Linde Aktiengesellschaft

Linde Gmbh

Dirk Schwenk

Alexander Alekseev

Dimitri Golubev

Dimitri Goloubev

Frances Masterson

A method for obtaining one or more air products, wherein an air separation system having a rectification column system is used, in which pressurized air is processed in an adjustable total air volume, wherein the total air volume is set to a first value during a first operating period and set to a second value that is different from the first value during a second operating period, and wherein the setting of the total air volume is changed from the first value to the second value in a third operating period from a first time to a second time. The second operating period is after the first operating period, the third operating period is between the first operating period and the second operating period. In the third operating period, a setting of a volume of a fluid, is changed from a third time up to a fourth time.

Method for obtaining one or more air products and air separation system

The invention relates to a method and device for obtaining compressed oxygen and compressed nitrogen by the low-temperature separation of air in a distillation column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation, said distillation column system having at least one high-pressure column () and one low-pressure column (), wherein the low-pressure column () is in a heat-exchanging connection with the high-pressure column () by means of a main condenser () designed as a condenser-evaporator. Feed air is compressed in an air compressor (). The compressed feed air () is cooled down in a main heat exchanger () and at least partially introduced into the high-pressure column (). An oxygen-enriched liquid () is removed from the high-pressure column () and fed to the low-pressure column () at a first intermediate position (). A nitrogen-enriched liquid () is removed from the high-pressure column () and/or the main condenser () and fed to the head of the low-pressure column (). A liquid oxygen flow () is removed from the distillation column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation, brought to an elevated pressure in the liquid state (), introduced into the main heat exchanger () at said elevated pressure, evaporated or pseudo-evaporated and heated to approximately ambient temperature in the main heat exchanger (), and finally obtained as a gaseous compressed oxygen product (). A high-pressure process flow () is brought into indirect heat exchange with the oxygen flow in the main heat exchanger () and then depressurized (), wherein the depressurized high-pressure flow () is introduced at least partially in the liquid state into the distillation column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation. A gaseous circuit nitrogen flow () is drawn from the high-pressure column and at least partially () compressed in a circuit compressor (). A first sub-flow () of the circuit nitrogen flow is removed from the circuit compressor (), cooled down in the main heat exchanger (), at least partially condensed in the bottom evaporator () of the high-pressure column () in indirect heat exchange with the bottom liquid of the high-pressure column (), and conducted back into the distillation column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation. A second sub-flow of the circuit nitrogen flow is branched off upstream and/or downstream of the circuit compressor and/or from an intermediate stage of the circuit compressor at a product pressure (P, P, P, P, P) and obtained as a compressed nitrogen product (). The circuit compressor () is designed as a hot compressor and is driven by means of external energy.

Method and device for obtaining compressed oxygen and compressed nitrogen by the low-temperature separation of air

In a process and apparatus used to produce krypton and/or xenon by low-temperature fractionation of air, compresses and clean charge air ( ) is introduced into a rectification system for nitrogen-oxygen separation. The rectification system includes at least a high-pressure column ( ) and a low-pressure column ( ). A krypton- and xenon-containing fraction ( ) is removed from the high-pressure column ( ) and introduced into the evaporation space of a condenser-evaporator ( ), where it is partially evaporated. A purge liquid ( ) is extracted from the evaporation space of the condenser-evaporator ( ) and fed to a krypton-xenon enrichment column ( ). A krypton-xenon concentrate ( ) is removed from the krypton-xenon enrichment column ( ). A liquid from the lower region of the krypton-xenon enrichment column ( ) is introduced into a second condenser-evaporator ( ), which is separate from the first condenser-evaporator ( ).

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Aschheim, Germany

Dirk Schwenk