Patent ID: 6266976
Filing Date: 2001-07-31
Classification: C01B,F25J,Y02C,Y10S

Abstract:
A process for obtaining purified carbon monoxide from a gaseous mixture consisting essentially of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and one or more additional impurities to be removed by one or more vapor-liquid separation devices downstream, comprising the steps of:(a) providing a feed stream of the gaseous mixture;(b) cooling and partially condensing the feed stream of the gaseous mixture to partially separate the feed stream of the gaseous mixture into at least one hydrogen rich vapor substream and at least one carbon monoxide rich liquid substream;(c) withdrawing a first and a second substream from any one or more of the at least one carbon monoxide rich substreams;(d) passing the first substream through a first expansion valve to let down the pressure in the first substream to a pressure nominally the same as that of a first one of the one or more vapor-liquid separation devices downstream;(e) vaporizing the second substream using a heat exchange device to produce a third substream at a pressure substantially above that of the first one of the one or more vapor-liquid separation devices;(f) passing the third substream through a work extraction device to provide a substantial portion of all refrigeration for cooling for the process;(g) subsequently feeding the third substream to the first one of the one or more vapor-liquid separation devices; and(h) withdrawing substantially purified carbon monoxide from any one or more of the one or more vapor-liquid separation devices.