Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for cryogenic air separation
involving production of liquid products by using an integrated refrigeration system
comprising a primary refrigeration circuit and an auxiliary refrigeration circuit.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an auxiliary refrigeration circuit
that can be easily tied-in to an existing cryogenic air separation plant and its existing
refrigeration system.
Background
[0002] Oxygen, nitrogen and argon are separated from air through cryogenic rectification
in an air separation plant. Typically, gaseous and/or liquid products are produced
for on-site customers or pipeline customers, with any excess products often converted
to merchant liquid products for nearby customers. For some cryogenic air separation
plants, the on-site or pipeline customer demand for gaseous products, such as gaseous
oxygen or gaseous nitrogen, may decrease over time either on a long-term basis or
perhaps on a more temporary or mid-term basis. To satisfy the lower gaseous product
requirements, the cryogenic air separation plant may be operated so as to vent some
of the unneeded gaseous product which is economically inefficient as such venting
ultimately wastes the power/energy costs used to produce the vented gaseous products.
Alternatively, the air separation plant may be operated in a turn-down mode which
produces less gaseous product but at less than full plant capacity and separation
efficiency. A third option is to adjust the product slate of the cryogenic air separation
plant to produce more liquid products in lieu of the lowered gaseous product requirement.
[0003] There have been numerous prior art cryogenic air separation processes designed to
address this third option of making additional liquid products to offset decreased
requirements of gaseous products. See for example, United States Patent Nos.
6,125,656;
6,666,048;
6,945,076; and
8397535; as well as United States Patent Application Publication Nos.
2010-0058805;
2013-0192301;
2007-0101763; and European Patent Publication
EP1544559 A1. As seen in these prior art references, refrigeration must be supplied to offset
ambient heat leakage, warm end heat exchange losses and to allow the extraction or
production of the liquid products, including liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, or liquid
argon from one or more air separation units. The conventional or main source of refrigeration
for a cryogenic rectification plant is typically supplied by a turbine-based refrigeration
system capable of expanding part of the feed air stream or a waste stream to generate
a refrigeration stream that is then introduced into the main heat exchanger or the
distillation column system of the cryogenic air separation plant. Supplemental refrigeration
required to produce additional liquid products may be supplied with an additional
turbine-based refrigeration source. Such additional turbine-based refrigeration systems
involve additional capital costs and are often not optimized or fully integrated with
the main source of refrigeration for a cryogenic air separation plant.
[0004] What is needed, is an improvement to these prior art supplemental liquid make solutions
that allows the additional liquid make system to be configured as an add-on feature
to the air separation plant that can be easily added to the cryogenic air separation
plant/unit after initial plant construction. Such add-on supplemental liquid-make
feature should be integrated with the main source of refrigeration for the cryogenic
air separation plant and must also be both efficient and operationally flexible. In
other words, the supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration system should be capable
of and allow the plant to switch easily between a high liquid make cycle and the original
high gaseous product make cycle. Finally, the add-on supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration
system should be portable, and preferably skid-mounted.
[0005] JP 2009/052807 A and
DE 32 16 502 A1 relate to examples of cryogenic air separation units comprising a first refrigeration
circuit and an auxiliary refrigeration circuit including an auxiliary heat exchanger.
Summary of the Invention
[0006] The present invention relates to a method of separating air in an air separation
unit as defined in claim 1.
[0007] The present invention also relates to an air separation unit configured to produce
at least one liquid product stream as defined in claim 10.
[0008] In some embodiments, the first refrigeration circuit may include a compressor for
further compressing the first portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream;
a cooling means such as an aftercooler and/or main heat exchanger configured to cool
the further compressed first portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream;
and a first turbo-expander disposed within the first refrigeration circuit and configured
to expand the further compressed first portion of the compressed and purified feed
air stream to produce the first refrigeration stream. Similarly, the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit may also include an auxiliary compressor and cooling means.
[0009] Finally, in some embodiments that employ a multi-stage compression system within
the booster air compression circuit, the diversion of the fraction of the further
compressed feed air stream to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit preferably includes
further includes diverting one or more fractions of the third portion of the compressed
and purified feed air stream from one or more interstage locations of the plurality
of compression stages to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit. One or more flow control
valves are disposed between the booster air compression circuit and the second turbo-expander
in the auxiliary refrigeration circuit to control the flow of the diverted one or
more fractions and the inlet pressure to the second turbo-expander in the auxiliary
refrigeration circuit.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0010] While the present invention concludes with claims distinctly pointing out the subject
matter that Applicants regard as their invention, it is believed that the invention
will be better understood when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings
in which:
Fig. 1 is a schematic process flow diagram of a cryogenic air separation plant integrated
with an add-on supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration circuit not in accordance with
the present invention; and
Fig. 2 is a schematic process flow diagram of a cryogenic air separation plant integrated
with an embodiment of the add-on supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration circuit in
accordance with the present invention.
Detailed Description
[0011] In reference to Figs. 1-2, an air separation unit 10 generally includes an incoming
air compression and purification train or circuit (not shown); a primary refrigeration
circuit 20; a booster air compression train or circuit 30; a main heat exchanger 40;
and a distillation column system 50.
[0012] In the incoming air purification and compression train or circuit, the incoming feed
air is compressed in a multi-stage, intercooled, main air compressor arrangement to
a pressure that can be between about 5 bar(a) and about 15 bar(a). This main air compressor
arrangement may be an integrally geared compressor or a direct drive compressor arrangement.
The compressed air feed is then purified in a pre-purification unit to remove high
boiling contaminants from the incoming feed air. A pre-purification unit, as is well
known in the art, typically contains beds of alumina and/or molecular sieve operating
in accordance with a temperature and/or pressure swing adsorption cycle in which moisture
and other impurities, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor and hydrocarbons, are adsorbed.
[0013] As described in more detail below, the compressed and purified feed air stream 12
is divided into a plurality of portions which are further compressed and/or cooled.
The different portions of the compressed and purified air stream are then separated
into oxygen-rich, nitrogen-rich, and argon-rich fractions in a plurality of distillation
columns that comprise the distillation column system 50. The distillation column system
50 includes thermally linked higher pressure column 54 and lower pressure column 56,
as well as an optional argon rectification column 58.
[0014] Prior to such distillation however, portions of the compressed and purified feed
air stream 12 may be further compressed in a booster air compression train or circuit
30 and/or cooled to temperatures suitable for rectification within a primary or main
heat exchanger 40. The cooling is typically achieved using refrigeration from the
various oxygen, nitrogen and/or argon streams produced by the air separation unit
10 as well as refrigeration generated by one or more refrigeration circuits often
as a result of turbo-expansion of various air streams in an upper column turbine (UCT)
arrangement, a lower column turbine (LCT) arrangement, and/or a warm recycle turbine
(WRT) arrangement as known to persons skilled in the art.
Air Separation Unit with Primary and Auxiliary Refrigeration Circuits
[0015] Turning now to Fig. 1, an exemple which is not covered by the present invention is
illustrated that includes a plurality of divided portions of the compressed and purified
feed air stream. A first portion 13 of the compressed and purified feed air stream,
resulting from the compression and pre-purification of the incoming feed air, is diverted
to a first or primary refrigeration circuit 20 shown as an upper column turbine (UCT)
arrangement that is configured to produce a first cooled refrigeration stream 22.
Preferably, within the first or primary refrigeration circuit 20, the first portion
13 of the compressed and purified feed air stream is further compressed in compressor
24 and cooled in an aftercooler 25 and/or main heat exchanger 40. The compressed and
cooled (or partially cooled) stream is then expanded in the first turbo-expander 26
to produce the first refrigeration stream 22. A portion of the first refrigeration
stream is directed to the lower pressure column while a second portion of the first
refrigeration stream is diverted to the auxiliary or second refrigeration circuit
60 as described in more detail below.
