Abstract: A main heat exchanger receives and partially condenses an effluent fluid stream so that a mixed phase effluent stream is formed. A primary separation device receives and separates the mixed phase effluent stream into a primary vapor stream including hydrogen and a primary liquid stream including an olefinic hydrocarbon. The main heat exchanger receives and warms at least a portion of the primary vapor stream to provide refrigeration for partially condensing the effluent fluid stream. The main heat exchanger also receives, warms and partially vaporizes the primary liquid stream. A mixed refrigerant compression system also provides refrigeration in the main heat exchanger.

Abstract: Carbon dioxide is recovered from an exhaust gas in the form of liquid carbon dioxide or supercritical carbon dioxide utilizing a rotary separator. Nitrogen gas recovered from the rotary separator can be expanded to provide cooling for carbon dioxide in a closed-loop CO2 power cycle that is used to cool the exhaust gas upstream of the rotary separator. The recovery can power itself and can produce excess electricity from waste heat.

Abstract: A magnetic/energetic apparatus for purifying gas mixtures comprises a vortex tube and magnetic elements. Such an apparatus can include an inlet valve configured to receive a gas mixture having one or more disposed paramagnetic gas species and one or more diamagnetic gas species; a high-shear environment energetic separation chamber coupled to the inlet valve; a plurality of magnetic elements coupled to an outer wall of the high-shear environment separation chamber, wherein each of the plurality of magnetic elements are arranged so as to have a respective pole alternating in polarity with respect to an adjacently positioned magnetic element so as to induce a field gradient between each of the adjacently positioned magnetic elements and within the inner wall of the high-shear environment separation chamber; and at least one exit valve so as provide a substantially separated one or more paramagnetic gas species from the one or more diamagnetic gas species.

Abstract: An apparatus for cooling, comprising: a liquid pump for transport of fluid through a heating cycle, an external heat source for heating the fluid in the heating cycle, for example a solar heater directly connected to the heating cycle or connected through a heat exchanger, an expander with an expander inlet and an expander outlet, the expander inlet having a fluid connection to the external heat source for receiving fluid in the gas phase to drive the expander by expanding the fluid, a compressor with a compressor inlet and a compressor outlet, the compressor being driven by the expander for compressing working fluid from a low pressure compressor inlet gas to a high pressure compressor outlet gas, a first heat exchanger with a fluid connection to the compressor outlet and connected to the expander inlet for transfer of heat from the high pressure compressor outlet gas to the fluid in the heating cycle, a second heat exchanger with a condenser for condensing the working fluid from the expander by energy trans

Abstract: A nozzle of converging-diverging shape for creating mist flow at supersonic velocity comprising: a throat having a characteristic diameter D*; an inlet having a characteristic diameter D1, positioned a distance L1 upstream of the nozzle throat; and an outlet having a characteristic diameter D2, positioned a distance L2 downstream of the nozzle throat, wherein the ratio of L2/(D2−D*) is larger than 4, but smaller than 250; an inertia separator based thereon, and a method for supersonic separation of one or more components of a predominantly gaseous stream.

Abstract: An adiabatic expansion apparatus 22 with a built-in turbine impeller 12 adiabatically expands gas at a cryogenic temperature when the impeller rotates. A control device 24 is connected coaxially with the turbine impeller to control the impeller. A variable nozzle mechanism 30 is provided for varying the throat area for the gas at a cryogenic temperature to be introduced into the turbine impeller. The adiabatic expansion apparatus is installed in a vacuum vessel 14, and a control device is disposed outside the vacuum vessel. The variable nozzle mechanism comprises a nozzle component 32 built into the adiabatic expansion apparatus, and a driving component 34 installed outside the vacuum vessel. The nozzle component and the driving component are connected to the turbine impeller with a coaxial, thin cylindrical component 36, and drive the nozzle component when the cylindrical component rotates about the axis Z of the turbine impeller.

Abstract: Continuous cooperative isobaric ejector method, process and apparatus are disclosed. The ejector compressor 10a is used as a primary compression source in a refrigeration system. The isobaric expansion is accomplished by centrifuging the liquid during the process of evaporation. The vapor evaporated from the liquid as it becomes progressively sub-cooled is used to power a novel continuous spiral ejector 25 compressor. The continuous isobaric ejector 10b is also used to replace the free expansion at the expansion valve.

