Refrigerated vs.

Desiccant Dryers - Choosing the

Right One
Don Van Ormer
APenergy
Keynote Speaker Sponsored by

The recording and slides of this webinar will be

made available to attendees via email later today.

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within 2 days
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Refrigerated vs. Desiccant Dryers - Choosing the Right
One
Introduction by
Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Sponsored by
 About the Speaker

• Auditor, APenergy

• 24+ years of experience in the

compressed air consulting
industry

Don Van Ormer Sponsored by

APenergy
• DOE CAC AIRMaster +
Specialist

• Performed hundreds of
system audits and air system
training seminars
Dryers: Refrigerated and Desiccant
Cycling Refrigerated Dryers – How They Work

Scroll
Cycling Refrigerated Dryers – How They Work

Heat Sink
Cycling Refrigerated Dryers – How They Work

Freon Flooded /
Flooded Evap
Non-Cycling Refrigerated Dryers

Direct
Expansion
 Desiccant Dryers -40°F PDP Class

• Heatless 15-20% Purge

• Heatless w/Purge Economizer 7-8% Purge
• External Heat 7-9% Purge
• Blower Purge 0% Purge
• Heat of Compression 0% Purge
With dew point demand controls the purge air demands can be reduce to approximately
half of the normal demand.
 Desiccant

Activated Alumina Silica Gel Molecular Sieve

Action as shown from a desiccant dryer: 100°F to -40°F with 40°F pressure dewpoint.
Air exists in the dryer at about 100°F. Note: Will not dry at all over 130°F
Heatless Desiccant
External Heat Desiccant
Blower Purge Desiccant
 Heat of Compression
Twin Tower
Rotary Drum
Dew Point Demand Controls
Benefits of Decentralized Dryer with -40°F Dew Point
Heated Blower Heated Blower
Cycling
Purge with PDP Purge with PDP
Refrigerated
Controls Controls
Dryer capacity (scfm) 3,000 500 3,000
Average demand load 2,000 300 2,000
Dewpoint +38°F PDP -40°F PDP -40°F PDP
Dryer cost $ $60,148 $26,686 $131,789
Dryer installation cost $ $30,074 $13,343 $65,895
Total capital cost $ $90,222 $40,030 $197,684

Annual maintenance - filters $ $6,000 $8,000 $15,000

Annual desiccant replacement cost $ $870 $5,222
Total annual maintenance cost $ $6,000 $8,870 $20,222

Heater kW 12 84.9
Heater utilization rate 45% 50%
Blower compressor hp 5 20
Blower utilization rate 60% 66%
Dryer full load kW 16.9
Cycling dryer utilization 23%
Total average power use (kW) 3.8 7.8 52.7
Annual energy use $ $2,953 $6,037 $40,644

Total annual cost $ $19,494 $19,584 $83,962

 APenergy – Effective Energy Solutions
Thank you for attending today’s webinar.

Name: Don van Ormer

Email: [email protected]
Phone: (740) 862-4112

www.apenergy.com

Questions?
Please feel free to reach out – we’d be happy to help!
 About the Speaker

• Product Manager – Desiccant

Dryers & Custom Products, BEKO
Technologies

• 16 years of experience in the

compressed air industry
Jason Brister Sponsored by
BEKO Technologies
• BS in Mechanical Engineering
Drying Solutions for Instrument Air Systems

Jason Brister
Sr. Product Manager
BEKO Technologies, Corp.
Truth In Compressed Air

23
Instrument Air – What Is It?

Treated compressed air: higher purity level than typical “plant” (general purpose) compressed air

Globally-recognized standard published by International Society of Automation (ISA) – previously

known as Instrument Society of America:
› ANSI/ISA-S7.0.01-1996: Quality Standard for Instrument Air

24
Instrument Air – What Is It?
› Instrument air standard defines limits for primary contaminants:
› Particulate
› Water
› Oil

Compressed Air Specifications

ANSI/ISA—S7.0.01-1996
Contaminant: Particles Water content Oil content

Limit: < 40 µm particle diameter PDP < +39°F ≤ 1 ppm (w/w or v/v)

“Pressure dew point at the dryer outlet shall be at least 10°C (18°F) below the minimum
temperature to which any part of the instrument air system is exposed. It shall not exceed
4°C (39°F) at line pressure.”

25
Instrument Air – What Is It?

What ISO class for instrument air?

26
Instrument Air – Drying Requirements

Compressed Air Drying Specifications

ANSI/ISA—S7.0.01-1996

ANSI/ISA limit: *PDP ≤ +39°F

Recommended ISO
[–:*4:–]
class: Min. Ambient Temp.
by ISO class
ISO Class Pressure Dew Point
(PDP +18°F)
(8573-1:2010) (°F)

1 ≤ -100 ≥ -82

2 ≤ -40 ≥ -22

3 ≤ -4 ≥ 14

4 ≤ 37 ≥ 55

5 ≤ 45 ≥ 63

*Minimum – may be lower!

