JPH0490820A - Adsorbing apparatus and its operation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformize the temp. distribution in an adsorbing tower in a heating process and a cooling process and to efficiently heat and cool an adsorbent by providing a jacket introducing at least a part of heating gas and cooling gas to the outer peripheral part of the adsorbing tower. CONSTITUTION:An adsorbing tower 1 packed with an adsorbent 2 is operated so that an adsorbing process, a heating process introducing heating gas having temp. higher than the operation temp. of the adsorbing process to regenerate the adsorbent 2 and a cooling process introducing cooling gas after the completion of the heating process to cool the adsorbent 2 are successively changed over. A jacket 5 intoruding at least a part of the heating gas and the cooling gas is provided to the outer peripheral part of the adsorbing tower 1. As a result, the temp. distribution in the tower in the heating and cooling processes is made uniform to make it possible to efficiently heat or cool the adsorbent. Therefore, the operation cost of the adsorbing apparatus can be reduced and this method is especially adapted to the pretreatment equipment of an air liquefying and separating apparatus to make it possible to enhance the efficiency of the air liquefying and separating apparatus as a whole.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an adsorption device and a method of operating the same. The present invention relates to an adsorption device that regenerates adsorbent using a temperature fluctuation method and a method of operating the same.

[Conventional technology]

Adsorption devices equipped with adsorption towers filled with various types of adsorbents are often used for separation, purification, drying, etc. of air and various gases. This adsorption apparatus is usually configured to include a plurality of adsorption towers and to perform continuous operation by sequentially switching between the adsorption process and the regeneration process.

As methods for performing the above-mentioned regeneration, a pressure fluctuation method and a temperature fluctuation method are generally used. The temperature fluctuation method is a heating process in which regeneration gas heated to a higher temperature than the operating temperature during the adsorption process, that is, heated gas, is introduced into the adsorption tower after the adsorption process, and the adsorbed components of the adsorbent are desorbed and regenerated. , after the heating step, a cooling step of introducing a cooling gas to cool the adsorbent to the adsorption operating temperature; and a regeneration step.

Further, the outer periphery of the adsorption tower is usually covered with a heat insulating material to avoid the influence of outside temperature.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in conventional adsorption apparatuses, a temperature gradient occurs in the adsorbent between the center of the column and the vicinity of the wall surface during the heating process and the cooling process. For example, if the heating gas temperature is 110
℃, when the cooling gas temperature is approximately 20℃ and the outside temperature is 30℃,
As shown in FIG.
1 is the temperature at the adsorption step or the heating step in the previous step, so the thermal energy of the heating gas or cooling gas heats the wall 51 and the heat insulating material 50 (1 is used for cooling. As a result, the adsorbent near the internal wall could not be sufficiently heated or cooled, resulting in a temperature gradient as shown in the figure.For this reason, the adsorbent near the wall was not heated or cooled enough. Therefore, the air volume and temperature of the heating gas and cooling gas must be set in consideration of this point, and it is necessary to set the air volume and temperature of the heating gas and the cooling gas at a higher temperature than when no temperature gradient occurs. As a necessity (1.

Therefore, it has been necessary to incur extra costs for securing regeneration gas used for heating and cooling and for heating and cooling these gases.

In particular, in recent air liquefaction separation equipment, the amount of exhaust gas that can be used as regeneration gas in the adsorption tower is decreasing due to improvements in rectification separation efficiency and product gas collection rate. Effective use is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an adsorption apparatus and an operating method thereof, which can uniformly distribute the temperature inside the tower during the heating process and the cooling process, and efficiently heat and cool the adsorbent. There is.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the adsorption device of the present invention includes:
Equipped with an adsorption tower filled with an adsorbent inside, the adsorption tower is
an adsorption step, a heating step of introducing a heated gas higher than the operating temperature during the adsorption step to regenerate the adsorbent, and a cooling step of introducing a cooling gas to cool the adsorbent after the heating step is completed. The adsorption apparatus is characterized in that a jacket is provided on the outer periphery of the adsorption tower to introduce at least a portion of the heating gas and the cooling gas.

In addition, the method for operating the adsorption device of the present invention includes, during the heating step,
Part of the heated gas is branched and introduced into the jacket around the outer periphery of the adsorption tower to heat the outer periphery of the adsorption tower, and during the cooling process, part of the cooling gas is branched and introduced into the jacket to heat the outer periphery of the adsorption tower. It is characterized by cooling.

