Manual on Installation of Refinery Instruments and Control Systems Part | — Process Instrumentation and Control Section 9 — Air Supply Systems API RECOMMENDED PRACTICE 550 FOURTH EDITION, FEBRUARY 1980 ‘American Petroleum Institute 2101 L Street, Northwest Washington, D.C. 20037 DCONTENTS, SECTION 9 — AIR SUPPLY SYSTEMS 9.1 Scope 9.2. General 9.2.1 Compressors 9.2.2 Treatment Facilities 9.2.3. Standby Provisions 9.2.4 Arrangements 9.2.5 Precautions 9.3 Capacity 9.4 Drying and Cleaning 9.4.1 Compressor Aftercooler 9.4.2. Air Receiver 9.4.3 AirDryer 9.4.4 Permissible Pressure Drop 9.5. Distribution Systems 9.5.1 Line Sizing 9.5.2 Instrument Supply Piping 9.6 Instrument Air Standby Systems 9.6.1 System Using Plant Air Compressors 9.6.2 System Using Instrument Air Compressors 9.6.3 System Using Plant Air With Standby Instrument Air Compressor 9.6.4 Alarms ..... 9.6.5 Control Valves LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 9-1 — Piping for Instrument in Field 9-2 — Piping for Controllers on Back of Instrument Panet 9-3 — Instrument Air Supply System Using Plant Air With a Standby Plant AirCompressor ....-...-. ‘9-4 — Instrument Air Supply System With Standby Compressor and Optional Plant Air Backup .. 9-5 — Instrument Air Supply System From Plant Air With Instrument Air ‘Compressor as Backup )-6 — Instrument Air Supply System Using a Centrifugal Compressor 9-7 — Dew-Point Conversion Chart (Customary Units) 9-8 — Dew-Point Conversion Chart (SI Units) 9-9 — Typical Instrument Air Supply and Subheader Piping Tables 9-1 — Line-Sizing Guide for Pipe Headers Pace 10 10i Part | — Process Instrumentation and Control SECTION 9 — AIR SUPPLY SYSTEMS 9.1 Scope This section discusses recommended practices for the installation of instrument air supply systems 9.2 General For proper instrument operation, instrument air should be oil and dust free. sufficiently dry to prevent condensa- tion of water, and of a minimum pressure, preferably 100, pounds per square inch gage (700 kilopascals). Some exist= ing plants may operate air supply systems as low as 50 pounds per square inch gage (350 kilopascals). Modern plant designs with central instrument air header systems and optimized valve and damper operators generally re- quire the 100 pound per square inch (700 kilopascal) s tem. 9.2.1 COMPRESSORS Compressors in instrument air systems may be either reciprocating, rotary. or centrifugal depending on size, economics, and user preference. Compressors that use no oil in the parts exposed to the compressed air are recom- mended. Compressors should be capable of continuous ‘operation and should be sized for at least 150 percent of the total estimated instrument air requirement. Control systems for instrument air compressors generally fare furnished by the compressor manufacturer. Seve types of systems are available. Reciprocating and rotary ‘compressors are available with automatic star-stop, con- stant speed (automatic unloading), and combination control, systems, Centrifugal compressors are available with either throttling-type or total-closure-type control systems. The type of system chosen depends on vendor selection and user preference. The quality of the hardware and installation of furnished instrumentation should be commensurate with the rest of the plant For additional information, see API Standard 617, Cen- trifugal Compressors for General Refinery Services. and API Standard 618, Reciprocating Compressors for General, Refinery Services. 9.2.2 TREATMENT FACILITIES ‘The compressed air should pass through an aftercooler and a Separator to remove the major portion of the free ‘water, The air should then be dried to a dew point (meas- ured at distribution pressure) of at least 18 F (10C) below the lowest known ambient temperatures. The ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamenials' includes a table of winter climatic conditions that may be used as a guide for ambient temperatures. An adsorbent-type oil prefilter to remove any oil vapors is recommended for all installations. even those using “oil- free” compressors. A coalescent-type oil prefilter with continuous drain feature also could be considered. All des~ iccant-ype dryers should be provided with a S-micron afterfilter to prevent dust fines from entering the distribu- tion system. Also, the individual filter regulators shown in, Figures 9-1 and 9-2 (Type B) should be used between the air supply and those instruments in which a filter regulator is not contained. 9.2.3 STANDBY PROVISIONS For reliability, an alternate source should be provided to supply air in the event the primary source fails. The capac- ity of the alternate source should be sufficient for the entire instrument load. 9.2.4 ARRANGEMENTS A typical arrangement using a plant air compressor as a primary source of instrument airis shown in Figure 9-3. fa separate source of instrument air is desired, the system can be arranged as shown in Figure 9-4. The broken lines show TASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals. Am Retnigerating and Air Conditioning Engine tan Society of Heating Tre» New York 1967! ____ ro contro. Vacve on wnstAUMENT, neceiven STRUMENT insta weiter © Wea ae NPS PING ——E—r eb FILTER REGULATOR* 14" NPS PIPING’ tee —+| TootHen users Te" 6mm) TUBING “USE AIR GAUGE IF NOT FURNISHED IN INSTRUMENT. Figure 9-1 — Piping for Instrument in Field