Gas Compressor

A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases

the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.

Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the

pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid
through a pipe.

As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces

the volume of a gas. Liquids are relatively incompressible,
so the main action of a pump is to transport liquids.
Types
 General Application Guide

Centrifugal

Lobe & Screw Axial Flow

Vane

Reciprocating

Blower & Fans

 Cont’d

General Compression
Selection of compressors is influenced by:

• Inlet flow rate of gas

• Inlet temperature and pressure
• Outlet conditions
• Nature of the gas
 General considerations for any type of compressor

Flow Conditions

• Intake or suction flow rate- Normal, Maximum and

Minm
(through process material balance)
• Inlet pressure and Temperature of corresponding
flow rates
• Discharge pressure
• Duration of reduced or over-normal flow rate
• Do not purchase excess horse power for your
compressor driver (ask manufacturer to state the
max load/conditions that will fully load the
horsepower of compressor driver)
 Cont’d

Fluid Properties

• Vital to establish compressor performance

• Composition of the fluid
• Ratio of specific heat and avg. molecular weight
• Entrained solids or liquids in the gas stream
• Solids (wet/dry scrubbing) and liquids (mist
eliminator) should be removed ahead the compressor
unit
 Cont’d

Compressibility
Gas compressibility greatly affects compressor capacity
performance
Establish compressibility factor at each individual
intake conditions (Some manufacturers use average
value betn intake & discharge condn)
Correct the gas volume at each intake conditions (for
multistage) using corresponding compressibility
factor
 Cont’d
Corrosive nature
Corrosiveness will influence the selection of materials of
construction, seals and lubrication etc.
Moisture
Moisture content (condensable vapor) of any percent shall be taken
into consideration in compressor volume calculation
Special conditions
• Limiting temperature before polymer formation, chemical
reaction, explosive conditions and excess heat for lubrication
materials should be cited.
• Limiting pressure drop betn stages (due to pass through piping,
cooling equipment and/or condensate knock-out equipment)
should be specified.
• 3-5 psig between stages is allowable in most cases; special cases
may limit this value to 0.5 to 1.0 psig. (Larger the pressure drop,
larger will be the horsepower of the driver)
 Reciprocating Compressor

The reciprocating compressor is a positive displacement

unit with the pressure on the fluid developed within a
cylindrical chamber by the action of a moving piston.
• Small capacity and high pressure rise machine
• Gas density has no effect on the pressure rise,
because the pressure rise is due to the positive
movement of the piston in the cylinder.
• At the same piston speed, the pressure rise would be
the same irrespective to different molecular weight
of different gases.
• Large capacity reciprocating compressor requires
expensive foundation (for vibration free operation)
and more space. It also requires more maintenance
 Mechanical Considerations

Basic Components of Reciprocating Compressor

A. Cylinders
1. Single acting
2. Double acting
Single acting & Double acting Cylinder
B. Frames
1. Horizontal
2. Vertical
3. 90o angle
4. V or Y angle
5. radial
6. Duplex (cylinders mounted in parallel on two separate
frames from common crankshaft)
7. Balanced Opposed (cylinders mounted opposite
(180o) and driven off same crankshaft)
8. Tandem compressor cylinder (two or more cylinders are
on same compressor rod)
Frames
C. Suction and Discharge Valve
• To function properly, a valve must seat uniformly and tightly
• Until pressure builds up to the discharge point, the valve must
remain closed, open at discharge pressure, and then reseat as
the pressure in the cylinder drops below the discharge value.
• The same type of action is required for the suction valves.
• Cylinder efficiency depends to a certain extent upon the proper
selection and sizing of the valves. Valves must be adequately
cooled, so provision is usually made for water jackets
immediately adjacent to the valves, particularly the discharge
valves.
 Construction Materials of Valve

• Valves must be made of fatigue-resistant carbon or

alloy steel or 18-8 stainless steel, depending upon the
service.

• The 18-8 stainless and 12-14 chrome steel is often

used for corrosive and/or high temperature service.

• Any springs required for valves, are made of either

carbon or nickel steel.
D. Piston Rod, Piston and Piston Ring

Piston rods are usually forged and hardened steel or alloy.

Pistons may be of aluminum, built-up carbon or graphite, cast iron,

cast steel, fabricated and metalized steel, stainless steel, or
forged carbon or stainless steel. The selection involves the
corrosive nature of the gas and weight balancing problem of the
manufacturer.

