Burckhardt Compression implemented various solutions at an Air Products plant in South Africa to increase the efficiency of dry-running hydrogen compressors.
Industries such as gas compression present many challenges, and keeping key equipment like reciprocating compressors in prime condition requires expertise. For an Air Products plant in South Africa, losing up to 20% of output due to frequent downtime was helped by solutions from Burckhardt Compression that improved the process.
Tackling hydrogen
Sealing dry-running hydrogen compressors is particularly challenging and maintaining effective seals to prevent the escape of the smallest molecules in existence is a complex task.
Burckhardt Compression were able to establish the sources of the problems and to propose long-term engineering solutions. The initial investigation showed that the sealing elements and the piston rods were at the heart of the problem. Internal leakages were causing reduced gas flow as well as temperature issues.
The root cause analysis identified several areas for improvement, including a redesign of second-stage packing case assemblies and a piston rod refurbishment. The project would also involve the creation of a new piston ring set and upgrading the materials to the latest design, along with the renewal of the cylinder liners.
Delivering the repair strategy
New parts were manufactured and delivered to site to enable one compressor to be overhauled while the second remained in service. Once complete, the renewed compressor was recommissioned and work began on the second unit, while performance data on the first machine was monitored closely.
The compressors ran for 22 months without incident, internal leakage was stopped, and emissions were significantly reduced along with the maintenance costs.
New parts were manufactured and delivered to site to enable one compressor to be overhauled while the second remained in service. Once complete, the renewed compressor was recommissioned and work began on the second unit, while performance data on the first machine was monitored closely.
The compressors ran for 22 months without incident, internal leakage was stopped, and emissions were significantly reduced along with the maintenance costs. Equally important, production losses, which had been established at 20%, dropped to just 2%.