Turbomachinery for

Terephthalic Acid Plants

Engineering the Future – since 1758.

MAN Turbo
Turbomachinery for terephthalic acid plants

Terephthalic acid is currently gaining in importance as a feedstock

for polyester, with a sharp increase in demand being experienced.

The principal machine used for this 1980s, MAN Turbo played a critical part Versatility
oxidation process is the air compres- in developing and optimizing the ma- As a supplier of axial and centrifugal
sor. Exhaust gas is utilized for energy chine train further. compressors as well as steam
recovery purposes in a gas expander, turbines, gas turbines and tail-gas
while the heat produced in the pro- The requirement for compact, efficient, expanders, MAN Turbo has the most
cess is used to generate steam. Most low-cost machines was met as follows: comprehensive turbomachinery
of the power required for the com- The compressor was developed as programme in the world.
pressor is produced by the steam multi-shaft integrally geared type, Besides turbomachines for PTA
turbine and expander; the remaining driven directly by the steam turbine; plants, MAN Turbo supplies com-
power may be power demand or The expander was likewise designed pressors and turbines for a large
surplus power which is balanced by as integrally geared machine with number of processes.
a motor-generator. highly efficient radial-flow turbine
stages and respectevily as axial type
Experience for high temperature off-gas.
MAN Turbo played a major role in de- The steam turbine with several ad-
veloping and optimizing the engineering missions and at least an axial exhaust
aspects of the processes involved here casing to reduce machine house
and is therefore one of the leading ma- height.
nufacturers of the core component of
such installations – the turbomachinery MAN Turbo has now built many ma-
train. MAN Turbo built its first large tur- chine trains of this kind for virtually every
bomachinery train back in 1977 for a PTA process and is thus one of the prin-
plant with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes cipal manufacturers in this field.
of terephthalic acid per annum. As the
demand for PTA grew at the end of the

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3
Air compressor

The air compressor used today is a multi-shaft integrally geared

compressor, with up to three pinion shafts arranged around a central
bull gear for these applications.

Impellers are overhung on the end of The first four impellers are normally working range. Process conditions are
each pinion shaft. Each impeller has its unshrouded, milled impellers of stain- normally controlled via adjustable inlet
own volute casing bolted onto the gear less steel with twisted blades. Due to guide vanes (stages 1-4). Control can
case; with larger stages, additional sup- the possibility of higher leakage rates, also be effected by means of speed ad-
port is provided for the volute casing. the final stages have a shroud disc with justment if a steam turbine features in
The air compressors can have 3 to 6 cylindrical blades. the train.
stages depending on the process con-
ditions. The overall machine efficiency is Varying the diameter, outer contour, To seal off the compressed air from the
excellent thanks to axial intake in each exit angle and circumferential velocity atmosphere, labyrinth seals are used
stage, the optimum speed for each ensures that the impellers are matched in the initial stages, while carbon ring
pinion shaft and the option of interstage precisely to the process conditions, seals are employed in the later stages.
cooling. meaning that MAN Turbo geared com- The impellers are locked to the pinion
pressors always operate at optimum shafts by so called Hirth serrations.
efficiency and within the maximum

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The individual pinion shafts run in seg- For large compressors the compound
mental sleeve bearings. Back-to-back gear design was established; where as
arrangement of the impellers on the the 4th pinion is located between the
shafts ensures that the thrust is largely bull gear and the first pinion.
neutralized, any residual thrust remain-
ing being transmitted to the bull gear by The 4th pinion shaft offers the following
means of thrust collars. A thrust bearing advantages:
is provided to accommodate axial forces Compact construction
in the bull gear. For cases where a turbine Smaller losses
is included in the train, MAN Turbo has Reduced oil consumption
developed a special design element – No additional casing required
the 4th pinion shaft. This stub shaft is Fewer bearings
fitted in the lower area of the bull gear Fewer couplings and
and connected directly to the steam Fewer spare parts.
turbine.

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Expander

The expander is designed as a geared machine for lower off-gas

temperatures and as an axial machine for temperatures above 450 °C.
The materials for each individual element are naturally adapted to the
aggressive gas. The gas chambers are sealed externally by labyrinth
seals with intermediate chambers for buffer air.

