GAS COMPRESSOR CASE STUDIES

Model: 3AN35V1-B401
Gas: Heliox breathing gas (He & O2)
Suction Pressure: 220 psig
Discharge Pressure: 798 psig
Flow: 197 scfm

Offshore energy industries often require subsea dive work at depths of up to 300 meters (985 feet). Due to the critical safety requirements and the very real life-threatening nature of this kind of work, LexMar Engineering was required to have third party safety and quality certification of their saturation diving systems. LexMar Contracted with DNV to meet their clients requirements for the safety and quality certification.

Working with LexMar, Hycomp engineers developed a Heliox gas compressor that LexMar incorporated into several of their diver gas reclaim systems. The compressor is uniquely designed to provide gas compression for service at the full 300 meters or any fraction thereof. To our knowledge, this is the first DNV approved compressor for this application, worldwide.
Continuous duty and reliability were very important factors in LexMar choosing Hycomp for the job. LexMar Dive Engineer Graham Winters was very pleased with the five compressors Hycomp provided. “After a long and arduous road, LexMar Engineering has proved to DNV, the outstanding capabilities of the LESGAZ Divers Gas Reclaim with the strong and reliable Hycomp Oil Free Compressors, chosen for their impressive track record in helium compression and transfer.”

Click here to read the news article about LexMar using Hycomp Oil-Free Gas Compressors

Model: AN6A-B301
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 35 psig
Discharge Pressure: 125 psig
Flow: 10 scfm

To prevent moisture pickup and reduce ignition potential during installation of an explosive media, an automotive airbag manufacturer required high purity, dry nitrogen. The customer had already installed a local nitrogen generation system to provide the gas but required a compressor to increase the pressure from 35 psig to a storage pressure of 125 psig. The compressor had to maintain the 99.99% nitrogen purity without risk of introducing oil or oxygen into the process.

Hycomp provided a turnkey nitrogen compressor system including the gas compressor, control panel, motor, belt guard, after-cooler and receiver. The small AN6A-B nitrogen high pressure compressor was mounted onto an 80 gallon receiver to save space. Because nitrogen supply was critical to ensure uninterrupted production, the nitrogen compressor was made capable of continuous duty operation.

Since 2000 the Hycomp oil free nitrogen compressor has provided trouble free service requiring only standard preventative maintenance. The nitrogen gas supply has remained successfully dry and pure keeping the production of airbags within industry quality standards.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: AN4A-B301
Gas: Nitrogen, 99.9% Purity
Suction Pressure: 300 psig
Discharge Pressure: 450 psig
Flow: 71 scfm each

One of the largest family owned laser-cutting facilities in the United States runs 29 lasers. Part of their current nitrogen supply was at 300 psig coming off a cryogenic bulk nitrogen tank. To increase their cutting capabilities for the machines fed by the cryogenic system they needed to increase the pressure to 450 psig. As they already had a Hycomp nitrogen compressor installed with their on-site nitrogen generation system, it was a natural fit to install two additional high pressure compressors to assist the cryogenic system.

A Hycomp high suction pressure oil free nitrogen compressor was installed. Standard Hycomp packings were arranged in a way to accept and contain the 300-psig suction pressure. Hycomp gas compressors are oil free and designed to prevent the introduction of oil into the gas stream, enabling the customer to maintain the nitrogen at high purity.

With this increased pressure, the customer can cut up to one inch carbon steel, 5/8 inch stainless steel and 1⁄2 inch aluminum on each machine. The plant is now able to run all 29 lasers concurrently at the high-pressure nitrogen demand.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: 2WN22E-B301
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 45 psi
Discharge Pressure: 435 psig
Flow: 91 scfm

A steel mill in China required a high pressure nitrogen compressor to optimize plant uptime. Complete turnkey installation was desired in order to minimize the technical requirements of local installation and start-up.

Because nitrogen is used in multiple areas during the manufacturing of steel, and many times the nitrogen is required at an elevated pressure, Hycomp oil free nitrogen gas compressors were a great choice for this application.

