Patent ID: 6164089
Filing Date: 2000-12-26
Classification: F25J,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of recovering a product containing a rare gas, wherein said rare gas is selected from the group consisting of xenon, krypton and mixtures thereof, from a cryogenic air separation plant during liquefaction and distillation of air comprising the steps of:removing at least one oxygen rich stream containing the rare gas and minor amounts of a contaminant gas comprising of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide;treating said oxygen-rich stream to remove the contaminant gas;separating said stream after removal of the contaminant gas to produce an oxygen enriched vapor stream, a liquid stream rich in the rare gas and lean in one of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides or mixtures thereof, wherein said separation is accomplished by partial evaporation, partial condensation or distillation of said stream after removal of the contaminant gas; andvaporizing the liquid stream rich in the rare gas to recover a vapor enriched in the rare gas.