Membrane Patents (Class 62/655)
  • Patent number: 10895417
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for the production of air gases by the cryogenic separation of air with front end purification and air compression can include using an available compressed dry gas such as nitrogen, oxygen, stored purified air, or synthetic air to repressurize the adsorber without diverting any of the purified air just exiting the currently on-line adsorber or changing the flow rate of the main air compressor or air sent to the cold box. This enables the main air compressor (MAC) to operate at a relatively constant flow rate while also sending a relatively constant air flow to the cold box during this repressurization step, thereby reducing the risks of process upsets and minimizing capital expenditures related to the MAC and other warm-end equipments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georges Claude
    Inventors: Paul Kong, Minh Pham-Huy, Wendy Yip
  • Patent number: 10295251
    Abstract: A system and method for cryogenic purification of a hydrogen, nitrogen, methane and argon containing feed stream to produce a methane free, hydrogen and nitrogen containing synthesis gas and a methane rich fuel gas, as well as to recover an argon product stream, excess hydrogen, and excess nitrogen is provided. The disclosed system and method are particularly useful as an integrated cryogenic purifier in an ammonia synthesis process in an ammonia plant. The excess nitrogen is a nitrogen stream substantially free of methane and hydrogen that can be used in other parts of the plant, recovered as a gaseous nitrogen product and/or liquefied to produce a liquid nitrogen product.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: PRAXAIR TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Henry E. Howard
  • Patent number: 8015973
    Abstract: Method and arrangement for adjusting nitrogen and oxygen concentrations within regions of an aircraft. The method includes separating nitrogen from ambient air onboard an aircraft thereby establishing a high-concentration nitrogen supply and then dispensing high-concentration nitrogen from the supply to a fire-susceptible, non-habitable region of the aircraft where the high-concentration nitrogen is reservoired thereby decreasing the capability for the atmosphere therein to support combustion. Oxygen is also separated from the ambient air thereby establishing a high-concentration oxygen supply that is dispensed to an occupant cabin of the aircraft thereby increasing the level of oxygen concentration within the cabin to a level greater than the naturally occurring concentration of oxygen at the experienced internal cabin pressure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2011
    Assignee: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
    Inventor: Robert Geary
  • Patent number: 7638059
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an oxygen isotope separation system and a method therefor. More specifically, the invention relates to a newly invented pressure-driven AGMD (Air Gap Membrane Distillation) system applied to a multi-stage membrane distillation cells which can produce an oxygen isotope effectively and economically, and a method therefor. The invention provides an oxygen isotope separation system including a number of Air Gap Membrane Distillation (AGMD) permeation cells connected in series to separate a feed into a product and a tail, wherein each of the AGMD cell is connected at a tail outlet with a reflux pump and at a product outlet, whereby the product from (i?1)th cell and the tail from (i+1)th cell are pumped as the feed into ith cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
    Inventors: JaeWoo Kim, Hwa-Rim Choi, Dae-Shik Chang, Yun-Young Choi
  • Patent number: 7219510
    Abstract: The inert gas generating system includes a compressed air source, a cooling air source, and a separation module. The separation module includes first and second inlets and outlets. The first inlet is coupled to the compressed air source. The first outlet is coupled to the first inlet via a bundle of hollow fiber membranes. The second inlet is coupled to the cooling air source, and the second outlet is coupled to the second inlet via a space surrounding the bundle of hollow fiber membranes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Shaw Aero Devices, Inc.
    Inventor: Philip E. Jones
  • Patent number: 6997013
    Abstract: The inert gas generating system includes a compressed air source, a cooling air source, and a separation module. The separation module includes first and second inlets and outlets. The first inlet is coupled to the compressed air source. The first outlet is coupled to the first inlet via a bundle of hollow fiber membranes. The second inlet is coupled to the cooling air source, and the second outlet is coupled to the second inlet via a space surrounding the bundle of hollow fiber membranes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: Shaw Aero Devices, INC
    Inventor: Philip E. Jones
  • Publication number: 20040226438
    Abstract: The inert gas generating system includes a compressed air source, a cooling air source, and a separation module. The separation module includes first and second inlets and outlets. The first inlet is coupled to the compressed air source. The first outlet is coupled to the first inlet via a bundle of hollow fiber membranes. The second inlet is coupled to the cooling air source, and the second outlet is coupled to the second inlet via a space surrounding the bundle of hollow fiber membranes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2004
    Publication date: November 18, 2004
    Inventor: Philip E. Jones
  • Publication number: 20030005719
    Abstract: In an air conditioner, air extracted from engine is fed through a main air flow path into cabin after being cooled by a cooling device. This extracted air is fed into the cabin through an auxiliary air flow path. The air within the cabin flows out through an outflow air flow path. A plurality of adsorption sections are constituted by an adsorption agent that adsorbs molecules contained in the air and releases adsorbed molecules by being raised in temperature to more than the temperature thereof on adsorption. By control of an air flow changeover mechanism by a controller, each of the adsorption sections is changed over between a condition connected with the auxiliary air flow path and a condition connected with the outflow air flow path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2002