[0016] A second portion 15 of the compressed and purified feed air stream is directed or
diverted to the main heat exchanger 40 to cool this portion of the compressed and
purified feed air stream. The resulting cooled second portion 42 of the compressed
and purified feed air stream is then directed to the higher pressure column 54 of
the distillation column system 50 as generally known in the art and practiced in many
cryogenic air separation units.
[0017] In addition, a third portion 17 of the compressed and purified feed air stream is
diverted to a booster air compression circuit 30 configured to produce a further compressed,
high pressure feed air stream 32. As illustrated, the booster air compression circuit
30 employs a booster air compressor arrangement 33 having a plurality of compression
stages with intercoolers and aftercoolers 31 and forms a high pressure air stream
32 that is fed to the main heat exchanger 40. The high pressure air stream forms a
liquid phase or a dense fluid if its pressure exceeds the critical pressure after
cooling in the main heat exchanger. This liquid air stream 34 is then split into two
portions 35, 36, with a first portion 35 being directed through an expansion valve
37 and into the higher pressure column 54 of the distillation column system 50 and
a second portion 36 is expanded through another expansion valve 38 and introduced
into the lower pressure column 56 of distillation column system 50.
[0018] As seen in Fig. 1, a fraction 62A, 62B of the third portion 17 of the compressed
and purified feed air stream is further diverted from the booster air compression
circuit 30 to an auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60 configured to produce a second
refrigeration stream 66. The auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60 preferably includes
an auxiliary compressor 63, a second turbo-expander 64, and an auxiliary heat exchanger
65. This fraction 62A, 62B of the further compressed feed air stream from the booster
air compression circuit 30 is diverted via one or more flow control valves 67A, 67B,
to the auxiliary compressor 63 where the diverted fraction stream is further compressed
(as stream 61), optionally cooled or partially cooled and then expanded in a turbo-expander
64. After expansion in the turbo-expander 64, the diverted fraction stream is then
cooled in the auxiliary heat exchanger 65 via indirect heat exchange with one or more
cooling streams, preferably a diverted portion of the first refrigeration stream 28,
to produce the cooled second refrigeration stream 66 exiting the auxiliary heat exchanger
65 and a warmed stream 29. The cooled second refrigeration stream 66 is then combined
with the cooled second portion 34 of the compressed and purified feed air stream and
the resulting combined stream 68 is then directed to the higher pressure column 54
to impart another or second portion of the refrigeration required by the distillation
column system 50. As briefly discussed above, part of the first refrigeration stream
22 is diverted as a cooling stream 28 to the auxiliary heat exchanger 65 where it
cools the diverted fraction 62A, 62B of the further compressed feed air stream in
the auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60. The remaining portion of the first refrigeration
stream 22 is directed to the lower pressure column 56 to impart a portion of the refrigeration
required by the distillation column system 50. In this arrangement the supplemental
refrigeration created by the expansion of the first portion 13 of the compressed and
purified air stream in the first or primary refrigeration circuit 20 is thus imparted
partly to the lower pressure column 56 and partly to the auxiliary heat exchanger
65 thereby alleviating some of the cooling duty of the primary heat exchanger 40.
[0019] The present example also shows a fourth portion 19 of the compressed and purified
feed air stream that may also be diverted from the incoming air purification and compression
circuit (not shown) as a carrier fluid to the auxiliary heat exchanger 65 where it
is cooled and subsequently directed to the higher pressure column 54 of the distillation
column system 50 so as to capture the auxiliary refrigeration. As illustrated, this
cooled fourth portion 69 of the compressed and purified feed air stream may be combined
with the warmed second refrigeration stream 66 and/or the cooled second portion 42
of the compressed and purified feed air stream exiting the main heat exchanger 40
with the resulting combined stream 68 then directed to the higher pressure column
54.
[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the first portion of the compressed and purified feed
air stream directed to the primary refrigeration circuit represents roughly 8% to
20% of the incoming feed air stream. Of this first portion, up to 12% of the incoming
feed air stream is diverted as the second portion to the auxiliary heat exchanger
to balance the temperatures in the auxiliary heat exchanger. Varying the amount of
diverted air from the first refrigeration circuit to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit
enables the air separation unit to readily switch between a high gaseous product make
cycle and a high liquid product make cycle.
[0021] The third portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream represents roughly
25% to 32% of the incoming feed air stream with roughly 5% to 10% of the incoming
feed air stream being diverted to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit.
[0022] The second portion and fourth portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream
combined represents the remainder roughly of the incoming feed air stream 48% to 67%
of the incoming feed air stream. The exact split between the second portion and fourth
portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream depends on the heat exchange
duties in the main heat exchanger and auxiliary heat exchanger.
[0023] The main heat exchanger 40 and auxiliary heat exchanger 65 are preferably a brazed
aluminum plate-fin type heat exchanger. Such heat exchangers are advantageous due
to their compact design, high heat transfer rates and their ability to process multiple
streams. They are manufactured as fully brazed and welded pressure vessels. The brazing
operation involves stacking corrugated fins, parting sheets and end bars to form a
core matrix. The matrix is placed in a vacuum brazing oven where it is heated and
held at brazing temperature in a clean vacuum environment. For small plants, a heat
exchanger comprising a single core may be sufficient. For higher flows, a heat exchanger
may be constructed from several cores which may be connected in parallel or series.
[0024] The turbo-expanders 26 and 64 are preferably linked with booster air compressors
24 and 63 respectively, either directly or by appropriate gearing. Although not shown,
the turbo-expanders may also to be connected or operatively coupled to a generator.
Such generator loaded turbo-expander arrangement allows the speed of the turbo-expander
to be maintained constant even at very high or low loads. This arrangement is desirable
in some applications because the speed of the turbo-expander would remain generally
constant at the ideal efficiency across the entire operating envelope. In such arrangements,
the generator load may be connected to the turbo-expander by means of a high speed
generator. Alternatively, the generator load may be connected to the turbo-expander
by means of a high speed coupling connected to an internal or external gearbox and
with a low speed coupling from the gearbox to the generator.
[0025] The distillation column system 50 includes a thermally linked higher pressure column
54 and lower pressure column 56 as well as an optional argon rectification column
58. Within the columns, vapor and liquid are counter-currently contacted in order
to affect a gas/liquid mass-transfer based separation of the respective feed streams.
Such columns will preferably employ structured packing or trays or combinations thereof.
The higher pressure column 54 typically operates in the range from between about 20
bar(a) to about 60 bar(a) whereas the lower pressure column 56 typically operates
at pressures between about 1.1 bar(a) to about 1.5 bar(a).
[0026] As indicated above, the higher pressure column 54 and the lower pressure column 56
are linked in a heat transfer relationship such that a nitrogen-rich vapor column
overhead, extracted from the top of higher pressure column as a stream 71, is condensed
within a main condenser-reboiler 55 located in the base of lower pressure column 56
against boiling an oxygen-rich liquid column bottoms 72. The boiling of oxygen-rich
liquid column bottoms 72 initiates the formation of an ascending vapor phase within
lower pressure column 56. The condensation produces a liquid nitrogen containing stream
73 that is divided into streams 74 and 75A/B that reflux the higher pressure column
54 and the lower pressure column 56, respectively to initiate the formation of descending
liquid phases in such columns. If liquid nitrogen product is required, stream 76 may
also be recovered.
[0027] Streams 34, 66, and 69 are introduced into the higher pressure column 54 along with
the expanded liquid air stream 39 for rectification by contacting an ascending vapor
phase of such mixture within a plurality of mass transfer contacting elements with
a descending liquid phase that is initiated by reflux stream 74. This produces a crude
liquid oxygen column bottoms 77, also known as kettle liquid and the nitrogen-rich
column overhead 78. A stream 91 representing a portion of the nitrogen-rich column
overhead 78 may be directed to the main heat exchanger 40 to provide refrigeration
to the feed air streams. In addition, a stream 101 of the crude liquid oxygen column
bottoms 77 may be directed to the argon column 58 to as a reflux to aid in the recovery
of argon product 93. Alternatively, although not shown, a stream of the crude liquid
oxygen column bottoms may be expanded in an expansion valve to the pressure at or
near that of the lower pressure column and introduced into the lower pressure column
for further rectification.
