Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by Pressure
Swing Adsorption
2
Contents.
3 Introduction
4 The process
6 Scope of work
7 The advantages
8 Contact
3
Introduction.
The experience.
The use of the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) process
has seen tremendous growth during the last decades
mainly due to its simplicity and low operating costs.
Major applications have been the recovery of high purity
hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide as well as the
generation of nitrogen and oxygen. In addition, it has
gained significance for the bulk removal of carbon
dioxide from direct reduction top-gases.
The Linde hydrogen PSA units Capacities range from a few hundred Nm/h to As a second group of users in the petrochemical
The well proven Linde high performance PSA large scale plants with more than 400,000 Nm/h. industry has a demand for hydrogen for its
units are designed for the recovery and purifi- The hydrogen product meets every purity re- methanol and ammonia synthesis, MTBE pro-
cation of pure hydrogen from different hydrogen quirement up to 99.9999 mol-% and is achieved cesses, etc.
-rich streams, such as synthesis gases from at highest recovery rates.
steam reforming process, partial oxidation or Lindes PSA systems have proven to be success-
gasification, as well as from various off-gases Main hydrogen consumers are refineries re- ful in cases where performance, flexibility, avail-
in refineries or petrochemical processes, e.g. quiring this valuable gas for example for their ability and reliability are the determining factors.
ethylene off-gas, coke oven gas, methanol and cracking, dearomatization or desulphurization High quality and easy accessibility to all compo-
ammonia purge gas. processes. nents minimize and facilitate maintenance to
the maximum extent.
4
The process.
Separation by adsorption Adsorption and regeneration
The Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology The PSA process works at basically constant Adsorption is carried out at high pressure (and
is based on a physical binding of gas molecules temperature and uses the effect of alternating hence high respective partial pressure) typically
to adsorbent material. The respective force act- pressure and partial pressure to perform adsorp- in the range of 10 to 40 bar until the equilibrium
ing between the gas molecules and the adsorb- tion and desorption. Since heating or cooling is loading is reached. At this point in time, no
ent material depends on the gas component, not required, short cycles within the range of further adsorption capacity is available and the
type of adsorbent material, partial pressure of minutes are achieved. The PSA process conse- adsorbent material must be regenerated. This
the gas component and operating temperature. quently allows the economical removal of large regeneration is done by lowering the pressure
A qualitative ranking of the adsorption forces is amounts of impurities. to slightly above atmospheric pressure resulting
shown in the figure below. in a respective decrease in equilibrium loading.
The figure on page 5 illustrates the pressure As a result, the impurities on the adsorbent
The separation effect is based on differences in swing adsorption process. It shows the adsorp- material are desorbed and the adsorbent material
binding forces to the adsorbent material. Highly tion isotherms describing the relation between is regenerated. The amount of impurities re-
volatile components with low polarity, such as partial pressure of a component and its equili- moved from a gas stream within one cycle
hydrogen, are practically non-adsorbable as brium loading on the adsorbent material for a corresponds to the difference of adsorption to
opposed to molecules as N2, CO, CO2, hydrocar- given temperature. desorption loading.
bons and water vapour. Consequently, these
impurities can be adsorbed from a hydrogen- After termination of regeneration, pressure is
containing stream and high purity hydrogen is increased back to adsorption pressure level and
recovered. the process starts again from the beginning.
Qualitative ranking of adsorption forces Pressure swing adsorption plant in Leuna, Germany
Hydrogen weak
Oxygen
Argon
Nitrogen
Carbon monoxide
Methane
Carbon dioxide
Ethane
Ethylene
Propane
Butane
Propylene
Ammonia
Hydrogen sulfide
Mercaptanes
BTX
Water strong
5
Adsorption isotherms
Adsorption loading
0C
Differential loading
30C
50C
Desorption loading
200C
PD Partial pressure PA
Desorption pressure Adsorption pressure
Scope of work.
