Lowering Dew Point to Protect Expensive Automation Equipment
Failure to remove water vapor from factory air can quickly become a costly maintenance headache.
Water vapor and the resulting water condensate are the foremost causes of costly downtime and maintenance, not the more visible culprit of oil or contaminants, which are easily removed with proper filtration.
Moisture in facility airlines can cause corrosion, rust and pipe scale which can break loose to block or adhere to air passageways that can lead to increased pressure drop and loss in machine performance.
Aftercoolers, drip legs and water separators are used to remove water condensate from factory compressed air. However, this air is still at 100% relative humidity and is still at risk of condensing into water should the surrounding temperatures drop to its dew point.
In order to increase protection of expensive automation equipment, factory compressed air must remove as much water vapor as possible to avoid any condensation further downstream.
This is done by lowering its dew point.