Scalable sorption gas separator and method of operation

Abstract

A rotating toroid for supporting a plurality of sorbent vessels therein, the rotating toroid having a sealing assembly. The rotating toroid is fluidly isolated from a stationary stator assembly having a stationary duct and a stationary sealing assembly. The sealing assembly of the rotating toroid and the sealing assembly of the stationary stator assembly function in cooperation with one another to fluidly isolate the plurality of sorbent vessels. As the toroid rotates about its axis of rotation, each of the plurality of vessels passes each of the stationary sealing assemblies, allowing fluid to flow from one stationary assembly through the sorbent vessels to another stationary sealing assembly, allowing the sorbent vessels to sorb or desorb fluid components.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to a sorption gas separator having a transfer vessel containing a solid sorbent, and more particularly to the structural details. [Background technology]

[0002] Large scale chemical separations are typically performed using distillation techniques. The requirement to remove large amounts of CO2 from dilute gas streams of industrial emissions using various techniques, such as adsorption separation, is a very challenging technical problem.

[0003] For example, adsorptive separations using liquid amines require large contactor towers to allow for the exchange of CO2 between the bulk gas and the amine-containing liquid.

[0004] Sorption gas separation processes with advantageous smaller volume contactors using solid sorbents have been developed. One such technology using a rapid cycle humidity swing process was demonstrated at a modest CO2 separation capacity of 10,000 metric tons per year (MTPY) from a flue gas stream. A rotary sorption gas separator with a 4 meter diameter contactor containing 1-2 metric tons (MT) of sorbent material was used with a process cycle time as short as 1 minute. However, CO2 separation and purification at this small scale from flue gas is likely not economically viable due to the high capital costs relative to the potential revenues derived from CO2 separation. While this modest size demonstration proves the viability of the process and sorbent system, scaling up the machinery to perform CO2 separation at millions of metric tons per year presents novel challenges.

[0005] Adsorption gas separation processes and systems, such as temperature swing sorption, pressure swing sorption, vacuum swing sorption and partial pressure swing sorption, are known in the art for their use in the sorptive gas separation of multicomponent fluid mixtures.

[0006] Conventional temperature swing sorption gas separation processes typically employ two basic steps, a sorption step and a regeneration step. During the sorption step, a feed stream, such as a multi-component fluid mixture at a lower temperature, typically flows into a sorption gas separator having a contactor containing a sorbent material, which can sorb the target components of the feed stream and separate the sorbed target components from the remaining components of the feed stream. A first product stream can then be recovered from the contactor and the sorption gas separator that is reduced in the target components compared to the feed stream. That is, the concentration of the target components in the first product stream is lower than the concentration of the target components in the feed stream.

[0007] During one or more subsequent regeneration steps, at least one fluid stream typically flows into the sorption gas separator and contactor at a higher temperature to increase the temperature of the sorbent material and release or desorb the sorbed target components from the sorbent material, allowing for periodic reuse of the sorbent material.

[0008] A second product stream can then be recovered from the contactor and sorption gas separator that is enriched in the target component relative to the feed stream, more specifically, the concentration of the target component in the second product stream is greater than the concentration of the target component in the feed stream.

[0009] During the optional cooling or conditioning step, a lower temperature fluid stream typically flows into the sorption gas separator and contactor to reduce the temperature of the sorbent material for the subsequent sorption step. Generally, the sorption, regeneration and conditioning steps can then be repeated sequentially.

[0010] Some sorption gas separation processes that use a moisture swing sorbent regeneration step can have 4 to 8 process steps and 3 to 6 inlet process streams.

[0011] In conventional sorptive gas separation processes and systems, the energy consumed for regeneration of the sorbent material can typically account for a large portion of the operating costs of such systems and processes, and such costs typically act as a barrier to widespread adoption and realization of conventional sorptive gas separation technologies. Typically, more complex cycles are created to improve the separation performance of the process, for example, by using additional purging steps to increase product purity, or by using multiple sorbent conditioning steps to improve control of the sorbent moisture loading and sorbent temperature.

[0012] The sorption gas separator can be configured with multiple sorbent beds, multiple sorbent contactors, or multiple zones, e.g., multiple discrete sorbent beds or contactors, where at least one contactor moves through multiple substantially fluidly separated fixed zones within the sorption gas separator while performing different steps of the sorption gas separation process.

[0013] The sorption gas separator may also be configured such that the various fluid streams fed to and recovered from the sorption gas separator are fed and collected at fixed locations while the sorbent beds or contactors or zones move.

[0014] Sorption gas separators having a moving or rotating solid sorbent present several design challenges, such as achieving short cycle times for the sorption gas process, achieving adequate sealing of the various fluid streams between moving and static components, limiting undesirable heat transfer between beds, contactors and / or zones within the sorption gas separator that results in undesirable degradation of sorption gas separator and process performance, etc. Additionally, thermal cycling of components within such devices can undesirably shorten the life of some sorption gas separator or sorbent contactor components.

[0015] The amount of sorbent used to perform gas separation is generally inversely proportional to the cycle duration. Thus, the ability to perform rapid sorption process cycles has a large impact on the size of the sorption gas separator and the economic viability of the process.

[0016] As the global demand for CO2 removal exceeds 1 GT per year, commercial facilities with gas separation capacities of, for example, 200,000 MTPY to 2,000,000 MTPY are desired. To meet the desired global gas separation capacities, efficient designs of rapid cycle sorption gas separators are required that can rapidly move 20 MT to 400 MT of sorbent material through a set of process steps in minutes to tens of seconds.

[0017] Scaling up a sorption gas separator using a rotating sorbent wheel presents multiple challenges, including designing a sorption gas separator structure that is as lightweight as possible while allowing accurate and repeatable seal positioning and sealing performance at the rotor-stator interface. The size of the final structure also makes it difficult to transport the structure or components to the site.

[0018] Additional challenges in large-scale sorption gas separators include rapidly switching between streams fed to and withdrawn from the sorbent while achieving adequate containment of the process and product gas streams in the sorption gas separator; for example, within one minute, the sorbent vessel may be in contact with at least four different process streams. Thus, the time available to open and close passages to the sorbent vessel when switching streams is short.

[0019] Small-scale sorption gas separators can be constructed such that the sorbent is contained in two or more enclosures or vessels mounted on a rotor driven by and rotating around a central shaft. Passages in the enclosures or vessels allow different streams to enter and exit the enclosures to contact the sorbent. A sorption gas separator using a pressure swing process with a rotor typically having an outer diameter of less than 2 meters is disclosed in EP 3613491. The dynamic or moving enclosure or vessel may have sealing surfaces or counterface plates that move and slide against a fixed sealing surface or fixed sealing surfaces of the stator to form a seal between the vessel and the surrounding environment, as well as between the vessels, allowing the process and product gas streams to pass through the sealing surfaces and counterface plates into the vessel. Manufacturing and deployment of large components, such as fixed sealing surfaces and / or moving counterface plates having spans of more than 5 meters, presents challenges, such as the cost of manufacturing and installing components with the necessary tight tolerances for the desired sealing (e.g., tolerances of less than 1 millimeter over distances of more than about 5 meters), as well as handling and transportation of large components. During operation of this type of sorption gas separator, the challenges of maintaining alignment between the moving and fixed sealing surfaces, thermal expansion and contraction of each sealing surface or counterface plate over a large span, can impair effective mating of the components and lead to leakage of the process and product gas streams. Another challenge of such large-scale sorption gas separators can be the application and transfer of the motive force required to accelerate and move the sorbent (which can weigh more than about 10 metric tons) and associated hardware while overcoming friction between the fixed sealing surface and the moving or sliding sealing surfaces, such as the moving counterface plate and the fixed sealing surface. Applying the motive force to move the entire weight of the sorbent and associated hardware through a single point can result in deflection of the part and localized stresses that require oversizing the part, thus increasing the cost of the part.An additional challenge of large scale sorption gas separators is the large footprint or area occupied by the sorption gas separator, especially in applications where available space is limited, for example, retrofit applications where the sorption gas separator is added to an existing facility or plant, such as a power plant.

[0020] The life cycle costs of sorption gas separators must be considered for commercial operation and acceptance of the various technologies. The capital cost or strength of a sorption gas separator can be evaluated by assessing the amount of structure required to control the location and movement of the sorbent vessel.

[0021] Maintenance of the sorption gas separator can include replacement and / or maintenance of assemblies and parts, such as sorbent materials, seals, and other parts with time limits. Raised and / or load-bearing structures along with conduits for process and product gas streams typically surround the sorbent gas separator on all sides, which limits access to the assemblies and parts and prevents their replacement. Limited accessibility to parts introduces complications, delays, and increased downtime, impacts, and costs of maintenance.

[0022] Sealing the interfaces between moving toroids functioning as multiple stream separation systems requires high tolerances on the surface roughness of the seal's counter faces, especially in large radius systems (e.g., greater than 4 meters in diameter). Traditional prior art seals require a root mean square (RMS) roughness of the counter faces of at least 0.4 microns or less, with higher quality seals requiring RMS roughness as low as 0.1 microns or even 0.01 microns. Such very smooth surfaces over large areas of such systems that are economical to operate are very difficult or expensive to manufacture and maintain in large scale gas separation systems. There is therefore a great incentive to create sealing systems that can achieve low leak rates. A seal to address these shortcomings in the prior art is the subject of the present invention.