    Publication date: January 9, 2003
    Applicant: Shimadzu Corporation
    Inventors: Hisashi Mitani, Hidefumi Saito
  • Publication number: 20020116946
    Abstract: An air conditioner includes an oxygen-enriched air separator for separating exterior air into oxygen-enriched air and nitrogen-enriched air and an oxygen-enriched air supplier for supplying the separated oxygen-enriched air to an indoor unit. The oxygen-enriched air separator has a main body, an oxygen-enriched air outlet port connected to the indoor unit through a supply tube, a nitrogen-enriched air outlet port for exhausting the nitrogen enriched air and a pressure maintenance unit for maintaining a pressure difference between a first space communicated with the nitrogen-enriched air outlet port and a second space communicated with the oxygen-enriched air outlet port over a predetermined level.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 4, 2001
    Publication date: August 29, 2002
    Inventors: Young Hoon Choi, Kwan Choull Park, Sang Min Kim
  • Patent number: 6383257
    Abstract: An apparatus and process for separating perfluorocarbon compounds from a gas mixture passes an incoming stream of a gas into a cold trap, the gas stream including a plurality of perfluorocarbon compounds. The gas mixture is cooled within the cold trap to a temperature below −100° C. to produce a condensate that is enriched in at least one perfluorocarbon compound and a non-condensed stream from which the condensate was separated. The condensate is withdrawn from the cold trap. The condensate may be withdrawn by warming the cold trap to vaporize the condensate and thereafter flowing the vaporized condensate into a storage vessel. The non-condensed stream may be vented to the atmosphere, re-circulated into the cold trap or flowed through subsequent separation processes to extract additional perfluorocarbon compounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2002
    Assignee: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
    Inventors: Wayne Thomas McDermott, Richard Carl Ockovic, Alexander Schwarz, Rakesh Agrawal
  • Patent number: 6301923
    Abstract: A method for generating refrigeration for application to a heat load, especially at very cold temperatures, using an environmentally benign working gas such as air and using an upstream precooling circuit to reduce or eliminate inefficiencies stemming from warm end pinch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2001
    Assignee: Praxair Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Dante Patrick Bonaquist, Harry Cheung, Arun Acharya
  • Patent number: 5987917
    Abstract: The air is compressed in a precompressor (1) to a prepressure, then cooled, cleaned and reheated. A heat exchanger (2) is used for simultaneous cooling and reheating. The separation of the nitrogen is effected in a separation device (4), which comprises a plurality of membrane separators. The concentrate, which is enriched with nitrogen, from the last stage is recirculated to the inlet side of the precompressor (1). The separated nitrogen is compressed to the nominal pressure in a final compressor (6) connected to the separation device (4). A pressure switch (8) controls the system such that the final compressor (6) only switches on during start-up when the working pressure of the separation device (4) has been reached. Up to this time the gas supplied from the separation device (4) is partially recirculated to the precompressor (1). There is also recirculation of the leakage nitrogen from the final compressor (6) to the precompressor (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Druckluff Dannohl GmbH
    Inventor: Peter Fritz Dannohl
  • Patent number: 5829272
    Abstract: A process and installation for the separation of air by permeation, for the production of high purity nitrogen. The installation comprises in series an air compressor (2), a refrigerator (3) cooled by air or water, a unit (4) for filtering out oil and water, an air reheater (5) and a permeator (6). The air reheater (5) is provided with a device (18A) for adjusting the temperature as a function of the temperature of the final refrigeration fluid that cools the compressed air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude et L'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
    Inventor: Lionel Barry
  • Patent number: 5649996
    Abstract: A method for separating gases with enhanced selectivity comprises causing a mixture of gases to be separated to flow through a molecular sieving membrane (MSM), at cryogenic temperatures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 22, 1997
    Assignee: Carbon Membranes, Ltd.
    Inventors: Abraham Soffer, Jack Gilron, Refael Hed-Ofek, Moshe Hassid
  • Patent number: 5582030
    Abstract: Air is compressed in an air compressor and cooled in an air cooler whereafter the impurities which have condensed out are removed. The air is subsequently reheated in a heat exchanger which is connected on the hot air side between the air compressor and the air cooler. The reheated air is passed through a plurality of membrane-type nitrogen separators, whereby the permeate of the last separator is constituted by nitrogen of the desired purity. The concentrate of this separator is recirculated to the suction side of the air compressor. The output control of the apparatus can be effected by means of an air feedback line which branches off before the heat exchanger and leads to the suction side of the air compressor. The flow through the air feedback line can be controlled by a valve which operates in dependence on the outlet pressure of the air compressor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 10, 1996
    Assignee: Druckluft Dannohl GmbH
    Inventor: Peter F. Dannohl