Enhance processing with capacity

control of reciprocating compressors

Improvements to refinery, petrochemical and gas processing are available from
the full-range stepless capacity control of reciprocating compressors
Klaus Stachel and Markus Wenisch
Hoerbiger Compression Technology

ndustrial compression of gases such as hydrogen or hydrocarbons in refineries is growing

due to increased demand for high purity fuels,
bottom-of-the-barrel conversion technologies for
heavy oil feedstock and increasing volumes of
shale-based paraffinic crudes. In combination
with low or even varying molecular weight
hydrocarbons, reciprocating compressors are
often the best and most economic solution
for compression. Reciprocating compressors
(recips) are flexible, energy efficient and suitable for high-pressure applications.
In the past, reciprocating compressors were
often considered unreliable, with difficulties in
achieving precise control of their output capacity.
Electric power was wasted because the compressor capacity was typically controlled by recycle
valves, often referred to as bypass or spillback
valves, in combination with step control. Step
control is realised by means of compressor
suction valve unloading systems or fixed volume
clearance pockets. Due to the large control steps
provided by such systems, compressors were not
operated efficiently in terms of the electrical
energy consumption of the main driver.
Furthermore, the generally slow reaction speed of
recycle valves does not allow for the most effective optimisation of the process.
With todays increasing capacity and power
ratings of new recips, advanced control systems
can significantly reduce energy consumption by
avoiding excessive recycling of process gas. On
top of this, reciprocating compressors are
frequently integrated into complex processes,
with side streams or multi-stream compression,
which requires precise control and operational
flexibility.

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Todays refinery challenges

The refining industry is undergoing continuous
technical changes in order to comply with stringent environmental regulations for clean fuel
products against a backdrop of a wider variety of
crude feedstocks ranging from heavy asphaltenic
crudes to high API gravity shale crudes.
Processing of highly contaminated crude feedstock, with high sulphur content, represents one
of the biggest challenges for existing plants. On
the other hand, the industry has to face a clear
market trend towards the quality improvement
of light fuels for road, air and marine transportation, while demand for heavy fuel products for
industry and power generation is declining. The
conversion of such sour crude into light and middistillate products through hydration processes
is a vital part of the production chain of a refinery, but it is also afflicted with high capital and
operating costs and significant investments in
the erection of new facilities or conversions of
existing plants. Hence, flexible and sustainable
production is of utmost importance.
As substantial parts of many refining processes,
such as hydrocracking, hydrotreating, isomerisation
and
reforming
plants,
multi-stage
reciprocating compressors are used to compress
hydrogen at high pressure (up to 220 bar) for
essential parts of the process.
A change in feedstock quality requires flexible
plant operation involving advanced capacity
control concepts for any reciprocating compressor. Therefore, many end users, compressor
manufacturers (OEM), engineering companies
(EPC) and process licensors are already taking
advantage of such advanced control systems,
either as an integrated system for new equip-

April 2014 1

capacity of a single compressor

is no longer sufficient, and
therefore
many
stand-by
The spillback valve adjusts
compressors have now become
the required recycle
main units in order to satisfy the
gas-flow by recycling
either to the make-up feed
additional hydrogen demand.
or to the refinery network.
For new greenfield projects, the
plant layout has also changed.
For new plants, a stand-by unit
Recycle / net gas
is often not foreseen, as a result
compressor
Depending on the
of the desire to limit capital cost
feedstock quantity and
and also taking into account the
quality, more or less
20% recycling of H2
higher reliability of modern
recycle gas is
to the suction side.
generated and needs to
recips.
Since recycling rate is
be re-compressed.
proportional to consumed
Typically, the output capacity
power, energy is wasted by
using the bypass valve for
of two compressors running in
continuous load control.
parallel is higher than the maxiRecycle valve
mum
anticipated
process
20%
requirement at full production
recycle
Process /
Recycle gas
output. Therefore, gas flow into
Reaction
separation
the process itself has to be
80% load
required
reduced by a control system to
Gas feed
match precisely the prevailing
e.g. H2
100% capacity
process demand. Conventional
Treated product,
Feed
e.g. low sulphur
control systems do not allow for
diesel, gasoline, etc.
compressor
effective process control. Some
(Controlled with
pneumatic unloaders)
Required H2 load, e.g. 80%
of the systems enable only increof rated compressor
Compressor supplies
mental adjustment of the
capacity.
100% H2, the remaining
capacity (for example, 0%, 50%,
Load depending on feed
20% of the gas has to be
quantity and quality (sulphur
100%), while others drastically
recycled through the
content or other gas impurities).
bypass.
decrease the efficiency of the
plant by the recycling of
Feed
compressed gas back to the
suction side of the machine.
Feed pump
Various conventional methods
Figure 1 Schematic layout of a compressor running on recycle-/spillback
used to control compressor
control
capacity include recycle valve
control, step control and clearment or as compressor upgrade solutions for ance valve control.
existing machines.
Bypass/spillback
valve

