Patent Description:
Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a technology conventionally used to separate a target gas component from a source gas (see, for example, Patent Literature <NUM>). PSA utilizes the fact that gas components are adsorbed to an adsorbent in different amounts depending on gas species and partial pressures thereof. This separation process usually includes a step (adsorption step) in which gas components are caused to adsorb to an adsorbent, a step (rinse step) in which part of desorbed gas separated in other adsorbent vessel is supplied as rinse gas to let the adsorbent capture more of the gas, and a step (desorption step) in which the adsorbed gas components are desorbed from the adsorbent and are recovered. PSA processes have been applied in various fields and are frequently used to produce high-concentration gas by adsorbing a single species of gas components contained in a source gas. PSA is a pressurizing process in which gases are separated utilizing a difference between increased pressure and ambient pressure, or a vacuum process where gas separation makes use of a difference between ambient pressure (or slightly increased pressure) and reduced pressure. In the latter case, the process is also called VSA (vacuum swing adsorption).

<CIT>
describes a blast furnace gas discharged from a blast furnace which is separated into gases containing various components using two-stage gas separation and refinement apparatuses. <CIT> describes a pressure-swing adsorption process for producing a purified nitrogen trifluoride product gas from a feed gas contaminated with carbon tetrafluoride using a column packed with an adsorbent that exhibits selectivity for NF<NUM> over CF<NUM>. A rinse gas of NF<NUM> and CF<NUM> may be used to remove the first product gas or the second product gas. <CIT> describes a process and plant for the recovery of carbon dioxide from a gas stream by means of pressure swing adsorption using an adsorbent, such as X or Y type Zeolite adsorbents.

PSA processes involve large amounts of electric power for gas separation. Thus, the saving of gas separation costs significantly depends on the reduction in power consumed by the PSA processes. In general, the major proportion of the power required for the gas separation process is represented by the power consumed by a gas compressor to increase the adsorption pressure in the adsorption step in the pressurizing PSA process, or by the power consumed by a vacuum pump in the desorption step in the vacuum PSA process. The amounts of power consumed by these equipment are increased with increasing volumes of gases that are adsorbed and desorbed.

If the PSA operation cycle consists solely of the adsorption step and the desorption step, the process generally consumes less power but results in a low concentration of the recovered gas. In the case where the process involves the rinse step in which part of desorbed gas is recycled as rinse gas to other adsorbent vessel, the concentration of the recovered gas can be increased. However, due to the fact that desorbed gas is adsorbed again to the adsorbent and is fed to the desorption step, the amount of the gas that is desorbed in the desorption step is increased and the amount of the power consumption is increased.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method and a facility which are capable of separating and recovering gases in a way that the problems in the art discussed above are solved and the target gas component can be separated from the source gas and recovered in an increased concentration without performing the rinse step, thereby lessening the amount of power consumption. Solution to Problem.

The present inventors have focused on the fact that a gas adsorbent generally has different adsorption and desorption characteristics depending on the affinities and pressures of gas species, and gases of different species are desorbed at different timings in the desorption step. The present inventors have then developed a novel gas separation and recovery method which can separate and recover the target gas component with a high concentration selectively by making use of such differences of desorption timings and by recovering desorbed gases in two or more divided time periods.

Specifically, a summary of the present invention which solves the aforementioned problems is as described below.

A gas separation and recovery method for separating and recovering a target gas component from a source gas by pressure swing adsorption includes an adsorption step of causing gas components to adsorb to an adsorbent packed in an adsorbent vessel, and a desorption step of desorbing the gas components adsorbed to the adsorbent in the adsorption step and recovering the desorbed gases, wherein the method does not include a rinse step in which part of desorbed gas from other adsorbent vessel is supplied as a rinse gas, and the desorption step is divided into a plurality of time periods and the desorbed gases are recovered in the respective time periods.

In the adsorption step, the source gas may be introduced into the adsorbent vessel through a first end side of the adsorbent vessel, and an off-source gas may be discharged through a second end side of the adsorbent vessel, and in the desorption step, the desorbed gases may be discharged through the second end side of the adsorbent vessel.

The adsorbent vessel may be a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass the gases in a vertical direction, and the steps with the highest flow rate during operation may be performed so that the flow of gas takes place in a downward direction.

