초록 ▼

Trace amounts of carbon monoxide and optionally hydrogen are removed from gaseous feed streams by passing the feed stream through a carbon monoxide adsorbent (33) prior to passing it through a supported metal catalyst (34). The invention saves significant capital and operational costs over existing

Trace amounts of carbon monoxide and optionally hydrogen are removed from gaseous feed streams by passing the feed stream through a carbon monoxide adsorbent (33) prior to passing it through a supported metal catalyst (34). The invention saves significant capital and operational costs over existing processes.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An adsorption apparatus for the removal of CO from a feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm, said apparatus comprising at least one adsorption vessel containing a CO adsorbent layer, the CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal

What is claimed is: 1. An adsorption apparatus for the removal of CO from a feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm, said apparatus comprising at least one adsorption vessel containing a CO adsorbent layer, the CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal to 0.01 mmol/g, and a source which supplies said feed stream, wherein a) when said feed stream further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, He, Ne, Ar, Xe, Kr, CH4 and mixtures thereof, said adsorbent is ion exchanged with a Group IB element; or b) when said feed stream further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen and air and mixtures thereof, said adsorbent is a zeolite having a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of <20, and is ion-exchanged with a Ag+ or Au+. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus contains two or more of said adsorption vessels. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said adsorption vessel is selected from the group consisting of vertical flow vessels, horizontal flow vessels, lateral flow vessels or radial flow vessels. 4. The adsorption apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus further contains an adsorbent selective for the adsorption of water, and wherein the water selective adsorbent layer is upstream of said CO adsorbent layer. 5. The adsorption apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus further contains a catalyst layer for the catalytic oxidation of H2 to H2O, and wherein said catalyst layer is downstream of said CO adsorbent layer. 6. The adsorption apparatus of claim 5, wherein said apparatus further contains an auxiliary adsorbent for the removal of water, and wherein said auxiliary adsorbent is downstream of said catalyst layer. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said ΔCO working capacity is greater than or equal to 0.03 mmol/g. 8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the water selective adsorbent is one or more of alumina or NaX zeolite. 9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the H2 catalyst is a supported metal catalyst. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said supported metal catalyst comprises one or more of the metals Os, Ir, Pt, Ru, Rh, Pd, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Sn, Mn, Cr, Pb, Ce and is supported on a substrate selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, natural or synthetic zeolites, titanium dioxide, magnesium oxide and calcium oxide. 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said apparatus further contains: a) at least one adsorbent layer upstream of said CO adsorbent for the adsorption of one or more of H2O and CO2, b) a catalyst layer for the catalytic conversion of H2 to H2O that is downstream of said CO adsorbent layer; and c) one or more additional adsorbents for the adsorption of one or more of H2O, CO2, N2O and hydrocarbons, wherein said additional adsorbents are downstream of said catalyst layer. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said one or more additional adsorbents are selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica gel, clinoptilolite, zeolites, composites thereof and mixtures thereof. 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the CO adsorbent has a ΔCO/ΔN2 separation factor of greater than or equal to 1×10-3. 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when said feed stream further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, He, Ne, Ar, Xe, Kr, H2, CH4 and mixtures thereof, said CO adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of AgX zeolite, Ag-Mordenite, Cu-clinoptilolite, AgA zeolite and AgY zeolite. 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein when said feed stream further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen and air and mixtures thereof, said CO adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of AgX zeolite, Ag-Mordenite, AgA zeolite and AgY zeolite. 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said CO adsorbent is AgX zeolite. 17. The apparatus of claims 1, wherein when said feed gas further contains air, said apparatus is an air prepurifier. 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said CO adsorbent is AgX having 100% of its cations associated with Ag. 19. A process for the removal of CO from a feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm, said process comprising contacting said feed stream with a CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal to 0.01 mmol/g to produce a CO depleted gas stream; and wherein a) when said feed stream further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, He, Ne, Ar, Xe, Kr, H2, CH4 and mixtures thereof, said adsorbent is a zeolite exchanged with a Group IB element; or b) when said feed stream further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of oxygen and air and mixtures thereof, said adsorbent is a zeolite having a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of <20, and is ion-exchanged with a Ag+ or Au+. 20. The process of claim 19, further comprising recovering said CO depleted gas stream, wherein CO is present in said CO depleted gas stream at a concentration of less than 100 ppb. 21. The process of claim 19, further comprising recovering said CO depleted gas stream, wherein CO is present in said CO depleted gas stream at a concentration of less than 5 ppb. 22. The process of claim 19, wherein said CO concentration in said feed stream is less than 1 ppm CO. 23. The process of claim 19, wherein said CO concentration in said feed stream is less than 0.5 ppm CO. 24. The process of claim 19, wherein said feed gas further comprises water (H2O), and said process further comprises contacting said feed stream with a water selective adsorbent that is located upstream of said CO adsorbent. 25. The process of claim 19, wherein said feed gas further comprises hydrogen, and said process further comprises contacting said CO depleted feed stream with a catalyst layer for the catalytic oxidation of H2 to H2O to produce a H2 depleted and H2O enriched gas, and wherein said catalyst layer is located downstream of said CO adsorbent layer. 