Performance Comparison of Heat Regeneration Modes in Adsorption Dryers for Ultra-Low Dew Point Compressed Air Production

CSME 2023/10
Volume 44 No.5 : 473-480

Performance Comparison of Heat Regeneration Modes in Adsorption Dryers for Ultra-Low Dew Point Compressed Air Production

Suresh kannan. V^a, Lenin. V. R^b, Vijayan. S^c, Matheswaran. M.M^c and Sowrirajan. M^d
^aDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science, Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India
^bDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Anil Neerukonda Institute of Technology & Sciences, Sangivalasa, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
^cDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India
^dDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Jansons Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract: The importance of having compressed air free from moisture in engineering applications is well known. Heat regeneration-based adsorption dryers are commonly used to achieve ultra-low dew points. This study focuses on three types of heat regeneration modes for adsorption dryers: internal heating mode, external heating mode, and compressed air heating mode. The study compares these modes by using established calculation schemes and evaluating their specific energy requirements in terms of electrical energy and dried regeneration air.
The study found that internal heating regeneration had the lowest specific energy requirement in terms of electrical energy, while compressor air heating regeneration had no electrical energy requirement. However, external heating regeneration had the highest specific energy requirement. The study also concluded that the energy and capital cost for the three modes were comparable at specific conditions of 35°C feed air temperature and 8 bar absolute feed air pressure of product air. The study's findings can be utilized to develop a system comparison tool for practical applications.

Keywords: compressed air; moisture; adsorption dryer; heat regeneration, pressure-dew point

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