Feature Report

Design and Specification of

A Compressed Air System

Prasanna Kenkre

Jacobs Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.

n industrial compressed-air sys-tem is expected to supply air of defined quality, required pres-sure and desired quantity to all

the plant air and instrument air con-sumers. With air being one of the most critical utilities of a chemical plant, a compressed
air system should func-tion efficiently and cost effectively. Therefore, designers should consider parameters such as air
quality, air consumption and supply, storage and distribution and control management in their designs.

Most equipment manufacturers supply air compression and drying systems as packages comprised of many units put
together. However, the purchaser of the system has the option of buying this complete pack-age system or requesting only a
por-tion of it. It is commonly observed that most compressed-air users de-sign and install the air storage and distribution
system themselves. For

A practical overview of what to look out for when specifying a compressor

and its associated components

Table 1. Typical process conditions
and quality requirements of instrument and plant air

Fluid
Compressed Air

Service
Instrument and plant air

Requirements:

Process and design conditions

Operating pressure, barg

8 8.5

Design pressure, barg

12.5

Operating temperature, C
Ambient

Design temperature, C
70 down to lowest ambient site tem-

perature

Quality

Dew point at operating pressure at

At least 10C below the lowest ambi-

air dryer outlet , C

ent site temperature

Maximum solid particle size, m

<3

Maximum quality of contaminants

3

0.1 mg/m or 0.08 ppm (w/w)

(oil, liquid and gas)

Notes:
Plant air does not need to be dried.
Typically 25C at operating pressure or 40C at atmospheric conditions in cold climate.

instance, in most FEED (front-end

engineering and design) and basic
engineering jobs the process licen-sors
or the engineering contractors clearly
demark the scope of work on a piping
and instrumentation dia-gram (P&ID).
Thus on a P&ID of a compressed air
system, the compres-sor and dryer
along with associated instrumentation
and piping will be shown simply as a
dotted block indi-cating the equipment
manufacturers scope. The downstream
piping, stor-age receiver, distribution
and instru-mentation will be shown in
much more detail indicating that the
engi-neering responsibility lies with the
owner or his or her detail-engineer-ing
contractor. Due to this predeter-mined

work-scope split, process and

mechanical engineers are entrusted
with preparation-of-enquiry specifications of compressed air systems

that will serve as input for the sup-plier

of the compressor and dryer.

This article is intended for readers who

want to gain a basic understand-ing of
the components of a compressed air
system. It also presents best prac-tices
that will prove helpful to a pro-cess
engineer writing specifications for such
a system.

Requirements

The main components of a conventional air-compression and drying

system are shown in Figure 1. Air
supplied by the compressor is split after
the primary air receiver into two
streams. A major part of the air stream
is dried and utilized in the plant as instrument air. The other stream is not
treated further and serves as plant air. If
pressure in the instrument air header
falls below a certain pre-set value, then
a low-pressure switch

What is the trend of air demand

intermittent or continuous?
(PSL) will close the shutoff valve and
temporarily shut down the supply of
plant air.

Before initiating the specification, the

following points need to be con-sidered
for installing a proper air-system
configuration:

What is the expected quality of the

compressed air in the plant?
Consumers or end users. As a first
How much total compressed air is
required in the plant?

At what pressure is the air to be supplied to the consumers of compressed

air in the plant?

Who are the end-users or air consumers of compressed air in the plant?

40

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013

step, it is necessary to identify all

equipment, machinery, instruments and
tools that require compressed air in
order to function. A list should be

Conventional air compression and drying system

Instrument air

Inst. air low

Air intake filter and silencer

Package boundary

press. switch
P/F controller

PSL

Package

Flow orifice

Dryer

boundary

Secondary air

Drive 1:
Compressor
Compressor
Moisture

(1st stage)
(2nd stage)

reciever

Steam turbine

separator

ST

Pre-filter

After-filter

Plant air

Air intake filter and silencer

After-cooler

Inter-cooler

Flow orifice

Shutoff valve

Drive 2: electric
Inter-cooler
After-cooler

motor

Primary air

reciever

Automatic drain

Automatic drain

trap

Stand-by
Stand-by

Moisture

trap

compressor
compressor
separator

(1st stage)
(2nd stage)

Condensate
Cooling
Cooling

Steam in
out
water supply
water return

Air compression and supply

Air storage and drying

Air distribution

Figure 1. Shown here are the main components of a compressed air system

prepared that contains data, includ-ing

number and type of consumers,
minimum and maximum air-pressure
requirements of each user, air flow required by each user, utilization factor
and so on.

Compressed air has a number of

industrial uses based on its service. A
major application of compressed air,
when used as instrument air, is valve
actuator control. Other common applications of instrument air include use in
laboratories, rotating equipment seals,
paint spraying and powder coating,
climate control and so on. Industrial
workshops have consumer tools, such
as pneumatic hammers, drills, grinders

and such. Utility stations are often installed in a plant for general purposes
and require plant air. Breathing air
stations are provided in most chemi-cal
plants. Food, pharmaceutical and
electronic industries require mostly
process air. All of these users must be
carefully identified and listed.

Quality. The air quality depends on the

levels of contaminants that the end
users can tolerate without affect-ing the
smooth function of process (Table 1).
Typical contaminants com-monly
encountered in compressed air systems
include solids (dirt, dust, pipe scales,
and particles from com-pressor wear),
liquids (water and oil) and gases (water
vapor, oil, chemical vapors). Based on
the services ca-tered to, the quality of
compressed air ranges from plant air
(least critical), process air and
instrument air (criti-

cal) to breathing air (most critical). The

cost of producing compressed

air goes up with each quality level.

Each increased quality level requires
installing additional purification
equipment and leads to a higher initial
capital investment. The future operating cost will also rise due to increased
energy consumption and maintenance.
Therefore, the air quality level should
be determined as the first step.

