Recovery of Xe and other high value compounds
AssigneeAdvanced Technology Materials, Inc.
InventorsThomas H. Baum, J. Donald Carruthers, Richard Fricke, Joshua B. Sweeney, James V. McManus, Edward A. Sturm
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Abstract
A system and method for recovering high value gas from a process stream, material or environment containing same, e.g., xenon by contacting gas from the process stream, material or environment with a carbon adsorbent effective to sorptively capture same, free of or with reduced concentration of fluid species present with the high value gas in the high value gas-containing gas in the process stream, material or environment. Other aspects of the disclosure include a radon detection method and product.
Claims20
A method of recovering xenon gas from a process stream, material or environment containing same, comprising contacting xenon-containing gas from said process stream, material or environment with a carbon adsorbent effective to sorptively capture same, free of or with reduced concentration of fluid species initially present with said xenon in said xenon-containing gas in said process stream, material or environment, wherein the carbon adsorbent has a bulk density in a range of from 750 to 1300 kg per cubic meter (kg/m3), and a porosity in which the majority of pores are in a range of from 5 to 8 Angstroms.
A xenon capture apparatus, comprising:
- a containment vessel adapted for arrangement in flow-receiving relationship to a source of xenon-containing gas;
- and
- a carbon adsorbent in the containment vessel, wherein the carbon adsorbent is selective for xenon gas, and wherein the carbon adsorbent has a bulk density in a range of from 750 to 1300 kg per cubic meter (kg/m3), and a porosity in which the majority of pores are in a range of from 5 to 8 Angstroms, wherein the apparatus comprises one or more of the arrangements (A)-(D):
- (A) the containment vessel is arranged in flow-receiving relationship to a source of xenon-containing gas, and the carbon adsorbent (i) has a volumetric sorptive capacity for xenon, measured at temperature of 273° Kelvin and one bar pressure, of from 125 to 150 volumes xenon/volume carbon adsorbent, and (ii) is characterized by a separation factor αXe,N, in relation to xenon and nitrogen, which is in a range of from 2 to 12;
- (B) the containment vessel is arranged in flow-receiving relationship to a source of xenon-containing gas, and said source of xenon-containing gas comprises a xenon concentration unit increasing xenon concentration of said xenon-containing gas from part per million to percentage levels;
- (C) the containment vessel is arranged in flow-receiving relationship to a source of xenon-containing gas, and said source of xenon-containing gas comprises an ion implanter apparatus arranged to receive xenon difluoride cleaning gas from a xenon difluoride source;
- and
- (D) the containment vessel is arranged in flow-receiving relationship to a source of xenon-containing gas, and said source of xenon-containing gas comprises a source vessel containing xenon difluoride on a support matrix.
A carbon adsorbent, characterized by a bulk density in a range of from 750 to 1300 kg per cubic meter (kg/m3), a porosity in which the majority of pores are in a range of from 5 to 8 Angstroms, a separation factor αXe,N, in relation to xenon and nitrogen, which is in a range of from 2 to 12, a volumetric sorptive capacity for xenon at 273° K and one bar pressure, of 125 to 150 volumes xenon/volume carbon adsorbent, and a thermal conductivity of 0.44-1.20 Wm−1K−1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.