Through Eumex Enterprises we supplied this water-cooled, two stage nitrogen booster compressor. Two redundant 30 horsepower systems were installed and the units were each packaged with an 80-gallon low-pressure suction receiver, a 240 gallon 500 psig discharge receiver, aftercooler, gas filter, control valves and a control panel. The receivers were both Chinese Safety Quality License (SQL) certified.

Since the initial installation, three additional sets of nitrogen compressors have been installed in the same facility.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: 2WN137F1-G221
Gas: Wet carbon dioxide
Suction Pressure: 19 psig
Discharge Pressure: 95 psig
Flow: 130 scfm

Carbon sequestration is a process that involves drilling up to 7,000 ft. into the earth and compressing industrial byproduct CO2 into the geological substrata. The result is permanent containment of this harmful waste gas. A clean energy technologies leader in North America is testing the effects of wet carbon dioxide sequestration at an approved site in Ohio.

Their carbon sequestration process demands a compressor that can handle the corrosive nature of wet carbon dioxide, a combination of CO2 (91%), H2O (8%) and NH3 (1%). The customer’s existing available wet CO2 pressure is 19 psig; however their higher pressure sequestration process requires 95 psig.

Hycomp manufactured the 2WN137F1-G221 gas compressor system to meet their requirements. This industrial duty compressor system handles the corrosive wet carbon dioxide at the desired pressure and provides a truly continuous flow of 130 scfm. The compressor is packaged with a stainless steel inlet scrubber, stainless steel intercooler & separator, a VFD and PLC controls.

Click here to read a newspaper article about Carbon Sequestration

Model: AN4A-B301
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 150 psig
Discharge Pressure: 350 psig
Flow: 18 scfm

A manufacturer of carbon fiber structures needed high purity nitrogen to charge their autoclaves. Because the autoclaves needed to be filled in a short period of time, a 350 psig receiver was installed to store enough gas to fill them in just a few minutes. The customer needed an industrial duty gas compressor to increase the nitrogen pressure from 150 psig leaving a locally installed nitrogen generator, to the storage pressure of 350 psig. The nitrogen had to maintain its high purity without risk of introducing oil into the gas.

A Hycomp high-pressure oil free continuous duty nitrogen compressor was installed between the nitrogen generator and storage tank. The compressor runs an average of six hours each day.

The Hycomp oil free nitrogen compressor has performed to the customer’s expectations since its installation in 2001, introducing no oil into the gas stream. The compressor provides 350 psig pressure at continuous duty. Using this Hycomp compressor the customer has been able to produce carbon fiber structures for the aerospace industry, linear accelerator components for research, and high performance Cannondale bike components.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: AN12B-B201
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 65 psig
Discharge Pressure: 145 psig
Flow: 63 scfm

The topside process and facilities modules for the Vincent FPSO (Floating Production, Storage and Offloading) require a large high pressure gas compressor that boosts the gas from the oil wells. This compressor requires nitrogen to purge and pressurize the seals/gaskets during cold start and startup procedures. The nitrogen compressor system was required to be ATEX certified for explosive atmospheres, and resistant to the corrosive offshore marine environment. Compounding the difficulty, lead time was limited to five weeks.

Hycomp provided a solution that met ATEX requirements and featured a marine offshore coating system on the entire package. Each major casting of the compressor and component of the skid assembly was white sandblasted and painted with inorganic zinc primer before assembly. The entire package was also painted with a temperature resistant silicone acrylic paint.

By air freighting in an ATEX compliant motor from Europe and obtaining the controls from reliable sources in the United States, the five week delivery period was met.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: 2AN22E-B201
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 95 psig
Discharge Pressure: 464 psig
Flow: 141 scfm

The direct-reduction iron process is an environmentally responsible alternative to producing steel using conventional methods. A worldwide leader in this process needed to safely and reliably compress nitrogen for their steel blanketing application. This company came to Hycomp because it was critical to have an experienced oil free compressor manufacturer address their needs and they needed a quick delivery.

