Cost-Effective Noise Control Retrofit of Existing Compressor Stations

Environmental noise has become a significant concern for compressor station operations. Typical compressor buildings provide limited attenuation of the noise from the compressor package. In addition, ventilation openings, windows, doors and explosion panels can significantly downgrade the building’s potential acoustical performance. Similarly, exterior equipment such as aerial coolers, yard piping and exhaust silencers are noise contributors that cause challenging design constraints towards achieving practical noise control solutions. Integration of all of these aspects means that the economic retrofit of existing compressor station noise sources, particularly the compressor buildings themselves, has proven to be a difficult challenge. Consideration of construction complexity and cost in the “Balanced Design” process ensures that the final design is practical, economical and expedient. This paper discusses in detail the components of an approach that has been successfully used to provide cost effective noise control at existing compressor stations.