26. The process of claim 25, wherein said process further comprises the step of contacting said H2O enriched gas with an adsorbent for the removal of water, and wherein the H2O adsorbent layer is located downstream of said catalyst layer to produce a gas that is depleted in CO, H2 and H2O. 27. The process of claim 19, wherein said ΔCO working capacity is greater than or equal to 0.03 mmol/g. 28. The process of claim 19, wherein the CO adsorbent has a ΔCO/ΔN2 separation factor that is greater than or equal to 1×10-3. 29. The process of claim 19, wherein the CO adsorbent has a ΔCO/ΔN2 separation factor that is greater than or equal to 1×10-2. 30. The process of claim 24, wherein the water selective adsorbent is one or more of alumina or NaX. 31. The process of claim 25, wherein the catalyst is a supported metal catalyst. 32. The process of claim 31, wherein said supported metal catalyst is comprises one or more of the metals Os, Ir, Pt, Ru, Rh, Pd, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Sn, Mn, Cr, Pb, Ce and is supported on a substrate selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica, natural or synthetic zeolites, titanium dioxide, magnesium oxide and calcium oxide. 33. The process of claim 19, wherein said process further comprises passing said feed gas over: a) at least one adsorbent layer upstream of said CO adsorbent for the adsorption of one or more of H2O and CO2, b) a catalyst layer for the catalytic conversion of H2 to H2O that is downstream of said CO adsorbent layer; and c) one or more additional adsorbents for the adsorption of one or more of H2O, CO2, N2O and hydrocarbons, wherein said additional adsorbents are downstream of said catalyst layer. 34. The process of claim 33, wherein said one or more additional adsorbents are selected from the group consisting of alumina, silica gel, clinoptilolite, zeolites, composites thereof and mixtures thereof. 35. The process of claim 19, wherein said process is selected from the group consisting of pressure swing adsorption, temperature swing adsorption, or a combination thereof. 36. The process of claim 19, wherein said process takes place in an adsorber vessel selected from a vertical flow vessel, a horizontal flow vessel or a radial flow vessel. 37. The process of claim 25, wherein the hydrogen depleted gas contains less than 100 ppb hydrogen. 38. The process of claim 25, wherein the hydrogen depleted gas contains less than 5 ppb hydrogen. 39. The process of claim 19, wherein the adsorption step of said process is operated at a temperature of zero to fifty degrees Celsius. 40. The process of claim 19, wherein when said feed gas further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, He, Ne, Ar, Xe, Kr, H2, CH4 and mixtures thereof said CO adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of AgX, Ag-Mor, Cu-clinoptilolite, AgA zeolite and AgY zeolite. 41. The process of claim 19, wherein when said feed gas further contains at least one gas selected from the group consisting of air and oxygen and mixtures thereof said CO adsorbent is selected from the group consisting of AgX, Ag-Mor, AgA zeolite and AgY zeolite. 42. The process of claim 19, wherein said CO adsorbent is AgX having greater than 50% of its cations associated with Ag. 43. The process of claim 19, wherein said CO adsorbent is AgX having 100% of its cations associated with Ag. 44. The process of claim 19, wherein said feed stream contains air, and wherein said CO depleted gas stream is passed to a cryogenic distillation column. 45. The process of claim 19, further comprising recovering said CO depleted gas stream, wherein CO is present in said CO depleted gas stream at a concentration of less than 1 ppb. 46. The process of claim 19, wherein the CO partial pressure in said feed stream is less than 0.1 mmHg. 47. The process of claim 19, wherein the CO partial pressure in said feed stream is less than 0.005 mmHg. 48. A process for the removal of CO from a feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm and hydrogen said process comprising contacting said feed stream with a CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal to 0.01 mmol/g to produce a CO depleted gas stream; and wherein said adsorbent is a zeolite exchanged with a Group IB element. 49. An adsorption apparatus for the removal of CO from a feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm, and hydrogen, said apparatus comprising at least one adsorption vessel containing a CO adsorbent layer, the CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal to 0.01 mmol/g; and wherein said adsorbent is a zeolite exchanged with a Group IB element, and a source which supplies said feed stream. 50. An air prepurification adsorption apparatus for the removal of CO from an air feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm, said apparatus comprising at least one adsorption vessel containing a CO adsorbent layer, the CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal to 0.01 mmol/g, and a source which supplies said feed stream, and wherein said adsorbent is a zeolite having a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of <20, and is ion-exchanged with a Ag+ or Au+. 51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein said apparatus further comprises at least one adsorbent layer upstream of said CO adsorbent for the adsorption of one or more of H2O and CO2. 52. The apparatus of claim 49 or claim 50, further comprising a catalyst layer for the catalytic conversion of H2 to H2O that is downstream of said CO adsorbent layer; and one or more additional adsorbents for the adsorption of one or more of H2O, CO2, N2O and hydrocarbons, wherein said additional adsorbents are downstream of said catalyst layer. 53. The apparatus of claim 49 or claim 50, wherein said CO adsorbent is AgX. 54. A process for the removal of CO from a feed stream containing CO in an amount of less than 50 ppm and air said process comprising contacting said feed stream in an adsorber vessel with a CO adsorbent having a ΔCO working capacity greater than or equal to 0.01 mmol/g to produce a CO depleted gas stream; and wherein_said adsorbent is a zeolite having a SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of <20, and is ion-exchanged with a Ag+ or Au+. 55. The process claim 54, wherein said process further comprises passing said feed stream over at least one adsorbent layer upstream of said CO adsorbent for the adsorption of one or more of H2O and CO2 to produce a H2O and or CO2 depleted feed stream. 56. The process of claim 54, wherein said process further comprises, passing said feed stream over a catalyst layer that is downstream of said CO adsorbent layer for the catalytic conversion of H2 to H2O layer and one or more additional adsorbents for the adsorption of one or more of H2O, CO2, N2O and hydrocarbons, wherein said additional adsorbents are downstream of said catalyst layer to produce a feed stream that is depleted in CO, H2 and one or more of H2O, CO2, N2O and hydrocarbons. 57. The process of claim 54, wherein said CO adsorbent is AgX. 58. The process of claim 54, wherein the depleted feed stream is passed to a cryogenic distillation column for the separation of air.