US4488890A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Low temperature separation of gaseous mixture for methanol synthesis
Assignee: Linde GmbH
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Filing: 1983-12-23
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Granted: 1984-12-18
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Expires: 2003-12-23
Abstract
Abstract For the low-temperature separation of a gaseous mixture containing essentially hydrogen, C 1+ -hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide, resulting in a purified gaseous mixture to be processed, after the low-temperature separation, in methanol synthesis, the gaseous mixture is cooled and subsequently fed to a scrubbing column to scrub out the C 1+ -hydrocarbons with liquid CO. A product containing essentially hydrogen and carbon monoxide is obtained at the head of the scrubbing column. The resultant liquid CO, loaded essentially with the C 1+ -hydrocarbons, is withdrawn as the sump product from the column and introduced into a C 1+ -CO separating column.
Inventors
- 👤 Wolfgang Foerg
- 👤 Walter Scholz
- 👤 Freimut Marold
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 05:44
CPC Classifications
F; F25; F25J; F25J3/00; F25J3/02; F25J3/0228; F25J3/0271; F25J3/0204; F25J3/0223; F25J3/0233; F25J3/0252; F25J2200/00; F25J2200/76; F25J2205/00; F25J2205/30; F25J2215/00; F25J2215/02; F25J2245/00; F25J2245/02; F25J2270/00; F25J2270/04; F25J2270/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
105 words
A process for the separation of a gaseous mixture, containing essentially hydrogen, C 1+ -hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide, at low temperatures, into a gas depleted in C 1+ -hydrocarbons and useful for further processing in methanol synthesis, said process comprising scrubbing the gaseous mixture with liquid CO in a scrubbing column to scrub out the C 1+ -hydrocarbons to form a head product which contains essentially hydrogen and carbon monoxide; withdrawing the liquid CO, containing C 1+ -hydrocarbons, as a sump product from the column, and passing said sump product into a C 1+ -CO separating column to remove the CO as gaseous head product.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
105 words
A process for the separation of a gaseous mixture, containing essentially hydrogen, C 1+ -hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide, at low temperatures, into a gas depleted in C 1+ -hydrocarbons and useful for further processing in methanol synthesis, said process comprising scrubbing the gaseous mixture with liquid CO in a scrubbing column to scrub out the C 1+ -hydrocarbons to form a head product which contains essentially hydrogen and carbon monoxide; withdrawing the liquid CO, containing C 1+ -hydrocarbons, as a sump product from the column, and passing said sump product into a C 1+ -CO separating column to remove the CO as gaseous head product.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process according to claim 1, wherein the liquid CO is obtained from a CO cycle comprising compressing the gaseous CO head product and engine expanding resultant compressed CO.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
A process according to claim 1, wherein said C 1+ -hydrocarbons are scrubbed down to a residual content of 0.05-0.2 mol-% in the head product.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
A process according to claim 1, wherein said C 1+ -hydrocarbons are scrubbed down to a residual content of 0.08-0.12 mol-% in the head product.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A process according to claim 1, further comprising expanding the sump product to an intermediate pressure, withdrawing thus-released intermediate pressure gaseous fraction, and feeding residual intermediate pressure liquid to the C 1+ -CO separating column.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
A process according to claim 5, further comprising heating said residual intermediate pressure liquid prior to feeding the latter to the C 1+ -CO separating column.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
58 words
A process according to claim 1, further comprising withdrawing the CO as the head product from the C 1+ -CO separating column, heating said CO, compressing the heated CO, recooling the heated CO, and, in part, employing the recooled CO as reboiler heat for the separating column and, in part, for production of refrigeration in an expansion machine.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
A process according to claim 7, further comprising introducing the CO stream condensed during heating of the separating column as reflux liquid for at least one of the scrubbing column and the C 1+ -CO separating column.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
A process according to claim 8, wherein the condensed CO stream is introduced as reflux into both columns.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
A process according to claim 1, wherein the liquid CO, before being fed into the scrubbing column, is raised to a process pressure higher than that of the cycle CO.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
A process according to claim 1, wherein the gaseous mixture is precooled prior to the scrubbing step.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
A process according to claim 11, wherein during the precooling of the gaseous mixture, a precondensate enriched with C 1+ -hydrocarbons is obtained and the latter is introduced separately into the C 1+ -CO separating column.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
A process according to claim 1, further comprising heating the scrubbing column at the sump by means of crude gas or cycle CO for reducing the hydrogen and carbon monoxide content in the sump product.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
A process according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate pressure gaseous fraction is returned into the crude gaseous mixture.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1987-12-18 | 1988-06-18 | 1988-12-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1991-12-18 | 1992-06-18 | 1992-12-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1995-12-18 | 1996-06-18 | 1996-12-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |