Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Other

Charles F Watson

Ravi Kumar

Rakesh Agrawal

Tarik Naheiri

Roger Dean Whitley

Edward Landis Weist, Jr

Joseph Gerard Wehrman

Blaine Edward Herb

Kuo-Kuang Hsu

Paul Anthony Webley

Winfried Stephen Hoglen

Theodore Michael Sabram

Michael L Meyer

Method of operating a pressure swing adsorption system having a plurality of parallel adsorber vessels and a plurality of valves and gas manifolds adapted to introduce gas into each adsorber vessel and withdraw gas from each adsorber vessel in a cyclic series of sequential process steps. A leaking valve may be identified by (1) determining a value of an operating parameter that is a function of the mass of gas provided to a receiving adsorber vessel or withdrawn from an adsorber vessel during a selected process step, portion of a process step, or series of process steps; (2) determining the deviation of the value of the operating parameter from a predetermined reference value; and (3) using the magnitude and direction of the deviation to determine whether any valves are leaking.

Valve operation diagnostic method for pressure swing adsorption systems

A vacuum swing adsorption process for separating a feed gas mixture into a more strongly adsorbable component and a less strongly adsorbable component in a process employing two vacuum pumps and three adsorbent beds containing an adsorbent selective for the more strongly adsorbable component using countercurrent depressurization and cocurrent ambient feed repressurization simultaneous with product end to product end pressure equalization and a common-shaft machinery arrangement which allows the expansion energy contained in the countercurrent depressurization and cocurrent ambient feed repressurization streams to be recovered and utilized to reduce overall process power consumption. Addition of three valves and an expander element will also allow expansion energy in the product purge and pressure equalization streams to be recovered. Oxygen product can be recovered from air at low cost using the process.

VSA adsorption process with energy recovery

A process for separating a feed gas mixture into a more strongly adsorbable component and a less strongly adsorbable component in a plurality of adsorbent beds containing an adsorbent selective for the more strongly adsorbable component using cocurrent depressurization to provide purge gas and pressurization by product end to product end pressure equalization between beds simultaneous with cocurrent ambient and elevated pressure feed pressurization, and countercurrent evacuation. Oxygen product can be recovered from air at high recovery and adsorbent productivity levels using the process.

VSA adsorption process with feed/vacuum advance and provide purge

The present invention is an apparatus and process for separating oxygen from air by adsorption of at least nitrogen on multiple layers of air separation adsorbent in an adsorption bed wherein the multiple layers are Na X-zeolite followed by at least another layer of adsorbent selected from the group consisting of Ca X-zeolite, Li X-zeolite, Ca A-zeolite followed by Ca X-zeolite, Ca A-zeolite followed by Li X-zeolite, Ca X-zeolite followed by Li X-zeolite, Li X-zeolite followed by Ca X-zeolite and Mg A-zeolite followed by Ca X-zeolite.

Multiple zeolite adsorbent layers in oxygen separation

A process for separating a feed gas mixture into a more strongly adsorbable component and a less strongly adsorbable component in a plurality of adsorbent beds containing an adsorbent selective for the more strongly adsorbable component using pressurization by product end to product end pressure equalization between beds simultaneous with cocurrent ambient and elevated pressure feed pressurization, coproduction of product and purge gas, and cocurrent depressurization for pressure equalization gas simultaneous with countercurrent evacuation. Oxygen product can be recovered from air at high recovery using the process.

VSA adsorption process with continuous operation

A process for separating a feed gas mixture into a more strongly adsorbable component and a less strongly adsorbable component in a plurality of adsorbent beds containing an adsorbent selective for the more strongly adsorbable component with two cocurrent depressurizations, first to provide product and then to provide a purge gas, and using a combination of less strongly adsorbable component and feed gas mixture to repressurize the adsorbent bed. Oxygen product can be recovered from air at high recovery using the process.

Vacuum swing adsorption process with mixed repressurization and provide

A process for separating a feed gas mixture into a more strongly adsorbable component and a less strongly adsorbable component in a plurality of adsorbent beds containing an adsorbent selective for the more strongly adsorbable component using pressure equalization between beds after initial depressurization to provide a purge gas, using countercurrent evacuation wherein at least two adsorption beds are countercurrently evacuated simultaneously in overlapping countercurrent evacuation steps in the plurality of adsorption beds, and using a combination of less strongly adsorbable component and feed gas mixture to repressurize the adsorbent bed. Oxygen product can be recovered from air at high recovery using the process.

Extended vacuum swing adsorption process

A process for separating a feed gas mixture into a more strongly adsorbable component and a less strongly adsorbable component in a plurality of adsorbent beds containing an adsorbent selective for the more strongly adsorbable component using pressure equalization between beds after initial depressurization to provide a purge gas and using a combination of less strongly adsorbable component and feed gas mixture to repressurize the adsorbent bed. Oxygen product can be recovered from air at high recovery using the process.

Adsorption process with mixed repressurization and purge/equalization

A vacuum cleaner which can alternately be used as a wet vacuum or a dry dust-free vacuum includes a suction head adapted to engage a surface to be vacuumed and a vacuum chamber which includes an inlet and outlet adapted to hold a quantity of liquid and solid material and liquid and other material entering the chamber through the inlet is prevented from entering the outlet. A partial vacuum is created in the chamber and a hose connecting the cleaning head and inlet creates suction in the head and transports material vacuumed from the surface to the chamber. A liquid nozzle with an outlet can be hooked up to spray liquid on the surface to be vacuumed near the suction head and liquid under pressure is supplied to the nozzle through a conduit. The liquid conduit can be connected to supply liquid to the nozzle so that the vacuum cleaner can be used to shampoo a surface or to a position where liquid is supplied to the interior of the hose so that material vacuumed from a surface will be combined with water before entering the chamber for dust-free operation.

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Orefield, PA, United States of America

Charles F Watson