Abstract: A cryogenic liquid heat exchanger system has a subatmospheric pressure reservoir, a tube, and an initial fluid ejector. The sub-atmospheric pressure reservoir has a vacuum exhaust. The tube extends through the reservoir. The initial fluid ejector has a suction chamber inlet that is functionally connected to the reservoir vacuum exhaust. The system may have a plurality of fluid ejectors connected to one or more exhausts either in series or parallel. The initial fluid ejector may receive one or more pressurized fluid streams, and the streams may be steam. A process for generating sub-atmospheric pressures in a cryogenic fluid heat exchanger reservoir includes the step of discharging an initial fluid stream into an initial fluid ejector having a suction chamber functionally connected to an exhaust of the reservoir. A process for generating sub-atmospheric pressures in a cryogenic fluid heat exchanger reservoir includes the step of using a fluid ejector to reduce the pressure in the reservoir.

Abstract: For gas liquefaction processes, thermodynamic expansion is optimized by use of a hydraulic turbine expander for liquefied gases which can be adjusted to different flow rates and differential pressures by varying the rotational speed and/or guide vane position. The turbine expander is disposed in-line between an upstream system for gas liquefaction and a downstream system for liquefied gas handling including a terminal vessel for storage or phase separation. The invention further includes a device to measure the terminal pressure at an inlet pipe of and/or inside the terminal vessel, and a device to control the turbine expander in response to pressure measurements. The turbine controller sets the rotational speed and/or the guide vane position of the expander depending on changes in the terminal pressure such that the pressure inside the terminal vessel remains constant at a certain target value for different thermodynamic, hydraulic or chemical conditions of the gas liquefaction process.

Abstract: In this cooling and heating device by using gas and heat pipe of this invention, which is different from the conventional method, perfectly non-polluting gas, including air, is used as a refrigerant material, without changing of state, in the open loop circuit. The temperature separation of lower temperature and higher temperature is accomplished by a rapid gas expansion means, a high speed gas rotation means and a high speed heat transport means which includes a heat pipe. This device can be applied as a perfectly non-polluting operating principle of a cooling and/or heating device for general use, it can be used in wide area such as factories, stock houses, offices, homes, cars, ships, aircraft, etc.

Abstract: A nozzle for producing a continuous gas/solid or gas/aerosol stream from a liquid having a high room temperature vapor pressure. The nozzle comprises a series of expansion stages, with the flow reversing direction after each expansion except the first and going over the conduit which comprised the previous expansion stage. In addition, the flow from the last expansion stage comes in contact with the inlet conduit, thereby exposing the inlet flow to the cold temperature produced in the nozzle. Since the flow in the nozzle is essentially adiabatic, the expansion in each stage takes heat from the flow in the previous stage, ultimately resulting in very low temperature flow. It is particularly useful as a fire extinguisher since it can produce solid CO.sub.2 snow and an aerosol of HFC-23 that are "thrown" by the remaining gaseous CO.sub.2 and HFC-23 at low exit velocities. This means that these agents can be used on Class A fires. A test nozzle using 1 liter (2.

Abstract: The invention is a process for liquefying a compound A from a mixture comprising at least compound A and at least one compound B. The mixture is available at a pressure P1 with separation of the at least one compounds B and/or of compound A being performed by distillation at a pressure substantially close to pressure P2 in order to produce at least a stream mainly comprising the compound A and at least a stream F4 comprising most of the at least one compound B. The invention has an application of methane and/or helium extraction during liquefaction of a natural gas.

Abstract: A process for the separation and liquefaction of component gasses from a pressurized mix gas stream is disclosed. The process involves cooling the pressurized mixed gas stream in a heat exchanger so as to condense one or more of the gas components having the highest condensation point; separating the condensed components from the remaining mixed gas stream in a gas-liquid separator; cooling the separated condensed component stream by passing it through an expander; and passing the cooled component stream back through the heat exchanger such that the cooled component stream functions as the refrigerant for the heat exchanger. The cycle is then repeated for the remaining mixed gas stream so as to draw off the next component gas and further cool the remaining mixed gas stream. The process continues until all of the component gases are separated from the desired gas stream. The final gas stream is then passed through a final heat exchanger and expander.

Abstract: A process for liquefying a gas, wherein the gas is compressed, cooled, then expanded in a first turbine and at least partially liquefied, wherein a portion of the liquid produced is also cooled, and then expanded in a second turbine, wherein the second turbine operates with a higher inlet temperature than the first turbine and the first turbine operates at an outlet pressure different than that from the second turbine.

