Air Compressor Oil Separator Filter Element Failures: Causes & Solutions

Oil separator filter 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, during the use of an air compressor, an oil separator element cartridge may have some failures, which may affect the normal operation of a screw air compressor.

Based on this, this article will from the following aspects with you to understand the screw air compressor oil and gas separation cartridge failure causes and treatment methods, for reference.

The Reasons for The Failure of The Oil Separator Filter Element and Processing Methods

In practice, the failure of the screw air compressor oil separator filter cartridge is caused by a variety of reasons. It is also important to understand how do screw air compressor works? The following are some common causes of failure and their corresponding treatment methods:

　　1. Damaged filter element

Once the oil separator element is broken, perforated, and other damaged phenomena, it will lose its function of oil separator, which will lead to screw air compressor exhaust with oil.

Treatment: Observe the appearance of the screw air compressor oil separator cartridge to see if there is damage, perforation, and other damage phenomena; you can also judge through the working status of the air compressor, such as whether the air compressor in the process of running the exhaust with oil. Once found that the oil separator cartridge is indeed damaged, should be replaced promptly with a new oil and gas separation cartridge to ensure the normal operation of the air compressor.

　　2. Filter blockage

Oil separator 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 0.7 bar.

Treatment: First, switch off the screw air compressor, disconnect the power supply, open the oil-air separator, and take out the old oil separator element; then, replace the new oil separator filter cartridge and make sure that it is installed in place and sealed well; 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 separator element cartridge is back to normal.

　　3. Problems with the 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 other factors may lead to the obstruction of the airflow (such as the inner diameter of the air intake pipe becomes smaller will directly affect the airflow speed and flow rate, thus affecting the effect of the air compressor’s oil separator filter).

Once you find that the air inlet pipe of the screw air compressor is kinked, deformed, or has a small inner diameter, you can consider replacing the air inlet 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 separator 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, and place it in a place with better air quality to achieve. 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 in the interior of the screw air compressor.

5. Lubricant problem

Improper selection and use of lubricants may also lead to screw air compressor oil separator filter 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 lubricant oil level of the screw air compressor is in the appropriate range, if not, should reduce or increase the amount of lubricant so that the lubricant oil level of the screw air compressor is in the appropriate range.

6. Improper operation

In the process of using the screw air compressor, the improper operation of the operator may also lead to screw air compressor oil separator filter 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 separator element cartridge.

Treatment: Check whether the pressure sensor and pressure switch of the screw air compressor is working properly, and if any fault 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 ensure that the system operates within the normal range; check whether the components of the screw air compressor, the cooler, and the pipeline work properly and if any fault or damage is found, they should be repaired or damaged. any fault or damage, it should be repaired or replaced.

　　8. Abnormal temperature

Too high or too low a temperature may affect the performance of the oil separator element cartridge of the screw air compressor and even lead to the failure of the oil separator filter cartridge of the air compressor.

Treatment: Check whether there is any abnormality in the working condition of the air compressor oil separator filter cartridge. If the performance of the screw air compressor oil separator element cartridge decreases or malfunctions, it should be cleaned or replaced with a new oil separator filter cartridge.

Recently, customer feedback that a 110kW screw air compressor he was using had a problem with the high differential pressure alarm of the oil and gas separator cartridge. When the maintenance personnel arrived at the scene, they found that all aspects of the screw compressor’s working conditions were relatively good, except that the alarm indicator was flashing and the display showed a differential pressure of 1.23 bar. 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 drained the pressure inside the compressor and then observed the display on the PC board and found that there was a differential pressure of 0.96 bar. This differential pressure value was significantly lower than the differential pressure value during the alarm, which confused the maintenance personnel.

At the same time, the maintenance personnel also checked the inside and outside of the oil separator filter 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.

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 separator filter cartridge was 0.25 bar, which is a completely normal differential pressure value.

Through this maintenance, it was concluded that the original problem was indeed caused by the sensor sensing error, and after replacing the new sensor, the operating condition of the air compressor immediately returned to normal.

Recently, in a chemical plant, several screw air compressor oil separator filter cartridges were often clogged, resulting in a high frequency of replacement, and about every 1500 hours or so, the differential pressure would become larger and trigger an alarm. 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 separator element, the maintenance personnel found that there was a serious carbon build-up on the surface of the oil separator element. In addition, there was no abnormality in the air filter or connecting piping. 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 vulcanization tower next to the compressor, and the smell was precisely the sulfide coming out from the vulcanization tower. Therefore, it was initially judged that the cause of the fault could be due to the sulfide in the surrounding environment.

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 vulcanization tower and the outlet air outlet to be directly in front of the vulcanization tower, as well as improving the vulcanization tower to minimize its emissions.

After half a year of testing, these improvements achieved significant results, and the service life of the oil separator element 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 separator filter 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 emission.

Kotech Conclusion

oil separator filter 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 failed, we should find the cause in time to deal with it. In addition, 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 separator filter cartridge failure, to ensure the normal operation of the screw air compressor.