Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Thomas N Anderson

Harry William Deckman

Peter I Ravikovitch

Robert A Johnson

Daniel Paul Leta

Robert F Tammera

Preeti Kamakoti

Bruce T Kelley

Ramesh Gupta

Harry W Deckamn

Systems and methods are provided for separating oxygen from air using a sorption/desorption cycle that includes a reduced or minimized difference between the maximum and minimum pressures involved in the sorption/desorption cycle. The reduced or minimized difference in pressures can be achieved in part by using valves that can allow for commercial scale flow rates while avoiding large pressure drops for flows passing through the valves. A rotary wheel adsorbent is an example of a system that can allow for a sorption/desorption cycle with reduced and/or minimized pressure drops across valves associated with the process. Stationary adsorbent beds can also be used in combination with commercially available valves that have reduced and/or minimized pressure drops.

Pressure swing adsorption for oxygen production

Provided are apparatus and systems having a rotary valve assembly integrated with a reciprocating valve assembly to perform swing adsorption processes. The rotary valve assembly is utilized with the reciprocating valve assembly to manage the flow of streams through the system in an enhanced manner.

Apparatus and systems having a rotary valve assembly and swing adsorption processes related thereto

A swing adsorption process for removing contaminants from a gaseous feed stream through a combination of a selective adsorbent material containing an effective amount of a non-adsorbent filler, adsorbent contactor design, and adsorption cycle design.

Methods of removing contaminants from a hydrocarbon stream by swing adsorption and related apparatus and systems

A pressure swing adsorption process for removal of CO2 from natural gas streams through a combination of a selective adsorbent material containing an effective amount of a non-adsorbent filler, adsorbent contactor design, and adsorption cycle design. The removal of contaminants from gas streams, preferably natural gas streams, using rapid-cycle swing adsorption processes, such as rapid-cycle pressure swing adsorption (RC-PSA). Separations at high pressure with high product recovery and/or high product purity are provided through a combination of judicious choices of adsorbent material, gas-solid contactor, system configuration, and cycle designs. For example, cycle designs that include steps of purge and staged blow-down as well as the inclusion of a mesopore filler in the adsorbent material significantly improves product (e.g., methane) recovery. An RC-PSA product with less than 10 ppm H2S can be produced from a natural gas feed stream that contains less than 1 mole percent H2S.

Methods of removing contaminants from hydrocarbon stream by swing adsorption and related apparatus and systems

A pressure-temperature swing adsorption process for the removal of a target species, such as an acid gas, from a gas mixture, such as a natural gas stream. Herein, a novel multi-step temperature swing/pressure swing adsorption is utilized to operate while maintaining very high purity levels of contaminant removal from a product stream. The present process is particularly effective and beneficial in removing contaminants such as COand/or HS from a natural gas at high adsorption pressures (e.g., at least 500 psig) to create product streams of very high purity (i.e., very low contaminant levels).

Pressure-temperature swing adsorption process

The present invention relates to a pressure-temperature swing adsorption process wherein gaseous components that have been adsorbed can be recovered from the adsorbent bed at elevated pressures. In particular, the present invention relates to a pressure-temperature swing adsorption process for the separation of Chydrocarbons (hydrocarbons with at least 2 carbon atoms) from natural gas streams to obtain a high purity methane product stream. In more preferred embodiments of the present processes, the processes may be used to obtain multiple, high purity hydrocarbon product streams from natural gas stream feeds resulting in a chromatographic-like fractionation with recovery of high purity individual gaseous component streams.

Pressure-temperature swing adsorption process for the separation of heavy hydrocarbons from natural gas streams

A temperature swing adsorption process for the removal of a target species, such as an acid gas, from a gas mixture, such as a natural gas stream. Herein, a novel multi-step temperature swing/pressure swing adsorption is utilized to operate while maintaining very high purity levels of contaminant removal from a product stream. The present process is particularly effective and beneficial in removing contaminants such as COand/or HS from a natural gas at relatively high adsorption pressures (e.g., at least 500 psig) to create product streams of very high purity (i.e., very low contaminant levels).

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Mobile, AL, United States of America

Thomas N Anderson