Businesses across industries use heavy-duty machinery when processing metals, manufacturing corrugated sheets, packaging beverage products, producing cooking oils and manufacturing cosmetics. These applications depend on compressed air systems to drive fundamental downstream processes or power their machinery. Demand varies across applications and facilities, so manufacturers offer different types of air systems optimized for the machine’s pressure, capacity and power requirements. Two common options include nitrogen compressors and traditional air compressors. Which type of compressor is best for your purposes?
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What Is an Air Compressor?
A traditional air compressor delivers power to industrial machines by converting air from the surrounding atmosphere into potential energy. To create potential energy, the air compressor uses an internal mechanical system to draw atmospheric air through an inlet and into a tank. Pressure builds as the tank fills with air, increasing the potential energy. Once released from the tank, the potential energy becomes kinetic energy that can power industrial equipment.
Traditional air compressors generally fall into two types. Reciprocating piston compressors have components similar to a combustion engine to transfer power, while rotary screw compressors generate positive displacement with dual spiraling screws.
Air compressors can power industrial equipment like sandblasters, nail guns and other pneumatic tools or inflate tires, basketballs and more. Laboratory-grade air compressors are also vital to precise clinical spectroscopy and chromatography results in medical and pharmaceutical-related industries.
What Is a Nitrogen Air Compressor?
A nitrogen compressor is a system that fulfills the same purposes as a traditional air compressor but at a higher level. When a machine requires more pressure than the capacity of an air compressor, nitrogen compressors can amplify previously compressed air. Therefore, it is more accurate to use the terms nitrogen booster and nitrogen booster compressor to describe these machines.
Nitrogen boosters are downstream devices that increase the pressure of incoming gas. The gas first passes through a traditional air compressor system. Then, the nitrogen booster amplifies the pressure by anywhere from 1.3 to 10 times the original value, depending on the machine’s capacity.
These machines use pure nitrogen gas produced by a pressure swing absorption (PSA) nitrogen generator. The PSA nitrogen generator collects air from the atmosphere, about 78% of which is nitrogen (N2) gas. As air enters the generator, it passes through filters or membranes to separate the N2 molecules from others like oxygen, water and carbon dioxide.
Differences Between the Two Compressors
These two compressor types have numerous and significant distinctions.
- Type of gas: Traditional air compressors use a mixture of gases. Nitrogen compressor boosters are built for pure nitrogen but can also pressurize air containing multiple gases.
- Amount of pressure: Traditional air compressors increase the gas’s pressure to 100-175 pounds per square inch (PSI). Nitrogen boosters amplify the pressure to as high as 600 PSI.
- End-use applications: Traditional air compressors support standard-pressure equipment. Nitrogen compressor boosters increase the PSI for applications requiring more pressure.
Learn More About Air Compressors and Boosters
Quincy Compressor has been a market-leading provider of air compressor solutions since 1920 and has earned the trust of professionals countrywide. We offer various models of rotary screw compressors, reciprocating piston compressors and nitrogen boosters.
Explore our entire lineup online, visit a nearby location or connect with a specialist for more information.
