Linde Aktiengesellschaft

Thomas Nohlen

Stefan Lochner

Dimitri Golubev

Lars Kirchner

The plant is used for producing oxygen by cryogenic air separation. The plant has a high-pressure column, a low-pressure column and a main condenser. An argon-elimination column is in fluid connection with an intermediate point of the low-pressure column and is connected to an argon-elimination column head condenser. An auxiliary column has a sump region, into which gas is introduced from the argon-elimination column head condenser. The head of the auxiliary column is connected to a return flow liquid line, in order to introduce a liquid stream from the high-pressure column or the head condenser. The liquid stream has an oxygen content which is at least equal to that of air. At least one part of the crude liquid oxygen from the sump of the high-pressure column is fed to the auxiliary column at a first intermediate point.

Plant for producing oxygen by cryogenic air separation

For cooling a gas by direct heat exchange with a cooling liquid, the gas () to be cooled is introduced into the lower region of a direct contact cooler (). A first stream of cooling liquid () is fed into the direct contact cooler () above the point of introduction of the gas (). Cooled gas () is removed above the point of introduction of the gas () from the direct contact cooler (). A liquid backflow () is drawn off from the lower region of the direct contact cooler (). At least at times, a second stream of cooling liquid () with a temperature that is lower than that of the backflow () is fed into the liquid backflow () and combined with the latter to form a return flow ().

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Germering, Germany

Thomas Nohlen