Screw Air Compressor Oil And Gas Separation Filter Element Failure Causes And Treatment

Oil-air separation cartridge is a very important component in the screw air compressor system, its main role is to separate the oil mist and impurities in the compressed air to ensure the quality of compressed air. However, in the process of air compressor use, the oil-air separation cartridge may have some failures, thus affecting the normal operation of the screw air compressor. Based on this, this article will be from the following aspects with you to understand the screw air compressor oil and gas separation cartridge failure causes and treatment methods, for reference.

First, the reasons for the failure of the oil and gas separation filter element and processing methods

　　In practice, the screw air compressor oil and gas separation cartridge failure is caused by a variety of reasons, the following are some common causes of failure and their corresponding methods of treatment:

1. Damaged filter element

　　Once the oil-air separation cartridge is damaged, perforation and other damage phenomena, it will lose its oil-air separation function, which will lead to screw air compressor exhaust with oil.
　　Treatment: Observe the appearance of the screw air compressor oil-air separation cartridge to see if there is damage, perforation and other damage phenomena; you can also judge by the working condition of the air compressor, such as whether the air compressor in the process of running the exhaust with oil. Once found that the oil and gas separation cartridge is indeed damaged, should be replaced in a timely manner with a new oil and gas separation cartridge to ensure the normal operation of the air compressor.

2. Filter blockage

　　Oil and gas filter element blockage will lead to screw air compressor control panel alarm light flashing or oil and gas filter element before and after the pressure difference of more than 0.7bar.
　　Treatment: First, turn off the screw air compressor, disconnect the power supply, open the oil-air separator and take out the old oil-air separation cartridge; then, replace the new oil-air separation cartridge to ensure that it is installed in place and well sealed; finally, restart the screw air compressor and observe whether the alarm light on the control panel is extinguished, and at the same time, check whether the pressure difference between the front and rear of the oil-air separation cartridge is back to normal.

3. Problems of air intake system

　　If there is any problem with the air inlet system of the screw air compressor, such as kinking or deformation of the air inlet pipe, it will also seriously affect the oil and gas separation effect of the screw air compressor.
　　Treatment: Conduct a comprehensive inspection of the air intake pipe of the compressor, including checking whether the air intake pipe has obvious kinks or deformation, as well as whether there are other factors that may lead to the obstruction of the air flow (such as the inner diameter of the air intake pipe becomes smaller will directly affect the air flow speed and flow rate, thus affecting the effect of the air compressor’s oil-air separation). Once you find that the intake pipe of the screw air compressor is kinked, deformed or has a small inner diameter, you can consider replacing the intake pipe to ensure that the screw air compressor can operate normally.

4. Problems in the environment

The air quality of the environment is poor, containing a lot of dust and impurities, which will also lead to screw air compressor oil and gas separation filter element clogging too quickly, affecting the normal operation of the air compressor.
　　Treatment: Clean the environment of the air compressor to reduce the generation of dust and impurities, or change the placement of the air compressor, place it in a place with better air quality to realize. In addition, you can also install air filters at the air inlet of the air compressor, which can effectively filter out most of the dust and impurities in the air, thus effectively reducing the pollutants into the interior of the screw air compressor.

5. Lubricant problem

　　Improper selection and use of lubricants may also lead to screw air compressor oil-air separation cartridge failure, affecting the normal operation of the screw air compressor.
　　Treatment: Check whether the lubricant used is the right type of lubricant, if not, replace it with the right type of lubricant to ensure its best performance. At the same time, also check whether the lubricating oil level of the screw air compressor is in the appropriate range, if not, should reduce or increase the amount of lubricating oil, so that the lubricating oil level of the screw air compressor is in the appropriate range.

6. Improper operation

　　In the process of using screw air compressor, improper operation of the operator may also lead to screw air compressor oil and gas separation cartridge failure.
　　Treatment: Ensure that the operator has been professionally trained and can master the correct operating procedures of the screw air compressor as well as simple troubleshooting ability.

