Compressor basics: How does an adiabatic compressor cool gas in

the interstage coolers?

Adiabatic work transfer
Have you ever thought about this? Compressor compresses a gas adiabatically,
delta Q = 0. How its cooling works.
When compressor compresses a gas, it becomes hot because air compression
reduces the gap between gas molecules and increases collisions which
generate heat.
As the gas becomes hot its density reduces and it expands. The problem is
unless this heat is removed it becomes increasingly difficult to compress the
expanding gas. Therefore, between two stages in a compressor, generally you
will find a cooler.
Now, the question is how a compressor that works adiabatically, dQ =0 can
transfer heat to interstage cooler?
Let us go back to the definition of an adiabatic process. In thermodynamics, an
adiabatic process is a type of thermodynamic process that occurs without
transferring heat or mass between the thermodynamic system and its
environment. Unlike an isothermal process, an adiabatic process transfers
energy to the surroundings only as work.
So, that’s a constraint with adiabatic processes. Adiabatic process transfers
energy via work transfer. It is very tricky to understand how it happens? You
will not find any direct answer either in a book or internet
Interstage cooling of compressed gases in compressor:
Compressor cools compressed gas by work transfer. It does simultaneous
adiabatic and isothermal compression. Adiabatic compression generates heat
which is transferred as work to interstage isothermal cooler. During isothermal
compression it rejects heat to surrounding and maintains its temperature
isothermally near ambient temperature.
You will not find this explanation easily anywhere.