ADSORBENT FOR A TEMPERATURE SWING ADSORPTION METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for adsorbing at least one component from a gas mixture by temperature swing adsorption, comprising a through-flow chamber (7) and a cooling chamber (8) for accommodating a heat transfer fluid, wherein the through-flow chamber (7) is separated from the cooling chamber (8), wherein the through-flow chamber (7) has an adsorbent (1) which contains a plurality of (two or more) adsorbent bodies containing a porous and adsorptively additive first material (3) and a second material (4) having better thermal conductivity as compared to the first material (3) and wherein the first material (3) is at least partly surrounded by the second material (4).

Claims

1. Device for adsorbing at least one component from a gas mixture by temperature swing adsorption, comprising a through-flow chamber (7) and a cooling chamber (8) for accommodating a heat transfer fluid, wherein the through-flow chamber (7) is separated from the cooling chamber (8) by an impermeable, thermally conductive wall (9), wherein the through-flow chamber (7) is at least partially surrounded by the cooling chamber (8), wherein the through-flow chamber (7) contains an adsorbent (1) which includes a plurality of adsorbent bodies, wherein each adsorbent body contains a porous and adsorptively active first material (3) and a second material (4) which has better thermal conductivity than the first material (3), wherein the first material (3) is at least partially surrounded by the second material (4), characterised in that the first (3) and the second material (4) are permanently bonded.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the first material (3) is completely surrounded by the second material (4).

3. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the first material and the second material are permanently bonded on the molecular level.

4. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the second material (4) is physically coated on the surface of the first material (3).

5. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the second material (4) is permeable for a substance that is to be adsorbed.

6. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the impermeable, thermally conductive wall (9) delimits the through-flow chamber (7).

7. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the adsorbent bodies (2) are arranged in the through-flow chamber (7) in such manner that the second materials (4) of adjacent adsorbent bodies (2) touch each other.

8. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the adsorbent bodies (2) are arranged and/or fixed inside the through-flow chamber (7) so that they are at least partly or entirely regulated.

9. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the adsorbent bodies (2) are constructed as one of the following body types: bead; extrusion body; and/or hollow body, particularly a tube or hollow fibre.

10. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that the equivalent diameter of the adsorbent bodies is larger than 0.5 mm and smaller than 30 mm, preferably larger than 1 mm and smaller than 20 mm.

11. Device according to claim 9, characterised in that the adsorbent body is conformed as a tube or hollow fibre, and that the cross-sectional diameter of the tubular or hollow fibre adsorbent bodies is larger than 0.5 mm and smaller than 30 mm, preferably larger than 1 mm and smaller than 20 mm.

12. Device according to claim 9, characterised in that the adsorbent body has the form or a tube or hollow fibre, and that a cavity is delimited by the first material inside the absorbent body, wherein the first material is located between the cavity and the second material.

13. Device for adsorbing at least one component from a gas mixture by temperature swing adsorption, comprising a through-flow chamber (7) and a cooling chamber (8) for accommodating a heat transfer fluid, wherein the through-flow chamber (7) is separated from the cooling chamber (8) by an impermeable, thermally conductive wall (9), wherein the through-flow chamber (7) is at least partially surrounded by the cooling chamber (8), wherein the through-flow chamber (7) contains an adsorbent (1) which includes a plurality of adsorbent bodies, wherein each adsorbent body contains a porous and adsorptively active first material (3) and a second material (4) which has better thermal conductivity than the first material (3), wherein the first material (3) is at least partially surrounded by the second material (4), wherein the first (3) and the second material (4) are permanently bonded, characterised in that the adsorbent body is used.

Description

[0031] In the following text the invention described above will be explained in detail in the context of the relevant technical background with reference to the associated drawings, which show preferred variants thereof. The invention is in no way limited by the purely schematic drawings, and it should be noted that the drawings are not based on a consistent scale and are not suitable for specifying size relationships. The drawings show, in

[0032] FIG. 1: a temperature swing adsorption device with bead-shaped adsorbent bed; and

[0033] FIG. 2: a temperature swing adsorption device with arranged hollow adsorbent bodies;

[0034] FIG. 3: a bead shaped adsorbent body;

[0035] FIG. 4: an adsorbent body with rectangular cross-section;

