Air Drying Services

Air-drying calls for large quantities of extremely dry, oil-free pressurized air. Moist ambient air is initially compressed by oil-free compressors then passed through an air-drying unit, where the compressed air is cooled to condense and to separate a large portion of the present water vapor.

This dry air is then passed through descants absorber which retains all but a few  p.p.m. of the remaining moisture. The discharged air has a dew point of approximately -40 ºC.

The procedure used for air drying is similar to the one used for nitrogen drying. However, discharge pressure is limited to approximately 150-200 psig.

If a time lag is expected between the drying and final commissioning, the system  can be purged with a pressure blanket of nitrogen in order to inhibit the  oxidization of the pipe surface, which also allows for hydrocarbons to be introduced into an inert atmosphere.

SAKNAFTA EGYPT provides complete services to dry and purge the pipelines with the most advanced well-known reliable equipment.