Compressors

Compressor
•Used when it is necessary to flow gas from low pressure system
to high pressure system.

•Compression may also be required for due to environmental

reasons. Gas produced with oil may be compressed for reinjection
to avoid flaring or to help maintaining the reservoir pressure.

•The designer must select the type of compressor to be used for

each application; determine power requirements; design the piping
system associated with compressor; specify materials and details
of construction for bearings, cylinders, etc.
Compressor – classification
 Compressor – application ranges
•Centrifugal: wide range of applications for wide range of
pressures.

•Reciprocating: can compress lower volumes than centrifugal and

are suitable for high pressure applications.

•Axial: suitable for high capacity applications

•Rotary: centrifugal and reciprocating covers the entire range of

application for rotary compressors. These are selected for reasons
other than their pressure and capacity range.
Compressor – comparison
 Compressor – thermodynamic principles
•It helps in selecting the best category and mechanical design for
the required flow rate and differential pressure. These selections
significantly impact the total life cycle cost including installation
and energy costs.

•Properly defining mass and volumetric flow rates is essential in

design and specification also helps in troubleshooting.

•Thermodynamic properties of gas or mixture of gas affects the

energy requirements.

•In gases with water vapor, the water content also needs to be
accounted for.
 Compressor – selection
Preliminary selection considerations

•Number of stages

•BHP required

•Type of compressor

Information needed for selection

•Volume of gas to be compressed (MMSCFD)

•Suction and discharge pressure (psia)

•Suction temperature (R)

•Gas specific gravity (air = 1)

 Compressor – selection
Approximating number of stages:

•Maximum compression ratio per stage is assumed as 3.5 and

compression rations are normally in the range of 1.2 to 5.0

•Compression ratio per stage is given by:

 Compressor – selection
Approximating BHP:

•BHP can be calculated as:

•Choose number of stages to give a value of R less than 3.5

 Compressor – selection
Type of compressor: Items to be considered include as

•Horse power

•Flow rate

•Compression ratio

•Foundation costs

•Fuel cost and waste heat requirements

•Availability of types of drivers and spare parts

Compressor – selection
 Compressor – Number of stages & BHP
1. Calculate over all compression ratio

2. Use one stage if over all compression ratio is less than 5 and
suction gas temperature is under 110 F

3. Select initial number of stages such as R < 5 (assume

compression ratio for each stage is equal)

4. Calculate the discharge gas temperature for the first stage (if it is
high, select greater no. of stages and recalculate compression
ratio per stage, if it is acceptable calculate BHP)

5. Calculate suction pressure, discharge pressure and horse power

for each succeeding stage.

6. If R >3, repeat the calculations by assuming one additional stage.

 Compressor – exit gas temperature
The discharge gas temperature can be determined from following
equation:
Compressor – BHP
 Compressor – selection process
Step 1: convert flow rate to ICFM

Step 2: calculate overall compression rate (pressure ratio)

Step 3: calculate discharge temperature

Step 4: if the discharge temperature is less than 300 F, one step of

compression , without inter cooling, with centrifugal or rotary
compressor

Step 5: if step 4 indicates inter cooling is not necessary, select the

type of compressor and proceed to step 10
 Compressor – selection process
Step 6: if the temperature in step 4 exceeds, more than once
compression is required

Step 7: calculate suction and discharge pressures for each step of

compression using the R determined in step 6 taking the 3% pressure
drop between each step.

Step 8: calculate the ICFM for each compression step. The suction
temperatures for first step should be known.

Step 9: select the compressor category that will satisfy the ICFM and
discharge pressure for all compression stages.
 Compressor – selection process
Step 10: calculate the weight flow and assume that this value is
constant for all compression steps.

Step 11: review the compressor selection charts which helps to

resolve the choice of compressor when the application falls into
overlapped area.

Step 12: some thought should be given to reliability and availability

of the compression system. If the service is deemed to be critical, the
number of units is typically used:
 Compressor – selection process
Step 13: review and refine the selection which has given specifically
for dynamic compressors and positive displacement compressors.

Step 14: if the type of the driver is known, make sure it is

compatible with the size and rating of the compressor selected.

Step 15: when the application involves introduction of side streams,

it is required to calculate the properties of mixture of two gases at
the entrance of next stage of compression.

Step 16: contact atleast two vendors for each type of compressor
selected.