Oil-Free Air Saves Manufacturing Costs - Eliminate RISK!
Med Lab Air is Certified to deliver ISO 8573-1 Class 0, 100% oil-free air, Med Lab Air or MLA air compressors are designed for the medical industry. Hospitals, Dentist, Pharma & Labs all benefit from the knowledge that a class zero standard saves lives.
They are ideal for industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, electronics, automotive and others that require unpolluted environments. Currently in Australia almost all industries outside of medical are not using Class Zero Air. At Med Lab Air we are striving to change this and make our quality of air and food production safes and of a higher quality for all. Australia deserves a higher quality and a better standard.
Benefits of using oil-free air in the manufacturing process include eliminating contamination throughout the plant, resulting in prolonged equipment life, and lowering downstream filtration requirements and pressure drops.
With Med Lab Air, you eliminate risks: no risk of contamination, of damaged or unsafe products, of losses from operational downtime or of jeopardizing your company’s well-earned reputation.
So what is Class Zero - ISO8573-1 Air?
The international standard ISO 8573-1 (2010), “Compressed air — Contaminants and purity classes,” provides a classification system for the main contaminants in compressed air systems. The standard specifies a number of purity classes for compressed air with respect to particulates, water and oil, independent of the location in the compressed air system at which the air is measured. In addition, it identifies gaseous and microbiological contaminants in a system.
The standard delineates eight purity classes for solids contamination that range from 0 (least contaminated) to 7, plus a Class X for air samples that exceed a particulate mass concentration of 10 mg/m3. Likewise, it specifies purity classes with respect to water and oil. Other parts of ISO 8573 detail methods for actually measuring these contaminants.
Class 1 is the second most-stringent (“cleanest”) section. It specifies the maximum number of particulates per cubic meter as:
• ≤20,000 particles from 0.1 to 0.5 µm in size.
• ≤400 particles from 0.5 to 1.0 µm in size.
• ≤10 particles from 1.0 to 5.0 µm in size. It also specifies:
• Pressure dewpoint of ≤-70° C, and no liquid water allowed.
• Concentration of total oil (liquid, aerosol and vapor) as ≤0.01 mg/m3.
Class 0, in contrast to the other classes’ empirical data, is simply classified “As specified by the equipment user or supplier and more stringent than Class 1.” Thus, Class 0 requires that the user and equipment manufacture agree to contamination levels as part of a written specification, and the spec should adhere to the guidelines and measurement capabilities of the test equipment and the test methods defined in ISO 8573 parts 2 through 9.
Does Class Zero mean zero Contamination?
A number of compressor manufacturers say that air delivered from their oil-free compressors complies with Class 0 standards. But users should be aware that a Class 0 compressor still requires air filtration and treatment upstream and, possibly, downstream of the compressor, depending on the operating conditions and the state of the incoming air. For instance, a system installed in a contaminated industrial location laden with airborne oil aerosols and vapour could pass right through the compressor and invalidate the Class 0 rating. Thus, it is always good practice to install particulate filters, coalescing filters, coolers, and desiccant or refrigerant dryers as needed.
Suppliers offer a wide range of oil-free compressors, including piston, rotary screw and scroll types that let users meet Class 0 conditions. The purchase price of an oil-free unit can be up to 40 to 50% higher than that of an equivalent oil-lubricated compressor, and the devices may need more-frequent maintenance to replace components like Teflon seals. And in terms of life, they may not last as long as a lubricated unit, as internal lubricating coatings degrade and wear away over time.
Makers of oil-free compressors counter that when it comes to overall cost of ownership, in the long run oil-free technology actually costs less because it eliminates expensive filter replacements, less energy is consumed overcoming the pressure drops in filters, and there is no cost to treat oily condensate.