The quality class of compressed air can

be assigned as listed in detail in the
international standard ISO 8573-1,
which bases the classes on particle size,

moisture and oil content in the air. For

example, the air quality specifica-tion
for instrument air is written as ISO
8573-1 Class 2.2.1, which means 1
micron particulate filtration, 40F (
40C) dew point and 0.08 ppm w/w

the air quality, we can still try to reduce

the load and thus the quality level
expected from them by eliminating or
minimizing sources of contamination.
This can be done in a number of ways.

(0.1 mg/m ) oil filtration. The air class

may also change from client-to-client
based on the purity requirement of air
for the particular service.
The most stringent quality class in this
regard is Class 0. It does not mean that
the contaminant level will be zero, but
rather that the levels of particulate
matter, dew point and oil content of the
air supplied will be as per any values
(typically lowest) speci-fied by the
user. Based on its equip-ment
capabilities, the manufacturer must
agree in writing that it can pro-vide air
of such a class.

Some points to be considered when

talking about air quality are given
below:

Minimizing or eliminating sources of

contamination. Contaminants can enter
the system at the compressor in-take or
could be introduced in the air stream by
the system itself. Though equipment,
such as separators, fil-ters, dryers and
condensate drains are used to improve

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013 41

For example, locate the compres-sors

air-intake filters in a safe nonhazardous area in open air outside the
plant building away from sources of
dirt; dust; moisture; toxic, corrosive
and flammable gases; and also at sufficient height (about 3 to 5 m) from
ground level to avoid dust, debris,
insects and so on. As the air intake is
subject to extreme conditions with
various contaminants causing foul-ing,
corrosion and other problems, the
material of intake filters should be
selected with great care. Typically, the
air intake filter and piping is made of
stainless steel.

Also, one should avoid using lubricated air compressors in applications

where high quality is desired.
Grouping of consumers. Consum-ers
with similar air quality and pres-sure
level can be grouped along with airtreatment equipment in close proximity.
If different air quality re-quirements
exist in the same plant then the plant
can be divided into dif-

Feature Report

ferent
units.
The air
treatm
ent
equipment
can be
kept
dedicat
ed to
the end
users
with
highquality
require
ments.

For
exampl
e, if
only
one
consu
mer
require
s
lubrica
nt-free
air,
only
air
being
supplie
d to it
needs
to be
treated
,
thereb
y
reduci
ng
costs.
Altern
atively
(based
on

econo
mic
and
opera
tional
analy
sis),
highqualit
y air
may
be
supplied
with a
dedic
ated,
lubric
antfree
comp
ressor
.
Howe
ver, if
there
is a
sufficien
tly
high
requir
ement
of
highe
r air
qualit
y (say
70%
or
more)
, then
the
entire
plant
can
be
suppli
ed
with
this
qualit
y
level.

Quanti
ty
Estima
ting
system
capacity
and
margin
s.
Before
installing a
compr
essor,
the
quantit
y of air
flow
require
d by
the
plant
should
be
known
. The
require
d
compr
essedair
capacit
y is the
sum of
air
require
-ments
of
instru
ments,
tools
and
process
operati
ons
assumi
ng
normal
plant
operati
on at

full
load
(taking
into
accoun
t the
operati
onal
load
factor
of each
piece
of
equip
ment).
A
study
is
typical
ly
carried
out to
understand
the
various
applica
tions
requiring
compr
essed
air and
the
duratio
n of
their
operati
on.

Howev
er, the
total
air
require
ment is
not
simply
the
sum of
maxim
um requirem
ents
for

each
tool,
but
rather
the
sum
of the
avera
ge air
consu
mptio
n of
each.
For
exam
ple,
in
most
plants
the
capac
ity of
a
comp
ressor
is the
capac
-ity
requir
ed for
opera
ting
both
instru
-ment
and
plant
air.
Typic
ally,
the
tool
air
syste
ms
are
kept
separ
ate
from
the
instru
ment
and
plant
air
syste

m.
During
plant
shutdo
wn, the
tool air
require
ments
are
especia
lly
large
and
can be
met by
hired
portabl
e
compr
essors. In
this
way,
oversiz
ing the
instrume
nt and
plant
air
compr
essor
to
cover
this
tempor
ary
large
deman
d of air
can be
avoide
d.

In case
it is
planne
d to
supply
tool air
from
the
same
compr
essor,

then
care
should
be
taken
to
ensure
that:
there is
no
interco
nnectio
n
betwee
n
piping
of the
two air
system
s
downstream
of the
dryer;
the
receive
r size
is
adequa
te
enough
to
supply
instrument
air at
all
times;
and
that a
low
pressur
e
switch
is
installe
d that
can
cut-off
the
tool air
supply
in case
the
instru
ment
air

press
ure
drops.

The
tool
air
requir
ement
can
be
cal-

culate
d as
the
sum
of the
numb
er of
tools
times
the
air
consu
mptio
n per
tool
times
the
load
factor
. The
load
factor
takes
care
of the
time a
partic
ular
tool is
being
utiliz
ed.
This
total
toolair
requir
ement

can be
used to
size
the
tool air
compr
essor.

When
designi
ng a
compr
essed
air
system
, the
approa
ch
should
be to
minimi
ze the
deman
d and
properl
y size
the
compr
essor;
oversiz
ing
should
be
avoide
d.
Variati
on in
air
deman
d over
time is
a
major
consid
eration
. Plants
with a
wide
variati
on in
demand
need a
compr
essor

operati
ng
efficie
ntly
under
partial
load.
Thoug
h the
air
compr
essor
efficie
ncy
will increase
with
size,
oversiz
ed
compr
es-sors
are
extrem
ely
ineffici
ent
becaus
e they
use
more
energy
per
unit
volum
e of air
produc
ed
when
operati
ng at
par-tial
load.

