compressors

Compressor technology evolves to meet todays challenges

By Leonardo Baldassarre, Compressors & Expanders Engineering Manager Turbomachinery, GE Oil & Gas Compressors are the workhorses that pressurise gas and enable it to be liquefied (to produce LNG), re-injected for enhanced oil recovery, and transported and distributed via pipeline. Their long history in pipeline applications and service in thousands of installations globally may lead some people to conclude that compressor technology is static and mature. However, in reality compressor technology is dynamic and evolving due to ongoing improvements in performance, efficiency, reliability and control, which are absolutely critical if gas reserves are to be developed and exploited on a practical and economic basis.
his is true not just for new units, but also with respect to upgrades of existing units in the field. Applying better materials, component designs, fabrication techniques and other advances to existing machines gives compressors powerful new capabilities, usually in the very same footprint and often with no need to alter supporting utilities and infrastructure. While many different types of industrial compressors exist, the most frequently employed compressors for pipeline use are centrifugal design. Axial compressors are generally used for air service and in mixed refrigerant trains of LNG.

Centrifugal compressors
Centrifugal compressors make use of the principle of centrifugal force. When gas enters the housing, a rotating impeller forces it outward to the impeller rim, thereby increasing the gas velocity and the energy content of the gas. From there a diffuser, with or without stationary vanes, converts the increased velocity to higher pressure. Modern centrifugal compressors may employ up to nine stages. In general, gas pumping is performed by centrifugal compressors driven by gas turbines, steam turbines or electric motors. They can be capable of operating in flows from

A BCL centrifugal compressor.

Pipelines International digest | AUGUST 2010

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1,000 cubic metres per hour up to 400,000 cubic metres per hour. There are a number of centrifugal compressor types, driven variously by gas or steam turbines, or variable-speed motors. They include barrel compressors both for high-pressure applications such as natural gas compression and injection both onshore and offshore, and for low/medium pressure applications such as ammonia, urea and methanol synthesis, refinery recycle and natural gas treatment. Meanwhile, horizontally split centrifugal compressors are used in low/medium pressure applications such as in ethylene and fertiliser plants, refineries, LNG for refrigeration, and air compression, and can handle very large flows. Another centrifugal design widely used in pipeline applications is the overhung type, a simple, efficient and compact singlestage compressor used mainly for boosting in petrochemical and pipeline applications, or for recycle in petrochemical plants.

plants, air service, air separation, LNG, nitric acid and gas-toliquids (GTL) applications.

Compressor components
Compressors have a number of key components in common, regardless of their design.

Shaft end-seals
To eliminate or minimise leakage of compressed gas or the entry of air into the compressor casing (in case of subatmospheric applications). Different types are used depending on the application. Dry gas seals are used when a negligible amount of gas can be allowed to escape. Sealing is ensured by means of a special rotating disk equipped with grooves rotating in front of a stationary ring. The two rings are separated by a few microns. When leakage is not an issue, labyrinth seals are used. The labyrinths can be made from different materials depending on the application and the possibility of corrosion. They are very simple and easily replaceable. Labyrinth teeth can be fitted to the rotor and can even be in contact with an abradable material on the stator. If no leakage whatsoever is permissible, labyrinth seals are combined with extraction and/or injection systems. Labyrinths seals are often applied in air or carbon dioxide applications.

Axial-flow compressors
Axial-flow compressors are high-efficiency units used where there is a requirement for high flow rates but low pressure. They employ rows of airfoils to progressively accelerate and compress gas flowing through the unit. Multiple airfoil stages are placed along a rotor, matching up with corresponding stages of stationary airfoils in the compressor housing. Axial-flow compressors are used in applications such as catalytic cracking

A 3MCL centrifugal compressor casing.

Pipelines International digest | AUGUST 2010

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Bearings
Hydrodynamic tilting pad radial journal bearings are generally used, normally equipped with thermocouples to monitor bearing temperature. Thrust bearings are usually double-acting, tilting pad bearings with an equalising device, fitted with thermocouples for temperature monitoring and sometimes with load cells in high pressure applications to measure axial thrust. Recently some compressors have been equipped with active magnetic bearings that operate on the principle of electromagnetic suspension. They bring reduced mechanical losses because of the absence of friction, along with adjustable axial/radial positioning and rotor stiffness/damping capabilities adjustment.

of drivers, and as a leader in providing engineering and field services for compression stations, has enabled the company to offer a uniquely integrated driver-compressor control system. It provides protection and monitoring to maximise the security of the compressor against potentially harmful surge conditions, while enhancing process efficiency and availability. One system controls the entire compression train, auxiliaries and related process equipment.

