A cryogenic air separation setup in a cold box, wherein gaseous oxygen under elevated pressure is produced through hydraulic force caused by the geodetic distance between where liquid oxygen is drawn from the distillation column and where liquid oxygen is vaporized to form gaseous oxygen, such as in an auxiliary evaporator. To increase the vertical distance between the above-mentioned two location, the components are arranged directly below one another in the following sequence: the lower-pressure column, the main condenser evaporator, the higher-pressure column, the subcooler, the main heat exchanger and the auxiliary evaporator). In particular, the main heat-exchanger is positioned with the cold-end on the top to optimize piping expenditure.

A cryogenic air separation apparatus comprises: a heat exchanger, a first rectification column, a first condenser, a second rectification column, a third rectification column, a second condenser, a high-purity oxygen rectification column, a third condenser, a nitrogen compressor, and a compressed recycled gas line L52 for introducing product nitrogen gas compressed by the first nitrogen compressor into a warm end (heat source) of an ultra-high-purity oxygen vaporizer as a compressed recycled gas.

System for purifying argon by cryogenic distillation, comprising a single column surmounted by a top-end condenser, a fluid inlet in the lower part of the column, a fluid outlet in the upper part of the column, and N distillation sections where N≥4, of which at least the two uppermost sections of the column are equipped respectively with a first liquid distributor and with a second liquid distributor, the second distributor being capable of performing a function of mixing together liquids that fall onto the distributor, each of the first and second distributors being positioned above the respective section and of which the two lowermost sections of the column are respectively equipped with a (N−1)th and an Nth liquid distributor capable of performing a function of mixing together liquids that fall onto the distributor, and which is arranged above the respective section, the first, second, (N−1)th and Nth distributors each being dimensioned to contain a maximum height of liquid head, that (those) of the first and second distributors being greater than that (those) of the (N−1)th and Nth distributors.

This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

The invention relates to a process for cryogenic fractionation of air using an air fractionation plant comprising a rectification column system comprising a high-pressure column operated at a pressure level of 9 to 14.5 bar, a low-pressure column operated at a pressure level of 2 to 5 bar, and an argon column. It is envisaged that a recirculating stream is formed using the second tops gas or a portion thereof, which is heated, compressed, cooled again, and after partial or complete liquefaction or in the unliquefied state is introduced partially or completely, or in fractions, into the first rectification column and/or into the second rectification column. The present invention also relates to a corresponding system.

Disclosed in the present invention are a cold box steel structure and method for prefabricating and transporting the cold box steel structure. The cold box steel structure is a cuboid architecture, and has a long edge, a wide edge and a high edge of lengths L, W and H respectively, wherein L>W and L>H; the cold box steel structure comprises first and second rectangular base faces, each being an outer surface of the cuboid architecture comprising the long edge and the wide edge, and the cold box steel structure is prefabricated as two partial components taking a plane parallel to the rectangular base faces as a boundary; the total height of a first partial cold box steel structure component thereof, taking the first rectangular base face as a first transportation bottom face, is h1, and the total height of a second partial cold box steel structure component, taking the second rectangular base face as a second transportation bottom face, is h2; if the height difference between the transportation bottom face and the ground or a water surface is h, then (h1+h) corresponds to a transportation height of the first partial cold box steel structure component, and (h2+h) corresponds to a transportation height of the second partial cold box steel structure component; the transportation height of either of the cold box steel structure components should be smaller than a maximum permitted transportation height h.sub.max.

This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

This specification relates to operating industrial facilities, for example, crude oil refining facilities or other industrial facilities that include operating plants that process natural gas or recover natural gas liquids.

A liquefier device which may be a retrofit to an air separation plant or utilized as part of a new design. The flow needed for the liquefier comes from an air separation plant running in a maxim oxygen state, in a stable mode. The three gas flows are low pressure oxygen, low pressure nitrogen, and higher pressure nitrogen. All of the flows are found on the side of the main heat exchanger with a temperature of about 37 degrees Fahrenheit. All of the gasses put into the liquefier come out as a subcooled liquid, for storage or return to the air separation plant. This new liquefier does not include a front end electrical compressor, and will take a self produced liquid nitrogen, pump it up to a runnable 420 psig pressure, and with the use of turbines, condensers, flash pots, and multi pass heat exchangers. The liquefier will make liquid from a planned amount of any pure gas oxygen or nitrogen an air separation plant can produce.

The invention relates to a method for a low-temperature air separation in which an air separation unit is used comprising a first rectification column and a second rectification column. The first rectification column is operated at a first pressure level, and the second rectification column is operated at a second pressure level below the first pressure level. Fluid which is oxygen-enriched compared to atmospheric air is drawn from the first rectification column in the form of one or more first material flows. At least one fraction of the fluid which has been drawn from the first rectification column in the form of the one or more first material flows is heated in a heat exchanger; a fraction of the fluid which has been heated in the heat exchanger is compressed using a compressor and is returned to the first rectification column.