A Compressed Air System

A Compressed Air System

 Typical Goals For An Air System

 A reliable source of compressed air.

– In many situations, no air means no production
 An economical cost to produce and distribute
compressed air to the point of use.
– Money is always limited.
 The ability to monitor and distribute the cost of
compressed air to the users.
– There is no such thing as “free air”.
 Compressed Air System Operating Costs

 Cost of energy to operate the driver

 Depreciation (cost to purchase)
 Cost of money
 Space cost
 Installation cost
 Routine maintenance cost
 Repair cost
 Overhaul cost
 Supervisory cost
Real
Real World
World System
System -- “Ideal”
“Ideal” System
System Layout
Layout

After- “Wet”
Pre-
Cooler Receiver Dryer
filter

Compressor

Air Cooled
1000 CFM
Compressor Refrigerated air
oil coalescing dryer with a 400
filter
1000 to 4000 gallon F dew point
receiver
Layout of Components

Compressor
 Air Compressor

Purpose
 Provide power for pneumatic equipment

Benefit
 Safe

 Clean

 Lighter weight equipment

 Types Of Air Compressor

 Divided by energy source

– Electric motor
– Engine
– Turbine
 Types Of Air Compressor

 Divided Compression Technology

– Reciprocating Piston
– Rotary Screw
– Centrifugal
– Other
 sliding vane
 hook and claw
 axial flow
 Types Of Air Compressor

 Divided by Air Quality

– Lubricated
– Oil-Free/Oil-less/Non-Lubricated

– Downstream clean-up equipment can be used to

improve Air Quality
Layout of Components

Compressor
Aftercooler
 Aftercooler (Recommended)

Purpose
 Reduce discharge air temperature

 Typical reduction: ambient

plus 15-250 F
Benefit
 Typically removes 60% of moisture content of

air
 Insures air piping temperature is not a safety

hazard
Layout of Components

Aftercooler

Compressor

“Wet”Receiver
 Wet Receiver (Optional)

Purpose
 Insure reservoir of air is available to system
 Prevent compressor from cycling too frequently

Benefit
 Acts as heat sink to reduce air temperature
 Improves compressor life
 Receivers And Capacity Control

 Rarely does a compressed air system require

100% of the output of the compressor, thus
the capacity control system.
 Capacity control matches the output of the
compressor to the demand on the system
 Receivers And Capacity Control

 Types of capacity control or “unloading”

– Auto start/stop
– Constant speed control
– On-line/off-line control
– Modulation control
– Throttling control
– Bypass control
– Variable Speed
Layout of Components

Pre-
Aftercooler filter

Compressor

“Wet”Receiver
 Pre-Filter (Required)

Purpose
 Remove dirt rust scale

 Remove liquid water

Benefit
 Keep air passages in dryer clean
 Layout of Components

Aftercooler Pre-
filter

Dryer

Compressor

“Wet”Receiver
 Dryers (Recommended)

Purpose
 Reduce compressed air moisture content

Benefit
 Including aftercooler, airline moisture
content is reduced by over 90%
 Reduced maintenance for pneumatic
equipment
 Improved product quality
 Dryers (Recommended)

 Different types or technologies of dryers

– Refrigerated - lowers the temperature of
compressed air to cause moisture to condense,
and then be removed
– Desiccant - adsorb the moisture in the air
– Desiccant dryers produce dryer air, but cost
more to buy and operate.
 Dryer Issues
Moisture Content of Compressed Air
Gal. Water/24 Hr./1000 SCFM

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

with undersized correctly sized

w/o aftercooler
aftercooler refrigerated refrigerated
dryer dryer
 Dryers - Moisture Content
“Rule of Thumb”
Aftercooler 100ºF 80ºF 60ºF

Air Compressor
100% RH 100% RH 100% RH

Effect of Compressed Air

Temperature on sizing of drying
equipment.

A 20º F reduction in temperature

condenses one half the water vapor
in saturated air.

