Oxygen plant
Encyclopedia
Oxygen absorption plants is the modern non-cryogenic gas separation
system. Plants based on absorption and sometimes membrane technology.
Due to that, oxygen has become widely used in the metal processing, welding, cutting and brazing processes. In the chemical and petrochemical industries, as well as in the oil and gas sector oxygen is used in commercial volumes as an oxidizer in chemical reaction
s.
The use of oxygen in gas-flame operations, such as metal welding, cutting and brazing is one of the most significant and common applications of this gas. Oxygen allows generating high-temperature flame in welding torches thus ensuring high quality and speed of work performance.
Oxygen is heavily used in the metal industry where it helps to increase burning temperature by the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and significantly improve the overall process efficiency. Another important oxygen application in the metal industry is connected with its use for carbon fixation
with the yield of carbon dioxide.
In the chemical and petrochemical industries, oxygen is widely used for oxidation of raw chemicals for recovery of nitric acid
, ethylene oxide
, propylene oxide
, vinyl chloride
and other important chemical compound
s.
In the oil and gas industry, oxygen finds application as a means for viscosity improvement and enhancement of oil-and-gas flow properties
. Oxygen is also used for boosting production capacity of oil cracking plants, efficiency of high-octane components processing, as well as for the reduction of sulfuric deposits in refineries.
The use of oxygen in the fish farming
helps increase the survival and fertility ratios and reduce the incubation period
. Along with fish culture, oxygen is applied for shrimps, crabs and mussels rearing.
In glass furnaces oxygen is effectively used for burning temperature increase and burning processes improvement.
The use of oxygen in incinerators allows to significantly increase flame temperature and eventually ensure enhanced cost efficiency
and incinerators production capacity.
of a gas component.
The gas adsorption and adsorbent regeneration processes may therefore be regulated by varying of the pressure and temperature parameters.
with the use of swing technologies: pressure (PSA), vacuum (VSA) and mixed (VPSA) ones. In the pressure swing adsorption flow processes, oxygen is recovered under above-atmospheric pressure and regeneration is achieved under atmospheric pressure
. In vacuum swing adsorption flow processes, oxygen is recovered under atmospheric pressure, and regeneration is achieved under negative pressure
. The mixed systems operation combines pressure variations from positive to negative.
An unquestionable advantage of adsorption-based oxygen plants is the low cost of oxygen produced in the cases where there are no rigid requirements to the product oxygen purity.
Structurally, the adsorption oxygen plant consists of several adsorbers, the compressor unit, pre-purifier unit, valve system and the plant control system
.
A simple adsorber is a column filled with layers of specially selected adsorbents – granular substances preferentially adsorbing highly adsorbable components of a gas mixture.
Where gaseous oxygen purity is required at the level of 90-95% with the capacity of up to 5,000 nm3 per hour, adsorption oxygen plants are the optimal choice. This oxygen purity may also be obtained through the use of systems based on the cryogenic technology; however, cryogenic plants are more cumbersome and complex in operation.
.
layer applied to its external surface. Structurally, a hollow fiber membrane
is configured as a cylindrical cartridge representing a spool with specifically reeled polymer fiber.
In the case of compressor technology, air is supplied into the fiber space under excess pressure, oxygen exits the membrane under slight excess pressure, and where necessary, is pressurized by booster compressor to the required pressure level
. By the use of vacuum technology
, a vacuum pump is used for the achievement of partial pressures difference.
In the membrane oxygen plant, gas separation is achieved in the gas separation module composed of hollow-fiber membranes and representing the plant critical and high-technology
unit. Apart from the gas separation unit, other important technical components are the booster compressor or vacuum pump, pre-purifier unit, and the plant control system.
The adoption of membrane systems for air enrichment purposes promises multiple oxygen savings where the oxygen concentration of 30-45% is sufficient to cover process needs. In addition to customer saving on the product oxygen cost, there is a collateral economic effect based on extremely low operating costs.
With the incorporation of the membrane technology, oxygen plants have outstanding technical characteristics. Membrane oxygen plants are highly reliable due to the absence of moving parts
in the gas separation module.
The systems are very simple in operation – control of all operating parameters is carried out automatically. Because of the plants high automation degree, no constant manned attendance is required during its operation.
Membrane oxygen plants are finding increasingly broad application in various industries all over the world. With moderate requirements to oxygen purity in product - up to 30-45%, membrane systems generally prove more economically sound than adsorption and cryogenic systems. Besides, membrane plants are much simpler in operation and more reliable.
Gas separation
Gas mixtures can be effectively separated by synthetic membranes. For other methods see adsorption, absorption, cryogenic distillation.Membranes are employed in:* separation of nitrogen or oxygen out of air...
system. Plants based on absorption and sometimes membrane technology.
Application
Oxygen finds broad application in various technological processes and in almost all industry branches. The primary oxygen application is associated with its capability of sustaining burning process, and the powerful oxidant properties.Due to that, oxygen has become widely used in the metal processing, welding, cutting and brazing processes. In the chemical and petrochemical industries, as well as in the oil and gas sector oxygen is used in commercial volumes as an oxidizer in chemical reaction
Chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
s.