Purging (regeneration) The typical scope of supply
Final desorption and regeneration is performed of Lindes PSA units includes:
at the lowest pressure of the PSA sequence. Prefabricated valve skid
Highly pure hydrogen obtained from an adsorber Adsorber vessels
in the provide purge step, is used to purge the Specially selected adsorbent material
desorbed impurities into the tail gas system. Tail gas drum
The residual loading on the adsorbent material is Process control system
reduced to a minimum to achieve high efficiency
of the PSA cycle. The scope can be altered to best suit clients
needs. Based on the customers requirements,
Repressurization (steps R1/R0) feed gas compressor or tail gas compressor
Before restarting adsorption, the regenerated systems can be offered through Linde as a
adsorber must be pressurized again. This is integrated PSA solution.
accomplished in the pressure equalization step
by using pure hydrogen from adsorbers presently
under depressurization. Since final adsorption
pressure cannot be reached with pressure
equalization steps, repressurization to adsorp-
tion pressure is carried out with a split stream
from the hydrogen product line.
Having reached the required pressure level PSA valve skid
Adsorber A
Pressure
Adsorption E1 R0
PP R1
D
Regeneration
Adsorber B
R0 Adsorption E1
R1
PP D
Regeneration
Adsorber C
R0 Adsorption
E1
D PP
Regeneration R1
Adsorber D
R0 Adsorption
E1
PP D
Regeneration R1
Time
7
The advantages.
The Linde high performance PSA units provide
remarkable advantages such as:
Lindes expertise in adsorption technology Availability Modular design and prefabricated equipment
Based on customers requirements, the Linde The Linde PSA systems are characterized by an Lindes high performance PSA systems are pre-
PSA specialists will select the optimum PSA outstanding availability of hydrogen supply. fabricated to a maximum extent. The valve skids
system for the specific purification task in terms With its special features such as operation with containing switching and control valves, instru-
of optimum ratio between plant performance reduced number of adsorbers, adsorber group mentation and interconnecting piping are com-
and investment cost. isolation and redundant control system, Lindes pletely prefabricated, preassembled and tested
PSA units achieve virtually 100% on-stream prior to delivery. This design philosophy reduces
Quality performance and availability. time and costs for erection and commissioning
The high switching cycles of PSA units require on site to and absolute minimum.
special equipment distinguished by a high de- Flexibility
gree of durability. Linde only applies qualified Excellent flexibility to match actual clients Easy maintenance
components, which meet these demands per- needs are achieved with Lindes PSA systems Maintenance is limited to easy and quick rou-
fectly and which are proven during many years as they are capable of providing a high degree tine actions which can be carried out by the
of experience. of flexibility to cope with feed gas conditions operators on site. Highest attention is given to
and varying hydrogen demand. a proper accessibility of all valves and instru-
Reliability ments inside the valve skid. Assistance from
The use of selected and suitable components Linde is hence normally not required but is
implies the high reliability of Lindes PSA sys- certainly available at any time convenient to
tems. Especially high performance switching client.
valves are used in Lindes PSA process.
Collaborate. Innovate. Deliver.
Lindes Engineering Division is a leading player in the international plant engineering business. Across the globe, we have
delivered more than 4,000 plants and cover every step in the design, project management and construction of turnkey
industrial facilities. Our proven process and technology know-how plays an indispensable role in the success of our customers
across multiple industries from crude oil, natural gas extraction and refining to chemical and metal processing.
At Linde, we value trusted, lasting business relationships with our customers. We listen carefully and collaborate closely with
you to meet your needs. This connection inspires us to develop innovative process technologies and equipment at our high-
tech R&D centres, labs and pilot plants designed in close collaboration with our strategic partners and delivered with passion
by our employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide.
From the desert to the Arctic, from small- to world-scale, from standardised to customised builds, our specialists develop plant
solutions that operate reliably and cost-effectively under all conditions.
You can always rely on us to deliver the solutions and services that best fit your needs anywhere in the world.