High pressure compressor with internal, cooled compression

摘要

A high pressure gas compressor in one embodiment having an internal two staged compression with a compression chamber formed in part by a positive displacement, stepped piston and cylinder configuration, providing a first stage compression by an enlarged diameter segment of the piston and a second stage compression provided by a smaller diameter segment of the piston, and in another embodiment having an internal, single stage compression with a high compression ratio. Temperature is maintained within design limits by the admission to the compression chamber of an expanded gas from a high pressure storage, which on adiabatic expansion of the admission gas reduces the temperature of the mixed charge for final compression at a resultant temperature that is within the design limits of the compressor unit in one embodiment; by the initial expansion of a residual gas mixed with a compression charge initially, followed by an injection of liquified gas during compression to achieve substantially isothermal compression with the finally compressed gas having an ambient temperature in another embodiment, and by scavenging of high pressure compressed residual gas by high pressure cool gas before expansion (FIG. 14) in other embodiments.