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US 6,779,361 B1Granted
Cryogenic air separation system with enhanced liquid capacity
AssigneePraxair Technology, Inc.
InventorsTodd Alan Skare, Sean Durbin, Joseph Alfred Weber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cryogenic air separation system having enhanced liquid production capacity wherein a feed air stream bypasses the primary heat exchanger and is processed through cooling and warming passes of a feed air liquefier to produce liquid feed air for introduction into the cryogenic air separation plant.
Claims10
A method for carrying out cryogenic air separation comprising:
- (A) compressing feed air and passing a first portion of the compressed feed air into a cryogenic air separation plant;
- (B) further compressing a second portion of the compressed feed air to produce further compressed feed air, turboexpanding a first part of the further compressed feed air and warming the turboexpanded first part of the further compressed feed air by indirect heat exchange with a second part of the further compressed feed air to condense said second part of the further compressed feed air;
- (C) passing the condensed second part of the further compressed feed air into the cryogenic air separation plant;
- and
- (D) producing by cryogenic rectification within the cryogenic air separation plant at least one of product oxygen, product nitrogen and product argon.
2 more elements
Apparatus for carrying out cryogenic air separation comprising:
- (A) a primary compressor, a booster compressor, a cryogenic air separation plant, means for passing feed air to the primary compressor, means for passing feed air from the primary compressor to the cryogenic air separation plant, and means for passing feed air from the primary compressor to the booster compressor;
- (B) a turboexpander, a heat exchanger having a cooling pass and a warming pass, means for passing feed air from the booster compressor to the turboexpander and from the turboexpander to the warming pass, and means for passing feed air from the booster compressor to the cooling pass;
- (C) means for passing feed air from the cooling pass to the cryogenic air separation plant;
- and
- (D) means for recovering at least one of product oxygen, product nitrogen and product argon from the cryogenic air separation plant.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.