The Boc Group, Inc.

Lehigh University

Questair Technologies Inc.

Alberto I LaCava

Ravi Kumar Jain

Arthur I Shirley

Michael E Garrett

Frank R Fitch

Divyanshu R Acharya

Apurva Maheshwary

John Robert Ambriano

Robert H Kaplan

Steven M Ringo

Bowie Gordon Keefer

Donald P Satchell, Jr

Donald L MacLean

Satish S Tamhankar

Matthew L Babicki

Norberto O Lemcoff

Hugo S Caram

Mark J Andrecovich

Kevin McKeigue

Andrea C Gibbs

Dimitrios Psaras

Piotr J Sadkowski

Robert C Gmelin

Craig C Ibbetson

Shigeki Hayashi

Provided herein are methods and apparatus for capturing or otherwise decreasing the amount of COin an exhaust stream. The separation process for removing COfrom a waste stream preferably operates substantially at atmospheric pressure and at a preselected temperature, and without the need of thermal swing regeneration. This novel elimination of the heat up and cool down periods allows the inventive cycle herein to be run faster, and more efficiently than in previously known systems. Further, in some examples herein, the heat of adsorption is used to provide the heat of regeneration.

[object Object]

Disclosed embodiments address contaminant management challenges that arise during production of desirably contaminant free product fluid in the operation of PSA equipment, and further address the more serious challenges that arise under intermittent operation of PSA equipment. One disclosed embodiment of a PSA apparatus, intended primarily for normal operating cycle speeds of at least 3 cycles per minute, includes a breather fluidly coupled to a feed end of an adsorber with a contaminant-sensitive adsorbent. The breather can be coupled to the feed end through a shutoff valve closed during production and open during shutdown. Other disclosed embodiments of the PSA apparatus used particular sealing strategies for additional sealing of the apparatus, or at least components thereof, from contaminant ingress.

PSA with adsorbents sensitive to contaminants

A method of separating a first gaseous component from a gas mixture comprising a first gaseous component and a second gaseous component comprising passing the gaseous mixture into an adsorption zone containing an adsorbent material capable of preferentially adsorbing at least one of the gaseous components in the gaseous mixture, to separate the first gaseous component from the second gaseous component wherein the adsorbent material is a monolithic wheel having a plurality of channels throughout, the channels being aligned parallel to the direction of flow of the gaseous mixture and having a wall thickness of less than 1 mm and recovering the non-preferentially adsorbed gaseous component from the adsorption zone. Preferably, the adsorption zone comprises multiple layers of monolithic structures in the shape of a wheel stacked one upon the other in a direction parallel to the direction of the flow of the gaseous mixture and formed by spirally winding a sheet of corrugated adsorbable material about a hub.

Air separation using monolith adsorbent bed

A method of separating a first gaseous component from a gas mixture comprising the first gaseous component and a second gaseous component comprising passing the gaseous mixture into an adsorption zone containing an adsorbent material capable of preferentially adsorbing at least one of the gaseous components in the gaseous mixture, to separate the first gaseous component from the second gaseous component wherein the adsorbent material is a monolith having a plurality of channels throughout, the channels being aligned parallel to the direction of flow of the gaseous mixture and having a wall thickness of less than 1 mm and (b) recovering the non-preferentially adsorbed gaseous component from the adsorption zone. Preferably, the adsorption zone comprises multiple layers of monolithic structures in the shape of a wheel stacked one upon the other in a direction parallel to the direction of the flow of the gaseous mixture and form by spirally winding a sheet of corrugated adsorbable material about a hub.

A thermodynamic pressure swing adsorption cycle utilizing 'loudspeaker' diaphragms or pistons which are located at the top and bottom of a column containing a bed of adsorbent. The diaphragms are vibrated out of phase with each other so as to provide a displacement wave in the gas mixture within the bed of adsorbent. In addition to this displacement wave the gas is compressed prior to upward displacement and the gas pressure is lowered before the downward displacement by way of a second set of 'loudspeakers' which form the side walls of the column. The second set of loudspeakers vibrate in phase with each other and operate at the same frequency as the displacement speakers.