The source gas may be a mixed gas including CO and CO<NUM>, and the desorption step may be divided into a plurality of time periods so that a gas desorbed in a specific time period has a higher CO concentration than a gas or gases desorbed in other time period or periods.

A gas separation and recovery facility for separating and recovering a target gas component from a source gas by pressure swing adsorption is configured to perform steps including: an adsorption step of causing gas components to adsorb to an adsorbent packed in an adsorbent vessel, and a desorption step of desorbing the gas components adsorbed to the adsorbent in the adsorption step and recovering the desorbed gases, the steps not including a rinse step in which part of desorbed gas from other adsorbent vessel is supplied as a rinse gas, and wherein the gas separation and recovery facility includes a desorbed gas outlet line forked into a plurality of branch lines, the branch lines each having an on-off valve, and allows the gases desorbed in the desorption step to be recovered separately through respective branch lines in different time periods.

The adsorbent vessel may be configured so that in the adsorption step, the source gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel through a first end side of the adsorbent vessel, and an off-source gas is discharged through a second end side of the adsorbent vessel, and the desorbed gas outlet line may be arranged so that in the desorption step, the desorbed gases are discharged through the second end side of the adsorbent vessel.

The adsorbent vessel may be a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass the gases in a vertical direction, and gas inlet and outlet lines may be arranged to the adsorbent vessel so that the flow of gas takes place in a downward direction in the steps with the highest flow rate during operation.

According to the invention, the desorbed gas outlet line includes a vacuum pump for evacuating the adsorbent vessel, and the facility includes a pressure release valve for reducing the pressure inside the adsorbent vessel.

The facility may include a purge gas introduction line for introducing a gas-desorbing purge gas into the adsorbent vessel.

According to the present invention, a gas can be recovered with an increased concentration without a rinse step. Thus, a target gas component can be separated and recovered in a high concentration with less power.

A gas separation and recovery method of the present invention can separate and recover a target gas component from a source gas by pressure swing adsorption. The method includes an adsorption step of causing gas components to adsorb to an adsorbent packed in an adsorbent vessel, and a desorption step of desorbing the gas components adsorbed to the adsorbent in the adsorption step and recovering the desorbed gases. The method does not include rinse step in which part of desorbed gas from other adsorbent vessel is supplied as a rinse gas. As already described, a concentration of recovery gas can be increased when a rinse step is performed, but the rinse step increases the amount of gas that is desorbed and consequently results in an increase in power consumption. In order to realize the recovery of high-concentration gas without performing a rinse step, the present invention divides the desorption step into a plurality of time periods, and recovers the desorbed gases in the respective time periods. A facility for implementing this method is configured so that a desorbed gas outlet line is forked into a plurality of branch lines, the branch lines each having an on-off valve, and the gases desorbed in the desorption step are recovered separately through respective branch lines in different time periods.

<FIG> is a graph illustrating adsorption and desorption characteristics, at various pressures, of two gas species having different affinities to an adsorbent. For example, gas species such as N<NUM> and CO which are lowly-affinitive to 13X zeolite used as a CO<NUM> adsorbent show linear pressure-adsorption characteristics as is the case for gas <NUM> in <FIG>. On the other hand, highly-affinitive gas species such as CO<NUM> are adsorbed in large quantities and show nonlinear pressure-adsorption characteristics as in the case for gas <NUM> in <FIG>. When an adsorbent having different pressure-adsorption or pressure-desorption characteristics for gas species depending on pressure is used, the gases are desorbed at different timings in the desorption step. That is, as illustrated in <FIG>, gas <NUM> having linear pressure-adsorption characteristics is desorbed easily when the gas at a high pressure is depressurized, while gas <NUM> having nonlinear pressure-adsorption characteristics is hardly desorbed at high pressures and starts to be desorbed suddenly after the pressure is reduced to a low level.

Based on the above fact, the desorption step may be divided into, for example, two time periods in accordance with the difference in timing at which the gases are desorbed, and the desorbed gases may be recovered in the respective time periods. In this manner, a recovered gas rich in gas <NUM>, and a recovered gas rich in gas <NUM> can be obtained separately. The present invention thus enables increasing the concentration of recovered gas without performing a rinse step, and thereby realizes the selective separation and recovery of a target gas component with high concentration.

