Proceedings of the Second Middle East Turbomachinery Symposium

17 – 20 March 2013, Doha, Qatar

ENSURING RELIABILITY OF COMPRESSOR GAS SEALS DURING LONG PERIODS OF PRESSURIZED HOLD

Glenn Schmidt Daniel Goebel

DGS Expert Americas Head of Application Engineering
EagleBurgmann, Houston Compressor Seals & Systems
USA EagleBurgmann, Wolfratshausen, Germany

Daniel Goebel is Head of Application Engineering & Sales

Glenn Schmidt is the EagleBurgmann Support Compressor Seals and Systems
Regional Product Specialist supporting at EagleBurgmann, located in
the Americas region with technical and Wolfratshausen / Germany. He has more
sales support for designing, servicing, than 9 years professional experience in
repairing, troubleshooting and upgrades all aspects of compressor gas seals and
of compressors gas seals and systems. His seal support systems for compressors
16-years of experience with gas seals like application engineering, product
includes instructing a Texas A&M Dry management, onsite support and
Gas Seal Systems Course and providing troubleshooting. Daniel Goebel holds a
input as a member of the API 692 degree in industrial engineering and
committee developing the standards for compressors gas seals management of the Munich University of Applied Science and
and systems. started with EagleBurgmann back in 2002 as application
engineer.
relevant conditions.

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
This paper will discuss the challenges with
contamination resulting from long periods of compressors in As the global energy demands are increasing, oil and
standstill conditions. The reliability of gas seals is largely gas are still the most important energy sources. Besides oil,
dependent on having a continuous supply of clean and dry seal and based on increasing oil prices, natural gas has been
gas. In a dynamic mode the gas supply systems takes process developed further to fulfill global needs.
gas from a higher pressure level in the compressor, conditions
it and provides it to the gas seal to create the ideal Centrifugal process gas compressors are needed in
environment for the gas seal. This ensures the gas seal is the supply chain for oil production and refinement; for
provided with effective protection against contaminated example, CO2 reinjection, refining processes, petrochemical
process gas. and chemical operations. For natural gas production and
transportation, compressors are required in pipelines and for
Compressor gas seals are very robust sealing devices, processes to liquefy natural gas.
but need to be operated in a dry and clean environment. The
leading root cause of gas seal failures is contamination. One of Applications where compressors are used, there is
the most common sources of contamination is during typically no backup compressor even though they are critical
compressor start up, slow-roll, standstill, or shutdown modes. for the operation of a plant. This is due to the cost of
In these modes there is a lack of seal gas flow, which suggests duplicating this type of equipment. Process gas compressors;
no means to produce seal gas flow is available, such as a high therefore, have to fulfill very high requirements with regards
pressure gas source or booster for the seal gas supply. This is to availability, reliability and safety.
where it pays to have a reliable, clean gas supply. Without
seal gas flow, sufficient seal gas cannot be provided to the gas Process gas centrifugal compressors are typically
seal and results in the gas seal being contaminated. equipped with gas seals to prevent gas from escaping between
the stationary compressor body and rotating shaft.
This paper will describe contamination to the gas seal Compressors are normally shut down when high seal leakage
by process gas, during commissioning, by particle and by occurs, which indicates a seal failure. Shutting down on high
liquids, which are caused by inadequate seal gas supply. Then seal leakage helps meet safety and environmental
it will focus on different methods of providing seal gas flow requirements and avoid further damage to the equipment. As a
during transient conditions. And finally, it will discuss consequence, gas seals were designed to fulfill safety and
solutions to ensure a reliable, clean gas flow to the seal at all reliability requirements for the industry.
 - Circumferential speed

The effectiveness of gas seals to meet these

requirements is determined by the quality of gas supplied to
the seal. From experience contamination of the seal has been
identified as the major root cause for high seal leakage or seal
failures and will be discussed further in this paper.

