A system and method for flexible production of argon from a cryogenic air separation unit is provided. The cryogenic air separation unit is capable of operating in a ‘no-argon’ or ‘low-argon’ mode when argon demand is low or non-existent and then switching to operating in a ‘high-argon’ mode when argon is needed. The recovery of the argon products from the air separation unit is adjusted by varying the percentages of dirty shelf nitrogen and clean shelf nitrogen in the reflux stream directed to the lower pressure column. The cryogenic air separation unit and associated method also provides an efficient argon production/rejection process that minimizes the power consumption when the cryogenic air separation unit is operating in a ‘no-argon’ or ‘low-argon’ mode yet maintains the capability to produce higher volumes of argon products at full design capacity to meet argon product demands.

The invention relates to a process for removing oxygen from liquid argon using a TSA (temperature swing adsorption) cyclical process that includes cooling an adsorbent bed to sustain argon in a liquid phase; supplying the adsorbent bed with a liquid argon feed that is contaminated with oxygen and purifying the liquid argon thereby producing an argon product with less oxygen contaminant than is in the initial liquid argon feed; draining the purified residual liquid argon product and sending purified argon out of the adsorbent bed. Regeneration of specially prepared adsorbent allows the adsorbent bed to warm up to temperatures that preclude the use of requiring either vacuum or evacuation of adsorbent from the bed.

A system and method for flexible production of argon from a cryogenic air separation unit is provided. The cryogenic air separation unit is capable of operating in a ‘no-argon’ or ‘low-argon’ mode when argon demand is low or non-existent and then switching to operating in a ‘high-argon’ mode when argon is needed. The recovery of the argon products from the air separation unit is adjusted by varying the percentages of dirty shelf nitrogen and clean shelf nitrogen in the reflux stream directed to the lower pressure column. The cryogenic air separation unit and associated method also provides an efficient argon production/rejection process that minimizes the power consumption when the cryogenic air separation unit is operating in a ‘no-argon’ or ‘low-argon’ mode yet maintains the capability to produce higher volumes of argon products at full design capacity to meet argon product demands.

In a method for separating air by cryogenic distillation using a column system consisting of a higher pressure column operating at a first pressure and a lower pressure column operating at a second pressure, a first air flow constituting between 75% and 98% of the air sent to the column system compressed to a third pressure above the first pressure, is sent to the higher pressure column, a second air flow constituting between 5% and 25% of the air sent to the column system is compressed to a fourth pressure above the second pressure but lower than the third pressure, is sent to the lower pressure column, a third column separates an argon-enriched flow and the air sent to the lower pressure column constitutes between 10% and 25% of the total air sent to the column system.

A method for flexible production of argon from a cryogenic air separation unit is provided. The disclosed cryogenic air separation unit is capable of operating in a ‘no-argon’ or ‘low-argon’ mode when argon demand is low or non-existent and then switching to operating in a ‘high-argon’ mode when argon is needed. The recovery of the argon products from the air separation unit is adjusted by varying the percentages of dirty shelf nitrogen and clean shelf nitrogen in the reflux stream directed to the lower pressure column. The cryogenic air separation unit and associated method also provides an efficient argon production/rejection process that minimizes the power consumption when the cryogenic air separation unit is operating in a ‘no-argon’ or ‘low-argon’ mode yet maintains the capability to produce higher volumes of argon products at full design capacity to meet argon product demands.

In a method for separating argon by cryogenic distillation, in which a flow containing argon, oxygen and nitrogen and being more rich in argon than the air is sent to a distillation column, and an argon-rich gas flow is withdrawn at the top of the column, a portion of the argon-rich gas flow is mixed with beads to form a gas mixture containing beads, the beads being capable of adsorbing oxygen in the presence of argon at the column operating temperatures; the portion of the argon-rich gas flow mixed with the beads is condensed and then sent to the top of the column; and a bottom liquid containing beads is withdrawn from the column and treated to remove the beads, the beads removed being regenerated to remove the adsorbed oxygen and being again mixed with the argon-rich gas flow.

In a method for separating argon by cryogenic distillation, in which a flow containing argon, oxygen and nitrogen and being more rich in argon than the air is sent to a distillation column, and an argon-rich gas flow is withdrawn at the top of the column, a portion of the argon-rich gas flow is mixed with beads to form a gas mixture containing beads, the beads being capable of adsorbing oxygen in the presence of argon at the column operating temperatures; the portion of the argon-rich gas flow mixed with the beads is condensed and then sent to the top of the column; and a bottom liquid containing beads is withdrawn from the column and treated to remove the beads, the beads removed being regenerated to remove the adsorbed oxygen and being again mixed with the argon-rich gas flow.

Disclosed herein are new processes for adsorbing oxygen using adsorbent compositions comprising RHO zeolites kinetically selective for oxygen. The RHO zeolites can be used in pressure swing adsorption processes for separating oxygen from oxygen containing streams, such as for, but not limited to, purifying a crude argon feed stream or separating oxygen from an air feed stream.

A system and method for flexible production of argon from a cryogenic air separation unit is provided. The cryogenic air separation unit is capable of operating in a no-argon or low-argon mode when argon demand is low or non-existent and then switching to operating in a high-argon mode when argon is needed. The recovery of the argon products from the air separation unit is adjusted by varying the percentages of dirty shelf nitrogen and clean shelf nitrogen in the reflux stream directed to the lower pressure column. The cryogenic air separation unit and associated method also provides an efficient argon production/rejection process that minimizes the power consumption when the cryogenic air separation unit is operating in a no-argon or low-argon mode yet maintains the capability to produce higher volumes of argon products at full design capacity to meet argon product demands.

Disclosed herein are new processes for adsorbing oxygen using adsorbent compositions comprising RHO zeolites kinetically selective for oxygen. The RHO zeolites can be used in pressure swing adsorption processes for separating oxygen from oxygen containing streams, such as for, but not limited to, purifying a crude argon feed stream or separating oxygen from an air feed stream.