Separation and recovery of the constituents of air

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF RECOVERING SIMULTANEOUSLY HIGH AND LOW PURITY OXYGEN AND KRYPTON-XENON FROM THE ATMOSPHERE BY LIQUEFACTION AND RECTIFICATION WHICH COMPRISES SUBJECTING COMPRESSED AND COOLED AIR TO INITIAL RECTIFICATION AND PARTIAL CONDENSATION TO AFFORD A LIQUID ENRICHED IN OXYGEN, LIQUID NITROGEN AND A RESIDUAL VAPOR CONTAINING NITROGEN AND NEON, CONDENSING THE NITROGEN IN THE RESIDUAL VAPOR, WITHDRAWING NEON, SUBJECTING THE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN PRODUCTS OF THE INITIAL RECTIFICATION WITH NITROGEN CONDENSED FROM THE RESIDUAL VAPOR TO A SECOND RECTIFICATION, WITHDRAWING NITROGEN AND A PORTION OF THE OXYGEN IN THE VAPOR PHASE, VARYING THE LEVEL OF WITHDRAWAL OF THE OXYGEN VAPOR TO ADJUST THE PROPORTION OF KRYPTON-XENON IN THE LIQUID OXYGEN PRODUCT OF THE SECOND RECTIFICATION, SUBJECTING THE LIQUID OXYGEN PRODUCT OF THE SECOND RECTIFICATION TO A THIRD RECTIFICATION, THEREBY SEPARATING OXYGEN LIQUID RICH IN KRYPTON-XENON, AND WITHDRAWING HIGH PURITY OXYGEN IN THE VAPOR PHASE.