Tag: mist

Oil Removal Filters: Never First, Sometimes Last

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

If you have been around compressed air systems, our blogs, or even optimized installations of point of use compressed air products, you will see point of use filtration in place. These filters come in a plethora of sizes, shapes, and specifications. Here at EXAIR we recommend to always keep a point of use filtration solution in place. This would include an auto-drain filter separator, as well as an oil removal filter.

Oil Removal Filters

So why do we have two instead of one? Could you use just the oil removal filter rather than two? Well, the answer lies in an optimized installation that will also carry with it a lower total cost of ownership. The auto-drain filter separators from EXAIR have a filter element which takes the air to a 5 micron level of filtration. (Except for the model 9004 which filters down to 20 micron.) The Oil Removal Filters have a coalescing filter element which filters to a 0.3 micron level for the finest debris/mists that may be contained within the compressed air stream. One reason for the separation is when a system is oil-free, the finer filtration level may not be needed. Also, by catching the bulk of material with the standard auto-drain filter and then leaving the finer filter to catch the residual amounts liquid that had been finely atomized within the stream of compressed air. This finer filter costs more so using it to catch larger particulate and risking it becoming clogged quicker will increase the total cost of ownership of the point of use compressed air product it is hooked to, hence never first and sometimes last. After the point of use filtration then placing the point of use pressure regulator and solenoid valves are next. This is all a better way to reduce risk of these being damaged from dirt and contaminants in the air lines. Total cost of ownership reductions all point to a better sustainability of any product.

To better showcase the importance of filtration, here’s a brief video I did a while back that visualizes just what one can see out of a compressed air line with minimal moisture introduced.

https://videopress.com/v/5M19DaLg?preloadContent=metadata

As you can see, keeping the point of use air filtered protects your process and decreases the total cost of ownership for your compressed air point of use product. If you would like to discuss other ways we can improve efficiency within your facility and help ensure you are getting the longest life out of your products, please contact us.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Another Spray Nozzle, Another Award

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

EXAIR Corporation’s Research & Development team often finds themselves at odds with our Marketing department, who thinks R&D, through their constant introduction of new ideas & products, is trying to turn our catalog into something resembling a phone book.

This mass of paper, my dear Millennial friends, was key to effective communications in the 20th Century.

I do not believe that is their aim or intention, though (and to be fair, Marketing doesn’t either.)  Honestly, we just want to help folks in a wide range of industries solve problems.  And a diverse range of engineered compressed air products is our tried-and-true, successful method for doing so.

Over the past few years, EXAIR has worked hard on expanding our line of Atomizing Spray Nozzles with different sizes, flow rates, and spray patterns to meet most any need for a fine, controllable liquid spray.  Most recently, our efforts were rewarded when our Model AT5010SS 1/2 NPT 360° Hollow Circular Pattern Atomizing Spray Nozzle earned recognition by Plant Engineering as a 2018 Product of the Year, in the Fluid Handling category.

If you need to spray liquid over a large area, this is the spray nozzle you’re looking for.  It can cover a 13 foot diameter with up to 150 gallons per hour.

Model AT5010SS 1/2 NPT 360° Hollow Circular Pattern Atomizing Spray Nozzles are ideal for smooth, even coatings in large pipe or duct ID’s, or for a mist or fog over a large area.

EXAIR Corporation offers a wide variety of Liquid Atomizing Nozzles, enough to fill a phonebook where we’re certain to have one that fits your spraying needs.  To find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Benefits of Atomized Liquid Nozzles vs. Liquid Nozzles

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

There are a great many applications that require a spray (as opposed to a stream) of liquid. Certain droplet sizes, and flow rates, are beneficial for certain applications. For example, if you’re fighting a fire, you want as high of a flow rate as possible – the more water you douse the fire with, the quicker it goes out.  You also want a fairly large droplet size, since a mist would tend to evaporate instead of extinguishing the flames.

Pressure washers also benefit from higher (though not near as high as fire hose) flow rates, and droplet sizes.  You want an appreciable flow rate, because that means high velocity, and good sized droplets combine that velocity with their relative mass to “blast” away dirt and detritus from the surface.

Medicine delivery devices, like asthma inhalers, are designed to produce mid-sized droplets, but pretty low (and controlled) flows.  The droplets need to be small enough to efficiently spread the medicine through the breathing passages, but large enough to where they won’t evaporate before they ‘plant’ on the nasal & bronchial membranes to get absorbed.

These are examples of “liquid-only” nozzles…no other media or means of force are used to effect the spraying action.  Most of the time, the droplet sizes in these applications are measured in hundreds of microns, which “liquid-only” nozzles are ideally suited to generate.  Other applications, however, call for much smaller droplet sizes…such as those only attainable through atomization.

EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzles use compressed air to create a fine mist of liquid, with droplet sizes as low as 22 microns.

A typical “liquid-only” nozzle is capable of producing droplet sizes of 300-4,000 microns. Atomizing Nozzles’ droplet sizes are consistently under 100 microns, and can be as small as 20 microns!

Small droplet size is key to cost effectiveness in many applications:

  • Think about expensive coatings…the smaller the droplet size, the better and more even the coverage, and the less you have to spray (and pay) out.
  • Or humidification…smaller droplet size means more stays airborne, for longer, and in a larger space.
  • Petroleum based lubricants, by their nature, only require a thin layer for best results.  Smaller droplets make as even and thin of a layer as possible.
  • Dust control is much more effective with smaller droplet sizes, since the longer the mist lingers in the air, the more dust particles the individual droplets will adhere to…and then drop with them to the surface.  This also prevents getting the surface of the material any wetter than it has to be.
142 distinct models. 8 different patterns. Liquid flow rates from 0.1 to 303 gallons per hour. If you’ve got a spraying application, EXAIR has an Atomizing Nozzle for you!

If you’d like to discuss a liquid spraying application, I’d love to hear from you.  Call me.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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Video Blog: EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzles Product Line

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

Want to learn more about EXAIR’s line of Atomizing Spray Nozzles?  This short video will familiarize you with their benefits, features, and capabilities.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
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