A 20º F. rise in temperature doubles

the moisture holding capacity of the
air.
 Dryers - Moisture Content
“Rule of Thumb”
Aftercooler 100ºF 80ºF 60ºF

Air Compressor
100% RH 100% RH 100% RH

Example: Refrigerated Dryer

Compressor Discharge Dryer Size

1,000 SCFM @ 100º F 1,000 SCFM

1,000 SCFM @ 120º F 2,000 SCFM

 Layout of Components

Aftercooler Pre- After-

filter filter

Dryer
Compressor

“Wet”Receiver
 After Filter (Recommended)

Purpose
 Reduce oil carryover

Benefit
 Improved air quality

 Improved product quality

– Instrument air applications

– Painting
 Layout of Components

“Dry”
After-Cooler Pre-
Receiver
filter

Dryer
Compressor

After-
filter
“Wet”Receiver
 Dry Receiver (Recommended)
Purpose
 Provide a reservoir of clean dry air

to meet fluctuating system demands

Benefit
 When sized and installed correctly

can minimize airline pressure

fluctuations
 Prevents short term capacity

requirements from overloading

cleanup equipment
Real World Systems

Basic
Selection Criteria
 Real World Systems

Design Criteria
 Air Quality

– Moisture
– Oil
– Contaminant
 Pressure Drop

 Demand Characteristics
 Real World Systems
Moisture Content
 Pressure Dewpoint - Temperature at

which water vapor condenses into

liquid in a compressed airline
Rule of thumb:

Select a dewpoint 10-200 F below the

lowest temperature the compressed
airlines will see
 Real World Systems

WARNING:
This applies only to general industrial
application. Specific applications have
specific
dewpoint requirements (i.e.,
paint booths, instruments, etc.)

Contact equipment OEMs

 Real World Systems

Oil Content Terminology

 Oil carryover - the amount of

compressor lubricant or coolant

passed down stream of the
compressor
 PPM - parts per million (by weight).

Industry standard for determining

oil carryover
 Real World Systems
Typical Compressor Carryover Values:

Reciprocating Compressors
Lubricated 50-100 PPM
Non - Lubricated 0 PPM
Rotary Compressors
Oil Flooded 3-10 PPM
Oil Free 0 PPM
Centrifugal Compressors 0 PPM
 Real World Systems

Oil Content Requirements

 Whether the oil is removed at

the compressor or at the point of

use, should be determined by
overall plant requirements
 Real World Systems

WARNING:

Although some equipment may

benefit from (or even require)
lubricant in compressed air,
many other applications (paint
booths, instrumentation)
cannot tolerate it
Again overall system requirements
should dictate system design
 Real World Systems

Contaminant Content
 Dependent on ambient conditions, a

compressor can ingest substantial

amounts of dirt, dust, etc...
 A centralized filter will remove these

contaminants
 Real World Systems

Pressure Drop
 Pressure Drop is the cost of air quality

– Every air clean up device will utilize 2-10 PSI to

perform its function
 Air dryers typically 3-5 PSI
 Air filters typically 2-10 PSI (dependent on how long
the element has been in place)

Remember @ 1/2% energy for each PSI, additional

filters may become needlessly expensive
 Real World Systems

Demand Characteristics
 Receiver size and placement varies

depending on plant demand cycle and

receiver size
 Possible to supply a new intermittent

large air user with a properly sized and

installed receiver tank
 Real World Systems

Demand Characteristics
 The same air user without a tank might

require an additional air compressor

 Old Rule Of Thumb, one gallon of system

capacity for each CFM of compressor

capacity provides minimum reserve volume
 New Rule Of Thumb, size receiver to handle

the largest “event” the system will

encounter.
 How Are We Doing?

 Questions?
 Comments?
 Understanding of Air and the Compression
Process?
 Compressed Air System Understanding?
 What is in a system, and why?
 Ready to move on?