In
existin
g
installa
tions,
the air
demand
is
monito
red

with
the
help
of
flow
meter
s
install
ed on
main
heade
rs and
at
vario
us
points
in the
syste
m.
The
electr
onic
data
logge
rs that
track
comp
ressor
activi
ty
over
time
also
help
monit
or the
dema
nd.
The
data
thus
meas
ured
can
be
used
to
size a
new
plant.
For
new
install
ations
the
compress

or
capacit
y may
be
calcula
ted as
the
exampl
e
shown
in
Table
2.

Sizing
for
future
deman
d.
Alway
s keep
in
mind
that a
plant
may
need a
new
proces
s unit
someti
me in
the
near
future.
As an
exampl
e, say
that
this
unit
will
have a
require
ment
of
approx
imatel
y 500
3

Nm /h
and the
applicati
on lies
in the

same
pressur
e and
quality
range
as that
of
Table
2. Due
to the
availab
ility of
these
data
well in
advanc
e
during
the
sizing
stage,
500
3

Nm /h
are
added
to the
existin
g flow
of
3,400
3

Nm /
h and a
new
capacit
y is
estimat
ed as
3,900
3

Nm /
h.
Althou
gh in
this
case it
may
seem
that
the future
require
ments
are
taken
care
of, in
reality

the
comp
ressor
has
beco
me
oversi
zed
for
curre
nt
use.
In
such
a
case,
the
logica
l
appro
ach
will
be to
install
a
small
er
recipr
ocatin
g unit
of
500
3

Nm /
h at a
later
stage
when
actually
neede
d.
Thus
care
shoul
d be
taken
to
avoid
addin
g
extra
margi
ns to
cover
future
applic

ations
or
supply
tool air
as this
may
lead to
oversiz
ing the
compr
essor.
When
such
deman
ds are
encoun
tered,

they
can be
met
any
time
by
future
compr
essor
installa
tions
or
tempor
ary
rented
installa
tions.

Pressu
re
level.
Proces
s
engine
ers
specify
airpressur
e
require
ments
for the
proces
s in

their
basis
while
the
valve
and
pneum
atic
tool
manuf
acturers
rate
their
valve
and
tools
for
specifi
c
purpos
es as
given
in their
literatu
re.
Each
air
consu
mer
has a
certain
operati
ng
pressur
e
require
-ment
to
functio
n
correct
ly. The
highest
workin
g
pressur
e
require
ment
of a
consu
mer is
used to
determ
ine the

correct
install
ation
press
ure
(or
the
compress
or
disch
arge
press
ure).
In the
same
syste
m for
the
consu
mers
where
such
high
press
ures
are
not
requir
ed a
selfregul
ating
valve
(or a
press
ure
contr
ol
valve
(PCV
)) can
be
install
ed
upstre
am to
reduc
e the
press
ure at
the
consu
mers
inlet.

To
decide
the
installa
tion
pressur
e, the
pressur
e at the
compr
essor
discharge
flange
needs
to be
estimat
ed. To
estimat
e this
pressur
e, the
losses
encoun
tered
in the
circuit
due to
equip
ment
(filters,
dryers,
flow
elements,
heat
exchan
gers,
piping
and so
on)
must
be
added
to the
maximum
pressur
e value
require
d at the
consu
mer
end.
The

exampl
e given
in
Table 3
clarifie
s this
point.

Table 3
shows
that
the
workin
g pressure is
determ
ined
by
adding
system
pressur
e
losses
to the
maxim
um
pressure
value
require
d at the
consu
mer
end.
The
equip
ment
pressur
e drops
are
depend
ant on
vendor
design
and the
values
used in
the
exampl
e are
typical
values
encoun
tered.
The

press
ure
drop
in the
filters
are
low
initial
ly but
increas
e over
time.
For
exam
ple, a
desiccant
dryer
afterfilter
may
accu
mulat
e
desic
cant
fines
over
time,
which
can
cause
an
increa
sed
press
ure
drop
and
increa
sed
powe
r
consu
mptio
n.

The
flow
regul
ation
of a
comp
res-

sor
may
bring
about
flow
variati
ons in
the
system
. As
pressur
e drop
throug
ha
given
pipe is
directl
y
proport
ional
to the
square
of
flowrat
e (P
2

Q )
throug
h the
pipe,
the
pressur
e drop
will
increas
e in
case of
a
higher
flow
deman
d. To
compe
nsate
for this
varying
pressur
e drop
due to
compr
essor
regulat
ion, a
margin
is
consid
ered.

As a
rule of
thumb

42

for
comp
resse
d air
syste

ms in
the
range
of 100
psig

Chemical
Engineering www.che.com
January 2013

Table 2. Estimating air compressor capacity

Symbols:

Assumptions:

C = Compressor capacity, Nm /h

Air consumption / instrument

3.2
3

Nm /h

I = Instrument air requirement, Nm /h

Air consumption / utility station

200
3

Nm /h

P = Plant air requirement, Nm /h

% of utility stations working

10
%

N = Number of instruments in plant

simultaneously

u = Number of utility stations in plant

Flow margins to account for :

U = Number of utility stations working

a) Leaks and future expansion

20
%

Formulae:

b) Air dyer regeneration

20
%

C=I+P

c) Compressor wear and efficiency (only

I = N (Air consumption / instrument)

for reciprocating type, in addition to a & b)

20
%

U = u (% of utility stations working simultaneously)

P = U (Air consumption / utility station)

Calculations:

For an example we consider the following figures:

N=
475
(say)

u=
60
(say)

U=
60 10%
6

I=
475 3.2
1,520

Nm /h

Nm /h (Considering centrifugal type and applying flow margins a & b to

I=
1,520 1.2 x 1.2
2,188.8

above flow)

P=
6 200
1,200

Nm /h

C=
2,189 + 1,200

3,388.8

Nm /h

~ 3,400

Nm /h

Hence the estimated compressor size is 3,400 Nm /h

(approximately 78 barg), for every 2 psi

(0.14 bar) increase in compressor discharge
pressure, the following two changes occur:

Energy consumption increases by

approximately 1% at full output flow.

