Refrigeration Drying With Zeolite 13X

Refrigeration drying served by Zeolite 13X Factory occurs as part of the refrigeration cooling process, with the two systems working symbiotically.

There are two types of refrigerated air dryers served by 13X Molecular Sieve Manufacturers: Cycling and Noncycling. Both types use a refrigeration system to cool the compressed air to a temperature as close to freezing as possible to condense out as much water as possible.

Most refrigerated dryers served by Molecular Sieve Factory provide a pressure dew point of 35°F, but some less expensive models with smaller refrigeration systems are rated for the higher dewpoint of 50°F.

In a refrigeration system, hot compressed air with zeolite 13X enters the air-to-air heat exchanger and flows down the inner tube of a tube-in-tube bundle. The incoming hot air is re-chilled by the air traveling in the outer tube, which the refrigeration section has cooled.

As the air cools, water vapor condenses into liquid droplets. The condensed liquid droplets are then removed from the air stream in a separator and automatically discharged to drain by an automatic condensate drain trap. This pre-chilling allows for the use of a smaller refrigeration unit and increases the dryer package’s efficiency.

The pre-cooled compressed air then enters the air-to-refrigerant heat exchanger, where the heat is removed directly from the compressed air by the refrigeration system down to +35°F.

As the air continues to cool, water vapor again condenses into liquid droplets. The condensed liquid droplets are then removed from the air stream in another separator and automatically discharged to drain by an automatic condensate drain trap.

Finally, the air passes through the secondary side of the air-to-air heat exchanger, where it is re-heated by the incoming hot air. The re-heating of the outgoing air prevents downstream pipe sweating and increases the air’s effective volume, enabling it to do more work. It will take longer for a pipe exposed to cool atmospheric temperatures to drop from the re-heated temperature to a point less than +35°F.

Advantages:

Constant dewpoint of +35°F to +50°F (dependent on ISO class)

Low maintenance costs, with no chemical or desiccants to add or replace

No recurring costs other than electricity

No after filter required (a coalescing type prefilter is recommended)