Natural Gas Compressor

Natural gas, a clean fossil fuel primarily composed of methane (CH₄), plays a crucial role in the modern energy and chemical industry. It is not only an important fuel for industrial and civil use but also a fundamental raw material for chemical synthesis. However, its flammable and explosive nature (with an explosion limit of 5% to 15% in air and an ignition temperature of approximately 540°C) requires that the supporting compression equipment possess extremely high safety and reliability. Whether used as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicle fuel, or as a chemical feedstock or power generation fuel, natural gas compressors must meet strict requirements for explosion-proof design, leak-free operation, and stable performance to ensure production safety and improve energy utilization efficiency.

DIAPHRAGM COMPRESSOR

PISTON COMPRESSOR

Natural Gas Diaphragm Compressor Advantages:

01

Absolutely Oil-Free & Zero Leakage, Ensuring Gas Quality and Safety:

The metal diaphragm of the diaphragm compressor completely physically isolates the process gas from the hydraulic oil system, achieving 100% oil-free lubrication in the compression chamber. This ensures that the compressed natural gas is not contaminated by lubricating oil, meeting the extremely high purity requirements for applications such as automotive CNG and electronic-grade feedstock gas. At the same time, its static seal structure fundamentally eliminates the risk of external leakage of the process gas, which is crucial for preventing the accumulation of flammable gas in the plant and eliminating explosion hazards.
02

Compact Structure, Suitable for High-Pressure & Small-Flow Precision Applications:

The diaphragm compressor has a high single-stage compression ratio and a compact structure, making it particularly suitable for applications such as natural gas satellite filling stations, experimental research, and specialty gas filling, where natural gas needs to be compressed to relatively high pressures but with relatively small flow rates. Its smooth piston reciprocating motion drives the diaphragm through hydraulic oil, resulting in a gentle gas compression process with minimal pulsation, which is friendly to downstream process equipment.

Key Design Points for Natural Gas Diaphragm Compressors:

01

Explosion-Proof Electrical System & Material Compatibility:

All electrical equipment, including the drive motor, control cabinet, sensors, and junction boxes, must adopt an explosion-proof type complying with Ex d IIB T4 or higher. Given that natural gas may contain trace corrosive components such as hydrogen sulfide, wetted parts are typically made of corrosion-resistant materials like 316L stainless steel and undergo strict degreasing, cleaning, and passivation treatment to extend equipment life and prevent leakage caused by material corrosion.
02

Multi-Layer Diaphragm Safety Monitoring & Over-Temperature Protection:

A three-layer diaphragm structure is adopted, equipped with a diaphragm rupture alarm device. When any outer diaphragm ruptures, the pressure change in the middle layer triggers a sensor alarm and an interlock shutdown, preventing gas and oil from mixing or leaking. Simultaneously, a high-high discharge temperature alarm and shutdown interlock must be set to ensure the discharge temperature remains far below the auto-ignition temperature of natural gas, typically set no higher than 120–135°C.
03

Integrated Safety Skid Design:

For applications such as filling stations, the compressor is often designed as an integrated skid-mounted unit. A natural gas concentration sensor must be installed within the skid, interlocked with the emergency ventilation system. The process piping system must include a safety valve (with a relief capacity greater than the compressor's maximum flow rate), an inlet filter/separator, and a nitrogen purge connection for pre-startup purging, ensuring the entire process from start-up to operation to shutdown is safe and controllable.

Certificate

MODEL SELECTION

Model G70Z/G95Z/G110Z/G130Z	Piston Stroke 70mm~130mm	Maximum Piston Force 10KN~30KN
Maximum Discharge Pressure 70Mpa	Flow Range 1~500Nm³/h	Motor Power 2.2KW~30KW
Crankshaft Speed 420rpm	Cooling Method Water Cooled/Air Cooled

Zero Leakage Natural Gas Diaphragm Compressor

Model G70V/G95V/G130V	Piston Stroke 70mm~130mm	Maximum Piston Force 10KN~30KN
Maximum Discharge Pressure 50Mpa	Flow Range 1~200Nm³/h	Motor Power 2.2KW~30KW
Crankshaft Speed 420rpm	Cooling Method Water-cooled / Air-cooled

Model G110L/G130L	Piston Stroke 110mm~130mm	Maximum Piston Force 20KN~40KN
Maximum Discharge Pressure 100Mpa	Flow Range 10~1000Nm³/h	Motor Power 7.5KW~90KW
Crankshaft Speed 420rpm	Cooling Method Water-cooled / Air-cooled

Model G110D/G130D/G150D/ G180D/G182D/G210D	Piston Stroke 110mm~210mm	Maximum Piston Force 20KN~160KN
Maximum Discharge Pressure 100Mpa	Flow Range 30~2000Nm³/h	Motor Power 22KW~200KW
Crankshaft Speed 420rpm	Cooling Method Water-cooled / Air-cooled

Diaphragm type compressor

Piston stroke 70mm

Flow(Nm3/h)

Inlet pressure(barg)

Outlet pressure(barg)

No.	Model	Cooling water	Flow	Inlet pressure	Outlet pressure	Dimensions L×W×H	Weight	Motor Power
No.	Model	(L/h)	(Nm³/h)	(MPa)	(MPa)	(≈mm)	(≈kg)	(kW)
1	GZ-15/10-30	500	15	1	3	1200×800×1100	800	5.5
2	GZ-25/9-31	500	25	0.9	3.1	1200×800×1100	800	7.5
3	GZ-100/2-7	1000	100	0.2	0.7	2600×1800×1700	2600	15
4	GV-8/7-235	1000	8	0.7	23.5	1400×900×1100	1000	11
5	GV-10/7-250	1000	10	0.7	25	1400×900×1100	1000	11
6	GV-23/4-250	2000	23	0.4	25	2600×1800×1600	3000	18.5
7	GL-20/12-160	1000	20	1.2	16	2200×1800×1300	3000	7.5
8	GL-70/5-35	1500	70	0.5	3.5	2000×1800×1200	3000	15
9	GL-60/0.05-4	4000	60	0.005	0.4	2400×1800×1600	3000	15
10	GD-220/12-90	4000	220	1.2	9	3000×2000×1800	4000	37
11	GD-130/8-300	6500	130	0.8	35	3500×2300×1800	4500	45
12	GD-500/20-250	9000	500	2	25	3800×2300×2000	100000	75

The equipment size and weight are for reference only, and the final design shall prevail.

