Compressor in applications

Applications

Gas compressors are used in various applications where either higher pressures or lower volumes of gas are needed:
- in pipeline transport of purified natural gas to move the gas from the production site to the consumer.
- in petroleum refineries, natural gas processing plants, petrochemical and chemical plants, and similar large industrial plants for compressing intermediate and end product gases.
- in refrigeration and air conditioner equipment to move heat from one place to another in refrigerant cycles: see Vapor-compression refrigeration.
- in gas turbine systems to compress the intake combustion air
- in storing purified or manufactured gases in a small volume, high pressure cylinders for medical, welding and other uses.
- in many various industrial, manufacturing and building processes to power all types of pneumatic tools.
as a medium for transferring energy, such as to power pneumatic equipment.
- in pressurised aircraft to provide a breathable atmosphere of higher than ambient pressure.
- in some types of jet engines (such as turbojets and turbofans) to provide the air required for combustion of the engine fuel. The power to drive the combustion air compressor comes from the jet's own turbines.
- in SCUBA diving, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and other life support devices to store breathing gas in a small volume such as in diving cylinders.
- in submarines, to store air for later use in displacing water from buoyancy chambers, for adjustment of depth.
- in turbochargers and superchargers to increase the performance of internal combustion engines by increasing mass flow.
- in rail and heavy road transport to provide compressed air for operation of rail vehicle brakes or road vehicle brakes and various other systems (doors, windscreen wipers, engine/gearbox control, etc).
- in miscellaneous uses such as providing compressed air for filling pneumatic tires.