Manufacturing line/Pipelines/Compressor station
Autonomous · Pipelines

Compressor station

Thirty megawatts every 250 km, started, loaded and stopped by The Brain.

Phase 8 · 2035+Concept design
Station power
30 MW
Pressure
110 → 150 bar
Throughput
≈ 83 M m³ / day
Crew on site
0
I · Blueprint
Station elevation, live systems
ELEVATION · ONE-TRAIN COMPRESSOR STATION · 1 m ≈ 12 pxMAINLINE VALVE CLOSED WHILE THE STATION RUNSTRAIN 38 mSTACK30 mFENCE LINE 105 m × 58 m · 1.5 acresVENT27 mBarrel compressorHelper motor 6 MWPower turbineGas generatorAir filter houseExhaust ≈ 460 °CFin-fan coolersBlowdown silencerFilter-separatorsRobot trapsAnti-surge recycleSUCTION 110 barDISCHARGE 150 barAA01151602030405060708091011121314SECTION A–A · ENCLOSURE AT THE COMPRESSORDETAIL B · BARREL COMPRESSOR, MERIDIONAL SECTIONDETAIL C · COMPRESSOR MAPsuction 110 bardischarge 150 barGas & flame detectionventilationENCLOSURE 16 mCASINGØ 2.6 mImpeller Ø 0.82 m, 155 m/s tipDiffuser & return channelMagnetic bearingDry gas sealSuction in, 110 bar, 7.2 m³/s actualDischarge 150 barPolytropic head 36.9 kJ/kg · 12.3 kJ/kg per stage · 85%actual inlet flow →head ↑surge linecontrol line +10%2,5003,0003,600 rpmdesign point690 kg/s · 1.36Recycle valve opens in < 1 s when flow nears the control line
01Compressor building — acoustic enclosure, 10 t craneStructure
02Filter-separators — 2, on the suctionGas path
03Barrel compressor — 3 impellers, 3,600 rpmGas path
04Fin-fan coolers — discharge ≤ 40 °CGas path
05Robot traps — receiver and launcherGas path
06Anti-surge recycle loopGas path
07Helper motor — 6 MW, variable speedDrive
08Free power turbine — 30 MWDrive
09Gas generator — 23:1, 40% simple cycleDrive
10Air filter house — 88 kg/sDrive
11Fuel-gas skid — 1.6 kg/sDrive
12Blowdown vent and silencerControl
13Control building — compute, SIL 3 controllersControl
14E-house — 6.6 kV VFD and grid feedControl
15Fence line — 1.5 acresStructure
16Train foundation — isolated blockStructure
II · Power & drivetrain

Burn 0.23% of the gas to move the rest.

A 30 MW gas turbine turns a three-impeller barrel compressor at 3,600 rpm and lifts 690 kg/s from 110 to 150 bar. A 6 MW electric motor on the same shaft starts the train and keeps the line moving on grid power when the turbine is down.

Turbine-compressor train — rotating view
Air enters the filter house (right) and the gas generator’s axial compressor, burns with fuel gas from the line, and drives the free power turbine. The power turbine turns the barrel compressor through the coupling; gas enters its bottom nozzle at 110 bar and leaves the top at 150 bar. The helper motor sits on the far end of the same shaft.
01Helper motor — 6 MW, 6.6 kV, variable speed
02Barrel compressor — 3 impellers, magnetic bearings
03Suction nozzle — 110 bar, 7.2 m³/s actual
04Discharge nozzle — 150 bar, 40 °C
05Coupling — 80 kN·m at 3,600 rpm
06Free power turbine — 30 MW
07Exhaust collector and stack — ≈ 460 °C
08Gas generator — 23:1, 40% simple cycle
09Inlet plenum — 88 kg/s of air
10Filter house — three-stage air filtration
Compressor impeller
Impellers3, shrouded, backswept
Diameter0.82 m
Speed3,600 rpm, 155 m/s tip
Head12.3 kJ/kg per stage
Pressure ratio1.36 overall, 1.11 per stage
Efficiency85% polytropic
BearingsMagnetic, no oil in the gas
Naked drivetrain — fuel gas to compressed gas
III · How it is put together

Skids on a block, the station on a plan.

