Project Management

H. P. BLOCH, professional engineer, Westminster,

Colorado; and F. K. GEITNER, professional engineer,
Bright’s Grove, Ontario, Canada

How to select compressors for various

process services
Every style or type of compressor was developed to serve a in the ranking of the compressors under various selection cri-
particular process purpose. Collective references have devot- teria: excellent (E), good (G), fair (F) and poor (P).
ed hundreds of thousands of pages on this topic. Two books
have attempted to summarize the essentials and the total per- CAPITAL COSTS
formance trends of three prominent compressor styles, as il- When minimizing capital cost (CAPEX) is the greatest se-
lustrated in FIG. 1.1, 2 In each case, the interest is concentrated lection factor, TABLE 2 lists several key guidelines to evaluate
on a design point, which is defined as the point where a de- among the listed compressors. Cost of ownership is synony-
sired 100% pressure performance meets 100% gas-through-
put performance.
For instance, FIG. 1 illustrates that, as the pressure output TABLE 1. Compressor operating flexibility factors
of a positive displacement (primarily reciprocating and ro-
Operating flexibility Axial Cent. Recip. Rotary
tary-screw style) compressor is increased, the volume being
compressed decreases slightly. It can be reasoned that some of Ability to accommodate P G E F
multiple operating points
the pressurized gas slips back as “blow-by” from the discharge
at good efficiency
side to the suction side of a positive displacement machine.
Also depicted in FIG. 1, centrifugal and axial compressors Ability to reduce volume flow F F E G
at fixed speed*
(the “dynamic” compressors) produce a pressure ratio, i.e.,
head—a pressure development capability as a function of Ability to reduce volume flow P P E E
speed and impeller diameter in centrifugal, or blade length by speed control*
in axial compressors. Again, considering the intersection of Ability to accommodate F F E G
100% pressure and 100% throughput, any increase in pres- reduction in molecular weight*
sure ratio or discharging of the compressed gas into a region Ability to accommodate F P G G
of higher pressure will follow the curve. increase in pressure ratio*
For the example, the centrifugal compressor with typical per- * With changes in speed or using control devices
formance is represented in FIG. 1; a maximum ratio of 115% All other operating parameters are fixed.

cannot be exceeded. As pressures are increased from 100% to

115%, the flowrate or the compressor throughput will decline 140
from previously 100% to perhaps 72% or 75%. An axial com-
Axial
pressor will perform somewhere between the centrifugal and
positive displacement machines. The generalized performance 120
Positive
Pressure ratio or head, %

characteristics of an axial machine are plotted in FIG. 1. These Centrifugal

displacement
approximations are reasonably representative of what can be
identified in industrial applications. However, the specifics 100
can vary greatly.
Design point

CRITERIA IN SELECTING A COMPRESSOR 80

Many process and service factors must be considered in
selecting a compressor for hydrocarbon processing services.
TABLE 1 summarizes the relative operating flexibility overview 60
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
for the two dynamic compressor styles, centrifugal and axial, Flow, %
and the two positive displacement compressor styles, recipro-
FIG. 1. Compressor performance characteristics.
cating and rotary. Five generally important attributes are used
Hydrocarbon Processing | DECEMBER 201481
 Project Management

