The PIUS program is dedicated to companies of all sizes that are located in Hessian, Germany for supporting research and development projects towards technical solutions for reducing CO2 emissions. The program is lead by the Hessian Ministry for Economy, Energy, Transportation and Regional Development and is funded by the European Union (EFRE; “European Fund for Regional Development”).
The aim of this project comprises the production of compressed air under energy-efficient and climate-friendly conditions in order to save CO2 emissions. Compressed air is part of everyday life and is used in a wide range of tasks in various processes, buildings, vehicles, tools, etc. due to its many advantages (light, wear-free, sterile if necessary, residue-free, cost-effective). The technical production of compressed air by means of compressors in which rapidly rotating compressor screws are lubricated by oils is
widely used. The compressed air produced in this way contains a fine oil mist with particle size distributions in the sub-micrometer to micrometer range, which is collected and removed (or returned to the compressor). This process step requires coalescing filters through which different purity levels of compressed air can be accessed. The highest purity level is currently only achieved by fine particle separators, which, due to their design, result in a high pressure increase and correspondingly high energy consumption during generation.
Our focus in the PIUS project therefore is the development of compressed air de-oiling filters with outstanding separation performance and at the same time low pressure drop, in order to contribute with the filter medium to energy savings in the production of compressed air.