PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16009635
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-06
Publication Date: 2018-10
Patent Classification: ["062", "643000"]

Abstract:
A method and apparatus for argon recovery in which an impure argon stream is separated from air within a cryogenic air separation unit having an argon rejection column and a reflux type argon condenser disposed internally within the lower pressure column. An impure argon stream is subsequently recovered from the argon rejection column and purified within an integrated adsorbent based argon refining and purification subsystem to produce product grade argon. The waste stream from the adsorbent based argon refining and purification subsystem is recycled back to the argon rejection column so as to improve the argon recovery.

Claim (Index 21):
A method of producing a purified argon product stream in a cryogenic air separation unit having a higher pressure column, a lower pressure column, an argon column, and an argon condenser, the method comprising the steps of:\n extracting an oxygen-argon containing stream from an intermediate location of the lower pressure column of the cryogenic air separation unit; separating argon from an oxygen-argon containing stream within the argon column to produce an argon-rich overhead vapor stream and an oxygen rich liquid bottoms stream; condensing at least a portion of the argon-rich overhead vapor stream from the argon column against an oxygen enriched liquid stream to produce the argon-rich reflux stream; directing at least a portion of the oxygen rich liquid bottoms stream to the lower pressure column at a location below the intermediate location; directing at least a portion of the produce the argon-rich reflux stream to the argon column as reflux; producing an impure argon stream by diverting another portion of the argon-rich overhead vapor stream as the impure argon stream from the argon column or diverting a portion of the argon-rich reflux stream as the impure argon stream from argon condenser, the impure argon stream having between about and 4% and 25% of oxygen impurities; warming the impure argon stream; pressurizing the warmed, impure argon stream; purifying the warm, pressurized, impure argon stream in a pressure swing adsorption system to produce a purified argon product stream and a waste gas stream; and recycling the waste gas stream from the pressure swing adsorption system to the argon column or the lower pressure column; wherein the impure argon stream is warmed against the purified argon product stream, the waste gas stream from the pressure swing adsorption system, and a balancing air stream of purified, compressed air.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 38.0
- Percentile: 94.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.85185
- Patent Class: 62.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15057148', '15057152', '15057156', '15057150', '15962205']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.874229685624912
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.630313805050333
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.8498380975674541
- Mean Citation Score: 560.816042
- Max Citation Score: 610.6695599999998
- Similarity Product: 538.7589673545311

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test