Separation of a gas

A continuous pressure driven adsorption process for separating a multi-component gaseous mixture. In accordance with the method, the multi-component gaseous mixture is passed through a first portion of the adsorbent to adsorb one or more preferentially adsorbed components while a second portion of the adsorbent is regenerated. The multi-component mixture is passed through the first portion of the adsorbent in sections and the second portion of the adsorbent is regenerated in sections. The sections forming the first portion of the adsorbent become successively less saturated and the sections forming the second portion of the adsorbent becomes successively more concentrated in the more preferentially adsorbed component. A product stream is expelled from the less saturated section of the first portion of the adsorbent. The product stream is enriched in the less preferentially adsorbed component(s). Masses of adsorbent are continually being shifted between the first and second portions of the adsorbent so that the mass of adsorbent forming the regenerated section is shifted to the first portion of the adsorbent and used to form the least saturated section. The mass of adsorbent forming the most saturated of the sections is shifted to the second portion of the adsorbent and used to form the non-regenerated section. The masses are shifted at a sufficiently high frequency to maintain the sections forming the first and second portions of the adsorbent in their successively less saturated and successively more concentrated states.

Continuous pressure difference driven adsorption process

A system for controlling the atmosphere of a container for use in the storage and/or transportation of perishable goods which includes adsorption apparatus for the selective adsorption in whole or in part and in a predeterminded order of any water vapor, carbon dioxide, oxygen or ethylene contained within the atmosphere, a blower for urging the atmosphere to the adsorption apparatus, and a conduiting for returning the controlled atmosphere to the container.

Storage and transportation of goods under controlled atmospheres

Apparatus and a process for producing high purity oxygen containing not more than 1 ppm by volume of hydrocarbons. An oxygen stream containing up to about 100 ppm by volume of hydrocarbons is subjected to cryogenic temperature swing adsorption in an adsorption bed containing calcium-exchanged type X zeolite, type 5A zeolite or 13X zeolite, for the removal of the hydrocarbons and any nitrogen present in the oxygen stream.

Purification of oxygen by cryogenic adsorption

Oxygen is separated from air by pressure swing adsorption in plant 2. The oxygen is passed through an ozone generator 4. The resulting ozonated oxygen is passed upwardly through a contactor 6 countercurrently to the flow of a side stream of water to be treated with ozone. The side stream containing dissolved ozone flows from the contactor 6 to a mixer 8 in which it is mixed with a main stream of water. The effluent gas from the contactor 6 contains air displaced from the water and undissolved oxygen. It is divided into two parts. One part flows to the pressure swing adsorption plant 2 and is separated therein with the air. The other part is dried by temperature swing adsorption in drier 20 and the resulting dried gas is ozonated in the ozone generator 4 with the oxygen from the plant 2.

Treatment of water

Apparatus and process for the production of a purified product gas at a user specified product gas demand from a feed gas containing impurities which includes at least one treatment zone having an inlet and outlet region, a sensing device for detecting a change in product gas demand, a device for generating a first signal, a device for translating the first signal and comparing the same to a standard, and a device for converting the translated signal to a second signal which operates a valve to vary the feed rate of the gas entering the system.

PSA system with product turndown and purity control

A method of compressing oxygen includes passing the oxygen into a vessel 12 containing finely divided material. Next a driving gas, for example, air is compressed to a greater pressure than the oxygen and passed through the vessel 12 and the bed of material contained therein which creates a plug flow effect such that the oxygen is compressed by the air substantially without back-mixing.

Compressing oxygen

A process for producing a nitrogen-enriched product in improved yield and specific product comprising passing air through a bed of crushed zeolite having a particle size of 10 to 40 mesh, thereby adsorbing oxygen and producing the enriched nitrogen product.

Economical air separator

A process for producing a substantially oxygen-free gaseous product such as argon containing not more than one ppm by volume of oxygen is disclosed. The process comprises introducing hydrogen into a gas stream which contains oxygen and moisture, contacting the gas stream with a dessicant to remove substantially all of the moisture therefrom, contacting the substantially anhydrous gas stream with an oxidation catalyst to convert substantially all of the oxygen in the gas stream to water, and contacting the resultant gas stream with a dessicant to remove the water created in the oxidation step. The product stream may be further purified to remove residual hydrogen contained therein.

Process for the purification of the inert gases

There is disclosed an improved PSA process for the pre-purification of air to remove water vapor and carbon dioxide prior to introduction into an air separation unit. The subject process includes a step of efficiently regenerating the adsorptive beds utilized to remove the impurities wherein they are first vented to the atmosphere, then evacuated with atmospheric venting and finally purged under evacuation. Preferably, a pair of adsorptive beds operating out of phase undergo top and bottom pressure equalization prior to backfilling of the bed completing regeneration.

Process for pre-purification of air for separation

Processes for the production of an inert gas-rich product gas from pressure swing adsorption are provided wherein the pressurization step is carried out by the use of feed gas only in a two step late feed profile, or by product gas and feed gas with the feed gas entering in either a typical one-step feed profile or in the two step late feed profile above.

Growing community of inventors

Bethlehem, PA, United States of America

Alberto I LaCava