초록 ▼

A cyclic gas separator machine is described which can continuously separate a mixed gas into two or more differing and undiluted product gases differing as to the kinds of molecules present. Separation is accomplished by the action of a surface force material in retarding the flow of capturable mole

A cyclic gas separator machine is described which can continuously separate a mixed gas into two or more differing and undiluted product gases differing as to the kinds of molecules present. Separation is accomplished by the action of a surface force material in retarding the flow of capturable molecules across its surface relative to uncapturable molecules. The needed cross flow is achieved by alternately compressing and expanding each container pressure vessel.

대표청구항 ▼

A cyclic gas separator machine for separating mixed gases and comprising: at least one compressor means for compressing gases from a lower pressure to a higher pressure and each such compressor means comprising at least one stage and each such stage comprising an inlet and an outlet end; at least tw

A cyclic gas separator machine for separating mixed gases and comprising: at least one compressor means for compressing gases from a lower pressure to a higher pressure and each such compressor means comprising at least one stage and each such stage comprising an inlet and an outlet end; at least two separate expander means for expanding gas from a higher pressure to a lower pressure and each such expander means comprising at least one stage and each such stage comprising an inlet end and a discharge end; at least three separate container means, each of said containers comprising, an elongated gas pressure vessel means for containing any gas compressed therein, an inlet at one end of said pressure vessel, an outlet at the other end of said pressure vessel, at least one type of surface force material, means for positioning said surface force material inside said gas pressure vessel means so that gas can flow through said pressure vessel means from said inlet to said outlet and so that when gas flows into said pressure vessel inlet and also when gas flows out of said pressure vessel outlet, such gas flow occurs essentially unidirectionally across most of the surface of said surface force material; power means for driving each said compressor means and for absorbing any mechanical work done upon each said expander means by said expanding gas; each such expander means comprising an expander discharge; at least one mixed gas supply source of gas to be separated; a number of separate product gas collector pipes equal to said number of separate expander means; each such compressor means whose number of stages exceeds one further comprising fixed open gas flow connections from the outlet end of each compressor stage, except one, to the inlet end of one other stage of said compressor, whereby said stages of said compressor are connected in series so that the pressure of a particular gas mass, at delivery from each stage, increases as said gas mass is compressed through said series connected stages, from the inlet end to the outlet end of each stage, with the first stage in said series through which a gas mass first flows being both the lowest pressure stage and also that one stage whose inlet end does not have a fixed open gas flow connection from the outlet end of any other stage of said compressor, and with the last stage in said series through which a gas mass last flows being both the highest pressure stage and also that one stage whose outlet end does not have fixed open gas flow connection to the supply end of any other stage of said compressor; fixed open gas flow connections from the inlet end of the lowest pressure stage of each of said compressor means to said mixed gas supply source; each such separate expander means whose number of stages exceeds one further comprising fixed open gas flow connections from the discharge end of each expander stage, except one, to the inlet end of one other stage of said expander, whereby said stages of said expander are connected in series so that the pressure of a particular gas mass, at discharge from each stage, decreases as said gas mass is expanded through said series connected stages, from the inlet end to the discharge end of each stage, with the first stage in said series through which a gas mass first flows being both the highest pressure stage and also that one stage whose inlet end does not have a fixed open gas flow connection from the discharge end of any other stage of said expander, and with the last stage in said series through which a gas mass last flows being both the lowest pressure stage and also that one stage whose discharge end does not have a fixed open gas flow connection to the inlet end of any other stage of said expander; fixed open gas flow connections from the discharge end of the lowest pressure stage of each of said expander means to said expander discharge; expander discharge means for connecting the discharge of each of said separate expander means separately to but one of said product gas collector pipes with a fixed open gas flow connection so that each product gas collector pipe is thusly connected to but one of said separate expander discharges; changeable container gas flow connections, which are openable and closeable, from the gas pressure vessel inlet of each of said containers to each outlet end of each stage of each of said compressor means, and from the gas pressure vessel outlet of each of said containers to each inlet end of each stage of each of said expander means; each cyclic gas separator machine comprising a number of said containers, with changeable gas flow connections to said compressor means and to said expander means, at least equal to the sum of the number of compressor stages of all compressors and the number of expander stages of all expanders; means for opening and closing said changeable gas pressure vessel gas flow connections so that each gas pressure vessel inlet is opened for a time period to each outlet end of each stage of each of said compressor means, in a sub-sequence of time periods of open gas flow connections to compressors, said sub-sequence proceeding in time order of increasing compressor stage delivery pressure, each gas pressure vessel outlet is opened for a time period to each inlet end of each stage of each of said expander means, in a sub-sequence of time periods of open gas flow connections to expanders, said sub-sequence proceeding in time order of decreasing expander stage inlet pressure, said sub-sequence of connections to said compressors being followed by said sub-sequence of connections to said expanders, and these together comprise one sequence of time periods of open gas flow connections, each of said gas pressure vessel changeable gas flow connections is opened to only one stage during any one time period of said sequence of time periods, said sequence of time periods of open gas flow connections to said compressor means and to said expander means is repeated for each of said containers by said means for opening and closing; means for controlling said means for opening and closing said changeable gas pressure vessel gas flow connections, so that said repeated sequences of time periods of open gas flow connections are a continuous series of time periods for any one containing means, and so that the delivery end of each stage of each compressor means has an open gas flow connection to one gas pressure vessel inlet, and the inlet end of each stage of each expander means has an open gas flow connection to one gas pressure vessel outlet, during all time periods, whenever said machine is operating.