The complete guide CE 1639 · Class IIb

Medical air plants for hospitals: the complete guide.

Q: What is the difference between oil-free and oil-lubricated medical air compressors?

An oil-free compressor puts no oil into the air it compresses, so no compressor oil reaches the medical air network; an oil-lubricated compressor depends on separators and filters to keep its oil out. ULTRAAR SC is totally oil-free: it uses oil-free spiral (scroll) ULTRACECO SC compressors and is a Class IIb medical device. Oil-lubricated screw, vane or piston compressors also leave oily condensate that has to be separated before it is drained. Where screw compressors are specified, ULTRAAR ME adds air treatment certified to the Pharmacopoeia parameters and an oil/water separator for the condensate.

Q: Can medical air be used for autoclaves and other building equipment?

No: hospital standards prohibit using medical air for industrial purposes, so autoclaves, drying, valve actuation and other pneumatic equipment need a separate compressed air supply. Ultra Controlo builds that supply as ACIH, industrial hospital compressed air systems with Gardner Denver rotary screw compressors of 15 to 720 m³/h each, at 8 to 10 or 10 to 12 bar, with air treatment and an oil/water separator for the condensate. ACIH follows the Machinery Directive and the Portuguese ACSS ET 08/2010 specification, and can be built with oil-free compressors on request.

Q: What is the difference between a refrigeration dryer and an adsorption dryer?

A refrigeration dryer cools compressed air so its water condenses and drains away; an adsorption dryer passes the air through a desiccant and reaches much lower dew points. In Ultra Controlo’s range, ULTRASEC is the refrigeration dryer, with an aluminium heat exchanger that accepts inlet air up to 70 °C. ULTRADRY is the adsorption dryer, with a pressure dew point of −40 °C to −70 °C, desiccant in easy-change cartridges, a coalescing filter at the inlet and a dust filter at the outlet.

Q: What is a medical gas pipeline system (MGPS)?

A medical gas pipeline system (MGPS) is the network that carries medical gases and vacuum from the central supply to every point of use in a hospital. It includes the supply sources, copper pipework, manifolds, area valves, pressure regulators, alarm and monitoring panels, and the terminal units on bed-head units, wall outlets and ceiling pendants. EN ISO 7396-1 sets the requirements for its design, installation, testing, commissioning and documentation, for gases such as oxygen, nitrous oxide, medical air and carbon dioxide, and for vacuum. Ultra Controlo supplies the central plants and a complete range of MGPS components.

Q: What is a medical gas emergency cabinet?

A medical gas emergency cabinet keeps gases flowing to a critical area of the hospital if the network that feeds it fails, without anyone having to intervene. Ultra Controlo’s ULTRAGEC connects by derivation to the secondary network upstream of the critical area and holds 2 or 4 B50 cylinders of oxygen and medical air, a 40 m³/h vacuum pump, and a supervision monitor that watches primary and secondary network pressures. ULTRAGEC MOBILE puts the same cabinet on wheels.

Q: What is UltraCare?

UltraCare is Ultra Controlo’s technical assistance programme for its medical gas systems, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It covers preventive maintenance and monitoring, corrective service, original spare parts and rental equipment while a unit is serviced. Ultra Controlo selects and trains technicians in each country and runs post-installation monitoring under ISO 13485. UltraCare also services the partner brands Ultra Controlo distributes.

The European Pharmacopoeia treats medical air as a medicine, with strict limits for gases, oil and water. Ultra Controlo designs and builds complete medical air plants in Portugal to meet them.

Request a project assessment View medical air systems

ULTRAAR SC oil-free medical air plant with scroll compressor

Pipeline standard

EN ISO^7396-1

Hospital medical gas pipelines

Air quality

Ph. Eur.

To the European Pharmacopoeia

Working dew point

−46^°C

ULTRAAR SC

Oil-free since

1997

ULTRAAR SC, ESW, SCA and SCR

Countries

80⁺

With Ultra Controlo systems installed

What is medical air

A medicine you breathe.

Medical air is compressed air supplied through the hospital pipeline, breathed by patients and used to drive medical equipment. The Pharmacopoeia sets limits for its oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, oil and water content.

Medical air explained

From ambient air to the hospital pipeline.

A medical air plant takes in the air around it and turns it into a medicine.

ULTRAAR SC plants are specified to the Pharmacopoeia parameters.

Air quality · ULTRAAR SC

Ph. Eur. parameters

CO2: < 500 ppm
CO: < 5 ppm
SO2: < 1 ppm
NOx: < 2 ppm
Particles: < 1 μm
Oil: Exempt
Working dew point: −46 °C

How a medical air plant works

How a hospital makes medical air.

An oil-free ULTRAAR does it in five steps, automatically.

Built to EN ISO 7396-1

Compress

Oil-free compressors draw in ambient air and compress it. With two or more, they take turns, so they wear evenly and one can be serviced while the others run.