CONTAMINATION OF GAS SEALS BY THE PROCESS

GAS

The key elements within a Gas Seal are the sealing

faces and secondary sealing elements (Figure 1). A shaft
sleeve, which is fixed with the compressor shaft, holds the Figure 2: Lift off effect
rotating seat. The rotating seat is sealed against the shaft
sleeve with a secondary sealing element, which is a special O- The seal can lift off at a certain differential pressure, a certain
ring or PTFE filled sealing device. The rotating seat has the speed or a combination of speed and differential pressure.
gas grooves integrated to generate an aerodynamic lift off and
provide gas film stiffness during operation. The non-rotating The lift off speed and differential pressure depends on the
elements combine a seal housing, fixed to the compressor specific operating conditions, like gas type, and detailed seal
casing, and the non-rotating seal face. The stationary elements design. An example is shown in following diagram:
are designed to compensate for axial movements of the
compressor rotor in relation to the compressor case. The
compressor shaft is exposed to axial movement caused by
different loads, case expansion from heat and pressure or
vibrations. Compensation for axial movements is achieved by Lift off
allowing the non-rotating face to move along the balance
sleeve (sleeve below the non-rotating face, item 2). The non-
rotating face is sealed against the balance sleeve with a
dynamic sealing element (O-ring or PTFE filled sealing Contact
device), which slides on the balance sleeve.

When pressure is applied to the seal or the compressor is

rotating the applied forces will hold the seal faces together and
maintain the appropriate gap of 3 to 5 microns. When these Figure 3: Lift off curve
conditions are not present springs are require to hold the seal
faces together. The most common gas seal arrangements used in the
industry for compressors are tandem arrangements (Figure 4)
or tandem with intermediate labyrinth arrangements (Figure 5)
and will be used for this article as a basis.

Figure 1: Core parts of Gas Seals

To avoid any wear on the sealing faces, Gas Seals are Figure 4: Tandem Seal
designed to lift off when operated. This means the rotating
seat and stationary face have no contact in operation. This
separation is called lift off. The lift off is mainly influence by Tandem seals consist of two sets of sealing faces.
two effects (Figure 2): The set closest to the process gas is known as the primary seal.
- Differential pressure over the faces The second set on the atmospheric side of the seal is known as

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the secondary seal. The secondary seal is a backup seal in case nozzle of the compressor. This gas is routed through a filter
the primary seal fails. and regulated to a suitable pressure or flow to ensure clean
seal gas supply to the primary seal. The majority of seal gas
flows across the process labyrinth back into the process. A
minimum velocity of 5 m/s (16.4 ft/s) - at twice the nominal
labyrinth clearance – should be maintained underneath the
labyrinth towards the process to ensure no contamination
enters the primary seal. An alternative to using process gas is
an external source gas source.

The seal gas flows in two directions; a small amount

flows between the seal faces as controlled leakage and is then
routed together with the secondary seal gas to the primary
vent. The majority of the seal gas flows underneath the
process side labyrinth back into the process (Figure 7).
Figure 5: Tandem Seal with Intermediate Labyrinth

Contamination can enter the seal from the bearing

side or process gas side of the seal. This paper describes
contamination of the primary seal, as this is the cause of the
majority of seal failures or high seal leakage alarms during or
after a compressor has been in a long period of pressurized
standstill.

In general, gas seals are very robust and reliable

seals. To ensure the reliability of gas seals, a supply of clean
Clean process gas
and dry gas (seal gas) is required at all times. Nitrogen

The process gas is a gas, so how does it affect the Figure 7: Gas flows within a typical Gas Seal
operation of a gas seal? The gas leaking across the faces is
low and should not have a detrimental effect on the seal. The Different scenarios that contaminate the gas seal are possible,
quality of gas is the problem, as well not all components of a which are discussed in the following.
gas will stay a gas when the gas temperature or pressure
changes.

CONTAMINATION BY PARTICLES

Particles present in the process gas can contaminate

the primary seal when seal gas flow across the process side
labyrinth is insufficient, or if inadequate filtration or
conditioning is provided for seal gas to produce the required
quality of gas.