Hycomp engineers designed the 2AN22E-B201 gas compressor system to meet their specific needs. Hycomp was able to remain competitive on both price and lead-time as the customer was researching several companies for a solution. Due to Hycomp’s industrial quality and the offer of an eight-week lead time, Hycomp was chosen for the application.

The Hycomp nitrogen compressor was packaged with a high pressure aftercooler and a PLC controller. This customer now has two nitrogen compressors working hard in Malaysia and two more in Venezuela.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: 2AN61E-G221
Gas: Carbon Dioxide & Ammonia mixture
Suction Pressure: -1 psig
Discharge Pressure: 100 psig
Flow: 44 scfm

Production process gas vapor recovery is an essential consideration to be environmentally responsible, comply with EPA regulations and lower costs. A copper chemical company uses carbon dioxide and ammonia in their copper reclamation process. Their process had previously involved losing much of their CO2 & NH3. They required a compressor that could meet government environmental conditions and increase profit by capturing the escaping gas and returning it back into the system.

The Hycomp engineering staff designed the 2AN61E-G221 oil free gas compressor system to meet the customer’s requirements and improve their process. With this Hycomp gas compressor, they were able to improve their copper recycling operation while reducing process gas losses.

The Hycomp gas compressor gave them the vapor recovery they required, lowered production costs and helped them to be more environmentally friendly. The Hycomp compressor was also able to produce higher pressures than previously used, which helped to streamline their process.

Model: AN4A-B201
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 90 psig
Discharge Pressure: 220 psig
Flow: 31 scfm

In the hot rolled steel industry, it is imperative to have a reliable nitrogen blanketing system to protect against explosions and injury. North America’s largest steel recycler and rolled steel sheeting fabricator needed a gas compressor that safely and reliably fit their hot rolled steel nitrogen blanketing application.

The customer had 90 psig from an existing nitrogen generation system, but needed 220 psig for a new high pressure process. Hycomp was specifically chosen because it was critical to have an experienced oil free gas compressor manufacturer address their application, as there could be no contaminants in the nitrogen supply and no unplanned down time.

The Hycomp solution was the AN4A-B201 oil free nitrogen compressor. The success of this initial application was such that they have since installed two additional Hycomp gas compressors for similar process applications.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

Model: AN68F-B201
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 80 psig
Discharge Pressure: 180 psig
Flow: 390 scfm

A worldwide pharmaceutical manufacture has a facility located in Puerto Rico that uses nitrogen in their gas assisted injection molding production process at 180 psig. They had been contract purchasing bulk compressed nitrogen for their needs. A nitrogen generation system was installed utilizing a Hycomp compressor to provide the necessary elevated process pressure.

FDA regulations mandate that oil contamination is not acceptable in the pharmaceutical industry. The Hycomp oil free gas compressor design was selected to meet this requirement for the customer’s nitrogen generation system. The customer also needed a compressor that could boost their 80 psig to 180 psig at a truly continuous flow of 390 scfm.

Hycomp produced the AN68F-B201 oil free nitrogen compressor to mate with the generation system and meet the customer’s criterion. This nitrogen compressor was packaged with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) and controlled by a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). This new generator system was able to reduce their nitrogen costs by approximately 70% annually.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

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Model: AN4A-B301
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 100 psig
Discharge Pressure: 300 psig
Flow: 22 scfm

Aircraft tires regularly experience a wide range of pressure and temperature fluctuation. Filling these tires with nitrogen, rather than air, provides a more stable pressurization gas. Compressed air can also cause damage to inner tire liners and belt packages via rubber oxidation. Pure nitrogen contains no oxygen, so it cannot oxidize the expensive aircraft tires.

An aircraft tire manufacturer was experiencing higher production demands and needed to decrease the time involved in their nitrogen tire filling process. Down time was not an option for this company. Only a true continuous duty gas compressor would meet their production requirements.