[0023] Traditionally, large scale gas processing equipment and facilities have been uniquely designed and manufactured for a single specific application, process, and site. Modular designs that allow for mass production with reduced on-site manufacturing and installation costs are also desirable.

[0024] The present invention provides a solution for sorption gas separation processes and applications, such as the separation of CO from industrial, commercial, process, combustion or flue gas streams, where the gas stream from which components are desirably separated has a large gas flow rate (>20,000 Nm 3 / h) and low pressure (<100 kPag). The solution includes providing an effective sorption gas separator design to move sorbent contactors between process streams and recover the effluent of the process streams without significant leakage, and a novel multi-stream changeover valve design with a novel sealing system design that allows for long seal life and high seal performance at lower leak rates than can be used in larger scale sorption gas separators, e.g., greater than 5 m diameter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0025] [Patent Document 1] European Patent Application Publication No. 3613491 Summary of the Invention

[0026] In a broad aspect of the invention, a multi-stream diverter valve comprises a rotating toroid, a set of ducts and duct connectors, a support structure for the tribes and wheels that not only support the toroid but also position the set of ducts and duct connectors to form a stator assembly, and a sealing assembly that includes a flexible mounted sealing part that contacts the rotating toroid and undergoes friction. In an embodiment, the rotating toroid can be supported by wheels that are mounted on at least one circular rail and positioned in a fixed position and distributed in angular increments to simultaneously contact the circular rail, the wheels providing both counter forces to the static load of the toroid, with at least one wheel providing the motive force to rotate the toroid. In a further embodiment, at least one face of the toroid is substantially flat or in the shape of a truncated cone and is adapted to be used as an interface for a sliding seal or sealing surface of the toroid incorporated therein.

[0027] In another broad aspect of the invention, a sliding sealing system for a toroidal shaped multiple stream changeover valve includes an inner diameter flexible sealing ring further comprising a plurality of wearable segments having a Mohs hardness of less than 4; an outer diameter flexible sealing ring further comprising a plurality of wearable segments having a Mohs hardness of less than 4 and free to move in the direction of the axis of rotation of the toroid; a compression element for compressing the wearable segments to apply a distributed force in the direction of the sliding sealing surface; and a radial sealing element disposed between and in contact with the inner diameter sealing ring and the outer diameter sealing ring for separating various streams entering and leaving the multiple stream changeover valve, the sealing system may be configured to provide stream separation for 2 to 20 inlet streams while preventing leakage of the process streams into the ambient environment or leakage of ambient environment fluid into the process streams.

[0028] In another broad aspect, a rotating toroid comprises at least one circular rail operatively connected to an inner diameter of the rotating toroid, and a set of wheels positioned in fixed positions and distributed at angular increments along the inner diameter to contact the at least one circular rail, the set of wheels adapted to provide a force to counter a static load of the toroid, at least one wheel of the set of wheels adapted to provide a motive force to rotate the toroid without being driven or supported by a central shaft, and the toroid further includes at least one substantially flat surface adapted to be used as an interface for at least one sliding seal, or at least one sealing surface, integrated with a sorption separator or a multi-stream switching valve.

[0029] Furthermore, in another broad aspect of the present invention, a sorption gas separator comprises a rotating toroid having at least one circular rail operatively connected to an inner diameter of the rotating toroid, and a set of wheels positioned in fixed positions and distributed at angular increments along the inner diameter to contact the at least one circular rail, the set of wheels adapted to provide a force to counter a static load of the toroid, at least one wheel of the set of wheels adapted to provide a motive force for rotating the toroid without being driven or supported by a central shaft, and the toroid further includes at least one substantially flat surface adapted to be used as an interface surface for at least one sliding seal, or at least one sealing surface, integrated with the sorption separator or a multi-stream switching valve. In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator may further comprise a plurality of sorbent vessels including sorbent contactors, a set of ducts and duct connectors, a support structure for drives and wheels that not only support the toroids but also position the set of ducts and duct connectors to form a stator assembly, and a sealing assembly including a flexible mounted sealing part that contacts the moving toroid sealing surface or surfaces, the sealing assembly undergoes friction, and the sorption gas separator is adapted to be connected to at least one duct for conveying a feed stream, a duct for conveying a regenerator stream, a duct for conveying a product stream, and a duct for conveying a waste product stream.

[0030] In another broad aspect of the invention, a sorption gas separator for separating a first component from a multi-component fluid stream comprises a toroid having at least one circular rail operatively connected to an inner diameter of the rotating toroid, and a set of wheels disposed in fixed positions and distributed at angular increments along the inner diameter to contact the at least one circular rail, the set of wheels adapted to provide a reaction force to a static load of the toroid, at least one wheel of the set of wheels adapted to provide a motive force for rotating the toroid without being driven or supported by a central shaft, and the toroid further includes at least one substantially flat surface adapted to be used as an interface surface for at least one sliding seal, or at least one sealing surface, integrated with the sorption separator or multi-stream switching valve. In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator includes a plurality of vessels, each of which is movable and contains a sorbent for sorbing the first component from the multi-component fluid stream therein; at least one stator-side sealing assembly having a duct connector, an inner circumferential seal, an outer circumferential seal, and a radial seal; a plurality of motors for transmitting motive power to the plurality of vessels; and a first process stream duct for directing the multi-component fluid stream as a feed stream to the plurality of vessels, the first process stream duct being substantially fixed. a first product stream duct for conducting a first product stream withdrawn from said plurality of said vessels, said first product stream duct being substantially fixed; a second process stream duct for conducting a first recycle stream to said plurality of said vessels, said first recycle stream duct being substantially fixed; and a second product stream duct for conducting a second product stream withdrawn from said plurality of said vessels, said second product stream duct being substantially fixed.

[0031] In a further aspect of the invention, a sorption gas separator comprises a rotating assembly for rotating about an axis, the rotating assembly having a toroidal support structure with an inner surface located at an inner circumference of the rotating assembly, an outer surface located at an outer circumference of the rotating assembly, a first span located between the inner surface and the outer surface, and a second span located between the inner surface and the outer surface, a plurality of vessels mountable within the toroidal support structure and enclosing a solid sorbent, the plurality of vessels having an inlet and an outlet in fluid communication with the solid sorbent, and at least one protrusion mounted on the inner surface of the rotating assembly. In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator further comprises a stationary assembly having a plurality of drive wheels coupled to a plurality of motors for transmitting motive force for moving the rotating assembly about the axis, and at least one sealing system for directing an inlet stream into the plurality of vessels and recovering a product stream from the plurality of vessels, the at least one sealing system including a rotor sealing surface and a stator side mounted sealing assembly, the stationary assembly being disposed on the inner surface of the rotating assembly.

[0032] In yet another broad aspect of the invention, a method of operating a sorption gas separator to separate a first component from a multi-component fluid stream includes providing a rotating toroid having at least one circular rail operatively connected to an inner diameter of the rotating toroid, and a set of wheels positioned in fixed positions and distributed at angular increments along the inner diameter to contact the at least one circular rail, the set of wheels adapted to provide a force countering a static load of the toroid, at least one wheel of the set of wheels adapted to provide a motive force for rotating the toroid without being driven or supported by a central shaft, the toroid further including at least one substantially flat surface adapted to be used as an interface surface for at least one sliding seal, or at least one sealing surface, integrated with the sorption separator or multi-stream switching valve. In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator may further comprise a plurality of sorbent vessels including sorbent contactors, a set of ducts and duct connectors, a support structure for drives and wheels that not only support the toroids but also position the set of ducts and duct connectors to form a stator assembly, and a sealing assembly including a flexible mounted sealing part that contacts the moving toroid sealing surface or surfaces, the sealing assembly undergoes friction, and the sorption gas separator is adapted to be connected to at least one duct for conveying a feed stream, a duct for conveying a regenerator stream, a duct for conveying a product stream, and a duct for conveying a waste product stream.In an embodiment, the method further includes transmitting motive force from the plurality of motors to a toroid to move the plurality of vessels; fluidly connecting the plurality of vessels to a feed stream duct and a first product stream duct; directing the multi-component fluid stream as a feed stream to the plurality of vessels, sorbing the first component onto the sorbent of the plurality of vessels to form a first product stream depleted in the first component relative to the feed stream, withdrawing the first product stream from the plurality of vessels and directing the first product stream into the first product stream duct; fluidly connecting the sorbent of the plurality of vessels to a first regenerator duct and a second product stream duct; directing the first regenerator stream to the plurality of vessels, desorbing the first component from the plurality of vessels to form a second product stream enriched in the first component relative to the feed stream, withdrawing the second product stream from the plurality of vessels and directing the second product stream into the second product stream duct. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention illustrating a sorption gas separator comprising a rotating toroidal assembly having a sorbent canister fluidly connected to a number of static ducts and diffusers disposed above and below the toroidal assembly. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of the sorption gas separator shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention showing a toroidal assembly having a support frame and a sorbent vessel including opposing face plates. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3 showing an embodiment of a support frame and a sorbent vessel including an opposing face plate. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of one embodiment of the present invention showing a support frame and multiple moving counterface plates. [Figure 6]FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of one embodiment of the present invention showing a toroidal assembly including multiple sorbent canisters, multiple motors for moving the toroidal assembly, and multiple ducts and diffusers. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention showing a toroidal support structure and multiple motors utilized to move the toroidal support structure. [Figure 8] Figure 8a is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention showing the sorbent container, connector, and bottom of the counter face plate, and Figure 8b is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention showing a flexible connector that allows the counter face plate to flex in at least one direction. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the components of one embodiment of the present invention showing a toroidal assembly, a sorbent container, and multiple diffusers. [Figure 10] Figure 10a is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional plan view of one embodiment of the present invention showing a toroidal assembly mounted on cantilevers and rails and supported by a set of wheels and axles, and Figure 10b is a schematic top view of the toroidal assembly of Figure 10a showing the position of the set of wheels relative to the toroidal assembly. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed view of one embodiment of the present invention showing a portion of a sorption gas separator forming a multi-stream switching valve. [Figure 12] Figure 12a is a perspective cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention showing an inner diameter seal, and Figure 12b is a perspective cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 12a showing an inner diameter seal, an outer diameter seal, and multiple radial seals. [Figure 13] Photograph of the sorption gas separator frame from Example 1, including a rotor supported by a motorized wheel on the inner diameter of the toroidal assembly. The inner diameter of the sorption gas separator is about 10 meters, and the outer diameter of the sorption gas separator is about 14 meters. [Figure 14]14 is a graph of load on the y-axis and time on the x-axis, where plot 1401 shows the vertical load on one of eight wheels supporting an exemplary toroidal structure of Example 1 versus time when the toroid rotates at approximately 1 rpm, and plot 1402 shows the total weight of the toroidal structure. [Figure 15] 1 is a graph depicting a plot of the vertical profile along a circular path on the bottom sealing surface measured 7 meters from the center of rotation versus position on the y-axis and angular position on the x-axis and angular position of the toroid of Example 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] [Definition]: Machine: Sorption Gas Separator or Gas Separator. The terms machine, separator, gas separator and sorption gas separator may be used interchangeably herein.