[For production]

Therefore, the peripheral wall of the adsorption tower can be brought to the heating or cooling temperature, eliminating the temperature gradient of the adsorbent in the tower, making the temperature distribution inside the tower uniform during the heating process and the cooling process, and allowing the adsorbent to can be heated and cooled efficiently.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the absorption tower, which is the main part of the adsorption device.

This adsorption tower 1 is equipped with nozzles 3 and 4 at the top and bottom of a cylindrical main body filled with an adsorbent 2, one of which serves as an inlet for the process gas and an inlet for the regeneration gas, and the other serves as an outlet for the process gas and an outlet for the regeneration gas. It is assumed that the population of
A jacket 5 is provided corresponding to the portion filled with the adsorbent 2, and the outer periphery of the adsorption tower 1 including the jacket 5 is
All are covered with a heat insulating material 6. Further, the jacket 5 is provided with a nozzle 7.8 for introducing and extracting a portion of the regeneration gas.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which the adsorption tower 1 thus formed is applied to adsorption equipment of an air liquefaction separation device.

This adsorption equipment consists of a pair of adsorption towers 1a, ]b, switching valves 1ia, llb for introducing feed air, check valves 12a, 12b for removing feed air, and introduction of regeneration gas, that is, heating gas and cooling gas. Check valve 13a for use.

13b1 Switching valves 14a and 14b for deriving regeneration gas.

It is connected by a conduit equipped with a pressure equalization valve 15, a regulating valve 16, and blow valves 17a and 17b, and is further connected to a regeneration gas supply pipe 18, switching valves 19a and 19b, a heater 20, and pipes 5a and 5b for introducing regeneration gas. Orifice 21 for introducing heated cooling gas, branch pipe 22.28, switching valve 23a,
23b is provided, and by switching the switching valves to open and close, one of the adsorption towers 1a and Ib is switched to the adsorption process, and the other is switched to the heating process and the cooling process for continuous operation.

For example, when one adsorption tower 1a is in the adsorption process,
The raw air is supplied to the adsorber 1 from the conduit 24 through the switching valve 11a.
a, purified by the adsorbent 2a, led out to the conduit 25a, passed through the check valve 12a, and introduced from the conduit 26 to the separator section.

At this time, the other adsorption tower 1b is first supplied from the regenerated cooling gas supply pipe 18, and heated to a high temperature by the heater 20, for example, 15
The heated gas heated to 0° C. is passed through the conduit 27. Orifice 2
1. The adsorbent 2b is introduced through the check valve 13b1 and the conduit 25b, and the adsorbent 2b is heated and regenerated. At the same time, a portion of the heated gas branches from the conduit 27 to the branch pipe 22 and the conduit 28
The water is introduced into the jacket 5b and heats the peripheral wall of the adsorption tower 1b.

As a result, the peripheral wall of the adsorption tower 1b is heated to nearly 110°C, so it is possible to prevent the temperature of the heated gas flowing near the wall inside the adsorption tower 1b from decreasing, and the horizontal direction of the adsorption agent 2b inside the tower can be prevented. Virtually no temperature gradient occurs. Therefore, the adsorbent near the wall surface can be regenerated in the same way as the adsorbent in the center, and the adsorbent 2a can be heated and regenerated with a smaller air volume and lower temperature than before.

After heating the peripheral wall of the adsorption tower 1b, the gas passes through the jacket 5.
b to the conduit 29, and from the switching valve 23b to the conduit 30.
It joins the heated gas that has passed through the orifice 21, is introduced into the adsorption ilb through the check valve 13b and the conduit 25b, and is used as heated regeneration gas for the adsorbent 2b.

The gas after heating and regenerating the adsorbent is led out to the conduit 31 and discharged from the conduit 32 via the switching valve 14b.

When the heating step is completed, the switching valves 19a and 19b are switched to open and close the unheated low-temperature regeneration gas, e.g.
The regeneration gas at 4° C., that is, the cooling gas is introduced into the adsorption tower 1b through the above-mentioned route from the switching valve 9b, and a part of it is also introduced into the jacket 5b. Also in this cooling process, the peripheral wall of the adsorption tower 1b is cooled to nearly 20°C by a portion of the cooling gas introduced into the jacket 5b, so the temperature of the cooling gas flowing near the wall inside the adsorption tower 1b increases. can be prevented, and almost no horizontal temperature gradient occurs in the adsorbent 2b within the column. Therefore, the adsorbent near the wall surface can be cooled in the same way as the adsorbent in the center, and the adsorbent 2a can be cooled at a lower air volume and at a higher temperature than in the past.

