Process and apparatus for the separation of a mixture of gases
AssigneeLinde Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsGerhard Linde, Wolfgang Schmid, Manfred Boelt, Peter S. Burr
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Abstract
A mixture of gases containing hydrogen and at least one further component, for example nitrogen and argon, is enriched in hydrogen in a separation stage by adsorption, or cooling and partial condensation and/or rectification and/or scrubbing. Upstream of this separation stage, at least part of the hydrogen is separated by membrane diffusion, thereby resulting in a highly improved process as compared to using either the separation stage or membrane diffusion alone, especially in connection with gaseous mixtures having components which are to be used at high pressures, e.g., a purge gas from an ammonia synthesis gas process.
Claims18
A process for the separation of hydrogen from a mixture of gases containing about 50 to 70% by volume of hydrogen, said process comprising separating more than 60% of the hydrogen up to 95% from the gaseous mixture by diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, thereby forming a residual mixture of gases depleted in hydrogen, expanding the residual gaseous mixture and passing resultant cooled residual gaseous mixture into indirect heat exchange with liquefied gas, the latter being obtained as bottoms from a rectification stage wherein at least a fraction of said residual gaseous mixture is subjected to rectification downstream of said indirect heat exchange, with the proviso that the process does not comprise a shift reaction.
A process for the separation of hydrogen from a mixture of gases comprising separating at least part of the hydrogen from the gaseous mixture by diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, thereby forming a residual mixture of gases depleted in hydrogen, and further comprising work expanding the residual gaseous mixture and passing resultant cooled residual gaseous mixture into indirect heat exchange with liquified gas, the latter being obtained as bottoms from a rectification stage wherein at least a fraction of said residual gaseous mixture is subjected to rectification downstream of said indirect heat exchange.
A process for the separation of hydrogen from a mixture of gases comprising separating at least part of the hydrogen from the gaseous mixture by diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, thereby forming a residual mixture of gases depleted in hydrogen, directly cooling said residual mixture, subjecting resultant cooled gaseous mixture to a first stage rectification, and withdrawing bottoms from said rectification stage and evaporating said bottoms under subatmospheric pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.