5.4.2. Condensation by over-compression


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Fig. 5.7: Over-compression with subsequent relaxation
With over-compression the air is compressed far beyond the necessary pressure, and afterwards cooled and relaxed to operating pressure.

Operating principle
With rising pressure and thus reduced volume the air is able to hold less water. During pre-compression at high pressure a large amount of condensate precipitates. The absolute humidity of the air goes down. If the compressed air is now relaxed, the relative humidity drops and with it the dew point.
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<BR>Example:
Compressed air is pre-compressed to 36 bar. The dew point is 10° C. The condensate precipitates. After relaxation to 4 bar the compressed air has a new pressure dew point of approx. - 2 3 ° C.
( see chapter 5.2.7 example 1)

Features
    • Simple process with continuous volume flow.
    • No expensive refrigeration and drying equipment.
    • Only economical for small output quantities.
    • Very high energy consumption.