<FIG> is a set of schematic diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a gas separation and recovery method and a facility according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the desorption step is divided into the first time period and the second time period, and desorbed gases are recovered in the respective time periods. <FIG> illustrates "adsorption step", <FIG> "desorption step: first time period", and <FIG> "desorption step: second time period".

In the same way as in the case of gas <NUM> and gas <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>, gas <NUM> in the following description is defined as a gas which has linear pressure-adsorption characteristics and is desorbed easily when the gas at a high pressure is depressurized, and gas <NUM> is defined as a gas which has nonlinear pressure-adsorption characteristics and which is hardly desorbed at high pressures and starts to be desorbed suddenly after the pressure is reduced to a low level. The same applies also to other embodiments illustrated in <FIG>.

In <FIG>, an adsorbent vessel <NUM> is a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass gases in a vertical direction, and is filled with an adsorbent which shows different linearities of adsorption isotherms as illustrated in <FIG>. An inlet-outlet pipe <NUM> for use of both the introduction of source gas and the release of desorbed gas is connected to the first end side (the lower end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An inlet pipe which defines a source gas introduction line <NUM>, and an outlet pipe which defines a desorbed gas outlet line <NUM> are connected to the inlet-outlet pipe <NUM>. Further, an outlet pipe which defines an off-source gas outlet line <NUM> is connected to the second end side (the upper end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>.

The outlet line <NUM> is provided with a vacuum pump <NUM> and is forked into branch lines 50a and 50b downstream the vacuum pump <NUM> (on the pump discharged side). The branch lines 50a and 50b have respective on-off valves 7a and 7b (shut-off valves). In the drawing, numeral <NUM> indicates an on-off valve (a shut-off valve) disposed on the introduction line <NUM>, and numeral <NUM> indicates an on-off valve (a shut-off valve) disposed on the outlet line <NUM>.

Here, the on-off valves are open when shown as filled in white, and are closed when shown as filled-in black. The same applies to other embodiments illustrated in <FIG>.

In the adsorption step shown in <FIG>, a source gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel <NUM> through the introduction line <NUM>, and an off-source gas is discharged through the outlet line <NUM>. Next, without a rinse step being performed, the desorption step is performed by evacuating the adsorbent vessel <NUM> with the vacuum pump <NUM>. In the first time period of the desorption step, as illustrated in <FIG>, for the purpose of recovering gas <NUM>, desorbed gas (recovered gas A) is recovered through the branch line 50a. Subsequently, in the second time period of the desorption step, as illustrated in <FIG>, for the purpose of recovering gas <NUM>, desorbed gas (recovered gas B) is recovered through the branch line 50b. To allow the desorbed gases to be recovered in the above manner, the on-off valves 7a and 7b are opened and closed appropriately (the same applying to the embodiments shown in <FIG>).

As described earlier, gas <NUM> has linear pressure-adsorption characteristics and is desorbed easily when the gas at a high pressure is depressurized, and gas <NUM> has nonlinear pressure-adsorption characteristics, and is hardly desorbed at high pressures and starts to be desorbed suddenly after the pressure is reduced to a low level. Thus, the recovered gas A obtained in the first time period is rich in gas <NUM>, and the recovered gas B obtained in the second time period is rich in gas <NUM>. It is therefore possible to recover selectively the target gas component (for example, recovered gas A) with a high concentration.

Here, the first time period and the second time period may be divided in accordance with factors such as the adsorption and desorption characteristics of the adsorbent as shown in <FIG>, and the desired concentration, calorie and desired yield of the target gas component.

In general, as shown in <FIG>, gas adsorbents offer adsorption and desorption characteristics (liniarities of adsorption isotherms) which differ depending on the affinities and pressures of gas species. Any such adsorbents may be used in the present invention. While the types of adsorbents are not particularly limited, some suitable adsorbents are 13X zeolite mentioned above, ZSM-<NUM> zeolite and NaA zeolite. 13X zeolite shows different liniarities of adsorption isotherms particularly between CO<NUM>, and CO and N<NUM>. ZSM-<NUM> zeolite shows different liniarities of adsorption isotherms particularly between CO<NUM> and CO (see, for example, <FIG> of Non Patent Literature <NUM>), and NaA zeolite shows different linearities of adsorption isotherms particularly between CO<NUM> and CH<NUM> (see, for example, Fig. <NUM> of Non Patent Literature <NUM>).

