Oil-Free Compressors

The International Standards Organization (ISO) created ISO 8573-1 to measure compressed air quality by the amount of solid particulates, water, and oil content in one cubic foot of compressed air. This standard outlines the levels of solid particulates, water, and oil allowed based on the classification. 

To meet ISO 8573-1 Class 0, the most stringent air quality classification, compressed air must contain less than 0.01 milligram per cubic meter (mg/m3) of total oil.

Eliminate Contamination Risks

Oil-free air compressors provide manufacturers with peace of mind by avoiding contamination risks from trace oil reaching their product and protecting their corporate reputation. This peace of mind continues further downstream by preventing oil contamination in pneumatic equipment lines leading to higher maintenance and downtime.

Reduce Environmental Footprint

Oil-flooded air compressors generate oil-contaminated condensate that is often regulated by governing authorities for disposal. This hidden cost of monitoring, testing, and disposing of condensate is eliminated with the use of oil-free air.

Lower Maintenance Costs

Switching from an oil-flooded to an oil-free air compressor provides operators with significantly lower maintenance requirements, including: 
• Fewer ancillary air system components to maintain 
• Longer timeframes between oil changes 
• Elimination of oil filters to clean the air product 
• Elimination of oil condensate management 
• Longer desiccant life of downstream air dryers 
• Minimized downstream labor and outage-related costs

Lower Energy Costs

The more energy efficient the compressor, the more direct impact the machine will have on lowering operating expenses. Oil-free compressors are typically 10-15% more efficient than equivalent capacity oil-flooded rotary machines. Subsequently, since energy costs are generally 60-75% of the total life-cycle costs of an air compressor, overall cost savings from efficiency alone can result in several thousands of dollars in life-cycle savings. 

Oil-flooded machines also require several oil filters and oil separators in the air path to clean the manufactured compressed air. Each one of these items will cause a pressure drop across the filter, resulting in lower air pressure delivery downstream in the plant. The decrease in pressure means the compressor must work harder to maintain the demand needed for the plant creating lower efficiencies and higher energy costs.

Understanding the long-term benefits an oil-free air compressor brings to manufacturing, FS-Elliott is committed to only designing air compressors that deliver 100% guaranteed oil-free, ISO 8573-1 Class 0 air.

To give our customers the assurance that each compressor we manufacture will only deliver ISO 8573-1 Class 0 compliant air, we maintain a certification from the TÜV (Technishe UberwachungsVerein – Technical Monitoring Association). The TÜV is a worldwide, independent leader in evaluating the quality and safety of products while maintaining the strictest of standards. Our current certification is available upon request.