Grooves on
Rotating Seat
Face

Figure 6: Gas Seal with Clean Gas Supply Installed

Dynamic
Sealing
Contamination of the gas seal results when untreated Element
process gas is allowed in and around the primary seal. To Balance
ensure that potential contamination inside the process itself Sleeve
does not enter the seal - like particles or fluids - a clean gas Figure 8: Location of Contamination in Grooves and Dynamic Secondary
supply is provided (Figure 6). Sealing

Typically, process gas is taken from the discharge

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 As a consequence particles can enter the gas grooves
on the rotating face and the sealing gap (Figure 8). If the size
of the particles is small enough, they will blow through the
seal. When larger particles are present they get trapped inside
the grooves or gap causing negative affects to the sealing
behavior or seal reliability. Besides the sealing gap, particles
can also block the dynamic sealing element (Figure 7).

The dynamic sealing element is an O-ring or

elastomer free sealing device between the non-rotating seal
face and the balance sleeve. The non-rotating seal face must Figure 12: damaged seal faces  damage seal
slide together with the dynamic sealing element on the balance
sleeve axially compensating for axial position or movements In order to avoid the above-mentioned scenarios, a
of the compressor shaft in relation to the seal housing. The supply of clean gas must be provided to the primary seal
non-rotating face must also move freely to adjust for any whenever the compressor is pressurized or in operation. A
movements resulting from the normal seal behavior. If the reliable clean gas flow ensures no contamination from the
dynamic sealing element is prevented from moving freely to process gas will enter the primary seal.
adjust for axial movements, the seal gap will be affected
leading to high seal leakage or primary seal failure (Figure 9- In the next steps, proper filtration must be selected.
12). Typically, filter elements are selected to remove particles as
small as 3 µm and sometimes even 1 µm. This ensures larger
Required particles than the seal gap will tolerate are removed producing
movement a clean quality gas for the primary seal. Seal gas filters have
high alarms on differential pressure to identify when filter
elements require replacement. Dual filter housings are used so
replacing filter elements can be completed during compressor
operation without interrupting seal gas flow. Filters supplied
with seal gas systems have limitations on the volume and size
of liquids and particles they can manage. Higher levels of
Dynamic contaminants in the seal gas will require additional filtration.
sealing element This filtration is called pre-filters and typically contains some
Sliding surface type of liquid knock out.

Figure 9: Axial movement DGS

CONTAMINATION BY LIQUIDS

When a compressor is hot during normal

operation, the operating temperature ensures the gas stays a
gas for most applications. So as the seal gas flows from the
discharge tap, through the seal gas system, into the primary
seal cavity and through the seal - dropping in pressure and
temperature from discharge pressure down to atmospheric
pressure - it remains a gas. Examples of applications where the
gas always stays a gas are pure Ethylene or Propylene
compressors, as these gases condensate at very low
temperatures. For other applications, such as wet gas pipeline,
as the gas flows through the seal gas system and seal, liquids
are formed in the gas. These liquids are detrimental to the gas
Figure 10: contaminated dynamic sealing element
seal.

As indicated in figure 13, as the pressure and temperature of

any substance changes its state will change. For gas seals any
time the seal gas is not a complete gas it is detrimental to the
seal. In a gas seal system the gas pressure is dropped as it
flows through the system.

Figure 11: contaminated seal area behind stationary face

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 generated leads to gap instability causing contact between the
rotating seat and stationary face. This damages the seal faces
and results in a seal failure. If a failure does not occur during
operation with the liquid contamination, the seal will fail at the
next subsequent start from increased shear forces and heat
generated.

