Effect of Operation Symmetry on Pressure Swing Adsorption Process

Authors: Doong S.J.^{1, 2}; Propsner P.¹

Source: Adsorption, Volume 4, Number 2, March 1998 , pp. 149-158(10)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

In a multi-bed pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process, cycle steps with gas flow transferring from one bed to another such as equalization, purge, etc. are generally practiced to enhance the product recovery. However, if the flows for the connected beds in these steps are not balanced, the PSA process may not operate in a symmetrical manner. In the modeling of the PSA process, most of the simulations consider only one bed and assume that the rest of the beds would behave in a same way. In order to assess the impact of bed symmetry on the PSA performance, a new PSA model capable of studying bed symmetry in a two-bed system is developed. Experimental results from this paper show that uneven equalization flow can result in a lower product purity and a peculiar purity curve at different equalization levels. This phenomenon can be successfully predicted by this model. Simulation results also show that in large-scale PSA units, asymmetrical operation can cause drastically different temperature profiles in different adsorbers and hence a much lower performance. This paper demonstrates the importance of maintaining operation symmetry in PSA processes.

Keywords: pressure swing adsorption; gas separation; simulation

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: The BOC Group Technical Center, 100 Mountain Ave., Murray Hill, NJ 07974. 2: E-mail: shain.doong@us.gtc.boc.com

Publication date: 1998-03-01