1. Chemical industry
Pressure requirements
Nitrogen is one of the main raw materials in the production process of synthetic ammonia. The reaction needs to be carried out in a high temperature and high pressure environment, usually requiring a pressure of 10-30 MPa or even higher. This requires compressors to have high pressure output capabilities, such as multi-stage piston compressors or large centrifugal compressors, which can compress nitrogen to the required pressure conditions for the reaction to ensure the smooth progress of the ammonia synthesis reaction.
For the application of protective gases in some chemical products, the pressure requirement is relatively low, generally around 0.52MPa, mainly to use the inertness of nitrogen during the storage and transportation of chemical products to prevent oxidation or moisture. In this case, screw compressors or small piston compressors can meet the requirements and provide stable low-pressure nitrogen gas.
Traffic requirements
In the continuous production process of large chemical enterprises, such as nitric acid production, a large amount of nitrogen is required as raw material or protective gas, with high flow requirements, which may reach hundreds of cubic meters per minute or even higher. At this point, a centrifugal compressor is a more suitable choice as it can provide high flow nitrogen gas to meet the continuous and large-scale production needs.
In laboratory scale chemical experiments or small-scale chemical product trials, the nitrogen flow rate requirement is relatively small, generally within a few cubic meters per minute. This small flow demand can be met by a small piston compressor, which can flexibly adjust the flow rate according to experimental requirements.
Gas purity requirements
In chemical production, many chemical reactions require extremely high purity of nitrogen, for example, in the production of electronic grade chemicals, the purity of nitrogen is required to be above 99.999%. This requires the compressor itself to have good sealing and not introduce new impurities during the compression process. At the same time, it is necessary to strictly purify the intake of the compressor to remove impurities such as moisture, oxygen, and dust, in order to ensure that the purity of the compressed nitrogen meets production requirements.
2. Electronic industry
Pressure requirements
In the semiconductor manufacturing process, nitrogen is used for cleaning, etching, and drying during the manufacturing process. For example, in the photolithography process, nitrogen gas is used as the carrier gas, and a certain pressure is required to ensure that the reaction gas is uniformly transported to the reaction chamber. The pressure requirement is generally around 0.5 and 1.5 MPa. Under such pressure requirements, screw compressors or small multi-stage piston compressors are more suitable as they can provide stable and precise pressure control.
Traffic requirements
Electronic chip manufacturing is a large-scale continuous production process that requires a high flow rate of nitrogen, especially in some critical manufacturing processes such as wafer cleaning, which may require a nitrogen flow rate of tens of cubic meters per minute. In order to meet this high flow demand while ensuring the quality and pressure stability of nitrogen, large centrifugal compressors or multiple screw compressors are usually used in parallel operation.
Gas purity requirements
The electronics industry is one of the industries with the highest requirements for nitrogen purity, typically requiring a purity of 99.999%. This requires the internal structural materials of the compressor to have good corrosion resistance and not release impurities into the nitrogen gas. Moreover, in the entire compression system, efficient gas purification equipment such as high-precision filters, adsorption towers, etc. are required to deeply purify nitrogen gas to meet the requirements of high-precision processes such as chip manufacturing.
3. Food industry
Pressure requirements
During the food packaging process, for snacks such as potato chips and cookies, nitrogen gas needs to be filled into the packaging bags to extend the shelf life of the food. In this case, the nitrogen pressure requirement is relatively low, usually around 0.1 and 0.5 MPa, mainly to facilitate the smooth filling of nitrogen into the packaging bag and the discharge of air. Small piston compressors or single-stage screw compressors can meet this pressure requirement.
Traffic requirements
The production speed of the food packaging industry is relatively fast, and the flow requirements for nitrogen are also relatively high, especially on the automated packaging lines of large food production enterprises. The nitrogen flow rate needs to be determined based on the packaging speed and specifications, generally ranging from a few cubic meters to tens of cubic meters per minute. Usually, screw compressors or a combination of multiple small piston compressors are used to meet high flow requirements.
Gas purity requirements
The food industry has lower requirements for nitrogen purity compared to the chemical and electronic industries, but it also needs to ensure the safety and hygiene of nitrogen. The general requirement for nitrogen purity is between 99% and 99.9%, mainly to prevent impurities from affecting food quality and safety. At the same time, it is required that the lubricating oil and sealing materials of the compressor comply with food hygiene standards to avoid contamination of food.
4. Metallurgical industry
Pressure requirements
In the process of steel production, if nitrogen is blown into the molten steel for stirring during steelmaking, the pressure requirement is generally around 0.5 and 1.5 MPa. This pressure can effectively stir the molten steel with nitrogen and remove impurities. For this pressure requirement, screw compressors or medium-sized piston compressors are more suitable.
In the smelting process of non-ferrous metals such as aluminum and copper, nitrogen is used to cover the surface of the melt to prevent oxidation. The pressure requirement is relatively low, usually around 0.1 and 0.5 MPa. Small piston compressors or single-stage screw compressors can meet the demand.
Traffic requirements
The metallurgical industry has a large production scale, especially large steel plants or non-ferrous metal smelters, which require a large amount of nitrogen during the production process. For example, in the steelmaking process, tens of cubic meters or even more of nitrogen flow per minute may be required. Therefore, it is necessary to use high flow compressors, such as centrifugal compressors or a combination of multiple screw compressors, to meet the nitrogen supply during the production process.