[0035] Vessel: An enclosure having an inlet and an outlet for containing a solid sorbent. The terms vessel and sorbent vessel may be used interchangeably herein.

[0036] Counterface: A mating surface that preferably mates with a rotor or driving side sealing element or sealing surface. Typical materials for the counterface include steel and sealing element materials include Teflon. The terms counterface and driving sealing surface are used interchangeably herein.

[0037] C v or Valve Flow Coefficient: The volume (in U.S. gallons) of 60°F water that flows through a valve per minute with a 1 psi pressure drop across the valve.

[0038] SAB: A structured sorbent bed that includes substantially uniformly distributed flow channels between sorbent structures such as sheets, ribbons, high surface area extrudates, etc. SABs can also include honeycomb-like structures having walls coated with or containing sorbent material. The terms structured sorbent bed, SAB, sorbent contactor, and contactor may be used interchangeably herein.

[0039] Degrees of Freedom: Pertaining to the translation or direction of movement of a rigid object on the X, Y, and Z axes, and the rotation about each of these axes.

[0040] Designed Degree of Freedom: After eliminating small deformations due to applied forces, the remaining degree of freedom that any part of an assembly may move or orient. For example, a wagon on a track has one designed degree of freedom. A scissor lift mounted on a wagon has an additional degree of freedom due to the elevation of the lift in addition to the position of the wagon along the track.

[0041] Diffuser: Also called a duct connector, it expands the flow cross section from a small cross section at the duct connection to a larger cross section at the interface with the rotor assembly.

[0042] Duct: A passage or conduit for directing and containing a fluid stream.

[0043] Duct Connector: A transition vessel that directs and contains fluid between a duct and an inlet or outlet discharge surface that is located proximate to the rotor sealing face and encompasses a radial segment of the sealing face.

[0044] Rotor: or rotor assembly, the structure that is rotated or moved during operation of a multi-stream diverter valve or during operation of a sorption separator. The terms rotor, toroidal assembly, toroidal assembly, and rotating assembly may be used interchangeably herein.

[0045] Span: The distance or dimension between two points substantially in a lateral or horizontal plane, e.g., the distance or dimension between an outer diameter and an inner diameter substantially in a lateral or horizontal plane when the diameters are measured from a common central axis.

[0046] Process Gas: A fluid that is fed to or admitted into a sorption gas separator, such as a feed stream, regeneration stream, and / or cooling stream.

[0047] Product Gas: The fluid stream recovered from the sorption gas separator, e.g., the first product stream, the second product stream.

[0048] Seal(s): An element that prevents gas flow at the interface between different parts, for example, the rotor sealing surface and the stator gas manifold or the removable sorbent vessel and the rotor.

[0049] Torus or Toroid: A three-dimensional object having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape along a plane substantially perpendicular to a selected axis of rotation. A torus or toroid may be substantially extruded or extended from an annular flat surface in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation or annular base, and may optionally have shapes with different circular cross-sections and dimensions at different distances from the base or face in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation or face. The terms torus and toroid may be used interchangeably herein.

[0050] [explanation] With reference to FIG. 1, the sorption gas separator 100 comprises a support element 110 for the ground, a rotating assembly 120 in the shape of a toroid containing a number of sorbent vessels, and two sets of a number of ducts 130 for fluid connection between the stator and the rotating assembly 120, each supported on the stator. The ducts can be substantially fixed or fixed. As shown, the exemplary figure has been added for scale, including a loading platform to handle the mounting of the sorbent vessels to the rotating assembly. In this example, the external or outer diameter of the machine is about 24 meters and has 48 sorbent vessels containing a total of about 150 cubic meters of sorption material. The carbon dioxide purification capacity of this machine will be between 1000 and 3000 metric tons per day, depending on the flue gas feed composition.

[0051] 2, a plurality of ducts 130 may be fixed and are fluidly connected to a balance of plant and a process gas source (such as a flue gas source) for receiving and collecting fluid streams. The rotating assembly 120 includes a support structure with a sorbent vessel and a portion of the slide valve element that enables the multiple stream switching capabilities of the machine.

[0052] 3 and 4, the rotating assembly 120 is shown with most of the sorbent vessels 122 removed. The toroidal support structure 121 is made of multiple segments that can be assembled on-site. The toroidal support structure 121 guides the movement of the sorbent vessels 122 and some of the sliding valve elements. The toroidal support structure 121 can be made from multiple frame trusses that form a continuous toroid with multiple gaps to accommodate up to 48 sorbent vessels 122 and associated counterface plates 123 and flow control elements (not shown).

[0053] 4, a portion of the toroidal support structure 121, the sorbent canister 122, and the counter face plate 123 are shown in greater detail. As shown, a stiffening frame can be configured or otherwise utilized to reduce or minimize deformation of the sorbent canister 122 during operation and under operating pressures.

[0054] With reference to FIG. 5, several separate counterface plates 123 arranged adjacent to each other can form a semi-continuous surface on which the sealing surface slides. A set of multiple openings or perforations across the counterface plates 123 for one or more passages allows the product stream to flow through the counterface plates to fluidly connect the sorbent vessel and the duct. The space located between the passages of two adjacent counterface plates 123 overlaps with a sealing element located on the fixed side of the sealing assembly (not shown) to prevent crossover of flows between the passages of two adjacent counterface plates 123 that may be exposed to different fluid streams. For simplicity, the mounting details and the sorbent vessel 122 are not shown in FIG. 5.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 6, a set of ducts 131 and diffusers 132 are fluidly connected to each of the multiple sorbent vessels 122 to distribute the flow of the fluid stream to or from each of the multiple sorbent vessels 122. The sealing surface and associated mounting elements are not shown. The diffusers 132 are configured and sized to cover or surround the multiple openings fluidly connected to the sorbent vessels 122 and the sealing surface. In some embodiments, additional spacing elements (not shown in FIG. 6) can be placed between adjacent diffusers 132 to increase the width of the sealing surface as needed.

[0056] It should be noted that as shown, multiple sorbent vessels 122 can be in fluid contact simultaneously with one common duct diffuser 131 and therefore one common process stream. In an embodiment, multiple diffusers can be connected to a common process stream while using prefabricated repeating elements in the assembly of the stream distribution system on the stator side to increase the number of sorbent vessels in contact with the stream. This is particularly advantageous when various configurations of streams are desired in different separation applications. This allows or permits the flow stream between the inlet and outlet ducts to be substantially blocked during operation of the device and rotation of the toroid, rotor, or rotating assembly.

[0057] At selected locations, radial sealing elements (omitted from FIG. 6 but showing the gaps between the diffusers for placement of the radial sealing elements) can be secured to the stator assembly between the diffusers or duct connectors to prevent cross-flow leakage between adjacent inlet or outlet streams of different composition, pressure or temperature.

[0058] The radial seal span is greater than the span of the stator sealing face openings, and preferably may be greater than or equal to 360 degrees divided by the number of sealing face openings, the span extending between the inner diameter wear element and the outer diameter wear element.

[0059] 7, a toroidal support structure 121 for supporting and guiding a sorbent vessel is shown. As shown, in an embodiment, multiple motors and drive wheels can be evenly distributed circumferentially around the toroidal support structure 121 to move the toroidal support structure 121. Even spacing or distribution of motors also reduces reaction forces within the toroidal support structure 121 and reduces excessive deformation from the applied motive force.

[0060] As shown in Figures 8a and 8b, connector 124 can be disposed between sorbent vessel 122 and counterface plate 123. Connector 124 can include a "U" shaped element that allows movement of either sorbent vessel 122 or counterface plate 123 in a vertical or fluid stream flow direction while maintaining a pressure boundary for the process or product stream entering and leaving sorbent vessel 122. The flexibility and movement of connector 124 is desirable to accommodate thermal expansion of sorbent vessel 123 as well as forces applied to sorbent vessel 122 in a vertical or fluid stream flow direction while maintaining a desired position of counterface plate 123.

