Filing Information

Inventor(s)	Lee S. Gaumer ·
Assignee(s)	Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. ·  View assignee updates
Attorney/Agent(s)	Geoffrey L. Chase ·
Primary Examiner	Frank Sever ·
Application Number	US6328325
Filing date	12/07/1981
Issue date	05/10/1983
Predicted expiration date	12/07/2001
U.S. Classifications	62/646  · 62/915  · 60/648  · 62/939  ·
International Classifications	F25J 1302  ·
Kind Code	A
International Classifications	6238;39;9;11;12;13;17-19;23;24;25;26-30;31-34;42-44 ·

Patent Family

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an air separation system for the recovery of pressurized, substantially pure oxygen gas. The system uses a single pressure distillation column and burns a nitrogen-oxygen waste stream to provide power for the air compressor, the oxygen product compressor and electric generation. The distillation column has a split feed to develop reflux and reboil and to provide initial separation of the liquid and vapor components of the column.

Independent Claims | See all claims (7)

1. 1. A process for separating high purity oxygen from air in a single pressure distillation column comprising the steps of:(a) compressing an air feed stream wherein the compressor is powered by a gas turbine,(b) cooling the air feed stream in a reversing heat exchanger against a nitrogen waste stream from said column and an oxygen product stream,(c) separating a side air feed stream from a remaining air feed stream and passing the side stream back through the heat exchanger to provide a temperature unbalance to preclude carbon dioxide and water buildup in said exchanger,(d) expanding and cooling the side stream in a turbine before introducing said stream into an intermediate point of said column,(e) heat exchanging the remaining air feed stream with the liquid phase of the bottom of said column to condense said stream and reboil said liquid,(f) further heat exchanging the remaining air feed stream against the overhead product stream of said column before introducing said feed stream as reflux into the top of said column,(g) removing, at pressure, a nitrogen waste stream containing a combustible level of oxygen from the top of said column as the overhead product stream of step (f),(h) combusting said pressurized nitrogen waste stream with a fuel to provide a hot pressurized gas feed to said gas turbine of step (a),(i) removing a high purity oxygen product stream from the bottom of said column and pressurizing the same by a compressor driven by a steam turbine wherein said steam turbine is provided with steam by a cyclic heat exchange of the steam with the exhaust of the gas turbine.