Time is money in any business, and downtime isn’t advantageous to anyone. This holds especially true regarding your company’s air compressor. Air compressors exist and function in some of the most extreme work environments, contending with a wide range of temperatures, dirt, oil, debris, and more. With all of those risks, proper compressed air treatment is one of the only things that stands between your air compressor and the end of its lifespan.

Why is Compressed Air Treatment Important?

When it comes to your compressed air system, the air treatment process is what ensures that the air coming into your system is clean. Without proper air treatment, all of those hazards we mentioned earlier — debris, oil, dirt, and whatever else is in your manufacturing facility — can end up in your compressed air system.

It’s easy to see why this would be bad if you were say, painting or coating a part. Unwanted oil, water, or dirt could affect the finish.

It’s equally frightening to consider what ramifications poor air treatment would have for food or pharmaceutical facilities. Poor air treatment could mean contaminated and unsafe end products.

What Compressed Air Treatment Equipment Does My Facility Need?

With those examples in mind, it’s probably a little clearer to understand why clean, filtered air is so important for your facility. Clean air in = clean air out.

So, how do you get clean air?

In actuality, every piece of your compressed air system works to maintain clean air, but there are a few key pieces of equipment that hold the bulk of the responsibility for compressed air treatment.

Compressed Air Dryers

Compressed air dryers purify air by removing water vapor and contaminants from a compressed air stream. Refrigerated air dryers are your best bet if you’re looking to remove water from your compressed air, but there are a whole slew of options. Check out our page on Compressed Air Treatment Equipment for a full breakdown.

Compressed Air Filters

Unfiltered compressed air contains oils, aerosols, vapors, wear metals, and other particles that can contaminate equipment and shorten the lifespan of machinery. These damages can ultimately lead to facility downtime, damaged products, internal system corrosion, damaged tools, and large-scale air concerns.

Having the right filter for your compressed air system (and replacing it regularly!) is important to ensure proper air treatment. The right filter for your facility will depend on your application, your compressor, and your compressed air system as a whole, but you can check out the complete list of compressed air filters available on our Air Treatment page as well.

Oil-Water Separators

Unless your facility has an oil-free air compressor, there is bound to be a bit of oil particulate in the air stream your compressor is putting out. Oil-lubricated air compressors often have filters that separate oil and condensate from compressed air, but they’re not perfect. And since condensate is difficult to dispose of, oil and water separators are a huge help in keeping air clean and disposing of condensates safely. They’re designed to take both water and oil out of incoming air, ensuring that only treated air enters your compressed air system.

Proper compressed air treatment is essential to the long-term functionality of your existing air compressor. We know you don’t want to call us after-hours when your air compressor breaks down unexpectedly, so make sure your system has the air treatment it needs, now.

To get the equipment you need for proper treatment, get in touch with the TMI team. We supply, install, and service the most common types of compressed air treatment equipment, and we’re ready to help you find the solution that works best for your facility.