Method for an improved partial condensation carbon monoxide cold box operation
OwnerJoseph Michael Schwartz, Bryan S. Kalp +2inventors
InventorsJoseph Michael Schwartz, Bryan S. Kalp, Andrew M. Warta, Minish Mahendra Shah
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method and system of separating carbon monoxide from syngas mixtures with high methane content by cryogenic means where a partial condensation cycle is generally employed, and more specifically towards combining the methane-rich liquid exiting the distillation column with a lower-boiling mixture so that the boiling point of the combined stream is lower than the boiling point of the methane-rich liquid.
Claims18
A method for the separation of carbon monoxide from a syngas feedstock in a partial condensation carbon monoxide cold box, comprising:
- cooling and partially condensing the syngas feedstock containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a process heat exchanger to produce a cooled and partially condensed syngas feed stream;
- separating the cooled and partially condensed syngas feed stream into a crude hydrogen vapor stream and a high-pressure carbon-monoxide-rich feed liquid stream in a high-pressure separator;
- feeding the high-pressure carbon-monoxide-rich feed liquid stream to a low-pressure separation unit operating at a pressure lower than the high-pressure separator, wherein a cold flash gas is separated from a crude CO liquid stream;
- separating said crude CO liquid stream in a distillation column to form a purified carbon monoxide vapor stream and a methane-rich liquid byproduct stream containing at least 50% methane;
- separating a portion of the cold flash gas having at least 1 vol % and less than 99 vol % and mixing said portion of cold flash gas with the methane-rich liquid byproduct stream before introducing the mixture into the process heat exchanger.
A method for the separation of carbon monoxide from a syngas feedstock in a partial condensation carbon monoxide cold box, comprising:
- cooling and partially condensing the syngas feedstock containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a process heat exchanger to produce a cooled and partially condensed syngas feed stream;
- separating the cooled and partially condensed syngas feed stream into a crude hydrogen vapor stream and a high-pressure carbon monoxide-rich feed liquid stream in a high-pressure separator;
- feeding the high-pressure carbon monoxide-rich feed liquid stream to a low-pressure separation unit operating at a pressure lower than the high-pressure separator, wherein a cold flash gas is separated from a crude CO liquid stream;
- separating said crude CO liquid stream in a distillation column to form a purified carbon monoxide vapor stream and a methane-rich liquid byproduct stream containing at least 50% methane;
- wherein a portion of at least 0.5 vol % and less than 99 vol % of the crude hydrogen vapor stream is mixed with the methane-rich liquid before introducing the mixture into the process heat exchanger and none of the remaining crude hydrogen is expanded in a turboexpander.
An apparatus for the separation of carbon monoxide from a syngas feedstock in a partial condensation carbon monoxide cold box, comprising:
- a process heat exchanger;
- a high-pressure separator;
- a low-pressure separation unit operating at a pressure lower than the high-pressure separator;
- a distillation column for separating a crude CO liquid stream to form a purified carbon monoxide vapor stream and a methane-rich liquid byproduct stream containing at least 50% methane;
- a turbine for providing refrigeration;
- at least two connected lines to combine the methane-rich liquid byproduct stream with a portion of a stream produced in the cold box that has a lower boiling point prior to introducing a combined stream into the process heat exchanger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.