Oil injected air compressors will also release lubricants into the compressed air system, resulting in increased operational and maintenance costs. Facility operations, like a motor exhaust, release hydrocarbons like oil aerosols into the ambient air, which can compromise air quality and cause equipment failure. Similar to particulates, lubricants can enter your compressed air system from ambient air as well as from the compressor itself. Let’s take a closer look at lubricants and understand the effects they can have on your end product. If your industry has strict health codes and or your equipment is sensitive to oil / vapor exposure, it is crucial to use proper filtration. To assess the potential damage oil can cause to your compressed air system, it's important to understand your equipment and basic industry requirements. This is because small charcoal particles could break out and enter the air stream. It is also necessary to use a dust filter after the activated charcoal filter. If not, this would lead to a breakthrough of the oil into the air system. Activated charcoal filters are commonly used since they attract oil vapor.Īs the oil vapor covers the surface of the activated charcoal over time, it is essential to change the filter before it becomes saturated. This process involves vapors bonding with the surface of the media (adsorbent). As the droplets increase in size, they fall from the filter into a moisture trap, resulting in a cleaner and dryer compressed air stream.Īdsorption: Adsorption is a chemical process used to remove gaseous lubricants or vapors. The coalescing process consists of bringing small droplets of liquid together in order to form large droplets. Coalescing filters are utilized to remove liquids as well as some particulates, while vapor filters use adsorption to remove vapors from compressed air.Ĭoalescing: Coalescing filters are used to remove aerosols and particulates, but are not effective in the removal of vapors. ![]() Two types of filters are used to remove aerosols and vapor. Through diffusion, separation of smaller particles is easier than separating larger ones. Since the particles have a free-range of motion, it is more likely that they become intercepted and removed by the filter media. ![]() ![]() This irregular movement path is caused by the particles colliding with other gas particles, an occurrence called Brownian movement. This makes it easier to eliminate larger particles than smaller ones.ĭiffusion: Diffusion happens when small particles move erratically throughout the surface, instead of following the compressed air stream. However, if the diameter of a particle is larger than the gap of the filter media, it will get caught by the filter media. Interception: Smaller particles can follow the air stream. The larger the particles are, the easier it will be to separate them. Inertial Impaction: Inertial impaction is a process where particles that are too heavy to flow with the compressed air stream get trapped in the fiber media of compressed air. These three forces contribute to the overall efficiency of the filter. There are three main mechanisms utilized in dry particulate filters to remove solid particles from compressed air.
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