Praxair Technology, Inc.

Garrett R Swindlehurst

Neil Andrew Stephenson

Philip Alexander Barrett

Kihyung Kim

Nicholas R Stuckert

Luke J Coleman

Rachael A Masin

Minish Mahendra Shah

Ashwini K Sinha

Steven John Pontonio

Andrew Chester Rosinski

Douglas Charles Heiderman

Michael S Manning

Hai Du

Cynthia A Hoover

Werner Leitmayr

Michael Freiert

Katie Held

William S Kane

The present invention relates to a superior carbon adsorbent with or without a core. In one embodiment the carbon adsorbent of the present invention employs carbon adsorbent powder and an organic binding agent which are combined together with an appropriate solvent in an agglomeration step. In another embodiment the invention contemplates a core-in-shell adsorbent comprising an outer shell composed of a carbon and a non-adsorbing inert inner core. Low temperature processing of these agglomerates substantially preserves the binding agent within the final composition and allows one to prepare adsorbent products of high sphericity. The adsorbents of the invention possess superior characteristics such as higher mass transfer rate and COworking capacity for use in a HPSA process.

Superior carbon adsorbents

The process of the present invention provides high recovery and low capital cost giving it an economic advantage over previously known purification processes. The present process has particular applicability to the purification of synthesis gases comprising at least hydrogen (H), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH), CO, and HO to obtain a gas stream including at least H, CO, and CH, that is substantially free of HO and CO. The process also has applicability to the purification of natural gases inclusive of at least CH, N, CO, and HO to produce a gas stream including at least CHand N, but which is substantially free of HO and CO.

High recovery process for purification of multicomponent gases

A carbon adsorbent storage and dispensing system is provided with a structurally modified particulate carbon adsorbent designed with optimal volumetric surface area for a certain range of particle sizes. Bulk density and specific surface area are carefully balanced to ensure the volumetric surface area remains within an optimal range to create high performance, as measured by dispensing capacity of the dopant fluid that is reversibly adsorbed onto the structurally modified particulate carbon adsorbent.

Dopant fluid storage and dispensing systems utilizing high performance, structurally modified particulate carbon adsorbents

The present invention provides for a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process for the substantial removal of HO and COfrom a synthesis gas to obtain a multicomponent product gas substantially free of HO and COwith high recovery of the product gas. Further, the present invention provides an integrated process that achieves sufficiently high Hand CO recoveries such that compression and recycling of the syngas purification PSA tailgas is not necessary to be economically advantageous compared to the conventional processes.

Process for purifying a synthesis gas

The present invention relates to a method and control system to control the speed of centrifugal compressors operating within a vacuum pressure swing adsorption process to avoid an operation at which surge can occur and directly driven by an electric motor that is in turn controlled by a variable frequency drive, while subsequently operating the vacuum pressure swing process between set limits of highest adsorption and lowest desorption pressure. In accordance with present invention an optimal speed for operation of the compressor is determined at which the compressor will operate along a peak efficiency operating line of a compressor map thereof. This speed is adjusted by a feed back speed multiplier when the flow or other parameter referable to flow through the compressor is below a minimum and a feed forward multiplier during evacuation and evacuation with purge steps that multiplies the feed back multiplier to increase speed of the compressor and thereby avoid surge. The speed is then adjusted by a global speed factor which serves to adjust the average speed of the motors over all steps of the repeating cycle such that the process operates within high and low pressure limits.

Anti-surge speed control for two or more compressors

An adsorption process for xenon recovery from a cryogenic liquid or gas stream is described wherein a bed of adsorbent is contacted with the aforementioned xenon containing liquid or gas stream and adsorbs the xenon selectively from this fluid stream. The adsorption bed is operated to at least near full breakthrough with xenon to enable a deep rejection of other stream components, prior to regeneration using the temperature swing method. Operating the adsorption bed to near full breakthrough with xenon, prior to regeneration, enables production of a high purity product from the adsorption bed and further enables oxygen to be used safely as a purge gas, even in cases where hydrocarbons are co-present in the feed stream.

Cryogenic adsorption process for xenon recovery

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Buffalo, NY, United States of America

Garrett R Swindlehurst