A process and device for separating a vapor from a gas is disclosed. A direct-contact exchanger comprising a droplet-generating apparatus in a top portion of the exchanger and a bubbling apparatus in a bottom portion of the exchanger is provided. An inlet gas, comprising a vapor, is passed through the bubbling apparatus, forming bubbles in a bottoms liquid. The bottoms liquid strips a portion of the vapor and exchanges heat with the bubbles, producing a product liquid and a middle gas. A barren liquid is passed through the droplet-generating apparatus to form droplets of the barren liquid in the top portion. The droplets descend against the middle gas and strip a second portion of the vapor from and exchange heat with the middle gas, producing the bottoms liquid, which collects in the bottom portion, and a product gas.

A process and air separation plant for producing one or more air products by cryogenic separation of air in an air separation plant wherein a first fraction and a second fraction of feed air quantity are post-compressed in a post-compressor from a first pressure level to a second pressure level at least 3 bar above the first pressure level, and are extracted from a post-compressor jointly at the second pressure level, impure nitrogen, the nitrogen content of which lies below an overhead product of a high-pressure column, is extracted from the high-pressure column at the first pressure level and is expanded using a second turboexpander which is mechanically coupled to a first booster, and a fluid enriched with argon is extracted from a low-pressure column, is depleted of argon and is recycled into the low-pressure column.

The present invention relates to a cryogenic air separation process that provides high pressure oxygen for an oxy-fired combustion of a fuel (e.g., a carbonaceous fuel). The air separation process can be directly integrated into a closed cycle power production process utilizing a working fluid, such as CO.sub.2. Beneficially, the air separation process can eliminate the need for inter-cooling between air compression stages and rather provide for recycling the adiabatic heat of compression into a process step in further methods wherein an additional heat supply is beneficial.

An apparatus for compressing air and producing a carbon dioxide-rich fluid includes an air compressor, an element for bringing the air bound for the air compressor into contact with water to produce humidified air and cooled water, a pipe for sending the humidified compressed air from the air compressor to an installation producing a carbon dioxide-rich gas, a carbon dioxide-rich gas compressor for compressing the carbon dioxide-rich gas, at least one heat exchanger upstream and/or downstream the carbon dioxide-rich gas compressor and pipes for conveying into the heat exchanger water cooled in the contact element and the carbon dioxide-rich gas.

An air fractionation plant in which a cooling water circuit having a recooling apparatus is provided for cooling compressed air, where the recooling apparatus is configured for cooling cooling water using cooling air. The recooling apparatus is configured so as to cool the cooling water, at least at a wet bulb temperature of the cooling air of more than 289 K, to a temperature which is not more than 3 K above the wet bulb temperature. A corresponding operating method and a control facility are likewise provided.

A method and installation for storing and recovering energy, according to which a condensed air product is formed in an energy storage period, and in an energy recovery period, a pressure flow is formed and is expanded to produce energy using at least part of the condensed air product. For the formation of the condensed air product: the compression of air in an air conditioning unit, at least by means of at least one isothermally operated compressor device and the adsorptive cleaning of the air by means of at least one adsorptive cleaning device at a hyperbaric pressure level.