Energy consumption increases by another

0.61% due to unregulated usage
(unregulated usage is typically considered
to be about 3050% of air demand).

The combined effect is a net rise of about

1.62% [1].

With this information in mind, one should

be careful in finalizing the sys-tem
pressure. The calculated value of the
compressors discharge pressure should not
be simply rounded to the nearest whole
number. Instead, equip-ment manufacturers

should be con-sulted for obtaining exact

values of pressure drops across the
equipment at maximum flowrates. These
realistic values should then be used for
calcu-lating the compressor discharge pressure. Also, an attempt should be made to
select equipment and instruments with
minimum pressure drop.

Build a basis of what is expected from the

compressed air system.

Operating with a lower pressure than

needed will lead to erratic func-tion of
instruments and endanger the process. A
higher pressure, on the other hand, will
cause more energy consumption and may
lead to system leaks and thus increases of
the plant operating costs in future.

Identify the scope of supply.

A package enquiry specification

The whole idea of writing an enquiry

specification for the package system is to
do the following:

Present sufficient and precise tech-nical

data to the equipment manufac-turer to
design this system.

Some important points for the ven-

dor and the buyer which should be put in

the specification in a clear and con-cise way
are given below.

1. Equipment, system and site details.

Equipment details should contain some data
given by the de-sign engineer and some
information left for the equipment
manufacturer to confirm. Data, such as
number of compressors and dryers;

capacities required; operating and design

condi-tions; fluid properties; allowed noise
level; expected air quality at the dryer
outlet; maximum pressure drop across
dryers and filters; and dryer outlet
temperature are to be given by the designer. On the other hand, data such as
equipment-rated capacity confirma-tion;
number of compressor stages re-quired;
absorbed power and efficiency at shaft;
suction- and discharge-flange size and
rating; consumption of utili-ties like
cooling water and instrument air; design
temperature based on com-pressor
discharge temperature; dryer

cycle time; drying period; regeneration

period; cooling period; tie-in point list;
instrumentation and control schemes; and
so on, are given by the vendor.

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013 43

System details should cover the operational

and control philosophy, number of working
and spare equip-ment, quality, quantity,
pressure re-quirements of air, schematic
sketch and so on.

Battery limit conditions, utility availability,

meteorological and cli-matic conditions,
site location, geo-technical data, and any
limitations on plant dimensions details
constitute the site details.

Scope of supply. A vendor must understand

what exactly he has to fur-nish to the buyer.
Commonly, vendors supplying compressors
also supply receivers, filters and dryers

together to form what is called as the air

com-pression-and-drying package. Typical
details listed in the scope of supply are
equipment; interconnecting piping; control
panel; instrumentation; plat-forms and
ladders; bolts; lugs; skids; fabrication;
surface preparation and painting; inspection
and testing; first fill (desiccant, oil) supply;
installation; documentation; site shipment;
author-ity approval and certification.

Reference and procedure. Indus-

trial equipment manufacturers have their

own set of internal manufactur-ing quality
standards. However, most

Table 3. Estimating the working pressure

Pressure required at consumer end

P
6

barg

Feature Report

Element

Typical pressure

drop

Final filter

P1
0.3

bar

chemical process industries (hence-

Air distribution piping

P2
0.1

bar

Dust filter (dryer after filter)

P3
0.1

bar

forth referred in this article as client)

Dryer

P4

0.15

bar

require the vendors to adhere to global

Coalescing filter (dryer pre filter)

P5
0.1

bar

manufacturing codes, standards, guide-

Flow element

P6
0.25

bar

lines, good recommended

practices,

Compressor after-cooler

P7
0.1

bar

directives (for instance, ASME, API,

Compressor inter-cooler

P8
0.1

bar

ANSI). International clients operating

Compressor regulation range

P9

0.5

bar

multiple industrial units at times have

Total pressure drop

1.7

bar

their own set of technical standards

and guidelines that the vendor has to

Pressure required at the

P+

comply with. Typically, a list of such

compressor discharge flange

P
7.7

barg

codes and standards to be followed is

to the vendors proprietary design.

The following variables, if analyzed

available in the design basis of a proj-

ect and needs to be conveyed to the

There may be certain technicalities in

correctly, will provide a fair idea of

vendor through specification.

terms of fabrication or state-of-art de-

the compressor type to be selected be-

This section should also contain

velopment that only the vendor may

fore consulting a compressor vendor

administrative, procedural and other

be better aware of. For example, air

for details:

temporary requirements to be fol-

intake filters or moisture separators

1. Hours of operation per month

lowed, including submission of expe-

are entirely a vendor-supplied propri-

2. Nature of demand (continuous or

rience record proforma, complying to

etary item. This will be designed by

intermittent)

equipment qualification criteria, in-

the vendor based on the particle-size

3. Pressure and flow requirements

structions for delivery to site, schedul-

retention and moisture data given by

4. Environment (clean or dirty)

ing, warranties, and spare and main-

the design engineer.

A preliminary selection of the type of

tenance agreements.

During the technical bid analysis

air compressor can be made from the

Specifying equipment data

(TBA) stage based on the specifica-

typical graph of inlet flow versus dis-

tion given by the designer, different

charge pressure, as given in the GPSA

A compressed air and drying package

vendors offer their proposals that have

handbook [2]. For example, suppose

contains many types of equipment,

to be evaluated technically for energy

we want to select an air compressor for

such as air-intake filters, compres-

efficiency and lifetime operating cost.

