Protech Pumps | Air-Driven Gas Boosters
High-Pressure Gas Boosters
Protech Air-Driven Gas Boosters
Single acting, double acting and two stage to 23,200 psi — running on shop air, with no electrical supply at the booster.
What this collection covers
Protech air-driven gas boosters, grouped by series. All three run on a single 160mm air drive; the series is set by how that drive is used.
- PB Series – single acting, single 160mm air drive, capable of pressures in excess of 15,000 PSI / 1,040 BAR.
- PBD Series – double acting, single 160mm air drive, in excess of 23,000 PSI / 1,600 BAR.
- PBT Series – two stage, single 160mm air drive, in excess of 23,000 PSI / 1,600 BAR.
The model number is the actual pressure ratio, so the series and the number together describe the duty.
Which series do I need?
Start from the gas supply pressure you have, not just the outlet pressure you want. The ratio works on what it is given.
PB – single acting, single stage. Outlet stall is the ratio multiplied by the air drive pressure.
PBD – double acting, single stage. Delivers on both strokes, so roughly double the flow of a PB at the same ratio. Outlet stall is the ratio multiplied by the air drive pressure, plus the inlet gas pressure.
PBT – two stage. The first stage feeds the second, which is what reaches high outlet pressure from a low supply – a nearly empty cylinder, or a low-pressure house line. Outlet stall is the final stage ratio multiplied by the air drive pressure, plus a factored gas supply pressure.
In short: low supply and high outlet points at PBT; adequate supply and a need for flow points at PBD.
How do I specify an air-driven unit?
An air-driven unit is specified by ratio, not by horsepower. The model number is the pressure ratio: multiply it by your air drive pressure and that is the outlet stall pressure.
To size one, we need:
- Media being pumped, and its temperature
- Inlet pressure available
- Outlet pressure required
- Flow rate required at that outlet pressure
- Air drive pressure and volume available
- Duty cycle – intermittent, or continuous
- Seal and wetted-material requirements
- Area classification, if the installation is hazardous
Send those and we will come back with the series, the model and the options rather than a catalogue page.
Which gases can these handle?
Nitrogen, helium, argon, air and other inert and industrial gases as standard, with stainless wetted materials throughout.
Hydrogen, oxygen and corrosive or sour service are all handled, but they are specified rather than assumed – seal material and cleaning requirements change. Oxygen service in particular must be built and cleaned for it. Tell us the gas and the purity requirement with the duty.
Why air-driven rather than electric?
No electrical supply at the pump, no heat build-up, and the unit stalls at pressure and holds it without drawing power or cycling.
They are inherently suited to hazardous areas, they can be run dead-headed indefinitely, and output is adjusted by a single air regulator rather than by changing the pump.
Protech units need no airline lubrication, and keep the hydraulic and pneumatic seals separated and drained.
Seals and wetted materials
Stainless steel wetted materials as standard, with specialised construction materials available on request.
Polyurethane pressure seals are standard. UHMWPE, PTFE and other special seals are available where the media or the temperature needs them – tell us what you are pumping and we will specify the seal with the pump rather than after it.
Can these be supplied as a packaged system?
Yes. Every series here is also available as a complete packaged system – the unit mounted with its air drive controls, filtration, regulation, gauges, relief and the plumbing between them, on a frame or in an enclosure.
Tell us the duty and where it has to sit, and we will quote the package rather than the bare unit.
Spares, seal kits and repair
Seal kits, valve assemblies, air drive repair kits and wetted-end spares are available for every series on this page.
Quote the full model number off the nameplate. The same series can carry different seal materials depending on how it was originally specified, so the model number is what separates them.
What do you need from me to quote?
The Protech model number if you have it. If you do not, send the duty – media, inlet pressure, outlet pressure, flow, air available – and we will select it.
Add quantity, the ship-to ZIP code, and the required date. If it is a replacement for a unit already in service, the model and serial off the existing nameplate is the fastest route of all.
Call 504-228-4049 or email sales@hydrotechnologysystems.supply.