[0061] 9, the toroidal support structure 120, sorbent vessel 122, and multiple diffusers 132 are shown in more detail. The multiple diffusers 132 configured above and below the toroidal support structure 120 are mirror images in this example, but need not be. In some gas separation processes, it may be desirable to have one or more product streams configured and combined in a different manner than the process streams.

[0062] FIG. 10a shows a sorption gas separator comprising a rotating assembly 120 in the shape of a toroid, one or more projections 126 disposed on and / or substantially attached to the inner diameter of the toroid or rotating assembly 120, a rail 125 in the shape of a circle, and a plurality of drive wheels 114 for transmitting motive force to the rotating assembly 120 via the rail 125 and the one or more projections 126. The one or more projections may be cantilevered, but may be of any suitable configuration and / or shape, and support at least a portion of the weight of the rotating assembly 120. In an embodiment, each drive wheel 114 may be attached and / or coupled to a drive motor, e.g., an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, or any other suitable drive means. The plurality of drive wheels 114 support at least a portion of the weight of the rotating assembly 120.

[0063] The sorption gas separator is composed of a rotating assembly in the shape of a toroid, substantially flat surfaces at the top and bottom of the toroid that can be used as sliding sealing surfaces, ducts substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotating assembly for conveying gas to and from the sorption gas separator, and a drive mechanism located substantially within the inner diameter of the rotating assembly, providing the advantage of reducing the number of parts for supporting the weight of the rotating assembly and for driving it, located on the outer or outer diameter of the rotating assembly and the sorption gas separator. This provides substantially open access to the inner space of the toroid along the outer or outer diameter of the rotating assembly, allowing easy and quick removal of the sorbent container from and installation on the rotating assembly, thereby reducing maintenance downtime and costs. In one embodiment, the sorption gas separator can be equipped with eight or more drive wheels.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 10b, the position of the drive assembly 111 relative to the rotating assembly 120 is shown as, for example, a toroidal structure cantilevered from the inner diameter (ID) of the rotor and supported by rails 125 that are driven and supported by eight wheels, where each wheel is coupled to and driven by an independent motor.

[0065] Although not shown, the gas streams may be introduced from the top and / or bottom of the rotor without fixed structural elements that would prevent access from the top and bottom of the toroid. Distributed motors allow for strengthening and support of the toroid structure at or within the ID of the toroid. In contrast to known systems in the prior art, rotors driven by a single shaft rotating about an axis have at least one of their stator assemblies substantially supported from the OD. In a configuration in which the rotor rotates about and is supported by a single shaft, the radial length of the rotating elements is less than 3 meters, greatly minimizing the amount of metal sag and deformation at the OD.

[0066] FIG. 11 shows the stator assembly and part of the structural support that transfers the load to the ground. The rotating assembly 120 and the drive assembly 111 including the motor and wheels attached to the column 110 are shown. The structural support bridge 112 is used to position the column 110 and transfer the force. In this example, the upper multi-stream diverter valve stator assembly is composed of alternating radial seal assemblies 142 and duct transition or diffuser elements 132. The combination of the toroid rotor, duct and stator side seal assemblies forms the multi-stream diverter valve. The positions of the ID seal assembly 140 and OD seal assembly 141 for holding the wearable seal elements are shown in FIG. 12a and FIG. 12b. The holder of the wearable seal is configured in the shape of a curved groove that secures the wearable seal element and restricts radial movement while allowing the wearable seal element to move vertically or in the direction of the rotation axis. Further details of the exemplary embodiment are provided in FIG. 12a and FIG. 12b.

[0067] FIG. 12a shows a cutaway view of an ID seal assembly 140 that includes a wearable, flexible seal element 150 biased and compressed by an inflatable bladder 151 against the rotating seal surface. These two elements are guided by a groove that can be a single extruded piece or an assembly of multiple parts. FIG. 12b shows the side of the radial seal that faces the rotating seal surface. A number of wiper seals 152 can be attached to a solid plate that bridges the gap between the ID seal assembly 140 and the OD seal assembly 141. A number of wiper seal elements are simultaneously biased against the surface of the moving seal surface between the flow openings. In one embodiment, the pressure differential experienced by each wiper seal is a small fraction of the total pressure differential between adjacent process streams.

[0068] FIG. 13 shows an exemplary sorption separator (see Example 1) prior to installation of ducts and duct connectors and sorbent vessels. The toroid 120 is supported by eight motorized wheels on the inner diameter of the toroid mounted on rails connected by cantilevers. The inner diameter of the structure is about 10 meters and the outer diameter is about 14 meters. The rotating toroid 120 presents an opening on the outer diameter face of the toroid to allow insertion of an arrangement of multiple sorbent vessels therein. The upper opening of the sealing face can also be observed from this angle on the upper annulus. The support structure of the separator is distributed circumferentially at equal intervals and every 45 degrees using a set of pillars 110 that span the toroid 120.

[0069] FIG. 14 shows the variation of vertical counter load measured on one of eight support wheels, shown in kg weight as plot 1401, versus time for an approximately 33,000 kg toroid, shown as plot 1402, with an inner diameter of approximately 10 m and an outer diameter of 14 meters, rotating at 1 rpm about its vertical axis of rotation. With some load applied to the attached wheel at all times, the vertical force is recorded with a force variation of approximately ±2,000 kg weight around an expected average value of approximately 4,000 kg weight. The toroid in this example was rotated using a single prime mover wheel. As shown, the variation in vertical load did not affect the friction drive performance, and the vertical positioning of the sealing faces (above and below) was maintained at 2,000 microns per meter of distance travel along the circular track and 10,000 microns of vertical travel per revolution.

[0070] Because the toroid in this example was not loaded with sorbent vessels and was filled with sorbent to counter stream head losses, the total vertical load during operation is expected to be between 80,000kgfw and 120,000kgfw or 10,000kgfw and 15,000kgfw per wheel, allowing friction traction with the eight driving wheels to transmit total torque in the range of 1,000Nm to 4,000,000Nm.

[0071] FIG. 15 shows the change in height along the circular contact line of the bottom sealing surface of the toroid of Example 1 versus the rotation angle of the toroid, measured with a gauge at a fixed location approximately 7 meters away from the center of rotation while rotating the toroid about a vertical axis. As shown, the range of vertical positions is within ±1 mm for most of the rotation and ±1.5 mm for a full rotation. This meets the goal of less than 10,000 microns or 10 mm of total height variation for a full rotation, as well as the target gradient of less than 2,000 microns per meter of displacement. At this location near the OD of the toroid, 10 degrees of rotation corresponds to approximately 1.2 meters of linear displacement along the circle of rotation.

[0072] In the design of large-scale sorption gas separators, various approaches have been explored to solve the challenge of precisely moving large amounts of solid sorbent (e.g., including unsupported solid sorbent, supported solid sorbent, solid sorbent arranged within a sorbent structure, sorbent contactor or parallel passage contactor) fixed to a common sealing or sliding sealing surface. The solution must allow the sorbent to contact different process gas streams introduced at different fixed or stationary locations.

[0073] Developments that have been made to address these issues are described below.

[0074] A proposed solution in the design of a large sorption gas separator with a reasonable number of feed and product stream connections as well as reasonable movement resistance is to deviate from the cylindrical sorption gas separator with a rotor supported on a central shaft rotating about an axis. A preferred alternative sorption gas separator design includes a plurality of moving vessels, each of which encapsulates a solid sorbent fixed to a substantially rigid torus or toroid. The plurality of moving vessels are combined to form a rotor, which includes at least one of the sealing surface or sliding sealing surface portion of at least one sliding valve mechanism.

[0075] The novel structures disclosed herein differ from the large volume sorbent-containing structures known in the art for the capture of CO2 from air, known as "Direct Air Capture Technology" (herein referred to as "DAC") machines, because those machines do not include continuous seals or sliding surfaces on the rotor. In DAC machines, which typically have only two to three process steps, the sorbent does not need to be isolated from the surrounding environment (ambient air) for the majority of the process steps, and therefore seals are not required to contain and direct air through the sorbent bed for the majority of the process and movement of the sorbent bed. Yet another difference in contrast is the movement of the sorbent bed, which is indexed rather than continuous.

[0076] In industrial process gas process CO2 emission reduction applications, short cycle times are desirable, which are not compatible with indexed transfers with high frequency and rapid acceleration and deceleration transfers at larger scales and masses. The sorbent contactor per cubic meter (m) per day in industrial process gas process CO2 emission reduction applications compared to DAC applications. 3 Much greater productivity in metric tons (MT) of CO2 per m 3 The difference in pressure drop across the sorbent contactor (from over 2 MT per ton) and up to 40 MT of CO2 per ton results in highly differentiated process and machine design requirements.

[0077] In one embodiment, the sorption gas separator can include a multi-stream diverter valve with a rotating toroid mounted on at least one circular rail supported by a set of wheels located at a fixed position and distributed in angular increments to simultaneously contact the rail. The wheels can provide both opposing forces to the static load of the toroid and at least one wheel can provide the motive force to rotate the toroid without being driven or supported by a central shaft. At least one face of the toroid is essentially flat or in the shape of a truncated cone and is used as an interface for a sliding seal or sealing surface integrated into the multi-stream diverter valve, a set of ducts and duct connectors, a support structure for the tribes and wheels that support the toroid as well as position the set of ducts and duct connectors that form the stator assembly, and a sealing assembly that includes a flexible mounted sealing part that contacts and undergoes friction with the moving toroid.

