The performance of air separation equipment has multiple requirements for environmental conditions, including altitude, atmospheric pressure, ambient temperature, air humidity, and the content of impurities in the air.
As the altitude increases, atmospheric pressure and air density will decrease, which will affect the compression efficiency and separation effect of air separation equipment. Therefore, when operating in high-altitude areas, corresponding measures need to be taken to improve the performance of the air separation equipment.
Atmospheric pressure is an important influencing factor on the performance of air separation equipment. Generally, the atmospheric pressure is around 0.1 MPa. When atmospheric pressure decreases, it will cause an increase in the compression ratio of the air compressor, thereby increasing compression energy consumption and leading to an overall increase in energy consumption of the air separation equipment.
The environmental temperature also has a significant impact on the performance of air separation equipment. When the ambient temperature rises, the exhaust volume of the air compressor will decrease, the exhaust temperature will increase, the shaft power will increase, and the cooling loss will increase. This requires more cooling capacity to balance the cooling loss, resulting in an increase in equipment energy consumption.
Air humidity is also an important factor affecting the performance of air separation equipment. When the air humidity increases, a part of the work of the air compressor will be consumed in compressing water vapor, resulting in an increase in the shaft power of the air compressor. In addition, high humidity may also affect the adsorption effect of molecular sieves and reduce the purification capacity of air separation equipment.
Impurities such as CO ₂ in the air can have a negative impact on the performance of air separation equipment. These impurities enter the air compressor with the air and then enter the air separation equipment, causing significant damage to the machine and blocking the equipment channels.
