Abstract: A process separates a multicomponent feed by distillation into at least one stream enriched in the most volatile component, one stream enriched in the least volatile component, and one stream enriched in a component of intermediate volatility. In one embodiment, the process produces an argon-enriched stream from a cryogenic air separation process. The distillation system includes at least one distillation column that produces a nitrogen-enriched stream from the top of the column, an oxygen product stream from the bottom of the column, and an argon-enriched stream from a partitioned section. The geometry of the partitioned section minimizes vapor and liquid distribution, and includes a vertical separating element and an end separating element to isolate the partitioned section from the intermediate distillation section.

Abstract: A process delivers oxygen at a variable flow rate from a distillation system. The process uses a higher pressure column and a lower pressure column. The effects of oxygen product rate fluctuations on the distillation system are reduced by maintaining essentially constant flow rates within the columns.

Abstract: A process for the production of oxygen and nitrogen is applicable when the oxygen product is withdrawn from a distillation column system as a liquid, pumped to an elevated pressure and warmed at least in part by cooling a suitably pressurized stream. At least a portion of the compressed, purified, and cooled air is introduced to a first of at least three distillation columns. The first distillation column contains at least a condenser at its top, produces at least an oxygen-lean stream from or near its top and a first oxygen-enriched liquid from its bottom. A second distillation column, which contains a reboiler in its bottom, has no condenser, receives at least a portion of nitrogen-enriched liquid as a feed to its top, and produces a first nitrogen-rich vapor stream from its top and a second oxygen-enriched liquid from its bottom.

Abstract: A reciprocating pump includes a cylinder with a closed interior compartment. A piston assembly has a dispensing end and an opposed end and is moveably mounted within the compartment for reciprocating movement in opposed linear directions between opposed ends of the closed interior compartment. A linear magnetic drive generates a linearly moving magnetic field for moving the piston assembly in opposed linear directions through a swept volume in each of said opposed linear directions, one of said linear directions being a dispensing stroke and the other of said linear directions being a suction stroke. A sealing member is provided between the cylinder and the piston assembly to divide the interior compartment of the cylinder into a dispensing chamber and a reservoir chamber.

Abstract: A multieffect distillation process separates multicomponent mixtures containing three or more components into at least four product streams each enriched in one of the components. Thermally linked high pressure and low pressure columns are used in the process. The feed is fed to one of the two distillation columns and a product stream is produced from each end of this distillation column. A mixture stream also is produced from an intermediate location of this column and sent to the other distillation column. A product stream is produced from each end of the other distillation column.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for recovering xenon or a mixture of xenon and krypton from air processed in a cryogenic air separation plant. An oxygen rich stream containing xenon and or krypton and xenon together with other trace impurities is subjected to a carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide removal step followed by concentration of xenon and or a mixture of krypton and xenon in a liquid fraction separated from an oxygen enriched vapor and vaporizing and recovering a xenon and or krypton and xenon mixture enriched vapor.

Abstract: Gas mixtures are separated by cryogenic separation, preferably a cryogenic condensation separation cycle, into at least a first gas mixture and a second gas mixture having at least one component common with the first gas mixture; at least one gas mixture selected from at least a portion of said feed gas mixture and at least a portion of said second gas mixture is subjected to non-cryogenic separation to provide a separated gas rich in said common component; and said separated gas is added to said first gas mixture to contribute to a product gas mixture. It is particularly preferred to also blend a portion of the second gas mixture with the first gas mixture to facilitate, in conjunction with the separated stream, simultaneous control of both the amount and composition of the first gas mixture product.

Abstract: A liquid distributor for a packed liquid-vapor contact column includes a header tank; a liquid distribution plate having vapor riser passages and a multiplicity of discrete reservoir cells each having an aperture for flow of liquid therefrom into the column; and conduits for feeding liquid from the header tank into each cell. The liquid distribution plate preferably has a uniform criss-cross structure with alternating vapor riser passages and reservoir cells of identical shape and size. The conduits may have two or more sections each feeding a discrete group of reservoir cells from a location of the header tank at an elevation spaced from that of the other section(s). The distributor compensates for column sway or tilt when mounted on, for example, a ship.

