Looking to purchase an industrial air dryer in the Houston area? As one of the leading industrial air dryer manufacturers in the nation, NiGen offers reliable air dryer systems that are fully compatible with industrial air compressors and aftercooler systems.

Please navigate to our equipment rental category if you need to rent an air dryer instead.

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Industrial Air Dryer Systems in Houston

NiGen air dryers are specially engineered for high-selectivity water and vapor removal from industrial process air. We provide air drying solutions for a wide range of industrial applications.

  • Compressed air drying for use in industrial manufacturing
  • Vapor recovery from oil and gas operations during refining and storage
  • Vapor removal from gases generated during the cryogenic fractional distillation of atmospheric air (oxygen, nitrogen, etc.)

Compressed Air Dryer Types

Commercial air dryers help you save on costs by maximizing productivity and avoiding moisture-related damage in your expensive machinery. Water vapor in your system could cause corrosion, wear and tear, freezing, and false reports on pneumatic controls. Beyond the inconvenience of repairs and repair costs, these issues slow down your operations or even bring them to a halt. NiGen can help you save money by reducing downtime on your most crucial and important operations. We also offer round-the-clock technical support and expertise on all our products!

Desiccant Dryers

Desiccant dryers use a drying agent (desiccant) with a high attraction for water to extract water vapor and moisture from process air. The most commonly used materials are hygroscopic (moisture-absorbing) substances such as silica gel, calcium sulfate, activated charcoal, and zeolite. Thousands of small beads of these substances are contained in the desiccant dryers in dual-tower structures. One tower will focus on extracting water from compressed air while the other regenerates the saturated desiccant. The purpose of this system is to increase the boost the efficiency of water vapor removal with minimal maintenance and supervision. No matter how large or complex your project, NiGen offers regenerative desiccant dryers that will meet your specific needs.

Read more about desiccant dryers.

A typical desiccant air dryer setup consists of towers that contain hygroscopic material (desiccant beads) that absorb water from compressed air circulated through them. Most desiccant dryers are regenerative setups with timers and dew point monitors which determine moisture saturation levels.

Some models contain windows with indicator beads that change color to indicate water saturation. While the desiccant in one tower is used to remove moisture from the compressed air, the second tower is regenerated using either a heated or heatless method.

Heated Desiccant Regeneration

These desiccant types utilize heat to regenerate the desiccant materials. A heat source is used to rapidly evaporate water from saturated hygroscopic beads. This method of regeneration requires significant amounts of electricity to effectively carry out compressed air drying.

Heatless Desiccant Regeneration

Heatless desiccant dryers utilize a portion of the generated dried air to eliminate moisture from the saturated desiccant in a regenerating tower. A major advantage of using a heatless regenerative dryer is its energy-saving quality. Desiccant material can be efficiently dried without utilizing external energy, which helps reduce operating costs significantly.

Refrigerated Air Dryers

Refrigerated compressed air dying systems function on the principle of condensation to achieve air moisture removal. At very low temperatures, water suspended in the air as vapor will condense into liquid form. A refrigerated type air dryer facilitates this process by lowering air temperatures to very low ranges allowing most of the water in the air to be precipitated.

Read more about refrigerated air dryers.

Refrigerated air dryers come as two variants: cycling and non-cycling types.

Cycling

Cycling type refrigerated dryers function similarly to typical refrigerator units. These devices possess the ability to regulate their cooling capacities to alter cooling according to compressed air demands. Regulator valves alter the flow of refrigerant through the compressor unit in response to the moisture level within the dryer setup.
This feature makes cycling refrigerated dryers efficient. Cycling air dryers may be one of three types: thermal mass, variable speed drive, or digital scroll.

Non-Cycling

This type of industrial air dryer runs a continuous cooling cycle by constantly circulating refrigerant through its circuit independent of moisture levels. Temperature regulation is achieved using hot gas bypass valves which recirculate the refrigerant. While non-cycling refrigerant dryers are cheaper than cycling types, they are generally less efficient.

When to Use Desiccant Dryer vs. Refrigerated Air Dryer

Deciding on what type of industrial air compressor dryer to use for your process depends on the consideration of several factors including:

  • Application
  • Dew point requirements
  • Installation, operating, and maintenance costs

For industrial drying applications where dry air is required (metal finishing, beverage, and food processing), the use of a desiccant dryer is ideal. Water vapor in compressed air passed through a desiccant dryer is more thoroughly eliminated than any other drying method.

Desiccant dryers operate at significantly lower dew points which facilitates the elimination of moisture more efficiently than a refrigerated dryer.

By comparison, refrigerated air dryers are typically operated at higher dew points than desiccant dryers. These dryer types are ideal for manufacturing operations where some degree of retained moisture (ISO Quality Classes 4, 5 and 6) is acceptable.

An additional benefit of deciding on a refrigerated air dryer is the lower overall cost of purchase, operation, and maintenance when compared to the cumulative expenditures on a desiccant dryer.

Industrial Grade Drying Equipment from NiGen

If you need a commercial air compressor dryer in Houston, consider NiGen! Our range of compressed air dryers is the ideal choice for vapor recovery from industrial process air. NiGen commercial air dryers are portable and lightweight — making them suitable for both offshore and onshore operations. We also have a wide range of on-site nitrogen generators, nitrogen generator rentals, industrial air compressor rentals, and much more.

Contact us here to speak with a member of our team or request a quote for any of our industrial air dryer systems.