Air Treatment/N2

Critical applications — such as semiconductor manufacturing, food processing and automobile spray finishing — require high quality, clean compressed air. Otherwise, those manufacturing facilities are doomed to costly rework, product recalls and a tarnished reputation.

“In semiconductor manufacturing, a small particle can ruin one of the die on a multi-die semiconductor wafer,” explained Dan Ryan, Engineering Manager, Parker Hannifin Corporation – Gas Separation and Filtration Division. “Even when it comes to things like painting automobiles, a few small, invisible particulates, depending on the makeup of them, can actually cause a visible flaw in the paint job.”

Proper air preparation significantly increases the process and production reliability of machines. Particles, water and oils in compressed air reduce the service life and functionality of components and systems. They also impair productivity and energy efficiency. In this article, a variety of air filtration and air treatment products are outlined and discussed, along with ancillary equipment like drains. Additionally, the article provides an overview of the compressed air purity classes defined by ISO 8573-1:2010.

Compressed air is used in more than 70 percent of all manufacturing activities, ranging from highly critical applications that may impact product quality to general “shop” uses. When compressed air is used in the production of pharmaceuticals, food, beverages, medical devices, and other products, there seems to be confusion on what testing needs to be performed.

In compressed air systems, every adjustment or system modification has consequences, so, before making changes, it’s important to understand how those changes will affect each piece of equipment.  For example, simple things — such as lowering the compressor’s pressure set point, or failing to maintain the compressor’s aftercooler — can result in moisture contamination occurring out in the system. Why? Because the effects of these actions reduce the air dryer’s capacity. In this article, I address some ideas that can make your system more reliable.

Many thousands of dollars of annual electrical savings are being achieved worldwide using special purge reduction controls on desiccant air dryers. These controls reduce the expensive purge air that must flow through the dryer to regenerate the desiccant beds. But, unexpected problems with these controls can cause hidden problems that can reduce or eliminate the savings.

In our discussions with Stephen Titus and James Bowers, National Sales Manager of Titus Air Systems, we talked about several examples of how The Titus Company provided custom-engineered solutions to various customers. The diversity and complexity of these jobs exemplify how The Titus Company has grown from a small distributorship operating out of a townhome to a thriving compressed air and gas solutions provider capable of tackling highly nuanced applications.

Biogas is an extremely valuable energy source. Originating from biomass, sewage, plants and landfill sites, it is gaining ever-increasing worldwide recognition as a premium source of renewable energy. It is also making a major contribution to the global energy supply mix by replacing existing fossil-fuel sources such as coal, oil and conventional natural gas.

This is a 130,000 square foot manufacturing, warehousing, application engineering, new product development and customer service center all dedicated to Parker compressed air treatment and chiller technologies. We have 70,000 square feet dedicated to manufacturing, 30,000 square feet to warehousing and shipping, and 30,000 square feet for customer service and application engineering.

One type of dryer seen frequently across the world is the regenerative desiccant dryer. These dryers have a number of characteristics that can affect their cost of operation and the operating of the associated compressors and can therefore affect the efficiency of the complete compressed air system.

A careful examination of a facility's compressed air system will likely reveal several opportunities to improve the performance of the compressed air system by effectively and efficiently removing moisture from the compressed air system. The Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI) committed to issuing a series of articles discussing moisture in the compressed air system.