KR100752819B1 - Method for producing an air separation installation - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a device for carrying out a low temperature air separation method. The apparatus has one or more cold boxes, in which one or more modules are arranged such that one or more components of the air used are obtained as products by the selected method variant. According to the invention, a plurality of size grades are predefined, each size grade determining the dimensions of a coldbox of this size grade, and the coldboxes of the individual size grades being capable of placing two or more different yield orders and / or within the coldbox. Or large enough that modules for two or more different method variants can be placed, wherein a cold box of a given size class is selected and the module placed in a cold box of the selected size class.

Description

Method for manufacturing air separation unit {METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN AIR SEPARATION INSTALLATION}

The present invention relates to a method for producing a device for carrying out a low temperature air separation process, wherein at least one component of the inlet air is obtained as a product by a selected process variant, and the device is exactly one in which one or more modules are arranged. Have a coldbox

The cryogenic air separation device obtains large amounts of oxygen, nitrogen, argon and optionally additional natural gas by separation from the ambient air. Such a device is designed based on the product specification desired by the customer. The customer may, for example, have such things as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, their respective amounts, pressures and purity, whether the product should be obtained in gas and / or liquid form, and the power of the device if the production is replaced and changed. According to the type of product he wants.

Product specifications allow device manufacturers to select device components such as air separation devices, method variants, machines and devices required for such method variants, appliances, automation devices, and control devices. All these parts must match each other.

In practice, this means that each device must be newly designed and designed. In this case, in addition to customer specifications, a number of physical and manufacturing technical boundary conditions have to be taken into account, for example the allowable pressure, the maximum amount and the manufacture of each required module. Therefore, the design of the air separation device is very complicated and expensive.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is a method of manufacturing an air separation device that reduces the complexity associated with design, design and manufacture.

This object is achieved by the method mentioned at the outset, i.e. by pre-determining the grades of different sizes, where one size grade determines the dimensions of the coldbox of this grade, and the coldbox of each size grade is said cold Modules for ordering two or more different yield orders and / or two or more different method variants in a box are large enough that a coldbox of a determined size class is selected and the module placed in a coldbox of the selected size class .

In the context of the present specification, components of the cryogenic air separation device are conceptually classified into modules, accessories and piping. The module includes all parts having one of the functions necessary for air separation. This is especially true for machines such as condensers, compressors, expanders and cooling pumps, air filters such as molecular sieves and adsorbers, heat exchangers such as main heat exchangers, main condensers, head condensers, sub-condensers and subcooled backflow heat exchangers. And an air separation device such as a rectification column. By "cold module" is meant a module having a thermal insulation device such as a so-called cold box.

The individual modules of the air separation device thus far are selected according to the product specifications desired by the customer and the air conditions present at the installation site of the device, and are based on other additional conditions such as legal regulations and standards. Thus, cooling modules, ie modules that must be thermally insulated, and accessories individually or integrated within a group, have been inserted into one or more cold boxes, which have been precisely matched to the dimensions of a module formed of one module or group. .

According to the present invention, the dimensions of the one or more cold boxes with one or more thermally insulated modules disposed therein are no longer designed to match the modules accurately. Rather, a number of size classes of cold boxes are predefined, so only a limited number of cold box dimensions are used.

Using the above mentioned standards, such as product specifications, modules first designed for the cold air separation device to be manufactured are selected. Depending on the size of the device, the cooling modules that have to be placed in the cold box are divided into groups. These groups are divided so that one or more transportable units are manufactured, preferably functional units, after the module group has been placed in the coldbox. For example, a pressure column, a low pressure column and a main condenser are integrated into one nitrogen-oxygen-rectification unit.

Thus, depending on the module or group of modules to be insulated, one size class is selected and the module is placed in the coldbox with the dimensions of the selected size class. Individual size ratings are predetermined, independent of current devices designed using customer specifications. Within one size class, coldbox dimensions are assigned to each module or group of modules that appear in different method variations and device sizes.

Classification according to the present invention will be specifically described by the following examples. Here five size grades are pre-determined, within one size grade the first coldbox size is determined by the pressure column module, the second coldbox size is determined by the low pressure column module, and the other coldbox size is argon. Determined along the rectification module, for example the fourth coldbox size is determined according to the energy exchange module comprising the main heat exchanger. Depending on the needs of the customer, the modification of the intended air separation method and the remaining boundary conditions, the dimensions, shape, arrangement and combination of the individual modules are determined. In this case, for example, a pressure column module with defined dimensions is produced. By comparison with a predetermined size class, the class to be used is selected and within this class the coldbox dimensions defined for the pressure column module are used. Although the dimensions of the coldboxes within the individual size classes are limited to only five dimensions, the pressure column module is defined to cover a number of method variants and yield orders, each distinct in size and associated accessories.

Thus, the selected cold box does not exactly match the module with the accessories used in the specific method variant and the individual use case, but is selected from a limited number of cold box dimensions provided. Therefore, the selected cold box does not seem to be an optimal measure to isolate the modules used at first glance. Thus, according to the present invention, the cost of manufacturing a cold box will usually be slightly higher than that of a normal cold box that exactly matches the part to be insulated. However, savings in engineering can be achieved by limiting to a defined size class in accordance with the present invention, which has proven to be a reduction in overall costs by overcoming increased material costs.