[0078] Central shaft supported and driven structures known in the art require excessive stiffness to accurately position the sealing faces and are therefore undesirable for the degree of sealing performance desired in such gas separation applications. Because the key function supported by the toroidal design is to contact the sorbent bed moving the fluid or gas stream through the multiple stream diverter valve, this innovation applies equally to multiple stream diverter valves and sorption separators.

[0079] In an embodiment, the rotating toroid is mounted on at least one circular rail supported by a set of wheels located at a fixed position and distributed in angular increments to simultaneously contact the rail, without being driven or supported by a central shaft, the wheels providing both opposing forces to the static load of the toroid and at least one wheel providing the motive force to rotate the toroid. At least one face of the toroid is essentially flat or in the shape of a frustum of a cone and is used as an interface for a sliding seal or sealing surface integrated into a sorption separator or multi-stream diverter valve.

[0080] In one embodiment of a sorption gas separator for non-DAC applications, such as industrial gas separation applications, the desired length of the flow path between the inlet and outlet of the sorbent contactor can be about 0.5 m to 2 m.

[0081] In one embodiment, the thickness or flow path length of the toroid measured along the direction of the axis of rotation may be between 0.5 and 2.5 meters. In an embodiment, the toroid may be an assembly of toroid segments arranged and attached to form a rigid toroid.

[0082] The length of the flow path is driven by the desired high capture efficiency of >90% or preferably >95% for CO2 capture from process or flue gas. Due to flow path length constraints, the simplest shape of the sorbent vessel enclosing one or more sorbent contactors may be a cylinder of 0.5m to 2m in length. While the cylindrical shape is advantageous for directing and containing pressurized gas, filling the torus with a cylinder does not efficiently utilize the torus volume.

[0083] In one embodiment, the multiple sorbent vessels may be fixed or otherwise attached to the rotor of the sorption gas separator and arranged in a torus or toroid. In one embodiment, the toroid may have a shape generated by rotating a rectangular or trapezoidal prism about an axis of rotation. In an alternative embodiment, the torus or toroid may have a shape generated by rotating a closed loop, such as an ellipse or circle, about an axis of rotation.

[0084] In one embodiment, each of the plurality of vessels can enclose at least one sorbent and / or sorbent contactor, can be adapted or configured to have a cross-sectional shape substantially the same as the cross-sectional shape of a rotor or toroid, and / or can be configured with a rectangular cross-sectional shape having an aspect ratio between any two dimensions, e.g., a rectangular height, length or depth, or width with an aspect ratio between about 0.4 and about 2.5.

[0085] In other embodiments of the sorption gas separator, the multiple vessels can operate with a moderate pressure difference between the surroundings or environment outside the vessels and the process gas flowing in or inside the vessels, for example, less than about 100 kPa. The vessels of rectangular cross-sectional shape can have a span of up to about 2.5 m to facilitate transportation and installation in the sorption gas separator. The path and / or track that the vessels convey can be selected to increase the sorbent density relative to the total footprint of the sorption gas separator, thereby increasing the footprint or space utilization of the sorption gas separator. For example, more than about 60% of the footprint of the vessel path can be occupied by the multiple vessels.

[0086] In some applications, such as retrofit applications, there is limited space available to install a new sorption gas separator in close proximity to an existing flue gas source, and therefore a sorption gas separator with a smaller volume and / or footprint is not only a more economical machine, but also one that fits into an existing chemical or industrial plant layout.

[0087] In another embodiment of the sorption gas separator, the vessel path or loop can be configured, for example, as an oval, an ellipse, an oblong, a circle, an oval, or any combination thereof, or any other suitable shape, in which preferably the interior and exterior areas inscribed by the vessel movement or path and the associated structures for sealing and positioning the vessel are such that the total footprint of the sorption gas separator is less than about 170% of the vessel path and associated sealing structure area in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the sorption gas separator.

[0088] Table 1 provides sample dimensions and other parameters for one embodiment of a sorption gas separator having 48 vessels, the plurality of vessels being arranged in a circle and configured to move in a circular path, the vessels being substantially uniformly distributed around the circle with a central angle of 7.5 degrees.

[0089] [Table 1]

[0090] Sorption gas separators configured with substantially circular looped paths having larger internal diameters can achieve increased coverage of the vessel path area by increasing the total sorbent volume of the vessel, resulting in increased sorbent density relative to the footprint area of ​​the sorption gas separator. The increased sorbent and vessel density can also result in a reduction in the amount of structural support and machinery required to guide the movement of the vessel around the track.

[0091] In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator and process can operate where multiple vessels are conveyed or moved around a looped path in a substantially continuous movement rather than in separate steps with separate starts and stops at different locations or process stations corresponding to different process steps, e.g., indexing.

[0092] Indexed movement of the vessel in discrete steps is advantageous for creating a high quality seal when critical, but requires that individual beds be moved independently, and requires additional buffer volume of sorbent and vessel to continuously move portions of the vessel without entering a fixed vessel, possibly requiring complex multi-axis robots. Indexed movement allows the use of seals that are not sliding seals.

[0093] For this reason, sorption gas separators and processes that have substantially continuous movement, and possibly a substantially constant rate of movement, during normal operation are highly desirable for applications including, for example, gas separation applications from industrial process gases or combustion gases. The use of continuous movement of the vessel along a looped path is a feature of the gas separation process and sorption gas separator embodiments disclosed herein. In contrast, DAC processes and machines generally use indexed, intermittent movement machines and process steps.

[0094] In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator and process includes a moving or dynamic structure (also called a rotor) and a fixed or static structure (also called a stator). The moving or dynamic structure may comprise a plurality of vessels in which the solid sorbent and / or sorbent contactors are disposed and through which the process gas can flow, connecting structures, such as a support frame for supporting and guiding the vessels, and a moving counterface plate or segment for forming part of at least one multi-stream switching valve.

[0095] The static structure may include a duct having a conduit, a duct connector or diffuser, a structural support element for supporting and positioning the duct, and a plurality of fixed sealing surfaces for forming another portion of the at least one multi-stream diverter valve.

[0096] In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator may be comprised of a sealing surface on a moving or dynamic structure and a counter surface or counter surface plate on a fixed or static structure.

[0097] In one embodiment, the rotating toroid can have a substantially vertical axis of rotation, the wheels are evenly distributed around the circumference of the toroid, and motors are attached to at least two of the wheels, with at least four support wheels for a 4 meter inner diameter (ID) toroid, at least eight support wheels for a 10 meter ID toroid, at least twelve support wheels for a 20 meter ID toroid, and sixteen support wheels for a 30 meter ID toroid.

[0098] Applicants have found that these configurations limit the span between the sets of wheels and the amount of normal force that can be applied to each wheel.

[0099] In one embodiment, the rotating toroid can be formed from at least four toroid segments that are connected, interlocked, or otherwise attached to one another to form a complete 360 ​​degree toroid having at least 16 enclosures with mounting features for securing one container within each enclosure.

[0100] In one embodiment, the toroid can have at least one sealing surface including a plurality of openings that allow fluid flow across the sealing surface, the sum of the surface areas of the openings being greater than or equal to 30% of the sealing surface area and less than or equal to 90% of the sealing surface area.

[0101] In one embodiment, the toroid can have two opposing sealing faces, with the openings on the opposing sealing faces being mirror images of each other.

[0102] In an embodiment, a sorption gas separator includes a toroid of the present invention for separating a first component from a multi-component fluid stream, a plurality of vessels containing a selective sorption material for sorbing the first component from the multi-component stream, at least one stator side sealing assembly including a duct connector, an inner peripheral seal, an outer peripheral seal, and a radial seal, and a plurality of motors for transmitting motive force to the toroid and a first process stream duct, e.g., a substantially fixed feed stream duct, for directing the multi-component fluid stream as a feed stream to the plurality of front vessels. a first product stream duct for conducting a first product stream withdrawn from said plurality of said vessels, said first product stream duct being substantially fixed; a second process stream duct, e.g., a first recycle stream duct for conducting a first recycle stream to said plurality of said vessels, said first recycle stream duct being substantially fixed; and a second product stream duct for conducting a second product stream withdrawn from said plurality of said vessels, said second product stream duct being substantially fixed.

[0103] In one embodiment, the toroid can have two sealing surfaces, each located on an opposing face, and each sealing surface contacts a stator sealing system having duct connectors and gas distribution that connect inlet and outlet ducts to an entire vessel fixed to the toroid.

[0104] In one embodiment, the sorption gas separator can be connected to a stream duct rated and sized to conduct a process stream at a pressure of 100 kPa(g) or less.

[0105] In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator can be formed from pieces or components of machinery sized to be transported on a truck, such as a flatbed truck having maximum dimensions of 12 m length, 2.9 m height and 2.4 m width. The toroidal structure supporting the multiple vessels can have a weight less than twice the combined weight of the multiple vessels loaded with sorbent secured to the toroid.

[0106] In one embodiment, the force exerted on the toroid by the process stream head losses across the sorbent contactor or vessel may be less than 20,000 Pa, preferably less than 10,000 Pa in the direction of flow.