Because gas species showing different linearities of adsorption isotherms vary depending on the types of adsorbents, the adsorbent may be selected appropriately in accordance with the types of gas species to be separated.

Depending on the types of the adsorbents or the types of gas species to be separated and recovered, the desorption step, which in the present embodiment is divided into two time periods, may be divided into three or more time periods and desorbed gases may be recovered in the respective time periods.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

In the adsorption step, the source gas may be introduced into the adsorbent vessel through the first end side of the adsorbent vessel, and the off-source gas may be discharged through the second end side of the adsorbent vessel, and in the desorption step, the desorbed gases may be discharged through the second end side (opposite to the side where the source gas is introduced) of the adsorbent vessel. In this manner, the gas separation efficiency in the present invention may be enhanced. <FIG> is a set of schematic diagrams illustrating an embodiment of such a gas separation and recovery method and a facility according to the present invention. In this embodiment also, the desorption step is divided into the first time period and the second time period, and desorbed gases are recovered in the respective time periods. In <FIG>, (a) illustrates "adsorption step", (b) "desorption step: first time period", and (c) "desorption step: second time period".

In <FIG>, an adsorbent vessel <NUM> is a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass gases in a vertical direction, and is filled with an adsorbent for which gas species show different linearities of adsorption isotherms as illustrated in <FIG>. An inlet pipe which defines a source gas introduction line <NUM> is connected to the first end side (the upper end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An outlet pipe <NUM> for the release of off-source gas and the release of desorbed gas is connected to the second end side (the lower end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An outlet pipe which defines an off-source gas outlet line <NUM>, and an outlet pipe which defines a desorbed gas outlet line <NUM>, are connected to the outlet pipe <NUM>. The other members are similar to those in the embodiment shown in <FIG> and are indicated with the same reference numerals, and detailed description of such members will be omitted.

After the source gas has been introduced, the gases are adsorbed to the adsorbents inside the adsorbent vessel <NUM> in a distributed manner in which highly-affinitive gas <NUM> is adsorbed in the region near the source gas inlet and lowly-affinitive gas <NUM> is adsorbed in the region further from the source gas inlet. This quantitative distribution of adsorbed gases results from continuous changes in gas composition of the source gas flowing through the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. In the adsorbent vessel <NUM> having such a quantitative distribution of adsorbed gases, if desorbed gases are discharged through the same side as the source gas inlet as in the embodiment of <FIG>, the gases can be separated effectively by different timings at which the gases are desorbed. However, because the lowly-affinitive gas <NUM> is desorbed first and passes through the region where the highly-affinitive gas <NUM> has been adsorbed, the partial pressure of gas <NUM> is reduced and gas <NUM> is partially desorbed, which causes a corresponding decrease in gas separation effects.

In view of this, the present embodiment is configured so that the desorbed gases are discharged through the side opposite to the source gas introduction side. According to this configuration, the desorption of gases starts from a state of quantitative distribution of adsorbed gases in the adsorbent vessel <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. Consequently, as illustrated in <FIG>, lowly-affinitive gas <NUM> can be desorbed in the first time period without passing the region where the highly-affinitive gas <NUM> is adsorbed, and partial desorption of gas <NUM> is avoided. Thus, the gas separation efficiency is enhanced compared to the embodiment shown in <FIG>.

In the adsorption step shown in <FIG> according to this embodiment also, the source gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel <NUM> through the introduction line <NUM>, and the off-source gas is discharged through the outlet pipe <NUM> and the outlet line <NUM>. Next, without a rinse step being performed, the desorption step is performed by evacuating the adsorbent vessel <NUM> with the vacuum pump <NUM>. In the first time period of the desorption step, as illustrated in <FIG>, gas <NUM> is recovered as desorbed gas (recovered gas A) through the branch line 50a. Subsequently, in the second time period of the desorption step, as illustrated in <FIG>, gas <NUM> is recovered as desorbed gas (recovered gas B) through the branch line 50b.