Note that the amount of gas introduced into the jackets 5a, 5b can be set by the amount of restriction of the orifice 21 provided in the conduit 27, and other flow rate adjustment means may be used in place of the orifice. In addition, the position where the gas after being led out of the jacket joins the heating gas and cooling gas is the orifice 21.
They can be placed at any suitable position downstream of the adsorption tower, for example, they may be merged just before the adsorption tower. Similarly, switching valve 23B2
3b can also be provided upstream of the jacket h5a, 5b.

Furthermore, it is also possible to release the gas after the jacket is led out to the outside, but as mentioned above, the heated gas.

By combining the regeneration gas with the cooling gas, the regeneration gas can be used effectively, the amount of air used for regeneration of the adsorption tower can be reduced, and the energy required for regeneration can also be reduced.

In addition, in the air liquefaction separation device, the above configuration allows surplus exhaust gas to be used for other purposes, such as collecting it as product gas or using it as water cooling gas.
The overall efficiency of the air liquefaction separation device can also be improved.

Furthermore, the adsorption device and its operating method of the present invention can be applied not only to the pretreatment equipment of the air liquefaction separation device described above, but also to various types of adsorption equipment, and can be implemented by connecting them with an appropriate piping system. I can do it.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the peripheral wall of the adsorption tower can be brought to the heating temperature or the cooling temperature, the temperature gradient in the horizontal direction of the adsorbent in the tower can be eliminated, and the temperature gradient in the horizontal direction can be eliminated during the heating process and the cooling process. By making the temperature distribution inside the tower uniform, the adsorbent can be heated and cooled efficiently.

Therefore, the amount of air used to regenerate the adsorption tower can be reduced, and the energy required for regeneration can also be reduced, so the operating cost of the adsorption device can be reduced, and the present invention is particularly applicable to pretreatment equipment for air liquefaction separation devices. As a result, the efficiency of the entire air liquefaction separation device can be improved, and the cost of product gas can also be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an adsorption column which is a main part of an adsorption device, Fig. 2 is a system diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to adsorption equipment of an air liquefaction separation device, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a temperature gradient that occurs in a conventional adsorption tower. 1...Adsorption tower 2...-Adsorbent 5...Jacket 18...Regeneration gas supply pipe 20...Heater
2]... Orifice 22... Branch pipe patent applicant: Japan Sanso Co., Ltd. Representative Patent attorney: Denichi Kido
wooden door
Production volume Ogawa
Shin Daiichikyo 1 Suction Tower

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An adsorption tower filled with an adsorbent is provided, and the adsorption tower is operated during an adsorption step and by introducing heated gas at a temperature higher than the operating temperature during the adsorption step to absorb the adsorbent. a heating step for regeneration;
In an adsorption apparatus that is operated by sequentially switching to a cooling step in which cooling gas is introduced to cool the adsorbent after the heating step is completed, at least a portion of the heating gas and cooling gas is introduced into the outer peripheral portion of the adsorption tower. An adsorption device characterized by being provided with a jacket that 2. In the adsorption apparatus according to claim 1, a conduit for introducing heating gas and cooling gas into the adsorption tower is provided with a branch pipe for branching a part of the heating gas and cooling gas and introducing it into the jacket; An adsorption apparatus characterized in that a conduit is provided that allows the gas led out of the jacket to join the heated gas and cooling gas introduced into the adsorption tower from the conduit. 3. In the method of operating an adsorption apparatus according to claim 1, during the heating step, a part of the heated gas is branched and introduced into the jacket around the outer periphery of the adsorption tower, and the outer periphery of the adsorption tower is heated.
A method for operating an adsorption apparatus, characterized in that during the cooling step, a part of the cooling gas is branched and introduced into the jacket to cool the outer periphery of the adsorption tower. 4. In the method of operating an adsorption apparatus according to claim 3, in the heating step, the outer periphery of the adsorption tower is heated and the gas led out from the jacket is merged with the heated gas, and in the cooling step, the outer periphery of the adsorption tower is cooled and the jacket is heated. A method for operating an adsorption device, characterized in that the gas derived from the cooling gas is merged with the cooling gas.