[0107] Embodiments of the invention can be used to support rotors of approximately 5-130 metric tons of dead weight (total weight of rotor including vessel and sorbent, excluding forces from gas flow) shaped into a toroid having an outer diameter (OD) in the range of 1 m to 50 m, or especially 5 m to 50 m. In a preferred embodiment, a rotor in the shape of a toroid is 15 m OD x 11 m inner diameter (ID) x 1.4 m high, has a dead weight of 30 metric tons, and can support an additional 30-100 metric tons of external load (additional forces applied on top of the dead weight).

[0108] In one embodiment, the toroidal shaped rotor can have an aspect ratio relating to the outer diameter (OD) to the inner diameter (ID) in the range of 1.1 to 1.5. Ratios greater than 1.5 reduce the structural efficiency gained by utilizing hoop stresses. Ratios below 1.1 reduce the available functional working volume and surface relative to the open area and length of sealing elements required to position the device. In one embodiment, the aspect ratio can be about 1.3. In another example, the ratio can be in the vicinity of 1.2.

[0109] One aspect unique to distributed bearing and traction systems is that the power requirements of such traction systems are the product of torque and speed. The torque required is likely to be proportionally linked to the pitch diameter (average of ID and OD) plus any amount of external loads brought to the rotor by the nature of the application. In one embodiment, the rotary gas diverter valve may have a seal that exerts pressure on the rotor surface, creating a rotational drag that must be overcome to maintain rotational movement. The range of torque required may range from about 1000 Nm to about 4,000,000 Nm. In an embodiment, the system may be sized for 500,000 Nm, and in other embodiments, the system may be sized for 1,800,000 Nm.

[0110] The rotational speed of the toroid may be variable in the range of 0.5 rpm to 10 rpm. In some embodiments, the rotational speed may be in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 rpm. The present application may utilize a variable frequency electric motor drive to allow for continuous or intermittent speed control. Applicant does not believe that any theoretical limit to the maximum potential rotational speed that an embodiment of the present invention may be used with arises. However, at higher rotational speeds, the notional loads posed by rotor dynamics may become non-trivial and may exceed the practical limits of the structure's housing or supports.

[0111] The operating temperature range can be from about -40°C to 50°C ambient, subject to proper material selection and impact toughness. In an embodiment, the rotor can be constructed of steel or stainless steel and can withstand local temperature excursions up to 130°C. Temperature analysis can play an important role in the design of such radially cantilevered rotors or distributed bearing and traction systems, as it can impose limitations on strength, toughness, and geometric precision.

[0112] In one embodiment, a radially cantilevered rotor or distributed bearing and traction system can achieve 2.4mm axial runout on a 30 metric ton, 15m OD rotor, including all manufacturing tolerances and self-weight deflections. In comparison, a sample 4m OD rotor built on a conventional center-slewing bearing achieved only 4mm axial runout.

[0113] The process of decoupling from the raceway of a conventional commercial monolithic bearing to multiple distributed support locations allows for a completely different rotor size, as each rolling element (as it is traditionally called in the bearing art) can itself be mounted on the shaft and supported by a conventional roller bearing rated for a fraction of the original load. This arrangement provided by multiple distributed support rollers provides an improved ability to predictively calculate reliability, allowing for faster replacement times in the event spare parts or part replacement are required. In one example, the reliability of a standard L10 bearing can be used to estimate the reliability of a bearing by 10%. have been found to fail before reaching their full useful life.

[0114] In one embodiment, the toroid can rotate about the central axis at a substantially constant rotational speed, hi one embodiment, the rotational speed of the toroid can be between 0.5 rpm and 10 rpm.

[0115] [Sealing design] The stationary sealing element operates in cooperation with the moving or rotating sealing surface. The stationary seal may be in physical contact with the rotating sealing surface to form a peripheral seal therebetween and fluidically isolate each process or product stream. In an embodiment, a portion of the peripheral seal, including a radial seal around the sorbent vessel, fluidically isolates the sorbent vessels and directs fluid through openings in the moving sealing surface associated with each of the multiple sorbent vessels to fluidly connect each of the multiple sorbent vessels to the separator.

[0116] The stationary sealing surface may comprise a material suitable for accepting or otherwise enabling sliding with low coefficients of static and sliding friction against a corresponding moving counterface plate or element, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (referred to herein as "PTFE" or "Teflon") or a fluorinated copolymer, such as a PTFE-filled composite including polyvinyl fluoride (PVDF), and may be configured as and / or with a slide seal, a brush seal, a wiper seal, or combinations thereof.

[0117] In one embodiment, the ID and OD peripheral sealing assemblies can include a sealing ring having multiple or multiple segments with at least one wear element that is flexible and free to move in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation and presses against the driving sealing surface to maintain continuous contact between the driving sealing surface and the stationary sealing ring. The sealing ring can be made of multiple segments that can be easily assembled on-site when large machines require on-site assembly.

[0118] The radial sealing elements, which may be configured to isolate set annular segments, isolate or otherwise prevent cross-leakage between adjacent sorbent vessels and process streams, providing a high degree of flexibility in the occurrence of various process sequences to which the rotating sorbent vessel is subjected. Specifically, the sealing system of the present invention is modular and scalable to large sizes while maintaining low leak rates and long service life. In particular, the sealing system of the present invention is designed to operate in rotary machines having diameters up to 50 meters, such as sorption gas separators or other gas separation systems. The leak rates achieved by the embodiments of the present invention described herein, measured under a differential pressure of 50 kPag, were less than 10 liters per minute STP per meter of linear seal length having a steel counterface roughness greater than 0.5 microns root mean square (RMS), or more preferably greater than 1.0 microns RMS. This is a considerable improvement in the ability to maintain low leak rates, even with counterface roughnesses several orders of magnitude inferior to those typical of the prior art.

[0119] The requirement for flatness or uniformity of the sealing surface is reduced by the ability to conform portions of the sealing system to imperfections in the manufacture of the large toroidal sealing surface. Additionally, seal wear is accommodated by the flexibility of the sealing wear element combined with the actuation system, which distributes even forces on opposite sides of the sliding contact surface of the worn sealing element.

[0120] The ID and OD peripheral seal assemblies restrain radial movement of the wearable seal elements while allowing the wearable seal to move in the direction of the seal's axis of rotation, or circumferential direction.

[0121] The biasing or compression element may be integrated into the ID or OD peripheral seal assembly and may be fixed to prevent rotation, but is free to expand axially or circumferentially about the toroid.

[0122] Referring back to FIG. 11 , in one embodiment, the sealing system includes an ID perimeter seal 140, an OD perimeter seal 141, and a plurality of radial sealing assemblies 142 for separating and preventing mixing of different gas streams introduced through duct connectors 132 to the sealing face and to the sealing face openings that fluidly connect to each sorbent vessel secured to the rotating assembly 120 or otherwise separate each of the multiple sorbent vessels from one another.

[0123] In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator can have a multi-stream switching valve, and the sealing system (moving sealing surface, ID and OD seals, and radial sealing assembly) includes a sealing surface on the toroid and a sealing assembly on the stator side to provide a sealing function characterized by a maximum allowable leakage amount (e.g., less than 1% of the inlet flow rate (inlet process gas flow rate), or more preferably less than 0.1% of the inlet flow rate). As the toroid or rotating assembly 120 rotates, the sealing surface remains in contact with the stator at a fixed angular position on the stator side and can move in the direction of the rotation axis due to imperfections in the toroid manufacturing, deflection of the toroid under mechanical load, and thermal expansion of the toroid-induced deformation. To accommodate this fact, the stator side sealing assembly (ID and OD seals, radial sealing assembly) can be flexible and can be compressed toward the sealing surface. For large machines with an outer diameter of about 15 meters, the flexible sealing mounted element on the stator side is designed to accommodate a displacement on the sealing surface of the toroid due to rotation of up to 2,000 microns per meter, and a pitch (variation in height of the rotating toroid at a fixed radial distance from the center of rotation) of up to 10,000 microns per revolution of the toroid. This is achieved by applying independently movable multi-segment mounted sealing elements, which take the shape of the rotating sealing surface on the toroid, to which a distributed force is applied using an inflatable bladder. The flatness requirement is no longer limited to a typical maximum sealing surface slope (or pitch) of 1 micron per meter, as in conventional contact seals of the prior art. With increasing diameters due to the size of the changeover valve or toroidal shaped sorption gas separator, this flatness constraint can be further relaxed with a maximum pitch limited by the flexibility of the mounted sealing element and the inflatable bladder expansion range, with a maximum value of 4,000 microns per meter and 20,000 microns per revolution. In the toroidal structure, the number of fulcrums increases with increasing diameter.

[0124] In an embodiment, the sealing system may comprise at least one inflatable bladder as a biasing element or compressive force for ID and / or OD sealing. The sealing force is adjusted and maintained by controlling the pressure of a fluid inside the bladder, resulting in a flexible sealing surface that can follow the rotor shape. Preferably, the fluid used in the bladder is air, but any suitable fluid may be used.

[0125] In a further embodiment, the sealing system can include radially oriented seals, such as wiper seals, capable of limiting gas leakage to less than 10 liters per minute per meter of seal circumference under a 50 kPa pressure differential to separate various gas streams in a carbon capture machine such as a sorption gas separator, preventing gas from adjacent flow modules from flowing into each other. Compared to previous seals used in prior art air preheaters, the leakage rate is significantly reduced from the typical 100-1,000 liters per minute per meter.

