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Air Drying and Purification
Gas Treatment & Drying

Air Drying and Purification

Compressed air drying and purification to ISO 8573 air quality standards using activated alumina or silica gel desiccant in heatless or heated dryer cycles.

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The Challenge
Wet, oily, and particulate laden compressed air corrodes pneumatic equipment, freezes in winter operations, contaminates products, and triggers regulatory non compliance on pharmaceutical and food contact air supplies.
Quick Answer

Compressed air drying and purification delivers instrument and process air at ISO 8573 class 1.4.1 or better: oil below 0.01 mg/m³, particulate below 5 micron, pressure dew point of minus 20 to minus 40 °C. The duty uses activated alumina or silica gel in a twin tower heatless or heated regenerative dryer cycle.

Air Drying and Purification

Instrument and Process Air Quality Targets

Compressed air drives pneumatic valves and instruments across every process plant, every food and beverage line, every pharmaceutical manufacturing site, and every electronics fab. The contracted air quality is defined by the ISO 8573 standard: oil content, particulate count, and pressure dew point are the three parameters. The SorbiTech air drying and purification train meets the operator contracted quality reliably across the equipment life.

Desiccant Selection by Duty

Two desiccant grades cover the standard duty range. SorbiTech activated alumina drying grade resists the fast cycling of a heatless dryer and is the reference grade for industrial and offshore service; silica gel white reaches a lower pressure dew point at moderate humidity and is the more economical choice for clean dry feed.

Air Drying and Purification process equipment

Heatless vs Heated Dryer Cycle

The heatless desiccant air dryer cycles every 4 to 10 minutes between adsorption at line pressure and regeneration by depressurisation and dry purge from the on line tower. The cycle needs no regeneration heater. For pressure dew points below minus 40 °C the heated cycle is used: longer adsorption time, heater regeneration at 175 to 250 °C, lower outlet humidity.

Delivery and Sector Coverage

Delivered as a packaged dryer by SorbiTech or as part of a larger compressed air station by SorbiTech. Sector coverage spans industrial gas and air separation, pharmaceutical and life sciences, food and beverage, and electronics manufacturing.

Selection Guidance

Use a heatless desiccant dryer for general instrument air; use a heated regenerative dryer when the contracted dew point falls below minus 40 °C; use activated alumina drying grade for high cycle severity, silica gel white for lower humidity feed.

How SorbiTech Solves It

A Specified, Verified Solution

Define the duty

We capture your process conditions: flow, composition, pressure, temperature, and the target outlet specification.

Select media & configuration

Our engineers recommend the adsorbent grade and system type that meet the duty with margin.

Size & engineer

Bed sizing, vessel design, and cycle parameters are engineered to your case and documented for approval.

Commission & verify

We support loading, start up, and performance verification against the guarantee.

Recommended Products & Systems

Media

Adsorbents & Media

  1. 01 SorbiTech Activated Alumina Drying Grade Compressed Air Desiccant ISO 8573 Adsorbent Activated Alumina Drying Grade High capacity activated alumina for compressed air dryers, gas dehydration, and heatless desiccant systems. Water Cap. ≥ 20 %
  2. 02 Silica Gel White Adsorbent Silica Gel White Non indicating amorphous silica desiccant for compressed air drying and bulk packaged goods desiccation. Water Cap. ≥ 30 percent at 80 percent RH %
  3. 03 CMS 450hp Adsorbent Carbon Molecular Sieve CMS 450HP Ultra high purity carbon molecular sieve. 99.99999 percent (7N) N2, selective O2 and CO2 capture, 1.0 to 1.6 mm pellets, minimal fines, deoxo polishing… Water Cap. Feed must reach ISO 8573 class 1.4.1, deoxo polishing recommended for 7N %
  4. 04 CMS 420kt Adsorbent Carbon Molecular Sieve CMS 420KT High efficiency carbon molecular sieve. Higher oxygen affinity under 7 to 12 barg, 1.2 to 1.8 mm pellets, Snowstorm Filling compatible, ASTM D4058 attrition… Water Cap. Feed must reach ISO 8573 class 1.4.1 %
  5. 05 CMS 350kt Adsorbent Carbon Molecular Sieve CMS 350KT Rapid adsorption carbon molecular sieve. 40 to 90 second cycle at 7 to 10 barg, up to 99.99 percent N2, 1.0 to 2.2 mm… Water Cap. Moisture at supply below 1.0 percent, feed must reach ISO 8573 class 1.4.1 %
  6. 06 Activated Alumina Aa 201 Adsorbent Activated Alumina Impregnated Promoter loaded activated alumina for hydrogen sulphide, chloride, and Claus tail gas guard duty. Form 3–5 mm spheres · 1.6–3.2 mm spheres
Equipment

Engineered Systems

  1. 01 SorbiTech Heatless Desiccant Air Dryer Compressed Air ISO 8573 Twin Tower Dryer Equipment Heatless Desiccant Air Dryer Twin tower heatless desiccant compressed air dryer using activated alumina or silica gel for instrument and process air to pressure dew points below minus… Capacity 50–10,000 Nm³/h
  2. 02 SorbiTech Transformer Breather Cartridge System Silica Gel Grid Utility Breather Equipment Transformer Breather Cartridge System Pre packaged stainless steel transformer breather cartridge with indicating silica gel for grid transformer moisture protection across the high voltage transmission and distribution network. Capacity 0.5–25 kVA transformer to 800 kV substation
  3. 03 SorbiTech Cryogenic ASU Pre Purification Package ASU Front End 13x Alumina TSA Towers Equipment Cryogenic ASU Pre Purification Package Front end TSA pre purification package for cryogenic air separation units removing water, carbon dioxide, and trace hydrocarbons before the cold box. Capacity 5,000–500,000 Nm³/h air
  4. 04 SorbiTech Biogas Upgrading Unit Biomethane PSA Carbon Molecular Sieve Equipment Biogas Upgrading Unit PSA biogas upgrading unit using carbon molecular sieve to separate carbon dioxide from methane and deliver grid quality bio methane from anaerobic digester biogas… Capacity 50–2,000 Nm³/h raw biogas
  5. 05 SorbiTech Oxygen Vpsa Package Industrial Oxygen Vpsa Steel Mill Blast Furnace Equipment Oxygen VPSA Package On site vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) oxygen generation package delivering 90 to 95 percent oxygen for medical, aquaculture, ozone generation, and metals applications. Capacity 50–2,500 Nm³/h O₂ (90–95 % purity)
  6. 06 SorbiTech Gas Sweetening Unit H2S CO2 Removal 13x Mol Sieve Equipment Gas Sweetening Unit Molecular sieve and impregnated carbon gas sweetening unit for H₂S, CO₂, and mercaptan removal from natural gas, refinery gas, and LPG streams. Capacity 0.5–500 MMSCFD
Industries

Industries Using This Application

  1. 01 SorbiTech Pharmaceutical Life Sciences Gmp Biotech Campus Manufacturing Facility Sector Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences USP and EP grade adsorbent media for API purification, GMP compliant nitrogen generation, and controlled humidity packaging desiccants for the pharmaceutical sector.
  2. 02 SorbiTech Industrial Gas Air Separation ASU Cryogenic Distillation Cold Box Sector Industrial Gas & Air Separation Molecular sieves and carbon molecular sieve plus PSA/TSA systems for nitrogen and oxygen generation and cryogenic air separation pre purification.

Specify a Solution for This Application

Provide your process conditions and our team will recommend the grade, configuration, and sizing.

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