JPH0783816B2 - Adsorber - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an adsorber used in a gas separation method generally called PSA method and TSA method, for example, water contained in a raw material gas of an air separation device, The present invention relates to an adsorber for removing carbon dioxide gas.

[Conventional technology]

The adsorber adsorbs and removes a specific component in the gas by the adsorbent filled inside. To improve the performance of the adsorber, increase the amount of adsorbent filled inside the adsorbent. It is necessary to reduce the flow velocity of the gas passing through to improve the adsorption effect and reduce the flow resistance due to the adsorbent.

As one of such means, there is known one in which a cylindrical body forming an adsorber is filled with an adsorbent in a layered shape in the longitudinal and horizontal direction.

9 (a) and 9 (b) show a so-called horizontal type adsorber of this type, in which an inner cylinder 2 having a bottom surface opened inside a cylindrical outer cylinder 1 installed horizontally. The inner cylinder is filled with the adsorbent 3 in the horizontal direction. Then, a conduit 4 penetrating the outer cylinder 1 is connected to the upper portion of the inner cylinder 2, and a conduit 5 is connected to the lower portion of the outer cylinder 1. For example, a raw material gas is introduced from the lower conduit 5 to remove impurities from the upper conduit 4. The purified gas from which is removed is derived. A heat insulating material 6 and the like is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 2, and the filler 3 is provided inside.
A wire mesh body (not shown) is provided to hold the wire.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, in the conventional horizontal type adsorber, if the adsorbent filling thickness is reduced in order to reduce the flow resistance of gas, the adsorbent filling rate with respect to the volume of the outer cylinder becomes low, and the outer cylinder becomes large in diameter or long. Not only did the adsorber become larger and the cost increased, but special consideration was also required during transportation.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an adsorber capable of improving performance such as the adsorption effect and flow resistance and improving the filling rate of the adsorbent to achieve miniaturization.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is firstly, in an adsorber filled with an adsorbent for adsorbing and separating a specific component in a gas, both ends are opened in a cylindrical container having both ends sealed. A plurality of inner cylinders are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical container, and a pair of adsorbent filling chambers are spaced apart from each other and arranged in parallel in the radial direction on both end opening sides of the inner cylinder, and the pair of adsorbents is filled. A gas introduction chamber communicating with the raw material gas introduction conduit is formed on each side of the chamber, and a gas discharge chamber communicating with the purified gas discharge conduit is formed in the space between the pair of adsorbent filling chambers to discharge the gas. An adsorber characterized in that a distribution plate for equalizing gas flow is provided in the chamber. Secondly, both ends of the adsorber filled with an adsorbent for adsorbing and separating a specific component in the gas are sealed. Arranged in a cylindrical container in parallel with the radial direction of the cylindrical container. A plurality of adsorbent filling chambers are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical container, and one side of the adsorbent filling chamber communicates with the raw material gas introducing conduit and the other side communicates with the purified gas outlet conduit. Each of the gas outlet chambers is formed, and a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow is provided in each of the gas outlet chambers,
An adsorber characterized in that the gas introduction chamber or the gas derivation chamber is partitioned by partition walls. Third, both ends of the adsorber filled with an adsorbent for adsorbing and separating a specific component in the gas are sealed. A cylindrical container is arranged in a vertical direction, and a plurality of adsorbent filling chambers arranged in parallel with the radial direction of the cylindrical container are arranged in the cylindrical container in the axial direction of the cylindrical container. The space between the agent filling chambers is partitioned by a partition, and a gas introduction chamber communicating with the raw material gas introduction conduit is formed below the adsorbent filling chamber, and a gas discharge chamber communicating with the purified gas discharge conduit is formed above. And an adsorber characterized in that a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow is provided in the gas outlet chamber,
Furthermore, the second or third adsorber is characterized in that a valve is provided in the inlet conduit of the gas introduction chamber and / or the outlet conduit of the gas outlet chamber.

