The question is often asked because the interest of such a separator does not always appear obvious. While it is true that a separator can be dispensed with in many cases, there are installations where, in its absence, serious malfunctions of the compressed air treatment system will be inevitable. Our range of WS series separators solves these problems.
The role of the separator is to eliminate the liquid water carried by the compressed air network and the associated risks:
- For filters: Filter media are designed to filter a gas containing aerosols of water and oil and not liquids. The separator prevents damage to the filter media.
- For refrigeration dryers: An influx of liquid water decreases the performance of the dryer. The water overload may not be evacuated by the purge system, be entrained downstream of the dryer and pollute the network.
- For adsorption dryers: Damaged filter media and overloading of the filter purge system cause pollution of the desiccant and its premature replacement.
When should a centrifugal separator be installed on the pipeline?
2 main cases:
- Compressor not fitted with a separator by the manufacturer.
The water condensed by the final refrigerant, migrates into the pipeline and, in the absence of a reservoir, arrives directly in the filter elements!
- Long length of piping between the last drain point (e.g. buffer tank) and the filter or dryer. In this case, it is the lowering of the compressed air temperature that causes the water vapor to condense. This reduction will be all the more significant if the ambient temperature is low (Case of external pipes in cold season).
Does a separator remove a lot of water?
If we take as basis of calculation a compressor of 100 Cv (750 m3 / h under 7 bars approximately) with an ambient temperature of 20 ° C and 70% relative humidity the volumes, on a basis of 8 hours day will be respectively :
- 50 liters / day condensed by the final refrigerant (air cooled to 30 ° C.)
- 10 liters / day condensed downstream of the refrigerant if the air is subsequently cooled to 20 ° C.
- 13 liters / day condensed downstream of the refrigerant if the air is subsequently cooled to 15 ° C.
An air treatment installation from a compressor without a separator or buffer tank should, therefore, "filter" and remove 50 liters of water per day. Which is absolutely not within its purview or function. In addition, liquids never arriving continuously but in “waves” - due to the various siphon effects caused by the piping - the resulting liquid blows quickly damage the filter media, saturate the purge systems by float, which causes the presence of water and oil downstream of the filters.
Before any proposal for compressed air treatment equipment, a good network analysis makes it possible to check whether it is necessary to install a centrifugal separator and avoid many future problems.
