Benefits of VSD refrigerant air

Use a VSD refrigerant air dryer to prevent compressed air system damage by removing moisture to a constant dew point and reduce energy costs

Benefits of VSD refrigerant air dryer: Energy saving and stable dew point

The introduction of Atlas Copco’s Variable Speed Drive compressor technology was an industry milestone. Now this technology extends to our FD VSD refrigerant dryer range from 100-300 l/sec. We developed our FD VSD technology to match the dryer’s power consumption to your production’s actual air flow at a constant dewpoint. A newly designed heat exchanger with limited pressure drop is built in. Together, this result in up to 50% savings on indirect energy costs and up to on direct energy costs and minimize your carbon footprint. To provide advanced monitoring and control, the FD VSD dryer includes the Elektronikon touch screen controller. For performance, value and low cost of ownership, no other refrigerant air dryer can compare.

Why you need an air dryer

Compressed air exits your compressor 100% saturated. As it cools, moisture condenses, which can damage your air system and cause system failures, leading to production downtime and costly repairs. Dry air protects your investment in pneumatic tools, instruments and piping from moisture that can foul mechanisms, skew instrument readings, and cause corrosion and leaks. It also ensures product quality to protect your company’s reputation.

How a refrigerant air dryer works

Atlas Copco’s FD VSD dryers remove moisture from compressed air before it enters the air network. Filters and separators can remove liquid moisture droplets from the air flow, but they can’t remove water vapor. An FD VSD dryer can remove water vapor according ISO 8573-1 Class 4 purity. In the first stage, compressed air enters the dryer and passes through an air to air heat exchanger, which precools the incoming air. In the second stage, compressed air passes through an air to refrigerant heat exchanger to reduce the compressed air dewpoint to +3°C / +37°F. Water vapor that was in the air condenses into liquid, which is trapped and removed. The dry air is then warmed up in the air to air heat exchanger to reduce its relative humidity and prevent condensate from forming in downstream piping.

How VSD improves a refrigerant air dryer

A noncycling refrigerant air dryer has its own compressor that compresses refrigerant gas to liquid form. Conventional dryers have a reciprocating (piston) compressor operating at a fixed speed, and it runs constantly whether air is required or not. In contrast, Atlas Copco FD VSD dryers use a quiet, compact scroll compressor that automatically varies speed to match your actual air demand.

More efficient than thermal mass (cycling)

There’s an older energy saving technology known as thermal mass or cycling that provides a degree of energy efficiency for refrigerant air dryers. A thermal mass air dryer cycles between running at full load and relying on a thermal mass for cooling. This represents an improvement over dryers that simply operate at a fixed speed (full capacity). But cycling dryers must consume energy to cool down their thermal mass, and that reduces their overall energy savings.

Dew point stability

An important advantage of Atlas Copco’s FD VSD is air dried to a stable dew point, regardless of ambient air temperature. With a thermal mass dryer, the compressed air dew point is actually the indicator for its fixed speed refrigerant compressor to start or stop, so dew point rises and falls. This fluctuation can compromise air quality by two purity classes. In contrast, FD VSD refrigerant air dryers consistently deliver air that has been dried to a stable dew point that meets ISO 8573-1 class 4 purity—with superior energy efficiency!

Ask your Atlas Copco air system professional about your best solution for energy efficient air drying.

Air compressors Refrigerant dryers

Benefits of VSD refrigerant air