Typical P&ID arrangement for Centrifugal Compressor Systems

Figure 1 Typical P&ID for a centrifugal compressor system 1. Proper centrifugal compressor symbol should be selected first, as shown in figure1. Normally, a centrifugal compressor is accompanied by a Knock Out Drum (KOD) at the compressor suction and an aftercooler at the compressor discharge, as per a typical compressor PFD.SymbolsfortheseequipmentsshouldalsobeplacedontheP&ID

beforeproceedingahead.Alltheequipmentsymbolsshouldbeselected fromthelegendsheetsofaparticularproject. 2. Allthenozzlesonthecompressor,suctiondrumsandaftercoolershould thenbecorrectlyrepresentedwithsizeandflanges.Thisincludesinlet andoutletnozzlesandequipmentdrains/ventsasshowninthetypical P&IDinfigure1. 3. Centrifugal compressor suction KOD is intended for removing the entrainedliquidsbeforesendinggastothecompressor.Demister,mesh padetc.areusedintheknockoutdrumtoefficientlyremovetheliquid droplets. 4. Compressor aftercoolers are generally air coolers and the related fan, motor etc. should be clearly indicated on the P&ID. If cooling water is used,propersymbolforaheatexchangershouldbeused. 5. Inlet, outlet lines for each equipment, antisurge line, drain/vent lines, line to the relief valve etc. are the next to be drawn up. Line number, materialclass,sizeetc.istobecorrectlyassignedtoeachofthelines. 6. Isolation valves, spectacle blinds, spacers etc. to be used for maintenance should be drawn up next on various lines between the equipments. Requirement for isolation valves, spectacle blind, spaces etc. depend on the project standards, which should be followed while indicating these on the P&ID. Sometimes, to minimize the number of isolationvalvesbetweentheequipment,theycanbeplacedonlyatthe suction KOD inlet which is inlet of the centrifugal compressor system anddischargeoftheaftercoolerwhichturnsouttobetheoutletofthe centrifugalcompressorsystem.Spectacleblindsorspacerscanbeused for isolation between individual equipments for quick maintenance.

This is simply a guideline and project standards need to be followed whenindicatingtheisolationrequirements. 7. A check valve should be normally provided on the compressor dischargetoavoidreverseflowwhenthepumpisnotinoperation. 8. Pressurereliefvalvescanbeprovidedonthecompressordischargeline, downstreamtothecheckvalve,toprotecttheequipmentsdownstream ofcompressor. 9. Pressure gauges should be provided on suction and discharge of the compressor.Levelgaugesneedtobelocatedonthecompressorsuction knock out drum and temperature gauges on inlet, outlet lines for the aftercooler. 10. Pressuretransmittersshouldbeprovidedoncompressorsuction and discharge line. A flow transmitter should be provided on compressorsuctionline.Signalsfromthesetransmittersaresenttoan AntiSurgeController.Basedonthegasflowanddifferentialpressure head developed by the compressor, the antisurge controller operates theantisurgevalvestopreventcompressorsurgecondition. 11. An antisurge line from the aftercooler discharge to the suction KOD inlet should be provided for antisurge control. When the compressor approaches surge condition (low flow, high differential head), the antisurge valves open up to lower the pressure differential andcirculatehighergasflow. 12. Sometimes, a performance controller can be included in the centrifugal compressor system to control the rotating speed (RPM) of the compressor based on inlet pressure, flow etc. in order to achieve

optimumperformance.Performancecontrollerwilltypicallyadjustthe motor/turbinespeed. 13. Level transmitters provided on the suction knock out drum are responsible for liquid level control in the drum. Alarms are usually providedforhighandhighhighliquidlevelconditions. 14. Temperature transmitter can be provided on aftercooler for temperature control by sending a signal to adjust the fan speed of the aircooler. 15. Emergency Shutdown (ESD) valves can be provided on inlet / outletlinesofthecompressorssystemtoisolatewholesystemincaseof ashutdown.TheinletlineofthesuctionKODcorrespondstoinletofthe compressor system. Aftercooler discharge and liquid outlet of suction knock out drum correspond to the outlet lines of the compressor system. Shutdown valves can be located on these lines as shown in figure1. 16. Drainsandventstobeprovidedonthesuction/dischargelines, compressor casing, suction Knock Out Drum, air cooler body etc. for completely draining/venting compressor and associated piping, for maintenance. 17. line. 18. All the guidelines given here are very general and may be modifiedasperspecificrequirementsofanyparticularproject.

Forpurgingthecompressorsystem,anitrogenconnectioncanbe

provided right after the first isolation valve on the suction KOD inlet

Typical PFD for Centrifugal Compressor Systems

19. Thefollowingfigure1 representsatypicalprocessflow diagram

(PFD) for a compressor system. Common equipments included in such systemsarecompressors,drivermotorsorturbines,suctionknockout drums (KOD) to remove traces of liquid from the gas going into the compressor and aftercoolers which help lower the temperature of the dischargegasfromcompressor.Oftenantisurgecontrollersalongwith antisurge valves are also part of this system to avoid operating the compressoratsurgeconditions.

20. 21. 22. Figure1TypicalPFDforacentrifugalcompressorsystem Centrifugalcompressorsaretypicallydrivenbyanelectricmotor

or a steam turbine. The sample PFD in figure1 indicates use of an electric motor. The driver motor or turbine is connected to the

compressorbyashaftwhichcanrotateatdifferentspeedsforwhichthe motor or turbine is designed. Compressor manufacturer creates a compressor map which is essentially a graph of compressor curves plottedatdifferentrotationalspeed(RPM)values.Foragivenvalueof gasflowthoughthecompressor,dischargepressureofcanbecontrolled by controlling the rotational speed of the driver. Hence a pressure controllerinstalledonthecompressordischargestream,sendsasignal to the driver motor or turbine to control the rotational speed. Sometimes a compressor performance controller can be used which takes into account a lot of other parameters than just the discharge pressure,toeffectivelymaintaintherotationalspeed. 23. Presence of small liquid droplets in the gas compressor can be damaging to the compressor. Hence Knock Out Drums (KOD) at compressorsuctionaredesirabletoremoveevensmalltracesofliquid droplets from gas going to the compressor. These compressor suction drumsmaybeequippedwithdemisterpadsandwiremeshtoimprove theefficiencyofliquiddropletremoval. 24. Whengasiscompressedthegastemperaturealsorisesalongwith its pressure, since there is not enough time to vent the heat to atmosphere. Often high temperatures of the compressed gas are not desirablehenceaircoolerscanbeinstalledatthecompressordischarge toenabletemperaturecontrolofthedischargegas.Theseareknownas compressoraftercoolers. 25. Compressor surge is seen as a very dangerous and detrimental phenomenonforcompressorsystems,becauseitcausesthecompressor tovibrateanddamagesthecompressorparts.Compressorsurgeoccurs

due to high back pressure on the compressor discharge so that very smallgasflowcanbepushedthrough.Thisisindicatedbyasurgeline onanycompressormap.Toavoidcompressorsurgethebackpressure atcompressorhastobeloweredsothatmoregasflowcanbecirculated through the compressors. This can be accomplished by an antisurge controller which opens the antisurge valves so that excess pressure from the compressor discharge is vented to the compressor suction KOD. The antisurge valves also enable more gas flow to be circulated through the system, avoiding prolonged compressor operation in the surgeconditions.