Process air drying based on sorption technology

ULT Dry-Tec® is a  modular approach for higly efficient and energetically optimised adsorption drying.

The system was developed for process air dehumidification at dew point temperatures of down to -70°C (-94° F). It is based on the rotation dehumidification principle, designed to be utilised in sensitive areas such as chemical, pharmaceutical, process industries, food, battery or electronics production as well as  in measurement and drying chambers.

ULT Dry-Tec was specifically designed for extremely dry process air atmospheres. The unit provides an extraordinary extraction rate at very low residual moisture level between 0.05%-40% constant relative air humidity .

Optimised high-performance sorption rotors guarantee a high efficiency level during low maintenance operation. An integrated heat exchanger provides energy recovery. 

The ULT Cool-Tec® modules have been developed for air cooling. Depending on your requirements, they can be utilised for precooling process air or aftercooling exhaust air from the ULT Dry-Tec sorption module.

In most cases, conventional methods such as condensing the water vapor on cooling coils or heat exchangers are no longer sufficient to produce dry process air. In order to reduce the residual moisture content of the air to a minimum, sorptive processes are therefore necessary - implemented in an adsorption dryer.

The use of rotary dehumidifiers for sorption drying has proven to be particularly effective here. The moist air flow is passed through a rotating sorption wheel coated with adsorbent and dried in this way. On the opposite side, the wheel is regenerated to effectively ensure the continuous treatment of the air or process gases to be dried.

At the same time, the water molecules in the sucked-in air are continuously driven out of the adsorbent by means of desorption through the supply of heat and are consequently fed out of the system into the outside atmosphere as an adsorbate in a separate air flow.

By extending the system technology, for example with pre- and after-cooler modules, dew points (Tp) as low as -70°C and thus a relative process air humidity of up to 0.05% can be achieved. These low dew point requirements are usually demanded for sensitive products.

Dew points below 5°C (5.4 g/kg absolute humidity) cannot be effectively achieved with simple drying methods such as condensation drying. This is where sorption drying is a successful technology.

The most important component of such a system is the sorption rotor coated with a special sorbent. It rotates at a speed adapted to the process and absorbs the moisture from the process air flow. Warm air is passed through the sorption rotor in counterflow, removing the moisture and drying it. The water-laden exhaust air is released into the environment afterwards.