COMPRESSED AIR SYSTEM
Compressed Air (CA) is a major prime-mover for modern industry. Compressed Air is referred to as the fourth utility after
electricity, gas and water. The article is published in two parts. This is first part of the article. Click here to read final part.
A properly managed Compressed Air system can:
save energy
reduce maintenance & decrease downtime
increase throughput
improve product quality depending on its end-use
Compressed Air Quality:
CA quality ranges from Plant air to Breathing air depending upon the end-use. Quality is determined by the dryness & the
contaminant level. Higher the quality, higher the cost. The following figure (Fig. 1) gives the applications of compressed air
with respect to quality.
Fig. 1: Application of Compressed Air.
Components of a Compressed Air system:
Compressed air systems consist of:
a supply side which includes compressors and air treatment
a demand side, which includes distribution and storage systems and end-use equipment.
A Compressed Air system broadly consists of:
Compressor
Prime mover
Controls
Treatment equipment and accessories
Distribution system.
Compressor Types (Fig. 2):
The Air compressor is the heart of any CA system.
There are two basic compressor types: positive-displacement and dynamic.
Fig. 2: Basic Compressor Types
Reciprocating Compressor (Fig. 3):
This is a very versatile type of compressor and can be used for nearly all industrial applications. These are constant-capacity
machines & deliver the air in pulses.
Characteristics are:
High discharge pressures & relatively low to moderate volumetric flows (600-3000 cfm with a pressure range of 2000-
5000 psig)
Generally more maintenance intensive due to the many wearing parts
Can be single-acting or double acting, single stage or multi stage, air cooled or water cooled and lubricated or non-
lubricated.
High efficiencies
Occupy larger footprint
Higher capital cost
Control is usually by Load-unload with 3 or 5 step capacity control
Fig. 3: A typical reciprocating compressor
Multi-staging:
Multistage machines are used in place of single stage ones for following reasons:
Single stage compression would generate excessive heat of compression
MOC would have to be of high grade and hence expensive
Power consumption of single machine would be higher
Better efficiency
Rotary Compressor (Fig. 4):
The most common type of rotary compressor is the helical-twin, screw-type. Less common types include sliding-vane, liquid-
ring, and lobe.
Characteristics are:
Not usually suited for high discharge pressures & are most efficient for moderate air flows & low pressures (3000-
6000 cfm with a pressure range of 300-400 psig)
Low initial cost, compact size, low weight, and are easy to maintain.
Dry or oil flooded type
Lower efficiency
VSDs provide good capacity control
Fig. 4: A typical rotary compressor
Centrifugal Compressor (Fig. 5):
Centrifugal compressor develops pressure by increasing the velocity of the air going through the impeller & then recovering
the velocity in a controlled manner to achieve the desired flow and pressure.
Best suited for continuous air flows in large quantities.
Characteristics are:
Heat generated & power consumption is lower.
The space requirement & maintenance is minimum.
Inherently non-lubricated.
Available for flows ranging from 300 to more than 100,000 cfm, but the common ones are 1200-5000 cfm with a
pressure range upto 125 psig.
Capacity control by inlet valve/guide vane throttling
Surge/choke phenomena
Fig. 5: A typical Centrifugal Compressor
Characteristic curves (Fig. 6):
The characteristic curve of a compressor plots its discharge pressure as a function of flow.
Fig. 6: A typical characteristic curve
Selection criteria:
Flow rate
Discharge pressure
End-use of the air
Energy efficiency
Reliability
Compressor sizing:
Estimation of Compressed air consumption:
Instrument air requirement
o 5 nm3/hr per CV
o 0 nm3/hr per ROV
Plant (Utility) air requirement
Compressed air requirement for pneumatic equipment, etc. operating in full load condition
Compressor Discharge pressure:
end-use pressure (for instrument air, minimum 7 bar g)
plus all the pressure drops in the system.
Compressor Controls:
Compressed air system controls serve to match compressor supply with system demand. Proper control is essential to
efficient operation & high performance.
