Patents by Inventor Dirk Schwenk

Dirk Schwenk has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20220026145
    Abstract: A method for obtaining one or more air products, wherein an air separation system having a rectification column system is used, in which pressurized air is processed in an adjustable total air volume, wherein the total air volume is set to a first value during a first operating period and set to a second value that is different from the first value during a second operating period, and wherein the setting of the total air volume is changed from the first value to the second value in a third operating period from a first time to a second time. The second operating period is after the first operating period, the third operating period is between the first operating period and the second operating period. In the third operating period, a setting of a volume of a fluid, is changed from a third time up to a fourth time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2019
    Publication date: January 27, 2022
    Inventors: Dirk SCHWENK, Dimitri GOLUBEV
  • Patent number: 9733014
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for obtaining compressed oxygen and compressed nitrogen by the low-temperature separation of air in a distillation column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation, said distillation column system having at least one high-pressure column (8) and one low-pressure column (460), wherein the low-pressure column (460) is in a heat-exchanging connection with the high-pressure column (8) by means of a main condenser (461) designed as a condenser-evaporator. Feed air is compressed in an air compressor (2). The compressed feed air (6, 734, 802, 840) is cooled down in a main heat exchanger (20) and at least partially introduced into the high-pressure column (8). An oxygen-enriched liquid (462, 465) is removed from the high-pressure column (8) and fed to the low-pressure column (460) at a first intermediate position (464, 467, 906).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: LINDE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Dirk Schwenk, Alexander Alekseev, Frances Masterson, Dimitri Goloubev
  • Publication number: 20130205831
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for obtaining compressed oxygen and compressed nitrogen by the low-temperature separation of air in a distillation column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation, said distillation column system having at least one high-pressure column (8) and one low-pressure column (460), wherein the low-pressure column (460) is in a heat-exchanging connection with the high-pressure column (8) by means of a main condenser (461) designed as a condenser-evaporator. Feed air is compressed in an air compressor (2). The compressed feed air (6, 734, 802, 840) is cooled down in a main heat exchanger (20) and at least partially introduced into the high-pressure column (8). An oxygen-enriched liquid (462, 465) is removed from the high-pressure column (8) and fed to the low-pressure column (460) at a first intermediate position (464, 467, 906).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Publication date: August 15, 2013
    Applicant: LINDE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventors: Dirk Schwenk, Alexander Alekseev, Frances Masterson, Dimitri Goloubev
  • Publication number: 20090188280
    Abstract: The process and the device are used for low-temperature separation of air with a distilling-column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation (20), which has at least one separation column (21, 22). A main air stream (1, 5) is compressed in an air compressor (2) and purified in a purification device (4). A first air stream (7) and a second air stream (8) are diverted from the main air stream (5). The first air stream (7) is further compressed in two secondary compressors (10, 13) that are connected in series. The further compressed first air stream (15) is cooled by indirect heat exchange (16), and at least partially liquefied or pseudo-liquefied, and then introduced into the distilling-column system for nitrogen-oxygen separation (20). The second air stream (8) is cooled by indirect heat exchange (16) and then, divided into two partial streams (24, 27), is actively depressurized in two expanders (25, 28), whereby the two expanders have essentially the same inlet pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2007
    Publication date: July 30, 2009
    Inventors: Alexander Alekseev, Dietrich Rottmann, Florian Schliebitz, Dirk Schwenk
  • Patent number: 6612129
    Abstract: In a process and apparatus used to produce krypton and/or xenon by low-temperature fractionation of air, compresses and clean charge air (1) is introduced into a rectification system for nitrogen-oxygen separation. The rectification system includes at least a high-pressure column (2) and a low-pressure column (3). A krypton- and xenon-containing fraction (13, 14, 15, 16) is removed from the high-pressure column (2) and introduced into the evaporation space of a condenser-evaporator (17), where it is partially evaporated. A purge liquid (26) is extracted from the evaporation space of the condenser-evaporator (17) and fed to a krypton-xenon enrichment column (24). A krypton-xenon concentrate (30) is removed from the krypton-xenon enrichment column (24). A liquid from the lower region of the krypton-xenon enrichment column (24) is introduced into a second condenser-evaporator (27), which is separate from the first condenser-evaporator (17).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: Linde Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Dirk Schwenk
  • Publication number: 20030110795
    Abstract: In a process and apparatus used to produce krypton and/or xenon by low-temperature fractionation of air, compressed and clean charge air (1) is introduced into a rectification system for nitrogen-oxygen separation. The rectification system includes at least a high-pressure column (2) and a low-pressure column (3). A krypton- and xenon-containing fraction (13, 14, 15, 16) is removed from the high-pressure column (2) and introduced into the evaporation space of a condenser-evaporator (17), where it is partially evaporated. A purge liquid (26) is extracted from the evaporation space of the condenser-evaporator (17) and fed to a krypton-xenon enrichment column (24). A krypton-xenon concentrate (30) is removed from the krypton-xenon enrichment column (24). A liquid from the lower region of the krypton-xenon enrichment column (24) is introduced into a second condenser-evaporator (27), which is separate from the first condenser-evaporator (17).
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2002
    Publication date: June 19, 2003
    Applicant: LINDE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
    Inventor: Dirk Schwenk