[0028] Lower pressure column 56 is also provided with a plurality of mass transfer contacting
elements that can be trays or structured packing or random packing or other known
elements in the art of cryogenic air separation. As stated previously, the separation
produces an oxygen-rich liquid 80 and a nitrogen-rich vapor column overhead 82 that
is extracted as a nitrogen product stream 84. Additionally, a waste stream 85 is also
extracted to control the purity of nitrogen product stream 84. Both nitrogen product
stream 84 and waste stream 85 are passed through a subcooling unit 90 designed to
subcool the reflux stream 75A/B. A portion of the reflux stream may optionally be
taken as a liquid product stream 76 and the remaining portion (shown as stream 75B)
may be introduced into lower pressure column 56 after passing through expansion valve
99.
[0029] After passage through subcooling unit 90, nitrogen vapor product stream 84 and waste
stream 85 are fully warmed within main heat exchanger 40 to produce a warmed nitrogen
product stream 94 and a warmed waste stream 95. Although not shown, the warmed waste
stream 95 may be used to regenerate the adsorbents within pre-purification unit. In
addition, an oxygen-rich liquid stream 80 is extracted from the oxygen-rich liquid
column bottoms 72 near the bottom of the lower pressure column 56. Oxygen-rich liquid
stream 80 can be pumped by a pump 83 to form a pumped product stream as illustrated
by pumped liquid oxygen stream 86. Part of the pumped liquid oxygen stream 86 can
optionally be taken directly as a liquid oxygen product stream 88, with the remainder,
namely stream 87, being directed to the main heat exchanger 40 where it is warmed
and vaporized to produce a pressurized oxygen product stream 97. Although only one
such stream is shown, there could be a plurality of such streams that are fed into
the main heat exchanger 40. Pumped liquid oxygen stream 86 can be pressurized to above
or below the critical pressure so that oxygen product stream 97 when discharged from
main heat exchanger 40 will be a supercritical fluid. Alternatively, the pressurization
of pumped liquid oxygen stream 86 could be lower to produce an oxygen product stream
97 in a vapor form.
[0030] Turning now to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, there is shown an embodiment
of the add-on supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60. Fig. 2 differs from
Fig. 1 in that a portion of the partially cooled, expanded working fluid 27 in the
auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60 is recycled back to the first refrigeration circuit
20 at a location upstream of the first turbo-expander 26. In this manner, the working
fluid 27 undergoes two stages of expansion in a serial arrangement. In other words,
the turbo-expander 64 of the auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60 is arranged in series
with the turbo-expander 26 of the first refrigeration circuit 20 with the resulted
expanded working fluid being directed to the lower pressure column 56 and/or the auxiliary
heat exchanger 65.
[0031] Another difference between the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 and the example of Fig.
1 is found in the auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60. In the example of Fig. 2, all
or a portion of the diverted fraction stream may optionally bypass the auxiliary compressor
63 and go directly to the second turbo-expander 64 and on to the auxiliary heat exchanger
65. When flow control valve 67C is open and flow control valve 67D is closed, the
combined streams 62A and 62B are further compressed in auxiliary compressor 63, then
expanded in second turbo-expander 64 and warmed in auxiliary heat exchanger 65. Conversely,
when flow control valve 67C is closed and flow control valve 67D is open, the combined
working fluid streams 62A and 62B bypass the auxiliary compressor 63 and directed
to the second turbo-expander 64 and then warmed in auxiliary heat exchanger 65. This
arrangement allows for adjusting the pressure of the working fluid in the auxiliary
refrigeration circuit 60.
Integrating the Auxiliary Refrigeration Circuit with the Air Separation Unit
[0032] As indicated above, air separation unit 10 is capable of producing liquid products,
namely, nitrogen-rich liquid stream 76 and liquid oxygen product stream 88. In order
to increase the production of such liquid products, additional refrigeration is supplied
by an add-on or auxiliary refrigeration circuit. In the presently disclosed air separation
unit or air separation plant, the add-on refrigeration circuit is the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit 60 that is preferably configured to be added to or bolted on the cryogenic
air separation unit 10 after initial plant construction. Thus, the design of the auxiliary
refrigeration circuit 60 is tailored for such late add-on or retrofit application
and the tie-in points to the cryogenic air separation unit 10 are minimized.
[0033] In the illustrated embodiment, there are five key tie-in points between the cryogenic
air separation unit 1 and auxiliary or second refrigeration circuit 60. The first
tie-in point 110 preferably occurs downstream of the main air compression train or
circuit where the fourth portion 19 of the compressed and purified feed air stream
12 is diverted to the auxiliary or second refrigeration circuit, and more particularly,
to the auxiliary heat exchanger 65. This first tie in point 110 is configured to provide
the carrier fluid (i.e. compressed and purified air) to which the auxiliary refrigeration
from the auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60 is provided.
[0034] The second tie-in point 120 is within the booster air compression circuit 30 and
is configured to divert a fraction of the further compressed third portion of the
compressed and purified stream as compressed stream s 62A, 62B to the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit 60. This second tie in point 110 provides a working fluid (i.e. boosted compressed
air) that is to be expanded to provide a portion of the auxiliary refrigeration from
the auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60.
[0035] The third tie-in point 130 is located within the distillation column system 50 and
is configured to return the cooled carrier fluid 69 (i.e. compressed and purified
air) as well as the warmed working fluid 66 (i.e. fully warmed, expanded working fluid)
to the higher pressure column 54.
[0036] The fourth tie-in point 140 is located within the first refrigeration circuit 20
and is configured to divert a portion 28 of the first refrigeration stream 22 to the
auxiliary refrigeration circuit 60 where it provides further cooling or refrigeration
to the carrier stream 19 via indirect heat exchange in the auxiliary heat exchanger
65.
[0037] A fifth tie in point 150 is also required in the embodiment shown in Fig. 2. This
fifth tie-in point 150 is also located within the first refrigeration circuit 20 and
configured to return a portion of the partially cooled, expanded working fluid 27
back to the first refrigeration circuit 20 upstream of the first turbo-expander 26.
[0038] Preferably, the supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration system is configured and
constructed as a portable, skid-mounted refrigeration system that can be easily added
to the cryogenic air separation plant/unit after initial plant construction in a manner
that minimizes cold-box entry. The preferred skid-mounted supplemental or auxiliary
refrigeration system would include: (i) one or more auxiliary compressors 63; (ii)
the warm second turbo-expander 64; (iii) the auxiliary heat exchanger 65; (iv) associated
piping to facilitate the above-identified four or five tie-in points; and (v) one
or more control valves 67A, 67B, 67C, and 67D configured to control the air stream
flows to the one or more auxiliary compressors 63, second turbo-expander 64, and auxiliary
heat exchanger 65 as described above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. In some embodiments,
some of the flow control valves 67A, 67B, 67C, and 67D configured to control the air
stream flows to the one or more auxiliary compressors 63, second turbo-expander 64,
and auxiliary heat exchanger 65 may be configured as part of the cryogenic air separation
plant and where the skid-mounted supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration system is
tied-in downstream of such control valves.
[0039] By controlling the flow to the supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration circuit via
the one or more flow control valves, the presently disclosed system can easily switch
between a high gaseous product cycle - when the flow control valves are closed and
a high liquid make cycle where the flow control valves are operated to produce an
increased amount of refrigeration and associated liquid product make.
