Vehicles such as trucks, buses, and construction machines utilize compressed air delivered by a compressor, which is directly connected to the engine, to control systems such as brakes and suspensions. The compressed air contains water, which is contained in the atmosphere, and oil for lubricating the inside of the compressor. When the compressed air containing such water and oil enters inside the systems, it causes rust and swelling of rubber members (such as O-rings) and results in an operational defect. Thus, an air dryer is provided downstream of the compressor in an air system for removing water and oil from the compressed air (for example, Patent Document 1).
A filter and a desiccant such as silica gel and zeolite are provided in the air dryer. The air dryer performs dehumidification to remove water from compressed air and regeneration to regenerate the desiccant by removing the water adsorbed by the desiccant and discharging it to the outside.
The air discharged from the air dryer during regeneration of the desiccant contains oil together with water. Considering the burden on the environment, an oil separator may be provided downstream of the compressor in the air system.
Some oil separators perform gas/liquid separation by allowing air that contains water and oil to strike impingement members provided in the housing to recover the oil from the air and discharge cleaned air (for example, Patent Document 2).