Piston rings are rings mounted on the piston that seal against the
cylinder wall and allow the piston to develop required pressures.
There are usually at least two rings per cylinder for low pressure
applications; six or more for high pressure services.
Cast iron, bronze, aluminum, and carbon (graphite) are common ring
materials.
Figure: Piston Rod, Piston and Piston Ring
E. Cylinders

• Cylinders are made of materials consistent with pressure range

and gas service.

• Sometimes a liner is used for wear (or corrosion) or possible

future changes in capacity.

• Liners may be graphite, aluminum, cast iron, steel, tungsten

carbide, or other suitable materials

• Most cylinders have water jackets to remove some heat of

compression and to maintain reasonable cylinder and/or liner
temperatures.

• The cooler cylinder walls usually allow more efficient lubrication

of the cylinder.

• When oil cannot be tolerated in the presence of the gas, non-

lubricated cylinders are used with graphite (or carbon) liners or
piston rings.
 Performance Considerations (Cooling & Driver)
• Cooling with Water through Cylinder Jackets
Inlet water temperature usually: 90-140oF
Temperature rise of cooling water usually: 10-15oF
Precisely:

(oF)

This cooling water is usually arranged in a closed loop with the

water being pumped through secondary coolers or over cooling
towers and then returned to the jackets for reuse. Water
quality must be good, with steam condensate being preferred,
properly treated to prevent corrosion and scale formation.

• Forced air cooling (small horse-power unit)

• No cooling
Drivers

Reciprocating compressors are driven by the following:

 Diaphragm Compressors

A diaphragm compressor (also known as a membrane compressor ) is a variant of the

conventional reciprocating compressor. The compression of gas occurs by the
movement of a flexible membrane, instead of an intake element. The back and forth
movement of the membrane is driven by a rod and a crankshaft mechanism. Only the
membrane and the compressor box come in touch with the gas being compressed.
Diaphragm compressors are used for hydrogen and compressed natural gas (CNG)
as well as in a number of other applications

Diaphragm compressors are the preferred compression equipment for gas compression
applications where there are environmental and safety concerns. Their basic design
provides leak-tight and non-contaminating gas compression and transfer. A typical
diaphragm Compressor is a combination of two systems - a hydraulic system and a
gas compression system. A metal diaphragm group is the isolating component
between these two systems.
Ideal P-V Relationship for Reciprocating Compressor

Clearance volume
Ideal Reciprocating Compression diagram
Actual Compression Diagram
 Compressibility factor of a gas mixture
Gases deviate from the ideal state when pressures and/or
temperatures are greater than 100—500 psia and 100°F.

In that case ideal gas equation will be

PV=ZmNRT (Zm=mean compressibility factor)

Gas mixture consists of gases A, B, C…….. with mole fractions ya, yb,
yc,……….

Pseudo critical temperature of the gas mixture,

T1c= yaTca+ybTcb+ycTcc+…..

Pseudo critical pressure of the gas mixture,

P1c=yaPca+ybPcb+ycPcc+…..
 Cont’d

If T and P of the mixture are known,

Pseudo reduced temperature of the gas mixture,
T1r= T/T1c
Pseudo reduced pressure of the gas mixture,
P1r=P/P1c

By using generalized compressibility chart Zm can be

obtained
Some deviations yield a compressibility factor, Z, less
than 1.0, and others give values greater than 1.0.
 Compressor Performance Characteristics

1. Piston Displacement
Piston displacement is the actual volume of the cylinder
displaced as the piston travels its stroke from the
start of the compression (condition (1)) to the end of
the stroke (condition (3)) expressed as ft3 of volume
displaced per minute (ft3/minute).
For single-acting cylinder

PD = Aps(rpm)/1,728

where PD piston displacement, (cfm)

Ap= cross-sectional net area of piston, (in.2)
If cylinder is head-end, Ap is total area of piston;
If cylinder is crank-end, Ap is net area of piston area minus rod
cross-section area.
s = stroke length, (in).
Rpm = revolutions per minute of crank shaft or number of
compression strokes per minute
For double-acting cylinder
The displacement of the head end and crank end of the
cylinder must be added for the total displacement.

where Ar cross-sectional area of piston rod, (in.2)