1,000 acfm and a discharge pressure of

sors, inter-coolers, after-coolers, mois-

The data furnished by the vendor need

122 psig. By using such a graph, we will

ture separators, receivers and so on.

to be thoroughly checked by the engi-

observe that for our application we will

The engineer who writes specifica-

neer to see that all of his or her techni-

end up selecting the following types of

tions for the package does not neces-

cal and operational requirements are

compressors: reciprocating (single and

sarily size all this equipment. Based

in line with that given in the specifi-

multiple stage), rotary screw and cen-

on rules of thumb, good engineering

cation. Any other additional data fur-

trifugal (single and multiple stage).

practices and sound technical as-

nished as a result of proprietary design

All three types of compressors can suit

sumptions, he or she can fairly esti-

should also be checked at least for cor-

the application. So how do we decide

mate the capacities and sizes of these

rectness and compliance to standards.

which type of compressor is the best?

pieces of equipment. This may help

Air compressor selection

The answer is that we must not select

different engineers from

disciplines

any compressor that simply fulfills the

like piping, static equipment, electri-

During compressor and drive selec-

flow and pressure requirements, but

cal and so on to get at least prelimi-

tion, it must be kept in mind that in

the one that is best suited to the ap-

nary data to proceed with their work.

most industries it is the compressor

plication (see Table 4).

For example, due to availability of

that utilizes more electricity than any

Suppose for the same application

equipment sizes, the layout engineer

other equipment. Records show that in

given above we further know that

can assign preliminary locations for

many instances during the first year

the nature of load will be continuous,

this equipment (which will be sup-

of operation, the operating cost was al-

heavy (high flowrate) and the system

plied as packages or skids) on the al-

most twice that of the initial purchase

has to be lubricant free. For high flow-

lotted plot plan and fix the area for

price of the equipment.

rates and oil-free conditions centrifu-

the air unit in the basic stage.

When selecting new compressors,

gal compressors are a common choice.

The sizes of some of the equipment

industries with existing compressed-

Also

centrifugal
compressors
work

estimated by the engineer may not

air installations have an advantage.

well under continuous load rather

necessarily match that given by the

They monitor their current air de-

than variable load. Due to these rea-

vendor. Though seeming correct on

mand and supply trends and also the

sons a centrifugal compressor will be-

paper, such equipment may or may

reliability and suitability of existing

come a first choice for our application.

not give the desired result. This may

air compressors. The data thus ob-

Correct flowrate units

be either due to the capabilities and

tained will prove useful to them in

limitations of the selected vendors

selecting and sizing any future com-

As air is compressible it will occupy

manufacturing and machinery or due

pressed air installations.

different volumes

at different
tem-

44

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013

Table 4. Compressor Selection

Compressor type
Reciprocating

Screw
Centrifugal

Best suited for:

Flowrates
Low

Medium
High

Nature of air demand

Fluctuating or

Continuous or
Continuous or

varying

steady
steady

strument air cannot be compromised

Nature of operation
Intermittent

Continuous
Continuous

at any cost. The capacity of the spare

compressor is kept the same as the

Operating efficiency at
Most efficient

Good
Poor, suscepti-

lower / part loads

bility to surge

largest duty compressor.

Even to cater to the normal opera-

Reliability and
High wear

Good
Medium main-

tion, sometimes multiple compres-

maintenance

tenance but

frequent

sors are installed in a plant. For ex-

ample, for a certain known capacity

Complex and

Easy and low

Check for un-

we have a compressor installation of

frequent main-

maintenance
balance and

tenance

vibration

2 100%. This actually means that

we have two installed compressors,

peratures and pressures. There is

pressure (P1) and final pressure (P2)

out of which one is working and the

no global standard for specifying air

in absolute units. A gage value is only

other a standby. Selecting this instal-

compressor flowrates. Care should be

a representation of pressure. It does

lation may mean that we get a single

taken to avoid confusion due to usage

not include the atmospheric pressure

compressor whose working capacity

of different units like cubic feet per

and hence is not the true pressure

is very large. Instead we can opt for

minute (CFM), standard air capacity

of the gas. Typically in instrument

a combination of a number of smaller

(SCFM), actual air-compressor capac-

air systems, the overall compression

compressors, which may prove an at-

ity (ACFM), inlet air capacity (ICFM),

ratio is about nine. Due to this high

tractive economic and operating alter-

free air delivery (FAD), normal cubic

compression ratio we may need mul-

native than having one large compres-

meters per hour (Nm /h) and so on.

tiple stages.

sor. Likewise, a 3 50% combination

Compressor vendors rate their com-

The compression ratio per stage is

where we have three installed com-

pressors in terms of volume. The ven-

limited by the discharge temperature

pressors, out of which two are working

dor catalogs typically state compres-

and usually does not exceed four. How-

and the third a standby is an another

sor flows in CFM. It also seems logical

ever, sometimes for small sized air

option. For critical services, the option

and easy to visualize equipment size

units with intermittent duty, a higher

of keeping a spare rotor handy is also

in terms of volume rather than mass.

compression ratio may be used by the

considered at times.

Sometimes mass flowrate (kg/h) of

vendor. Table 5 can be used for choos-

Generally, a combination of differ-

gas is given by a design engineer with

ing number of stages.

ent drives is used to run compressors.

the understanding that mass of a gas

Though an engineer can state the

A petroleum refinery may have units,

remains constant. In such cases, the

value of the number of stages in the

for instance a hydrogen generation

moisture content in the gas (if any)

specification, this value is subject

unit (HGU) or a sulfur-recovery unit

should be subtracted from the given

to the manufacturing capabilities of

(SRU), where excess high-pressure

flowrate. The vendor should be told if

the vendor.

(HP) steam is generated in the pro-

the flowrate is wet or dry.

In general, variable speed control is

cess. If the generated excess steam is

When dealing with process gas ap-

achieved by using a steam turbine, gas

not being used or exported elsewhere

plications, the unit SCFM is commonly

turbine or diesel or gasoline engines.

and is sufficient to drive a turbine,

used while FAD finds a more common

Constant speed control is achieved

then a steam-driven turbine can be

usage in compressed air applications.

by electric motors. Variable speed can

selected as the main drive while an

Number of stages and drives

also be obtained from electric motors

electric motor may be used to operate

with variable speed drives. Drive se-

the other compressors.