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CASE STUDY

Russia
UNITED STATES
Spain
Kazakhstan

Natural Gas Piston Compressor Advantages:

01

Large Flow & Wide Pressure Range Coverage, Cost-Effective and Efficient:

The single-unit displacement of a piston compressor can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of cubic meters per hour, and the discharge pressure can cover a wide spectrum from medium-pressure pipeline networks (several MPa) to high-pressure CNG mother stations (25 MPa). This strong adaptability to operating conditions makes it the preferred choice for natural gas boosting and transmission, gas storage injection and production, large-scale CNG mother stations, and fuel gas boosting for gas-fired power plants. Its relatively lower initial investment and maintenance costs demonstrate outstanding economic efficiency in large-scale industrial applications.
02

Mature and Reliable Technology, Easy Maintenance and Retrofitting:

Piston compressors have a long development history, a complete technical system, highly standardized parts, and mature maintenance procedures. For end-users with established maintenance teams, such as those in oil and gas fields and chemical plants, this translates to shorter downtime, more readily available spare parts, and lower long-term operating costs. The modular design also facilitates expansion or retrofitting according to changes in production capacity.

Key Design Points for Natural Gas Piston Compressors:

01

Oil-Free Lubrication and Packing Seal System:

To prevent lubricating oil from entering the cylinder and contaminating the natural gas, cylinders generally adopt self-lubricating piston rings and packing rings made from PTFE or carbon fiber composite materials to achieve oil-free lubrication. For high-pressure stages or hazardous media, the piston rod packing system must be designed with a nitrogen buffer seal to guide trace amounts of process leakage gas to a centralized vent header rather than directly into the compressor house. The distance piece must have ventilation design to prevent flammable gas from entering the crankcase.
02

Strict Temperature Control and Cooling System:

Multi-stage compression with inter-stage cooling must be adopted to strictly control the discharge temperature of each stage. Typically, the discharge temperature is required to be no higher than 140°C. For hydrogen-rich natural gas or high-pressure conditions, stricter limits may apply (e.g., ≤ 120°C). Efficient inter-stage coolers and cylinder jacket cooling systems must be configured, with low cooling water flow/temperature alarms and shutdown interlocks to prevent temperature runaway due to cooling failure.
03

Comprehensive Safety Monitoring and Interlock Protection:

In addition to basic low lubricating oil pressure shutdown protection, a dedicated safety chain for natural gas compression must be configured. This includes: low suction pressure alarm and shutdown, high-high discharge pressure shutdown for each stage, and high-high discharge temperature shutdown. In the compressor building, combustible gas concentration monitoring probes must be installed and interlocked with explosion-proof fans. The discharge outlets of all safety valves must be piped to the rooftop or a safe area. In the system design, double block valves and a purge connection should be provided to ensure thorough displacement of air within the system with nitrogen before startup.

Certificate

MODEL SELECTION

Z Type

V / W Type

M Type

D Type

Piston stroke 80mm, 95mm	Piston force 10KN～25KN
Power 7.5KW-55KW	Number of cylinder banks 1/2
Crankshaft speed 740 rpm, 980 rpm	Number of compression stages 1/2/3/4
Drive mode Electric motor, diesel engine, natural gas engine

Piston stroke 92mm, 95mm, 105mm, 120mm	Piston force 25KN, 45KN, 65KN
Number of compression stages 1/2/3/4	Number of cylinder banks 2/3/4
Crankshaft speed 740 rpm, 980 rpm	Power 15KW-220KW
Drive mode Electric motor, diesel engine, natural gas engine

Piston stroke 92mm~315mm	Piston force 45KN~660KN
Number of compression stages 1/2/3/4	Number of cylinder banks 4
Crankshaft speed 300rpm~980rpm	Power 160KW-3000KW
Drive mode Electric motor, diesel engine, natural gas engine

Piston stroke 92mm~315mm	Piston force 25KN~200KN
Number of compression stages 1/2/3/4	Number of cylinder banks 2
Crankshaft speed 300rpm~980rpm	Power 30KW-1000KW
Drive mode Electric motor, diesel engine, natural gas engine

Vertical type

Oil-free / F: Air-cooled

Actual volume flow (m3/min)

Inlet pressure(barg)

Outlet pressure(barg)

S/N	Model	Flow	Inlet pressure	Outlet pressure	Motor power
S/N	Model	(Nm³/h)	(MPag)	(MPag)	(kW)
1	ZW-3/2-3	480	0.2	0.3	11
2	ZW-5.5/2-6	900	0.2	0.6	45
3	ZW-2/20	110	atm	2	22
4	VW-3/20	165	0	2	37
5	VW-4/20	220	0	2	45
6	VW-5/20	285	0	2	55
7	DW-8.8/4 -18	2050	0.4	1.8	132
8	D-11.8/8-12-35	6250	0.8 - 1.2	3.5	400
9	DW-9.9/30-52	16984	2.8-3	5.2	500
10	MW-15/3.5-28	3000	0.35	2.8	400
11	MW-9.0/3-250	1500	0.3	25	500
12	MW-130/1.5	6800	0	0.15	250