Gas handling system and method for efficiently managing changes in gaseous conditions

Abstract

A system and method is provided for efficiently managing the compression of gas depending on the operating conditions and operating mode of the compression system, wherein the system includes a booster compressor, a booster compressor bypass, a conduit connected to the booster compressor and the booster compressor bypass conduit, a means for selectively directing the flow of the gas based on current operating conditions, to the booster compressor bypass or the booster compressor and a baseline compressor connected to both the booster compressor and the booster compressor bypass conduit.

1 . A gas compression system comprising:
 a booster compressor;   a booster compressor bypass;   a conduit connected to the booster compressor and the booster compressor bypass, wherein a stream of gas is selectively directed through the booster compressor based on a measurement of an environmental condition present in the gas compression system.   
     
     
         2 . The gas compression system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a baseline compressor connected to the conduit, the baseline compressor receives a compressed gas from the booster compressor if the measurement of environmental condition is outside a value or range of values.   
     
     
         3 . The gas compression system of  claim 1 , wherein the conduit further comprises a sensor, wherein said sensor measures the environmental conditions within the conduit and transmits data of the environmental condition to a computing system. 
     
     
         4 . The gas compression system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor measures an environmental condition selected from the group consisting of a volume of gas, temperature of gas and the temperature of the gas compression system. 
     
     
         5 . The gas compression system of  claim 1 , further comprising a recycling loop connected to an inlet and a discharge of the booster compressor. 
     
     
         6 . The gas compression system of  claim 5 , wherein the recycling loop returns an intermediate compressed gas that exits the discharge back to the inlet of the booster compressor. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the gas compression system selectively directs the flow of gas to the booster compressor bypass when the measurement of the environmental condition present in the gas compression system is outside a value or range of values. 
     
     
         8 . The gas compression system of  claim 7 , wherein the booster compressor enters a low power state when the gas compression system selectively directs the flow of gas to the booster compressor bypass. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2 , comprising an integrated compressor unit incorporating the booster compressor, the baseline compressor and the booster compressor bypass into a single compressor unit having multiple stages, wherein the booster compressor is a booster stage of an integrated compressor unit, and the booster compressor bypass is a bypass that prevents gas from entering the booster stage. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the baseline compressor is a plurality of baseline compressors connected to one another in a series configuration. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein a second plurality of baseline compressors connected in a series configuration are connected to the conduit and are parallel to the plurality of baseline compressors. 
     
     
         12 . A method for compressing a gas comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by a conduit, a stream of gas;   measuring an environmental condition present within the conduit;   selecting an operating mode, from a first operating mode and a second operating mode as a function of the measuring step, wherein the first operating mode is selected when a measured value of the environmental condition is within a value or range of values and the second operating mode is selected when the measured value of the environmental condition is outside of the value or range of values;   activating the second operating mode so that the stream of gas from the conduit is directed to a booster compressor connected to the conduit.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the steps of:
 compressing, by the booster compressor, the gas to an intermediate compressed gas;   transporting the intermediate compressed gas to a baseline compressor; and   further compressing, by the baseline compressor, the intermediate compressed gas to a compressed gas.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of measuring the environmental condition is performed by one or more sensors provided within the conduit. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the environmental condition is the volume of the gas, temperature of the gas or temperature within the conduit, or the composition of the gas within the conduit. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the steps of:
 activating the first operating mode;   directing the stream of gas from the conduit to a booster compressor bypass connected to the baseline compressor; and   compressing, by the baseline compressor, the gas into the compressed gas.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the steps of:
 transferring, upon activating the first operating mode, the intermediate compressed gas exiting a discharge of the booster compressor into a recycling loop connecting the discharge of the booster compressor and an inlet of the booster compressor;   transferring the intermediate compressed gas from the recycling loop to the inlet of the booster compressor.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the step of:
 switching the booster compressor to a low power state.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the booster compressor and baseline compressor are an integrated compressor unit, wherein the booster compressor is a booster stage of the integrated compressor unit. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the further compressing step is performed by a plurality of baseline compressors connected to the conduit in a series configuration. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the further compressing step is performed by a first plurality of baseline compressors connected in a first series configuration, a second plurality of baseline compressors connected in a second series configuration and said first plurality of baseline compressors are in a configuration parallel to the second plurality of baseline compressors.