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The MAN Turbo integrally geared The MAN Turbo axial expander
expander The axial expander design is of a hori-
Generally the two stage expander is zontal split casing and a solid forged
equipped with radial type impellers. As rotor usualy equipped with 7 axial sta-
with the compressor, the pinion shafts ges. The gas enters the expander from
are arranged on the bull gear in the the bottom and leaves the gas on the
central plane. The gas flow is directed top. The control is by means of variable
through a volute casing bolted onto the inlet guide vanes on the first stator
gear case via adjustable inlet guide blade row.
vanes (wide operating range, process
pressure control) into the first impeller.
Axial discharge via downstream pipe-
lines is to a reheater, in which the gas is
heated up again. It is then conveyed via
pipes and volute/ guide vanes to the
second impeller, before passing out into
the atmosphere via a stack.

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Steam turbine

The process releases large quantities of heat, which are used to

generate steam. In terephthalic acid plants this occurs as saturated
steam. MAN Turbo builds condensing steam turbines of the reaction
type with and without sidestream admission for this purpose.

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The MAN Turbo modular system To ensure that the blading is free from the blading from the modular system.
For the most important subassemblies vibration resonance throughout the The tapered, twisted rotor blades of the
of MAN Turbo steam turbines, such as speed range, a thick cylindrical drop- final stages and tapered non-twisted
bearing housings, the control valve/nozzle shaped profile with an integral shroud stator blades are also selected from a
chest, control-wheel casing and ex- band was developed for the rotor blades similar standard blade range. The rotors
haust casing, as well as for the con- in the reaction part of the turbine. This are forged from a solid piece and bal-
necting elements, a modular system of profile is extremely robust and can be anced when fully bladed at full operating
geometrically graded component sizes used within a wide stagger angle and speed under vacuum conditions in se-
has been developed. Combining the pitch range. The availability of this range veral planes.
various modules in an optimal manner of blading in different chord lengths per-
permits flexible adaptation of the mits to safely avoid resonance vibra-
machine to the specific duty. tions through the correct combination of

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Motor Base frame/steel
foundation

Generally machines are installed on in-

dividually base frames for installation on
purchaser’s concrete foundation.

The entire machine train can also be

shop-mounted on a common steel
foundation; this offers the following
advantages:
All installations and assembly work,
including piping between stages and
coolers as well as cabling, carried
out in the manufacturer’s works
Easy handling during string testing
Less time for erection
Prior to the start of the process, no By improving the efficiency of individual Simplification of other local work.
off-gas or process steam is available. To machines and the processes, it has
be able to start up the machine train proved possible in most plants to ensure
and deliver air at the required process that the power of the turbine/expander
pressure, a motor is required, when no is higher in normal operation than the
boiler steam or external steam for steam requirement of the compressor, i.e. the
turbine start is available. motor then operates as a generator.

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Control and safety equipment

A complex machine train makes very This system incorporates components This system provides control far supe-
great demands on the control and which greatly improve the dynamic re- rior to the requirements of NEMA speci-
protection systems in terms of quality sponse of the controller and thus allow fication SM 23, class D. Depending on
and flexibility. Such systems must the distance between the blow-off line the specific requirements, it is designed
consider the requirements of the pro- and the surge line to be minimized; for any of the following functions:
cess and provide all functions from surging is safely prevented under all Turbine speed control
start-up to emergency shutdown of operating conditions. Speed-controlled starting of the
the machine train and process. turbine from standstill
MAN Turbo has developed electronic In addition to anti-surge control, an in- Combined control of speed and
control and protection systems. dependent surge detector is provided extraction pressures
on MAN Turbo compressors. During Back-pressure control
Anti-surge control (turbolog ASC) surging the mass flow rate temporarily Inlet pressure control
In the performance characteristics of a drops to zero and the temperature sud- Power output control.
turbocompressor the surge line is the denly rises. Both values are measured
dividing line between ranges of stable by the surge detection system, and if Overspeed detection unit
and unstable operation. Reduction of one of them passes a limiting level the The most important safety device of a
the volume flow rate beyond this line blow-off valves are opened and, where steam turbine is a fully testabel over-
causes separation of flow from the blad- necessary, the machine train is shut speed tripsystem. Applicable rules (API,
ing, causing the gas to flow periodically down. German VGB) require, that the over-
from the discharge to the suction end speed detection unit is independent
of the compressor – a phenomenon Speed control (turbolog STMFC) from the speed governor. MAN Turbo
referred to as compressor surging. The To allow the speed of the train and provides a triple modular redundant
resultant extreme load reversals and thereby the pressures and flow rates in (TMR) overspeed trip system (Braun).
temperature fluctuations in the gas- the process to be controlled and the
handling components of the machine machine train to be protected against
must be avoided. This is the task of the overspeed, MAN Turbo has developed
antisurge control, a system which, by the turbine control and protection
controlled opening of the blow-off or system “turbolog” based on Simatic S7
bypass valves, always keeps the com- hardware.
pressor flow rate in the stable range of
the performance characteristic. Spe-
cially developed by MAN Turbo for this
purpose is the electronic control and
protection system called “turbolog asc”
is on Simatic S7 hardware as MAN
Turbo standard.

