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23.09.2006 - Chemistry and petrochemistry

Tailormade solutions for the supply of process gas

High gas purity and high suction capacity together with high discharge pressure - this is what a customer in the petrochemical industry in Saudi Arabia required of his nitrogen supply, which Hofer recently mastered with an innovative technical solution - the combination of a type TK piston compressor with an MKZ diaphragm end stage.

"Diaphragm compressors can compress gas to the highest pressures without leakage, however their flow volume is limited. Piston compressors, by contrast, can realise high suction capacities, but dry-running they can only compress up to a certain pressure. So if high gas purity, high suction capacity and high discharge pressure are required, the design of appropriate compressors will demand creativity," explains Dipl.-Wirtschaftsingenieur Andreas Köttnitz, executive director of Andreas Hofer Hochdrucktechnik.

Hofer solve the problem as simply as they do elegantly, in place of a multi-stage piston compressor deploying a combination of a piston compressor and a diaphragm compressor - not just a sleek solution, but also an economical one. Firstly, the piston compressor compresses large volumes of nitrogen. The compressed gas is then again placed under much higher pressure by the diaphragm compressor. The customer thus receives the nitrogen both in the desired purity and volume, and at the required pressure of 400 bar.

To drive both the diaphragm compressor and the piston compressor, only one crank drive is necessary, which contributes to the reduction in operating costs. Furthermore, the finished facility requires much less space than, for example, a number of piston compressors operating in series. Thanks to the compact construction, the number of parts exposed to wear is small and the cost of maintenance also works out lower. All these economic advantages add to the performance that Hofer facilities in any case provide - the guarantee of 24-hour constant operation with the fullest availability.

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