[Work]

By forming the adsorber in this way, it is possible to increase the filling rate of the adsorbent in a unit volume and reduce the flow resistance, and it is possible to process a large amount of gas with a small adsorber.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show an embodiment of an adsorber in which an inner cylinder unit is arranged in an outer cylinder, and both ends are provided inside a cylindrical outer cylinder 11 arranged in a horizontal direction. An appropriate number of cylindrical inner cylinder units 12 having open ends are arranged coaxially with the outer cylinder 11, and each inner cylinder unit 12 is filled with an adsorbent 13 to form an adsorber 14
Is formed.

The outer cylinder 11 is formed in a shape having excellent pressure resistance with both ends completely sealed, and the inner cylinder unit is formed on the outer peripheral surface.
A raw material gas introduction conduit 15 is provided at a position corresponding to the arrangement position of 12, and the raw material gas G from the raw material gas main pipe 16 is introduced into the outer cylinder 11 through the raw material gas introduction conduit 15.

The inner cylinder unit 12 arranged in the outer cylinder 11 is formed to have a diameter slightly smaller than that of the outer cylinder 11, is supported by a support member 17 (see FIG. 2), and is connected to the outer cylinder 11 with a gas. A space to be the introduction chamber 18 is formed.

Inside each of the inner cylinder units 12, breathable partition plates 19 are provided at appropriate intervals to divide the inside into five chambers.

The partition plate 19 holds the adsorbent 13 filled therein, and is formed of an air-permeable material such as a wire mesh so as not to hinder the flow of gas. Also similar partition 20
Is also provided between the inner cylinder units 12, 12 to eliminate the bias in the pressure between the adsorbents 13 in the inner cylinder units 12, 12, that is, the gas flow rate.

Further, a heat insulating material 21 is attached to the outer periphery of each inner cylinder unit 12, and a manhole 22 for internal inspection is provided at the end of the outer cylinder 11.
Is provided.

Of the five chambers formed in each inner cylinder unit 12, the adsorbent filling chambers 23, 23 on the both end opening sides are filled with an adsorbent 13a such as alumina gel that adsorbs water, and the adsorbent 13a on the center side is filled. The adsorbent filling chambers 24, 24 are filled with two layers of adsorbent 13b such as molecular sieve that adsorbs carbon dioxide gas. The chamber at the center is a gas outlet chamber 25 for leading out the purified gas P from which water and carbon dioxide have been removed.
A purified gas outlet conduit 26 penetrating the inner cylinder unit 12 and the outer cylinder 11 is connected to the.

Further, in each adsorbent filling chamber 23, 24 filled with the adsorbent 13,
An outlet 27 for filling and withdrawing the adsorbent 13 is provided through the outer cylinder 11, and further, as shown in FIG. 2, inside the gas outlet chamber 25 at the center of each inner cylinder unit 12. Includes a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow in the adsorbent 13.
28, the purified gas outlet conduit 26 and the adsorbent outlet 27 are provided with bellows portions 26a and 27a, respectively, in consideration of expansion and contraction due to temperature difference.

The raw material gas G is branched from the raw material gas main pipe 16 into each raw material gas introduction conduit 15 and introduced into the outer cylinder 11 of the adsorber 14, and the outer cylinder 11
Around the gas introduction chamber 18 between the inner cylinder unit 12 and the inner cylinder unit 12, it flows into the adsorbent 13 through the openings at both ends of the inner cylinder unit 12.

The purified gas P from which moisture has been removed by the adsorbent 13a and carbon dioxide gas has been removed by the adsorbent 13b is led from the gas outlet chamber 25 at the center of the inner cylinder unit 12 to the purified gas outlet conduit 26 and collected in the purified gas main pipe 29. Is supplied to an air separation device or the like.

Further, the regeneration of the adsorbent 13 is performed by operating the valves 30, 30 of the both main pipes 16, 29 so that the regenerated gas R is supplied from the purified gas main pipe 29 side to the raw material gas main pipe 16
This is done by backflowing toward.

The source gas introduction conduit 15 is provided on the same circumference as the purified gas outlet conduit 26, that is, provided so as to correspond to the central portion of the inner cylinder unit 12, and the source gas from the source gas introduction conduit 15 is provided. It is preferable that G is provided so as to flow evenly into both openings of the inner cylinder unit 12.

