Field-Erected Ammonia Plant

Refrigerant Piping : Part -1

By Ramesh Paranjpey, Distinguished 50-Year Member, ASHRAE

Introduction sized, and then installed correctly. As in other aspects of

We have published an article in the March-April 2022 designed systems, each decision represents a compromise.
Cold Chain issue on how to construct an energy efficient and For example, low-cost piping is the result of using smallest
moisture-proof cold storage. Although one may consider possible sizes, but size must be traded off against the pressure
constructing a cold storage as per the guidelines given and drop caused by resistance to the flow of refrigerant. Because
select the most efficient equipment, the erection of plant is
of its small size, the lowest cost piping has such a large
generally left to people who are not well conversant with
pressure drop that it robs the system of capacity and increases
the working of refrigeration system components and what
operating cost. The pipe size selected must be a reasonable
precautions should be taken to ensure proper refrigerant flow
and oil management. compromise between cost and pressure drop.
Proper field piping of mechanical refrigeration system Any system erected and commissioned would go on
does not happen by accident. The pipes must be laid out, operating in spite of many incorrect piping erection practices,
but there is a lot of difference between mere working of a
About the Author system and a perfectly erected, most efficient working of the
Ramesh Paranjpey is a mechanical engineer with an M. Tech. in refrigeration system.
from IIT Bombay, having over 35 years’ experience. He has worked in very senior
In refrigeration systems, it is not at all essential that all
positions with Kirloskar Pneumatic in Pune, Carrier Transicold in Bangalore and
pipes should appear horizontally or vertically aligned; rather
Singapore, and Voltas-Air International in Pune. Presently he works as a technical
advisor and consultant, based out of Pune. He is a Distinguished 50-Year Member the piping slopes are essential and it would mean the piping
and Fellow, ASHRAE; Past President, ASHRAE W.I. Chapter; and Past President, may not look aesthetically good but would be correct as per
ISHRAE Pune Chapter. refrigerant flow requirements.

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Field-Erected Ammonia Plant Refrigerant Piping

I have observed more than 200 ammonia field-erected • An all-welded piping system is superior and preferred as
systems and have found that there is a lot of scope for it avoids leaks.
improvement in the piping layout and its erection practices.
In this article, I would try to explain what improvements are
possible and what precautions the erection staff should take
while carrying out the piping so that system performs to its
best efficiency and energy losses that cannot be measured or
commonly known as ghost energy losses can be avoided.
The article does not cover the selection of piping material,
its sizing and that is left to a designer. The article is meant only
for field personnel who are normally associated with piping
erection.
Piping Installation Procedure General Guidelines
• The piping should be done in accordance with refrigerant
flow requirements and not necessarily from the point of Figure 3: Piping showing all welded joints
aesthetics.
• Qualified or certified welders must be used who have
experience in ammonia pipe welding.
• Proper piping welding practices such as first root run by
Metal Inert Gas (MIG) or Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding
should be followed.
• Proper alignment of pipes and provision of proper gap so
as to achieve full penetration weld is required.
• Piping should be at least two meter above the floor to
ensure free movement of people.
• The distance between the two lines shall be at least three
Figure 1: The piping should be done in accordance with refrigerant times the thickness over the insulation and four times the
flow requirements flange fittings.
• Shortest possible routes, least welding and flange joints, • Hangers or pipe supports shall ensure weight off the
avoidance of elbows, reducers, flanges wherever possible compressor, pumps and other installed equipment.
should be studied and used. • Pipe hangers or supports should be placed no more
• Piping material lying at a site should be thoroughly than two to three meters apart and within one meter of
cleaned externally and internally to make them free of a change in direction of the piping. For lines less than
rust scale, sand or dirt prior to the installation. 140 mm sizes, the supports should not be more than two
meters apart.
• All piping must be properly supported by hangers that
allow for expansion and contraction caused by the
heating and cooling of the piping. Allow about 20 mm of
expansion and contraction for every 30 m of piping length.

Figure 2: Internal pipe cutting residue and it is necessary to clean it

• All pipes shall be cut and beveled before welding and Figure 4: Pipe supports to be provided so that pipe can move freely in
remove pipe cutting residue. supports to take care of expansion and contraction

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• The hangers should be designed on the outside of • Install all globe valves with stem horizontal to avoid dirt
insulated lines. or scale to lodge on the valve seat or cause it to leak or for
•  ll pipe hangers must have a vibration absorbing
A liquid or lubricant to accumulate in the space below the
insulation material between the pipe and the hanger.
seat. This is a must for all liquid lines.
Otherwise, the vibration of a pipe will be carried through
the building, which may amplify noise. Where the pipe
passes through a wall, ceiling or floor, a sleeve must
be provided that extends about one inch beyond the
opening on either side.

