Boosters & Compressors: How Are They Different From Each Other?
Most industries rely on air compressors to carry out heavy-duty industrial applications. However, for certain applications like PET or Water Transmission we require higher discharge pressures of 25 bar and above where boosters maybe required after medium pressure compressors to achieve high discharge pressure.
A booster normally working on reciprocating technology can be considered an extended form of a regular air compressor system which typically is a rotary screw machine for up to 10bar pressure. While an air compressor uses atmospheric air at inlet and compresses this to generate a higher pressure, a booster is fed from the discharge for air compressor at a certain higher inlet pressure to further compress reaching higher desired discharge pressure.
This article will delve into the differences between air compressors and boosters, exploring their unique capabilities and the specific ways they are used in different industries.
Let’s get started.
Boosters & Compressors: How Are They Different From Each Other?
Purpose:
The core difference between an air compressor and a booster is based on the application pressure requirement. An air compressor uses atmospheric air and compresses it to generate a certain pressure and has a clear limitation based on the pressure ratios a particular technology (common Rotary Screw) can achieve, whereas a booster (reciprocating usually) increases the pressure of an already compressed gas to furthermore.
Compression:
Air Compressors are totally depending on electrical energy to carry out compression from ambient pressure while the booster is also driven by electric motor but has already compressed air at certain pressure (stored energy) fed at inlet to further compressor. The specific energy requirement is heavier on the medium pressure side to get the job done and due to this industry prefer to utilize rotary screw technology there for its already well know acceptance on energy efficiency and reliability that it brings as compared to piston technology.
Applications:
Air compressors are widely utilized across all industries for pneumatic or process air applications such as Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, General manufacturing, material conveying, power tools, instrument, or service air etc. On the other hand, Boosters are used by industries like food and beverage, chemical, and oil and gas to amplify the pressure of gases for transportation, storage, and other purposes like blowing bottles (preforms), surge vessel applications or air and gas separation.
Industries:
The chemical or air separation industry uses air compressors for powering mixers and agitators, and boosters to amplify the pressure of air or gases for transportation, separation and other purposes.
Air compressors operate various pneumatic tools, such as jackhammers and nail guns, in construction and manufacturing. Conversely, Boosters are used to escalate the gas pressure to perform heavy-duty industrial applications.
Types:
Air compressors come in different types, such as reciprocating, rotary screws, and centrifugal. On the other hand, boosters are classified based on the kind of compression and the gas to be compressed like Air, CO2, CH4 and so on.
Maintenance:
Regular monitoring and maintenance are incredibly imperative. Not doing so can adversely impact the air compressor's reliability, performance and longevity. Like Compressors, also Boosters have to be periodically maintained depending on the type of equipment and gas handled.
FAQs About Boosters & Compressors
What Is The Most Common Type Of Booster?
While there are different types of compressor technologies, the booster is categorized as Oil-Free and Oil-Lubricated where discharges pressures achieved can be close to 500 barg. Reciprocating technology as Horizontally balanced opposed piston is the preferred design coming from API 618 standard offering better interstage temperatures, much lower vibrations – giving more reliability, lesser service intervals and ease of maintenance as machine is at maximum human height.
Do You Need A Pressure Tank With A Booster?
Yes. For a number of reasons a receiver tank is added downstream to either compressor or booster - stabilizes pressure in the network, reduces load and unload frequency of the compressor and also reduces air temperature entering to air dryers (more efficient drying).
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