Gas purity requirements
The metallurgical industry generally requires nitrogen purity between 99% and 99.99%. The main purpose is to prevent impurity gases from affecting the quality of metals during metallurgical processes, such as oxygen which may cause metal oxidation and carbon dioxide which may affect the composition of molten steel. During the selection and use of compressors, attention should be paid to purifying the intake air to ensure that the purity of compressed nitrogen meets the requirements of metallurgical production.
The application of Industrial Nitrogen Compressors in the pharmaceutical industry has the following performance requirements:
Regarding stress
Stable output: It is necessary to have a stable output that meets the pressure requirements of pharmaceutical processes. For example, in the nitrogen filling process of drug packaging, a stable pressure of 0.10.5MPa is usually maintained to ensure that nitrogen can be smoothly filled into the packaging without causing packaging damage or insufficient nitrogen filling due to unstable pressure.
Pressure accuracy: For some pharmaceutical reactions that require strict reaction conditions, such as the synthesis of certain sterile raw materials, the output pressure accuracy of the compressor should reach ± 0.05MPa or even higher to ensure stable reaction environment and prevent pressure fluctuations from affecting drug quality and yield.
Traffic aspect
Adjustable flow rate: It should have a wide range of flow regulation capabilities. For example, in the process of drug freeze-drying, different freeze-drying stages require different nitrogen flow rates. The compressor should be able to flexibly adjust the flow rate within the range of a few cubic meters to tens of cubic meters per minute according to process requirements.
Flow stability: In continuous pharmaceutical production lines, such as tablet coating processes, a compressor is required to provide a stable nitrogen flow rate, with flow fluctuations controlled within ± 5% to ensure consistency in coating quality.
In terms of gas purity
High purity: Generally, nitrogen purity is required to reach 99.9% or above. For the production of sterile drugs such as injections, purity can even reach 99.99% or above to prevent impurities in nitrogen from contaminating the drugs.
Impurity control: It is necessary to strictly control the content of impurities such as moisture, oxygen, dust, microorganisms, and oil in nitrogen. The moisture content should be below the dew point of 45 ℃, the oil content should be less than 0.001ppm, and the number of dust particles and microorganisms should meet the cleanliness level requirements of drug production.
other aspects
Sealing performance: The compressor has good sealing performance to prevent nitrogen leakage from contaminating drugs or causing safety hazards, while also avoiding external impurities from entering the compressor and contaminating nitrogen.
Cleanliness: Components that come into contact with nitrogen gas should be made of materials that comply with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements, such as stainless steel, and have a smooth surface with no dead corners, easy to clean and disinfect.
Reliability: With high reliability and stability, it can achieve 24-hour continuous and stable operation, ensuring that the pharmaceutical production process will not be interrupted due to compressor failure.
Control accuracy: The control system should be precise and able to achieve precise adjustment and control of parameters such as pressure, flow rate, and temperature, meeting the strict requirements of pharmaceutical processes.
Low noise: The noise generated during operation should be low, generally not exceeding 65 decibels, to create a good working environment for operators and avoid interference with the production environment.
Performance achievable by different types of compressors
Different types of compressors have their own characteristics in achieving performance in industrial nitrogen compression, as follows:
Piston compressor
Pressure: The pressure range is wide, ranging from low pressure to ultra-high pressure. The common exhaust pressure is 0.750MPa, and some specially designed maximum pressures can reach 560MPa.
Flow rate: The flow rate is generally 0.510m ³/min, suitable for small and medium flow demands.
Gas purity: If oil-free lubrication design is adopted, such as VW series and SWZ series, it can ensure high gas purity and avoid nitrogen pollution caused by lubricating oil.
Screw compressor
Pressure: During single-stage compression, the exhaust pressure is usually around 0.81.6 MPa, and multi-stage compression can be even higher, which can meet the medium and low pressure requirements of general industrial nitrogen.
Flow rate: The flow rate range is relatively large, generally around 5100m ³/min, which can meet the nitrogen flow requirements of industrial production of different scales.
Gas purity: By optimizing the sealing structure and adopting oil-free screw technology, nitrogen purity can reach a high level, meeting the requirements for nitrogen purity in most industrial applications.
Centrifugal compressor
Pressure: Single stage centrifugal compressors can generate relatively low pressure, generally around 13MPa, while multi-stage centrifugal compressors can increase nitrogen pressure to 4MPa or even higher.
Flow rate: High flow rate, up to 100000Nm ³/hr and above, suitable for large-scale industrial nitrogen compression.
Gas purity: The internal flow channel design is reasonable, and there is minimal gas pollution during the compression process. Combined with an efficient intake filtration and purification system, it can ensure high purity of the output nitrogen gas.
scroll compressor
Pressure: usually between 0.21.3 MPa, which can meet some applications that do not require high nitrogen pressure.
Flow rate: The exhaust volume is usually between 2400m ³/min.
Gas purity: Oil free vortex compressors do not require oil lubrication and can discharge clean nitrogen gas. The gas purity is high, which can meet the requirements of high nitrogen cleanliness in situations.