Figure 7: Liquid hold up valve position

Figure 5: Proper support for all piping
• The suction line of the compressor should be sloped
• I n Figure 5, there is only one upper bolt in the support,
and the lower hole is not clamped. The purpose is to away from the compressor towards the evaporator
ensure free movement of the pipe to the left or right due and the discharge line should be sloped away from the
to temperature changes. compressor towards the condenser. Use proper slopes so
• Sheet metal sleeves on the lower half of the insulation
that oil accumulates at the desired drain points.
and sleeves where the pipe enters the wall should
be used. The support should rest on a concrete paver • Provide strainers wherever possible to ensure no damage
or wood sleeper with the roof beneath protected by takes place to the equipment due to contaminants.
membrane material.
• Care must be taken to avoid rigidly anchoring both ends
of a long straight pipe. Such an approach will damage
piping or the structure to which it is attached or both.
• Provide bends, loops in long lines to take care of
expansion or contraction due to temperature changes.
• To keep the pressure drop minimum, consider angle
valves instead of globe valve and a right angle bend
wherever possible as it would be having less welding
joints, less pressure drop as well as being more compact.

= + Figure 8: Safety relief valves of proper capacity and outlet piping

should be taken above 15 feet and 20 feet away from human
occupied areas

Angle Valve Globe Valve Bend • Use dual safety relief valves of proper capacity and outlet
Figure 6: To keep the pressure drop minimum, consider angle valves piping to be taken above 15 feet and 20 feet away from
instead of globe valve and a right angle bend human occupied areas.

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Field-Erected Ammonia Plant Refrigerant Piping

Figure 9: Safety valve piping outlets Figure 11: Liquid hammer liquid trap
• Ensure liquid traps are avoided in the piping. Since Hydraulic Shock
liquid is non-compressible, the piping would burst when Hydraulic shock is a sudden localized spike in pressure
ambient temperature rises. Combination of solenoid that can occur in piping or equipment when there is a rapid
valve or pneumatic valve and check valve in the liquid change in the velocity of a flowing liquid. Often referred
lines could trap liquid in the line accidentally. In the to as water hammer, hydraulic shock is a well-understood
direction of flow, solenoid valve should be installed first phenomenon that has occurred in water and steam systems
and then check valve. If this order is reversed, some liquid found in both domestic and industrial settings. In ammonia
becomes locked in between check valve and solenoid refrigeration, hydraulic shock events can generate extremely
valve when solenoid or pneumatic valve closes. During high pressures with the potential to cause the catastrophic
standstill, this liquid can warm up and lead to cracks in failure of piping, valves, and other equipment. The highest
the pipeline or flanges when it expands, especially, in the pressures often occur when vapor and liquid ammonia are
pipelines carrying cold ammonia. A safety valve in the present in a single line and are disturbed by a sudden change
portion likely to trap liquid is a must if such situation is in volume. Moderate hydraulic shocks can generate pressures
unavoidable. that are evidenced by knocking sounds emanating from
piping or valves.
• Avoid hydraulic shocks and vibrations in piping and wet
rerun lines during defrosting by proper designing.

Figure 10: Avoid locked refrigerant Figure 12: Hydraulic shock

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 Figure 16: Pipe labeling as per the standard
• Use proper piping coloring code to identify piping easily.
Refrigeration Piping Color Coding and Labeling
Figure 13: Liquid hammer can destroy even a heavy-duty seamless
Using a color coding and a labeling system helps to ensure
steel pipe
the facility’s engineering staff can identify the piping quickly
• Use quick drain shutoff valves for oil draining. Consider and easily.
using a spring-loaded ball valve (dead-man valve) in
Table 1: Refrigerant Piping Color Code
conjunction after the shutoff valve on all oil drain points.
SR.NO. DESCRIPTION SCOPE COLOUR CODE
High Stage Discharge
1 HP Hot gas Red
Booster Discharge
Recelver to Economizer
2 HP liquid refrigerant Orange
Economizer to Intercooler
3 LP liquid refrigerant Intercooler to LP Vessel Light green
High Stage Suction
4 LP refrigerant vapor Dark green
Booster Suction
Liquid'vapor mixture of
5 5 Purple
refrigerant
6 Oil Circuit Both Booster & High Stage Black

