BOOSTER COMPRESSOR

When you are looking to increase the pressure of your air or gas of your already compressed medium, a booster compressor is the solution. We offer a complete rage of oil-lubricated and oil-free air and gas booster compressors suitable for any application and environment. All our products can be customized to your specifications and requirements. We are free to choose any compressor brand upon your request or best suitability for the application.

Airpack booster compressor packages are capable of continuous duty with low levels of maintenance and are suitable for high temperature environments. We offer a range of booster compressors that go as low as 5 bar(g) up to a high of 350 bar(g) (see ranges of all our products here). Whether it is used for boosting your nitrogen or for breathing air, our packages can be designed to fit your purpose. The booster compressor can also be delivered with a bottle rack for nitrogen storage or mounted together with the compressor or nitrogen generator on one common skid. Do you need a compressor for lower pressures? Check out our reciprocating or screw compressors or contact our sales team, they are ready to help you find your solution!

Features:

  • Wide range available
  • Available in oil-lubricated and oil-free
  • All compressor brands are possible

 


How Do Booster Compressors Work?

Booster compressors — alternatively known as compressed air pressure amplifiers — operate according to the concept that, within a closed system, increasing the pressure decreases the volume of a given gas. When a booster compressor is attached to a primary compressor, it receives already compressed air through an intake portal and receiving chamber, directing the flow through one or more compression phases that incrementally up the pressure load. At the end of this additional compression, the air is piped to its point of discharge. Worth noting is that the reception tank can store the compressed air when the system is not in operation.

Why Are Booster Compressors Needed?

The compressor booster is applied in several ways. Again, air pressure boosters provide more pressure when industrial purposes require.

Bottling Industry

Plastic bottles for water, milk and soda, for example, are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a substance that must be manufactured under very high pressures that are beyond the capacity of typical compressors. The instruments that mold the bottles need very high-pressured air to force the PET into the desired shape and form. Air boosters fortify the power to do so.

Evaluating Conduit Pressure

Pipelines, piping networks and conduit vessels need to be evaluated before use and periodically thereafter. This is to assure their structural integrity, performance reliability and leak resistance. When such systems undergo maintenance, this type of pneumatic testing is done as a matter of routine. Passing the flow of gas through the conduit is often done with nitrogen gas within both low and high pressure ranges. Achieving this latter pressure requires nitrogen booster assistance. Valves are then opened to relieve the pipe of the pressure. Nitrogen is preferred because it does not react, oxidize or otherwise corrode the piping.

Producing and Transporting Oil and Gas

While the discovery stages of crude oil and natural gas ensue, there are frequently drop-offs in the surge. In such cases, pressurized nitrogen or carbon dioxide are inserted into the formation to stimulate greater output. Moreover, pressurized air and nitrogen are both employed to evacuate any and all contaminants and toxins from the conduits, occurring whenever pipelines are inaugurated and de-commissioned. Nitrogen generators are the primary mechanisms for these operations but they more often than not perform the tasks with booster gas compressors to attain sufficient pressure.

Types of Booster Compressors

The high psi air compressor — psi meaning pounds per square inch — is perhaps the most commonly used booster in terms of industrial application. Yet others, though less ubiquitous, nevertheless enjoy frequent usage themselves. Power plants where turbine generators are fueled by gas are in particular need of high-pressure compressors. If the compressors break down, the plant ceases to function. The growing yet erratic nature of energy demand necessitates higher efficiency and more pressure in response to pipeline flow. Therefore, compressor capacity is crucial to infrastructure and is a public good.

What Pressures Can Booster Compressors Achieve? And to What Ends

Standard compressors generally process a ouple of hundred psi tops. With boosters, pressure is multiplied to 5,000, even 10,000 psi. A 5,000 psi air compressor, for example, would provide only modest pressure for a power washer. Actually, the strongest industrial power washers operate in excess of 25,000 psi. In another realm, the pasteurization of food and beverages is achieved through water compression. Pre-packaged items are subject to up to 87,000 psi that destroy any latent bacteria or other parasites. The nutrients, by contrast, remain intact because no heat is applied to the packaging.

Are Booster Compressors Expensive?

Of course, the price of boosters is relative to the industry and the amount of pressure needed. It is also dependent on size, number of cyliners and output. Natural gas booster compressors have different specifications than do boosters for air compression. Medical oxygen compressor-boosters are designed peculiarly for their distinct purpose. Other price considerations relate to whether they are electric, gas or diesel powered. A survey of online distributors will reveal that these are high-ticket appliances. The cost of their acquisition and maintenance must figure into the worth of the good or service produced.

In Summary

Booster compressors convey supplemental pressure to standard compression instrumentation for industrial uses — manufacturing plastic vessels and extracting natural gas from discovery points, e.g. — that require levels of pressure beyond the strength of basic compressor units. They can apply to compressed air, natural gas and myriad other gases.


Why choose an Airpack reciprocating compressor package? This is why:

Reliable delivery of compressed air and gas
At Airpack we strive to deliver quality products that will last for more than 25 years and require only standard maintenance. We do not just deliver the product but ensure it is commissioned and in working condition when we leave the site. We guarantee spare parts supply during the lifetime of the package and offer worldwide aftersales service in case of required maintenance or troubleshooting.

High quality products
Delivering high quality products is in our DNA! We know how important it is for our customers to have equipment that has a long lifetime and high performance. Airpack therefore only uses suppliers that deliver high quality materials and equipment. The packages are assembled and thoroughly tested in our workshop to make sure it is ready for operation on arrival.

Customized design
No application or environment or customer is the same. This is why we deliver products that are made according to your specifications and requirements. Do you have space restrictions, severe ambient conditions, is it difficult to do maintenance or do you have any other concern, we are ready to help you find a solution! Contact our sales team to discuss the options.

One responsible supplier
We can supply a full range of products, for example producing plant air, instrument air and high pressure nitrogen. The products can be placed on one common skid where all interconnecting piping, wiring and control systems are installed by Airpack. We take full responsibility and warranty for all items installed on the package. As a customer you only need to deal with one supplier during the entire lifetime of the package (including engineering and built up in project phase).

The following is only a short list of all available options that can be included on our reciprocating compressors:

  • Compressor design according to API 618
  • LV, MV or HV electric motor with 50 or 60 Hz
  • Diesel engine with hydraulic, pneumatic, electric or mechanical starter (different options can be combined)
  • Generator can be included connected to diesel engine to make package self-sufficient
  • Capacity control via recycle valve
  • Air coolers designed according to API 661
  • Closed cooled water system with air cooled heat exchanger or water chiller
  • Seawater cooling
  • Dual lube oil filter configuration
  • Complete control system with redundant and/or SIL certified PLC
  • Control panel with HMI for operation via keypad or touch screen
  • Stainless steel components such as oil system, process piping, control panels, coolers, instruments and separators
  • ATEX explosion proof equipment, suitable for operation in Zone 1 or Zone 2 environment
  • Winterization enclosure, for extreme low ambient temperatures (down to -56ºC)
  • Tropicalization for extreme high ambient temperatures up to 60ºC
  • Vibration monitoring system by 4-20 mA detectors or sophisticated Bently

Is your request not listed? Please contact us to discuss the possibilities!