Conventional control concepts for reciprocating

compressors
In previous years, many existing refineries were
upgraded to produce clean fuels or process feedstock with higher sulphur content. Before the
modification, the sole capacity of one compressor, running at full load, was sufficient to meet
hydrocracker or hydrotreater hydrogen demand.
A second compressor was kept in stand-by mode
only to ensure equipment redundancy. With
todays growing demand for hydrogen, the sole

2 April 2104

Recycle valve control

The most common way of controlling the flow of

a reciprocating compressor is the recycle or
spillback control. Here, the compressor itself
runs at full load or at defined load steps.
Stepwise capacity variation is achieved by additional control devices, such as pneumatic
compressor suction valve unloaders or fixed
volume cylinder clearance pockets. In order to
regulate the gas flow according to process
demands, part of the compressed gas is re-expanded and recycled to the suction side,

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resulting in significant energy

losses. Figure 1 shows a typical
load scenario of a hydrogen
make-up recycle application. The
production requires a hydrogen
(H2) flow, which corresponds to
80% of the compressors rated
capacity.
Consequently,
the
compressor delivers 100%, while
20% of the excess process gas is
recycled to the suction side.
Another important aspect of
recycle control is the risk that the
process gas can become contaminated with, for example, catalyst
debris, which is entrained in the
compressor, causing performance
degradation, higher wear rates
and reduced lifetime of perfor- Figure 2 Compressor cylinder equipped with a fixed clearance volume
mance determining components pocket (in front of the cylinder)
such as compressor valves, rider
lead to operational problems with upstream or
bands and main packings.
downstream equipment. Furthermore, with
lubricated compressors, continuous cylinder
Step control
Step control, also known as on/off control, is unloading leads to an accumulation of lubricaanother widespread method to adjust the output tion oil inside the unloaded compression
of a reciprocating compressor. Capacity variation chamber, which is then discharged together with
is achieved by permanently unloading the the process gas as soon as the specific cylinder
compressor suction valves of one or more cylin- end is loaded again. The resulting oil slug can
der ends. The possible variation of load steps is damage the compressor valves and consequently
defined by the number of cylinders per compres- lead to an unplanned compressor stop for
sion stage. Looking, for instance, at a maintenance.
Due to the low degree of automation of many
two-cylinder double-acting compressor with two
stages, 0%, 50% and 100% capacity steps can be existing step control systems, changes of
realised. Suction valve unloading is achieved by compressor load often have to be initiated
means of pneumatic actuators that deactivate manually by the operators. In practical terms,
the compression in the specific compression these devices are rarely used and the compressor
runs at full load. In many cases, experienced
chamber.
It is an inherent disadvantage of step control plant personnel are required to be available for
that this method is only efficient as long as the compressor starts, stops and switch-over procerequired process gas flow is equal to the adjusted dures in order to maintain stable process
load step on the compressor. Otherwise, exces- conditions at all times.
sive gas has to be recycled through a spillback
control valve, resulting in energy losses due to Clearance volume control
the re-expansion of already compressed gas.
If the compressor is equipped with fixed or variWhenever the compressor is switched to a able clearance pockets, additional clearance
higher or lower load, sudden flow changes are volume can be added to the compression chamgenerated. These flow changes cause pressure ber. The compressor output reduces if the
fluctuations in the process, since the recycle clearance volume of the cylinder increases.
control valves are not fast enough to compensate Figure 2 shows a fixed volume clearance pocket
this disturbance effectively. Pressure fluctuations installed on the cylinder cover. The fixed clearhave a significant impact on the process and can ance pocket enables a 75% load step in addition