7. Abnormal pressure

　　Abnormal pressure in the air compressor system may also cause damage to the oil-air separation cartridge.
　　Treatment: Check whether the pressure sensor and pressure switch of the screw air compressor are working properly, and if any malfunction or damage is found, they should be replaced or repaired; if the pressure sensor and pressure switch are working properly, the upper and lower pressure limits can be adjusted appropriately to make sure that the system operates in the normal range; check whether the components of the air compressor, cooler and piping of the screw air compressor work properly, and if any malfunction or damage is found, they should be repaired or replaced. any fault or damage, it should be repaired or replaced.

8. Abnormal temperature

　　Too high or too low temperature may affect the performance of oil-air separation cartridge of screw air compressor, and even lead to the failure of oil-air separation cartridge of air compressor.
　　Treatment: Check whether there is any abnormality in the working condition of the air compressor oil-air separation cartridge. If the performance of the screw air compressor oil-air separation cartridge is found to be reduced or malfunctioned, it should be cleaned or replaced with a new oil-air separation cartridge.

Case Analysis

Case 1:

　　In a chemical plant, multiple screw air compressor oil-air separation cartridges are often clogged, resulting in high replacement frequency, about every 1500 hours or so, the differential pressure will become larger and trigger an alarm. In order to find out the cause of the malfunction, the maintenance personnel carried out a detailed inspection of the machine, and found that the sensor and the minimum pressure valve were normal. However, when removing the oil-air separation filter element, the maintenance personnel found that there was a serious carbon buildup on the surface of the oil-air separation filter element. Also, the air filter and connecting piping were not abnormal. Although the dust around the air compressor was not obvious, the staff still smelled a pungent and unpleasant odor.
　　After further investigation, the maintenance staff found that there was a sulfurization tower next to it, and the smell was exactly the sulfide coming out from the sulfurization tower. Therefore, it was initially determined that the cause of the failure could be due to sulfide in the surrounding environment. In order to solve this problem, the maintenance staff suggested to improve the ventilation structure of the compressor room. Specific measures included changing the inlet air inlet to have its back to the sulfide tower and the outlet air inlet directly facing the sulfide tower, and improving the sulfide tower to minimize its emission.
　　After half a year’s testing, these improvements achieved significant results, and the service life of the oil-air separation filter elements replaced at a later stage was significantly extended, all reaching 3,000-4,000 hours. This case shows that the screw air compressor oil-air separation cartridge failure may be related to the surrounding environment, and the problem can be effectively solved by improving the ventilation structure and reducing the harmful gas emissions.

Case 2:

　　A customer feedbacks that a 110kW screw air compressor he is using has the problem of high differential pressure alarm of oil-air separation cartridge. When the maintenance personnel arrived at the scene, they found that all aspects of the screw compressor’s working conditions were relatively good, but the alarm indicator was blinking and the display showed a differential pressure of 1.23 bar. In order to further determine the cause of the problem, the maintenance personnel stopped the compressor and carried out a detailed inspection.
　　After the compressor was stopped, the maintenance personnel emptied the pressure inside the compressor and then observed the display on the PC board and found that there was a differential pressure of 0.96bar. This differential pressure value was significantly lower than the differential pressure value at the time of the alarm, which confused the maintenance personnel. At the same time, the maintenance personnel also checked the inside and outside of the oil/air separation cartridge and found that there was no pressure at this time. Therefore, the maintenance personnel initially judged that there might be an error in the sensing of the sensor.
　　In order to solve this problem, the maintenance personnel suggested the user to replace the sensor. After replacing the sensor with a new one, the maintenance personnel restarted the air compressor and observed its operation. The results showed that the differential pressure of the air compressor oil-air separation cartridge was 0.25 bar, which is a completely normal differential pressure value.
　　Through this maintenance concluded that the original problem is indeed caused by the sensor sensing error, after replacing the new sensor, the operating condition of the air compressor immediately returned to normal.

Conclusion

　　Oil and gas separation cartridge is to ensure the normal operation of the screw air compressor “heart”, once the “heart” problem, the whole system will be affected. Therefore, once found that the air compressor oil and gas separation cartridge failure, we should find the cause in time to deal with. In addition, in order to ensure the normal work of the oil and gas separation cartridge, we should do a good job from the screw air compressor oil and gas separation cartridge selection, use and maintenance. Only in this way can we effectively avoid and reduce the occurrence of oil-air separation cartridge failure, so as to ensure the normal operation of the screw air compressor.