For a multistage unit, the piston displacement is often only given

for the first stage.
2. Compression Ratio
The compression ratio is the ratio, Rc, of the absolute
discharge pressure to the absolute suction pressure of
the cylinder.
P2/P1= Rc

Compression ratios usually vary between 1.05—7 per

stage;

However, a ratio of 3.5—4.0 per stage is considered

maximum for most process operations.
Concept of inter-cooling in multistage compression

High discharge pressure increases discharge temperature

The maximum temperature rise is governed either by
1. maximum operating temperature of the compressor cylinder
or by
2. the maximum temperature the gas can withstand before
decomposition, polymerization, or auto ignition
Volumetric efficiency decreases with the increasing compression
ratio (high discharge temperature rise)

So a reasonable limiting discharge pressure should be selected

With a known maximum temperature, the maximum ratio of

compression can be calculated from the adiabatic temperature
rise relation.

Optimum minimum horsepower occurs when the ratios of

compression are equal in all cylinders for multistage units.
3. Actual Capacity
Volume of gas measured at the intake to the first
stage or multistage compressor at stated intake “T
& P” and expressed as CFM

Va = PD (EV)
PD: Piston displacement
Ev=Volumetric efficiency
Va=Actual volume
4. Clearance Volume
This is the total volume remaining in the cylinder at the
end of the piston stroke.
This consists of the volume between the end of the
piston and the cylinder head, in the valve ports and
the volume in the suction valve guards and the
discharge valve seats.

Volumetric efficiency
increases with a
decrease in clearance
volume
5. Percent Clearance
Percent clearance is the volume % of clearance volume
to total actual piston displacement.

For double-acting cylinders, % clearance is based

on total clearance volume for both the head end
and crank end of the cylinder divided by the total
net piston displacement.
The values range from about 8% for large 36-in. cylinders to
40% for small 3- and 4-in. cylinders.
6. Volumetric Efficiency

It is defined as the ratio of actual cylinder capacity (at

actual intake T &P) to piston displacement

It can also be measured by the formula:

7. Compression Efficiency (Adiabatic)

Compression efficiency is the ratio of the work required

to adiabatically compress a gas to the work actually
done within the compressor cylinder. It depend on:

a. Compression ratio
b. Compressibility of the gas at inlet and discharge conditions,
c. Compression valve friction and leakage.
d. Nature of the gas,
e. Leakage across the piston rings during compression
stroke.
f. Loss through intake and discharge valves.
g. Moisture or condensable in the gas being compressed.
h. Clearance volume of cylinder.
8. Mechanical Efficiency
Ratio of compressor cylinder indicated horsepower to brake
horsepower. (driver horsepower is not included)

90-93% for direct driven cylinders

87-90% for steam engine units

9. Piston Speed
Depends on experience and manufacturers’ recommendation:

More significance in corrosive or polymer-forming services than in

clean hydrocarbon or air applications.

Hydrogen chloride and chlorine service use cylinders with either (a)
cast iron liners or (b) carbon piston rings, a speed of around 600
ft per min is acceptable.
 10. Horsepower
Horsepower is the work done in a cylinder on the gas by
the piston connected to the driver during the
complete compression cycle.
Theoretical HP:
The theoretical horsepower is that required to
isentropically (adiabatically) compress a gas through a
specified pressure range.
Indicated HP:
The indicated horsepower is the actual work of
compression developed in the compressor cylinder(s) as
determined from an indicator card.
Brake horsepower (bhp) is the actual horsepower input at the
crankshaft of the compressor drive. It does not include the losses in
the driver itself, but is rather the actual net horsepower that the
driver must deliver to the compressor crankshaft.
HP Calculation
11. Temperature Rise (Adiabatic)
The relation between the suction and discharge
temperatures of a gas during any single compression
step is:
[Note that for reciprocating compressor work, values of “n” may be used
as “k” up to 1.4. “n” represents the polytropic coefficient that is
related to “k” by
(n-1)/n = (k-1)/[(k)(ep)], where (ep) is the polytropic efficiency.]
Spec For Reciprocating Compressor
 Centrifugal Compressor

C.C is used for the operation in which large volumes are

handled at medium pressures.
A single stage CC has the following basic components:
1. Inlet connection
2. Impeller
3. Diaphragm and Diffuser
4. Casing
5. Shaft and Bearings and
6. Shaft seal
Selection of Shaft seal
Capacity control
Specification