Abstract: In a process for the cryogenic separation of air and recovery of argon in a distillation system having at least one distillation column that produces a nitrogen-enriched stream, an oxygen enriched stream, and an argon-enriched stream, and at least one sidearm column which receives the argon-enriched stream from the distillation column, controlling argon recovery by manipulating the total amount of argon inventory within the system at a given time.

Abstract: An improved process for humidifying a gas stream with a precise amount of moisture used in a variety of heat treating processes including annealing, brazing, and sintering of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, reflow soldering of electronic components, glass-to-metal sealing, chemical processes, chemical vapor deposition of metal oxides, laser processing, fuel cells, etc. The gaseous stream is humidified by introducing a controlled amount of water through a precision metering device and a known and precise flow rate of a gas stream into a gas-liquid contactor, and shearing and vaporizing the water stream in the gas-liquid contactor with the gas stream.

Abstract: Horizontal structured packing utilizing horizontal panels or horizontal corrugated foils arranged in a crisscrossing pattern are disclosed together with methods for manufacturing and assembling the horizontal structured packing in an exchange column. In one embodiment, the structured packing comprises at least one first layer in a generally horizontal first plane and at least one second layer in a generally horizontal second plane below the first layer, each layer having at least one generally horizontal panel in the shape of a polygon having a center. Each panel is substantially uniform in size and of a shape that nests with horizontally adjacent panels, and there are a plurality of vanes disposed inside each panel. At least one of the vanes is at an angle to the horizontal and has a passage between the vane and an adjacent vane. The center of at least one panel in the second layer is horizontally offset from the center of a vertically adjacent panel in the first layer.

Abstract: The present invention teaches an efficient and easier to operate distillation system to separate mixtures containing three or more components into streams enriched in one of the components. In this invention, a liquid stream enriched in the least volatile component is withdrawn from the bottom of one distillation column while a vapor stream enriched in the most volatile component is withdrawn from the top of another distillation column. Of these two distillation columns, the pressure of the distillation column with the bottom liquid enriched in the least volatile component is higher; and this higher pressure distillation column transfers at least two vapor streams from different locations to either one or more other distillation columns within the distillation system. For a ternary mixture, both the vapor streams are transferred to the distillation column with the top vapor enriched in the most volatile component.

Abstract: The separation energy requirement of a conventional cryogenic process for separating carbon monoxide ("CO") from a gaseous feed containing primarily CO and hydrogen is reduced by an improvement to the process. In the process, CO is scrubbed from a vapor portion of the feed by a liquid methane wash and dissolved hydrogen is stripped from the resultant CO-loaded liquid methane stream. The hydrogen-stripped CO-loaded liquid methane stream is sub-cooled and split into at least first and second substreams. The first substream is expanded and introduced into a CO/methane fractionation column as a liquid feed. The second substream is partially vaporized and introduced into said fractionating column as a two-phase feed. The fractionating column separates the hydrogen-stripped CO-loaded liquid methane feeds to provide CO-rich vapor overheads and methane-rich bottoms liquid. A "high pressure" CO recycle heat pump stream provides reboil to the fractionation column.

Abstract: A radial flow adsorption vessel is disclosed together with a method for assembling such a vessel and a method for manufacturing containment screens having bidirectional flexibility for use in such a vessel. The radial flow adsorption vessel includes a substantially cylindrical shell having a longitudinal axis and a plurality of substantially cylindrical screens disposed concentrically inside the shell. Each screen has a different diameter and a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shell, and at least one of the screens is flexible in both the axial and radial directions. Preferably, the at least one screen flexible in both the axial and radial directions is an intermediate screen disposed between an outer screen and an inner screen.