Identifying when liquids will form is based on the gas

composition -components in the gas. Many seal failures occur
because liquids form in the gas during normal or transient
conditions. This is typically the result of no consideration for
the gas dew point – i.e. no dew point analysis (Figure 14) is
completed- or an inaccurate gas composition is used to
Figure 14: P-T diagram (source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
complete a dew point analysis. Both of these can result in
liquid forming in the seal gas and a system design that does
not meet the needs of a gas seal.
Influence on temperature
- Environment
- Pressure drops
Available temperature Dual Phase
Required temperature Gas
Worst case:
Lowest temperature &
Lowest pressure Dew Point Safe
Line Decompression
line
Safety
Transient
Margin Line
Condition

Figure 14: Seal Gas temperature

Figure 15: Example of Dew Point Analysis for Seal Gas

When a gas drops in pressure it will change in To identify and provide the correct system to prevent
temperature. This is known as the Joules Thompson effect. liquids in seal gas, several steps must be taken. The first step
Control valves and orifices to manage pressure and flow in a is an accurate analysis of the gas composition to identify all
seal gas system will change the temperature of the gas. The the components in the gas for each gas being used for seal gas
seal gas also drops in pressure as it flows between the seal supply. This includes any changes in the gas composition
faces changing the temperature of the gas. For most gases this over time, due to upset process conditions and alternate gases
is a lower temperature, which will move the gas conditions to used for seal gas. Most analyses of gas compositions do not
the left in P-T diagram and possibly crossing the critical include information on components higher than C5 or C6
temperature line (dew line) turning it into a vapor (dual (Figure 16).
phase). Besides the Joules Thompson effect, there is also the
environment that has an influence on the seal gas temperature.
Component % mol
Ambient temperatures can cool exposed supplying lines,
Methane 89,415
which will drop the temperature of the gas and move the gas
Ethane 7,0
conditions to the left.
Propane 1,095
N-butane 0,121
As gases can be made up of different components, these will I-butane 0,094
change the critical temperature (dew point) of a gas. For gas N-pentane 0,018
pipelines where methane is the major component there are also I-pentane 0,025
heavier hydro carbons (Figure 16) within the gas which Hexane+ 0,006
change the critical temperature (dew point) dramatically. Even Nitrogen 0,80
small differences in the gas composition can make the CO2 1,424
difference whether a gas stays a gas or liquids or vapour begin Figure 16: Typical natural gas pipeline gas composition
to form.
Process people are not concerned with the trace components
higher than C5 or C6. Some procedures also dry the gas
If liquids enter the gap between the rotating seat and stationary sample before the analysis is completed. This eliminates
face high shearing forces are created generating heat. The heat components that turn to liquid and affect the operation of the

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gas seal. Another concern is when the composition of the
process gas changes over time. Even minor changes in the gas
composition can significantly change the dew point of a gas, CONTAMINATION DURING PRESSURIZED STAND
as indicated in Figure 17 and 18. So it is elemental for a STILL CONDITIONS
reliable result when completing a dew point analysis that an
accurate and complete gas composition is provided. Possible Due to environmental concerns, it is more difficult to
changes in gas composition over time must be considered as vent compressors to atmosphere. Typically if compressors are
well. stopped after a certain period of time they will be
depressurized sending the gas to flare or atmosphere, resulting
Minimum allowed
in emissions penalties or fines. Situations can also necessitate
temperature at 40 barg keeping a compressor pressurized ensuring a quick response to
 -8°C @ seal demand. Having a gas seal fail on a compressor restarted
when supporting demands does not result in reliable
production, profits or reducing environmental concerns. As
40 barg
identified above, particles in the seal gas or the primary seal
cavity, or liquids that form in a seal gas are root causes for the
majority of seal failures. To prevent these failures from
occurring, ensuring a clean and quality seal gas for the
primary seal is essential. This maintains a reliable seal that
will not fail during standstill conditions and prevent failures
- 8°C when restarting a compressor or shortly after a restart.

