CO purification process
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorRalph V. Green
Life of this patent
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Abstract
High purity CO is made quite efficiently with regard to energy consumption from CO.sub.2 -free gas streams containing at least 25% by volume CO and also containing H.sub.2 and small amounts of other gases such as N.sub.2 and CH.sub.4 by (1) complexing the CO in aqueous copper ammonium acylate absorbent solution, (2) stripping the absorbent solution with a small stream of purified CO to desorb traces of noncomplexed gases and (3) decomplexing the absorbent solution to separate purified CO, a small portion of which is recycled to the stripping step.
Claims7
A process for the preparation of high purity CO from a CO.sub.2 -free gaseous stream containing at least about 25% volume CO and also containing H.sub.2 comprising
- a. countercurrently contacting the gaseous stream with a liquid aqueous absorbent solution containing dissolved therein as copper ammonium C.sub.1-2 acylate from 10 to 18 pbw copper in an amount equivalent to from about 0.2 to about 2.0 gallons of absorbent solution per ft.sup.3 (26.7 - 267 l/m.sup.3) of CO in the gaseous stream at a CO partial pressure of at least about 30 psia (2.1 kg/cm.sub.2) , by which CO reacts with the copper compound to form a stable water-soluble complex, small amounts of H.sub.2 and other gases are absorbed into the absorbent solution and the non-absorbed and non-complexed components of the gaseous stream are separated from the absorbent solution;
- b. while maintaining the absorbent solution above its decomplexing pressure, countercurrently contacting the absorbent solution with a stream of purified gaseous CO, as defined hereinbelow, by which the absorbed gases are desorbed and separated from the absorbent solution;
- c. regenerating the absorbent solution from step (b) by reducing the pressure thereon to a level at which the CO is decomplexed and purified gaseous CO is separated from the absorbent solution;
- d. recycling purified gaseous CO to step (b) of the process in an amount equivalent to from about 0.03 to about 0.5 ft.sup.3 of CO per ft.sup.3 of total gaseous CO product separated in step (c);
- and
- e. recycling regenerated absorbent solution to step (a) of the process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.