In the selection of air separation equipment, large and medium-sized air separation units commonly adopt the full low-pressure process. This process, with its advantages of low energy consumption, high production capacity, stable operation, and high safety, has become the mainstream technology for large and medium-sized air separation plants, meeting the needs of industrialized large-scale continuous production.
Energy conservation and consumption reduction are the core reasons for selecting the fully low-pressure process. The fully low-pressure process operates at a low pressure overall, eliminating the need for high-pressure compression by air compressors, thereby significantly reducing compression power consumption. Large and medium-sized air separation equipment produce a large amount of gas. Under long-term operating conditions, the energy-saving advantage is fully amplified, effectively reducing the energy consumption cost of enterprise production and achieving significant economic benefits. This is a core advantage that cannot be matched by the medium- and high-pressure processes.
The equipment configuration of this process is highly compatible with large and medium-sized production conditions. The fully low-pressure process is equipped with a turbine air compressor and a turbine expander, which are suitable for high-flow, low-pressure conditions. The single machine has high production capacity and can meet large-scale gas production needs. At the same time, the equipment structure is simple, and it is paired with room temperature molecular sieve purification and high-efficiency plate-fin heat exchangers, which provide high system compatibility and good heat transfer efficiency, ensuring long-term stable operation of the equipment.
In addition, the full low-pressure process offers superior safety and cost-effectiveness in operation and maintenance. The overall system pressure is low, and the pressure load on equipment and pipelines is small, significantly reducing safety risks such as leakage and overpressure. The equipment experiences minimal wear, has a low failure rate, and requires long maintenance intervals, resulting in low operation and maintenance costs. Furthermore, large-scale production can amortize the cost per unit of gas produced and the land occupation cost, making the overall investment extremely cost-effective. It is suitable for the long-term, uninterrupted industrial production mode of large and medium-sized air separation equipment.