Figure 17: Example - Dew point curve during the project phase

Minimum allowed
Temperature at 40 barg
 +7 °C @ seal

40 barg

+ 7 °C

Figure 19: Process gas flow during pressurized stand still

Figure 18: Example - Dew point curve with field gas composition project
phase
During a pressurized stand still condition, seal gas flow;
With this information the second step is to produce therefore clean and quality seal gas to the primary seal, is only
the seal gas dew point line. Identifying at what temperature present when an alternate supply or means of producing seal
and pressure components in the gas will turn to liquids. gas flow is provided. Seal gas flow during normal operation is
Pressures and temperatures to the left of the dew line results in generated by the discharge pressure, as indicated previously,
a dual phase gas, liquid in the gas. This is the area the seal gas which is higher than the pressure at the seal. If no means to
must not operate in. The third step is to plot the produce a higher pressure/flow is provided during a
decompression curve with the minimum margin from the dew pressurized hold, process gas from the compressor flows into
line. (Industry standards have identified the safety margin as the primary seal cavity via the process labyrinth, when the seal
20 degrees Kelvin.) gas flow is lost. When the compressor is not rotating, or
slowly rotating, but still pressurized, leakage through the gas
The last step is collecting, analyzing and plotting all seal still occurs. This means the gas leaking through the seal is
operating conditions; in particular conditions where the gas is process gas from the compressor, allowing unconditioned gas
at high pressure, like settle out pressure and when the to enter the primary seal cavity and contaminating the primary
temperatures of the gas changes. Taking these measures will seal (Figure 19).
show what temperature the gas must be for a given pressure to
prevent liquids from forming. This is critical for designing the Per the previous section on contamination by liquid, the
correct seal gas supply system and preventing liquids forming ambient temperature must be considered. The reason for this
in a seal gas. is the compressor and seals will be at an ambient temperature
during stand-still conditions. If unconditioned process gas is
exposed to these conditions as the gas drops in temperature

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and pressure when passing through the seal faces, liquid forms through a conditioning system to bring it to the quality and
and contaminates the gas seal. temperature required for the gas seal and pushed into the seal
cavity. This ensures the gas seal is provided a gas that does not
allow liquid to form between the seal faces.

Conditioning a seal gas can require only filtering the

gas using coalescing filters. Or conditioning can be as
complex as cooling the gas to form the liquid, a liquid
knockout to remove liquid, a heater to provide minimum dew
point margin, heat trace for maintaining temperature, a booster
to move the gas and final filtration to ensure nothing is passing
through to the seal. Proper analysis of the dew point and
operating conditions will define the required conditioning to
ensure the right quality of gas is available for the gas seal.
Figure 20: Contaminated seal face
Normal Flow to Seal
Seal Gas Supply Heater
Gas System
When liquids form between the seal faces while the
compressor is not rotating, they may stick together. The flat
surfaces of the non-rotating face and rotating seat are within 2
light bands of flatness. With flat surfaces like this, the liquid Boosted
will create a bond between the non-rotating face and rotating Seal Gas
to Seals
seat. On one hand, this is good because it will reduce the seal
leakage or even totally eliminate it. The downside is that the
strength of the bond is so great when rotational force is Cooler Cyclone
Liquid
applied to the seat, the drive pins and the non-rotating seat are Knockout Heat Trace
typically damaged. This causes high seal leakage during the and Rotating
Insulation Booster
start or restart of a compressor, identifying a seal failure and
Figure 22: Diagram of a complex gas conditioning system
the requirement to replace the seal.
Seal gas movement is one of the most important
requirements for providing reliability for a gas seal;
circulating gas from the compressor through the seal cavity.
During normal operation there is sufficient differential
pressure between compressor discharge and sealing pressure
to create a flow of seal gas through the seal gas system. When
sufficient differential pressure is not present a booster is
required to create a flow. There are currently air-driven piston
pumps used for this application, but these have been proven
unreliable, especially when required to operate for long
periods of time or when not sized correctly; typical limit is 50
cycles / minute for reasonable life.

