Drying large amounts of ambient air is not easy by any means. However, desiccants are perhaps the most effective way to do this for enclosed air systems.
Therefore, desiccant air dryers are widely used for industrial purposes, wherever there is a need for dry, moisture-free air. However, the desiccants in these dryers don’t last forever, which leads many to ask, “how long does air dryer desiccant last?”
Let’s discuss desiccant materials, their types, desiccant air dryers, how they work, and more to answer this question.
What are Desiccant Materials?
Desiccants are highly effective materials or substances that absorb moisture and water vapour from the air, especially from enclosed air systems. They have hygroscopic properties, which means they have an affinity for water. They can absorb and retain water molecules to maintain a dry environment.
Types of Desiccant Materials
There are plenty of desiccant materials, many of which are chemically stable. However, some are also toxic, so they can only be used under specific circumstances. Here are a few types of desiccant materials commonly used for their hygroscopic properties.
- Activated Charcoal
- Silica
- Aluminosilicate minerals
- Calcium Sulphate
- Calcium Chloride
These desiccants are used in a wide range of applications, from silica gel packets in product packaging to industrial compressed air drying with desiccant air dryers.
What Is a Desiccant Air Dryer?
Desiccant air dryers are industrial machines or equipment that uses desiccants to absorb moisture and water from compressed air that is being passed through it. They are highly effective for absorbing moisture from closed and compressed air systems, making them very useful for certain industrial purposes.
A typical desiccant air dryer is designed with two towers containing desiccant materials to help make sure that a continuous air drying cycle is maintained throughout the process.
How Does a Desiccant Air Dryer Work?
Desiccant materials can only hold a limited amount of water molecules before they stop absorbing. As mentioned above, a typical desiccant air dryer contains two towers. These towers hold equal amounts of desiccant materials inside and work in opposing functions.
While one tower actively absorbs moisture and water molecules from the passing compressed air, the other tower releases moisture from the desiccant in a reverse process known as regeneration. It essentially regenerates the desiccant material to make space for more water molecules later.
There are two regeneration methods in desiccant air dryers, one that uses heat and another that doesn’t. There are two types of desiccant air dryers, heat-generating dryers, and heatless dryers.
Regardless of type, when the desiccants in the absorbing tower reach full absorption capacity and the desiccants in the regeneration tower are dry enough to take over, the control unit flips its functions. The absorbing tower starts regenerating the saturated desiccants inside it, whereas the regeneration tower starts absorbing moisture from the passing compressed air.
This function flip allows the desiccant air dryer to continually dry the passing compressed air without stopping for regeneration purposes. However, the desiccant materials inside the dryer tend to lose some of their hygroscopic properties with each cycle, which means they don’t last forever, and you need to replace them over time.
This brings us to our key question.
How Long Does Air Dryer Desiccant Last?
Air dryer desiccant can last up to 5 years in heatless dryers, but only with proper care and maintenance, including maintenance of separators and filters used inside the dryer. On the other hand, heat-generating dryer desiccant lasts around 2-3 years before it needs to be replaced.
The latter doesn’t last as long due to the accelerated regeneration process that speeds up the loss of the desiccant material’s hygroscopic properties. However, the quicker regeneration and dryer cycles are worth it for specific industrial applications, which is why this type of desiccant air dryer exists.
Conclusion
after, you should have a good idea of what desiccant materials are, their types, what desiccant heat dryers are, how they work, and most importantly, “how long does air dryer desiccant last?” There is a lot more to desiccant materials and desiccant air dryers that we haven’t mentioned, but we can discuss that another time.
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