Comparison of adsorption dryer systems and their relevant operating data usually takes place without giving the environmental aspect much thought. Environmental protection, when treating compressed air, is a subject of debate. The discussion concerning refrigeration dryers with refrigerants containing CFC’s (chloro fluoro carbons) has been treated in great detail by the specialist press. The environmental acceptability of adsorption dryers is, in principle, regulated by the new waste product disposal legislation. This obliges every manufacturer and producer to declare environmentally relevant data regarding these products. Ecological behaviour calls for a social conscience. Products used for compressed air treatment should place as little additional load on to the environment as possible. Clean and pure are terms always closely associated with adsorption dryers. Clean and pure characterises quality air which is achieved through such installations i.e. for parameters such as dewpoint, residual oil content, drainage rate and particle size. In these terms, evaluation of adsorption dryer systems has taken place for many years. When these systems are assessed from the point of view of environmental technology, it becomes apparent that there are differences between the individual drying systems, as far as their by-products are concerned. Even small environmental drawbacks such as sources of harmful materials generated in the course of normal operation, while acceptable and within the limit values prescribed by law, are often ignored, and underestimated. In order to obtain an overall perception of a product, the criteria:-
- Waste products
- Noise protection
- Service life
will be explained in more detail in the following paragraphs.