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1000946

April 2014 3

Therefore, this technology is

not suitable for refining and
petrochemical applications. In
most cases, the operators do
not utilise variable clearance
pockets and, consequently, the
capacity is again controlled by
the recycle valve.

Advanced control system

Figure 3 Electro-hydraulic reverse flow control system

to the 0%, 50% and 100% load steps per cylinder, which can already be achieved by suction
valve unloaders. However, recycle valve control
is still required to precisely match the process
requirement.
Stepless capacity variation can be achieved by
means of variable clearance pocket control,
which enables a capacity turndown down to
around 60% per cylinder. However, variable
volume clearance pockets for make-up and recycle gas compressors can only be adjusted when
the compressor is stopped and de-pressurised.
P

Dr

A solution to overcome the

previously discussed obstacles is
to make use of a stepless, fullrange control system based on
the reverse flow principle.
Here, compressor output is
regulated steplessly by means of
hydraulically actuated and electronically controlled actuators (see Figure 3),
which are directly installed on the suction valve
covers of the compressor (stepless valve
unloaders).
The reverse flow principle achieves capacity
variation by actively controlling the start of the
compression stroke. The working principle is
outlined in Figure 4. At full load, compression
starts at point C when the piston is in bottom
dead centre (BDC). At part load, the compression starts at Cr. Since the volume in the cylinder
gets reduced from C to Cr, a portion of the gas

Dr

A
D

D
Energy savings
compared to
recycle valve control
Cr

Cr
B

B
V

TDC

BDC

TDC

BDC

Figure 4 Working principle of the stepless reverse flow control: left: 100% capacity; right: part load

4 April 2104

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Indicated power, %

Annual savings, 1000

flows back to the suction cham3000

ber. Hence, only the gas flow
70 /MWh
required by the process is
100 /MWh
2500
compressed.
120 /MWh
Since the indicated power of
2000
the compressor is proportional
to the gas flow rate being
1500
compressed,
the
power
consumption of the electric
1000
driver decreases at part load,
resulting in significant energy
500
savings. Figure 5 shows the
potential of power cost savings
0
100 90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
for a mid-size hydrogen
Average
compressor
load,
%
compressor with 3.0 MW indicated power (power required
for compression). The graph Figure 5 Possible annual power cost savings for a 3.0 MW compressor based
shows annual savings in power on 70 100 and 120/MWh energy costs as function of required compressor
costs as a function of annual capacity to match process demand
average compressor output and
various costs for electric power
100
(70, 100 and 120 per MWh).
Step control
90
This reveals huge savings
Reverse flow control
Energy savings
80
potential, thus allowing for a
Ideal control system
high return on investment and
70
very short payback periods for
60
the stepless control system.
50
Furthermore, active control of
40
the suction valve closure veloc30
ity reduces the impact forces of
the valve sealing element,
20
hence increasing suction valve
10
durability and maintenance
0
intervals, and reducing mainte0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90 100
nance costs. Since the run time
Capacity, %
between compressor stops is
often limited due to the lifetime of the compressor valves, Figure 6 Comparison of the compressor power consumption between step
service intervals can thus be control and reverse flow control as a function of the compressor capacity
increased, and production periods can be extended.
Provided such a system is considered for new
By using advanced capacity control technology, compressor projects, it can considerably reduce
the recycle valve remains fully closed during the capital costs for the compressor where enernormal compressor operation with process gas. gy-efficient operation is required (see Figure 6).
Compared to conventional systems, stepless
By using an electro-hydraulic control system
reverse flow control features the highest control as an integrated part of the compressor, the
dynamics and contributes significantly to number of cylinders per stage can be reduced.
improved process flexibility. In case of process Hence, the capital costs and footprint of the
disturbances, such as those caused by problems compressor are minimised. Furthermore, fewer
with up- or downstream equipment, the system cylinders mean reduced maintenance costs,
immediately manages to control pressure fluctua- shorter shutdown periods for overhauls, and
tions and most likely avoids a plant shutdown. fewer spare parts to be kept in stock. The higher

