Praxair Technology, Inc.

Union Carbide Industrial Gases Technology Corporation

David R Parsnick

James R Dray

Henry Edward Howard

Neil Mark Prosser

John Frederic Billingham

Andrew E Taraboletti

Hao Wu

Maulik R Shelat

Richard John Jibb

Theodore Fringelin Fisher

Jeremiah James Rauch

James Patrick Meagher

Todd Alan Skare

Andrew Warta

Gerald A Paolino

Sophia J Dowd

Michael W Wisz

Ihuaku Ihejirika

Richard David Karp

A system and method for argon production in an air separation plant facility or enclave having multiple cryogenic air separation units is provided. The present system and method include a centralized argon refining system disposed within one of the cryogenic air separation units and which is configured to include an argon superstaged or ultra-superstaged column arrangement having one or more argon columns and an argon condenser. Crude argon streams from one or more of the other cryogenic air separation units are directed to the argon superstaged or ultra-superstaged column arrangement of the centralized argon refining process.

System and method for the production of argon in an air separation plant facility or enclave having multiple cryogenic air separation units

A moderate pressure, argon and nitrogen producing cryogenic air separation unit and air separation cycle having a higher pressure column, a lower pressure column and an argon column arrangement is disclosed. The moderate pressure, argon and nitrogen producing cryogenic air separation unit is configured to take a first portion of an oxygen enriched stream from the lower pressure column, which together with an external source of liquid nitrogen is used as the boiling side refrigerant to condense the argon in the argon condenser. Use of the external source of liquid nitrogen in the argon condenser allows a second portion of the oxygen enriched stream from the lower pressure column to be taken as a liquid oxygen product stream.

System and method for enhanced recovery of liquid oxygen from a nitrogen and argon producing cryogenic air separation unit

A method and backup system for backing up a supply oxygen in an air separation plant in which during normal operation, a stream of oxygen-rich liquid is pumped through a main flow path, extending from a surge tank to a heat exchanger, to deliver an oxygen product. The surge tank receives the oxygen-rich liquid from a bottom region of the lower pressure column of the plant. Additionally, during normal operations, a stream of the oxygen-rich liquid is also introduced to a reserve storage tank through a backup flow path. During a transient operation, where the air separation plant has ceased operation, the surge tank is isolated and liquid is pumped from the surge tank through an auxiliary flow path to an auxiliary vaporizer to continue the supply of the oxygen product and the surge tank is replenished with oxygen-rich liquid previously stored in the reserve storage tank.

Oxygen backup method and system

A system and method for air separation using a supplemental refrigeration cycle is provided. A portion of the refrigeration required by the air separation plant to produce a liquid product stream is supplied via a supplemental refrigeration circuit configured to direct a cooled refrigerant produced by the turboexpander through the main heat exchanger of the air separation plant. The refrigeration capacity is controlled by removing or adding a portion of the refrigerant in the supplemental refrigeration circuit to adjust the inlet pressure while maintaining a substantially constant volumetric flow rate and substantially constant pressure ratio across the compressor. Removing the refrigerant from the supplemental refrigeration circuit decreases the refrigeration imparted by the supplemental refrigeration circuit and thus decreases the production of the liquid product stream. Adding refrigerant allows for an increase in the refrigeration imparted by the supplemental refrigeration circuit and thus allows for increased production of the liquid product stream.

Method and system for air separation using a supplemental refrigeration cycle

A method and apparatus for producing a krypton-xenon-rich stream in which a pipeline oxygen stream is removed from an oxygen pipeline at ambient temperature and then distilled in a cryogenic rectification plant to produce the krypton-xenon-rich stream from a column bottoms of a distillation column. The plant can generate its own refrigeration by way of a heat pump loop incorporating an expander or, alternatively, refrigeration can be added by means of a liquid oxygen reflux stream introduced into the top of such distillation column.

Krypton xenon recovery from pipeline oxygen

A method and apparatus of producing high purity oxygen in connection with low purity liquid oxygen produced by a plurality of cryogenic air separation plants. The low purity liquid oxygen from the air separation plants is introduced into a distillation column of an auxiliary cryogenic rectification plant that is reboiled by nitrogen also produced by the air separation plants. Nitrogen is separated from the low purity liquid oxygen to produce high purity liquid oxygen from residual liquid located in a bottom region of the distillation column that can be taken as a product. Optionally, an argon column can be connected to the distillation column to produce a liquid argon product stream.

Method and apparatus for producing high purity oxygen

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a pressurized product stream product by cryogenic rectification. A main heat exchanger, used in the cryogenic rectification, warms a pumped product stream composed of oxygen-rich or nitrogen-rich liquid and thereby produces the pressurized product stream. Layers of the main heat exchanger are designed such that a reduction in the heat transfer area provided within the main heat exchanger for warming the pumped product stream occurs at a location at which the temperature of the pumped product stream exceeds either the critical or a dew point temperature of such stream. The reduction in heat transfer area leaves regions of the layers able to heat or cool another stream that is used in connection with the cryogenic rectification. Such other stream can be a refrigerant stream that allows the introduction of additional refrigeration to increase production of liquid products.

Method and apparatus for pressurized product production

A system for preparing feed air for processing in a cryogenic air separation plant wherein nitrogen vapor from the plant is interacted with water to cool the water by heat exchange and also by evaporative cooling to produce chilled water, and the chilled water is contacted with the feed air to cool the feed air and to scrub particulate matter out from the feed air.

Feed air precooling and scrubbing system for cryogenic air separation plant

A cryogenic air separation system for producing oxygen wherein essentially all of the power produced by a gas turbine system is used to compress feed air for the cryogenic air separation, and wherein preferably a facilitating column is employed to enhance the production of oxygen from the double column system.

Cryogenic air separation system for producing oxygen

A cryogenic rectification system employing a double column and two auxiliary reboilers associated with one or two auxiliary columns wherein both lower purity oxygen and higher purity oxygen is produced.

Cryogenic rectification system for producing dual purity oxygen

A cryogenic rectification system wherein refrigeration within crude argon is recovered by heat exchange with feed and is carried with the feed into the main column system to improve the recovery of high purity oxygen product.

Cryogenic rectification system for producing high purity oxygen

A cryogenic air separation system comprising at least two columns wherein two portions of the feed air are turboexpanded at two different temperature levels to generate refrigeration, a third portion is condensed against vaporizing product from the air separation plant, and all three portions are fed into the same column to undergo separation.

Cryogenic air separation system with dual temperature feed turboexpansion

A cryogenic air separation system comprising at least two columns wherein a portion of the feed air is turboexpanded to generate refrigeration, one part is condensed against vaporizing product from the air separation plant, another portion of the feed air is condensed against vaporizing higher pressure product from the air separation plant, and all of the resulting feed air streams are fed into the same column to undergo separation.

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Amherst, NY, United States of America

David R Parsnick