Beyond plant capacity, there has been a general trend towards decreasing suction pressure at the CGC inlet. Suction pressure improves selectivity, so in some cases compressor volume flow is outpacing plant capacity increases. As volume plays a direct role in compressor frame size, continuing to scale the same compressors ever larger to match capacity means compressor frames will outpace plant capacity.
The scaling problem
The problem is if the industry continues to simply increase plant capacities and CGC inlet volume flows, expecting to increase compressor size to match, economies of scale will disappear. Manufacturers cannot meet ever-increasing plant capacities and volume flows by simply continuing to build larger and larger machines. As compressors get larger, not only do they get more expensive and challenging to build and maintain, but so do their large steam turbine drivers, as power must be increased with plant capacity…
Written by Shane Harvey, Elliott Group, USA.
This article originally featured in the July 2019 issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering. To read the full article, sign in or register for a free trial subscription.