[0040] An advantage of the present system and method for providing auxiliary refrigeration
to a cryogenic air separation plant is the ability to increase the amount of refrigeration
and associated liquid product make in a cost-effective manner. The amount of refrigeration
produced and amount of liquid make is adjusted by varying the warm turbine inlet pressure
and flow in the supplemental or auxiliary refrigeration circuit. Adjustments to the
warm turbine inlet pressure and flow are effected by selectively opening and/or closing
the one or more flow control valves 67A, 67B, 67C, and 67D. The discharge flow from
the warm second turbo-expander is passed through the auxiliary heat exchanger and
then directed to the higher pressure column along with the main air (i.e. cooled second
portion of the of the compressed and purified feed air stream) and the fourth portion
of the of the compressed and purified feed air stream exiting the auxiliary heat exchanger.
[0041] An additional advantage presented by the present system and method is that by diverting
a portion of the first refrigeration stream from the primary refrigeration circuit
to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit and thus bypassing the lower pressure column
separation, the gaseous oxygen product produced by the distillation column system
is reduced but the argon recovery within the distillation column system can be maintained
or possibly enhanced.
[0042] Also, diverting a portion of the first refrigeration stream to the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit is preferably controlled to balance the temperatures in auxiliary heat exchanger
and preserve recovery in the auxiliary booster-turbine arrangement. The flow and pressure
ratio within the primary refrigeration circuit is maximized. In this fashion, the
upper column turbine arrangement is used more as a heat pump to improve liquid making
capability of the cryogenic air separation plant.
1. A method of separating air in an air separation unit (10) comprising a main heat exchanger
(40) configured to cool a compressed and purified feed air stream to a temperature
suitable for the rectification and a distillation column system (54, 56, 58) configured
to rectify the compressed, purified and cooled air stream to produce at least one
liquid product stream (76, 88), the method comprising the steps of:
compressing and purifying a feed air stream to produce the compressed and purified
feed air stream (12);
diverting a first portion (13) of the compressed and purified feed air stream to a
first refrigeration circuit (20) configured to produce a first cooled refrigeration
stream (22);
diverting a second portion (15) of the compressed and purified feed air stream to
the main heat exchanger to cool the second portion of the compressed and purified
feed air stream and wherein the cooled second portion of the compressed and purified
feed air stream is subsequently directed to the higher pressure column (54) of the
distillation column system;
diverting a third portion (17) of the compressed and purified feed air stream to a
booster air compression circuit (30) configured to produce a further compressed feed
air stream and wherein a first part (32) of the further compressed feed air stream
is directed to the main heat exchanger where the further compressed feed air stream
is cooled to produce a liquid air stream (34) that is directed to the distillation
column system;
diverting a second part (62A, 62B) of the further compressed feed air stream from
the booster air compression circuit to an auxiliary refrigeration circuit (60) configured
to produce a second refrigeration stream (66), the auxiliary refrigeration circuit
comprising a second turbo-expander (64) and an auxiliary heat exchanger (65);
diverting a fourth portion (19) of the compressed and purified feed air stream to
the auxiliary heat exchanger;
diverting a part (28) of the first refrigeration stream from the first refrigeration
circuit to the auxiliary heat exchanger and warming the diverted portion of the first
refrigeration stream in the auxiliary heat exchanger via indirect heat exchange with
the diverted fourth portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream and with
the second refrigeration stream to cool the second refrigeration stream;
directing the fourth portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream exiting
the auxiliary heat exchanger to the distillation column system;
directing a remaining part of the first refrigeration stream to a lower pressure column
(56) of the distillation column system to impart a first portion of the refrigeration
required by the distillation column system; and
directing a cooled portion (68) of the second refrigeration stream to the higher pressure
column of the distillation column system to impart a second portion of the refrigeration
required by the distillation column system
diverting a portion (27) of the second refrigeration stream from the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit to the first refrigeration circuit; and
combining (150) the diverted portion of the second refrigeration stream with the first
portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream in the first refrigeration
circuit.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
further compressing the first portion (13) of the compressed and purified feed air
stream (12) within the first refrigeration circuit (20);
cooling the further compressed first portion of the compressed and purified feed air
stream; and
expanding the further compressed first portion of the compressed and purified feed
air stream in a first turbo-expander (26) disposed within the first refrigeration
circuit to produce the first refrigeration stream (22).
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of cooling the further compressed first portion
(13) of the compressed and purified feed air stream further (12) comprises cooling
the further compressed first portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream
in an aftercooler.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of cooling the further compressed first portion
(13) of the compressed and purified feed air stream (12) further comprises partially
cooling the further compressed first portion of the compressed and purified feed air
stream in the main heat exchanger (40).
5. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of directing the cooled fourth portion (69)
of the compressed and purified feed air stream (12) to the distillation column system
(54, 56, 58) the cooled fourth portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream
is directed to the higher pressure column (54) of the distillation column system.
6. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of directing a cooled portion of the second
refrigeration stream (66) to the higher pressure column (54) comprises diverting a
portion of the second refrigeration stream that is partially cooled from the auxiliary
heat exchanger (65) in the auxiliary refrigeration circuit (60) to the first refrigeration
circuit (20); and
wherein the step of combining the diverted portion of the second refrigeration stream
with the first portion (13) of the compressed and purified feed air stream (12) in
the first refrigeration circuit
comprises combining the diverted portion of the second refrigeration stream with the
first portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream in the first refrigeration
circuit upstream of the first turbo-expander (26) disposed within the first refrigeration
circuit.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of diverting a fraction of the further compressed
feed air stream from the booster air compression circuit (30) to the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit (60) further comprises:
further compressing the third portion (17) of the compressed and purified feed air
stream (12) in a plurality of compression stages (33); and
diverting a first fraction (62A, 62B) of the third portion of the compressed and purified
feed air stream from an interstage location of the plurality of compression stages
to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of diverting a fraction of the further compressed
feed air stream from the booster air compression circuit (30) to the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit (60) further comprises:
further compressing the third portion (17) of the compressed and purified feed air
stream (12) in a plurality of compression stages (33); and
diverting one or more fractions (62A, 62B) of the third portion of the compressed
and purified feed air stream from one or more interstage locations of the plurality
of compression stages to the auxiliary refrigeration circuit (60);
controlling the flow of the diverted one or more fractions of the third portion of
the compressed and purified feed air stream with one or more flow control valves (67A,
67B, 67C, 67D) disposed between the booster air compression circuit and the second
turbo-expander (64) in the auxiliary refrigeration circuit;
wherein the inlet pressure to the second turbo-expander in the auxiliary refrigeration
circuit is controlled by adjusting the one or more flow control valves which in turn
controls the second portion of the refrigeration required by the distillation column
system (54, 56, 58).
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the auxiliary refrigeration circuit (60) further comprises
an auxiliary compressor (63), and wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
diverting the fraction of the further compressed feed air stream from the booster
air compression circuit (30) to the auxiliary compressor;
further compressing the diverted fraction of the compressed feed air stream from the
booster air compression circuit in the auxiliary compressor (63);
partially cooling the further compressed diverted fraction in the auxiliary heat exchanger
via indirect heat exchange with the diverted portion (28) of the first refrigeration
stream (22);
expanding the partially cooled further compressed diverted fraction in the second
turbo-expander;
further cooling the expanded diverted fraction in the auxiliary heat exchanger via
indirect heat exchange with the diverted portion of the first refrigeration stream
to produce the cooled second refrigeration stream (66); and
directing the cooled second refrigeration stream to the higher pressure column (54)
of the distillation column system to impart the second portion of the refrigeration
required by the distillation column system.