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Workshops

To meet today's demands for high The main machining operations are
quality, economic production and short performed by CNC machine tools. The
delivery, advanced workshops qualified machine tools incorporate the latest
to the latest standards are required. technology.

The new fabrication shops and test fa- Complete PTA trains with job steel foun-
cilities of MAN Turbo’s turbomachinery dation can be erected and tested at the
sector satisfy these requirements in same place.
every respect. High-capacity working
facilities have been combined in fabri-
cation isles for an optimum flow of
materials, including equipment for the
machining of casings, blade fabrication,
impeller fabrication, rotor machining,
and assembly.

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Test facility

MAN Turbo owns and operates different After erection on the 44 m long steel In 2004 an additional packaging and
testbeds for turbomachinery in order to foundation and connection to the perma- test centre for large strings was com-
execute factory acceptance tests. One nent piping systems (steam, air, water, missioned.
test centre for compressors, steam, oil), all kinds of tests to DIN/VDI/ASME/ It is now possible to work on up to three
process-gas and industrial-gas turbines API can be conducted: machine trains at the same time, on an
as well as for individual components has Mechanical testing of the individual area of over 4400 square meter. Modules
been integrated into the production machines up to 600 tonnes are by no means an
shops. Mechanical testing of a complete exception.
machine train
Machines/machine trains are completely Thermodynamic testing with air and Two cranes, each capable of lifting
assembled in the assembly bay and other gases in open or closed loop 150/180 tonnes, and with a crane hook
subsequently transferred to the ad- systems. height of over 17 metres, guarantee
jacent test stand by two 80 t cranes. the necessary flexibilty in the machine
The drivers used during testing are assembly and testing.
either those supplied under a particular
contract or the various test stand This test bed includes a cooling water
drivers which are available, i.e.: circuit with three cooling towers, a 20 MW
An 18 MW condensing steam turbine electrical power supply in addition to the
One 6.5 MW and two 2.5 MW steam supply (50 bar, 500 °C, 55 t/h).
variable-speed motors which can,
if necessary, be coupled together.

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Quality assurance

MAN Turbo’s Quality System complies Main points of an inspection plan for a
with ISO 9001 and is the basis for the machine train in a terephthalic plant:
reliability of the company's high-quality Testing of specimens taken from
products. workpieces of machine components
Ultrasonic examination after rough
The QA division, which reports to the machining and finish-machining
Chairman of the Executive Board, initi- Magnetic-particle testing
ates, coordinates, and monitors all acti- Dye-penetrant examination
vities affecting quality, while also issuing, Radiography
and controlling the compliance with, QA Dimensional and visual examination
Manuals and Procedures, such as: Heat stability testing
Design Hydrostatic testing
Material procurement Overspeed testing
Production planning Run-out measurement on rotors
Fabrication Clearance measurements
Functional tests
Procedural qualifications
Calibration of gauges and test
equipment.

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Erection and service

All erection and service activities for This objective is pursued through The following provisions have been
MAN Turbo machine trains are carried The use of meticulous erection made to ensure comprehensive service
out by MAN Turbo’s centralized ma- procedures, to our customers:
chinery service sector. Thorough commissioning/trial A close-knit network of representatives
operation, in many countries of the world
Service activities ensure the greatest Regular inspection, Service outlets at strategic points
possible availability and operational re- Preventive maintenance, An independent service workshop at
liability of MAN Turbo turbomachinery Fast repairs, the company's Sterkrade works.
even after many years of operation. Readily available spare parts and
intensive advisory services. An emergency service is available at
Sterkrade outside normal working
The company's service consultancy hours.
team further ensures expert feedback on
a regular basis to promote the con-
sistent development of MAN Turbo’s
products and services.

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MAN Turbo AG
Steinbrinkstrasse 1 In the interests of technical progress,
46145 Oberhausen/Germany subject to change without notice.
Phone +49. 208. 692-01 Printed in Germany. October 2008
Fax +49. 208. 692-2019
www.manturbo.com Turbo 893 e 1008 2,5 ba

MAN Turbo – a member of the MAN Group