Also, the type of the adsorbent 13 is appropriately selected according to the purpose of use of the adsorber 14, and in the case of one type or mixed adsorbent, each inner cylinder unit 12 is divided into three chambers, and It is sufficient if each one chamber is used as the adsorbent filling chamber, but as in this embodiment, the adsorbent filling chamber is divided into two chambers and stacked, so that the adsorbent according to the purpose is used in an optimum state. can do. Further, it is also possible to divide and stack the adsorbent filling chambers into three or more chambers and to fill various adsorbents into the chambers.

Here, the adsorber 14 of the present embodiment and the adsorber shown as the conventional example in FIG. 9 are separated by a large-scale air separation in which the raw material gas G, that is, the amount of raw material air introduced into the adsorber is 180000 Nm ³ / h. An example used in the device will be compared.

First, the adsorbent 13a for separating water has a temperature of the raw material air of 15 ° C,
7920 kg of alumina gel is required when the pressure is 5.7 kg / cm ² and the adsorber switching cycle is 3 hours. Similarly, the carbon dioxide separating adsorbent 13b has a molecular sieve of 29060 kg when the carbon dioxide amount in the raw material air is 400 ppm. is necessary. Both adsorbents 13
The volume of a and 13b combined is 50.9 m ³ .

In the adsorber 14 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the diameter D of the outer cylinder 11 of the adsorber 14 is 3700 mm as the maximum dimension that does not hinder transportation, and the inner diameter Di of the inner cylinder unit 12 is 3000 mm. Considering the flow rate of the raw material air, the width W of the gas outlet chamber 25 in the inner cylinder unit 12 for discharging the purified gas P is 600 mm, and the interval N between the inner cylinder units 12 is 750 mm.

Moreover, the filling thickness M of the adsorbent 13 is 1200 mm in consideration of the flow resistance.
Then, six layers of the adsorbent 13 are required, and the number of the inner cylinder units 12 is three. This is the above-mentioned outer cylinder 11 with a diameter of 3700 mm.
When put inside, the length L of the outer tube 11 is
The outer cylinder 11 has a volume of 130 m ³ and a filling rate of 39.15%.

In the case of the conventional horizontal adsorber shown in FIG. 9, the outer cylinder 1 of the adsorber has the same diameter D of 3700 mm and the inner cylinder 2 has an effective inner diameter Dj.
Is 2700 mm, and the same amount of adsorbent 3 as in the above embodiment is filled with the same thickness M, that is, 1200 mm, the length Li of the inner cylinder 2 becomes
15700 mm is required, and the length Lo of the outer cylinder 1 is about 17,000 mm. At this time, the outer cylinder 1 has a volume of 182.7 m ³ and a filling rate of 27.86.
%.

When treating the same amount of raw material gas in this way, the length of the adsorber can be shortened to about 2/3. Also, with an adsorber having the same outer cylinder size, the amount of raw material gas that can be processed can be significantly increased compared to the conventional case.
It is particularly preferable as an adsorber for an ultra-large air separation device.

Next, FIGS. 4 to 6 show an embodiment in which a plurality of adsorption filling chambers are provided in layers in a cylindrical container without providing the inner cylinder unit.

That is, the adsorber 31 has a cylindrical container 32 whose both ends are closed.
The inside of the container 32 is partitioned by a large number of breathable partition plates 33 arranged in the radial direction of the container 32 to form a large number of chambers in the container 32 in layers, and the adsorbent filling chambers 34 are provided separately. The adsorbent filling chamber
A gas introduction chamber 35 and a gas derivation chamber 36 are formed on both sides of 34, respectively, a raw material gas introduction conduit 15 is connected to the gas introduction chamber 35, and a purified gas derivation conduit 26 is connected to the gas derivation chamber 36, respectively. A heat insulating material 37 is attached to substantially the entire outer circumference of the cylindrical container 32.