10. An air separation unit configured to produce at least one liquid product stream (76,
88), the air separation unit (10)comprising:
an incoming air compression and purification train configured to produce a compressed
and purified feed air stream (12);
a primary refrigeration circuit (20) having a first turbo-expander (26), the primary
refrigeration circuit operatively coupled to the incoming air compression and purification
train and configured to receive a first portion (13) of the compressed and purified
feed air stream and expand the first portion of the compressed and purified feed air
stream in the first turbo-expander to produce a first cooled refrigeration stream
(22);
a main heat exchanger (40) operatively coupled to the incoming air compression and
purification train and configured to receive a second portion (15) of the compressed
and purified feed air stream and to cool the second portion of the compressed and
purified feed stream to a temperature suitable for the rectification of the compressed
and purified feed air stream;
a booster air compression circuit (30) operatively coupled to the incoming air compression
and purification train and the main heat exchanger, the booster air compression circuit
configured to receive a third portion (17) of the compressed and purified feed air
stream, further compress the third portion and direct a first part (32) of the further
compressed third portion to the main heat exchanger to produce a liquid air stream
(34);
a second turbo-expander (64) configured to receive a second part (62A; 62B) of the
further compressed third portion and expand the fraction of the further compressed
third portion to produce a second refrigeration stream; and
an auxiliary heat exchanger (65) operatively coupled to the incoming air compression
and purification train, the booster air compression circuit and the primary refrigeration
circuit, the auxiliary heat exchanger configured to receive a fourth portion (19)
of the compressed and purified feed air stream and cool the fourth portion of the
compressed and purified feed air stream and the second refrigeration stream via indirect
heat exchange with a diverted portion (28) of the first refrigeration stream;
a distillation column system (54, 56, 58) operatively coupled to the primary refrigeration
circuit, the booster air compression circuit and the auxiliary heat exchanger, the
distillation column system configured to rectifying some of the first refrigeration
stream, and some or all of the second refrigeration stream, the liquid air stream,
and the cooled second portion of the compressed and purified feed air stream by a
cryogenic rectification process to produce the at least one liquid product stream;
and
a recycle circuit connecting the auxiliary heat exchanger with the primary refrigeration
circuit wherein a portion of the second refrigeration stream is recycled to the first
refrigeration circuit.
11. The air separation unit of claim 10 wherein the primary refrigeration circuit (20)
further comprises a compressor (24) configured for further compressing the first portion
(13) of the compressed and purified feed air stream (12) within the primary refrigeration
circuit (20); and wherein the compressor is operatively coupled to the main heat exchanger
(40) such that the further compressed the first portion of the compressed and purified
feed air stream is partially cooled in the main heat exchanger.
12. The air separation unit of claim 10 wherein the distillation column system comprises
a higher pressure column and the cooled fourth portion (69) of the compressed and
purified feed air stream (12) exiting the auxiliary heat exchanger (65) is directed
to the higher pressure column (54) of the distillation column system.
13. The air separation unit of claim 10 wherein the portion of the second refrigeration
stream recycled to the first refrigeration circuit (20) is partially cooled within
the auxiliary heat exchanger (65) and is recycled to a location in the first refrigeration
circuit upstream of the first turbo-expander (26).
14. The air separation unit of claim 10 further comprising an auxiliary refrigeration
circuit (60) that includes an auxiliary compressor (63) configured to receive the
fraction (62A, 62B) of the further compressed feed air stream diverted from the booster
air compression circuit (30), the second turbo-expander configured to receive a compressed
air stream (61) from the auxiliary compressor and expand the compressed air stream,
and the auxiliary heat exchanger (65) configured to receive the expanded air stream
from the second turbo-expander.
15. The air separation unit of claim 14 wherein the booster air compression circuit (30)
further comprises a plurality of compression stages (33) and a diversion circuit for
diverting one or more fractions (6A, 62B) of the further compressed feed air stream
from one or more interstage locations of the plurality of compression stages to the
auxiliary refrigeration circuit (60).
1. Verfahren zum Trennen von Luft in einer Lufttrenneinheit (10), umfassend einen Hauptwärmetauscher
(40), der dazu konfiguriert ist, einen verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstrom
auf eine Temperatur zu kühlen, die zur Rektifikation geeignet ist, und ein Destillationskolonnensystem
(54, 56, 58), das dazu konfiguriert ist, den verdichteten, gereinigten und gekühlten
Luftstrom zu rektifizieren, um mindestens einen Flüssigproduktstrom (76, 88) zu erzeugen,
wobei das Verfahren die Schritte umfasst:
Verdichten und Reinigen eines Luftzufuhrstroms, um den verdichteten und gereinigten
Luftzufuhrstrom (12) zu erzeugen;
Umleiten eines ersten Teils (13) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
zu einem ersten Kühlkreislauf (20), der dazu konfiguriert ist, einen ersten gekühlten
Kühlstrom (22) zu erzeugen;
Umleiten eines zweiten Teils (15) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
zu dem Hauptwärmetauscher, um den zweiten Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
zu kühlen, und wobei der gekühlte zweite Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
nachfolgend zu der Hochdruckkolonne (54) des Destillationskolonnensystems geleitet
wird;
Umleiten eines dritten Teils (17) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
zu einem Kreislauf (30) zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung, der dazu konfiguriert ist,
einen weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstrom zu erzeugen, und wobei ein erster Teil (32)
des weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms zu dem Hauptwärmetauscher geleitet wird,
wobei der weiter verdichtete Luftzufuhrstrom gekühlt wird, um einen Flüssigluftstrom
(34) zu erzeugen, der zu dem Destillationskolonnensystem geleitet wird;
Umleiten eines zweiten Teils (62A, 62B) des weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms von
dem Kreislauf zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung zu einem Zusatzkühlkreislauf (60), der
dazu konfiguriert ist, einen zweiten Kühlstrom (66) zu erzeugen, wobei der Zusatzkühlkreislauf
einen zweiten Turboexpander (64) und einen Zusatzwärmetauscher (65) umfasst;
Umleiten eines vierten Teils (19) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
zu dem Zusatzwärmetauscher;
Umleiten eines Teils (28) des ersten Kühlstroms von dem ersten Kühlkreislauf zu dem
Zusatzwärmetauscher und Erwärmen des umgeleiteten Teils des ersten Kühlstroms in dem
Zusatzwärmetauscher durch indirekten Wärmeaustausch mit dem umgeleiteten vierten Teil
des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms und mit dem zweiten Kühlstrom, um
den zweiten Kühlstrom zu kühlen;
Leiten des vierten Teils des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms, der den
Zusatzwärmetauscher verlässt, zu dem Destillationskolonnensystem;
Leiten eines verbleibenden Teils des ersten Kühlstroms zu einer Unterdruckkolonne
(56) des Destillationskolonnensystems, um einen ersten Teil der von dem Destillationskolonnensystem
erforderlichen Kühlung zu übertragen; und
Leiten eines gekühlten Teils (68) des zweiten Kühlstroms zu der Unterdruckkolonne
des Destillationskolonnensystems, um einen zweiten Teil der von dem Destillationskolonnensystem
erforderlichen Kühlung zu übertragen;
Umleiten eines Teils (27) des zweiten Kühlstroms von dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf zu dem
ersten Kühlkreislauf; und Kombinieren (150) des umgeleiteten Teils des zweiten Kühlstroms
mit dem ersten Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms in dem ersten
Kühlkreislauf.
2. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, ferner umfassend die Schritte:
Weiterverdichten des ersten Teils (13) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
(12) innerhalb des ersten Kühlkreislaufs (20);
Kühlen des weiter verdichteten ersten Teils des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms;
und
Expandieren des weiter verdichteten ersten Teils des verdichteten und gereinigten
Luftzufuhrstroms in einem ersten Turboexpander (26), der innerhalb des ersten Kühlkreislaufs
angeordnet ist, um den ersten Kühlstrom (22) zu erzeugen.
