초록 ▼

A process for separating oxygen more than 90% pure from a raw material gas, for example air, containing oxygen and nitrogen as main components, includes at least two adsorption zones, each having an inlet and a discharging end, and containing therein a bed of an adsorbing agent having sieving action

A process for separating oxygen more than 90% pure from a raw material gas, for example air, containing oxygen and nitrogen as main components, includes at least two adsorption zones, each having an inlet and a discharging end, and containing therein a bed of an adsorbing agent having sieving action which is capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen from said raw material gas.

대표청구항 ▼

A process for separating oxygen of more than 90% purity from a raw material gas containing oxygen and nitrogen as main components, which comprises providing at least two adsorption zones, each of said at least two zones having an inlet end and a discharge end and containing therein a bed of at least

A process for separating oxygen of more than 90% purity from a raw material gas containing oxygen and nitrogen as main components, which comprises providing at least two adsorption zones, each of said at least two zones having an inlet end and a discharge end and containing therein a bed of at least one adsorbing agent, the at least one agent having sieving action which is capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen from said raw material gas, characterized by the following in the following steps cyclical sequence: (i) contacting said raw material gas with said bed by passing said raw material gas through the one of said adsorption zones, in which a regenerating step was previously completed, to adsorb most of the nitrogen and part of the oxygen in the bed, and to discharge oxygen of more than 90%, purity from said zone discharge end; (ii) connecting said one adsorption zone, in which the adsorption step was previously completed, to the other of said adsorption zones, in which a pressurizing step by product oxygen gas as mentioned below was previously completed, to carry out pressure equalization between said two zones, whereby the oxygen-rich gas is cocurrently discharged from the said one adsorption zone to depressurize said one adsorption zone; (iii) countercurrently depressurizing to one atmosphere pressure said one adsorption zone, in which the step of discharging gas through the pressure equalization was previously completed; (iv) countercurrently evacuating to less than 200 torr said one adsorption zone; (v) pressurizing said one adsorption zone by countercurrently introducing into said one adsorption zone part of the product oxygen gas in the direction counter to the direction of the stream of raw material gas while closing one end thereof; (vi) pressurizing said one adsorption zone, in which the pressurizing step by the product oxygen gas was previously completed, by cocurrently introducing into said one adsorption zone the gas discharged from said other adsorption zone in step (ii) of the cycle of said other adsorption zone; and (vii) pressurizing said one adsorption zone, in which the pressurizing step through the pressure equalization was previously completed, by introducing a raw material gas into said one adsorption zone in the same direction as the direction of the stream of raw material gas in adsorption step (i) while closing one end of said one adsorption zone; periodically switching the flow of gases between said adsorption zones so that the adsorption step takes place in the zone in which the regenerating step was previously completed, the step of discharging gas through the pressure equalization takes place in the zone in which the adsorption step was previously completed, the depressurizing step takes place in the zone in which the step of discharging gas was previously completed, the evacuating step takes place in the zone in which the depressurizing step was previously completed, the pressurizing step by product oxygen gas takes place in the zone in which the evacuating step was previously completed, the pressurizing step through the pressure equalization takes place in the zone in which the pressurizing step by product oxygen gas was previously completed, and the pressurizing step by a raw material gas takes place in the zone in which the pressurizing step through the pressure equalization was previously completed.