The purity of breathing air is essential in both industrial and medical applications. In industrial settings, purified air helps protect workers from hazardous contaminants, while in medical environments, it supports patient safety. The European Pharmacopoeia (Eu Pharm) sets strict quality standards as identified in monograph 1238, regulating oxygen levels, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, oil content, and water vapor. Meeting these standards enhances workplace safety, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency. In order to achieve the required air purity, breathing air purification systems are used.
The independent Institute for Environment & Energy, Technology & Analytics (IUTA) tested the Ultrapure Smart ALG adsorption dryer – a specialized version of the Ultrapac™ Smart adsorption dryer series – and confirmed that it not only meets all EU Pharm. limits but significantly exceeds the purity requirements with most values.
The test followed ISO 7183 guidelines, which define performance data and test methods for compressed air dryers. To simulate real-world industrial conditions, additional contamination levels of water, oil, CO₂, CO, SO₂, and NOₓ were introduced.
Test Parameters
- Airflow: Inlet: 35m3/h* (during regeneration), Outlet: 27.65 m3/h*
- Inlet Conditions: 7.0 bar (e), 99.7% r.H., 34°C, non-purified compressor air
- Test Aerosol: Corena oil S3 R46
- Work Mode of Dryer at Test: Time Control: Cycle Time: Adsorption: 120s, Purge-Regeneration: 100s, Pressurization 20s
Test Results
| Test Parameter | Definition of Air, Medicinal (Eu.Pham. 10.8 (07/2022;1238)) | Inlet concentration |
Outlet concentration |
Test device/method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Oxygen (O2) |
20.4 vol.% to 21.4 vol.% | 20.8 vol.% |
20.8 vol.% |
Horiba PG-350E (2P9VX0B6) |
Carbon dioxide (CO2) |
≤ 500 ppmv | 644 ppmv | 487 ppmv | Horiba APMA-370 (CO2) (SGH8HC59) |
Carbon monoxide (CO) |
≤ 5 ppmv | 15.5 ppmv | 0.1 ppmv | Horiba APMA-370 (42MF29NN) |
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) |
≤ 1 ppmv |
2.8 ppmv |
0.02 ppmv |
API MLU 100A (860) |
Oil |
≤ 0.1 mg/m3 |
> 10 mg/m3 |
0.008 mg/m3 |
ISO 8573-2:2018-02 + ISO 8573-5:2001-12 |
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) |
≤ 2 ppmv |
3.7 ppmv |
0.002 ppmv |
Evi. S.A. AC32M (04-741) |
| Water (H2O) | ≤ 67 ppmv | 97.7 % r.H. | 8.5 ppmv (-45.5°Ctd) | MCZ Umwelttechnik easyHUM TL ATT-520 (23062) |
The Ultrapac™ Smart Adsorption Dryer Series: Reliable Air Purification
The Ultrapac™ Smart dryer series is designed for a broad range of compressed air and gas applications, from general industrial use to critical medical and breathing air needs:
- The Ultrapac™ Smart dryer base model features a drying stage as well as pre- and after-filtration including UltraPleat™ media technology.
- The Oilfreepac™ Smart OFP dryer in addition includes an activated carbon adsorber for enhanced purification.
- The Ultrapure Smart ALG breathing air dryer also incorporates the activated carbon adsorber plus an OX catalyst for superior air quality.
- Additionally, the standalone Ultrasorp Smart AKC activated carbon adsorber is available for oil removal.
Because all models share key purification stages, test results for the breathing air system also apply to the other systems, providing consistent and reliable performance across the Smart dryer range, reaffirming that advanced Smart dryer solutions continue to set benchmarks for compressed air and gas purification.
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