In the present invention, the degradation of the adsorbent due to fluidization can be suppressed by adopting a configuration where the adsorbent vessel is a vertical adsorbent vessel which passes the gases in a vertical direction as in the embodiment of <FIG>, and the steps with the highest flow rate during operation are performed so that the flow of gas takes place in a downward direction. In this case, the gas inlet and outlet lines are arranged to the adsorbent vessel so that such a flow of gas will be realized.

In view of the fact that the present invention makes use of a quantitative distribution of adsorbed gas in the adsorbent vessel <NUM>, it is preferable to use a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass the gases in a vertical direction. Provided that the amounts of an adsorbent are the same, the sectional area of the vertical adsorbent vessel is smaller than that of other types of vessels such as a horizontal adsorbent vessel. Thus, a vertical adsorbent vessel causes a gas to flow through the adsorbent bed at a higher flow rate. A gas flowing in the adsorbent vessel at a high flow rate may cause the adsorbent bed to fluidize and may accelerate the degradation of the adsorbent. For example, the gas flow rate of a vacuum PSA process becomes higher when the adsorption step is started (the introduction of the source gas is started) after evacuation of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. As another example, the gas flow rate in a pressurizing PSA becomes higher when the gas release (a pressure release step in <FIG> described later) is started after the adsorption step. Thus, when the process is operated using a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass the gases in a vertical direction as the adsorbent vessel <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, and when the conditions of the operation are such that the gas flow rate becomes highest at the start of the adsorption step (at the start of the introduction of the source gas), the direction of the gas flow in that step is arranged to be downward. Such conditions of gas flow directions are satisfied in <FIG>. The bottom of the adsorbent bed is supported by a metal mesh or the like which restrains the movement of the adsorbent. Thus, the adsorbent is hardly fluidized by a gas flowing in the downward direction, and can be prevented from degradation due to fluidization.

In embodiments of the present invention in accordance with claim <NUM>, (A), the adsorbent vessel is connected to a pressure release valve for reducing the pressure inside the vessel, and the pressure release valve is opened to reduce the pressure inside the adsorbent vessel before the adsorbent vessel is evacuated with the vacuum pump in the desorption step. In this manner, the desorption step may be partially performed without operating the vacuum pump, and the power that is needed for the gas separation may be saved.

<FIG> is a set of schematic diagrams illustrating an embodiment of such a gas separation and recovery method and a facility according to the present invention. <FIG> is a collection of <FIG>. In this embodiment also, the desorption step is divided into the first time period and the second time period, and desorbed gases are recovered in the respective time periods. In <FIG>, (a) illustrates "adsorption step", (b) "pressure release step", (c) "desorption step: first time period", and (d) "desorption step: second time period".

In <FIG>, an adsorbent vessel <NUM> is a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass gases in a vertical direction, and is filled with an adsorbent for which gas species show different linearities of adsorption isotherms as illustrated in <FIG>. Similarly to the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, an inlet pipe which defines a source gas introduction line <NUM> is connected to the first end side (the upper end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An outlet pipe <NUM> for the release of off-source gas and the release of desorbed gas is connected to the second end side (the lower end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An outlet pipe which defines an off-source gas outlet line <NUM>, an outlet pipe which defines a desorbed gas outlet line <NUM>, and further a release pipe <NUM> having a pressure release valve <NUM> are connected to the outlet pipe <NUM>. The other members are similar to those in the embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, and are indicated with the same reference numerals, and detailed description of such members will be omitted.

In the embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the desorption step is performed by evacuating the adsorbent vessel <NUM> with the vacuum pump, and the evacuation rate is controlled during the step by the controlling of the vacuum pump. When the gas adsorption pressure after the adsorption step is sufficiently high, the vessel can be depressurized by simple pressure release without evacuation with the vacuum pump. That is, as illustrated in <FIG>, a pressure release step (<FIG>) is performed between the adsorption step (<FIG>) and the desorption step (<FIG>), and the desorption step is performed after the pressure inside the adsorbent vessel <NUM> is reduced.

