Compressed air quality: know what you're measuring

Compressed air is frequently used in the food industry. It is important that this compressed air is free of dust particles, oil and water. The only way to check and validate this is measurement. For years, BEKO Technologies has supported hundreds of companies in monitoring compressed air quality and knows exactly where the pitfalls and solutions lie. For example, how oil-free is the compressed air from an oil-free compressor? And how can that last bit of moisture be removed from the air?

To bring compressed air quality to a high level, companies generally invest in proper design of the required installation. In doing so, not everyone realizes that it is not only the installation that determines compressed air quality.

Measuring must

Sara Deckers is Focus Industry Manager at BEKO Technologies and has extensive experience with this. "The quality of compressed air is determined by the presence of dust particles, moisture and oil. Or rather: the án absence," she explains. "This has everything to do with food safety. Whereas water in compressed air increases the chance of microbiological contamination, dust particles and oil are a direct contamination for foodstuffs. So if you want to be sure that you are using compressed air of the right quality in your company, it is necessary to monitor these three elements." 

On the one hand, this is complicated by the lack of unambiguous legislation; on the other hand, there are ways to classify and thus measure the desired quality. There are now many technical solutions available for this purpose that can be used continuously or occasionally. Deckers: "Only when you measure, you have the possibility to maximize your compressed air quality."

Moisture

The amount of moisture in compressed air can be monitored by means of a sensor that measures the dew point. The desired value depends mainly on the application: whereas an average value is good for standard industrial use, the food industry demands compressed air that is as dry as possible to prevent bacterial growth. Measurement is necessary because compressed air dryer specifications alone are not enough. After all, it can also break down or become saturated. Compressor rooms facing south can also heat up significantly around noon. 

Oil and dust particles

The use of an oil-free compressor is not sufficient to generate oil-free compressed air. Because while the compressor itself may not use oil internally, the air sucked in from the environment can contain this form of contamination. Deckers: "If your company is located near a highway or in an industrial area, there is a good chance that the air drawn in contains oil particles. A compressor won't remove those, so you'll have to use a filter or catalytic converter that you prefer to place as close as possible to the consumption point to minimize the chance of contamination from your pipes. A filter also removes potential dust and dirt particles."

Another misconception is that using food-safe oil absolves the user of his duty to prevent oil in compressed air. Deckers: "Food grade oil should only 'incidentally' come into contact with food, but preferably not at all. Now tell yourself: would you take a sip of this food grade oil?"

Create your own orange light

On paper, the installation is perfect. In practice, various dangers lurk that are relatively easy to deal with. Deckers: "Think of your installation as a car: there, too, an orange light comes on when action is eventually required. Also create your own orange light in your compressed air installation by taking the right measurements to prevent unplanned downtime and calamities."