The air driven boosters (Figure 23) are positive displacement

Figure 21: Destroyed seal faces after startup with contaminated seal faces piston type boosters and the one used as an example will
provide 1:1.78 pressure ratio. They incorporate many moving
If the line representing pressure and temperature drop parts in the booster to operate the unit. There are poppet
of the seal gas passes through or close to the dual phase valves, shuttle valves, check valves, piston rod and pistons
envelope. There are a couple of possible solutions for this. that all have seals and wearing parts. These require
maintenance and affect the reliability of the unit.
An outside source can be used, but the same analysis must be
completed on an accurate composition of this gas. A concern The principle operation of the booster uses air as the drive
with using an outside source is gas volume is added to the media. It is supplied through a shuttle valve to apply pressure
compressor/process. This increases the pressure in the on one end of the piston or the other. The position of the
compressor/process. As the pressure builds in the system, the shuttle valve spool is controlled by pressure and determines
gas must be vented to maintain the clean flow of gas to the gas which end of the piston pressure is applied.
seal. Due to stricter environmental regulations, this is
becoming more difficult to do. The position of the spool is controlled by a pilot system,
spring and poppet valves. The poppet valves control
The ideal solution is to circulate the gas within the pressurization and depressurization of the pilot system. The
system. Dirty or wet gas is drawn out of the compressor spool movement is also assisted with a spring to move the

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spool when pilot system is unpressurized. When the piston parts in a centrifugal design is the impeller. The impeller
pushes against the poppet valve on right hand end of the design must handle a wide range of operating pressures and
cylinder the pilot system is pressurized and the shuttle valve varying gas densities. If the correct impeller is not used
spool is moved to the left allowing air pressure to enter the changing gas conditions can result in a booster failure.
drive cylinder and move the piston to the left.
Selecting a rotating, clean gas booster provides the
When the piston hits the poppet valve on the left hand side, the ability to use standard reliable electrical motor. The use of a
pressure is vented from the pilot system and the spring assists variable speed drive provides the capability to manage the
in moving the spool to the right. This will vent the pressure in varying gas density and wider range of operating pressures
the cylinder on the right and pressurize the cylinder on the left. with lower power consumption. This allows for minimal
capital to install and operate the booster. The integration of an
As the piston moves back and forth check valves on the air-driven device, which is the standard for piston type
process end open and close to draw pressure in from the solutions, uses large volumes of air to drive the units. This
suction on one side of the piston and push process gas out on requires installation of other equipment just to support the air
the other side of the piston. This produces the seal gas flow. required to driven booster.
Drive Gas
Drive Gas In Drive Gas
Shuttle Valve Out Out

Spool
Open

Process Gas
Out Closed

Piston Rod

Poppet Valve

Closed Check Valves

Process Gas Drive Gas
In Drive Gas In Drive Gas
Open
Out Out

Open

Process Gas
Closed Out

Closed
Open Vent

Figure 23: Operation principle piston type booster

These systems are complex not only for the booster itself, but
the system required to ensure it is operating, controls for the
drive gas, over pressure protection and monitoring wear of
seals. With the many wear parts and additional equipment to
operate the unit it becomes a very costly system and has many
reliability concerns. Dirt and debris in the shuttle valve, poor
quality or excessive cycling of poppet valves, ice buildup in
the shuttle valve spool, poor quality air and many other issues
have prevented these types of boosters from operating reliably.
Due to these reliability issues air driven boosters have not
Figure 24: Operation principle piston type booster
performed well and are not the best option for long periods of
continuous operation.
The equipment used for circulating seal gas is used
To ensure reliable operation of gas seals and compressor - not only for standby conditions, but anytime there is
during standstill conditions - a reliable device to circulate the insufficient pressure across the compressor to deliver adequate
seal gas must be used. As rotating equipment is generally seal gas flow. With the correct circulation unit provided, the
much more reliable than reciprocating, the best booster design compressor can be placed in a pressurized hold for unlimited
is a centrifugal type (Figure 24). periods of time. Continued supply of clean dry gas to the gas
seals will ensure the ideal conditions for the gas seal and
Many booster designs require shaft seals, resulting in guarantee a trouble free start or restart of the compressor.
additional leakage of gas. With a magnetic coupled or canned
booster this eliminates any additional leakage of gas; no gas to
manage or leaking to atmosphere. One of the most important

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 225H
Power Consumption (kW) 6.7
Running Torque (Nm) 25.6
Estimated Temp Rise (°C) 20.2
Estimated Outlet Temp (°C) 43.2
Check Bearing Loads OK

