Patent · US Expired

Process and plant for the purification and cryogenic separation of air without precooling

US6240745A · kind A · utility

0Cited by
5References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 14, 2000
Grant dateJun 5, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 14, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY02C20/40
  • WIPO fieldChemical engineering
  • WIPO sectorChemistry

Abstract

A plant and a process for the purification and cryogenic separation of air containing impurities, which process is carried out according to the steps of (a) compressing the air; (b) introducing the air compressed in step (a) into one or more adsorption vessels containing particles of adsorbent without, beforehand, precooling the air; (c) adsorbing the impurities (CO.sub.2, H.sub.2 O, NOx, SOx, etc) contained in the air on the particles of adsorbent at room temperature and at a pressure of at least 11.4 bar, preferably ranging from 20.1 to 40 bar; (d) cooling the air purified in step (c) down to a cryogenic temperature; and (e) cryogenically distilling the cooled air in order to produce nitrogen, oxygen, argon or mixtures thereof.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.