Burckhardt Compression has received an order from Indonesia to repair another brand’s labyrinth piston compressor after an emergency incident. The compressor was used to compress oxygen in the bleaching process.
Inflamed oil vapour caused a grave explosion after oxygen entered into the crankgear. The crankgear was heavily damaged and had to be repaired urgently on-site by Burckhardt Compression’s field service engineers, together with the customers’ service personnel. Spare parts, such as crossheads and bearing shells, were dispatched immediately from Switzerland to Indonesia and the existing valves were overhauled on-site. After three weeks of shut-down the compressor was back in operation.
In 2006, Burckhardt Compression had already received an order from the same customer to deliver a new Laby® (labyrinth piston) compressor. Start-up of the Laby compressor took place in December 2008. The Laby has a unique labyrinth sealing system on piston and piston rod gland that allows oil-free and contact-free compression. Therefore the Laby compressor is the ideal and safest solution for oxygen applications.
As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) with more than 160 years’ experience in the design, manufacture and service of reciprocating compressors, Burckhardt Compression has a dedicated team of specialists and technical competence for revamps, overhauls, engineering services and repairs for other brand compressors (OBC).
Productivity and availability improvements of existing reciprocating compressors or changing compression requirements often call for revamps or up-ratings. With Burckhardt Compression’s in-house state-of-the-art sizing and finite element analysis, tools professional specialists can model and calculate any existing reciprocating compressor to improve compressor operation, increase loads and re-engineer parts.
Laby compressors are used for industrial gases, liquid gas transport and storage as well as in the chemical and petrochemical industry. The Laby is designed to compress bone-dry, dirty, abrasive and other gases with a discharge pressure up to 300bar (4,350psi) without contamination, flow up to 11,000Nm³/h (6,500scfm), shaft power up to 2,100kW (2,800HP). Laby compressors are extremely reliable machines with unexcelled availability, combining high performance with a unique cooling system.
