Compressed air filters: operating principle and features

When working with compressor equipment or compressed air, including carbon dioxide and other gases, there's often a need for additional purification from mechanical impurities and water-oil emulsions. These impurities are formed when air is pumped into receivers, so sooner or later, almost everyone will have to deal with the task of cleaning. Painting and varnishing work, or work involving the application of solutions/compositions for which foreign elements or substances are critical, are particularly sensitive to the presence of impurities. Therefore, a brief understanding of how compressed air filters work will be useful for many. Incidentally, a large catalog of filters is available here. https://amtorg.com.ru/filtr-fsv-p-fsv-o-fsv-t .

Design and operating principle of a compressed air filter

The filter element is the main working element. It removes mechanical particles and separates the water-oil emulsion and vapor. The filter media in filters operating under pressures of up to 16 atmospheres (1.6 MPa) is needle-punched mesh and fiberglass. Under pressure in the filter housing, compressed air passes from the inside out, overcoming these filter elements. As it passes through this partition, all mechanical contaminants are separated and gradually coalesce, or agglomerate, directly on these partitions. The result is large droplets of water-oil emulsion. These droplets are pushed onto the outer surface of the filter element and retained by a splash-catching barrier layer. This prevents the re-spray of collected moisture and oil, and eliminates the formation of an aerosol at the filter outlet.

Condensed water and oil droplets flow down the protective splash-catching layer to the bottom of the filter, where they collect at the bottom of the element. To ensure long-lasting and productive operation of the compressed air filter, it is necessary to periodically remove the collected condensate and mechanical particles remaining on the filter baffle. If the water-oil emulsion accumulates significantly in the filter housing, the protective splash-catching layer may not be able to effectively remove the condensate, allowing some of the condensate to pass through the hoses.

It's important to understand that high-pressure compressed air filters come in a wide variety of models and designs. Each has a specific purpose, and it's important to choose the right product for the job. Therefore, when choosing which filter to use, it's best to consult with experienced professionals, such as those at the company linked above.