Multiple stages are used in compres-

lection can be done based on the chart

For example, a compressor with a

sors to achieve higher pressures. As

given in the Instrument Engineers

steam-turbine drive may supply 65%

high-pressure compression is carried

Handbook [3].

of the total flow requirement while the

out in multiple stages, intercoolers

Operational philosophy/spares

compressor with electric motor and

provided between the stages remove

variable speed drive (VSD) may sup-

heat of compression and bring down

Most plants install at least two com-

ply 35% of the total flow requirement.

the temperature to approximately

pressors, one working and the other a

The spare will also be VSD driven and

that at the compressor inlet. As a re-

spare or standby. A spare air compres-

sized to supply 65% of the total flow

sult of this cooling, the density of air

sor is required in the system to ensure

requirement in case of emergency.

increases and volumetric flowrate of

maximum reliability and availability

This leads to electric power saving,

the gas going to the next stage reduces.

of compressed air during emergency

increased reliability due to usage of

Due to this volumetric reduction the

scenarios, such as equipment failure.

a reliable source of utility (steam in

work of compression and hence the

Mechanical failure of a compressor

this case) and also extraction of useful

power need reduces.

will directly affect instrument air sup-

work from excess steam. All the three

The number of stages required is

ply in the plant after the stored air ca-

compressors will be sized for 65% of

determined by the overall compres-

pacity of the air receiver is completely

the air demand. The actual operating

sion ratio. The compression ratio is

exhausted. A spare compressor is in-

schemes are decided and approved by

calculated considering both the initial

stalled where process criticality of in-

the chemical plant personnel along

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013 45

Table 6. Calculating air receiver size

Feature Report

Ambient air temperature

T
C
40

Capacity required
C
3

Nm /h
3,400

Capacity correction

= 3,400 (273 + 40) /

(free air delivery)

(60 273) = 64.96

Hold-up time required

t
min
10

Table 5. Choosing number of stages

based on compression ratio

Ambient pressure
P

bar
1.01

Compression
Number of stages

Initial/storage pressure
P1

barg
8

Ratio (P2/P1)

bara
9.01

14
1 stage, sometimes 2 stages

Final/destination
P

barg
4.5

420
2 stage, sometimes 3 stages

pressure

bara
5.51

20

3 stages

Volume
V
m

188

with the design engineer based on their

previous experience, cost effec-tiveness and
RAM studies.

Running a smaller compressor at full load

proves more energy efficient than running a
larger compressor at low load. Also if there
is a large varia-tion in air demand (like low
demands during weekends) then we can
switch off one of the two working compressors. There may be a combination of

operating compressors based on se-quential

controls to avoid running the larger
compressor at such times.

Air receiver sizing

Pa = Atmospheric pressure, bara

The air receiver is used to store a cer-tain
volume of compressed air and sup-ply it for
use as needed. In the event of a failure or a
shutdown of the operat-ing compressor, the
receiver provides the necessary air supply
for the time needed to start (manually or
automat-ically) the standby air compressor.

An air receiver located on the dis-charge

side of a reciprocating com-pressor also
helps to dampen pressure pulsations. Due to
availability of a large vapor space, the
receiver pro-vides radiant cooling and also
collects any condensed liquid.

The air receiver is sized such that it

supplies a compressed air demand for an
amount of time required for the air pressure
to drop from compressor discharge pressure
to the minimum pressure required at the air
consumer end. The size of an air receiver
can be calculated by the formula (based on
Boyles law, PV = a constant):

The receiver volume is at ambient

temperature.
P1 = Initial pressure or compressor
discharge pressure, bara
No air is being supplied to the re-ceiver by
the compressor.
P2 = Final pressure or minimum pres-sure
required at the air consumer end, bara

The time t, also known as the resi-dence

time for receiver sizing, is a function of
criticality of the system, operator
intervention for mainte-nance and piping
diameter. This time typically varies from 5
to 15 min. In plants where provision of auto
start of spare compressor is given, the residence time may be reduced to 1.5 to 2 min
considering reliability of auto start and
subject to clients approval and operating
experience. An example is provided in
Table 6.

The initial pressure (P1) is usually taken as

the pressure at the compres-sor discharge
flange considering line losses to be
negligible; and the final pressure is taken as
the pressure re-quired at the instrument for
proper operation. Sometimes the receiver
volume calculated from the given for-mula
may turn out to be too large to be
economical. To reduce the receiver volume

V
tCPa
(1)

Location of air receiver

The air receiver is typically installed at two

different locations in the com-

pressed air system. The receiver lo-cated

immediately downstream of compressor but
before the dryer is known as the wet
receiver or pri-mary receiver. The receiver
located downstream of the dryer is known
as the dry receiver or secondary re-ceiver.

The main function of the wet receiver is to

act as a pulsation dampner (typi-cally for
piston reciprocating compres-sor) and bring
about a stabilization in pressure. It provides
additional radiant cooling to help condense
some moisture and reduce load on the dryer.
On the other hand, the dry receiver meets
the high short-term air demand from
consumers by the air stored in it, thus
avoiding cycling of the compressor.

(V), the value of the term (P1

(P1P2)
P2) should be increased. To achieve this,

Where,
V = Receiver volume, m

t = Time allowed for pressure drop (P1 P2) to

occur, min

the value P1 should be increased. Storing

air at a higher pressure by installing a
smaller reciprocating ma-chine will reduce
receiver size and prove economical
compared to install-ing a receiver with high
storage vol-ume. Sometimes for a critical
system, an additional receiver operating in
parallel can be installed for additional
reliability, if required.

C = Free air delivered at compressor

3

discharge, Nm /h

The assumptions for this exercise are the

following:

Most rotary screw compressors (lu-bricant

injected) are equipped with capacity control
by inlet valve mod-ulation and are designed
to match the output from the compressor
with the demand from consumers. Thus it
seems that an air receiver can be avoided in
this case.