In the adsorption step shown in <FIG> according to this embodiment also, the source gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel <NUM> through the introduction line <NUM>, and the off-source gas is discharged through the outlet pipe <NUM> and the outlet line <NUM>. After the completion of the adsorption step, without a rinse step being performed, the pressure release valve <NUM> is opened as illustrated in <FIG> to reduce the pressure inside the adsorbent vessel <NUM> (pressure release step). After the completion of the pressure release step, the pressure release valve <NUM> is closed, and the desorption step is performed by evacuating the adsorbent vessel <NUM> with the vacuum pump <NUM>. Specifically, gas <NUM> is recovered as desorbed gas (recovered gas A) through the branch line 50a as illustrated in <FIG> in the first time period of the desorption step, and, in the subsequent second time period of the desorption step, gas <NUM> is recovered as desorbed gas (recovered gas B) through the branch line 50b as illustrated in <FIG>.

Incidentally, the pressure-released gas in the pressure release step has a relatively high concentration of gas <NUM>, although lower than the gas <NUM> concentration in the recovered gas A, and thus may be recovered and used for specific applications.

In embodiments of the present invention in accordance with claim <NUM>, (B), the desorption step is performed in such a manner that the adsorbent vessel is evacuated with the vacuum pump to desorb a gas or gases in one or more time periods from the start of the step, and thereafter a purge gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel to desorb a gas or gases without use of the vacuum pump in the subsequent time period or periods. In this case, a purge gas introduction line for introducing the gas-desorbing purge gas into the adsorbent vessel is provided.

When the objective of this process is the high-concentration recovery of both of the lowly-affinitive gas <NUM> and the highly-affinitive gas <NUM>, the gases need to be desorbed exclusively by vacuum pumping. When, for example, gas <NUM> can be released as harmless impurity gas, gas <NUM> may be desorbed by passing a purge gas without use of the vacuum pump and may be discharged together with the purge gas. In this manner, the highly-affinitive gas <NUM> may be desorbed without the need of operating the vacuum pump, and the power required for the gas separation can be significantly saved.

The purge gas is usually nitrogen, but is not limited thereto.

<FIG> is a set of schematic diagrams llustrating an embodiment of such a gas separation and recovery method and a facility according to the present invention. In this embodiment also, the desorption step is divided into the first time period and the second time period, and desorbed gases are recovered in the respective time periods. <FIG> illustrates "adsorption step", <FIG> "desorption step: first time period", and <FIG> "desorption step: second time period".

In <FIG>, an adsorbent vessel <NUM> is a vertical adsorbent vessel configured to pass gases in a vertical direction, and is filled with an adsorbent for which gas species show different linearities of adsorption isotherms as illustrated in <FIG>. Similarly to the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>, an inlet pipe which defines a source gas introduction line <NUM> is connected to the first end side (the upper end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An inlet pipe <NUM> for the introduction of purge gas is connected to a portion of the introduction line <NUM> between an on-off valve <NUM> on the introduction line and the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. The inlet pipe <NUM> has an on-off valve <NUM> (a shut-off valve). Further, an outlet pipe <NUM> for the release of off-source gas and the release of desorbed gas is connected to the second end side (the lower end side) of the adsorbent vessel <NUM>. An outlet pipe which defines an off-source gas outlet line <NUM>, and an outlet pipe which defines a desorbed gas outlet line <NUM> are connected to the outlet pipe <NUM>. The other members are similar to those in the embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, and are indicated with the same reference numerals, and detailed description of such members will be omitted.

In the adsorption step shown in <FIG> according to this embodiment also, the source gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel <NUM> through the introduction line <NUM>, and the off-source gas is discharged through the outlet pipe <NUM> and the outlet line <NUM>. Next, without a rinse step being performed, the desorption step is performed. In the first time period of the desorption step, the adsorbent vessel <NUM> is evacuated with the vacuum pump <NUM> to recover gas <NUM> as desorbed gas (recovered gas A) through the branch line 50a as illustrated in <FIG>. In the second time period of the desorption step, as illustrated in <FIG>, for the purpose of recovering gas <NUM>, the on-off valve <NUM> is opened to introduce a purge gas into the adsorbent vessel <NUM> through the inlet pipe <NUM>, and gas is desorbed with the purge gas and the desorbed gas (recovered gas B) is recovered together with the purge gas through the branch line 50b. The mixed gas of the recovered gas B and the purge gas may be released to the air, or may be used as a gas rich in gas <NUM> for specific applications.

