Large air separation FAQ

In the fractionating column, the separation of oxygen and nitrogen is realized through the process of two-stage distillation in the upper and lower columns. The distillation process must have ascending air and downflow liquid, and the main function of the condensing evaporator is to exchange heat between the liquid oxygen returned from the bottom of the upper column and the nitrogen rising from the top of the lower column. Condensing evaporator is an indispensable heat exchange equipment in air separation distillation system. In a sense, condensing evaporator is the link between upper column and lower column. The condensing evaporator is also called "main cooling". In the condensing evaporator, the liquid oxygen returned from the upper column absorbs heat and evaporates the gas oxygen; the rising nitrogen in the lower column is condensed into liquid nitrogen due to heat release. A part of the gas oxygen is sent out of the column as the product, and the rest is sent to the upper colu

At present, there are two types of common condensing evaporators in domestic air separation units, plate fin condensing evaporator and tubular condensing evaporator. Tubular condensing evaporator is divided into three types: long tube, short tube and coil. The long tube and short tube are all in row. The tube is made of red copper and the tube sheet is made of brass. It is generally used in small and medium-sized air separation plants. Coil type is generally used for auxiliary condensing evaporator. Because there is no fixed liquid level in the coil, the heat transfer coefficient is small, so it has been gradually eliminated. The plate fin condenser evaporator is made of all aluminum structure, and the plate unit is arranged in vertical star shape. Its characteristics are compact structure, light weight, small volume and easy to manufacture. It is widely used in large and medium air separation plants. Due to the gradual enlargement of the air separation unit, the heat excha

The air is mainly composed of 78.03% nitrogen and 20.93% oxygen and other gases. Air separation is to cool the air to a certain low temperature firstly and liquefy it into liquid air. Reuse two liquids oxygen and nitrogen with different boiling points (At atmospheric pressure, the boiling point of oxygen is - 183.98°C and that of nitrogen is - 195.8°C), separation is carried out in an air fractionator equipped with sieve plates. The air separation column is also called distillation column. Air distillation column can be divided into single-stage distillation column and double-stage distillation column, and single-stage distillation column can only produce one kind of pure product. Two stage distillation column is used to produce high purity nitrogen and oxygen in common air separation unit.

The purified air enters the fractionator and exchanges heat with the returned polluted nitrogen, oxygen and nitrogen through the main heat exchanger. After cooling, a small part of it is liquefied, and the gas-liquid mixed air is throttled to the pressure of 0.55 MPa. After distillation, 99.999% pure nitrogen is obtained at the top of the lower column, and then it enters the main cooling column, and is condensed into liquid nitrogen by evaporation of liquid oxygen in the upper column. A part of liquid nitrogen is returned to the lower column as reflux liquid, and the remaining liquid nitrogen is throttled after cooling. Enter the sprayer at the top of the upper column. The bottom residue is liquid air containing 38% oxygen. After passing through the liquid air subcooler, it enters the middle of the upper column to participate in distillation. At the same time, the polluted liquid nitrogen flow is drawn out from the middle of the lower column and then enters the upper column as reflux l

Temperature difference is the power of heat transfer. As long as there is temperature difference between two materials, they will carry out the heat or cold transfer spontaneously. The heat is always transferred from the fluid with higher temperature to the lower temperature fluid. Although the heat transfer process of various heat exchangers is not identical, the heat transfer law is basically the same. The following is an example of the most widely used dividing wall heat exchanger: heat is transferred from hot fluid to cold fluid through the wall and flows in the opposite direction. The whole heat transfer process is divided into three stages. In the first stage, convection heat transfer: the heat flow body transmits heat to the wall surface. This process not only has heat transfer caused by the relative displacement of each part of the fluid, but also has heat conduction in the fluid, which is the comprehensive function of convection and heat conduction. In the second

After a long-term operation of the air separation plant, the components in the cryogenic equipment and pipelines in the distillation system will be blocked due to ice or mechanical powder, which will increase the resistance of the fractionator. When the air separation plant has been in normal operation for about 2 years, the fractionator system should be heated and thawed to remove these deposits. When the molecular sieve adsorber and the main heat exchanger have water inflow or other faults, it is also necessary to stop and heat up. In general, the following methods will be used for heating and thawing.

After a long-term operation of the air separation plant, the components in the low-temperature equipment and pipelines of the distillation system will be blocked due to the internal precipitation of icing or mechanical powder, which will increase the resistance of the fractionating column. Therefore, after the normal operation of the air separation plant for about 2 years, the fractionating column system should be heated and thawed to remove these sediments. When the molecular sieve adsorber and the main heat exchanger have water or other faults, they must also be stopped for heating. The following describes several heating and thawing operation methods: