Lenoblgaz OAO, St Petersburg, Russia, is the main supplier of LPG and natural gas to nearly 1,000 commercial customers and more than 540,000 residences in the country's sprawling Northwestern District.
The company's customer base is supplied by a product-pipeline network that totals 4,436 km (2,757 miles) and includes six pump-station branches. Lenoblgaz determined that it needed to upgrade its reciprocating gas compressor at its Tihvin Mezhraygas pumping station and turned to Blackmer and its LB942-LW model reciprocating gas compressor.
The Tihvin Mezhraygas pumping station is in Lodeynoe Pole, which is in Leningrad Province about 210 km (130 miles) northeast of St Petersburg. Working with AMT Engineering, which is Lenoblgaz's Blackmer distributor in the area, the Blackmer LB Series compressor was originally installed more than five years ago. It has needed routine maintenance only once — in 2009 when a piston ring was replaced. The LB Series compressors feature single-stage, oil-free operation and are designed for LPG transfer and vapor recovery and for the conditions found at the Tihvin Mezhraygas facility. These involve frequent loading and unloading of LPG from railcars and underground storage tanks.
LB compressors start easily, even when full of product. The design also makes them less noisy due to reduced vibration when operating. They deliver high efficiency in handling a range of liquefied gases, and are well-suited for unloading rail cars, pressure vessels, transports, and tanks that present poor suction conditions for pumps where system piping restricts flow and installations that require an initial lift to the liquid. The compressor operates in a range of temperatures (-10° to 37° C or 15° to 100° F).
Lenoblgas was so pleased with the LB compressor that a second LB942-LW model was purchased and installed next to the original at the Tihvin Mezhraygas facility.
Go to www.blackmer.com for more information about the LB Series. Blackmer is a member of the Dover's Pump Solutions Group (PSG). For more information on PSG and its member companies, visit www.pumpsg.com.