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.

A method for separating air is provided, in which a flow of oxygen-rich liquid is sent to a top of a pure oxygen column, having a pure oxygen reboiler, in which said flow is purified in order to form a vessel liquid containing at least 98 mol % of oxygen and the vessel liquid is drawn off as a product. A supercharged airflow at a second pressure is sent to the pure oxygen reboiler and to a liquid oxygen vaporizer; a nitrogen-rich gas is drawn from the top of the medium-pressure column and sent to an intermediate reboiler of the low-pressure column and the condensed gas is sent to the top of the medium-pressure column; and a nitrogen-rich gas or air is sent to a vessel reboiler of the low-pressure column and the liquid that condenses therein is sent to the medium-pressure column.

In a process for delivering pressurized gas from an apparatus for separating air by cryogenic distillation, a stream of oxygen-rich liquid or gas having a nominal flow rate is withdrawn from a low-pressure column, an oxygen-rich liquid purge stream is withdrawn as bottoms from the low-pressure column and the oxygen-rich liquid purge stream is sent to a storage tank, in the event of a reduction in the production by the column system or an increase in the demand by a customer, a back-up stream is withdrawn from the storage tank and vaporized in a back-up reboiler and only if the liquid level in the storage tank exceeds a given threshold, a liquid stream is withdrawn from the storage tank constituting at most 2% of the nominal production output of the oxygen-rich stream and is sent to the back-up reboiler.

A method for separating a gas mixture at subambient temperature, in which a gas mixture is sent to a heat-insulated chamber, cooled and separated in a column, and placed inside the chamber so as to produce at least two fluids, each of which is enriched with a component from the gas mixture. At least one fluid from the method can be heated inside the chamber or vaporized via heat exchange with at least one heating member including at least one element having magnetocaloric properties and built into a circuit configured to conduct a magnetic flux. The element is alternatingly in thermal contact with a cold source, made up of the fluid to be heated, and a hot source, made up of a source hotter than the fluid to be heated, and variation in the magnetic flux via the magnetocaloric effect generates electrical and/or mechanical energy.

An air separation plant is provided that includes a plurality of air compressors, a plurality of air purification units, and one or more cold boxes. In a first mode of operation, a first air compressor is configured to compress air to a higher pressure than a second air compressor. In a second mode of operation, the second air compressor is configured to compress air to a higher pressure than during the first mode of operation.

A method for converting excess liquid oxygen into liquid nitrogen, including introducing a gaseous nitrogen stream into a main heat exchanger, therein exchanging heat with a vaporized oxygen stream, a vapor phase nitrogen steam, and a waste liquid nitrogen stream; thereby producing a cold gaseous nitrogen stream, an oxygen vent stream, a nitrogen vent steam, and a gaseous nitrogen waste stream, introducing the cold gaseous nitrogen stream into a secondary heat exchanger, therein exchanging heat with a liquid oxygen stream; thereby producing the vaporized oxygen stream and a cold liquid nitrogen stream, introducing the cold liquid nitrogen stream into a nitrogen pressure reduction valve thereby producing a two-phase nitrogen stream, introducing the two-phase nitrogen stream into a nitrogen flash vessel thereby producing a liquid phase nitrogen stream and the vapor phase nitrogen stream, wherein the method is performed in the absence of refrigerant turbo-expanders, refrigerant expansion turbines, or refrigerant compressors.

A process and an apparatus are disclosed for separation of a hydrocarbon gas stream containing methane and heavier hydrocarbons and significant quantities of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The gas stream is cooled and expanded, then fractionated in a first distillation column into a first overhead vapor and a hydrocarbon liquid stream containing the majority of the carbon dioxide. The hydrocarbon liquid stream is fractionated into a hydrocarbon vapor stream and a less volatile fraction comprised of heavier hydrocarbons. The first overhead vapor is cooled, expanded, and separated into vapor and liquid streams. Both streams are cooled and expanded before feeding a second distillation column that produces a second overhead vapor that is predominantly nitrogen and a bottom liquid that is predominantly methane. The bottom liquid is vaporized and combined with the hydrocarbon vapor stream to form a volatile residue gas fraction containing the majority of the methane.

The invention relates to a system and a method for generating ammonia, wherein, in an ammonia reactor, ammonia (NH3) is generated from a synthesis gas, wherein the synthesis gas contains hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2), wherein a nitrogren supply flow and a first heat exchanger are used, which are designed in such a way that the hot ammonia (NH3) flowing out of the ammonia reactor heats the nitrogen used as synthesis gas in the nitrogen supply flow.