Abstract: A gas filling facility and method which maintains the purity of a gas to be filled. A connection of a gas supply pipe and a gas filling pipe attached on gas containers is performed in a first clean room while the storage of the gas filling pipe occurs in a second clean room. When the gas filling pipe is stored, ultra-high purity nitrogen gas is caused to flow through the inside thereof, so that the inside of the gas filling pipe remains under an extremely clean state.

Abstract: A gas supply system equipped with cylinders, in which the fear of a dangerous feed gas flowing backward to a purge gas introduction line and the likes can be prevented, is provided.?Construction!A piping portion B1 which becomes a negative pressure area is demarcatedly formed in a purge gas introduction line B by arranging two valves V3 and V7 in series therein, and in the piping portion B1 demarcatedly formed by these two valves V3 and V7, a gas in the piping portion B1 is led to a vent line D through a vent line D2 having a third valve V8 provided therein, and a pressure sensor 12 is placed for detecting the gas pressure in the piping portion B1. If any trouble takes place in the valve V3 or valve V8, a raise in pressure will be generated in the piping portion B1 in which the inner volume thereof is made small. By detecting this raise in pressure by the pressure sensor 12, the fear of a feed gas flowing backward to the purge gas introduction line B can be quickly detected.

Abstract: According to the present invention, a piping installation for supplying a low temperature fluid such as liquid nitrogen from a main pipe (17) of transporting the low temperature fluid to predetermined equipments (2, 4, 6), for example a cooling apparatus, by way of branch pipes (18, 19), is characterized in that a thermally insulated pipe having a small outer diameter is used for the branch pipes (18, 19). By reducing the diameter of the branch pipes (18, 19) of the piping installation, the occupation of them in a space can be reduced, whereby spaces (3, 5) where they are installed can be effectively utilized. By reducing the diameter of the branch pipes (18, 19), furthermore, the quantity of the low temperature fluid which has been hitherto discharged wastefully can be decreased.

Abstract: An evaporated gas supply method in which the liquid seal of an evaporated gas can be effectively avoided, is provided. According to the present invention, there is provided an evaporated gas supply method in which an evaporated gas having a primary pressure filled in a cylinder is reduced in pressure to a secondary pressure through adiabatic expansion, and the evaporated gas having the secondary pressure is supplied to a predetermined consuming installation, and which comprises a step of cooling down an evaporated gas in a cylinder, whereby the enthalpy of the evaporated gas (2) filled in the said cylinder is increased over an enthalpy of the secondary pressure on the saturated vapor line in a pressure-enthalpy diagram of the same evaporated gas, and a step of adiabatically expanding the evaporated gas filled in the cylinder so that its pressure is reduced, and supplying the evaporated gas having the reduced pressure to said consuming installation.

Abstract: An air separation process wherein a nitrogen enriched fraction is withdrawn from the distillation column, a portion of which is compressed and recycled through the lowest positioned reboiler in the column and directed to an upper portion of the column as reflux.

Abstract: A process for producing gaseous nitrogen from a mixture to be treated in a distillation column, said mixture comprising nitrogen and oxygen, said process comprising the steps of:a) compressing the mixture to be treated to a pressure at least equal to the column pressure;b) cooling the compressed gas mixture and subjecting at least a first portion of said cooled mixture to expansion through a turbine to produce the required refrigeration and thereafter fractionated distillation in the column to obtain at the bottom of the column, an oxygen-enriched fraction and, at the top of the column, a nitrogen-enriched fraction,c) drawing off at least a portion of the nitrogen-enriched fraction as nitrogen product;d) compressing the remaining portion of the nitrogen-enriched fraction;e) recycling at least a portion of the compressed remaining portion of the nitrogen-enriched fraction to the bottom reboiler of the column where it condenses to provide reboil for the column;f) introducing at least a portion of the condensed