3. Verfahren nach Anspruch 2, wobei der Schritt eines Kühlens des weiter verdichteten
ersten Teils (13) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms (12) ferner ein
Kühlen des weiter verdichteten ersten Teils des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
in einem Nachkühler umfasst.
4. Verfahren nach Anspruch 2, wobei der Schritt eines Kühlens des weiter verdichteten
ersten Teils (13) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms (12) ferner ein
teilweises Kühlen des weiter verdichteten ersten Teils des verdichteten und gereinigten
Luftzufuhrstroms in dem Hauptwärmetauscher (40) umfasst.
5. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der gekühlte vierte Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten
Luftzufuhrstroms bei dem Schritt des Leitens des gekühlten vierten Teils (69) des
verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms (12) zu dem Destillationskolonnensystem
(54, 56, 58) zu der Hochdrucckolonne (54) des Destillationskolonnensystems geleitet
wird.
6. Verfahren nach Anspruch 2, wobei der Schritt eines Leitens eines gekühlten Teils des
zweiten Kühlstroms (66) zu der Hochdruckkolonne (54) ein Umleiten eines Teils des
zweiten Kühlstroms, der teilweise von dem Zusatzwärmetauscher (65) in dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf
(60) gekühlt wird, zu dem ersten Kühlkreislauf (20) umfasst;
und
wobei der Schritt eines Kombinierens des umgeleiteten Teils des zweiten Kühlstroms
mit dem ersten Teil (13) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms (12) in
dem ersten Kühlkreislauf ein Kombinieren des umgeleiteten Teils des zweiten Kühlstroms
mit dem ersten Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms in dem ersten
Kühlkreislauf, der dem ersten Turboexpander (26) vorgeschaltet ist, der innerhalb
des ersten Kühlkreislaufs angeordnet ist, umfasst.
7. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Schritt eines Umleitens eines Bruchteils des
weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms von dem Kreislauf (30) zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung
zu dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf (60) ferner umfasst:
Weiterverdichten des dritten Teils (17) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
(12) in einer Vielzahl von Verdichtungsstufen (33);
und
Umleiten eines ersten Bruchteils (62A, 62B) des dritten Teils des verdichteten und
gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms von einer Zwischenstufenstelle der Vielzahl von Verdichtungsstufen
zu dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf.
8. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Schritt eines Um leitens eines Bruchteils des
weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms von dem Kreislauf (30) zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung
zu dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf (60) ferner umfasst:
Weiterverdichten des dritten Teils (17) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
(12) in einer Vielzahl von Verdichtungsstufen (33); und
Umleiten eines oder mehrerer Bruchteile (62A, 62B) des dritten Teils des verdichteten
und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms von einer oder mehreren Zwischenstufenstellen der
Vielzahl von Verdichtungsstufen zu dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf(60);
Regeln der Strömung oder des umgeleiteten einen oder der umgeleiteten mehreren Bruchteile
des dritten Teils des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms mit einem oder
mehreren Stromregelventilen (67A, 67B, 67C, 67D), die zwischen dem Kreislauf zur verstärkten
Luftverdichtung und dem zweiten Turboexpander (64) in dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf angeordnet
sind;
wobei der Eingangsdruck zu dem zweiten Turboexpander in dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf durch
Einstellen des einen oder der mehreren Stromregelventile geregelt wird, was wiederum
den zweiten Teil der von dem Destillationskolonnensystem (54, 56, 58) erforderlichen
Kühlung regelt.
9. Verfahren nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Zusatzkühlkreislauf (60) ferner einen Zusatzverdichter
(63) umfasst und wobei das Verfahren ferner die Schritte umfasst:
Umleiten des Bruchteils des weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms von dem Kreislauf
(30) zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung zu dem Zusatzverdichter;
Weiterverdichten des umgeleiteten Bruchteils des verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms von
dem Kreislauf zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung in dem Zusatzverdichter (63);
teilweises Kühlen des weiter verdichteten umgeleiteten Bruchteils in dem Zusatzwärmetauscher
durch indirekten Wärmeaustausch mit dem umgeleiteten Teil (28) des ersten Kühlstroms
(22);
Expandieren des teilweise gekühlten weiter verdichteten umgeleiteten Bruchteils in
dem zweiten Turboexpander;
Weiterkühlen des expandierten umgeleiteten Bruchteils in dem Zusatzwärmetauscher durch
indirekten Wärmeaustausch mit dem umgeleiteten Teil des ersten Kühlstroms, um den
gekühlten zweiten Kühlstrom (66) zu erzeugen; und
Leiten des gekühlten zweiten Kühlstroms zu der Hochdruckkolonne (54) des Destillationskolonnensystems,
um den zweiten Teil der von dem Destillationskolonnensystem erforderlichen Kühlung
zu übertragen.
10. Lufttrenneinheit, die dazu konfiguriert ist, mindestens einen Flüssigproduktstrom
(76, 88) zu erzeugen, wobei die Lufttrenneinheit (10) umfasst:
eine Eingangsluftverdichtungs- und -reinigungskette, die dazu konfiguriert ist, einen
verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstrom (12) zu erzeugen;
einen primären Kühlkreislauf (20), aufweisend einen ersten Turbo-expander (26), wobei
der primäre Kühlkreislauf betriebsmäßig an die Eingangsluftverdichtungs- und -reinigungskette
gekoppelt ist und dazu konfiguriert ist, einen ersten Teil (13) des verdichteten und
gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms aufzunehmen und den ersten Teil des verdichteten und
gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms in dem ersten Turboexpander zu expandieren, um einen
ersten gekühlten Kühlstrom (22) zu erzeugen;
einen Hauptwärmetauscher (40), der betriebsmäßig an die Eingangsluftverdichtungs-
und -reinigungskette gekoppelt ist und dazu konfiguriert ist, einen zweiten Teil (15)
des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms aufzunehmen und den zweiten Teil
des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms auf eine Temperatur zu kühlen, die
zur Rektifikation des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms geeignet ist;
Kreislauf (30) zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung, der betriebsmäßig an die Eingangsluftverdichtungs-
und -reinigungskette und den Hauptwärmetauscher gekoppelt ist, wobei der Kreislauf
zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung dazu konfiguriert ist, einen dritten Teil (17) des
verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms aufzunehmen, den dritten Teil weiter
zu verdichten und einen ersten Teil (32) des weiter verdichteten dritten Teils zu
dem Hauptwärmetauscher zu leiten, um einen Flüssigluftstrom (34) zu erzeugen;
einen zweiten Turboexpander (64), der dazu konfiguriert ist, einen zweiten Teil (62A;
62B) des weiter verdichteten dritten Teils aufzunehmen und den Bruchteil des weiter
verdichteten dritten Teils zu expandieren, um einen zweiten Kühlstrom zu erzeugen;
und
einen Zusatzwärmetauscher (65), der betriebsmäßig an die Eingangsluftverdichtungs-
und -reinigungskette, den Kreislauf zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung und den primären
Kühlkreislauf gekoppelt ist, wobei der Zusatzwärmetauscher dazu konfiguriert ist,
einen vierten Teil (19) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms aufzunehmen
und den vierten Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms und den zweiten
Kühlstrom durch indirekten Wärmeaustausch mit einem umgeleiteten Teil (28) des ersten
Kühlstroms zu kühlen;
ein Destillationskolonnensystem (54, 56, 58), das betriebsmäßig an die Eingangsluftverdichtungs-
und -reinigungskette, den Kreislauf zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung und den Zusatzwärmetauscher
gekoppelt ist, wobei das Destillationskolonnensystem dazu konfiguriert ist, etwas
von dem ersten Kühlstrom und etwas von dem oder den gesamten zweiten Kühlstrom, den
Flüssigluftstrom und den gekühlten zweiten Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
durch ein kryogenes Rektifikationsverfahren zu rektifizieren, um den mindestens einen
Flüssigproduktstrom zu erzeugen; und
einen Rückführungskreislauf, der den Zusatzwärmetauscher mit dem primären Kühlkreislauf
verbindet, wobei ein Teil des zweiten Kühlstroms zu dem ersten Kühlkreislauf zurückgeführt
wird.
