A method of purifying air via a pre-purification unit (PPU) of an air separation unit (ASU) system having a pre-PPU chiller that is upstream of the PPU to cool compressed air before the compressed air is fed to the PPU can include passing air through an adsorber of the PPU to pass the air through a bed of adsorbent material within a vessel of the adsorber. In response to the pre-PPU chiller being determined to have an issue resulting in the pre-PPU chiller being tripped or requiring the pre-PPU chiller to be taken off-line, continuing to operate the ASU system at a full capacity even though nitrous oxide (N2O) within the air output from the PPU exceeds a first pre-selected threshold and is below a second pre-selected threshold associated with carbon dioxide (CO2) breakthrough. An ASU and a PPU can be designed to implement an embodiment of the method.

An improved process for liquid nitrogen production by cryogenic air separation using a distillation column system to enhance the product recovery.

In a method for supplying nitrogen to a combustion chamber, gaseous nitrogen (9) is drawn off from an air separation unit (7) at a first pressure, the nitrogen is compressed in at least two stages (C1, C2) of a nitrogen compressor and sent to a combustion chamber (25) at a second pressure, which is the output pressure of the last stage (C3) of the nitrogen compressor, between two stages of the nitrogen compressor the nitrogen is humidified by direct contact in passing through a contactor (17) supplied at its top with water, and the humidified nitrogen is compressed in at least one stage of the nitrogen compressor and sent to the combustion chamber.

The present disclosure provides an integrated power generating system and method and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporization system and method. More particularly, heat from a CO.sub.2 containing stream from the power generating system and method can be used to heat the LNG for re-gasification as gaseous CO.sub.2 from CO.sub.2 containing stream is liquefied. The liquefied CO.sub.2 can be captured and/or recycled back to a combustor in the power generating system and method.

A distillation column system and a plant are for production of oxygen by cryogenic fractionation of air. The distillation column system has a high-pressure column and a low-pressure column, a main condenser, and an argon column with an argon column top condenser. The low-pressure column comprises an upper mass transfer region, a lower mass transfer region and a middle mass transfer region. The argon column top condenser is arranged within the low-pressure column between the upper and middle mass transfer regions and is configured as a forced-flow evaporator.

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 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.

In a method for compressing a gas, the gas is compressed in a compressor having an intermediate stage and a final stage, an intermediate cooler for cooling the gas downstream of the intermediate stage and a final cooler for cooling the gas downstream of the final compression stage, a refrigerant coming from a source is divided into a first flow and a second flow, the first flow is sent to cool the intermediate cooler and the second flow is sent to cool the final cooler, the first and second heated flows being at different temperatures, the first heated flow is sent to provide heat to an element, producing a first cooled flow, and the second heated flow is mixed with the first cooled flow and the mixture is sent to the source.

A device for separating air by cryogenic distillation, comprising a first module containing a main air compressor, a second module, a third module containing a purification unit, a fourth module containing a heat exchanger and a system of columns comprising at least one distillation column that is or is not contained in the fifth module, the second module containing a connection for connecting the compressor of the first module to the purification unit of the third module in order to send compressed air from the compressor to the purification unit and also containing a connection for connecting the purification unit to the heat exchanger of the fourth module in order to send purified air in the purification unit to the heat exchanger.

A process for separating a gas mixture, a first item of equipment of the process is heated by a first flow of a first heat producer and supplies heat to a first fluid, the first flow of heat producer being heated upstream of the first item of equipment by a heat source, a second item of equipment of the process heats a second fluid while consuming heat, the heat originating from a second flow of the first heat producer heated by the heat source, which heats the second flow of the first heat producer up to an intermediate temperature lower than the second temperature, and by a heater downstream of the source, which heats the second flow of the first heat producer, which has been heated by the heat source, from the intermediate temperature up to a second temperature higher than the first temperature.