OPERATION OF Dental Air COMPRESSOR WITH SILICA GEL DRYER
Air enters the cylinder through a filter (A), undergoes an initial filtration which removes airborne dust,
improves its quality and protects piston and cylinder. The piston (B) travels inside the cylinder
(C) without lubrication; the material that covers the piston and the cylinder liner are compatible and,
despite the relative motion, will not be subject to appreciable wear. In the cylinder air is compressed
and heated (to about 100°C), it is then necessary to pass it through the air-to-air exchanger (D) where,
at an ambient temperature of about 20°C, the air will
remain at approx. 5 °C. The compressed air must be cooled in order to reach the dew point, which is
a necessary condition for condensation of the water vapour present in the air. In the drying column (E)
the cooled air passes through the cyclone (F) where it deposits the first drops of dew that are collected in
the tank (G). Above the cyclone, air passes through the filter disc (R) then it passes through a silica gel
mix (I) with high adsorbent power, where residual moisture is removed. After leaving the drying
column, air passes through two filters: the first one is sintered bronze (H), the second one polyester
(L); the polyester filter (L) may be replaced with an antibacterial HEPA H14 filter. The Cattani Air Compressor tank is lined
with an anti microbial surface comprised of silver ion to ensure hygenic storage of compressed air.
While the tank is filling, air also enters the small tank (O) through a selective valve (N) . At the end of
each charge, the dry air in the small tank counter-flows through the drying column to regenerate the
silica gel. This occurs because this return air drags with it all of the water previously removed from
the incoming air and conveys it into the bottle (P). The entire process described above takes place automatically.