However, absence of an air receiver will not

shield the compressor from pressure
fluctuations from the de-mand side
downstream of the receiver. Also the ability
to keep the compres-sor unloaded for longer
time during periods of light loads will not
be avail-able. Thus the requirement for an
air receiver is a must.

The following mountings are essen-tial for

an air receiver:

Automatic drain trap and manual drain

tapping

Pressure gage

Fusible plugs

Safety valve

Level transmitter

46

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013

Manhole

The receiver inlet nozzle should be located

in the lower portion of the vessel and the
outlet nozzle should be located at the top to
assist settling of liquid droplets

Table 7. Air Dryer Selection

Dryer
Chemical deliquesRefrigerant dryer
Desiccant
Heat of compression
Membrane

cent dryer

dryer
dryer
dryer

Basic
Single tower with a
Combination of airTwin towSingle or twin towers
Membrane

configuration
salt-packed bed
to-air heat exchanger
ers with
with desiccant packed
unit

followed by refrigerant-

desiccant
beds

to-air heat exchanger.

packed

Variation: Cyclic drybeds

ers; indirect cooling

through thermal stor-

age medium

Drying action
Moisture is abCooling air from comMoisture
Moisture adsorption in
Selective ad-

sorbed by salt bed.

pressor discharge
adsorpdesiccant bed
sorption. Moist

Salt dissolves in
in air-to-air heat extion in

air enters the

water and is lost to

changer to reduce
desiccant

dryer. Water

drain during periload on the dryer folbed

permeates

odic draining
lowed by direct cool-

the mem-

ing in refrigerant-to-air

brane walls

heat exchanger.

while dries air

Indirect cooling in

continues to

thermal storage media

travel further

Drying
Salt beds of sodium,
Refrigerant / thermal
Desiccant
Single tower: RotatMembrane

medium
potassium, calcium
mass
media like
ing desiccant drum in

and those with a

Silica gel,
single pressure vessel.

urea base

alumina
It uses hot air taken

and modirectly at a point after

lecular
compressor discharge

sieves
for regeneration purge.

Twin tower: Desiccant

bed (heat regeneration

by hot air taken directly

after compressor dis-

charge)

Drying
Not possible, salt
Not applicable.
Possible
Possible
Not possible,

medium
is used up and

membrane

regeneration
make-up of salt is

has to be re-

required

placed

Dew point
1550F below inlet
3539F
40 to
40 to 100F
40 to 40F

attained
air temperature

100F

Approximate
0.2
0.79
2 to 3
0.8
3 to 4

power

requirement,

kW/100 cfm

Pipelines are typically carbon steel,

except lines with smaller diameter in
The air dryer is selected based on

Materials of construction

The most common material of construction (MOC) used for a plant- and
instrument-air system is carbon steel.
The compressor and dryer package parts
in contact with moist air shall be selected
with care. Corrosion allowance will be
included as per project standard or
design basis. The equipment mate-rial is
specified by the design engineer and is
subject to confirmation and jus-tification
by the vendor.

The compressed air receiver is made of

carbon steel. As the compressed air
receiver also serves the purpose of
condensate collection and most liquid is
knocked off and collected at the receiver bottom, it is susceptible to corrosion. To avoid this, the receiver is
typically provided with an internal
protective resin coating (for example,
heat-cured phenolic resin).

the range 0.5 to 2 in. are galvanized

carbon steel. This is done typically because lines that are smaller in diameter
can get clogged by any rust, corrosion or
other solids caused by carbon-steel
corrosion or eroding, and may create
problems for the instruments downstream to which they supply air.

Air dryer selection

Water in compressed air, either in the

liquid or vapor phase, can cause a
variety of operational problems for
consumers of compressed air. Prob-lems
encountered may include freez-ing of
outdoor air lines, corrosion in piping and
equipment, malfunction-ing of
pneumatic process-control in-struments,
fouling of processes and products and so
on. Hence, using an air dryer becomes
necessary to re-move the water vapor
from the com-pressed air.

the required pressure dew point. To

select the correct dryer, first it is important to understand the concept of dew
point. Atmospheric air contains
moisture. If we keep on cooling air we
will attain a temperature where the
moisture contained in air will begin to
condense and drop out. This temperature at which condensation first
occurs is the dew point of air at atmospheric pressure. If we compress atmospheric air, it will occupy a smaller
volume. Due to compression the water
molecules will come closer, coalesce and
condense out. This temperature at which
water vapor will begin to condense at
the applied higher pres-sure is the dew
point at the applied pressure, or pressure
dew point. Thus the pressure dew point
(dew point at higher pressure) will be
different than the dew point of air at
atmo-spheric pressure.

In general, air at a temperature

Chemical Engineering www.che.com January 2013 47

Feature Report

higher
than
atmosp
heric
will
hold
more
moistu
re, and
air at a
pressure
higher
than
atmosp
heric
will
hold
less
moistu
re. The
air
leaving
the
compr
essor
is both
at a
higher
pressur
e and
temper
ature
than
atmosph
eric.
Thus
at the
compr
essor
outlet
a
pheno
menon
occurs
where
higher
pressur
e will
cause

some
of the
moist
ure to
be
remo
ved
off
while
the
highe
r
tempe
rature
will
enabl
e the
air to
hold
on to
some
moist
ure.
The
press
ure
dew
point
is
more
meani
ng-ful
as it
indica
tes
the
dew
point
at the
opera
ting
press
ure.

The
vendo
r
must
be
provi
ded
with
maxi

mum
flowrat
e,
require
d dew
point,
maxim
um
and
minim
um
inletair
pressur
es,
maxim
um
and
minimum
inletair
temper
atures,
maximum
coolin
gwater
temper
atures,
maxim
um
pressur
e drop
for
dryer
design.
Table 7
provid
es
guideli
nes for
dryer
selecti
on.