Duty sharing

Store

The air receiver, a tank of 200 litres to 6 m³, stores the compressed air before it goes on to treatment. An automatic electronic drain removes the condensate.

200 L to 6 m³

Treat

Filters and two adsorption columns take out water, particles, oil vapour and gases, to the limits of the European Pharmacopoeia. The columns change over by dew point, which saves purge air.

Ph. Eur. limits

Regulate

Duplex pressure reducers set the network pressure, and sterile filters guard the air going in. Test valves let you take samples.

Sterile filters

Watch

Ultragest monitors the dew point of the air going into the network, around the clock. Alarms report to a central alarm network or the building management system.

Around the clock

Compressors and treatment

The building blocks of medical air.

01 CompressScroll, piston and rotary screw compressors.

ULTRACECO SC

Oil-free scroll compressor, from one skid up to eight on a single controller.

View ULTRACECO SC

ULTRACECO ESW

Oil-less piston compressor. The first service comes at 10,000 hours.

View ULTRACECO ESW

ULTRASCREW

Oil-injected rotary screw compressor. The variable speed version saves up to 35% energy.

View ULTRASCREW

02 TreatDryers and purifiers that turn compressed air into medical air.

ULTRAMED

Medical air treatment in six stages, to the European Pharmacopoeia. It upgrades existing plants without a new control panel.

View ULTRAMED

ULTRATECH

Breathing air purifier that makes breathable air from any compressor, in seven stages.

View ULTRATECH

ULTRADRY

Adsorption dryer, with a pressure dew point of −40 to −70 °C and desiccant in easy-change cartridges.

View ULTRADRY

ULTRASEC

Refrigeration dryer with an aluminium heat exchanger, for inlet air up to 70 °C.

View ULTRASEC

ULTRAK

Activated carbon towers that take oil vapour down to 0.003 mg/m³.

View ULTRAK

ULTRAAR ME containerised medical air system, bound for a hospital in Milan

ULTRAAR ME Class IIb

Built complete inside a container

A complete medical air plant, in one container.

The containerised ULTRAAR ME is a complete hospital medical air system integrated inside a purpose-built container. The essential equipment is assembled as one coordinated unit, removing the need to install individual components inside a newly constructed technical building.

Its modular format is suitable for new healthcare projects, infrastructure upgrades and sites where conventional construction would be difficult, slow or disruptive.

Compressors

Gardner Denver

Rotary screw compressors

Air treatment

Ph. Eur. parameters

Air quality certificate from an independent organisation

Monitoring

2 × Ultragest

Continuous monitoring and control of the dew point

Condensate

Oil/water separator

Removes the oil before the condensate is drained

View ULTRAAR ME Read the Milan story

Inside the system

One system, from compressor to outlet.

Every plant is designed, built and tested by Ultra Controlo in Portugal, so its parts work together, and one team looks after all of it.

Oil-free since 1997ULTRAAR SC, ESW, SCA and SCR compress without oil, so no compressor oil can reach the network and there is no oily condensate to treat.
A medical deviceEvery ULTRAAR is a Class IIb active medical device, built to EN ISO 7396-1 and manufactured under ISO 13485.
Built in duplicateCompressors, treatment lines and pressure reducers can be doubled, so one can be serviced while the other keeps the network supplied.

ULTRAAR medical air plant by Ultra Controlo

The ULTRAAR range

Complete medical air plants, sized to the hospital.

Scroll

ULTRAAR SC

Oil-free scroll compressors, ULTRACECO SC.

View ULTRAAR SC Piston

ULTRAAR ESW

Oil-less piston compressors, 1 to 8 per plant.

View ULTRAAR ESW Compact scroll

ULTRAAR SCA

A compact scroll plant with an ULTRASEC refrigeration dryer.

View ULTRAAR SCA Two-stage screw

ULTRAAR SCR

Oil-free two-stage rotary screw compressors, fixed or variable speed.

View ULTRAAR SCR Screw · Container

ULTRAAR ME

Gardner Denver rotary screw compressors with treatment certified to the European Pharmacopoeia. Also built complete inside a container.

View ULTRAAR ME ACIH · Building air

Medical air stays medical.

ACIH gives autoclaves and building equipment their own compressed air.

View ACIH

Real-world deployments

Medical air, from Milan to Angola.

Medical air is part of the complete medical gas systems we deliver. Here are some of the latest.

July 2026

Italy · Milan

ULTRAAR ME containerised medical air system

A new ULTRAAR ME containerised medical air system has left the Ultra Controlo factory in Portugal, bound for a hospital in Milan. No separate plant room or traditional civil works are required for the medical air plant itself.

Containerised plant Read the story

December 2025

Togo · Lomé

ULTRAOX and ULTRAAR at CHU Sylvanus Olympio

ULTRAOX and ULTRAAR systems arrived at CHU Sylvanus Olympio Hospital in Lomé, the largest hospital in Togo. This marks a key step in the Projet Fonds Mondial.

