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US 2017/0030639 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for argon recovery in a cryogenic air separation unit integrated with a pressure swing adsorption system
AssigneePraxair Technology, Inc.
InventorsHai Du, Neil M. Prosser, Yang Luo, Neil A. Stephenson
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for argon recovery in which an impure argon stream is separated from air within a cryogenic air separation unit having a divided wall argon rejection/rectification column. The resulting argon stream is subsequently recovered and purified within an integrated pressure swing adsorption system to produce product grade argon.
Claims19
A method of producing a purified argon product stream in a cryogenic air separation unit, the method comprising the steps of:
- separating argon from an oxygen-argon containing stream within a lower pressure column of the cryogenic air separation unit using an argon rectification column arrangement disposed within the lower pressure column, the separation of the argon from the oxygen-argon containing stream producing an impure argon stream having between about and 4% and 25% of oxygen impurities;
- warming the impure argon stream against the purified argon product stream and against a balancing air stream from an incoming air purification and compression train of the cryogenic air separation unit;
- pressurizing the impure argon stream;
- and
- purifying the warm, pressurized, impure argon stream by introducing the warm, pressurized impure argon stream into a pressure swing adsorption system to produce the purified argon product stream and a waste gas stream.
2 more elements
An apparatus for producing a purified argon product comprising:
- a cryogenic air separation unit having a higher pressure column and a lower pressure column, and an argon rectification column arrangement disposed within the lower pressure column, the cryogenic air separation unit configured to produce an impure argon stream having between about and 4% and 25% of oxygen impurities from an oxygen-argon containing stream introduced from the lower pressure column to the argon rectification column arrangement;
- a heat exchanger configured to warm the impure argon stream to a temperature between about 200K and 300K against a stream of the purified argon product stream and a balancing air stream from an incoming air purification and compression train of the cryogenic air separation unit;
- an argon compressor or pump configured for pressurizing the impure argon stream;
- a pressure swing adsorption system configured for purifying the impure argon stream, the pressure swing adsorption system comprising an adsorbent bed having an adsorbent configured for adsorbing the oxygen impurities to produce a purified argon stream and a waste gas stream.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.