Prefilters
are
installe
d

upstrea
m

of the
air
dryer
to
protect
the
drying
mediu
m
(exam
ple,
desicca
nt)
from
getting
contam
inated.
Afterfilters
are
installe
d
downst
ream
of the
air
dryer
to
preven
t
desicca
nt
fines
from
enterin
g the
system
downst
ream.
Afterfilters
also
help in
remov
al of
vapor,
harmfu
l
chemic
als,

micro
-organis
ms
and
so on.
Both
the
filters
also
serve
to
coale
sce
oil
and
moisture
dropl
ets,
which
can
then
be
drain
ed.
Over
time,
the
filters
may
get
clogg
ed
and
cause
increa
sed
system
resist
ance
and
energ
y
consu
mption.
Henc
e,
timel
y
filter
maint
enanc
e is
very

import
ant in
compr
essed
air
system
s.
Differe
ntial
pressur
e
gages
should
be
installe
d
across
filters
to keep
a
check
on the
pressur
e drop
throug
h
them.

Beside
s these
filters,
small
filters
may
also be
installe
d at the
pointof-use
end.
Their
functio
n is to
filter
particl
es
generat
ed in
the
distrib
u-tion
piping.

Distrib
ution
piping

The
compr
essedair
distrib
ution
piping
will be
sized
based
on the
ACFM
for a
minim
um
pressur
e drop
of 0.1
bar/10
0 m of
piping.
Air
velocit
ies of
the
order
of 5 to
10 m/s
are
quite
comm
only
mainta
ined.
Incorre
ct
sizing
may
lead to
excess
pressur
e drop,
hence
piping
system
s
should

be
desig
ned
prope
rly.
Every
possi
ble
attem
pt
shoul
d be
made
to
mini
mize
press
ure
drop.
For
exam
ple,
locate
air
suppl
y,
storag
e and
dryin
g
syste
ms
closer
to the
consu
mer
end,
and
mini
mizin
g pipe
bends
.

Air
distri
butio
n
syste
ms
are
mainl
y
desig
ned

as
closedloop or
ring
main
header
s. In
the
ring
header
the air
flow is
split
into
two
directi
ons
from a
point
and
can
flow to
an end
-user
in two
differe
nt
directi
ons.
Thus
for a
particu
lar air
consu
mer
the air
flow is
availab
le from
both
directi
ons of
the
header.
As the
air
flow is
halved,
the
velocit
y
reduce
s and
also
the
pressur
e drop.

So
cia
l
Me
dia

Ra
dio
&
Tel
evi
sio
n

Cont
ent
Lice
nsin
g for
Ever
y
Mar
ketin
g
Strat
egy
Marketing
solutions fit
for:

Outdoor

Direct
Mail

Print
Advertising

Tradeshow/
POP

Displays

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go
Li
ce
ns
in
g
|
R
ep
rin
ts
|
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pri
nt
s
|
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aq
ue
s

Le
ver
ag
e
bra
nd
ed
co
nte
nt
fro
m
Ch
em
ica
l
En
gin
ee
rin
g

to create a
more
powerful
and
sophisticate
d statement
about your
product,
service, or
company in
your next
marketing
campaign.
Contact
Wrights
Media to
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more about
how we can
customize
your
acknowledg
ements and
recognition
s to
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For more
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, call
Wrights
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877.652.52
95 or visit
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www.wrigh
tsmedia.co
m

48
Chemical
Engineerin
g
www.che.c
om
January
2013

Piping in
air
systems
should
not contain
loops or
be
installed
undergro

un
d.
In
ad
di
ti
on
to
in
str
u
m
en
t
air
,
if
ot
he
r
co
m
pr
es
se
d
ai
r
se
rv
ic
es
li
ke
pl
an
t
ai
r
or
to
ol
ai
r
ar
e
su
pp
lie
d
fr
o
m
th
e
sa
m

e
compres
sor then
no cross
connecti
ons
should
be kept
between
these
three air
services
downstre
am of
the
dryer.

Edited
by
Gerald
Ondrey

Referen
ces

Improving
Compressed
Air System
Performance- a
sourcebook
for
industry,
U.S. Department of
Energy,
Energy
Efficiency
and Renewable
Energy &
Compressed
Air
Challenge.

GPSA
Engineering
Data book,
12th ed.
Section
13,
Compressor
s and
Expanders,
Figure 13
3,
Compressor

Co
ver
age
Ch
art,
Ga
s
Pro
ces
sor
s
Su
ppl
ier
s
As
sn.,
Tul
sa,
Ok
la.

Bel
a
G.
Lip
tak
,
In
str
um
ent
En
gin
eer
s
Ha
ndbo
okPro
ces
s
Co
ntr
ol
,
3rd
ed.

Ch
apt
er
8,
Se
cti
on
8.9
,
Co
mp
res
sor
Co
ntr
ols
an
d
Op
tim
iza
tio
n,
Fig

ure. 8.9c,
Each drive
has its own
throughput
and speed
range,
Chilton
Book Co.,
Radnor, Pa.

Author

Prasanna
Digamber
Kenkre is a
senior
process
engineer
with Jacobs
Engineering
India Pvt.
Ltd. (Jacobs
House,
Ramkrishna
Mandir
Road,
Kondivita,
Andheri
(East),
Mumbai400059,Pho
ne:+91-222681-2000,
Email:prasan
na.
kenkre@jac
obs.com).
He has over
eight years
of experience in
engineering
consultancy. His
work
involves

detail and
basic
engineering
of
petroleum
refin-ing,
petrochemic
al and other

pro
ces
s
ind
ust
rie
s.
He
ear
ne
d
his
B.
E.
(C
he
mi
cal
)
fro
m
the
Un
ive
rsit
y
of
Mu
mb
ai
an
da
D.
F.
M
fro
m
the
We
lin
gkar
Ins
titu
te
of
Ma
na
ge
me
nt
De
vel
op
me
nt
&
Re
sea
rch
.