[0126] To ensure proper function, the distribution of openings in the toroidal sealing face requires sufficient area, flat in the case of annular sealing faces, or curved smooth in the case of frusto-conical sealing faces, to simultaneously engage multiple wiper seals and distribute the pressure differential from adjacent process streams to the individual wiper seals. For example, if the pressure difference between stream A, e.g., a multicomponent feed stream, and stream B, a steam stream, is 40 kPa, then if ten wiper seals are providing the sealing function in series (circumferentially), the average pressure differential across each wiper seal will be 4 kPa.

[0127] In one embodiment, due to the different sealing mechanism used, the force applied to the radial seal assembly can be reduced, i.e., the circumferential seal is compressed by an inflatable bladder, while the radial seal is not. Thus, the wear rate of these wiper seals is expected to be significantly lower than that of the circumferential ID and OD seals, which are in continuous contact with the driving seal surface. The positioning of the radial seal surface can be fixed relative to the stator support structure by adjustable bolts or shimming, or can be attached to a motor-driven linear actuator. Using pressure control by an air piston to adjust the force applied to, for example, the wiper blade is undesirable when there is a significant pressure difference between the ambient pressure and the stream contacting the radial seal plate, exceeding 10 kPa, because the force towards or away from the toroid due to the pressure difference will be greater than the force applied to the seal.

[0128] Air pistons may be used in combination with slide pins or strips or wheels to control the position of the radial seal assembly relative to the rotor sealing face independent of the force applied to the wiper seal. In this case, the control pressure may be adjusted independently for each radial seal as a function of the gas stream pressure adjacent the radial seal. The same replacement schedule for the ID and OD perimeter seal mounted elements and radial seal wipers is envisioned at 2-5 year intervals.

[0129] The wear rates of multi-segment sealing materials used for inner and outer perimeter sealing were measured in a test rig with a 6-inch diameter PTFE disk in contact with a steel counter surface at a rotational speed of 180 revolutions per minute (approximately 0.5 m / s linear velocity) with a compression pressure of 5 psi (approximately 30 kPa) and a surface counter surface roughness of 1 to 10 microns RMS. Under the aforementioned test conditions, a wear rate of 8 to 10 microns of PTFE seal per day of continuous operation was measured. Multi-year service lives of the wearable sealing elements can be achieved if the thickness of the wearable seal can be moved 10 millimeters or more while remaining within the range of rotational axial movement permitted by the inner diameter (ID) and outer diameter (OD) peripheral sealing assemblies.

[0130] For example, a 50mm tall PTFE element can be formed into a ring with an inflatable bladder that allows 20mm of axial movement. If a worn seal is moved 10mm, a 10mm movement tolerance remains to compensate for the driving seal pitch.

[0131] The sealing system described herein provides a solution for sealing large rotating machines, specifically carbon capture machines or other gas separation machines, with improved economies of scale for larger units. Due to its modular and scalable design, it is the largest seal currently available in the industry and has unique features that distinguish it from conventional prior art sealing designs. The present invention provides the notable features discussed above to achieve improved performance in sealing fluid streams, particularly at larger scales in terms of operational flexibility, lower energy (operating costs) of operation, and efficiency of separation of fluid streams.

[0132] In an embodiment, the linear velocity of the moving counter surface or moving seal surface in the sorption gas separator may be from 0.2 to 4 meters per second.

[0133] The sorbent wheel may have a shape that is substantially cylindrical, with a small inside diameter (ID) and a larger outside diameter (OD). As the sorbent wheel rotates on the shaft about its axis, a large speed difference occurs proportional to the OD / ID ratio. The speed difference creates significant challenges for the sliding of the seal, such as, for example, different wear rates of the seal surface along the outside diameter compared to the seal surface along the inside diameter, and / or different frictional forces for different segments of the seal circumference.

[0134] An embodiment of a sorption gas separator having a toroidal or loop configuration in which the structure or vessel enclosing the sorbent is configured in a shape with a small OD / ID ratio, for example, as compared to a sorbent wheel configured in a cylindrical shape with a large OD / ID ratio, which can significantly reduce the difference in the speed of travel of the sealing surface between parts located proximate the inner diameter as compared to parts located proximate the outer diameter of the sorption gas separator.

[0135] In an embodiment, the ratio of the outer diameter of the toroid to the inner diameter of the toroid may be less than 1.5.

[0136] In embodiments in which the sorbent vessel moves along a looped path, the maximum speed ratio of movement between the sealed opposing surfaces at the maximum designed operating speed to the minimum designed operating speed may be less than 2 meters per second.

[0137] In embodiments in which the sorbent container moves along a looped path, the container path can include one or more linear segments or paths connected to one or more curved segments or paths, e.g., an oval configured loop path.

[0138] In one embodiment, one or more steps of a sorption gas separation process having an acceptable or desired minimum leakage of the process and / or product gas stream between the stationary and moving elements can be arranged on a linear segment or path, rather than on a curved segment or path. In another embodiment, the stationary elements, e.g., tacts, for one or more steps of a sorption gas separation process having an acceptable or desired minimum leakage of the process and / or product gas stream between the stationary and moving elements can be arranged on a linear segment or path, rather than on a curved segment or path.

[0139] In another aspect of the invention, a gas distribution system for a sorption gas separator includes a duct, a diffuser, a plurality of stationary sealing surfaces having passages for fluid streams, and at least one multi-stream switching valve, each assembled from a plurality of individual segments, e.g., sealing surfaces and motive counterface plates. The plurality of individual motive counterface plates can be configured substantially adjacent to one another to form a semi-continuous moving counterface assembly. In an embodiment, each motive counterface plate can contact and slide against a continuous stationary sealing surface, where both the counterface plates and the sealing surfaces have a C of about 500,000 or more. vor at least one of the opposing face plates and / or sealing faces has a C in combination of 75,000, 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, 700,000 or 1,000,000 or more. v The device has a plurality of passages that provide

[0140] Such a big C v It is desirable to accommodate large gas flows through each sealing face, counter face plate and individual sorbent vessel without causing a large pressure drop.

[0141] In an embodiment, the multi-stream switching valve is configured to provide a large, e.g., C of about 500,000 or greater, leakage rate of less than about 2% of the flow of the process or product gas stream during operation at the designed operating conditions. v and / or made of repeating segments that can be easily manufactured, transported, and assembled at the operation site. In some embodiments, the leak rate in a critical step of the gas separation process, such as the recovery of the purified product stream or the recovery of the second product stream, can be less than about 0.5%, preferably less than about 0.25%, of the flow of the purified product stream or the second product stream.

[0142] In an embodiment, the multi-stream selector valve has a sum of the inlet flow rates and a sum of the outlet flow rates that are substantially equal, ie, differ by less than 2%, over the period of one revolution of the toroid.

[0143] In an embodiment, the moving counterface element can include multiple plates positioned adjacent to one another and aligned to create or form a passageway. Flexible or rigid fluid connectors can be attached to one side of one or more of the counterface plates and to one side of the sorbent vessel. The connectors can direct a gas stream, such as a product stream or a process stream, to flow from the multi-stream diverter valve to an appropriate sorbent vessel.

[0144] The counter face plate can be attached to a support structure of the vessel, such as a support frame, or to a support structure of a static gas distribution duct or piping element. In the latter case, the counter face plate can be driven via guide pins from a moving structure.

[0145] The sealing surface can be slidably mated with the counterface element or plate, and both the sealing surface and the counterface plate can cooperate to provide a sealing perimeter between the contact element and the sliding surface with a clearance of about 0.2 millimeters or less, or preferably about 0.1 millimeters or less. The gap at the joint between adjacent elements, e.g., adjacent sealing surfaces or adjacent counterface elements, can be reduced or minimized, so that there is only a small low leakage rate at the perimeter of the wet flow volume through the multi-stream diverter valve. The adjacent elements can be mated with each other in a "tongue and groove" configuration to reduce or substantially eliminate any leakage along the joint between the adjacent elements. Because it is difficult to design large machines with tight compliance, control of the relative positioning of the sealing surface and the counterface plate is controlled locally for each individual segment by any suitable compression means to apply a controlled amount of force to drive and / or move at least one of the sealing surface or counterface plate toward each other.

[0146] Because the multi-stream switching valves incorporated in the sorption separators rotate continuously and must maintain high reliability, mounted sealing elements that can move independently of the rotor and stator are integrated so that the gap between the moving sealing faces of the rotor and the stator does not expand over time with gradual wear of the material.

[0147] Low friction materials can also be used in the operation of the multi-stream diverter valve to ensure that the diverter valve can operate continuously without any liquid fluid lubrication. Excessive friction can result in excessive energy being expended to rotate the valve and excessive heat generation at the interface between the rotor and stator.

[0148] In an embodiment, the wearable sealing element may be made of Teflon (PTFE).

[0149] In an embodiment, a sealing surface or counterface plate can be rigidly supported against a structure or rail, while a corresponding sealing surface or counterface plate is compressed by air toward the rigidly supported sealing surface or counterface, In an embodiment, one or both of the counterface element and the sealing surface can move in a direction perpendicular to the slide surface independent of movement of the sorbent container in the same direction.