Also in the adsorber 31 of this embodiment, the raw material gas G introduced into the gas introduction chamber 35 is placed in the adsorbent filling chamber 34, as in the adsorber 14 including the inner cylinder unit 12 shown in the above-mentioned embodiment. Moisture is removed by an adsorbent 13a such as alumina gel that adsorbs the water, and carbon dioxide is removed and purified by an adsorbent 13b such as a molecular sieve that adsorbs carbon dioxide.
A purified gas P is discharged from a gas discharge chamber 36 arranged between the adsorbent filling chambers 34.

The same elements as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Further, a comparison will be made here when the adsorber 31 is used for an air separation device similar to the above. That is, assuming that the filling thickness M of the adsorbent 13 is 1200 mm, the width N of the gas inlet chamber 35 is 750 mm, and the width W of the gas outlet chamber 36 is 600 mm, the total volume of the adsorbent 1 is 50.9 m ^3.
3 is the diameter D considering the thickness of the heat insulating material 37 attached to the outer circumference.
When it is housed in a cylindrical container 32 having a diameter of 3000 mm, the length L of the cylindrical container 32 is 12100 mm including the bulges at both ends. At this time, the volume of the cylindrical container 32 is 85.5 m ³ , and the filling rate is 59.5%, so that the filling rate can be greatly improved.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an example in which a partition 42 is provided in the center of a gas introduction chamber 41 of an adsorber 40 formed in substantially the same manner as the adsorber 31 shown in the above-mentioned embodiment. And cylindrical container 32
The gas introduction chamber 41 is provided at the end of the above, a gas outlet chamber 36 is provided in the central portion between the partition walls 42, and the adsorbent filling chamber 34 is provided between both chambers 41 and 36.

Since the other structure of the adsorber 40 can be formed in the same manner as the adsorber 31 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
The same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted.

In this way, by providing the partition wall 41 in the cylindrical container 32 and dividing the adsorption treatment section including the gas introduction chamber 41, the gas derivation chamber 36, and the adsorbent filling chamber 34 into a plurality of parts, the source gas G It is possible to easily deal with the increase or decrease in the processing amount of. That is, during a reduction operation of the air separation device, a conduit connected to the adsorption treatment unit, for example, the gas introduction chamber 41
It is possible to stop the operation of a part of the adsorption treatment section by providing a valve in the inlet conduit of the above and / or the outlet conduit of the gas outlet chamber 36 and closing a part of the valve to stop the gas flow. It is possible to effectively use an adsorbent, a regeneration gas and the like.

In addition, the adsorber 50 shown in FIG.
The partition wall 54 is provided so that the adsorbent filling chamber 52 and the gas outlet chamber 53 are each one chamber, and the flow directions of the raw material gas G are the same.

By forming in this way, even when water adsorbed on the adsorbent 13a or condensed water in the raw material gas G flows out, the adsorbent 13a for adsorbing water is placed below and the adsorbent for adsorbing carbon dioxide gas. By installing the adsorber 50 in a vertical direction so that 13b is on the upper side, the gas introduction chamber 51 communicating with the raw material gas introduction conduit is provided on the lower side of the adsorbent filling chamber 52, and the purified gas delivery conduit is provided on the upper side. Since each of the gas outlet chambers 53 communicating with is formed, it is possible to prevent moisture from moving toward the adsorbent 13b for adsorbing carbon dioxide gas or the gas outlet chamber 53 for discharging the purified gas P. Further, by thus arranging the adsorber 50 in the vertical direction, the adsorption performance caused by the difference in the water content above and below the layer of the adsorbent 13a, which occurs when the adsorber 50 is arranged horizontally in the longitudinal direction, It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a difference. Of course, also in the other embodiments, it is possible to install them in the vertical direction if there is no risk of water outflow.

