Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Eric W Scharpf

Ravi Kumar

James Christian Sorensen

Arthur Ramsden Smith

Charles M Woods

Frederick C Flemming

A process for obtaining purified carbon monoxide from a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and one or more additional impurities to be removed by one or more vapor-liquid separation devices is provided which includes the steps of providing a feed stream of the gaseous mixture, cooling and partially condensing the feed stream to partially separate the feed stream into at least one hydrogen rich vapor substream and at least one carbon monoxide rich liquid substream, withdrawing a first and a second substream from one of the carbon monoxide rich substreams, passing the first substream through a first expansion valve to let down the pressure to a pressure nominally the same as that of a vapor-liquid separation device downstream, vaporizing the second substream using a heat exchange device to produce a third substream at a pressure substantially above that of the vapor-liquid separation device, passing the third substream through a work extraction device to provide a substantial portion of all refrigeration for cooling for the process, feeding the third substream to the vapor-liquid separation device, and withdrawing substantially purified carbon monoxide from the vapor-liquid separation device. A similar apparatus is also disclosed.

Cryogenic H2 and carbon monoxide production with an impure carbon monoxide expander

A method for improving the efficiency of a gasification combined cycle system for the coproduction of electric power and one or more chemical or liquid fuel products from a synthesis gas feed containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Waste heat is recovered from the chemical reaction system in the form of heated water which is used to heat and humidify one or more gas streams introduced into the combustor of the combined cycle system gas turbine. Waste refrigeration recovered from the synthesis gas purification system optionally is used to cool the air inlet to the gas turbine compressor.

Gasification combined cycle power generation process with

A process is set forth for purifying and liquefying a feed gas mixture with respect to its less strongly adsorbed component of lower volatility which integrates temperature swing adsorption (TSA), pressure swing adsorption (PSA) and cryogenic distillation to optimize overall performance. The TSA portion of the process is used to remove the strongly adsorbed component from the feed; the PSA portion of the process is used to remove the moderately strongly adsorbed component from the feed; and the cryogenic distillation portion of the process is used to remove the less strongly adsorbed component of higher volatility from the feed while also providing for the liquefaction of the product. A key to the present invention is the use of the PSA and distillation waste streams in the regeneration of the TSA and PSA adsorbents. An important application of the present invention is the purification and liquefaction of a natural gas feed stream with respect to its methane/C.sub.2 hydrocarbon component.

Integrated process for purifying and liquefying a feed gas mixture with

The present invention is related to an improvement for a process for the generation of electrical power, wherein, in a cryogenic air separation unit, compressed air is distilled into an oxygen product and a waste nitrogen product, wherein at least a portion of the oxygen product is compressed and reacted with a carbonaceous fuel, in a gasifier or partial oxidation unit, to produce a synthesis (fuel) gas comprising carbon monoxide and hydrogen, wherein feed air is compressed in a gas turbine feed air compressor and subsequently saturated; wherein the synthesis gas is combusted with the saturated, compressed, gas turbine feed air in a combustor to produce a combustion gas, which passes through a transition piece and is then expanded in a gas turbine to generate work, wherein at least a portion of the generated work is used to drive the gas turbine feed air compressor and wherein at least another portion of the generated work is used to generate electricity. The improvement is characterized by: (a) supplying at least a portion of the compressed air to the cryogenic air separation unit by withdrawing a portion of the compressed, gas turbine feed air from the gas turbine feed air compressor; and (b) utilizing at least a portion of the heat of compression of the oxygen product to heat water to saturate the compressed, gas turbine feed air. The improvement can be further characterized by feeding at least a portion of the waste nitrogen product to an intermediate stage of the gas turbine feed air compressor, or by injecting at least a portion of the waste nitrogen product as a controllable inert gas coolant, diluent or mass flow enhancing component into at least one piece of equipment selected from the group consisting of the combustor, the transition piece and the gas turbine, or by utilizing at least a portion of heat inherent to the withdrawn portion of the compressed, gas turbine feed air from the gas turbine feed air compressor being fed to the cryogenic air separation unit to warm the portion of the oxygen product fed to the gasifier or partial oxidation unit.

Integrated air separation - gas turbine electrical generation process

The present invention is an improvement to a process for the production of work to generate electricity or to drive a mechanical device using a gas turbine. In the process, feed air stream is compressed and combusted with a fuel gas to produce a combustion product. This combustion product is expanded in a gas turbine expander, thereby producing a hot exhaust gas and work. This produced work is used to generate electricity or to drive a mechanical device. The improvement to the process, which increases the work produced by the gas turbine expander, is characterized by cooling nitrogen product, produced by a cryogenic air separation unit to a subambient temperature and combining this subambient cooled, nitrogen product with the feed air stream prior to compression. The improvement of the present invention is particularly suited to the process, wherein at least a portion of the oxygen product produced by the cryogenic air separation unit is reacted with a carbonaceous feedstock in a gasification unit to produce the fuel gas, which is rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The carbonaceous feedstock reacted in the gasifier unit can be coal, petroleum coke, tar sands bitumen, tar sand emulsion, municipal wastes, petroleum residua, waste oil or mixtures thereof.

Use of nitrogen from an air separation unit as gas turbine air

The present invention is a process for recovering hydrogen from dilute refinery off gases using a vacuum swing adsorption process having a simultaneous cocurrent depressurization to provide purge gas for another bed under the influence of a vacuum and countercurrent depressurization to vent void space gas and/or adsorbed gas to ambient.

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Emmaus, PA, United States of America

Eric W Scharpf