Abstract: A combined liquid/vapor distributor and method of assembly are disclosed together with a method for collection and distribution of a liquid and a vapor in an exchange column. The combined liquid/vapor distributor is an apparatus for distributing a liquid and a vapor to or from a packing in an exchange column. The apparatus includes a distributor and a deck above and adjacent the distributor. The distributor has at least one vapor riser, which has generally parallel spaced apart upright walls and an open top and an open bottom opposite the open top. The distributor also has at least one liquid trough adjacent the vapor riser. The liquid trough has an open top and a floor having at least one aperture. The floor is opposite the open top of the liquid trough and is attached to at least one wall of the adjacent vapor riser.

Abstract: Hydrogen (4), and carbon monoxide (21) are separated from a gaseous mixture thereof, typically a mixture of essentially hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane (1) using liquid methane (3) to dissolve carbon monoxide in a methane wash column (2), removing (8) residual hydrogen (15) from the loaded methane wash (6,9), and separating (18) the residual loaded methane into carbon monoxide and methane fractions (21,22). The residual hydrogen (15) is removed in a hydrogen stripping column (8), said column being refluxed with a methane rich scrubbing liquid stream (13) withdrawn from an intermediate location of the methane wash column (2).

Abstract: Carbon monoxide is separated from a gaseous mixture containing hydrogen and methane and contaminated with nitrogen by scrubbing carbon monoxide from a vapor portion of the feed by a liquid methane wash; stripping dissolved hydrogen from the resultant CO-loaded liquid methane stream; fractionating the resultant hydrogen-stripped CO-loaded liquid methane stream to separate nitrogen therefrom; and fractionating the resultant nitrogen-freed bottoms liquid into CO product overheads vapor and methane bottoms liquid. If the gaseous mixture also contains argon, argon content can be removed with the methane content to obviate a separate argon-separation stage as required by prior art processes.

Abstract: A process for separating mixtures which comprise oxygen, nitrogen, and argon by cryogenic distillation in a distillation system where the system is comprised of a distillation column that produces a nitrogen-enriched stream, an oxygen-enriched stream, and an argon-enriched stream, and a sidearm column which has a sump and receives the argon-enriched stream from the distillation column. During an interruption of flow of the argon-enriched stream into the sidearm column, the liquid inventory in the sidearm column is collected at a point above the sump and recirculated through the sidearm column during re-startup of the sidearm column.

Abstract: Carbon monoxide is separated from a gaseous mixture containing hydrogen and contaminated with nitrogen by separating hydrogen and carbon monoxide contents to provide a carbon monoxide-enriched nitrogen-containing stream and separating carbon monoxide and nitrogen contents of said stream in a nitrogen-separation column to provide a nitrogen-enriched overheads vapor and a nitrogen-freed bottoms liquid. The overheads vapor is washed with liquid nitrogen to remove carbon monoxide therefrom and the resultant carbon monoxide-enriched liquid nitrogen is returned to said column as additional reflux. The liquid nitrogen wash simultaneously reduces the loss of carbon monoxide with the nitrogen-enriched vapor and provides refrigeration to the process. When the gaseous feed is a synthesis gas also containing methane, the methane and carbon monoxide contents can be separated before or after separation of the nitrogen and carbon monoxide contents.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an elevated pressure air separation cryogenic process wherein feed air is compressed, treated to remove water and carbon dioxide, cooled to cryogenic temperature in a main heat exchanger having a cold end and a warm end and fed to a distillation column system having at least two (2) distillation columns for separation into at least a nitrogen-enriched product, an oxygen-enriched product and a gaseous waste stream characterized in that at least a portion of said waste stream is (isentropically) expanded to produce work and work produced by the expansion is used to provide at least a portion of the work required to compress a process stream other than the gaseous waste stream at a temperature warmer than the temperature of the cold end of said main heat exchanger. The alternative process streams to be compressed can be: at least a portion of the feed air, at least a portion of the oxygen-enriched product or at least a portion of the nitrogen-enriched product.