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1000946

April 2014 5

Fast response time of

control system allows
for precise control of
hydrogen and feed
(H2-to-feed ratio) for
optimised reactor
operation and extended
catalyst cycle time.
Feedstock

Possibility of
heater power
savings and
emissions
reduction.
Fired
heater

Recycle gas

Reactor

Increased product quality

and more process
stability due to advanced
compressor control.

HP
separator
Heat exchanger

Product
low sulphur diesel

Bypass/spillback
valve

Bypass/spillback
valve

Compressor A
make-up

Compressor A
recycle

Reverse flow control

Reverse flow control

Bypass/spillback
valve

Bypass/spillback
valve

Compressor B
make-up

Compressor B
recycle

Reverse flow control

Reverse flow control

Possibility of additional
compressor power
saving due to stepless
control of recycle stage
and accurate adjustment
of recycle gas stream

Pump

Hydrogen

Possibility of compressor power

savings due to stepless control of
make-up stages. Multistage operation
is perfectly balanced due to automatic
interstage pressure control.

Figure 7 Schematic HDS plant layout with integrated stepless flow control on make-up/recycle compressor

efficiency reduces electric power costs, and the

high degree of automation allows for precise
plant control and fine-tuning of process parameters, such as gas pressure, hydrogen/feed ratio
and gas flow rate.
The following example explains the impact on
the compressor arrangement based on the
chosen capacity control system. A reciprocating
compressor shall compress process gas in two
compression stages into a process that typically
runs at 70-90% load of the rated capacity. When

6 April 2104

considering pneumatic suction valve unloaders

and
spillback
valve
control,
a
fourcylinder compressor with two cylinders per
compression stage would be required to enable
at least 25% load increments to run, relatively
efficiently, at loads between 70% and 75%.
However, between 100% and 76% load, the
dispensable process gas still needs to be recycled through the spillback valve. In this worst
case, up to 24% of the rated compressor power
is wasted. Additionally, installed fixed clearance

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0-100%

MIN
selector

50-100%

0-50%

MIN
selector

0-100%

0-100%

Split
range

PIC
001

8PT
001

H2 feed

Split
range

PIC
002

Split
range

8PIC
003

8PT
002

Make-up
1st stage
New signals / DCS logic
Existing signals / DCS logic

FIC
001

8FT
001

Recycle
stage

Make-up
2nd stage

HP
separator

8PT
003

Amine
scrubber

Figure 8 Control concept integration based on existing spillback control

pockets would improve the situation slightly,

but the control logic would become more
complicated and access to the compressor for
maintenance impeded. However, two cylinders
per stage are still required as compared with
stepless control.
The same application with a stepless full-range
flow control system would require only one
cylinder per compression stage (two cylinders in
total for the compressor) since the load steps for
the complete required turndown range are negligibly small.
New compressors are normally designed with
10-15% surplus capacity to provide a margin for
performance losses and degradation. Therefore,
new compressors are running at part load even
at full production output.

Advanced control system cases:

refining applications
Hydrogen desulphurisation unit

Two make-up/recycle compressors are integrated into a hydrogen desulphurisation unit.

