Omega OM-A-DRY24 Adsorption Dryer | 14 CFM Heatless Regenerated Adsorption Dryer

Omega OM-A-DRY24

Desiccant adsorption compressed air dryer A-DRY has been designed to separate water moisture from compressed air thus reducing the dew point in the system. A-DRY is a range of products offering our customers a wide array of dried air solutions with volumetric flow rates ranging from 6 Nm3/h to 200 Nm3/h. An innovative new design of desiccant adsorption dryer A-DRY, developed with consideration of our customers, enables fast and reliable installation, use and servicing. Installation is simple with our ready to use controller while minimising the number of parts and motions required for assembly and disassembly makes servicing fast and reliable.

HIGHLIGHTS:

OMEGA OM-A-DRY 24 Heatless regenerated adsorption dryer

• Design for continuous separation of water vapour
• Operation of the dryer requires two columns operated alternately.
• Adsorption takes place under pressure in the first column while the second column regenerates with a portion of already dried compressed air at ambient pressure.
• Dryers consists from upper and lower control block, controller with LED display and two columns filled with desiccant.
• Springs in the columns make sure that the desiccant beads will not move during operation.
• Proven robust design enables efficient and reliable operation, fast installation and simple maintenance.
• DRYER RATING ACCORDING TO ISO8573-1

Characteristics

operating pressure	4 to 16 bar
operating temp. range	1,5 to 50 °C
pressure dew points	-40 °C (-25 °C / -70 °C)
flow rate	6 to 200 Nm³/h
standard colour	RAL 5012
average compressed air consumption	15-20%

 

Applications

• compressed air systems

Typical applications for the adsorption dryers are outdoor installations where the risk of freezing occurs and applications with high quality requirements in terms of air dryness (PDP < +3°C) such as the process air in process industry (food and beverage, pharmaceutical, electronic, chemical, …). The most common adsorption dryers are heatless regeneration adsorption dryers due to their simplicity reliability and relatively low investment costs.

Components

Compact A-DRY series dryer consists of upper and lower control block, controller with LED display and two alternately operated columns filled with desiccant. Adsorption takes place under pressure in the first column while the second column regenerates with a portion of already dried compressed air at ambient pressure.

When the first column is saturated to a certain level column switch-over is carried out and the process of adsorption continues in the second column without any drop of pressure at the outlet of the dryer. Regeneration of saturated desiccant is possible because a small portion of already dry compressed air is decompressed and when expanded it becomes extremely dry.

This portion of extremely dry decompressed air also called “purge air” is then fed through the saturated column in the reverse flow direction in order to remove the adsorbed water molecules from the desiccant and release them back to the ambient.

Operating cycles

A-DRY dryers can operate in two operating modes based on setting of the controller.

Fixed cycle mode

Switch over between columns is timer controlled. Due to high quality adsorbent and advanced control method adsorption cycle is extended to 10 minutes resulting in lower amount of switch overs thus lower consumption of compressed air and less wear of vital components.
Adsorption = 5 min
Regeneration = 4 min
Pressure build up = 1 min

Variable cycle mode (Dew point dependent switch over)

If dew point sensor is connected to the controller duration of adsorption can be extended based on reading of the sensor while regeneration is still carried out in just 4 minutes. Operating dryer in variable cycle mode can result reducing average purge air consumption to an extremely low values (even below 3%).

Stand-by mode
A-DRY series adsorption dryers have an option to receive a stand-by signal from the compressor or other compressed air supply. While in the stand-by the air can flow freely through both towers in direction from the inlet to the outlet of the adsorption dryer. Meanwhile the adsorption dryer controller is in the stand-by mode and ready to resume with the normal operation as soon as it gets the appropriate signal. The stand-by signal is relayed to the A-DRY adsorption dryer through a stand-by contact on the controller by a connected switch.

Easy maintenance

Due to innovative column design desiccant replacement can be done in a few minutes. Complete column can be removed from the dryer just by releasing four top nuts and by removing side locking screws. Column can then be refilled or completely replaced with a new one. When the column is removed clear access to the check valve and the purge nozzle is available without the need to dismantle complete adsorption dryer. Valves and membranes are located underneath the lower control block and can be accessed and replaced in a quick and easy way.

Air dryers remove the moisture following the compressed air process. Dry compressed air is a concept with a wide range of meanings and dew point is an indication of how dry the compressed air is or needs to be. While air can be compressed, water cannot be compressed.

Why install a dryer for my compressor?

What would happen if water or moisture entered your machine? Water in wood causes rotting, water in metal causes rust, water in walls create mould. All of these are negative to the bottom line and a headache to any manager. Now in terms of an air compressor, moisture in your machine can damage the compressor, air motors, and valves, as well as possibly contaminate the product. All because a simple air dryer wasn’t installed. The cost of a new air dryer is cheap compared to loss of production.

Why is it important to know the size of my dryer needs?

When sizing an air dryer that keeps up with your application needs; it is important to get the right fit. A dryer that is too large will cause harmful wear and tear long before normal, opposed to having an undersized dryer can lead to poor air quality downstream.

Questions to keep in mind when you are sizing the dryer for your needs:

What is the desired dew point (how dry compressed air needs to be – this will determine whether it is a refrigerated or desiccant style dryer)?
•  How much CFM will your compressor be sending through the dryer, and at what pressure?
•  What are the ambient conditions of the dryer (ambient temperature, elevation, etc.)?
•  What is the inlet temperature of the air going into the dryer?

Answering these few questions will give you a good start on selecting the right dryer technology and the appropriate size for your compressor. Remember, a desiccant dryer consumes 2% -20% of your CFM as purge air during the regeneration cycle of the vessels. With that in mind, you will need to make sure you make the necessary arrangements. If it is a new install, the compressor will need to be sized appropriately to compensate for the CFM loss during the purge cycle. If it is an existing install, you may have to upgrade the compressor. Ambient conditions and correction factors also come into play.

If you have any questions about our Omega OM-A-DRY24 Adsorption Dryer | 14 CFM Heatless Regenerated Adsorption Dryer please contact us, our team will be happy to help!