11. Lufttrenneinheit nach Anspruch 10, wobei der primäre Kühlkreislauf (20) ferner einen
Verdichter (24) umfasst, der zum Weiterverdichten des ersten Teils (13) des verdichteten
und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms (12) innerhalb des primären Kühlkreislaufs (20) konfiguriert
ist; und wobei der Verdichter betriebsmäßig an den Hauptwärmetauscher (40) gekoppelt
ist, sodass der weiter verdichtete erste Teil des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
teilweise in dem Hauptwärmetauscher gekühlt wird.
12. Lufttrenneinheit nach Anspruch 10, wobei das Destillationskolonnensystem eine Hochdruckkolonne
umfasst und der gekühlte vierte Teil (69) des verdichteten und gereinigten Luftzufuhrstroms
(12), der den Zusatzwärmetauscher (65) verlässt,
zu der Hochdruckkolonne (54) des Destillationskolonnensystems geleitet wird.
13. Lufttrenneinheit nach Anspruch 10, wobei der Teil des zweiten Kühlstroms, der in den
ersten Kühlkreislauf (20) zurückgeführt wird, teilweise innerhalb des Zusatzwärmetauschers
(65) gekühlt wird und zu einer Stelle in dem ersten Kühlkreislauf, die dem ersten
Turboexpander (26) vorgeschaltet ist, zurückgeführt wird.
14. Lufttrenneinheit nach Anspruch 10, ferner umfassend einen Zusatzkühlkreislauf (60),
der einen Zusatzverdichter (63) einschließt, der dazu konfiguriert ist, den Bruchteil
(62A, 62B) des weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms von dem Kreislauf (30) zur verstärkten
Luftverdichtung aufzunehmen, wobei der zweite Turboexpander dazu konfiguriert ist,
einen verdichteten Luftstrom (61) von dem Zusatzverdichter aufzunehmen und den verdichteten
Luftstrom zu expandieren und der Zusatzwärmetauscher (65) dazu konfiguriert ist, den
expandieren Luftstrom von dem zweiten Turboexpander aufzunehmen.
15. Lufttrenneinheit nach Anspruch 14, wobei der Kreislauf (30) zur verstärkten Luftverdichtung
ferner eine Vielzahl von Verdichtungsstufen (33) und einen Umleitungskreislauf zum
Umleiten einer oder mehrerer Bruchteile (6A, 62B) des weiter verdichteten Luftzufuhrstroms
von einer oder mehreren Zwischenstufenstellen der Vielzahl von Verdichtungsstufen
zu dem Zusatzkühlkreislauf (60) umfasst.
1. Procédé de séparation d'air dans une unité de séparation d'air (10) comprenant un
échangeur thermique principal (40) configuré pour refroidir un courant d'air d'alimentation
comprimé et purifié à une température appropriée pour la rectification et un système
de colonne de distillation (54, 56, 58) configuré pour rectifier le courant d'air
comprimé, purifié et refroidi pour produire au moins un courant de produit liquide
(76, 88), le procédé comprenant les étapes consistant à :
comprimer et purifier un courant d'air d'alimentation pour produire le courant d'air
d'alimentation comprimé et purifié (12) ;
dévier une première portion (13) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
vers un premier
circuit de réfrigération (20) configuré pour produire un premier courant de réfrigération
refroidi (22) ;
dévier une deuxième portion (15) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
vers l'échangeur thermique principal
pour refroidir la deuxième portion du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
et dans lequel la deuxième portion refroidie du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé
et purifié est ensuite dirigée vers la colonne à haute pression (54) du système de
colonne de distillation ;
dévier une troisième portion (17) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
vers un circuit de compression d'air d'appoint (30) configuré pour produire un courant
d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé et dans lequel une première partie (32) du
courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé est dirigée vers l'échangeur thermique
principal où le courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé est refroidi pour
produire un courant d'air liquide (34) qui est dirigé vers le système de colonne de
distillation ;
dévier une deuxième partie (62A, 62B) du courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé
depuis le circuit de compression d'air d'appoint vers un circuit de réfrigération
auxiliaire (60) configuré pour produire un deuxième courant de réfrigération (66),
le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire comprenant un deuxième turbo-détendeur (64)
et un échangeur thermique auxiliaire (65) ;
dévier une quatrième portion (19) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
vers l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire ;
dévier une partie (28) du premier courant de réfrigération depuis le premier circuit
de réfrigération vers
l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire et réchauffer la portion déviée du premier courant
de réfrigération dans l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire par l'intermédiaire d'un échange
thermique indirect avec la quatrième portion déviée du courant d'air d'alimentation
comprimé et purifié et avec le deuxième courant de réfrigération pour refroidir le
deuxième courant de réfrigération ;
diriger la quatrième portion du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié quittant
l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire vers le système de colonne de distillation ;
diriger une partie restante du premier courant de réfrigération vers une colonne à
plus basse pression (56) du système de colonne de distillation pour communiquer une
première portion de la réfrigération requise par le système de colonne de distillation
; et
diriger une portion refroidie (68) du deuxième courant de réfrigération vers la colonne
à plus haute pression du système de colonne de distillation pour communiquer une deuxième
portion de la réfrigération requise par le système de colonne de distillation
dévier une portion (27) du deuxième courant de réfrigération depuis le circuit de
réfrigération auxiliaire vers le premier circuit de réfrigération ; et combiner (150)
la portion déviée du deuxième courant de réfrigération avec la première portion du
courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié dans le premier circuit de réfrigération.
2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, comprenant en outre les étapes consistant à :
comprimer davantage la première portion (13) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé
et purifié (12) au sein du premier circuit de réfrigération (20) ;
refroidir la première portion davantage comprimée du courant d'air d'alimentation
comprimé et purifié ; et
détendre la première portion davantage comprimée du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé
et purifié dans un premier turbo-détendeur (26) disposé au sein du premier circuit
de réfrigération pour produire le premier courant de réfrigération (22).
3. Procédé selon la revendication 2 dans lequel l'étape de refroidissement de la première
portion davantage comprimée (13) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
comprend en outre (12) le refroidissement de la première portion davantage comprimée
du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié dans un postrefroidisseur.
4. Procédé selon la revendication 2 dans lequel l'étape de refroidissement de la première
portion davantage comprimée (13) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
(12) comprend en outre le refroidissement partiel de la première portion davantage
comprimée du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié dans l'échangeur thermique
principal (40).
5. Procédé selon la revendication 1 dans lequel dans l'étape consistant à diriger la
quatrième portion refroidie (69) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
(12) vers le système de colonne de distillation (54, 56, 58) la quatrième portion
refroidie du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié est dirigée vers la
colonne à plus haute pression (54) du système de colonne de distillation.
6. Procédé selon la revendication 2 dans lequel l'étape consistant à diriger une portion
refroidie du deuxième
courant de réfrigération (66) vers la colonne à plus haute pression (54) comprend
la déviation d'une portion du deuxième courant de réfrigération qui est partiellement
refroidie depuis l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire (65) dans le circuit de réfrigération
auxiliaire (60) vers le premier circuit de réfrigération (20) ; et
dans lequel l'étape de combinaison de la portion déviée du deuxième courant de réfrigération
avec la première portion (13) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
(12) dans le premier circuit de réfrigération
comprend la combinaison de la portion déviée du deuxième courant de réfrigération
avec la première portion du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié dans
le premier circuit de réfrigération en amont du premier turbo-détendeur (26) disposé
au sein du premier circuit de réfrigération.
