F - Mech Eng,Light,Heat,Weapons – 25 – J
Patent
F - Mech Eng,Light,Heat,Weapons
25
J
F25J 3/04 (2006.01)
Patent
CA 2082674
The present invention is an improvement to a process for the cryogenic distillation of air to produce both nitrogen and oxygen products carried out in a single distillation column system wherein a feed air stream is distilled thereby producing a nitrogen overhead and a liquid oxygen bottoms. The improvement is characterized in that: (a) operating the single distillation column at a pressure between 70 and 300 psia [480 and 2,070 kPa(absolute)]; (b) withdrawing a portion of the liquid oxygen bottoms having an oxygen concentration greater than 80% oxygen and preferably between 85% and 97% oxygen from the bottom of the single distillation column and reducing the pressure of and vaporizing the withdrawn liquid oxygen by heat exchange against a condensing nitrogen stream removed from a top section of the single distillation column; (c) feeding the condensed, nitrogen stream to a top section of the single distillation column as reflux; and (d) recovering the vaporized oxygen as at least a substantial portion of the oxygen product. The improvement can be further characterized by providing boilup by boiling at least another portion of the liquid oxygen bottoms by heat exchange against a condensing vapor stream, wherein the vapor stream to be condensed is an air stream at a higher pressure than the feed air stream or a recycle nitrogen stream at a pressure greater than the operating pressure of the single distillation column, or by recycling a portion of the oxygen product at a pressure of at least the operating pressure of the single distillation column to the bottom of the distillation column and/or by providing intermediate boilup to the stripping section of the single distillation column system by vaporizing a portion of descending column liquid by heat exchange against another condensing vapor stream, wherein the other vapor stream to be condensed is either an air stream at a higher pressure than the feed air stream or a recycle nitrogen stream at a pressure greater than the operating pressure of the single distillation column. The process of the present invention is particularly suited to integration with gas turbines.
Agrawal Rakesh
Xu Jianguo
Air Products And Chemicals Inc.
Mcfadden Fincham
LandOfFree
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