Air-cooled Reciprocating Booster Solution at Mid-West Steel Plant
A few months ago, a channel partner reached out on behalf of their customer, a large steel plant in the upper mid-west. To download PDF, click here. The customer needed a temporary solution to take nominal pressure, pure nitrogen (provided from nearby air separation plant) and boost to 350psi while they awaited the arrival of new equipment for an upgrade to their air system. For this application, the high-pressure nitrogen is used to safely convey the pulverized coal to fuel their furnace, which is vital part of any steel mill.
Like most business these days, they were struggling to get new equipment and parts with delays in shipping and production that equipment manufacturers were experiencing around the world. This created uncertainty and the potential for downtime that would cost the plant hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. They were also contending with their existing booster that had exceeded its life cycle, was not very reliable and their back up was shaky as well. So, they needed a temporary solution in place ASAP while they formulated their construction plan and waited for their equipment to ship from oversees, which had been delayed. Once their new high-pressure boosters did arrive, they would need time to have them installed and commissioned. And lastly, leave the temporary units in place as backup while the new equipment was put through its paces.
Fortunately, Critical Rental Solutions had a unique solution in mind, utilizing our air-cooled reciprocating booster packages that could handle the pure nitrogen and pressure provided by local air separation plant. These units are capable of taking a max of 150 psig air or nitrogen and boosting to 650 psig, but in this case we took the 100 psig nitrogen and boosted to 350 psig to be used in the pulverized coal conveyance. These units are 480v and typically connected with low voltage temporary cables allowing for easy connection. To satisfy their requirements, we utilized 3 boosters, 1 in standby and 2 running along with our high-pressure hose for a quick installation process. This equipment package provided them a quick and reliable solution to boost 1900 cfm of nitrogen to 350psig and keep their furnace online during the upgrades. Check out our products to see if we can help…Click here
