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Wet
compressed air enters the top of the dryer and is directed to the drying
tower by one of two solenoid actuated, non-lubricated switching valves. At
the outlet of the dryer, 7% of the dry air is directed into an electric
heater and heated to 375°F.
This hot, dry “purge air” becomes “super dry” as it expands to
atmospheric pressure in the regenerating tower where it removes moisture
from the saturated desiccant. |
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After
3 hours of heating, the heater is turned off and the dry purge air is now
used to cool the desiccant. After 1 hour of cooling, the regenerating
tower is slowly pressurized and the valves are switched so that wet inlet
air flows through the dried desiccant. Because we use a full 7% purge rate
during our 1 hour cooling cycle, and bypass the heater during cooling, we
reduce the temperature and dewpoint spike that occurs with competitive low
purge flow, heat-reactivated dryers. |