Incidentally, also in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and FIG.
It goes without saying that the raw material gas introduction conduit functions as the regeneration gas introduction conduit and the purified gas introduction conduit functions as the regeneration gas introduction conduit. Therefore, the gas flow indicated by the arrow in the figure is only for the adsorption process, but the gas flow for the regeneration process is in the opposite direction to the illustrated flow. Further, the raw material or regenerated gas introduced into the adsorber and the purified gas derived or the regenerated exhaust gas may be supplied and discharged in the form of straight pipes with branches between them as shown in FIGS. However, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, each introduction,
It may be of a type that considers distribution so that the flow rate to the outlet is uniform, and can be appropriately selected according to the conditions.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the adsorber of the present invention, firstly, a plurality of inner cylinders whose both ends are opened are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical container in the cylindrical container whose both ends are sealed. A pair of adsorbent filling chambers are spaced apart from each other on the opening side of the cylinder and arranged in parallel in the radial direction, and gas introducing chambers communicating with the raw material gas introducing conduit are formed on both sides of the pair of adsorbent filling chambers. In addition, a gas outlet chamber communicating with the purified gas outlet conduit is formed in the space between the pair of adsorbent filling chambers, and a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow is provided in the gas outlet chamber. The filling rate of the adsorbent therein can be improved, and the adsorber can be formed in a small size. Therefore, the cost of the adsorber can be reduced, and the transport and installation work of the adsorber can be facilitated.

In addition, the adsorber can be made compact, the flow resistance can be reduced, the pressure loss can be reduced, the compression pressure of the raw material gas can be reduced, and the energy at the time of regeneration can also be reduced. The consumption can be reduced.

Moreover, by increasing or decreasing the number of inner cylinders provided with a pair of adsorbent filling chambers according to the flow rate of the raw material gas, the gas aeration rate through the adsorbent is selected to an optimum value, and an efficient adsorption rate is obtained. Moreover, since the adsorption treatment can be performed with an appropriate amount of the adsorbent, it is possible to easily manufacture an adsorber having a different set flow rate.

Furthermore, by providing a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow in the gas outlet chamber, it is possible to prevent uneven flow of the gas flow through the adsorbent and realize uniform use of the adsorbent by the uniform flow.

Secondly, a plurality of adsorbent filling chambers arranged in parallel with each other in the radial direction of the cylindrical container are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical container in the cylindrical container whose both ends are closed. A gas introduction chamber that communicates with the raw material gas introduction conduit is formed on one side of the filling chamber, and a gas discharge chamber that communicates with the purified gas discharge conduit is formed on the other side, and a distribution that equalizes the gas flow in the gas discharge chamber is formed. Since the plate is provided and the gas inlet chamber or the gas outlet chamber is partitioned by the partition wall, the filling rate of the adsorbent in the unit volume can be improved, and the adsorber can be formed in a small size. Therefore, the cost of the adsorber can be reduced, and the transport and installation work of the adsorber can be facilitated.

In addition, the adsorber can be made compact, the flow resistance can be reduced, the pressure loss can be reduced, the compression pressure of the raw material gas can be reduced, and the energy at the time of regeneration can also be reduced. Can be reduced.

Moreover, by increasing or decreasing the number of adsorbent filling chambers in accordance with the flow rate of the raw material gas, the gas permeation rate of the gas passing through the adsorbent can be selected to an optimum value, and an efficient adsorption rate can be obtained.
Further, since the adsorption process can be performed with an appropriate amount of the adsorbent, it is possible to easily manufacture the adsorbers having different set flow rates.

Furthermore, by providing a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow in the gas outlet chamber, it is possible to prevent uneven flow of the gas flow through the adsorbent and realize uniform use of the adsorbent by the uniform flow.

Thirdly, a cylindrical container whose both ends are closed is arranged in the vertical direction, and an adsorbent filling chamber arranged in the cylindrical container in parallel with the radial direction of the cylindrical container is provided. A plurality of axially arranged adsorbent-filled chambers are separated from each other by partition walls, a gas introduction chamber communicating with a raw material gas introduction conduit is provided below the adsorbent filling chamber, and a purified gas lead-out conduit is provided above. Since each of the gas outlet chambers communicating with the gas outlet chamber is formed and a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow is provided in each of the gas outlet chambers, the second adsorber effect can be obtained, and the gas containing moisture can be adsorbed. Even when it is carried out, it is possible to prevent the adverse effect of water on the adsorbent.

