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<title>Reciprocating compressor</title>
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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Reciprocating compressor</span></span>
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<p>A <b> reciprocating compressor</b> or <b>piston compressor</b> is a <a href="Gas_compressor" class="mw-redirect" title="Gas compressor">positive-displacement compressor</a> that uses <a href="Piston" title="Piston">pistons</a> driven by a <a href="Crankshaft" title="Crankshaft">crankshaft</a> to deliver gases at high pressure.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Pressures of up to 5,000 <a href="Pound_per_square_inch" title="Pound per square inch">psig</a> are commonly produced by multistage reciprocating compressors.
</p><p>The intake gas enters the suction manifold, then flows into the compression cylinder where it gets compressed by a piston driven in a reciprocating motion via a crankshaft, and is then discharged. Applications include railway and road vehicle <a href="Air_brake_(rail)" class="mw-redirect" title="Air brake (rail)">air brake</a> systems <a href="Oil_refinery" title="Oil refinery">oil refineries</a>, <a href="Pipeline_transport" class="mw-redirect" title="Pipeline transport">gas pipelines</a>, oil and gas production drilling and well services, air and nitrogen injection, offshore platforms, <a href="Chemical_plant" title="Chemical plant">chemical plants</a>, <a href="Natural_gas_processing" class="mw-redirect" title="Natural gas processing">natural gas processing</a> plants, <a href="Air_conditioning" title="Air conditioning">air conditioning</a>, and <a href="Refrigeration" title="Refrigeration">refrigeration</a> plants. One specialty application is the blowing of <a href="Plastic_bottle" title="Plastic bottle">plastic bottles</a> made of <a href="Polyethylene_Terephthalate" class="mw-redirect" title="Polyethylene Terephthalate">polyethylene terephthalate</a> (PET).
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Centrifugal_compressor" title="Centrifugal compressor">Centrifugal compressor</a></li>
<li><a href="Diving_air_compressor" title="Diving air compressor">Diving air compressor</a></li>
<li><a href="Vapor-compression_refrigeration" title="Vapor-compression refrigeration">Vapor-compression refrigeration</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
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</style><cite id="CITEREFBlochHoefner1996" class="citation book cs1">Bloch, H.P. & Hoefner, J.J. (1996). <i>Reciprocating Compressors, Operation and Maintenance</i>. Gulf Professional Publishing. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>0-88415-525-0</bdi>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/775/reciprocating-compressor">"Reciprocating Compressor Basics"</a>. <i>www.machinerylubrication.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2015-12-02</span></span>.</cite></span>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.globmaritime.com/200907034744/marine-engineering/calculation-of-required-cylinder-compression-for-a-multistage-reciprocating-compressor.html">Calculation of required cylinder compression for a multistage reciprocating compressor</a></li></ul></div><!--htdig_noindex--><div><div class="zim-footer">
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