Page 396 - Reciprocating Compressors Operation Maintenance

Safety in Operation and Maintenance 381

WHAT To WATCH

The following checkpoints should be watched:

1. Oil specifications
2. Air discharge piping drains
3. Water system clogging
4. Carbon formation in piping
5. Compressor valve condition

An example of the seriousness of these fires and explosions can be
seen with the case of a soot-blowing compressor. This was a 200 HP,
three-stage machine with a 500 psi discharge. It experienced an explo-
sion in the discharge line between the compressor discharge and the
aftercooler. The explosion ruptured a 4" pipeline.
In another case, a 2000 HP air compressor in an automobile plant had an
explosion in the air discharge of the high pressure cylinders. The explosion
and ensuing detonation waves blew out a portion of the building, several
sections of the parking lot and, unfortunately, killed two workers.

FIRE AND EXPLOSION PROTECTION—Am COMPRESSORS

Fires or explosions involving air compressors can be classified into
two general categories:

1. Those in which compressor lubricating oil is in contact with air stream.
2. Those involving closed-loop operation.

The majority of fires or explosions in air compressor systems have
involved reciprocating machines. The fuel for air compressor fires is the
cylinder lubricating oil itself, or the carbonaceous products formed by
oxidation of the lubricating oil. The formation of carbonaceous deposits
in air compressor systems depends on the amount and type of the lubri-
cating oil used and the temperature of the metal surface on which the oil
is deposited.