- Metal gas weldingOxy-fuel welding and cuttingOxy-fuel welding and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases and oxygen to weld and cut metals, respectively. French engineers Edmond Fouché and Charles Picard became the first to develop oxygen-acetylene welding in 1903...
, cutting and brazing
The use of oxygen in gas-flame operations, such as metal welding, cutting and brazing is one of the most significant and common applications of this gas. Oxygen allows generating high-temperature flame in welding torches thus ensuring high quality and speed of work performance.
- Metal industry
Oxygen is heavily used in the metal industry where it helps to increase burning temperature by the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and significantly improve the overall process efficiency. Another important oxygen application in the metal industry is connected with its use for carbon fixation
Carbon fixation
In biology, carbon fixation is the reduction of carbon dioxide to organic compounds by living organisms. The obvious example is photosynthesis. Carbon fixation requires both a source of energy such as sunlight, and an electron donor such as water. All life depends on fixed carbon. Organisms that...
with the yield of carbon dioxide.
- Chemical and petrochemical industries
In the chemical and petrochemical industries, oxygen is widely used for oxidation of raw chemicals for recovery of nitric acid
Nitric acid
Nitric acid , also known as aqua fortis and spirit of nitre, is a highly corrosive and toxic strong acid.Colorless when pure, older samples tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen. If the solution contains more than 86% nitric acid, it is referred to as fuming...
, ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide, also called oxirane, is the organic compound with the formula . It is a cyclic ether. This means that it is composed of two alkyl groups attached to an oxygen atom in a cyclic shape . This colorless flammable gas with a faintly sweet odor is the simplest epoxide, a three-membered...
, propylene oxide
Propylene oxide
Propylene oxide is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH3CHCH2O. This colourless volatile liquid is produced on a large scale industrially, its major application being its use for the production of polyether polyols for use in making polyurethane plastics...
, vinyl chloride
Vinyl chloride
Vinyl chloride is the organochloride with the formula H2C:CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer, VCM or chloroethene. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride . At ambient pressure and temperature, vinyl chloride...
and other important chemical compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
s.
- Oil and gas industry
In the oil and gas industry, oxygen finds application as a means for viscosity improvement and enhancement of oil-and-gas flow properties
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
. Oxygen is also used for boosting production capacity of oil cracking plants, efficiency of high-octane components processing, as well as for the reduction of sulfuric deposits in refineries.
- Fish farming
The use of oxygen in the fish farming
Fish farming
Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases young fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species'...
helps increase the survival and fertility ratios and reduce the incubation period
Incubation period
Incubation period is the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogenic organism, a chemical or radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent...
. Along with fish culture, oxygen is applied for shrimps, crabs and mussels rearing.
- Glass industry
In glass furnaces oxygen is effectively used for burning temperature increase and burning processes improvement.
- Waste management
The use of oxygen in incinerators allows to significantly increase flame temperature and eventually ensure enhanced cost efficiency
Cost Efficiency
Cost efficiency , in the context of parallel computer algorithms, refers to a measure of how effectively parallel computing can be used to solve a particular problem...
and incinerators production capacity.
Adsorption technology
Adsorption principle
Gas separation by adsorption systems is based on the fixation of various gas mixture components by a solid substance called adsorbent. Physically, this phenomenon is brought about by the forces of gas and adsorbent molecules interaction.Temperature and pressure influence
The current methods of gaseous oxygen production from air with the use of adsorption technology are nearly brought to perfection. The operation of a modern oxygen adsorption plant is based on the dependence of gas intake by adsorbent on the temperature and partial pressurePartial pressure
In a mixture of ideal gases, each gas has a partial pressure which is the pressure which the gas would have if it alone occupied the volume. The total pressure of a gas mixture is the sum of the partial pressures of each individual gas in the mixture....
of a gas component.
The gas adsorption and adsorbent regeneration processes may therefore be regulated by varying of the pressure and temperature parameters.
Pressure swing adsorption
The oxygen plant flow process is arranged in such a way that highly absorbable gas mixture components are taken in by adsorbent, while low absorbable and non-absorbable components go through the plant. Today, there exist three methods of arranging the adsorption-based air separation processSeparation process
In chemistry and chemical engineering, a separation process, or simply a separation, is any mass transfer process used to convert a mixture of substances into two or more distinct product mixtures, at least one of which is enriched in one or more of the mixture's constituents. In some cases, a...
with the use of swing technologies: pressure (PSA), vacuum (VSA) and mixed (VPSA) ones. In the pressure swing adsorption flow processes, oxygen is recovered under above-atmospheric pressure and regeneration is achieved under atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
. In vacuum swing adsorption flow processes, oxygen is recovered under atmospheric pressure, and regeneration is achieved under negative pressure
Negative pressure
Negative pressure may refer to:*negative pressure as opposed to positive pressure*stretched liquid*vacuum*negative gauge pressure, a way of expressing pressure measurements below atmospheric pressure*suction*transpirational pull...
. The mixed systems operation combines pressure variations from positive to negative.