Compressor upgrades
Modern materials, designs, fabrication techniques and testing procedures have greatly improved the performance and efficiency of compressor components. They enable field units to achieve significantly increased flow rates, efficiencies and/or polytrophic head, a measure of pressure and delivered work. Upgrades provide an economic, easy-to-implement and timely way to accommodate different operating conditions such as changed process conditions, production increase, higher available power from the driver, or to optimise performance. The typical upgrade GE performs consists of rebundling the compressor. The existing casing is retained to minimise the impact on plant layout foundations and piping, but new components are installed, which may include a new rotor equipped with new impellers, new static parts such as diaphragms, new labyrinth seals, controls or other parts, with commissioning/start-up services and new spare parts also provided.

Oil and gas seal systems

Lube oil systems provide lube oil to the radial and thrust bearings, gear box and driver, except for some gas turbines. A seal oil system supplies filtered oil to the liquid film rings or to mechanical seals at required pressures and temperatures. Seal oil systems may be combined with the lube oil system. Gas seal systems are subassemblies providing the required buffer gas for primary, secondary and tertiary seals, and the instrumentation to properly monitor the seals.

Control systems
Many manufacturers offer proprietary control solutions based on programmable logic control technology. For example, GEs experience as a manufacturer of both compressors and all types

Kashagan sour gas re-injection trains.

Pipelines International digest | AUGUST 2010

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Upgrades extend the life of the Brent Field

One prominent example of the value of upgrades concerns the Brent Field in the North Sea, originally configured for oil production with water injection. As the field aged, it was decided to reduce the reservoir pressure in order to liberate incremental gas reserves. This was undertaken in the early 1990s by installing on each of three platforms an integrated two-stage separation/gas compression/dehydration process module. Weight and space constraints were limiting, and the compressor design was challenging considering the experience and methods available at the time. The need to deliver high flows and polytrophic head in a single casing resulted in the impeller tip velocity being relatively high. The compressor was specified in accordance with NACE corrosion requirements, as there was a risk of reservoir souring during later field life. Material selection was further complicated by the presence of carbon dioxide and water. As the gas reservoirs depleted over time, well productivity declined below the design flow rate of the compressor. To deal with this, phased compressor upgrades were undertaken to enable increased hydrocarbon recovery. Each phase has extended the operational envelope of the compressors beyond what would have been predictable. Lower suction pressure was achieved, primarily by replacing the compressor bundle and gear internals, which only required a short platform shutdown. A subsequent phase replaced the existing compressor with a new, longer casing to accommodate additional impellers. This only became feasible in recent years with advances in rotor, labyrinth and special seal design techniques that enabled detailed evaluation and optimisation of the lateral behaviour of such a compressor. The upgrade required significant brownfield works and an extended shutdown to remove the original machine and install the new one. Piping spools, valves and gear internals were also replaced. The two-phase gas export compressor upgrade minimised overall risk and cost of the project while allowing phased modification of the machines for progressively lower suction pressures. Each new compressor design leveraged the proven technology at the time of conception so as not to jeopardise machine reliability and gas availability. The overall result was that the compressor upgrades unlocked additional gas reserves while enhancing operational efficiency at the same time.

GE Oil & Gas compression references

The highest pressure sour gas reinjection train ever built, for Kashagan oil field project in the North Caspian Sea, off the coast of Kazakhstan, incorporates a double-shaft GE Frame 5-2D gas turbine. The compression train is capable of 821-bar delivery pressure. Its materials and design can withstand the 33 per cent hydrogen sulphide found in the gas stream. The Blue-C subsea compressor is the worlds first subsea compressor built in a fully marinised version and is driven by GEs proven Integrated Compressor Line (ICL) technology. The NACE compliant Blue-C unit consists of a centrifugal compressor driven by a gas-filled, high-speed electric motor, stacked in a vertical orientation and packaged in a single sealed housing designed to withstand the surrounding hydrostatic pressure. The Blue-C is co-developed with Aker Solutions for deployment on the Ormen Lange natural gas field project, an unattended operation at over 900 m below sea level with power of up to 15 MW. Installation on the seabed is expected in 2014. GE turbocompression technology is at the heart of the largest LNG plant in the world operated by Qatargas. Qatargas 1 consists of three onshore LNG trains with a total combined capacity of 10 MMt/a, while Qatargas 2 is the worlds first fully integrated value chain LNG venture, featuring two world-class LNG trains each with a capacity of 7.8 MMt/a. The Qatargas 2 Trains 4 and 5 are huge complexes in Ras Laffan Industrial City. Qatargas 2 links natural gas production, liquefaction, shipping, and regasification infrastructure into a single, fully integrated LNG development and supply initiative. At the heart of these LNG trains are some of the largest refrigeration compressor strings ever manufactured. The first LNG strings to be driven by Frame 9E dry low NOx gas turbines centrifugal compressors equipped with impellers up to 1.8 m and casing internal diameter up to 3.6 m supply a combined overall compression power of more than 500 MW each mega train and incorporate advanced technologies not previously used in the LNG industry.

Pipelines International digest | AUGUST 2010