TABLE 2. Selection factors for compressors

will fail catastrophically if needed maintenance work is deferred
or omitted altogether. It may be possible to use condition mon-
Rotary itoring instruments to obtain advance warning of component
Minimizing capital cost Axial Cent. Recip. screw distress; however, it is doubtful if engaging in all manner of
Bare compressor, minimum controls F G F E predictive maintenance is more cost-effective than specifying,
Controls for part load operation F F G G
buying and installing a more reliable compressor. The merits
of better machines are captured in increased reliability, greatly
Controls for parallel operation F P G G reduced maintenance, and fewer scheduled downtime events.1
Foundation and installation E G P E
OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
Driver G G P E
Another selection category is the operating environment of a
Ability to accommodate side steam P E E P compressor; it may affect the performance for various compres-
on one frame sors to different levels. Likewise, it can be said that attributes
Ability to accommodate different P P E P and capabilities of certain compressors influence the environ-
services on one frame ments that these compressors create. TABLE 2 lists nine environ-
Environmental considerations
mental considerations to consider.
Resistance to damage P F G E
by entrained solids
MAINTENANCE COST
The generalized maintenance cost rankings are summarized
Resistance to damage P F G E in TABLE 2. Three important listings illustrate that reciprocat-
by liquid droplets
ing process compressors are given low rankings. However, and
Capability to deliver oil-free gas E E E E as related to efficiency and power requirements from TABLE 2,
Limit discharge temperature P F F E reciprocating compressors still have certain attributes that can
by internal cooling place them at the top of competing machines.
Freedom from vibration E E G G For example, increasing the volume throughput can be ac-
complished by using a larger compressor. Conversely, the high-
Freedom from noise F F G P er throughput can be accomplished by speeding up the smaller
Freedom from piping pulsations E G P F compressor to manage the higher volume. Process services at el-
evated gas pressures often require thicker-wall compressor than
Ability to compress dirty, wet gas P P F G
the compressors operating at lower pressures.
Gas tightness G E G G
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
Minimize maintenance cost
There are trade-offs among compressors. No single type or
Number of items to routinely G E P E configuration will fit all circumstances. The maintenance phi-
inspect or replace
losophies and uptime requirements of a particular project de-
Operate reliability without outage G E F G termine the selection. Many factors should be considered; all
Time between scheduled overhauls G E F G are based on experience.
Purchasing blindly on the basis of low initial bids and rapid
Efficiency, power required delivery can and will compromise compressor reliability. All fac-
Efficiency level at design point E G G F tors, as summarized in TABLE 2, are important, and they must be
given consideration before making procurement decisions.
Flatness of efficiency at constant P G E F
speed, changing volume flow
LITERATURE CITED
Simplicity of indirect intercooling P E E P 1
Bloch, H. P. and F. K. Geitner, Compressors: How to Achieve High Reliability and
Availability, McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, 2012.
2
Bloch, H. P., A Practical Guide to Compressor Technology, 1st Ed., McGraw-Hill,
mous with lifecycle costs; it includes issues and considerations New York, New York, 1996; 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
that go well beyond the initial purchase cost. In fact, the ini-
tial cost can be less than 8% of the total ownership cost. Op- HEINZ P. BLOCH is the Reliability/Equipment editor of HP.
erating and maintenance costs inevitably make up the bulk of He has authored 18 textbooks and over 570 papers or articles,
total ownership cost for process gas compressors. Reliability- and was a senior engineering associate for Exxon Chemicals.
He is in his 52nd year as a reliability professional, and
focused users will not make compressor selection on initial continues to advise process plants worldwide on reliability
cost considerations alone. They ensure that the cost estimates improvement, failure avoidance, and maintenance cost
reflect, and that the capital budgets relate to, only reliable reduction opportunities. He holds BS and MS degrees from
the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
equipment. It is a widely prevalent mistake to base one’s proj-
ect estimates on the lowest initial cost of machines and then to FRED K. GEITNER is a registered consulting engineer in Bright’s Grove, Ontario,
demand or expect high equipment reliability. Canada, and is engaged in process-machinery consulting. He retired from
Imperial Oil with 20 years of service that included a position as engineering
High-reliability compressors will cost more than mar- associate with Esso Chemicals Canada, Inc. He teaches reliability improvement
ginal units. Compressors with marginal reliability will either courses worldwide. Mr. Geitner graduated from the Technical University of Berlin,
have to be shut down frequently for preventive maintenance or Germany, and has had extensive equipment-selection and upgrading experience.

82DECEMBER 2014 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com