Designed to help compression plant operators meet growing operational and environmental challenges, GE Oil & Gas’ integrated motor compressor (ICL) technology received certification as a GE ecomagination product. Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.
ICL technology features an integrated system with a single casing for the compressor and motor and combines three proven technologies: centrifugal compression, active magnetic bearings and high-speed electric motors. It offers higher availability and lower maintenance costs than a gas turbine drive, enabling customers to optimize their gas resources for other uses.
Benefits of ICL include:
Driven by electricity rather than gas, ICL technology saves energy and can reduce CO2 emissions by 60 percent or more over a comparable-sized gas turbine driven compressor.
Its closed design prevents the annual leakage of 40,000 cu. m of methane from the shaft ends of a conventional compressor, amounting to 657 metric tons of CO2 – the equivalent of yearly emissions from 131 U.S. passenger cars or 321 European cars.
Unlike a conventional compressor, the GE ICL compressor does not need to depressurize when stopped, avoiding the annual venting of methane equal to 863 metric tons of CO2.
By replacing oil-lubricated bearings with active magnetic bearings, GE has eliminated the need for oil within the compressor, eliminating the consumption of more than 30,000 liters of oil over the life of the product.
The GE ICL compressor is quieter than a conventional compressor and takes up less space, as it does not require auxiliary equipment for cooling and lubrication of a gas turbine. Due to its simplified design, the projected lifetime maintenance cost for an ICL compressor is 40 percent lower than that of a conventional compressor. ICL technology can be used for gas storage projects as well as pipeline applications and upstream or downstream clean dry gas services up to 15 megawatts of power.
