

The units can operate unattended continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the only maintenance required is changing the prefilter cartridge once a year, which takes about five minutes.

Available in six models, the dryers are supplied complete with prefilters, auto drains and membrane modules all assembled in a cabinet with inlet and outlet ports mounted on top for easy installation.

Find out more about this article. Request a brochure, download technical specifications and request samples here.

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