System controls include:
Start/Stop
Load/Unload
Dual control
Modulating
Speed variation
Pressure/Flow controls
Minimum Instrumentation required:
Indications/alarms/trips consist of 3 major systems: Compressor, Lube oil & Cooling Water
Lube Oil system:
Minimum alarms:
Low oil pressure
Low oil level in reservoir
High oil filter differential pressure
High oil temperature
High thrust bearing metal temperature
Temperature gauges:
Oil piping to & from coolers
Outlet of each radial & thrust bearing
Pressure gauges:
Discharge of the oil pump
On bearing header
On control oil line & seal oil line
Compressor:
Pressure indicator at inlet, inter-stage & discharge
Pressure switch at discharge
Temperature indicator/alarm at inlet, inter-stage and outlet
Temperature gauge on bearings
Vibration switches
Safety valve on each stage (for reciprocating type only)
Flow meter (if required)
CW system:
Pressure & temperature gauge on CW inlet
Temperature gauge on CW outlet
Thermal relief valve on CW outlet
Contaminants in Compressed air:
The 3 major contaminants in Compressed Air are:
Water
Oil
Dirt
Compressed Air system Components/Accessories:
The standard components/accessories include:
Prime Mover:
The prime mover is the main power source providing energy to drive the compressor. This power can be provided by any of
the following sources:
Electric motors: Economic, reliable, efficient
Diesel/natural gas engines: Fuel availability, higher maintenance, high cost / uncertainty of power
Steam turbines & combustion turbines: Inexpensive steam availability
Intercoolers/After coolers:
Air cooled/water cooled
Minimum pressure drop
Regular maintenance
Moisture/oil separators:
Separation of condensed moisture/oil
Types Impingement baffle type, Centrifugal type, with Demister pads.
Pulsation Dampeners:
Reduce/eliminate pulsations of reciprocating machines
Installed at outlet of each stage
Receivers:
Storage for utilization at peak load
Draining of condensed water
Reduce pulsations from reciprocating machines
Receiver sizing is based on hold-up for drop in pressure level, say 10 minutes for a pressure drop of 3 bar.
Provided with standard accessories.
Air filters:
Suction filters or Post-compression filters.
Felt cloth filters are used for suction. Compressed air filters can be:
Coarse particle filters (filter media can be ceramic candle, felt cloth etc)
Coalescing & activated carbon filters
Micro filter (high efficiency for special uses such as breathing air, etc) Minimum pressure drop
Drain traps:
Manual
Mechanical float type
Electronic timer operated
Auto drain traps condensate sensing
Regular maintenance required to avoid CA wastage
Lube oil coolers:
To remove heat from lube oil
Usually Shell & tube type with CW
Air distribution piping:
Least pressure drop in the system to reduce operating costs. Maximum pressure drop between the compressor and
farthest end of compressed air consumption should be around 0.3 bar
Velocities between 6-10m/s in air mains; this will limit the DP & thus energy consumption and also allow moisture to
precipitate
Minimum bends & joints (long radius bends to be used)
Arrangement for draining of moisture at regular intervals, slope provision
Minimum expanders/reducers
Leak proof joints, proper piping supports
Gauges to be provided at different locations to monitor the system pressure & temperature.
Compressor Cooling system:
Cooling plays important role in energy efficiency, two types are:
Air cooled In-efficient, preferred only for low capacity compressors
Water cooled Efficient, used for high capacity compressors
Water is circulated in a jacket around the cylinders to remove the heat resulting from compression & friction due to sliding of
pistons. Water is also required for the inter/after coolers and lube-oil coolers.
CW consumption for inter/after coolers can be estimated based on compression ratio per stage assuming an adiabatic
efficiency.
Generally, per thumb rule,
Compressed air plant layout and distribution:
Plant layout:
Centralized layout
o All compressors installed in single house, cost effectiveness as maximum plant space utilization
o More pressure drop expected
Decentralized layout
o Suitable for large industry, different levels/pressures of air
o Compressor situated at maximum user location, less pressure drop, max energy utilization
o Can lead to noise and heat inside the plant
Compressor location:
Location should be such that compressor can induct clean, dry and cool air
Interesting fact:- every 4C reduction air intake temp reduces power consumption by 1%
Points to be remembered while selecting location of air compressor:
o Low humidity to reduce water entrainment
o Adequate ventilation especially for air cooled units
o Minimum suction piping
o Minimum bends
Compressed air distribution (Fig. 7):
Fig. 7: Different compressed air layouts
Codes:
API 617 Centrifugal compressors
API 618 Reciprocating compressors
API 619 Rotary type positive displacement compressors
API 672 Packaged integrally geared centrifugal air compressors
