Process and plant for the production of argon by cryogenic distillation of air
AssigneeL'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
InventorsAlain BRIGLIA, Frederic STAINE, Mathieu LEAUTE, Ingrid BERTHAUME, Benedicte DOS SANTOS
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Abstract
Plant for the production of argon by cryogenic distillation, comprising an argon separation column, means for sending a gas containing argon and oxygen to the argon separation column, means for extracting a fluid enriched in argon at the top of the argon separation column, means for extracting a liquid enriched in oxygen at the bottom of the argon separation column and at least two storage tanks, positioned one above the other, each storage tank being connected to two different intermediate levels of the argon separation column by two pipes, the two storage tanks being contiguous.
Claims15
A process for the production of argon by cryogenic distillation in which a gas enriched in argon produced by air separation in a system of columns is sent to an argon separation column, a flow rich in argon is withdrawn at the top of the column and a liquid enriched in oxygen is withdrawn at the bottom of the column and returned to the system of columns, wherein the process further comprises a first operation and a second operation:
- i) wherein during the first operation, if the load of the argon separation column is below a first threshold, the process comprises the steps of:
- withdrawing liquid from the argon separation column at a first intermediate level of the argon separation column and stored in a first storage tank;
- an absence of sending liquid from the storage tank to the argon separation column;
- withdrawing liquid from the argon separation column at a third intermediate level of the argon separation column and stored in a second storage tank;
- an absence of sending liquid from the storage tank to the argon separation column,
- ii) wherein during a second operation, if the load of the argon separation column is above a second threshold, greater than the first threshold, the process comprises the steps of:
- an absence of sending liquid from the argon separation column to the first storage tank;
- sending liquid from the first storage tank to the argon separation column at a second intermediate level of the argon separation column separated from the first intermediate level by at least one layer of elements making possible the exchange of mass and of heat, the second intermediate level being located below the first intermediate level;
- an absence of sending liquid from the argon separation column to the second storage tank;
- and
- sending liquid from the second storage tank to the argon separation column at a fourth intermediate level of the argon separation column separated from the third intermediate level by at least one layer of elements making possible the exchange of mass and of heat, the fourth intermediate level being located below the third intermediate level and the third intermediate level not being located above the second intermediate level.
A plant for the production of argon by cryogenic distillation of air in a system of columns for the implementation of a process according to one of the preceding claims, comprising an argon separation column, means for sending a gas containing argon and oxygen to the argon separation column, means for extracting a fluid enriched in argon at the top of the argon separation column, means for extracting a liquid enriched in oxygen at the bottom of the argon separation column and at least two storage tanks, positioned one above the other, each storage tank being connected to two different intermediate levels of the argon separation column by two pipes, characterized in that the two storage tanks are contiguous.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.