Cost of large air separation plant

During the start-up phase, when the liquid volume accumulates in the condensing evaporator, the gas and liquid mixture will pass through the liquid air and liquid nitrogen throttle valves. When the throttle valve begins to close, due to the large opening of the valve, when the amount of gas and liquid mixture from the lower column to the upper column changes little, and the pressure of the lower column does not increase significantly, it means that the temperature difference of the condensing evaporator has not increased. At this time, the condensing evaporator and the surrounding insulation have been cooled to the low temperature required by the liquid accumulation stage. Due to a large amount of cold production and a large amount of gas liquefaction, the liquid evaporation in the condensing evaporator is also increased. The rising steam produced prevents the flow of liquid from the sieve plate hole, and gradually accumulates liquid on the tray, so the liquid level will drop. In ad