High-Pressure System Advancements: Is It Time to Upgrade Your Gas Boosting Technology?

High-pressure system upgrade

Advancements in industrial gas compression equipment are enabling companies to increase efficiencies, plan for growth, and realize lower operating costs. The adoption of IoT is bringing unprecedented intelligence and control, allowing industrial gas users to achieve maximum throughput, increased visibility of real-time operations, and faster detection of problems.

Compression by Power Transmission Type

There is no singular type of power transmission technology that is a perfect fit for every application, so it’s important to understand the differences between them:

  • Electro-mechanical compressors are the most prevalent; however, they are limited in pressure capability and they have potential oil vapor migration to the gas compression section.
  • Pneumatic and hydraulic gas compression types both use fluid – as either compressed air or oil – to transmit power. These traditional systems are subject to loss of pressure and leakage, and they can be costly to maintain.
  • New electric-driven gas booster technology provides efficiencies and operational benefits over both the air and hydraulic-driven systems.

Improved production capacity is the biggest benefit of an electric servo drive compression system. Traditional air-driven models typically only provide a few standard cubic feet per minute where Improved production capacity is the biggest benefit of an electric servo drive compression system. Traditional air-driven models typically only provide a few standard cubic feet per minute where newer technologies like Q-Drive, our electric servo drive gas booster, provide hundreds of cubic feet per minute. our electric servo drive gas booster, provide hundreds of cubic feet per minute.

Specifications by Technology Type

Model

Min Inlet

psi (bar)

Max Inlet

psi (bar)

Max Outlet

psi (bar)

Air-Driven

AGT-32/62

100 (7)

4,500 (310)

9,000 (620)

AGT-32/152

100 (7)

1,050 (72)

15,000 (1,034)

AGT-62/152

100 (7)

6,000 (415)

20,000 (1,380)

Hydraulic

HGT-150/90

75 (5.2)

1,450 (100)

9,000 (620)

HGT-150/63

75 (5.2)

580 (40)

15,000 (1,034)

HGT-90/63

75 (5.2)

4,060 (280)

15,000 (1,034)

Electric-Driven

QGT-150/90

75 (5.2)

440 (30)

3,400 (235)

QGT-150/63

75 (5.2)

220 (15)

6,600 (455)

QGT-90/63

75 (5.2)

1500 (103)

6,600 (455)

Operational Efficiency: IoT and Remote Monitoring

Central to the Industry 4.0 revolution is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which is changing the way organizational leaders collect and utilize data to optimize operations. Strategic implementation of IoT into manufacturing applications has advanced both operational efficiencies and safety initiatives.

IoT allows operators to remotely monitor key factors like pressure, temperature, and flow rate, for example. These advanced diagnostics features help an organization run smoother and safer before an incident occurs. Many remote monitoring systems, like the one included in Q-Drive’s design, issue alerts for production loss, leaks, and maintenance reminders.

Further supporting the trend toward remote monitoring is the COVID-19 pandemic, which is pushing the industry to embrace remote working technology even more. This could accelerate the adoption of even more digitization, especially if an organization can expand remote operations. 

Energy Efficiency

Today’s electric-driven gas boosters and compressors have a small footprint and are extremely energy efficient, consuming less power than hydraulic and air-driven boosters.

Starting a gas booster back up can waste energy, as both the piston and diaphragm compressors can run under load but lack the ability to start under load. Fortunately, electric-driven gas boosters are designed to start in a loaded condition, helping you transfer gases with maximum efficiency.

Electric-driven gas boosters are designed to run continuously which helps reduce or eliminate the frequent start/stop cycles, leading to efficiencies and reduced waste. Both hydraulic and electric gas boosters can easily start up whether there is pressure on the inlet or not.

Safety

OSHA recommends hearing protection above 85 dBA, and depending on the distance of your operators, noise can be an important factor in achieving a safe working environment. An electric booster operates at <77 dBA while many air and hydraulic boosters operate significantly above the OSHA noise standard, requiring noise attenuation measures or regulatory concerns.

Noise Levels chart comparison

Technology Adoption Rate

As IIoT surges and pandemic continue to create workplace changes, it will be important to watch the pace of technology adoption by high-pressure industries. IoT devices are allowing more employees to work remotely and present opportunities to build connected solutions into normal practices supported by internal Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures. One thing is for sure – those who have IoT-connected, energy-efficient devices already in place will far outpace those with older technology who are already playing catch-up.


If you need help selecting the right gas transfer and pressurization technology for your system and application, download the white paper, Choosing a Gas Booster:

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