The Boc Group, Inc.

Joseph Straub

Joseph Paul Naumovitz

Leighton B Wilson

Paul Higginbotham

Karl O Toppel

Anish Mehta

Neil Hogg

Niranjan Sundaram

Neil Nogg

A method of producing a gaseous product, for instance gaseous oxygen in accordance with a cyclical demand pattern having high and low periods of demand. During periods of high demand, liquid is vaporized against condensing air which is in turn stored. During low demand periods, product is accumulated and previously stored liquid air is introduced into the column. During both high and low periods of demand liquid product is drawn to reduce the percentage variance in the required flow rate to the booster compressor used in producing the air to be liquefied. Preferably, during periods of high demand, a turbine used in generating refrigeration can be turned down to increase the amount of air available for condensation and with a reduction in production of liquid product.

Air separation method to produce gaseous product

An air separation plant having prefabricated heat exchanger and distillation column sections. The heat exchanger can be used in air expansion, waste expansion and product expansion plants by simply connecting the appropriate piping to the heat exchanger. The air separation unit is built up of standardized sections preferably utilizing structured packing. Simplified liquid distributors and supports are used in order to distribute liquid to the packing and to support the packing within the column, respectfully.

Air separation plant and method of fabrication

A method and apparatus for making gaseous oxygen at a delivery pressure in a single column oxygen generator. In accordance with the method and apparatus, a column bottoms stream composed of the product is pumped to the delivery pressure and then vaporized. A liquid coolant stream used in condensing reflux is recompressed by a recycle compressor and then recycled back into the bottom of the column. Such recycled stream has a higher nitrogen content than the column bottoms. Part of the nitrogen tower overhead, not used in forming the reflux, is turbo-expanded by a turbo-expander coupled to the recycle compressor.

Method and apparatus for producing gaseous oxygen

An air separation apparatus and method for producing a gaseous oxygen product at a delivery pressure. A, filtered, compressed and purified air stream is formed and preferably divided into first and second air streams. The air contained within the first air stream is separated by a low temperature rectification process operating in accordance with a Claude cycle to produce liquid oxygen in a lower pressure column with a double column air separation unit. A Claude expander expands at least a major portion of the air contained within the first air stream into the high pressure column. The second air stream is compressed and partially cooled and is then expanded with the performance of work which is in turn applied to the work of compression of the second air stream. Liquid oxygen is pumped from the lower pressure column to substantially the delivery pressure and is vaporized within a mixing column against the second air stream which is also introduced into the mixing column. A liquid stream composed of the liquid produced in the mixing column is then introduced into an intermediate location of the lower pressure column to add the refrigeration of the second air stream to the process.

Method and apparatus for producing oxygen

An air separation method and apparatus in which a compressed and purified air stream is divided into first and second subsidiary streams. The air of the first subsidiary stream is rectified within an air separation unit comprising higher and lower pressure columns. A liquid oxygen product is pumped from the lower pressure column to a desired above-atmospheric delivery pressure. At the same time, the second subsidiary stream is expanded to substantially the delivery pressure by an expansion machine and the two streams are then counter-currently added to a mixing column to vaporize the liquid stream and thereby produce a product stream at the delivery pressure. One or more liquid refrigerant streams are removed from the mixing column and added to the lower pressure column to refrigerate the process. The addition of a liquid increases the liquid to vapor ratio within the lower pressure column to in turn increase production.

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North Haledon, NJ, United States of America

Joseph Straub