Fourth, by providing a valve in the inlet conduit of the gas introduction chamber and / or the outlet conduit of the gas outlet chamber of the second and third adsorbers, in addition to the above-mentioned respective effects, only valve operation is required. Since an appropriate number of adsorbent filling chambers partitioned by partition walls can be used, the adsorbent can be used effectively and the amount of regenerated gas can be reduced, and the amount of product gas collected can be reduced accordingly. Can be increased and the yield can be improved.

Further, since the adsorbent replacement work or the like can be independently performed for each adsorbent filling chamber only by operating the valve, maintenance work can be performed without stopping the operation of the adsorber.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional front view of an adsorber, FIG. 2 is a sectional front view of a main part, and FIG. 3 is a size of the adsorber. 4 is a sectional front view of the adsorber, FIG. 4 is a sectional front view of the adsorber, and FIG. 5 is a sectional front view of a main part. FIG. 6 is a sectional front view for explaining the size of the adsorber, FIG. 7 is a sectional front view of an adsorber showing an embodiment in which a partition is provided, and FIG. 8 is another adsorber provided with a partition. 9 is a sectional front view, and FIG. 9 (b) is a sectional side view. FIG. 9 (a) is a sectional front view, and FIG. 9 (b) is a sectional side view. . 11 …… Outer cylinder, 12 …… Inner cylinder unit, 13 …… Adsorbent, 14,3
1,40,50 …… Adsorber, 15 …… Conduit for introducing raw material gas, 18,3
5,41,51 …… Gas introduction chamber, 19,20,33 …… Partition plate, 23,24,3
4,52 …… Adsorbent filling chamber, 25,36,53 …… Gas outlet chamber, 26…
… Conduit for discharging purified gas, 32 …… Cylindrical container, 42,54 ……
Partition wall, G ... Raw material gas, P ... Purified gas, R ... Regenerated gas

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An adsorber filled with an adsorbent for adsorbing and separating a specific component in a gas, wherein a plurality of inner cylinders, both ends of which are open, are provided in an axial direction of the cylindrical container. Individually arranged, a pair of adsorbent filling chambers are spaced apart from each other on the opening side of the inner cylinder and are arranged in parallel in the radial direction, and communicate with the raw material gas introduction conduits on both sides of the pair of adsorbent filling chambers. Forming gas introduction chambers, forming a gas outlet chamber communicating with the purified gas outlet conduit in the space between the pair of adsorbent filling chambers, and providing a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow in the gas outlet chamber. An adsorber characterized by being provided. 2. An adsorber filled with an adsorbent which adsorbs and separates a specific component in a gas, and is arranged in a cylindrical container whose both ends are closed in parallel with each other in the radial direction of the cylindrical container. A plurality of adsorbent filling chambers are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical container, a gas introducing chamber communicating with the raw material gas introducing conduit on one side of the adsorbent filling chamber, and a gas communicating with the purified gas introducing conduit on the other side. An adsorber characterized in that each of the outlet chambers is formed, a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow is provided in the outlet chamber, and the gas inlet chamber or the outlet chamber is partitioned by a partition wall. 3. An adsorber filled with an adsorbent for adsorbing and separating a specific component in a gas, wherein a cylindrical container whose both ends are closed is arranged in the vertical direction, and the diameter of the cylindrical container is set in the cylindrical container. A plurality of adsorbent filling chambers arranged in parallel with each other are arranged in the axial direction of the cylindrical container, and the space between the adsorbent filling chambers is partitioned by a partition wall, and the raw material is placed below the adsorbent filling chamber. A gas introduction chamber communicating with the gas introduction conduit is formed on the upper side, and a gas derivation chamber communicating with the purified gas derivation conduit is formed,
An adsorber characterized in that a distribution plate for equalizing the gas flow is provided in the gas outlet chamber. 4. The valve according to claim 2, wherein a valve is provided in the inlet conduit of the gas introducing chamber and / or the outlet conduit of the gas outlet chamber.
Adsorber described.