초록 ▼

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) separation of a feed gas mixture is performed within an apparatus having typically a single prime mover powering a feed compressor for one or multiple rotary PSA modules in parallel, each module including a rotor with a large number of angularly spaced adsorber elemen

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) separation of a feed gas mixture is performed within an apparatus having typically a single prime mover powering a feed compressor for one or multiple rotary PSA modules in parallel, each module including a rotor with a large number of angularly spaced adsorber elements, with valve surfaces between the rotor and a stator so that individual adsorber elements are opened to compartments for staged pressurization and blowdown, with thermally boosted energy recovery from staged expansion of countercurrent blowdown and light reflux gases, and a plurality of adsorber elements opened at any instant to each compartment so that each compressor and expander stage operates under substantially steady conditions of flow and pressure.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] Process for pressure swing adsorption separation of a feed gas mixture containing a more readily adsorbed component and a less readily adsorbed component, with the more readily adsorbed component being preferentially adsorbed from the feed gas mixture by an adsorbent material under

[ We claim:] [1.] Process for pressure swing adsorption separation of a feed gas mixture containing a more readily adsorbed component and a less readily adsorbed component, with the more readily adsorbed component being preferentially adsorbed from the feed gas mixture by an adsorbent material under increase of pressure, so as to separate from the feed gas mixture a heavy product gas enriched in the more readily adsorbed component and a light product gas depleted in the more readily adsorbed component; providing for the process a cooperating set of adsorber elements within a rotor and angularly spaced about the axis defined by rotation of the rotor relative to a stator, and rotating the rotor at a rotational frequency so as to generate within each adsorber element cyclic variations of pressure and flow at a cyclic frequency along a flow path contacting the adsorbent material between first and second ends of the adsorber element, the cyclic variations of pressure extending between a higher pressure and a lower pressure of the process, and the ratio of the cycle frequency to the rotational frequency is an integer number; rotating the rotor so that the first ends of the adsorber elements successively communicate by first apertures to compartments of the stator and in a first valve surface between the rotor and the stator, and the second ends of the adsorber elements successively communicate by second apertures to compartments of the stator and in a second valve surface between the rotor and the stator; with the compartments including a feed compartment and a heavy product compartment in the first valve surface, a light product compartment in the second valve surface, blowdown compartments in the first and/or second valve surface, and pressurization compartments in the first and/or second valve surface; the process including:(a) continuously supplying the feed gas mixture to the feed compartment at substantially the higher pressure, and continuously withdrawing the light product gas from the light product compartment at substantially the higher pressure less flow frictional pressure drops,(b) continuously withdrawing gas from the blowdown compartments at an intermediate blowdown pressure between the higher and lower pressures for each blowdown compartment,(c) continuously withdrawing the heavy product gas from the heavy product compartment at substantially the lower pressure, and(d) continuously supplying gas to the pressurization compartments at an intermediate pressurization pressure between the higher and lower pressures for each pressurization compartment; that each adsorber element undergoes the steps in sequence at the cyclic frequency of:(i) admission of the feed gas mixture and withdrawal of the light product gas at substantially the higher pressure,(ii) a plurality of blowdown steps, in which the adsorber element releases gas successively to the blowdown compartments in the first and/or second valve surface so as to reduce the pressure in the adsorber element to descending ones of the intermediate blowdown pressures for each blowdown step between the higher and lower pressures,(iii) withdrawal of the heavy product gas at substantially the lower pressure, and(iv) a plurality of pressurization steps, in which the adsorber element accepts gas successively from the pressurization compartments in the first and/or second valve surface so as to increase the pressure in the adsorber element to ascending ones of the intermediate pressurization pressures for each pressurization step between the lower and the higher pressures; h the rate of pressure change in the adsorber element during steps (ii) and (iv) limited by flow restriction across the first and second apertures, so that the maximum rate of pressure change during those steps is less than approximately five times the average rate of pressure change during those steps.