The mixed gas used as the source gas in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is composed of at least two gas components. Examples thereof in steelmaking processes include coke-oven gases and converter gases.

According to the present invention, a target gas component may be separated and recovered from a source gas for various purposes. When a high-calorie gas is to be separated and recovered from a source gas, the desorption step may be divided into a plurality of time periods so that a gas desorbed in a specific time period has a higher calorie than a gas or gases desorbed in other time period or periods, and the gas desorbed in the specific time period is recovered as a high-calorie gas. Thus, for example, when the source gas is a mixed gas including CO and CO<NUM>, the desorption step may be divided into a plurality of time periods so that a gas desorbed in a specific time period has a higher CO concentration than a gas or gases desorbed in other time period or periods, and the gas desorbed in the specific time period is recovered as a high-calorie gas.

It is needless to mention that the method of the present invention is applicable not only to the separation and recovery of high-calorie gases, but also to other separation and recovery processes such as separation of a mixed gas of two or more species of low-calorie gases (non-combustible gases) as a source gas.

Experiment to demonstrate the gas separation effects of the present invention was carried out using a PSA experimental apparatus illustrated in <FIG> which had an adsorbent vessel <NUM> in inner diameter and <NUM> in height (<NUM> in height of adsorbent bed). Commercially available 13X zeolite was used as the adsorbent. The testing conditions were adsorption pressure of <NUM> kPaG, desorption pressure of -<NUM> kPaG, and cycle time of <NUM> seconds. The source gas was a mixed gas with a gas composition of <NUM> vol% N<NUM>, <NUM> vol% CO<NUM>, <NUM> vol% CO and <NUM> vol% H<NUM>. The flow rate of the source gas supplied to the adsorbent vessel was controlled to <NUM>/min with a mass flow controller (MFC).

In accordance with the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the adsorption step, the pressure release step and the desorption step were performed sequentially. In the desorption step, recovered gas A was recovered in the first time period, and recovered gas B was recovered in the second time period. The amounts of time in the respective steps were adsorption step t<NUM>: <NUM> sec, pressure release step t<NUM>: <NUM> sec, first time period t<NUM> in desorption step: <NUM> sec, and second time period t<NUM> in desorption step: <NUM> sec. The off-source gas, the pressure-released gas, the recovered gas A and the recovered gas B collected in the respective steps were analyzed for composition by gas chromatography. Table <NUM> describes the results of composition analysis of the source gas and the collected gases.

13X zeolite used as the adsorbent in this experiment is highly adsorptive to CO<NUM>, and therefore the composition of the off-source gas from the adsorption step (the changes in composition from that of the source gas) is mainly the result of CO<NUM> adsorption. In the recovered gas A, CO which is lowly-affinitive to the adsorbent than CO<NUM> was concentrated to <NUM> vol%. In the recovered gas B, highly-affinitive CO<NUM> was concentrated to <NUM> vol%. The gas separation effects of the present invention were thus demonstrated. In the pressure-released gas, CO was concentrated to <NUM> vol%, which although was lower than the concentration in the recovered gas A, and the content of CO<NUM> was small. Thus, the pressure-released gas may also be used as a CO gas.

Claim 1:
A gas separation and recovery method for separating and recovering a target gas component from a source gas by pressure swing adsorption, comprising:
an adsorption step of causing gas components to adsorb to an adsorbent packed in an adsorbent vessel, and
a desorption step of desorbing the gas components adsorbed to the adsorbent in the adsorption step and recovering the desorbed gases, wherein
the method does not include a rinse step in which part of desorbed gas from other adsorbent vessel is supplied as a rinse gas, and
the desorption step is divided into a plurality of time periods and the desorbed gases are recovered in the respective time periods, wherein
(A)
the adsorbent vessel is connected to a pressure release valve for reducing the pressure inside the vessel, and
the pressure release valve is opened to reduce the pressure inside the adsorbent vessel before the adsorbent vessel is evacuated with a vacuum pump in the desorption step; and/or
(B)
the desorption step is performed in such a manner that the adsorbent vessel is evacuated with a vacuum pump to desorb a gas or gases in one or more time periods from the start of the step, and thereafter a purge gas is introduced into the adsorbent vessel to desorb a gas or gases without use of the vacuum pump in the subsequent time period or periods.