(Oct. 2019/OM) - Anyone who generates their compressed air with oil-free compressors from Atlas Copco need have no fear of their products being contaminated with mineral oil. This is because the Group has the "Class 0" for high-purity compressed air and high-purity vacuum from TÜV in writing: absolutely no oil residues can be found in the output air of all machines in the Z series and various vacuum pumps.

Mineral oil in food, and then also in baby food? "That shouldn't and doesn't have to happen," says Dirk Villé, Managing Director of Atlas Copco Kompressoren und Drucklufttechnik GmbH in Essen. "Anyone who generates their compressed air or vacuum with our oil-free compressors and pumps will at least have peace of mind on this front!" This is because the manufacturer's machines supply pure air in accordance with ISO standard 8573-1, Class 0, because they compress absolutely oil-free. "In any case, mineral oil has no place at all in the compressed air," emphasizes the Atlas Copco manager.

"The so-called 'Class Zero' was confirmed to us by certificate from TÜV back in 2006 - and is more relevant today than ever," Villé emphasizes. At that time, using the most stringent test procedures, TÜV had checked the compressed air of Atlas Copco's Z-screw compressors for oil in all its state forms over a wide temperature and pressure range. "The testers found no oil residues in the output air," says Dirk Villé. "As a result, we were the first manufacturer whose oil-free compressors were certified to the then-new industry standard for air purity. ISO 8573-1, Class 0." This standard classifies compressed air according to three contaminants: oil, water and dust. It is now in its third version.

Today, all Atlas Copco oil-free compressors are certified to Class 0 for the amount of oil they contain, according to the current 2010 version of ISO 8573-1. These include turbo, speed, scroll and piston compressors, screw compressors - including water-injected ones - as well as the combined four-stage piston-screw compressors.

Atlas Copco also recently became the first manufacturer to have its vacuum pumps tested for oil traces by TÜV Rheinland in accordance with ISO 8573-1: the DZS claw vacuum pump, the DHS VSD+ variable-speed screw vacuum pump, and the LRP VSD+ variable-speed liquid ring pumps. "All three pump types have also been classified by TÜV Rheinland as absolutely oil-free and thus in Class 0 of ISO 8573-1," explains Villé. This means that no oil-induced damage can occur to sensitive applications and products.

"All these machines deliver 100 percent oil-free compressed air or an oil-free vacuum, from below 0.5 millibar absolute up to 40 bar," emphasizes Dirk Villé: for the textile industry, the food and beverage industry, breweries, cosmetics manufacturers, glass and electronics production, for the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, for vehicle painters, public and private sewage treatment plants or for critical medical applications in hospitals.

Oil-free compressors and oil-free vacuum pumps are used wherever clean air is an important requirement for the end product and/or production process. "For users, our machines bring higher process reliability, and they protect people and the environment," Villé is convinced. "Many of our customers have already used them to enforce higher production standards because they wanted to meet the requirements of ISO 14001 or OHSAS 18000, for example. Not to mention that our compressors are so efficient that new installations always significantly reduce energy consumption and thus operating costs."

Since 2015, Atlas Copco's compressor plant in Antwerp has also been ISO 22000 certified. This means that a food safety management system has been introduced there, and production now also takes place according to its specifications. "Because where compressed air in the food and beverage industry comes into contact with the end product, that's where our customers need absolute safety," finds Dirk Villé. With the ISO 22000 certified standard, users working in this industry would have independent proof that Atlas Copco products and processes conform to the quality requirements of the food industry. This applies not only to all Z-Series compressors and blowers operating according to Class 0, but also to the corresponding dryers and filters, Villé emphasizes: "They are all certified according to ISO 22000!"

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