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Say goodbye to the sponge on a stick with AVG's Expel Filters
Sometimes an engineering innovation comes along that’s so obvious, and yet so efficient, it seems incredible that no-one has thought of it before. Changes in vacuum cleaner design are one obvious example. Now there’s an innovation in compressed air filtration that’s just as ground-breaking, just as obvious in hindsight, and just as great an improvement in efficiency.
Compressed air contains moisture, oil emulsion and solid particulates. All of these will cause damage and wear to pneumatic equipment, leading to increased maintenance and even breakdowns. A compressed air filter is essential to protect the equipment, yet the conventional solution is essentially no more advanced than a sponge on a stick.
Even operating at its optimum, the sponge is only 60-80% efficient at soaking-up contaminants. As it becomes saturated and dirty, its efficiency is further reduced, giving the compressed air the potential to cause even more damage and wear.
The answer is not simply an improved filter, but an entirely new, 99.999% efficient way of cleaning compressed air.
How Fluid Dynamics beat filtering
In conventional filters, the air passes through a membrane (the ‘sponge on a stick’), causing moisture and dirt in the compressed air to stick to the internal element, meaning the efficiency decreases over time. An additional issue with conventional compressed air filters is their inability to deal with the volume of moisture and dirt when an air dryer fails. In contrast, Expel acts as an effective backup and consistent insurance policy if an air dryer fails –meaning less part replacement, less maintenance, and less cost.
Reactive maintenance is a cost not only in terms of engineers’ time, but also production downtime. And frequent replacement of internal elements is always necessary.
The innovative EXPEL compressed air filter operates entirely differently.
Engineered using Computational Fluid Dynamics, EXPEL doesn’t rely on membrane internals which become less efficient and need replacing. Instead, its internal design manipulates the compressed air so that moisture and other contaminants are simply removed.
No membrane means no replacement filters, no maintenance, and efficiency which never drops below 99.999%. Typically, it would take three conventional compressed air filters – one each for bulk water, oil emulsion and solid particulates – to do the job of one EXPEL.
Air that cleans itself
The design of EXPEL uses the manipulated movement of air to remove contaminants in two stages.
In stage one, compressed air entering the unit is directed downwards between the bowl and the outside of the internal filter element. Specially-designed angled vanes create eddy currents which force contaminants to the sidewall of the bowl.
At the base of the internal element more vanes – this time vertical – act on the air to brake it. The 95% of the contaminants which have been removed now fall to the bottom of the bowl to be automatically discharged by an AVG Auto-Drain.
In stage two, the air is forced up through the umbrella-shaped unitary vertical bodies, where any remaining moisture, oil emulsion fluids and particles down to 1 micron coalesce to form droplets. Gravity causes these droplets to fall to the base of the unit, where they are also automatically discharged. This removes the remaining 4.999% of contaminants.
There’s no membrane filter, no holes to become blocked and reduce efficiency, no moving parts to fail. And although cleaning is not necessary, the EXPEL is fully cleanable and reusable if required. It’s also simple to install, with the same port and attachment threads as all current conventional compressed air filters.
The ground-breaking performance of Expel is reinforced by a 10-year guarantee offered on every unit.
Cleaner than clean
EXPEL is so effective, it can even be used for certain air applications in place of an air dryer – which is expensive to purchase, run and maintain.
For optimum air cleanliness in these applications, EXPEL can be installed either at point-of-use, upstream of an activated carbon filter, or upstream of a smaller, cheaper, point-of-use air dryer.
But as the Case Study shows: wherever you use EXPEL to clean your compressed air, the savings can be breath-taking.
Case Study
A manufacturer operating a baghouse dust collection system identified moisture in compressed air as a potential cause of:
- Clogged and torn socks
- Increased energy consumption
- Unplanned shutdowns
By installing EXPEL to clean the compressed air, the manufacturer:
- Removed 250ml of moisture every 2 days
- Reduced energy consumption on air purges
- Reduced the likelihood of unplanned shutdowns
- Increased the equipment lifespan
Moisture in the compressed air lines is one of the most common reasons for unnecessary costs for baghouses. Baghouses are refurbished as part of regular planned maintenance. The baghouse at this site now requires less frequent refurbishment since installing Expel. Expel guarantees that the compressed air reaching the baghouse is free from liquid water, oil emulsion or solid particulates.
With refurbishment previously required every 5-7 years, potential cost savings (excluding saved energy costs) are:
Sock replacements
c. £27,000
Sock cages and spares
c. £6,000
Pulse control panel
c. £11,000
Labour Costs
c. £28,260
Total Savings
c. £72,260
Are you looking for something in particular?
Our team can help:
For more information on Fluid Power, Transfer and Control Solutions and to get in touch with one of our ERIKS Specialists, please contact your local ERIKS Service Centre, who will be happy to discuss your options.
#OriginalAVG #EXPEL #ERIKS #LetsMakeIndustryWorkBetter #Filter #Filtration #Innovation
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