A refrigerated compressed air dryer is a type of compressed air dryer, used to dry compressed air. Compressed air always contains water, coming from the air that is sucked in by the compressor. To protect your piping, tools and equipment, it’s best to use a compressed air dryer to dry the air.

As the name implies, a refrigerated air dryer works by cooling down the air (like a refrigerator).The warm wet air enters the dryer, where it is cooled down to about 3 degrees Celsius. All water vapor that was in the air condenses into water. 

After that, the cold air is re-heated to room temperature. Since a lot of water has condensed into water, the air is now much dryer. 

The cooling is done in the same way as your freezer and fridge are cooled. In a separate circuit, liquid refrigerant is evaporated in the evaporator, to cool down the warm compressed air.

The air is cooled, while the refrigerant gets warmer. The refrigerant is compressed by a small compressor and cooled again in the condenser.