Patent DE-102011050247-A1 (DE)
Title: Separating argon from gaseous mixture, comprises collecting gaseous mixture, roughly removing the gaseous mixture, compressing, cooling, finely removing the gaseous mixture, catalytically oxidizing carbon monoxide in gas mixture
Inventor: WANNER MICHAEL DR
IPC: B01D53/047
Filed: 2011-05-10
Abstract: Separating argon from a gaseous mixture comprises: collecting the gaseous mixture; roughly removing the gaseous mixture; compressing the gaseous mixture; cooling; finely removing the gaseous mixture; catalytically oxidizing the carbon monoxide contained in gas mixture and the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water under the addition of air and/or oxygen or by using stoichiometric amounts of oxygen; catalytically reducing oxygen contained in the resulting gas mixture to water with the addition of hydrogen; drying the gas mixture; and cryogenic cleaning of residual gas mixture. Separating argon from a gaseous mixture comprises: collecting the gaseous mixture; roughly removing the gaseous mixture; compressing the gaseous mixture; cooling the gaseous mixture; finely removing the gaseous mixture; catalytically oxidizing the carbon monoxide contained in the gas mixture and the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water under the addition of air and/or oxygen, or by using stoichiometric amounts of oxygen, where the required amount of oxygen is obtained from the oxygen contained in the gas mixture; catalytically reducing oxygen contained in the resulting gas mixture to water with the addition of hydrogen; drying the resulting gas mixture and removing carbon dioxide by a dryer unit including a cooler, a demister (5), a compressor, a heater and at least two adsorption units, which operate in pairs respectively alternately in adsorption operation and in regeneration operation, where a partial flow of purified argon is used as regeneration gas in regeneration the operation comprising carrying out (a) depressurization of adsorption units to be regenerated, (b) desorption of the adsorption units to be regenerated by heating with regeneration gas, which is promoted into the heater through the compressor after cooling in the cooler and dehumidification in the demisters, and then the adsorption units to be regenerated are promoted back to the cooler, where discharge of loaded regeneration gas between condenser and demister, and infiltration of fresh regeneration gas between the heater and the adsorption units to be regenerated is carried out, (c) single or multiple evacuation of the regenerated partial region of the dryer unit, and subsequent pressure equalization to atmospheric pressure with the partial region working in adsorption operation, (d) cooling of the regenerated partial region of the dryer unit by promotion of regeneration gas by the compressor, (e) evacuation of the regenerated partial region of the dryer unit, and subsequent pressure equalization with the partial region working in adsorption operation; and cryogenic cleaning of the residual gas mixture for liquid separation of argon, where a fixed partial flow from the cryogenic cleaning is diverted as regeneration gas for the regeneration operation of the adsorption units. An independent claim is also included for a device for performing the above mentioned method, comprising a roughly removing device, a subsequently arranged compressor, a cooling device, which is arranged below, a subsequently arranged module for finely removing, which includes at least one fine filter and/or an adsorption filter unit, an assembly for the catalytic oxidation, an assembly for the catalytic reduction of oxygen in the resulting gas mixture, an assembly for drying the resulting gas mixture comprising at least one cooler, a demister, a compressor, a heater and at least two adsorption units; and a system for cryogenic purification of the resulting gas mixture of argon and liquid separation.