Production of cryogenic liquid mixtures
AssigneeThe BOC Group, Inc.
InventorJohn Terence Lavin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A product cryogenic liquid mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen having a chosen mole fraction of oxygen is produced by expanding, typically through a valve, a pressurized stream of a precursor fluid mixture, which may be liquid air, having a mole fraction of oxygen greater than said chosen mole fraction, and thereby forming a vapor phase depleted of oxygen and a liquid phase enriched in oxygen. The vapor phase is disengaged from the liquid phase in a phase separator. A stream of the vapor phase is condensed in a condenser. The condensate is collected in a storage vessel as the product cryogenic liquid mixture.
Claims16
A method of producing a product cryogenic liquid mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen having a chosen mole fraction of oxygen, comprising:
- expanding a pressurized stream of a precursor fluid mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen having a mole fraction of oxygen greater than said chosen mole fraction so as to form a primary two-phase mixture comprising a vapor phase depleted of oxygen and a liquid phase enriched in oxygen;
- disengaging the vapor phase from the liquid phase;
- condensing a stream of vapor phase;
- and
- passing the condensate to storage as said product cryogenic liquid mixture.
An apparatus for producing a product cryogenic liquid mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen having a chosen mole fraction of oxygen, said apparatus comprising:
- means for expanding a pressurized stream of a precursor cryogenic fluid mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen having a mole fraction of oxygen greater than said chosen mole fraction so as to form a primary two-phase mixture comprising a vapor phase depleted of oxygen and a liquid phase enriched in oxygen;
- means for disengaging vapor phase from the liquid phase;
- a condenser for condensing a stream of the vapor phase;
- and
- a storage vessel for storing the condensate as said product cryogenic liquid mixture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.