Projet Fonds Mondial Read the story

April 2026

Angola · Luanda

Hospital Kilamba Kiaxi, maternal and child health centre

A medical air central went into operation with an ULTRAOX PSA oxygen plant, a medical vacuum central and the complete pipeline. The project was developed by the United Nations Development Programme for the Ministry of Health of Angola and is financed by the Global Fund.

UNDP · Global Fund Read the story

May 2026

Angola · Zango

Zango Hospital, the sixth hospital delivered

Ultra Controlo completed the delivery, installation, commissioning and handover of the full medical gas infrastructure at Zango Hospital: an ULTRAOX PSA oxygen plant, medical air and vacuum centrals and a complete MGPS distribution network.

Complete medical gas Read the story

Standards & certification

The compliance stack for hospital medical air.

The European Pharmacopoeia sets limits for the air a medical air plant makes. EN ISO 7396-1 covers pipeline systems for compressed medical gases and vacuum.

CE 1639

ULTRAAR · Class IIb

ULTRAAR medical air plants carry CE marking under Notified Body 1639 as Class IIb medical devices (Directive 93/42/EEC).

ISO 13485:2016

Manufacturer quality system

Quality management system certification for medical device manufacturers. Governs design, production, and post-market surveillance throughout the device lifecycle.

EN ISO 7396-1

Medical gas pipeline systems

Every ULTRAAR is built to this standard.

Ph. Eur. 1238

Medical air

The European Pharmacopoeia monograph for medical air, which it treats as a medicine.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about medical air for hospitals.

Questions hospitals ask us about medical air. More on the medical gas answers page.

What is the difference between oil-free and oil-lubricated medical air compressors?

An oil-free compressor puts no oil into the air it compresses, so no compressor oil reaches the medical air network; an oil-lubricated compressor depends on separators and filters to keep its oil out. ULTRAAR SC is totally oil-free: it uses oil-free spiral (scroll) ULTRACECO SC compressors and is a Class IIb medical device. Oil-lubricated screw, vane or piston compressors also leave oily condensate that has to be separated before it is drained. Where screw compressors are specified, ULTRAAR ME adds air treatment certified to the Pharmacopoeia parameters and an oil/water separator for the condensate.

Can medical air be used for autoclaves and other building equipment?

No: hospital standards prohibit using medical air for industrial purposes, so autoclaves, drying, valve actuation and other pneumatic equipment need a separate compressed air supply. Ultra Controlo builds that supply as ACIH, industrial hospital compressed air systems with Gardner Denver rotary screw compressors of 15 to 720 m³/h each, at 8 to 10 or 10 to 12 bar, with air treatment and an oil/water separator for the condensate. ACIH follows the Machinery Directive and the Portuguese ACSS ET 08/2010 specification, and can be built with oil-free compressors on request.

What is the difference between a refrigeration dryer and an adsorption dryer?

A refrigeration dryer cools compressed air so its water condenses and drains away; an adsorption dryer passes the air through a desiccant and reaches much lower dew points. In Ultra Controlo’s range, ULTRASEC is the refrigeration dryer, with an aluminium heat exchanger that accepts inlet air up to 70 °C. ULTRADRY is the adsorption dryer, with a pressure dew point of −40 °C to −70 °C, desiccant in easy-change cartridges, a coalescing filter at the inlet and a dust filter at the outlet.

What is a medical gas pipeline system (MGPS)?

A medical gas pipeline system (MGPS) is the network that carries medical gases and vacuum from the central supply to every point of use in a hospital. It includes the supply sources, copper pipework, manifolds, area valves, pressure regulators, alarm and monitoring panels, and the terminal units on bed-head units, wall outlets and ceiling pendants. EN ISO 7396-1 sets the requirements for its design, installation, testing, commissioning and documentation, for gases such as oxygen, nitrous oxide, medical air and carbon dioxide, and for vacuum. Ultra Controlo supplies the central plants and a complete range of MGPS components.

What is a medical gas emergency cabinet?

A medical gas emergency cabinet keeps gases flowing to a critical area of the hospital if the network that feeds it fails, without anyone having to intervene. Ultra Controlo’s ULTRAGEC connects by derivation to the secondary network upstream of the critical area and holds 2 or 4 B50 cylinders of oxygen and medical air, a 40 m³/h vacuum pump, and a supervision monitor that watches primary and secondary network pressures. ULTRAGEC MOBILE puts the same cabinet on wheels.

What is UltraCare?

UltraCare is Ultra Controlo’s technical assistance programme for its medical gas systems, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It covers preventive maintenance and monitoring, corrective service, original spare parts and rental equipment while a unit is serviced. Ultra Controlo selects and trains technicians in each country and runs post-installation monitoring under ISO 13485. UltraCare also services the partner brands Ultra Controlo distributes.

Request a project assessment

Ready to discuss medical air for your hospital?

On medium and large plants, our factory technicians supervise installation, start-up and staff training, and UltraCare keeps the plant running for the years after.

Request a quote View medical air systems

CE 1639

Class IIb

ISO 13485:2016

80+ countries

40 years