JOLIET, Ill. (July 12, 2006) In order to meet the rigorous conditions and demands on air quality for offshore rigs, Filtration Group subsidiary Filtrair partnered with A.S. Wide to introduce the Infinidry Air ® Intake Salt and Water Barrier System. Unique filtration systems are required to supply combustion air to the gas turbines, generate power to operate the rig and supply clean air for onboard personnel. While competitive systems have a minimum of three and often four stages of filtration, the Infinidry System ® offers a simple two stage process, saving important space and weight on the platform.

After testing the new system out on their gas turbine retrofit, located in the harsh waters of Norway's North Sea, Statoil was impressed by the two stage salt and water barrier filter that incorporates the Wide Maximum Efficiency (ME) demister vanes as the first stage. Manufactured in sea water resistant aluminum, the demister effectively removes moisture from the air stream, ranging fr om light fog to driving rain conditions.

In the second stage, the Filtrair Drop Safe ® Pocket removes droplets as they coalesce, accumulate and drain down the hydrophobic media where the salt and water are collected at the bottom of each pocket. The pockets are individually fitted on the downstream side with waterproof boots, allowing the saline solution to be drained forward and out of the filter. It is then channeled via the filter holding frames and manifolds out of the air intake path, eliminating the problem of saturated droplets passing through to the clean air side and contaminating the air.

"The Infinidry System ® offered Statoil the added bonus of a much lower pressure drop," said Brian Thompson, general manager of Filtrair Power Systems. "After two years of operation and very careful monitoring, Statoil was able to reduce their intake system pressure loss by 0.6 w.g., which significantly reduced operating costs.