High-pressure delivery system for ultra high purity liquid carbon dioxide
AssigneeAir Products and Chemicals, Inc.
InventorVladimir Yliy Gershtein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention relates to an improvement in a process and apparatus for delivering ultra high purity liquid carbon dioxide to a point of use at pressures above ambient without pumping. In the process a high purity carbon dioxide feed is charged to a vessel and at least partially solidified. Once filled, the slush or solid is isochorically heated, i.e., heated at constant vessel volume whereby the solid phase carbon dioxide is converted to a liquid. Liquid, then, is withdrawn from the vessel at a desired pressure at a rate at which the solid phase carbon dioxide is converted to a liquid. The improvement resides in effecting partial solidification and recycle of carbon dioxide.
Claims9
In a process for delivering high pressure liquid carbon dioxide to a point of use at elevated pressure which comprises introducing carbon dioxide to a solidification vessel at process pressure and temperature, at least partially solidifying carbon dioxide in a solidification vessel, isochorically heating the solid phase carbon dioxide in said solidification vessel thereby increasing the pressure in the solidification vessel, withdrawing high pressure liquid carbon dioxide from said solidification vessel and delivering the high pressure liquid carbon dioxide to said point of use, the improvement for effecting recovery of spent carbon dioxide from said point of use and integrating recovery with the regeneration step of at least partially solidifying said carbon dioxide in said solidification vessel which comprises:
- withdrawing and vaporizing liquid carbon dioxide from said solidification vessel under conditions for at least partially solidifying carbon dioxide in said solidification vessel;
- combining the resulting withdrawn and expanded carbon dioxide from said solidification vessel with the spent gas from said point of use forming a combined carbon dioxide stream;
- compressing the combined carbon dioxide gas stream to process pressure;
- removing impurities contained in the spent carbon dioxide;
- and,
- introducing the resulting compressed gas to the process upstream of the solidification vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.