Development and Experimental Study of the First Stage in a Two-Stage Water-Flooded Single-Screw Compressor Unit for Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottle Blowing System

Ting Li, Yuchuan Wang, Xiuli Mao, Diyi Chen, Rui Huang and Quanke Feng
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Ting Li: Department of Power and Electrical Engineering, Northwest A&F University, No.3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Yuchuan Wang: Department of Power and Electrical Engineering, Northwest A&F University, No.3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Xiuli Mao: Department of Power and Electrical Engineering, Northwest A&F University, No.3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Diyi Chen: Department of Power and Electrical Engineering, Northwest A&F University, No.3 Taicheng Road, Yangling 712100, China
Rui Huang: Institute of Water Resources and Hydro-Electing Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, No.5 South Jinhua Road, Xi’an 710048, China
Quanke Feng: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No.28, Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-21

Abstract: The oil-free compressor is a key component in fabricating polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for beverages and water. At present, the main compressor type used for blowing PET bottles is the reciprocating compressor. However, compared to screw compressors, reciprocating compressors have shortcomings of high energy consumption and too many consumable parts. Many manufacturers of PET bottles in Asia are seeking to replace reciprocating compressors with screw compressors, as we know. Screw compressors can be classified as single-screw compressors (SSC) and twin-screw compressors. Since the load in a twin-screw compressor is far larger than that in an SSC, SSCs are more suitable for being developed for high-pressure applications such as PET bottle blowing. This paper presents a performance study on an oil-free single-screw compressor as the first stage of the PET compressor unit. A 5.4 m 3 ·min −1 prototype and its test rig were developed. The thermophysical process of the moist air is theoretically analyzed. The pressure loss on the flow path and the influence of the important parameters are experimentally investigated. It is found that water vapor cannot be separated during the adiabatic compression process. The results also show that the pressure loss from the discharging duct to the check valve accounts for the largest percentage of the total pressure loss. The experimental results further show that the discharge capacity and shaft power increase almost linearly with the motor speed. The efficiency declines with increasing injected water temperature. The discharge capacity and shaft power all increase with the injected water flowrate, and an optimum flowrate is found to ensure a highest isentropic efficiency. With the increase in discharge pressure, the discharge capacity decreases, and the shaft power increases. The isentropic efficiency is found to have its maximum value at a certain discharge pressure.

Keywords: polyethylene terephthalate bottle blowing system; water-flooded single-screw compressor; dehumidification; pressure loss; isentropic efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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