Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Engelhard Corporation

Thomas Stephen Farris

Timothy Christopher Golden

John N Armor

Eugene Joseph Karwacki, Jr

Thomas R Gaffney

Jeffrey Raymond Hufton

Fred William Taylor

Thomas Albert Braymer

Yuejin Li

John Joseph Rabasco

Charles G Coe

Roger Dean Whitley

Edward Landis Weist, Jr

Andrew David Johnson

Wilbur C Kratz

Stephen Andrew Motika

Robert Ling Chiang

David Charles Winchester

Robin Joyce Maliszewskyj

Bing Ji

James Michael Occhialini

Alejandro L Cabrera

Leighta Maureen Johnson

William Emil Waldron

Wayne Robert Furlan

Paula Jean Battavio

Richard Vincent Pearce

Joan M Schork

Matthew John Bosco

Charles Henry Johnson

Tracey Ann Cook

Yee-Chang Chen

Daniel Warren Tyndall

Edward Landis Weist

John Nelson Armor

Thomas Richard Gaffney

Alejandro Leopoldo Cabrera

Jr Eugene Joseph Karwacki

Method for recovering a desired component from a waste gas comprising (a) at an operating facility, introducing a waste gas comprising the desired component and one or more undesired components into an adsorber containing adsorbent material selective for the desired component, adsorbing at least a portion of the desired component therein, (b) terminating flow of waste gas into the adsorber; and (c) recovering and concentrating the desired component by either (1) isolating the adsorber, transporting the adsorber to a central processing facility, or (2) withdrawing from the adsorber an intermediate gas enriched in the desired component, compressing the intermediate gas and storing it in a vessel, isolating the vessel, transporting the vessel to a central processing facility to provide a concentrated product further enriched in the desired component.

Method for recovering high-value components from waste gas streams

The present invention discloses the improvements to a vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) process used for Xe recovery. By only collecting the recovered gas mixture after the initial evacuation of Nfrom the adsorbent vessel and void space, the recovered Xe is not diluted by Ncontained in the adsorbent vessel and void space. The concentration of the recovered Xe can by increased (high purity), simultaneously little Xenon is lost. During the initial evacuation of N, the vessel has been evacuated to a pressure less than 1 atmospheric pressure, for example, from 100 to 1 torr.

Recovering of xenon by adsorption process

The invention provides vacuum swing adsorption processes that produce an essentially carbon monoxide-free hydrogen or helium gas stream from, respectively, a high-purity (e.g., pipeline grade) hydrogen or helium gas stream using one or two adsorber beds. By using physical adsorbents with high heats of nitrogen adsorption, intermediate heats of carbon monoxide adsorption, and low heats of hydrogen and helium adsorption, and by using vacuum purging and high feed stream pressures (e.g., pressures of as high as around 1,000 bar), pipeline grade hydrogen or helium can purified to produce essentially carbon monoxide -free hydrogen and helium, or carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and methane-free hydrogen and helium.

Production of carbon monoxide-free hydrogen and helium from a high-purity source

A process and an apparatus for removal of radon from indoor air. The process having the step of contacting indoor air with an adsorbent, that is a silver-exchanged zeolite. The apparatus for the removal of radon from indoor air comprises a silver exchanged zeolite.

Apparatus and process for air cleaning

A first aspect of a process of recovering xenon from feed gas includes: providing an adsorption vessel containing adsorbent having a Xe/Nselectivity ratio &#x3c;75; feeding into the adsorption vessel feed gas having an initial nitrogen concentration &#x3e;50% and an initial xenon concentration &#x2267;0.5%; evacuating the adsorption vessel; and purging the adsorption vessel at a purge-to-feed ratio &#x2267;10. The final xenon concentration is &#x2267;15&#xd7; the initial xenon concentration. A second aspect of the process includes providing an adsorption vessel containing adsorbent having a Xe Henry's law Constant &#x2267;50 mmole/g/atm; feeding into the adsorption vessel feed gas having an initial nitrogen concentration &#x3e;50% and an initial xenon concentration &#x2267;0.5%; heating and purging the adsorption vessel to recover xenon having a final concentration &#x2267;15&#xd7; its initial concentration. Apparatus for performing the process are also described.

Xenon recovery system

Xenon and/or krypton are recovered from oxygen containing gas, typically derived from liquid oxygen bottoms in a cryogenic air separation plant, by selective adsorption on a Li and Ag exchange zeolite containing 5 to 40% Ag exchange capacity on an equivalents basis, with periodic thermal regeneration of the adsorbent.

Process and adsorbent for the recovery of krypton and xenon from a gas or liquid stream

An improved adsorption process is provided for purifying hydrogen from a feed gas mixture including hydrogen and at least one impurity selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide and nitrogen. The process includes providing an adsorption apparatus having a discharge end adsorption layer containing an adsorbent with a Henry's law constant (K,) at 70&deg; F. for the impurity from about 0.5 to about 2.4 mmole/g/atm. The product gas collected from the adsorption apparatus is high purity (99.99&plus;%) hydrogen.