27
Instrument Air – What Level of Drying?

Membrane dryer
ANSI/ISA ISO Class PDP
(S7.0.01-1996) (8573-1:2010) (°F)
Refrigeration dryer

6 50
5 45
4 37 Air Flow Rate

3 -4

2 -40
Desiccant dryer

1 -100

28
Variable Drying Requirements

Large industrial manufacturing complexes often have compressed air lines/consumers exposed to
outdoor conditions
› From ANSI/ISA, PDP should always be maintained 18°F below the minimum temperature to which
any part of the instrument air system is exposed

29
Variable Drying Requirements

Many processes require a fixed or stable pressure dew point – but this is not always the case!
› Compressed air systems are often exposed to ambient temperatures that can fluctuate over
a wide range (freezing possible)

Record high temp

Average high & low

temp

Freezing point
Record low temp

30
Variable Drying Example – Outdoor Process
Common usage case: air pollution control application
› Fabric filter dust collectors, i.e. “baghouses” used throughout all industries to capture particulate
matter emissions
› Dust collection is required in most food processing plants, particularly in grain
handling/milling operations
› Fugitive dust emissions must be controlled for environmental and safety reasons

31
Variable Drying Example – Outdoor Process

Dust collectors and baghouses for air pollution control:

› Pulse-jet type systems use compressed air for automatic

filter cleaning

› Large dust collectors are often located outdoors, hence

exposed to wide range of ambient conditions

› For outdoor installations, drying requirements may vary by

season:
› ISO class 4-5 (PDP 37-45°F – refrigerant dryer)
required at minimum during warm weather periods
› *ISO class 2-3 (PDP -40 to -4°F – desiccant dryer) may
be needed during winter

*the only practical alternative to drying is protecting exposed

compressed air equipment from freezing is to insulate and heat all
exposed surfaces
Image courtesy NC State University
32
Variable Drying Example – Outdoor Process

Outdoor compressed air systems exposed to sub-freezing temperatures:

› Why not use desiccant dryers year-round?

› Potentially over-drying air during warm weather = inefficient
use of energy
› Refrigeration dryers are typically the most efficient method of
drying compressed air, therefore preferred when application
only requires ISO class 4-5 (general/plant air is sufficient)

› Recommendation: implement a seasonal drying plan:

› Warm weather – refrigeration dryer

Image courtesy Compressed Air Best Practices

› Cold weather – desiccant dryer

33
Variable Drying Requirements

General rule: for optimal process efficiency, only treat the air to the extent required for the process

34
Instrument Air – Keep it Dry
Usage case: instrument air system with dryers for ISO class 3 or better (i.e. PDP of -4°F of lower)
› Dryer are working correctly - what could go wrong resulting in dry air not reaching the
process/consumer?

AIR LEAKS!

35
Instrument Air – Keep it Dry
If compressed air is escaping the system via a leak, how can water enter the system?
› Physical systems always move toward a more balanced state (equilibrium):
› Reason the compressed air escapes to environment via air leaks (moving from high to low pressure)
› Extremely dry air is an unstable gas – it aggressively seeks to attract water (i.e. equalize saturation
pressure)
› Escaping air drops in temperature – if cooled/leaked air temperature drops below ambient
dew point, ambient water vapor will condense on surfaces near the air leak
› Accumulated condensation will then migrate into the compressed air system
› A very small amount of moisture will quicky degrade pressure dew point!

36
 About the Speaker

• Key Accounts and Sales

Manager at Trace Analytics

• Promoted high purity

compressed air for breathing air
end users’ health and wellness
Brett Greenlee Sponsored by
Trace Analytics
• 3 years as a high-pressure
breathing air distributor

• 2 years at Trace Analytics

managing sales and key accounts
Air Quality Testing
Risks of Excess Water Vapor

Brett Greenlee with Trace Analytics

 Industrial worker, Firefighter, and distributor

- What could be in my air?

Brett - How can I check for moisture in my air?

Greenlee
- Which ISO classes would be common for me?
Sales Manager
& Key Accounts
Trace Analytics

BRETT
BRETTGREENLEE
GREENLEE| |[email protected]
[email protected]| |(724) 797-8961
724-797-8961
 What’s In Compressed Air?

TRACE ANALYTICS, LLC | BRETT GREENLEE | [email protected] | 1-800-247-1024

 Risk of Excess Water Vapor

What could it mean?

- rust, corrosion
- microorganisms

How to check for it?

- Colorimetric Tubes
- Dew Point Hygrometer
- Third Party Accredited Laboratory

TRACE ANALYTICS, LLC | BRETT GREENLEE | [email protected] | 1-800-247-1024

HOW TO TEST

o Test at the point-of-use

o Test on a regular schedule
o Meet ISO 8573 Requirements

TRACE ANALYTICS, LLC | BRETT GREENLEE | [email protected] | 1-800-247-1024

ISO 8573 Purity Classes, Common specs

TRACE ANALYTICS, LLC | BRETT GREENLEE | [email protected] | 1-800-247-1024

 Trace Analytics, LLC

o Compressed Air Testing Since 1989

o ISO 17025 Accredited
o Tests to ISO 8573, ISO 14644, ISO 14698, and
more!
o Has members and contributors on
o NFPA 1989
o ISO 8573 committee
o ISPE Good Practice Guide
o State-of-the-art equipment that allows us to
analyze hundreds of samples a day
o Work with clients around the world

TRACE ANALYTICS, LLC | BRETT GREENLEE | [email protected] | 1-800-247-1024

HAVE QUESTION WE DIDN’T COVER?
Reach out to our team of experts.

TRACE ANALYTICS, LLC | BRETT GREENLEE | [email protected] | 1-800-247-1024

Refrigerated vs. Desiccant Dryers - Choosing the Right
One
Q&A
Please submit any questions through the Question Window on
your GoToWebinar interface, directing them to Compressed Air
Best Practices Magazine. Our panelists will do their best to Sponsored by
address your questions and will follow up with you on anything
that goes unanswered during this session.
Thank you for attending!
 Thank you for attending!

The recording and slides of this webinar will be made

available to attendees via email later today.

PDH Certificates will be e-mailed to Attendees within 2 days.

 April 2024 Webinar
CTI STD-201RS Thermal Certification for Cooling System Heat Rejection
Equipment, Part 2

Mike Womack
Cooling Technology Institute
Keynote Speaker

Thursday, April 18, 2024– 2:00 PM EST

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