Figure 14: Quick closing oil drain valve

• Paint and prime all pipes and provide proper insulation
wherever needed.
• Anti-rust treatment and painting for all piping need
to be provided before insulation. Vapor barrier under
insulation if damaged, the rusted pipes remain invisible
and can cause rupture or accidents.
• Check for corrosion under insulation (CUI) by conducting
spot checks, often performed during your mechanical Figure 16: Pipe labeling as per the standard
integrity audit. Prevent pipe corrosion by using a
• Provide proper flow directional arrows and labels.
corrosion inhibitor or stainless steel pipe.
• Provide safe access to all operating valves and controls in
addition to all equipment.
• Provide valve numbering for conveying information by a
plant operator to procurement agency as to which valve
has gone defective and needs replacement.
• All high points should be provided with vent valves for
purging.
• Liquid line valves should be mounted preferably in
vertical lines and if mounted in horizontal line, the valve
stem should be horizontal.
• Use eccentric reducers wherever possible instead of
concentric reducers.
• Back seating type ammonia valves should be used.
Figure 15: Corrosion under insulation (CUI) by conducting spot checks
• Valves should be installed so as to close against flow or
• Provide pipe labeling as per the standard. pressure.

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Field-Erected Ammonia Plant Refrigerant Piping

• Long stem valves should be used for installation in Provide independent oil separator for each compressor.
insulated lines. The author has observed many installations where there is
• All suction branches should be taken from top of the a single common oil separator and the combined discharge
header. All hot gas connections or branches should be header is connected to this oil separator. This is not a good
taken from top. practice; each compressor has its own characteristic and
• All liquid branches should be preferably from bottom of quantity and quality of oil migration along with discharge gas
the header. varies for each machine. It is always a good practice to have
• For long liquid and vapor lines, provide a drain valve in independent oil separator for each compressor.
the piping. Also provide safety relief valve in the liquid
line to prevent trapped liquid and bursting of pipe when In the oil separator, oil drain should be above oil return
plant is not in operation due to atmospheric temperature level of the compressor. The pressure in oils separator and the
variations. compressor is often the same, the oil returns by gravity and
• Provide seal caps for valves not in use such as drain or hence, there should be sufficient head available between the
purge or charging valves. oil return point of the oil separator and the incoming point
• Drain or vent caps for valves should have small drilled of oil return on the compressor crankcase. Also, it is a good
hole so that pressure relief is available in case minor practice to drain oil manually when the installation is new and
leaks. check the oil quality instead of automatically returning to the
• No shutoff valve should be used before safety valve and compressor crankcase. The oil is normally not clean in initial
if provided it should be in locked open position. stages and till such time that one is fully convinced that the oil
• All operating valves should be approachable either from getting accumulated in the separator is clean, the automatic
floor or from fixed platform. oil return should not be connected and used; otherwise the
Compressors contaminants would enter the compressor and may create
The NRV should be after oil separator and not after problems.
compressor, because the reciprocating compressor discharge Connect individual discharge and suction pipe to the
gas pulsations are dampened in the oil separator if the NRV is header in a sloping manner, the slope being in the direction
placed between the compressor and oil separator, the NRV is of flow or easier is to connect from the top in a reverse ’J’ pipe
subjected to these pulsations and it often chatters, or is likely like gent’s umbrella handle.
to get damaged earlier than expected. Many people argue
that placing it immediately after the compressor prevents • Check alignment of motor with compressor in all three
liquid condensation during standstill state. This argument risers.
is incorrect as there is no liquid in the discharge side and • Hook up suction and discharge piping without any force
the density of ammonia refrigerant gas is so low that when needed while inserting bolts in the flanges. The author
converted to the liquid, the quantity is insignificant and liquid has observed in many installations that when bolts
if at all formed would accumulate in the oil separator and not joining the flanges of compressor and the discharge pipe
on the compressor top. The discharge line from compressor to
are loosened, the alignment is not perfect. This happens
oil separator is also very short and there is not any significant
due to the fact that during welding, there is shrinkage
amount of gas present here.
and the alignment gets disturbed. The normal practice
Depending on NRV design, keep NRV in horizontal
is pulling with force and then inserting bolts, this should
line, because in a horizontal position, gravity is not acting
be avoided as it imposes undue forces on the compressor
on NRV parts, if in a vertical location, the parts are acted on
by two forces, one is gravity and the other is discharge gas, and may lead to additional vibrations.
both directions are opposite to each other and can lead to • Always use a stop valve after the NRV in the discharge
vibrations, noise and damage to parts. pipe leading to the common header. This is required,
Valve after NRV
because if the NRV gets stuck, one should be able to
attend to the same without stopping the entire plant.
The stop valve of the particular compressor can be closed
and the NRV can then be attended.

In Part 2 of this article, to be published in the September-

October 2023 issue of Cold Chain, we shall discuss piping
of the remaining components of the refrigeration system
– Consulting Editor.
Figure 18: Schematic of reciprocating compressors operating in
parallel (Reference: ASHRAE handbook)

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