The determination of the operating cycle of the air separation equipment is mainly based on the time interval between the gradual accumulation of trace carbon dioxide into the air separation tower and the inability to continue operation due to blockage. Under normal conditions, the continuous operation time of the full low-pressure Oxygen concentrator should be more than one year, and the continuous operation time of the new molecular sieve adsorption process can be more than two years. However, in actual operation, the situation is much more complex than the design situation. The main factors affecting the operation cycle include the continuous working capacity of Oxygen concentrator equipment and operating machinery, the quality of heating and purging before startup, the level of operation during startup and normal operation, and the size of air load.
The reason why the Oxygen concentrator needs to be shut down for maintenance before reaching the specified period is mostly due to the failure of operating machinery and switching system. It is mainly the failure of air compressor, expander and liquid oxygen pump. At the same time, the forced valve and automatic valve of air separation, the internal leakage of some heat exchangers, the damage and internal leakage of the internal low-temperature valve, the fatigue fracture of the pipeline expansion joint, etc. will make the Oxygen concentrator need to be shut down for maintenance halfway.
Extending the operating cycle of air separation equipment has great economic significance. It can reduce standby machines, reduce maintenance time, save funds, and produce more products such as oxygen and nitrogen. Therefore, careful management and maintenance should be carried out during operation.
DEAR Air Separation continues to strengthen its efforts in intellectual property protection and focuses on the construction of an intellectual property management system. The company has a dual stage fractionation tower with liquid lift enhancement function for low-pressure air separation units, a device for producing low-temperature clean air, an ultra-low pressure air separation unit, and a gas monitoring terminal system with self-organizing network function More than 20 patents and software works, including remote optimization control and diagnostic systems for large-scale air separation units. The research and development of unmanned technology (system) for air separation equipment will become another challenging project for the company's innovative research and development.