The train arrives as two shop-tested skids, the building closes over them, and coolers, piping and controls follow. The loop below replays the build order.

FOUNDATIONCOMPRESSOR SKIDTURBINE PACKAGEFILTER HOUSESTACKCOOLERSPIPINGCONTROL · E-HOUSELIVE
I
Foundation block poured and isolated
II
Compressor skid and turbine package set and aligned
III
Enclosure, filter house and stack erected
IV
Coolers, station piping and robot traps tied in
V
Control building and e-house live; first gas
IV · Specification

Design specification.

Design specification for the IC one-train compressor station.

Station power
30 MW
Driver
Gas turbine, 40% simple cycle
Helper motor
6 MW, variable speed
Compressor
3 impellers, 3,600 rpm
Pressure
110 → 150 bar
Mass flow
690 kg/s
Throughput
≈ 83 million m³ / day
Polytropic efficiency
85%
Fuel gas
1.6 kg/s, 0.23% of flow
Air flow
88 kg/s
Exhaust
≈ 460 °C
Discharge
≤ 40 °C
Station spacing
250 km
Fenced area
1.5 acres
Emergency blowdown
≤ 3 min
Crew on site
0
Onboard compute
Two modules run the station; certified controllers hold the trips
Modules2 heavy AI modules + 2 certified safety controllers (SIL 3) in the control building
CPU32 cores (2 × 16), plus 4 lockstep real-time cores per module
AI throughput10,000 TOPS total (2 × 5,000, INT8 / FP4 sparse)
Memory2 × 128 GB LPDDR6, 600 GB/s per module
Power draw200 W compute; ≈ 0.6 kW with 32 cameras, vibration and gas sensing — 0.002% of the 30 MW station
Process node2 nm-class SoCs; safety controllers on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply. Compute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life.
RedundancyEvery sensor is wired to both modules. Module A is primary for the train and module B for the yard, traps and perimeter; each is hot standby for the other. A software fault can never drive the station outside its certified safe envelope.
Safety channelThe SIL 3 controllers hold emergency shutdown, blowdown, turbine overspeed trip, fire and gas, and anti-surge on their own sensors: speed pickups, suction and discharge pressure transmitters, flow venturi, bearing proximity probes, gas and flame detectors
Sensors24 visible and 8 thermal cameras on automotive Ethernet through camera aggregation switches, 2 acoustic leak cameras, 64 vibration channels, 40 gas detectors, 300 process transmitters
LinkLine fibre to The Brain, 10 Gbit/s; satellite backup. The VFD and the fuel valve close their own inner loops at 1 kHz.
The station agent takes one number from The Brain, the discharge pressure the network needs, and runs the train to it: fuel, speed, recycle and coolers. Surge, overspeed and gas release never wait for software: the certified controllers act on their own sensors in milliseconds.
Today vs IC
Compression: today’s stations beside the IC design
Today · interstate compressor stationIC design
DriverIndustrial gas turbine, 17.5 MW (23,470 hp), 36% efficientGas turbine 30 MW, 40% simple cycle, plus a 6 MW electric helper on the same shaft
SpacingEvery 50–100 mi (80–160 km)Every 250 km on a 150 bar line
Fuel≈ 0.19% of a 2 Bcf/d line per station0.23% per station, 0.92% per 1,000 km
Footprint2–4.7 acres fenced1.5 acres fenced, one train
OperationUnmanned, run over SCADA from a gas control centreUnmanned; started, loaded and stopped by The Brain; robots handle the traps
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
Every start, set-point and trap cycle at this station is planned by The Brain, mirrored in the network’s digital twin, and re-planned the moment reality drifts.
See how it works →
Continue
Pipeline robots →← Line pipe