INDUSTRY
Industrial Electric Gas Boosters Promise Quieter, Cleaner, HassleFree Operation in Oil and Gas By: Del Williams
Gas Boosters in Oil and Gas Gas Boosters are used to test systems and custom-built OEM products in order to certify that these products meet the exact-
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ing standards of the oil and gas industry. The list of gases typically pressurized includes argon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, liquefied gas and many other specialty gases. One major application in the oil and gas industry is leak testing using nitrogen to ensure the integrity of pressurized systems. Anything from relief valves, pipe spools and small pressure vessels are tested with nitrogen gas to prove they are leak tight before being put into service on gas production facilities. Gas boosters can also be used for highpressure leak testing of underwater Christmas trees and other subsea installations to ensure hydrocarbons do not leak from the structure and risk contaminating the sea or creating a fire explosion. Helium gas is used at pressures up to 2,000 bar (30,000 psi) because of its leak searching capabilities, particularly in detecting porous castings.
About the author: Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California. He writes about health, business, technology, and educational issues, and has an M.A. in English from C.S.U. Dominguez Hills. For more information, call (818) 843-4000 or visit www.haskel.com
PICHITSTOCKER/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
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n the oil and gas industry, gas boosters are ubiquitous products working hard and with little fanfare behind the scenes to pressurize liquids and gases to several thousand bar (30-50,000 psi) for leak testing of vessels, valves or piping; charging gas-operated actuators; and high-pressure gas transfer, cylinder charging and scavenging. Whether utilized as standalone devices or in larger OEM equipment, gas boosters are integral components in many offshore and onshore oil, gas exploration, development, storage, refining and processing applications. Unfortunately, traditional pneumatic and hydraulic gas boosters have some inherent limitations. Pneumatic (air-powered) units work well to boost pressures at intermittent, low-flow rates, but are extremely noisy during operation. At higher flow rates, the sound is further increased, since multiple units must fire in parallel. This also increases the amount of electricity required. Hydraulic-powered units, on the other hand, are more suited to continuous operation and are slightly quieter than pneumatic options, but come with the potential risk of hydraulic oil contamination of the gas, hydraulic oil leaks and spills. Now, a new category of advanced electric gas boosters is promising to provide quieter, cleaner, high-pressure, high flow rates up to 6,500 psi – along with improved monitoring and controls for a variety of oil and gas applications.