Each compressor has four cylinders and a motor
rating of 5.0 MW. The plant scheme is provided
in Figure 7. The make-up section of the compressor includes two stages, with one cylinder per
stage, and discharges hydrogen at a pressure of

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around 80 bar. The control requirement is to

automatically maintain pressure in the
high-pressure separator. The flow of the recycle
gas, coming from the amine absorber, is recompressed by the recycle stage of the compressor
and mixed with the fresh hydrogen stream
coming from the make-up section.
Prior to the plant upgrade, one compressor
was operated between 90% and 95% and the
second machine was kept in stand-by mode. In
the course of the plant modification, to enable
better treatment of highly contaminated feedstock, hydrogen demand increased to about
120% of the rated capacity of one compressor.
Thus, both compressors were required to run in
parallel ideally, each at 60% part load.
Therefore, the proposed plant layout included a
stepless capacity control system, enabling efficient part load operation on both machines,
without the use of the recycle control valve.
The existing compressors were upgraded with
electro-hydraulic unloaders and their associated
auxiliaries, such as the control signal interface
unit and hydraulic unit. Neither civil works nor
modifications to process gas piping were necessary. The existing control logic and operator
interface in the distributed control system
(DCS), which were originally based on recycle

April 2014 7

fresh hydrogen coming from a

side stream. The third stage
forwards the hydrogen mix as
make-up
gas
for
the
hydrotreater.
Due to the integrated
machinery concept and the
requirement to control each
stage individually, the licensor
and the engineering company
jointly decided to implement
an electro-hydraulic capacity
control system. But the resulting energy savings are also
worth
mentioning:
the
compressors were operated at
60% load on average for the
Figure 9 Multi-service compressor with stepless reverse flow control on test bench first few years, until the final
expansion phase of the plant
valve control, were slightly modified by adding was finished. During this time, the refiner saved
split range function blocks for each stage (see approximately 3.5 million/y in power costs,
Figure 8). The programming efforts for the allowing a return on investment within two
distributed control system were low and the weeks. Stepless full-range capacity control
entire installation was carried out within a shut- systems are an enabler for cost-effective intedown period of two weeks.
grated machinery arrangements.

Multi-service hydrogen compressor

Conclusion

Reverse flow control is capable of controlling

each compression stage individually. Therefore,
multi-stage compressors or applications with
side streams between compression stages are
perfectly controlled and pressure balanced.
Furthermore, reverse flow control fully supports
integrated machinery concepts and plant layouts
where one machine handles multiple processes
(multi-service compressors).
The next case study shows the application of
reverse flow control to three 14MW hydrogen
compressors, which were part of a large refinery
project in Asia (see Figure 9). Two compressors
run in parallel and the third one serves as a
stand-by unit. Each compressor consists of three
stages and compresses hydrogen into three
different process sections of the refinery.
The first stage supplies fresh hydrogen into a
desulphurisation plant for light gasoline products. The hydrogen flow is mixed with the feed
and has to be accurately balanced, depending on
feed quantity and quality. The second stage
receives the hydrogen recycle gas from the
amine scrubber of the same unit and recompresses it into a treat gas unit together with

With todays growing compressed hydrogen

demand for treating lower quality crude oil,
plant flexibility has become more and more
important. In order to control refining processes
more precisely, stepless reverse flow control on
reciprocating compressors allows for fine-tuning
of process parameters, such as gas flow or pressure. Compared to conventional traditional
control systems, the stepless reverse flow principle enables energy savings because recycle or
spillback operation is avoided, since just the
required gas amount is compressed and
forwarded to the plant. Furthermore, pressure
peaks due to sudden load changes caused by
cylinder unloading can be avoided and the
consequential risk of plant shutdown is reduced
to a minimum. The high degree of automation
allows for individual control of compression
stages, thus enabling balanced compression of
multistage machines, as well as the implementation of complex control concepts (multi-service
compressors).
With more than 1000 advanced control
systems installed, the system has proved to be a
reliable and sustainable solution for new and

8 April 2104

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existing compressor applications in the refining,

chemical, natural gas and shale gas industry.
This article is based on a presentation by Alberto Vargas,
Hoerbiger Corporation of America, Inc., at the 5th World Refining
Technology & Shale Processing Summit 2013 (5th WRTS) on 4-5
December 2013 in Houston.
Klaus Stachel is Product Manager, Monitoring and Controls, with
Hoerbiger Compression Technology in Vienna, Austria.
Email: klaus.stachel@hoerbiger.com

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1000946

Markus Wenisch is a Senior Product Expert with Hoerbiger

Compression Technology in Vienna, Austria.
Email: markus.wenisch@hoerbiger.com

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April 2014 9