Individual size grades are selected such that each size grade encompasses two or more different yield orders and / or two or more different method variants. The method variant is distinguished by, for example, the product obtained, the form of product compression, the product pressure, the product purity, the ratio of liquid to gas or the ratio of oxygen yield to nitrogen yield.

Preferably, the pressure column, low pressure column or the entire nitrogen-oxygen rectification module and their respective accessories are inserted into one coldbox, which coldbox is selected regardless of the product compression form. For a given yield, the same cold box size is selected in each case, with the subsequent evaporation of the compressed liquid, for both external compression such as the compression of the gas product and internal compression such as the compression of the liquid product.

Also in the grade selection, the size grade is such that the size of the cold box of the pressure column module, the low pressure column module or the nitrogen-oxygen rectification module is selected regardless of whether a natural argon column and possibly another column should be connected to the low pressure column. It is preferable that this be selected.

Moreover, for two or more method variants in which products with different pressures or different purity are obtained, or for two methods in which the ratio of gas yield and liquid yield is varied, or two methods with different ratios of oxygen production to nitrogen production It is desirable to provide the same cold box size for this purpose.

The grade proves particularly desirable to determine the size grade such that a coldbox of one size grade is suitable to cover at least five, preferably at least ten different method variants of the appropriate modules and their accessories. Here, the cold box is formed so that each individual method variant of the method variants may be covered at the same time, but it is not necessary to include all the method variants at the same time.

The selection of the size class is such that a class of coldbox can cover one or more different method variants and / or two different yield orders. If the production of the required output has a different effect on form and / or size and / or the number of modules and / or their accessories, the two output orders are considered different.

The invention has the advantage in both cases when all modules are placed in exactly one coldbox and also when two or more coldboxes are provided for the module. In the first case, multiple size classes for the cold box are set such that all modules to be thermally insulated are placed in each. Depending on the method variant and yield order, a determined size class is selected, which size class is also suitable for other method variants or yield orders. In this case, each size class includes only one coldbox size. If a cooling module is distributed between multiple cold boxes, the specific dimensions of the corresponding cold box are sized for the individual modules or groups that must each be placed in their own cold box. For example, if every cooling module is divided into an energy exchange module comprising a heat exchanger, a rectifying module comprising a rectifying column, and an associated module comprising all other components, the dimensions of the three cold clads corresponding to the above mentioned modules Is determined by each size class.

In case the cooling module is divided into multiple cold boxes, the same size class is preferably selected for all cold boxes. Coldboxes of the same size class provided for different modules or groups of modules have a limited interface. Connection points for plumbing, appliances, electrical supplies, etc., are determined regardless of the specific method variant. Within a class, the coldbox dimensions as well as their connection points are determined. Thus, individual cold boxes containing modules can easily be connected to one another in a similar manner at all times without additional engineering costs.

Also in part, it is desirable for different modules of the air separation device to be arranged in a cold box assigned different size classes. For example, if the customer needs relatively little argon and as a result the maximum possible amount of argon is not recovered, a corresponding small amount of argon module is used. In this case, it is useful to select a coldbox for the argon module from a coldbox for the pressure column module and the low pressure column module, or a lower grade grade than the coldbox for the oxygen / nitrogen-rectification module.

In addition, in order to simplify as much as possible the manufacture of devices in which coldboxes of different size grades are combined, piping and other arrangements to interface not only with the shape of the modules to be placed in the coldbox within one size class, but also regardless of the size class. It is desirable to define a fixed interface for the connection. Thus, for example, the position and shape of the connection point for the piping is independent of the size of the cold box. The connection points for the electricity supply line and the appliance can be arranged, for example, on the side of the cold box which is always opposite the pipe connection point. That is, the connection point of the cold box is selected so that the interconnection between the cold box, or the connection between the cold box and other components or modules can always be formed regardless of the size of the cold box.

As mentioned above, in the design of the cold box achieved by the present invention, the savings gained through the invention are caused by the increased cost of material consumption due to the unmatched cold box. It has been proved that an optimization is achieved in terms of cost when a size grade of 3 to 10, preferably 4 to 8, particularly preferably 4 to 6 is predetermined. In this case, the savings are much greater than the additional material consumption costs.

The present invention provides an advantage in a large apparatus for processing a number of air, especially of air 50000Nm than ³ / h more especially 25000 Nm ³ / h. This is because, in such a device, engineering costs are particularly high.

Claims (5)

A method of producing a device for carrying out a cold air separation method, wherein at least one component of the inlet air is obtained as a product by a selected process variant and the device has exactly one cold box with one or more modules disposed therein. In the method for producing Multiple size grades are pre-determined, and one size grade determines the size of a coldbox of this size grade, and each size grade coldbox is configured for two or more different yield orders and / or two or more different method variants within the coldbox. The module is large enough to be placed, wherein the coldbox of the determined size class is selected and the module is placed in the coldbox of the selected size class. The method of claim 1, A method of making a device for implementing a low temperature air separation method, characterized in that the device has exactly one cold box. The method of claim 1, A method for manufacturing a device for implementing a low temperature air separation method, characterized in that the device has two or more cold boxes. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A method for manufacturing a device for implementing a low temperature air separation method, characterized in that a size class of 3 to 10 is predetermined. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, A method of making a device for performing a low temperature air separation method, characterized in that said device is suitable for treating air of 25000 Nm ³ / h or more.