US 8,529,674 B2Granted

Pressure swing adsorption method and system with multiple-vessel beds

AssigneeAir Products and Chemicals, Inc.

InventorsSang Kook Lee, Justin David Bukowski, Carolyn Taylor Zelson, Mark Ephraim Levine

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Abstract

Pressure swing adsorption process for the separation of a feed gas mixture comprising (a) providing a pressure swing adsorption system comprising one or more composite beds, each composite bed comprising adsorbent material disposed in two or more vessels in parallel flow configuration, each vessel having a feed end and a product end; (b) performing cyclic sequential steps comprising adsorption/make product, withdrawing gas at decreasing pressure from the composite bed, purging the composite bed, and introducing gas into the composite bed at increasing pressure; and (c) for any of the sequential steps, setting a flow rate or flow rates of one or more gases selected from the group consisting of gas introduced into or withdrawn from the feed end or ends of any of the two or more vessels and gas introduced into or withdrawn from the product end or ends of any of the two or more vessels.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A pressure swing adsorption system comprising one or more composite beds, each composite bed comprising adsorbent material and having a composite bed feed end and a composite bed product end, the one or more composite beds having a composite bed feed end manifold, and a composite bed product end manifold, wherein each of the one or more composite beds comprises two or more vessels arranged in parallel flow configuration having a vessel feed end manifold and a vessel product end manifold, each vessel containing a portion of the adsorbent material and having a vessel feed end and a vessel product end, wherein the composite bed feed end manifold of a composite bed is adapted to place the feed end of that composite bed in flow communication with the feed ends of the two or more vessels via the vessel feed end manifold, wherein the composite bed product end manifold is adapted to place the product end of that composite bed in flow communication with the product ends of the two or more vessels via the respective vessel product end manifold, and wherein

(a) any vessel feed end manifold comprises one or more flow restriction devices, each device being adapted to set the gas flow rate into the feed end of a respective vessel and/or to set the gas flow rate withdrawn from the feed end of the respective vessel, and/or
(b) any vessel product end manifold comprises one or more flow restriction devices, each device being adapted to set the gas flow rate into the product end of a respective vessel and/or to set gas flow rate withdrawn from the product end of the respective vessel.

A pressure swing adsorption system comprising

(a) one or more composite beds, each composite bed comprising adsorbent material and having a composite bed feed end and a composite bed product end;
(b) a composite bed feed end manifold adapted to introduce gas into the feed end of each composite bed and withdraw gas from the feed end of each composite bed;
(c) a composite bed product end manifold adapted to introduce gas into the product end of each composite bed and withdraw gas from the product end of each composite bed;
wherein each of the one or more composite beds comprises portions of the adsorbent material disposed respectively in two or more vessels in parallel flow configuration, each vessel having a feed end and a product end, wherein the two or more vessels include
(d) a vessel feed end manifold in flow communication with the composite bed feed end manifold and adapted to divide the gas flow into the feed end of each composite bed into individual gas streams and introduce the individual gas streams into the two or more vessels, respectively, and to withdraw and combine individual gas streams from the two or more vessels to provide the gas flow from the feed end of the composite bed;
and
(e) a vessel product end manifold in flow communication with the composite bed product end manifold and adapted to divide the gas flow into the product end of each composite bed into individual gas streams and introduce the individual gas streams into the two or more vessels, respectively, and to withdraw and combine individual gas streams from the two or more vessels to provide the gas flow from the product end of the composite bed;
and wherein (i) the vessel feed end manifold comprises one or more flow restriction devices, each device being adapted to set a gas flow rate into the feed end of a respective vessel and to set a gas flow rate withdrawn from the feed end of the respective vessel, and/or (ii) the vessel product end manifold comprises one or more flow restriction devices, each device being adapted to set a selected gas flow rate into the product end of a respective vessel and to set a gas flow rate withdrawn from the product end of the respective vessel.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/846,015Filed 29 Jul 2010 · division
Priority: 20 Jul 2006
Published: US 2010/0294133 A125 Nov 2010
Granted: 10 Sep 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

B01D 53/047
With stationary adsorbents: pressure swing adsorption
B01D 53/0446
Constructional details of adsorbing systems: means for feeding or distributing gases
B01D 2253/108
Silica or silicates: zeolites
B01D 2256/12
Main component in the product gas stream after treatment: oxygen

Family

Application11/490,003Parent of this division · filed 20 Jul 2006
US 2010/0294133 A1Pre-grant publication · published 25 Nov 2010
US 7,879,138 B2Parent of this division
US 2008/0022851 A1Published application
US 8,529,674 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.