[0036] FIG. 5: an adsorbent body as hollow extrusion body.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a temperature swing adsorber 6 for a Rapid-TSA method. A through-flow chamber 7 with a bed of adsorbent 1 is arranged in the interior of temperature swing adsorber 6. Through-flow chamber 7 is separated from a cooling chamber 8 by an impermeable wall 9 with good thermal conductivity. Said wall 9 delimits through-flow chamber 7 and is separated from the adsorbent 1 so that adsorbent 1 can be replaced easily. In this context, cooling chamber 8 is provided like an outer casing of the temperature swing adsorber 6, which completely surrounds through-flow chamber 7. Cooling chamber 8 is used to hold a heat transfer fluid, e.g., water, steam or thermal oil. Wall 9 is made of steel, for example. Adsorbent 1 is on one side of wall 9 and the heat transfer fluid is on the other, so that the heat can be transferred between the heat transfer fluid in cooling chamber 8 and the adsorbent 1 in through-flow chamber 7 via wall 9.

[0038] In FIG. 1, adsorbent 1 is equal to the total number of adsorbent bodies 2. Each adsorbent body is constructed as an integral bead which consists of an adsorptive first material and a second, thermally conductive material which completely surrounds the first material. This second material is permeable for the component that is to be adsorbed, with the effect that the component is able to infiltrate the first material where it can be adsorbed. This bead-shaped adsorbent body is shown again in detail in FIG. 3. This special adsorbent body 2 and its arrangement inside temperature swing adsorber 6 make it easy to fill and empty adsorbent 1 and at the same time makes efficient temperature swing adsorption possible through indirect heat transfer.

[0039] It is noteworthy that direct contact between the adsorbent bodies 2 with each other forms a conductive structure via which a temperature swing of adsorbent 1 can be accelerated. The heat in adsorbent 1 is distributed more evenly by the touching outer surfaces of the beads, that is to say the second material.

[0040] FIG. 2 shows a temperature swing adsorber 6 for a Rapid-TSA method. A through-flow chamber 7 with a regulated arrangement of adsorbent 1 is arranged inside temperature swing adsorber 6. Through-flow chamber 7 is separated from a cooling chamber 8 by an impermeable wall 9 with good thermal conductivity. Said wall 9 delimits through-flow chamber 7 and is separated from adsorbent 1. The adsorbent shown here contains a plurality of adsorbent bodies 2, via which a temperature swing of adsorbent 1 may be accelerated. This adsorbent body 2 is tubular and extends in the lengthwise direction of temperature swing adsorber 6. A cavity can be seen in the core of the adsorbent body. The second material is applied to the outer surface of adsorbent body 2, and the first material is located between the cavity and the second material. The gas mixture to be treated flows into through-flow chamber 7, and at least one component is adsorbed by the first material. The heat between cooling chamber 8 and adsorbent 1 is transferred via wall 9 and also via the touching adjacent outer surfaces of adsorbent bodies 2, that is to say the second thermally conductive material. This tubular adsorbent body 2 will be shown in detail later, in FIG. 5.

[0041] FIG. 3 shows an adsorbent body 2 which is spherical. The first material 3, which is designed to adsorb, is located in the core of adsorbent body 2. In this case the second material 4 is applied to the outer surface 5 of the first materials 3 in the form o a coating and is permeable for a gas to be separated or a component of a gas mixture that is to be adsorbed. The first material 3 is completely surrounded by the second material 4. This bead-shaped adsorbent body has a diameter smaller than 30 mm and larger than 1 mm. Accordingly, a number of adsorbent bodies 2 depending on the size of the temperature swing adsorber is inserted in the through-flow chamber for the purpose of adsorption.

[0042] FIG. 4 shows an adsorbent body 2 similar to the one in FIG. 3, wherein this adsorbent body 2 has a rectangular cross-section. An adsorbent body of such kind has an equivalent diameter smaller than 30 mm and larger than 1 mm.

[0043] FIG. 5 shows a lengthwise section through an adsorbent body 2 in the form of an extrusion body, wherein in this case a cavity 10 is visible in the core, and is surrounded by first material 3. First material 3 in turn is surrounded by second material 4. This tubular adsorbent body 2 has a cross-sectional diameter smaller than 30 mm and larger than 1 mm. The adsorbent body might be of any length, depending on how high the temperature swing adsorber is. A plurality of the tubular adsorbent bodies of which the adsorbent consists is introduced into the through-flow chamber.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0044]

TABLE-US-00001 1 Adsorbent 2 Adsorbent body 3 First material 4 Second Material 5 Outer surface 6 Temperature swing adsorber 7 Through-flow chamber 8 Cooling chamber 9 Wall 10 Cavity