Are air compressors used in chemical industry?

Air compressors are widely used in the chemical industry and are one of the key equipment to ensure production safety and efficiency.. The following is a specific analysis:

main Application Scenarios of 1. Air Compressor in Chemical Industry

1. process Gas Delivery and Pressurization
   • reaction kettle gas supply provide stable pressure for chemical reactions (such as nitrogen, hydrogen) to ensure the reaction rate and product quality.
   • Pipeline transportation: The gas is pressurized to 0.5-1.0MPa by the compressor to realize long-distance transportation (such as natural gas, synthesis gas).
2. device driver and control
   • pneumatic valve: Drive large valves (such as DN200 or above) to open and close quickly, and the response time is ≤ 2 seconds.
   • Instrument air system: Provide clean gas source for pressure transmitter, flowmeter and other instruments, with pressure fluctuation ≤ ± 0.02MPa.
3. Special Process Support
   • oxidation reaction in the process of propylene oxidation to acrylic acid, 0.8MPa compressed air is required as oxidant.
   • drying and adsorption compressed air is used to separate gas mixtures by temperature swing adsorption (TSA) or pressure swing adsorption (PSA).

Special requirements for air compressors in the field of 2. chemical industry

1. anti-explosion and anti-corrosion
   • explosion-proof design in flammable and explosive gas environment (such as hydrogen and ethylene plant area), equipment with explosion-proof grade not lower than ExdIIBT4 shall be selected.
   • Material requirements: 316L stainless steel or Hastelloy shall be used for parts exposed to corrosive gases (e. g. chlorine, hydrogen sulfide).
2. Cleanliness control
   • filtration accuracy: ISO 8573-1 Class 2 standard (particulate matter ≤ 1μm, oil content ≤ 0.1 mg/m & sup3;) is required to avoid contamination of catalyst or product.
   • Drying requirements: Pressure dew point shall be ≤-40 ℃ to prevent pipeline corrosion or catalyst deactivation caused by moisture.
3. stability and reliability
   • continuous operation: Key devices (such as synthetic ammonia and ethylene cracking) require annual operation rate of air compressor ≥ 98%.
   • Redundant design large chemical projects are usually equipped with N +1 standby machines to ensure that production is not affected when a single machine fails.

Application cases 3. typical chemical scenarios

1. petroleum refining
   • catalytic cracking: Provide 0.6MPa compressed air as the fluidizing air of the regenerator to ensure the activity of the catalyst.
   • Hydrogenation unit: To provide power for the hydrogen circulating compressor, the pressure fluctuation shall be controlled within ± 0.05MPa.
2. coal chemical industry
   • gasifier: A large centrifugal air compressor provides 1.0MPa oxygen and mixes it with pulverized coal to generate syngas.
   • Air separation unit: Provide feed gas for air separation unit with oxygen purity above 99.6%.
3. fine chemical industry
   • polymerization reaction in the production of polypropylene, 0.4MPa compressed air is required to drive the circulating gas compressor and control the reaction temperature.
   • Packaging line: Provide power for pneumatic palletizer and sealing machine, response time ≤ 0.3 seconds.

4. Industry Data and Trends

1. market size
   • the global chemical industry air compressor market size of about $8 billion million, accounting for more than 25% of the industrial air compressor market.
   • The annual growth rate of the Chinese market is about 7%, which is higher than the global average.
2. Technology Trends
   • energy efficiency improvement: Frequency conversion drive, magnetic bearing and other technologies are popularized, and the energy efficiency is 20%-30% higher than that of traditional models.
   • Intelligent remote monitoring and predictive maintenance through the Internet of Things, reducing unplanned downtime by more than 50%.

Conclusion air compressors are widely and deeply used in the chemical industry, and are the key equipment to ensure production safety and improve efficiency. With the development of chemical industry in the direction of large-scale and fine, higher requirements are put forward for the performance, reliability and intelligent level of air compressor.