High frequency rotary pressure swing adsorption apparatus
AssigneeQuestor Industries Inc.
InventorsBowie G. Keefer, Christopher R. McLean
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Pressure swing adsorption separation of a feed gas mixture, to obtain a purified product gas of the less strongly adsorbed fraction of the feed gas mixture, is performed with a cooperating set of "N" adsorbers in a rotary assembly, with each adsorber communicating at its product end directly to a rotary cyclic displacement chamber, and at its feed end by rotary distributor valve ports to a rotary piston feed compressor and a rotary piston exhaust vacuum pump. The compressor and vacuum pump are integrated with the cycle, and rotate at "N" times the cycle frequency. Alternative adsorber configurations for high frequency operation are disclosed.
Claims28
Process for separating first and second components of a feed gas mixture, the first component being more readily adsorbed under increase of pressure relative to the second component which is less readily adsorbed under increase of pressure over an adsorbent material, such that a gas mixture of the first and second components contacting the adsorbent material is relatively enriched in the first component at a lower pressure and is relatively enriched in the second component at a higher pressure when the pressure is cycled between the lower and higher pressures at a cyclic frequency of the process defining a cycle period;
- providing for the process a number "N" of substantially similar adsorbers of the adsorbent material, and also providing a cyclic rotary displacement means including a displacement chamber;
- and cyclically varying the volume of the displacement chamber between minimum and maximum volumes thereof at a displacement cyclic frequency which is an integer multiple "S" of the PSA cycle frequency, and providing fluid communication between the displacement chamber and the adsorber so as to change the pressure in the adsorber through a pressure interval between the high pressure and the low pressure.
Process for separating first and second components of a feed gas mixture, the first component being more readily adsorbed under increase of pressure relative to the second component which is less readily adsorbed under increase of pressure over an adsorbent material, such that a gas mixture of the first and second components contacting the adsorbent material in a flow path is relatively enriched in the first component at a lower pressure and is relatively enriched in the second component at a higher pressure when the pressure is cycled between the lower and higher pressures at a cyclic frequency of the process defining a cycle period;
- providing for the process a number "N" of substantially similar adsorbers of the adsorbent material in an adsorber rotor having an axis of rotation, with the flow path in each adsorber oriented substantially radially to the axis;
- and rotating the rotor at a high angular frequency so as to establish a centripetal acceleration field over the adsorbers at least 5 times greater than gravitational acceleration.
Apparatus for separating first and second components of a feed gas mixture, the first component being more readily adsorbed under increase of pressure relative to the second component which is less readily adsorbed under increase of pressure over an adsorbent material, such that a gas mixture of the first and second components contacting the adsorbent material is relatively enriched in the first component at a lower pressure and is relatively enriched in the second component at a higher pressure when the pressure is cycled between the lower and higher pressures at a cyclic frequency of the process defining a cycle period, the apparatus including
- (a) a number "N" of substantially similar adsorbers of the adsorbent material, with said adsorbers having first and second ends defining a flow path through the adsorbent material,
- (b) a cyclic rotary displacement means including a displacement chamber and rotary actuation means to cyclically vary the volume of the displacement chamber between minimum and maximum volumes thereof at a displacement cyclic frequency which is an integer multiple "S" of the PSA cycle frequency,
- (c) means to provide fluid communication between the rotary displacement chamber and a location in the flow path through an adsorber while the volume of the displacement chamber is being varied, so as to change the pressure in the adsorber through a pressure interval between the high pressure and the low pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.