GE

Oil & Gas

Stuffing Box Leakage Control

Benefits






Increased production
Higher efficiency
Compliance with environmental regulations
Availability and Reliability
Life extension

Customer benefits include:

Elimination of gas leaks into hazardous environments
Substantial increase in operational and operator
safety
Significant increase in seal efficiency at low pressure
environments
Optimization of buffer gas consumption
Increased seal element life due to superior control of
the packing performance

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Reciprocating Compressors

What it is
Environmental regulations increasingly
require the strict control or complete
elimination of gas leaks from plant
machinery. This is especially the case
when working with hazardous or toxic
gases. These regulations are being
subjected to increased scrutiny by
government authorities responsible
for inspections and enforcement, and
more restrictive legislation will
certainly appear in the future.
GE Oil & Gas has designed specialized
stuffing boxes, separation covers, and
intermediate stuffing boxes equipped
with special rings suitable for low
pressure and inert gas buffers for
reciprocating compressors that
provide the following benefits:
Conveyance of emitted gases to
safe areas, thereby eliminating gas
leaks into environments where
these gases could be hazardous
Considerable increase in
operational and personnel safety
Compliance with even the strictest
environmental laws

If all the mechanical seals (cylinder

bottom and valve covers) of the
cylinders of a reciprocating compressor
are operating correctly, the gas can
only leak to the outside from the
stuffing box, which functions as a seal
on the piston rod. There are three
primary potential leakage channels
from the stuffing box (Figure 1):

Gasket (1) between the first box on

the cylinder side and the cylinder
itself
Contact surface (2) between
adjacent rings and housing boxes
Rings (3) and especially the last
rings (4) down-stream of the gas
recovery point, if any (i.e., the
lowest pressure rings)

Cylinder
side

GAS + N2
N2

Figure 1: Leakage control

GAS

How it works
The Stuffing Box
To guarantee efficient sealing of the
cylinder to the extension and frame,
both when the seals are new and
worn, it is absolutely necessary to
provide a stage pathway for the
gas leaking from the rings.
The most efficient approach is the
injection of an inert buffer gas such
as N2 (see Figure 1 item 5) into an
appropriate compartment of the
stuffing box, at a pressure slightly
higher than necessary for gas
recovery. This forces the leaked

process gas and buffer gas mixture

to enter the recovery system (6) from
which it can be conveyed to a safe
area.
There will only be a minor quantity
of inert buffer gas leakage from
the extension.
Intermediate Stuffing Box &
Separation Cover
With reference to Figure 2, the
extension can contain a small
amount of inert gas or even process
gas in the event of a stuffing box

failure or back pressure from the

gas recovery line.
Therefore, it is necessary to equip
the intermediate stuffing box (a) - in
the case of machines with double
compartment extensions - or the
separation cover (b) - in the case
of simple extensions - with an inert
gas buffer system, as indicated
above for the main stuffing box.
In this case, the chamber adjacent
to the cylinder is equipped with a
vent to convey any gases to a
safe area.

Whatititworks
is
How
Low Pressure Rings
Notwithstanding the introduction of a
buffer system, a set of rings that
provide a seal for the buffer chamber
is necessary to minimize the quantity
of inert gas consumed.
In fact, contrary to what might be
expected, it is more difficult to seal
stuffing box components when the
rings work under low rather than high
pressure conditions.
While the only problem at high
pressure is wear resistance, for very
low pressures the problem is
guaranteeing a perfect seal not only
with the rod, but especially with the
housing box surface. Sometimes the
pressure between rings is low enough
to prevent proper functioning of the
rings. In this case, the friction force that
the rod exerts on the rings, during the
intake stroke of the frame end, could
cause their detachment from the box
surface and result in gas leakage
(Figure 3a).
Given that the recovery pressure may
be well under this low pressure limit, it
is important to use rings designed
specifically for this purpose. Such rings
have an axial preload applied through
springs (1), which guarantee sealing
under all conditions (Figure 3b).
GE Oil & Gas has designed new low
pressure rings consisting of three
different parts; two rings are tangential
- tangential (2), while the third consists
of two parts (3) with an axial preload
function for tangential rings using
springs (1) housed in the inner surface
of the box.
Axially preloaded rings are advisable
for their high efficiency at low pressure
even when there is no inert gas
pressurization.
In this case, only three rings with
springs housed in the last box are used.
For cases in which a buffer gas is used,
the sets of three rings are installed with
opposing preload (see Figure 4) so that
the rings create a chamber with high
leak resistance for buffer gas injection.

Type of buffers
Usually the maximum buffer
pressure with standard materials is
0.3 to 0.5 bar higher than the recovery
pressure.
Depending on the plant requirements
the nitrogen buffer may be under:
1) Constant pressure:
the buffer pressure is kept at a
constant level, higher than the
maximum value of the recovery
pressure. This is advisable if the
recovery pressure does not change
very much.
2) Variable pressure with reference
to pressure in the packing recovery
chamber: the actual recovery

pressure is detected from the

recovery chamber of each stuffing
box through a suitable hole made
in the box.
In case of compressor with more
than one cylinder the pressure of
each chamber is compared with
signal selectors, and the largest
value is used to control the buffer
gas pressure.
The buffer pressure is normally
regulated at 0.2 bar above the
maximum stuffing box recovery
chamber pressure. This system has
considerable advantages, including
improved safety and reduced N2
consumption.

N2

N2

Figure 2

N2

Gas pressure
(cylinder side)

Gas leakage

Friction force acting on the rings

during piston rod movement
Figure 3b

Figure 3a

How it works

N2

Application
In the case of old stuffing boxes with
metal seal elements, it is advisable to
replace the stuffing box completely.
For modern machines, it is only

VENT

Buffer type 2
a) inert gas filter
b) variable set point buffer pressure
reducing valve
c) pressure switch for low
differential pressure alarm
d) safety valve for protection from
overpressure
e) maximum signal selector

necessary to modify the stuffing

boxes downstream of the recovery
point and the ring housing boxes of
the intermediate stuffing box, or of
the separation cover to allow
assembly of encased springs.
For models HM, SHM and SHMB,
because of dimension limitations it is
only possible to assemble one set of
three rings with axial springs.
Therefore, the buffer chamber is
manufactured with a tangential tangential couple upstream of the
recovery point, and with a set of three
rings towards the extension.

N2

Buffer Instrumentation:
Buffer type 1, intermediate stuffing
box and separation covers
a) inert gas filter
b) buffer pressure reducing valve
c) low pressure alarm pressure
switch

d) safety valve for protection from

potential buffer overpressure

GAS + N2

Scope of Supply
For each cylinder, the typical scope of
supply consists of the following items:
Stuffing box with sets of three rings
with axial preload
Intermediate stuffing box or
separation cover with sets of three
rings with axial preload
Any necessary modification
drawings

N2
N2

Figure 4

g
GE Oil & Gas
via F. Matteucci, 2
50127 Florence - Italy
T +39 055 4272500
F +39 055 4232800
Nuovo Pignone S.p.A.

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www.ge.com/oilandgas

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