Process and apparatus for removing carbon monoxide from a gas stream

US6531105B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignees

• L'Air Liquide, Société Anonyme à Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Étude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude · FR
• American Air Liquide, Inc. · US
• Air Liquide America Corporation · US

Inventors

• Frederick Giacobbe · Naperville, US
• Eric Duchateau · Versailles, FR
• Kevin McKean · Naperville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 29, 1996
• Grant date: Mar 11, 2003
• Expiry date: Feb 29, 2016

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02C20/40
• WIPO field: Chemical engineering
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

Apparatus and process for removing carbon monoxide from a gas stream comprising a major portion of an inert gas and a minor portion of carbon monoxide are provided. The process involves contacting a feed gas stream with at least a primary metal oxide in a reaction zone of a reactor vessel at conditions effective to convert substantially all of the carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, thus producing a purified gas stream consisting essentially of the inert gas and carbon dioxide and substantially free of carbon monoxide. This process has (inter alia) a particular application as a tertiary purification process for producing a more highly purified source of gaseous nitrogen from a source of nitrogen originally produced from a conventional membrane air separation system, wherein the oxygen concentration in the nitrogen stream my vary around a setpoint value, and then further (or secondarily) purified by converting excess oxygen in the nitrogen to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide using a fuel gas/combustion process, wherein the carbon monoxide concentration varies due to varying oxygen concentration in the feed stream to the combustion process.