7. Procédé selon la revendication 1 dans lequel l'étape de déviation d'une fraction du
courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé depuis le circuit de compression d'air
d'appoint (30) vers le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire (60) comprend en outre
:
le fait de comprimer davantage la troisième portion (17) du courant d'air d'alimentation
comprimé et purifié (12)
dans une pluralité d'étages de compression (33) ; et
la déviation d'une première fraction (62A, 62B) de la troisième portion du courant
d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié depuis un emplacement entre étages de la
pluralité d'étages de compression vers le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire.
8. Procédé selon la revendication 1 dans lequel l'étape de déviation d'une fraction du
courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé depuis le circuit de compression d'air
d'appoint (30) vers le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire (60) comprend en outre
:
le fait de comprimer davantage la troisième portion (17) du courant d'air d'alimentation
comprimé et purifié (12) dans une pluralité d'étages de compression (33) ; et
la déviation d'une ou plusieurs fractions (62A, 62B) de la troisième portion du courant
d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié depuis un ou plusieurs emplacements entre
étages de la pluralité d'étages de compression vers le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire
(60) ;
la commande de l'écoulement de la ou des fractions déviées de la troisième portion
du
courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié avec une ou plusieurs vannes de régulation
de débit (67A, 67B, 67C, 67D) disposées entre le circuit de compression d'air d'appoint
et le deuxième turbo-détendeur (64) dans le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire ;
dans lequel la pression d'entrée au deuxième turbo-détendeur dans le circuit de réfrigération
auxiliaire est commandée en réglant la ou les vannes de régulation de débit ce qui
à son tour commande la deuxième portion de la réfrigération requise par le système
de colonne de distillation (54, 56, 58),
9. Procédé selon la revendication 1 dans lequel le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire
(60) comprend en outre un compresseur auxiliaire (63), et dans lequel le procédé comprend
en outre les étapes consistant à :
dévier la fraction du courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé depuis le circuit
de compression d'air
d'appoint (30) vers le compresseur auxiliaire ;
comprimer davantage la fraction déviée du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé provenant
du circuit de compression d'air d'appoint dans le compresseur auxiliaire (63) ;
refroidir partiellement la fraction déviée davantage comprimée dans l'échangeur thermique
auxiliaire par l'intermédiaire d'un échange thermique indirect avec la portion déviée
(28) du premier courant de réfrigération (22) ;
détendre la fraction déviée davantage comprimée partiellement refroidie dans le deuxième
turbo-détendeur ;
refroidir davantage la fraction déviée détendue dans l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire
par l'intermédiaire d'un échange thermique indirect avec la portion déviée du premier
courant de réfrigération pour produire le deuxième courant de réfrigération refroidi
(66) ; et
diriger le deuxième courant de réfrigération refroidi vers la colonne à plus haute
pression (54) du système de colonne de distillation pour communiquer la deuxième portion
de la réfrigération requise par le système de colonne de distillation.
10. Unité de séparation d'air configurée pour produire au moins un courant de produit
liquide (76, 88), l'unité de séparation d'air (10) comprenant :
une chaîne de compression et de purification d'air entrant configurée pour produire
un courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié (12) ;
un circuit de réfrigération primaire (20) ayant un premier turbo-détendeur (26), le
circuit de réfrigération primaire couplé fonctionnellement à la chaîne de compression
et de purification d'air entrant et configuré pour recevoir une première portion (13)
du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié et détendre la première portion
du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié dans le premier turbo-détendeur
pour produire un premier courant de réfrigération refroidi (22) ;
un échangeur thermique principal (40) couplé fonctionnellement à la chaîne de compression
et de purification d'air entrant et configuré pour recevoir une deuxième portion (15)
du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié et pour refroidir la deuxième
portion du courant d'alimentation comprimé et purifié à une température appropriée
pour la rectification du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié ;
un circuit de compression d'air d'appoint (30) couplé fonctionnellement à la chaîne
de compression et de purification d'air entrant et à l'échangeur thermique principal,
le circuit de compression d'air d'appoint configuré pour recevoir une troisième portion
(17) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié, comprimer davantage la troisième
portion et diriger une première partie (32) de la troisième portion davantage comprimée
vers l'échangeur thermique principal pour produire un courant d'air liquide (34) ;
un deuxième turbo-détendeur (64) configuré pour recevoir une deuxième partie (62A
; 62B) de la troisième portion davantage comprimée et détendre la fraction de la troisième
portion davantage comprimée pour produire un deuxième courant de réfrigération ; et
un échangeur thermique auxiliaire (65) couplé fonctionnellement à la chaîne de compression
et de purification d'air entrant, au circuit de compression d'air d'appoint et au
circuit de réfrigération primaire, l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire configuré pour
recevoir une quatrième portion (19) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
et refroidir la quatrième portion du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié
et le deuxième courant de réfrigération par l'intermédiaire d'un échange thermique
indirect avec une portion déviée (28) du premier courant de réfrigération ;
un système de colonne de distillation (54, 56, 58) couplé fonctionnellement au circuit
de réfrigération primaire, au circuit de compression d'air d'appoint et à l'échangeur
thermique auxiliaire, le système de colonne de distillation configuré pour rectifier
une partie du premier courant de réfrigération, et une partie ou la totalité du deuxième
courant de réfrigération, du courant d'air liquide et de la deuxième portion refroidie
du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié par un processus de rectification
cryogénique pour produire l'au moins un courant de produit liquide ; et
un circuit de recyclage raccordant l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire au circuit de
réfrigération primaire dans laquelle une portion du deuxième courant de réfrigération
est recyclée vers le premier circuit de réfrigération.
11. Unité de séparation d'air selon la revendication 10 dans laquelle le circuit de réfrigération
primaire (20) comprend en outre un compresseur (24) configuré pour comprimer davantage
la première portion (13) du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié (12)
au sein du circuit de réfrigération primaire (20) ; et dans laquelle le compresseur
est couplé fonctionnellement à l'échangeur thermique principal (40) de telle sorte
que la première portion davantage comprimée du courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé
et purifié est partiellement refroidie dans l'échangeur thermique principal.
12. Unité de séparation d'air selon la revendication 10 dans laquelle le système de colonne
de distillation comprend une colonne à plus haute pression et la quatrième portion
refroidie (69) du
courant d'air d'alimentation comprimé et purifié (12) quittant l'échangeur thermique
auxiliaire (65) est dirigée vers la
colonne à plus haute pression (54) du système de colonne de distillation.
13. Unité de séparation d'air selon la revendication 10 dans laquelle la portion du deuxième
courant de réfrigération recyclée vers le premier circuit de réfrigération (20) est
partiellement refroidie au sein de l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire (65) et est recyclée
vers un emplacement dans le premier circuit de réfrigération en amont du premier turbo-détendeur
(26).
14. Unité de séparation d'air selon la revendication 10 comprenant en outre un circuit
de réfrigération auxiliaire (60) qui inclut un compresseur auxiliaire (63) configuré
pour recevoir la fraction (62A, 62B) du courant d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé
déviée depuis le circuit de compression d'air d'appoint (30), le deuxième turbo-détendeur
configuré pour recevoir un courant d'air comprimé (61) depuis le compresseur auxiliaire
et détendre le courant d'air comprimé, et l'échangeur thermique auxiliaire (65) configuré
pour recevoir le courant d'air détendu depuis le deuxième turbo-détendeur.
15. Unité de séparation d'air selon la revendication 14 dans laquelle le circuit de compression
d'air d'appoint (30) comprend en outre une pluralité d'étages de compression (33)
et un circuit de déviation pour dévier une ou plusieurs fractions (6A, 62B) du courant
d'air d'alimentation davantage comprimé depuis un ou plusieurs emplacements entre
étages de la pluralité d'étages de compression vers le circuit de réfrigération auxiliaire
(60).