Figure 25: Centrifugal Type Booster

Piston type boosters are primarily designed to

generate pressure increase allowing installation in line with
pressure reduction elements, like pressure control valves, flow
control valves or orifices. Though these units generate more
than sufficient pressure boost they are limited in the flow
produced. Due to this they do not always achieve the flow Figure 26: Booster performance chart
required to achieve minimum velocity across the process
labyrinth. To achieve the required velocity across the process To cover the required seal gas volume only 1 centrifugal
labyrinth, two or more of these units are needed; more air booster is required (Figure 26).
volume is required to drive them. Using this type of booster
requires accepting lower velocities or higher air consumption Based on the information for each booster design, and typical
with multiple units. installation, the energy consumption by a piston booster is
much higher than the centrifugal. With a total of 110.4 scfm
To provide an idea of the requirements for a piston booster an to support three piston boosters this will equate to 20.14 kW
example for a pipeline application with the below conditions of power. To operate the centrifugal unit at the required flow
will be used: it would require 6.7 kW of power.

Shaft size
150 mm (5.9 inches)
Operating conditions
70 Bar (1015 psig)
23 C(73.4 F)
Required flow for 5 m/s (16.4 ft/s) at
twice the labyrinth clearance
389 Nm3/hr (229 scfm)
Output of Piston Booster at 90 cycles/min
332 Nm3/hr (196 scfm)
Drive air required for one unit
62.6 Nm3/hr ( 36.8 scfm) Figure 27: Typical Seal Supply System with Centrifugal Seal Gas Booster
Installed

Based on the size and operating condition for the above

example the required seal gas flow for each seal is more than Centrifugal booster designs use 5 to 20 horsepower
one piston booster can provide. To meet the recommended electric motors, so as long as power is available the booster
flow for 2 seals, 3 boosters should be used for the application. has the available resources to operate. To minimize required
This would require almost 78 scfm of air to provide the horsepower a centrifugal booster is installed parallel to
required flow for with the boosters cycling at 70 cycles a pressure reduction elements (Figure 27). The impeller design
minute. Other boosters which produce high pressure ratios generates high flows to ensure the required velocity across the
will consume even more air. process labyrinth. This minimizes the head required to
generate flow through a system; therefore, minimizing the
horsepower requirements. With a variable frequency drive,

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the speed is adjusted to manage flow and head requirements;
efficiently delivering seal gas to the primary seal and
maintaining sufficient velocity across the process labyrinth.

NOMENCLATURE

Dew Point: the temperature and pressure where liquids begin

to form in a gas.
Dual Phase Envelope: The temperature and pressure where
both gas and liquid are present in a specified gas composition.
Joules Thompson effect: Temperature drop as a result of a
certain pressure drop.
Seal Gas: the gas supplied to a gas seal that flows between the
seal faces.

Figure 28: Installed centrifugal booster skid

CONCLUSION

Gas seal technology provides reliable operation of a

compressor. The right seal gas system will prevent
venting compressors when in standstill, when using
an alternate seal gas supply or due to a preventable
seal failure. This assists companies to stay within
environmental guide lines by minimizing the release
of gases to the environment. Due to the design of
gas seals, clean dry gas must be provided to the seal
for ensuring their reliability. Dirty process gas or a
poorly conditioned seal gas that are allowed to flow
into the primary seal cavity will cause seal failures.
During a pressurized standstill insufficient or no
seal gas flow will allow dirty process gas to enter
the primary seal cavity. If a seal gas dew point
analysis is not completed this can result in poor
quality seal gas being provided to the gas seals. A
change in gas composition over time or not using
the full range of components in the seal gas to
complete a dew point analysis can result in the
supply of poorly conditioned gas to the seals.
Poorly conditioned gas allows liquids to form in the
seal gas or the gas seal, which lead to seal failures.
Selecting the right equipment - cooler, pre-filter,
heater and booster - to condition the seal gas and
ensure sufficient seal gas flow, will prevent gas seal
failures during pressurized standstill, on a
compressor restart or shortly after a restart.
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