Optimum adsorbents for H2 recovery by pressure and vacuum swing absorption

The present invention provides a pressure swing adsorption process. The process includes providing a pressure swing adsorption apparatus having a discharge end adsorption layer of activated carbon, feeding through the apparatus a feed gas including hydrogen, carbon monoxide and at least one of argon and oxygen, and collecting a product gas from the apparatus, wherein the product gas is high purity hydrogen. Also provided is a method for decreasing an amount of impurities in a product gas from a pressure swing adsorption process for separating hydrogen from impurities including carbon monoxide, and at least one of argon and oxygen. The method includes providing an improved adsorption layer in at least a discharge end of a pressure swing adsorption apparatus in which the pressure swing adsorption process is conducted, wherein the improved adsorption layer includes activated carbon in an amount effective to: (a) decrease the amount of impurities in the product gas; (b) increase a time until initial impurity breakthrough; and (c) improve hydrogen recovery of the process.

Use of activated carbon adsorbent in argon and/or oxygen controlling hydrogen PSA

The present invention is a process for adsorbing carbon dioxide from a carbon dioxide containing gas mixture comprising contacting the gas mixture with an activated carbon adsorbent having a density in the range of approximately 0.56 to 0.61 g/cc (35 to 38 lbs./ft.sup.3) and adsorbing the carbon dioxide on the activated carbon adsorbent.

Adjusted density carbon for hydrogen PSA

The invention describes a highly efficient catalytic pollution control process for removing N.sub.2 O from gaseous mixtures. The process utilizes catalysts derived from anionic clay minerals, which after appropriate heat activation, provide superior N.sub.2 O decomposition activity. The catalytic process comprises contacting an N.sub.2 O-containing gaseous mixture with the decomposition catalyst under conditions sufficient to convert the N.sub.2 O into gaseous nitrogen and gaseous oxygen. The process catalysts are derived from anionic clay materials such as the hydrotalcites, sjogrenites and pyroaurites. A small but critical amount of an activator metal is provided to promote the decomposition of N.sub.2 O, particularly in wet gas steams. The activator metal may be an alkali metal such as sodium, potassium or lithium, or an alkaline-earth metal such as magnesium, with sodium giving particularly good results.

Method for decomposing N.sub.2 O utilizing catalysts comprising calcined

A coconut shell char having a high oxygen volumetric capacity is provided by crushing and sizing coconut shells to form granules which are then heated in flowing inert gas at a temperature ramp rate of about 2.degree. to 12.degree. C. per minute to a peak temperature of 775.degree. to 900.degree. C. which is then held so that the total heating time is up to 8 hours and thereafter the granular char is cooled in an inert gas atmosphere. The granular char thus produced is oxygen selective in air separation without further modification to narrow the openings of its micropores and has an oxygen volumetric capacity in excess of 8.0 cc/cc. Further modification of this char is provided by contacting it with an oxidizing atmosphere of carbon dioxide or a mixture of inert gas and carbon dioxide, H.sub.2 O or O.sub.2 at temperatures ranging from 650.degree. to 900.degree. C. until the gasified char has been altered so that its volumetric oxygen capacity is greater than 9.0 cc/cc. The coconut shell char can be further modified directly as prepared or following a gasification procedure by treatment with volatile carbon-containing organic compound which is pyrolyzed to form carbon which reduces the effective pore openings of the original or gasified char.

High capacity coconut shell char for carbon molecular sieves

Composite oxygen selective desiccants comprising a carbon molecular sieve which is kinetically selective for the adsorption of oxygen over nitrogen and an agent for the sorption of water such as lithium chloride, lithium bromide, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium nitrate, potassium fluoride, oxides of silicon, aluminum, calcium or barium are disclosed. Methods of making the components and their use in air separation are also set forth.

Oxygen selective desiccants

A process is provided for making a modified carbon molecular sieve which is suitable for separating gases having different adsorption rates on the sieve. The process involves modifying a starting sieve support having a majority of micropores with an effective pore size of about 4.5 to 8 angstroms, with a two-step process in which the sieve is contacted with two different volatile carbon-containing organic compounds, preferably hydrocarbons, which have different molecular dimensions. The compound used in the first step is larger than that in the second step, so that the pore openings of the micropores of the support are narrowed successively in two distinct steps without filling the micropores themselves. The invention also discloses an improved carbon molecular sieve and the separation of gases, such as oxygen from nitrogen, by the use of this improved adsorbent.

Modified carbon molecular sieves for gas separation

Carbon molecular sieves, useful in the separation of air into oxygen and nitrogen, are improved through modification of the micropores of the sieve by contact with the pyrolysis products of a carbon-containing compound in the gaseous state diluted with helium, with or without nitrogen as a part of the diluting gas. Volatile organic compounds, such as trimethylcyclohexane, are used with the diluent gas to narrow the micropore openings of a carbon molecular sieve and increase its kinetic selectivity for oxygen adsorption. Carbon dioxide and helium or argon in the diluent gas are used to open pores available to contacting gases.

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Bethlehem, PA, United States of America

Thomas Stephen Farris