Pure Compressed Air by Atlas Copco
Pure compressed air can now be provided by Atlas Copco Compressors who have launched their latest air treatment development, the QDT Activated Carbon Tower filter, designed to deliver the best air quality available yet from an oil injected compressor. This advanced filter system uses activated carbon to adsorb oil vapour from downstream compressed air to achieve and exceed Class 1 air purity, according to the ISO 8573-1 standard.
Unlike Atlas Copco’s latest offering of pure compressed air, the performance of conventional cartridge filters is limited by relatively short lifetimes and the inability to cope with high ambient inlet temperatures. Atlas Copco’s QDT Activated Carbon Tower filter offers a minimum lifetime of 4000 hours within reference conditions of 35°C ambient and a maximum air pollution level of 0.35 mg/m3 oil at the filter inlet. What is more, the lower the inlet air temperature or the oil pollution level, the more the lifetime of the Activated Carbon Tower will be extended.
Even where there is a high oil vapour concentration within a workplace environment, the QDT’s specific combination of volume and type of activated carbon adsorbs not just oil mist and aerosols, but oil vapour too, resulting in a guaranteed maximum downstream oil vapour content of just 0.003 mg/m3.
The QDT filter is capable of adsorbing an oil volume equivalent to 10% of its own weight and the unit’s oil indicator provides an advance warning as to when the filter is fully saturated and needs replacing. Combined with the unit’s easy maintenance procedure, this feature protects production processes and end products from the risk of further oil contamination. The energy efficiency of the air net is also protected - the pressure drop penalty incurred is less than 0.3 bar.
Designed, manufactured and tested according to ISO 12500-2 standards; the only official standard for the reliability of compressed air filters, the QDT further extends Atlas Copco’s particulate, water and oil filter portfolio. Increasingly, oil free compressors that conform to ISO 8573-1 CLASS 0 are used in specialised applications such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage production or electronic products manufacturing, Atlas Copco offers both solutions − oil-free and oil-injected compressors with filters – and is uniquely positioned to advise on the compressor solution best suited for the individual application.
The ISO 8573-1 compressed air standard of 1991 was revised in 2001 to address the needs of applications where air purity is essential. The revision established a more comprehensive measuring methodology, including all three forms of oil contamination by air compressors – aerosols, vapour and liquid – to provide a true picture of air quality. To the existing purity classifications of 1 to 5, a new and more stringent class was added: ISO 8573-1 CLASS 0.
Other compressor and filter manufacturers only offer Class 1 rated units according to ISO 8573:1991. They state that Class 0 is no more stringent than Class 1 because it covers all values below 0.01 mg/m3, including zero and that focusing on air quality may disregard operational cost and therefore a balance must be struck when it comes to purity standards.
For further editorial information contact Ian Clay on 01582 878870.
For product or sales enquiries about pure air generation, please contact 0800 181085.
For further company information contact John Forman on 01442 222235.
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