Adsorption oxygen plants
The adsorption oxygen plants produce 5 to 5,000 nm3/hr of oxygen with the purity if 93-95%. These systems designated for indoor operation are set to effectively produce gaseous oxygen from atmospheric air.An unquestionable advantage of adsorption-based oxygen plants is the low cost of oxygen produced in the cases where there are no rigid requirements to the product oxygen purity.
Structurally, the adsorption oxygen plant consists of several adsorbers, the compressor unit, pre-purifier unit, valve system and the plant control system
Control system
A control system is a device, or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or system.There are two common classes of control systems, with many variations and combinations: logic or sequential controls, and feedback or linear controls...
.
A simple adsorber is a column filled with layers of specially selected adsorbents – granular substances preferentially adsorbing highly adsorbable components of a gas mixture.
Where gaseous oxygen purity is required at the level of 90-95% with the capacity of up to 5,000 nm3 per hour, adsorption oxygen plants are the optimal choice. This oxygen purity may also be obtained through the use of systems based on the cryogenic technology; however, cryogenic plants are more cumbersome and complex in operation.
Innovation technology available today
Some companies produce high-efficiency systems for oxygen production from atmospheric air with the help of membrane technologyMembrane technology
The membrane technology covers all process engineering measures for the transport of substances between two fractions with the help of permeable membranes...
.
Membrane operation principle
The basis of gas media separation with the use of membrane systems is the difference in velocity with which various gas mixture components permeate membrane substance. The driving force behind the gas separation process is the difference in partial pressures on different membrane sides.Membrane cartridge
A modern gas separation membrane used by GRASYS is no longer a flat plate, but is formed by hollow fibers. Membrane consists of a porous polymer fiber with the gas separationGas separation
Gas mixtures can be effectively separated by synthetic membranes. For other methods see adsorption, absorption, cryogenic distillation.Membranes are employed in:* separation of nitrogen or oxygen out of air...
layer applied to its external surface. Structurally, a hollow fiber membrane
Artificial membrane
An artificial membrane, or synthetic membrane, is a synthetically created membrane which is usually intended for separation purposes in laboratory or in industry. Synthetic membranes have been successfully used for small and large-scale industrial processes since the middle of twentieth century. A...
is configured as a cylindrical cartridge representing a spool with specifically reeled polymer fiber.
Compressor and vacuum technologies
Due to the membrane material high permeability for oxygen in contrast to nitrogen, the design of membrane oxygen complexes requires a special approach. Basically, there are two membrane-based oxygen production technologies: compressor and vacuum ones.In the case of compressor technology, air is supplied into the fiber space under excess pressure, oxygen exits the membrane under slight excess pressure, and where necessary, is pressurized by booster compressor to the required pressure level
Geopotential height
Geopotential height is a vertical coordinate referenced to Earth's mean sea level — an adjustment to geometric height using the variation of gravity with latitude and elevation. Thus it can be considered a "gravity-adjusted height"...
. By the use of vacuum technology
Vacuum pump
A vacuum pump is a device that removes gas molecules from a sealed volume in order to leave behind a partial vacuum. The first vacuum pump was invented in 1650 by Otto von Guericke.- Types :Pumps can be broadly categorized according to three techniques:...
, a vacuum pump is used for the achievement of partial pressures difference.
Membrane oxygen plants
Designed for indoor operation, membrane oxygen plants allow efficient air enrichment with oxygen up to the concentration of 30-45%. The complexes are rated to 5 to 5,000 nm3/hr of oxygenated air.In the membrane oxygen plant, gas separation is achieved in the gas separation module composed of hollow-fiber membranes and representing the plant critical and high-technology
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
unit. Apart from the gas separation unit, other important technical components are the booster compressor or vacuum pump, pre-purifier unit, and the plant control system.
The adoption of membrane systems for air enrichment purposes promises multiple oxygen savings where the oxygen concentration of 30-45% is sufficient to cover process needs. In addition to customer saving on the product oxygen cost, there is a collateral economic effect based on extremely low operating costs.
With the incorporation of the membrane technology, oxygen plants have outstanding technical characteristics. Membrane oxygen plants are highly reliable due to the absence of moving parts
Moving parts
The moving parts of a machine are those parts of it that move. Machines comprise both moving and fixed parts. The moving parts have controlled and constrained motions....
in the gas separation module.
The systems are very simple in operation – control of all operating parameters is carried out automatically. Because of the plants high automation degree, no constant manned attendance is required during its operation.
Membrane oxygen plants are finding increasingly broad application in various industries all over the world. With moderate requirements to oxygen purity in product - up to 30-45%, membrane systems generally prove more economically sound than adsorption and cryogenic systems. Besides, membrane plants are much simpler in operation and more reliable.
Advantages of adsorption and membrane oxygen plants
- Complete automation and simplicity of operation;
- No manned attendance required during operation;
- Enhanced failure safety and reliability;
- Quick start and stop ;
- Moderate dimensions and light weight ;
- Low noise level;
- Extended operational life;
- Low operating costs;
- No special workshop requirements;
- Easy installation and integration into an existing air system.
Disadvantages
- Relativity low oxygen purity - 93-95% for adsorption and 30-45% for membrane plants;
- Limited capacity.