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