Process or apparatus for distilling air and application in feeding gas to a steel mill
AssigneeL'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
InventorsFrancois Camberlein, Jean-Louis Girault, Philippe Mazieres, Jean-Pierre Tranier
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Abstract
The apparatus is of the type having a double column and a mixing column. The latter is fed at the bottom portion with auxiliary air that is compressed at a pressure different from that of the mean pressure column, and at the top by means of a liquid withdrawn from the bottom of the low pressure column and pumped at the same pressure as the auxiliary air. Impure oxygen is withdrawn at the top of the mixing column as production gas, and substantially pure oxygen is produced at the bottom of the low pressure column.
Claims13
Process for distilling air by means of a double distillation column coupled to a mixing column and comprised of a low pressure column and a mean pressure column pressurized to a first pressure, said process comprising the steps of:
- feeding the mixing column with an auxiliary gas consisting of a mixture of air gases;
- withdrawing a liquid which is richer in oxygen than said auxiliary gas from said low pressure column and introducing said liquid into said mixing column;
- and
- compressing each of said auxiliary gas and said liquid substantially to a same second pressure which differs from the first pressure of said mean pressure column.
Apparatus for distilling air comprising a double distillation column including a mean pressure column pressurized to a first pressure and a low pressure column, a mixing column coupled to said doubled distillation column, a heat exchange line through which passes an auxiliary gas composed of a mixture of air gases prior to introduction of said auxiliary gas into said mixing column, means for withdrawing a liquid which is richer in oxygen than said auxiliary gas from said low pressure column and means for pumping said liquid and means for introducing said liquid into said mixing column to a second pressure to define a first production gas, means for compressing said auxiliary gas to a second pressure which differs from the first pressure of said mean pressure column, and wherein said pumping means pressurizes said liquid to said second pressure before introducing the same into said mixing column.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.