A Hycomp oil free nitrogen compressor was installed that provided a safe and reliable solution. The higher pressure of 300 psig allowed them to fill their tires with nitrogen in less time. Productivity increased by over 60% resulting in the compressor paying for itself in a short amount of time.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

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Model: AN6A-B301
Gas: Nitrogen
Suction Pressure: 100 psig
Discharge Pressure: 250 psig
Flow: 49 scfm

A global manufacturer of specialty chemicals utilized in industries such as aerospace, adhesives, automotive and industrial coatings, chemical intermediates, inks, mining and plastics was looking to reduce the time required for their autoclave curing process. Increasing the nitrogen pressure in their autoclave would provide them with a more efficient curing system.

A reduction in the curing process time would allow them to increase their productivity. The customer also required oil free compression as any contamination of the nitrogen would slow their manufacturing process and compromise their product.

The Hycomp solution was an AN6A-B301 oil free nitrogen compressor to supply the pressure and flow desired to shorten their autoclave curing time. The customer’s productivity was increased while maintaining the safety and reliability that their processes required.

Click here to learn more about Hycomp Nitrogen Compressors & Boosters

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Model: 2WN150F-G321
Gas: Wet Carbon Dioxide Mix
Suction Pressure: 1.5 psig
Discharge Pressure: 110 psig
Flow: 141 scfm

In the aluminum annealing process carbon dioxide is an important surface protectant to allow the metal to cool at the proper speed for maximum strength. Carbon dioxide gas blankets the metal during this process.

An aluminum mill in Hong Kong needed a reservoir of compressed gas, enabling rapid purge of their large annealing furnace, reducing heating cycle time while increasing production. A reliable oil free compressor was needed that would tolerate the corrosive characteristics of wet carbon dioxide.

Hycomp engineers designed the 2WN150F-G321 to meet their requirements. This water-cooled 60-horsepower compressor proved to be reliable and effective for their process. Stainless steel coolers, safety valves, moisture traps and piping were used to guard against the corrosive nature of the wet carbon dioxide/nitrogen mixture. Many successful Hycomp carbon dioxide compressors are being used in tough corrosive applications around the world.

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Model: AN12B-G221
Gas: .65 SG Natural Gas
Suction Pressure: 0 psig
Discharge Pressure: 40 psig
Flow: 6-12 mcfd

In the oil and gas tank farm industry vapor recovery is important in keeping costs down and remaining efficient while meeting EPA government requirements. A North American natural gas tank farm company needed to reclaim the wasted gas vapor exiting their low displacement storage tanks and return it back into their process.

Seven Hycomp AN12B-G221 oil free vapor recovery gas compressors were contracted and installed on separate tanks. By reclaiming the gas vapor and sending it back through the system, the customer is now able to keep this expensive gas instead of wasting it through flaring.

Hycomp gas compressors offer a high level of energy efficiency. Variable frequency drives were packaged with all seven oil free vapor recovery gas compressors. The VFDs add to each compressor’s overall efficiency as they adjust motor speeds according to work load. No gas enters the crankcase of Hycomp compressors; therefore the internal running gears experience a much longer life. The natural gas is safely and reliably compressed while helping reduce the customer’s carbon footprint.

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Model: AN26C-G221
Gas: .65 SG Natural Gas
Suction Pressure: 0 psig
Discharge Pressure: 40 psig
Flow: 12-20 mcfd

A customer in the oil and gas industry needed a safe and reliable vapor recovery gas compressor system to reclaim the gas exiting their low displacement storage tanks. Normally, the tanks rise approximately 4-8 ounces in pressure before releasing gas into the atmosphere. The customer’s objectives were to meet environmental government requirements and increase profits by capturing the escaping gas and returning it back into the system.

A Hycomp AN26C-G221 oil free vapor recovery gas compressor was contracted to meet their requirements. Recovering the gas instead of wasting it through flaring is more cost effective and environmentally responsible.

The gas compressor was packaged with a variable frequency drive which is used to adjust speed, according to gas pressures and work flow. This Hycomp oil free gas compressor continues to run safely and reliably without any contamination entering the crankcase.

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