Abstract: A cryogenic air separation system wherein base load pressure energy is supplied to the feed air by a base load compressor and custom load pressure energy is supplied to the feed air by a bridge machine having one or more turbine booster compressors and one or more product boiler booster compressors, all of the compressors of the bridge machine driven by power supplied through a single gear case.

Abstract: A process and plant for air separation by cryogenic distillation. Air is cooled in a main exchanger and is sent to a distillation column in which it separates into an oxygen-enriched liquid and a nitrogen-enriched vapor. A stream of pressurized liquid coming from the apparatus vaporizes in the main exchanger. The refrigeration necessary for the process is generated by expansion of air in one or more turbines immediately downstream of the main exchanger. The turbine or turbines produces or produce, as output, a stream which is at least 95 percent liquid, preferably 100 percent liquid.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for separating air in which a compressed and purified air stream is cooled in a main heat exchanger. Thereafter, the compressed and purified air is separated in a distillation column system to produce product streams. The product streams warm within the main heat exchanger by indirectly exchanging heat with the compressed and purified air stream. One or more of the product streams is distributed to a plurality of vortex tubes at successively warmer temperatures so that warm and cold streams produced thereby become successively warmer and one or more of the warm streams has a temperature warmer than that of said compressed and purified air stream upon its introduction into said main heat exchanger. All but the warm stream(s) having the warmer temperature are recycled back to said main heat exchanger to participate in the indirect heat exchange and heat is rejected by discharging said warm stream(s) so that heat is rejected at the warmer temperature and refrigeration is produced.

Abstract: An apparatus and method involving the use of a multi-column system in which higher and lower pressure columns are operatively associated with one another by a condenser-reboiler. A pump is provided for pumping a stream of sump liquid of the lower pressure column to produce a pressurized product. The condenser-reboiler is a falling film type of heat exchanger in which liquid is vaporized to produce boilup in the lower pressure column against vaporizing tower overhead in the higher pressure column to reflux both of the columns. Liquid is recirculated back to the condenser-reboiler by an ejector that uses part of a pumped stream as the motive fluid to draw liquid for recirculation. In such manner, less energy is consumed in the recirculation than had all of the recirculated liquid been pumped. Furthermore, an ejector, unlike a second pump used for recirculation purposes, is a solid state device with no moving parts.

Abstract: A two-phase nozzle having a converging diverging configurations is equipped with a flow divider at its inlet. The flow divider is arranged to act upon an incoming flow of two-phase liquid to break the liquid phase into finely divided droplets which are directed into the nozzle entrance region so that minimum contact is made with the inside wall of the nozzle. The finely divided droplets are thus thoroughly dispersed in the gas phase of the mixture producing maximum acceleration of the fluid through the nozzle.

Abstract: Process and installation for the compression and expansion of at least one gaseous stream, in which a first stream of a gaseous mixture is compressed in a compressor (5) having at least one compression stage (5A, 5B, 5C); a second stream of a gaseous mixture is supercharged in a supercharger (7); a third stream of a gaseous mixture is expanded in an expansion engine (9); at least a portion of the energy generated by the expansion engine is recovered with the supercharger (7) and at least a portion of the second supercharged stream is sent upstream of one stage (5B) of the compressor. The first and second streams are compressed in at least one stage (5A) of the compressor before sending the second stream to the supercharger. The second stream comes from upstream of one stage of the compressor and at least a portion of the supercharged second stream is returned downstream of this stage.

Abstract: A process and installation for the cryogenic purification of impure hydrogen, of the type in which impure hydrogen is cooled under a low pressure PO to a temperature sufficiently low to condense a predetermined proportion of the impurities, by heat exchange in a thermal heat exchange line (3) with purified hydrogen and with a residual fraction containing the expanded preliminarily condensed impurities (in 11, 12) to a low pressure P1. The remaining cold is supplied by the expansion of purified hydrogen in a turbine (8) with gas bearings and the expanded hydrogen is added to the light impurities expanded at the cold end of the heat exchange line. The turbine (8) is supplied with the gas leaving its bearings (17), after cooling of hydrogen at the labyrinthine seal (18) of the turbine is withdrawn under a pressure slightly less than the interstitial pressure Pi which prevails between the rotor (14) and the stator (16) of this turbine.