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Compressed Air for Landfills: Common Failures, Moisture Challenges, and Maintenance Best Practices

Compressed Air for Landfills

Don’t feel like reading a lot? Here’s all you need to know at a glance.

Landfills rely on compressed air for gas control, leachate pumping, analyzers, and utility work, but outdoor runs and weather make moisture the top risk.

The article explains the failures you will see most often, including icing, corrosion, oil carryover, bad drains, leaks, and undersized dryers. You get clear guidance on dryer selection, filtration, heat trace, corrosion resistant piping, and storage so instruments stay reliable in winter and summer.

Maintenance checklists cover what to inspect daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonally to prevent freeze ups and pressure loss. A quick spec for instrument air and a moisture troubleshooting list make upgrades straightforward. Finish with a five-step action plan to log data, fix drains and leaks, right size the dryer, add monitoring, and schedule recurring service

Where landfills use compressed air

  • Gas collection and control
    Valve actuation, instrument air for flare systems, blowers, and gas-to-energy skids.

  • Leachate and condensate management
    Pneumatic pumps in wells and sumps, air-lift systems, and air-operated diaphragm pumps.

  • Environmental monitoring
    Sample pumps, purge systems, cabinet purges, and analyzer air.

  • General utility air
    Maintenance tools, cleanup air, and winterization tasks.

Reliability priorities at these sites: weather resistance, clean dry air for instruments, long pipe runs with minimal pressure drop, and simple maintenance that does not require daily attention.

The 10 most common failure modes

  1. Moisture carryover and icing
    Water in outdoor piping freezes, blocks valves, and fouls instruments. In warmer months it accelerates corrosion and contamination.

  2. Corrosion in piping and components
    Carbon steel lines and low points corrode, creating flakes that plug orifices and damage valve seats.

  3. Oil carryover into instruments
    Lubricated compressors without proper coalescing filtration contaminate I/P converters and regulators.

  4. Dryer undersizing or wrong technology
    Refrigerated dryers are easy to own, but many landfill applications need a lower dew point than they can provide.

  5. Condensate drain failures
    Timed drains stick open or closed. Either you waste air or you flood the system.

  6. Filter clogging and pressure drop
    Long, dirty service intervals lead to starved tools, slow actuators, and higher kWh.

  7. Leaks in long runs
    Aboveground headers, quick connects, and buried repairs leak heavily, especially after freeze-thaw cycles.

  8. Controls and sensor issues
    High humidity, dust, and temperature swings cause nuisance trips on pressure, temperature, and dew point sensors.

  9. Inadequate ventilation for packaged units
    Small sheds or containers overheat in summer and choke off cooling air, raising discharge temperatures and moisture load.

  10. Power quality problems
    Remote feeders and generators create voltage dips that trip drives and soft starters.

Why moisture is harder at landfills

  • High ambient humidity around wells, leachate sumps, and lagoons.

  • Large temperature swings drive condensation along exposed piping.

  • Long distribution runs mean more cold surface area and more low points.

  • Intermittent demand makes dryers cycle irregularly and creates wet slugs at restart.

  • Outdoor instruments often require a pressure dew point at least 20 to 30 degrees below the lowest expected ambient temperature to avoid freeze-up.

Rule of thumb
Choose a dryer and point-of-use strategy that keeps the pressure dew point well below winter lows at the coldest instrument. For many sites in Pennsylvania, that means a desiccant dryer target of minus 40 degrees F pressure dew point for instrument air, with a refrigerated dryer acceptable for general utility air inside heated areas.

Designing for reliability in landfill environments

AIR TREATMENT

  • Use a heated desiccant dryer or heated blower purge for instrument air. Add a refrigerated dryer upstream to reduce desiccant load if power allows.

  • Install a high efficiency coalescing filter before the dryer and a particulate filter after it. Add an activated carbon filter for analyzer air.

  • Specify no loss electronic drains at the receiver, filters, and intercooler separators. Pipe all drains to an approved collection point.

PIPING & LAYOUT

  • Use stainless steel or aluminum header with corrosion resistant fittings.

  • Slope mains 1 inch per 10 feet toward low point drains. Avoid dead legs.

  • Heat trace and insulate exposed low points and critical instrument drops.

  • Provide adequate storage near high demand devices to limit pressure sag.

COMPRESSOR PACKAGE

  • Weatherproof the enclosure and specify NEMA 4X where appropriate.

  • Oversize coolers for summer conditions. Provide louvered intake and exhaust with thermostat controlled fans.

  • Consider variable speed for sites with wide demand swings.

  • Add remote monitoring with cellular or SCADA tie in for alarms, dew point, pressure, and run hours.

  • Plan N plus 1 redundancy for critical instrument air.

POWER & CONTROLS

  • Verify voltage stability under generator or transfer switch operation.

  • Provide surge protection and line reactors for drives.

  • Use simple, well labeled panels with clear alarm history for non specialist operators.

Maintenance best practices

Daily or shift checks

  • Receiver pressure, dryer status, dew point reading, differential pressure on filters, and condensate drain function.

Weekly

  • Walk the distribution line and valve boxes. Listen for leaks, check heat trace, and exercise critical valves.

  • Clean intake filters and cabinet screens.

  • Verify cooler surfaces are clear.

Monthly

  • Leak survey with ultrasonic tool. Repair leaks above 5 scfm the same month.

  • Inspect belts, couplings, and mounting bolts.

  • Record power and flow if meters are installed to track specific power.

Quarterly

  • Change coalescing and particulate elements as indicated by differential pressure or calendar time.

  • Sample compressor oil if applicable.

  • Test dew point under load and verify drain cycle counts.

Seasonal

  • Winterize exposed lines and instruments. Confirm heat trace operation and insulation integrity.

  • Summer check of ventilation and cooling air path. Remove obstructions.

Annual

  • Full service per OEM intervals, dryer performance test, safety relief inspection, SCADA alarm test, and a distribution pressure profile to identify restrictions.

Spares to keep on site

  • Filter elements, drain kits, belts, coolant or oil, contactors, temperature sensors, dew point probe, and a loaner regulator or I/P converter for instruments.

Quick checklists

Instrument air spec

  • Target dew point: minus 40 degrees F pressure dew point

  • Oil content at point of use: ISO 8573 Class 1 or better for sensitive instruments

  • Solid particle filtration: 1 micron after dryer

Start of winter prep

  • Confirm dryer reaches set dew point under load

  • Open and test all low point drains

  • Inspect and power test heat trace circuits

  • Insulate exposed drops and valve boxes

Troubleshooting moisture

  • Verify dryer is operating and purge heaters are functional

  • Check coalescing filter differential pressure and drain function

  • Inspect for bypassed filters or open manual drains introducing wet air

  • Log compressor discharge temperature and room temperature

  • Pull a sample of condensate to check for oil contamination

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Frequently Asked Questions

What dryer type should I choose for a landfill?

Use a desiccant dryer for instrument air exposed to freezing temperatures. Pair with a refrigerated dryer upstream when you want to reduce desiccant consumption.

For most landfill instruments, high quality filtered air from a lubricated rotary screw is acceptable. Analyzer air or oxygen service may require oil free or additional polishing.

A starting point is 3 to 5 gallons per scfm of average flow, with extra receivers located near fast acting loads and at the far end of long runs.

Use self regulating heat trace rated for the ambient temperature profile, wrap low points and vertical risers, and include a thermostat and GFCI protection.

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