[0150] In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator can include a rotating toroid supporting multiple sorbent vessels, each vessel containing a sorbent contactor, a set of ducts and duct connectors, a support structure for drives and wheels that support the rotating toroid as well as position the set of ducts and duct connectors to form a stator assembly, and a sealing assembly including a flexible mounted sealing part that contacts and undergoes friction with one or more sealing surfaces of the moving toroid. The sorption gas separator can be fluidly connected to at least one duct for conveying a feed stream, a duct for conveying a regenerator stream, a duct for conveying a product stream, and a duct for conveying a waste product stream. The sorption gas separator can further include a duct for conveying a conditioning stream. In an embodiment, the sorption gas separator can also include a power connection and a control system for adjusting the rotation speed of the toroid. An embodiment of the sorption gas separator further includes connections and means for monitoring the performance of the separation system by measuring at least one of gas composition, gas temperature, gas density, and gas pressure.

[0151] In an embodiment, the solid sorbent contained in each of the sorbent vessels can have selective adsorption capacity for at least one of the feed stream components.

[0152] In embodiments in which the sorbent container moves along a looped path, the sorbent container can transfer significant loads to the support structure, which in some embodiments can deflect more than 1 mm, in other embodiments can deflect more than 10 mm, and in some embodiments can deflect more than 30 mm. The applied forces are due to the weight of the container and sorbent in the vertical direction, as well as the forces of fluid friction and fluid head loss in the direction of flow between the inlet and outlet ports of the sorbent container or counterface element.

[0153] In embodiments in which the sorbent vessel moves along a looped path, a first set of rails or tracks can be used to guide the movement of the sorbent vessel and associated structural elements, and a second, and optionally a third, set of tracks or rails can be used to guide the movement of the countersurface element. The distance between the center of the sorbent vessel and the center of the countersurface element can vary along the loop or path along which the vessel and countersurface travel. Telescoping or flexible joints can be disposed between the countersurface element and one or more fluid ports, such as inlet and outlet ports, of the sorbent vessel to provide a continuous flow path for the process stream to enter and exit the moving sorbent vessel.

[0154] In embodiments where the sorbent vessels move along a looped path, each of the duct diffusing elements or diffusers encapsulates and directs the process gas stream to one or more sorbent vessels or the product gas stream from one or more sorbent vessels. In certain embodiments, the movement can be to or from four sorbent vessels, in other embodiments three sorbent vessels, in some embodiments two sorbent vessels, and in some embodiments one sorbent vessel.

[0155] In an embodiment, multiple diffusers can be fluidly connected to a common or single duct for enclosing and directing the process or product streams. A preferred embodiment of a multi-stream diverter valve or sorption separator can include several openings across the sealing surface in contact with the inlet streams, which is at least twice the number of inlet streams connected to the diverter valve. This allows for continuous flow between the inlet and outlet ducts upon rotation of the toroid, since the radial sealing elements tend to close only a single opening at a time. In one embodiment, the diverter valve can be configured with 2 to 20 inlet streams.

[0156] In embodiments where the sorbent vessel moves along a looped or circular path, the offsetting of the stream connections from the balance of plant to adjacent diffusers can be repeated in the same order to allow the separation process to be performed more than once per loop of sorbent bed movement. This arrangement allows for greater flexibility in the duct system compared to duct systems made up of larger diffuser sections, since each sealing surface attached to the end of the diffuser can be seated on a set of opposing surface elements at different heights, pitches and rolls.

[0157] In an embodiment, the multi-stream diverter valve may include a Mohs hardness of the moving toroidal sealing surface greater than 4, preferably greater than 6, while the wearable stator sealing components have a Mohs hardness of less than 3. Preferably, the moving toroidal sealing surface may be constructed of steel and the wearable stator sealing components are constructed of Teflon.

[0158] The multi-stream diverter valve may be fluidly connected to inlet and / or outlet fluid streams having average fluid velocities, as measured at the sealing face opening, typically in the range of 0.2 to 20 m / s. Embodiments may include providing inlet and outlet streams, potentially over a plurality of diverters, to be at least periodically connected through the toroid to allow continuous flow through the toroid through at least a portion of the sorbent vessel. Operation of the valve may be such that the average of the inlet and outlet flows are substantially equal over the period of one revolution of the torus. The arrangement of the multi-stream diverter valve components, including the duct transition and radial sealing assembly, on the surface of the toroid may encompass at least 350 degrees of the toroid angle surface. The multi-stream diverter valve may include a mounted sealing element that is free to move in the direction of the axis of rotation greater than 10 mm, preferably greater than 20 mm. This allows or otherwise tolerates the mounted element to lose up to that amount of material through wear while maintaining an effective seal, and may further accommodate defects in the flatness of the toroid. The wear elements of the sealing system can lose up to 60% of their thickness and still maintain an effective seal because the pressurized gas or liquid filled expandable bladder and support groove are designed to accommodate that range of movement and corresponding loss of material of the sealing wear elements. In one embodiment, the multi-stream diverter valve and sealing system can have an internal diameter of 4 meters or more.

[0159] In an embodiment, the sealing wear element may be formed in a ring around the inner and outer periphery of the toroidal sealing face, and the sealing wear element may have a flexural modulus of less than 0.4 GPa and may be bent to conform to the rotor sealing face by applying a force of less than 4 psi (about 30 kPa) to the element face opposite the face contact, deflecting the sealing element up to 2 mm per meter of sealing element length. The worn sealing element may be a segment of the inner and outer periphery of the toroid, and when formed as a ring, may include multiple layers of worn sealing elements arranged in a concentric configuration.

[0160] The multiple concentric element structure of the wearable sealing element allows for increased flexibility of the wearable sealing element by facilitating deformation in a direction perpendicular to the bend radius of the wearable sealing element. Compressible elements can be included in the wearable sealing elements to further increase their flexibility.

[0161] In an embodiment, the radial sealing element has a width greater than the width of the opening through the toroid sealing surface, and preferably is equal to or greater than the width formed by an angular segment of 360 divided by the number of containers fixed to the toroid or the number of openings through the sealing surface that connect to the sorbent containers. This allows for intermittent radial seals to be formed at both the leading and trailing ends of the openings in the rotational sealing surface to prevent fluid from flowing between ducts carrying different streams. In an embodiment, the radial sealing element may be formed by a plate supporting a number of wiper seals arranged in a direction essentially perpendicular to the tangential motion of the toroid as it rotates.

[0162] In one embodiment, the wiper seal of the multi-stream selector valve can have a minor axis that can be tilted at 10 to 40 degrees relative to the axis of rotation.

[0163] In one embodiment, a method of operating an adsorption gas separator to separate a first component from a multi-component fluid stream includes: a. providing a toroidal sorption gas separator; b. transmitting motive force from a plurality of motors to the toroid for moving a plurality of selective adsorption vessels; c. fluidly connecting said plurality of said vessels with a duct for a feed stream and a duct for a first product stream; d. directing said multi-component fluid stream as a feed stream to a plurality of said vessels, sorbing said first component onto a sorbent in a plurality of said selective adsorption vessels to form a first product stream depleted in said first component relative to said feed stream, recovering the first product stream from a plurality of said vessels, and directing said first product stream to said first product stream duct; e. fluidly connecting the sorbent of the plurality of the vessels with a duct for the first regenerator stream and a duct for the second product stream; and f. directing a first regenerator stream to said plurality of said vessels; and desorbing said first component from said second vessel to form a second product stream enriched in said first component relative to said feed stream, recovering said second product stream from said plurality of said vessels, and directing said second product stream into said second product stream duct. In a further embodiment, a method of operating an adsorption gas separator includes: g. fluidly connecting said sorbent of a plurality of said vessels with a duct for said second regenerator stream and with a duct for said third product stream; h. contacting a second regenerated stream with the sorbent in said plurality of said vessels to form a third product stream, recovering said third product stream from said plurality of said vessels, and directing said third product stream into said third product stream duct; i. fluidly connecting the sorbent of the plurality of the vessels with a duct for the conditioning stream and a duct for the fourth product stream; and j. contacting the conditioning stream with the sorbent in said plurality of said vessels to form a fourth product stream, recovering said fourth product stream from said plurality of said vessels, and directing said fourth product stream into a fourth product stream duct.

[0164] In a further embodiment, the method of operating the adsorption gas separator further comprises repeating steps bf.

[0165] In a further embodiment, the method of operating the adsorption gas separator further comprises repeating steps bj.

[0166] In a further embodiment, a method of operating the innovative adsorption gas separator purifies a multi-component fluid stream from at least one of an industrial process gas stream, a commercial process gas stream, and a combustion gas stream, wherein the first component is an acid gas component, carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen, or oxygen. EXAMPLES

[0167] Example 1: A sorbent machine structure with an inner diameter of about 11 meters and an outer diameter of 14 meters, including a rotating torus with a thickness of about 1.2 meters, was designed and constructed to verify the design and the predicted finite element analysis level of flatness of the torus sealing surface. Both the upper and lower sides of the torus rotating about a vertical axis are sealing surfaces with 48 openings for connecting the inlet and outlet gas streams to multiple sorbent vessels supported within the torus. The sorption gas separator was manufactured as eight torus segments bolted together on site and supported by eight wheels placed under the inner diameter of the cantilever rail. The effect of imperfections in the level of flatness of the toroid on the traction force of the motorized wheels, as well as the distribution of vertical forces on the support and drive wheels, was tested. Figures 13, 14 and 15 discussed above respectively show a photograph of the machine before installation of the sorbent bed and ducts, the change in force during one rotation of the torus on one selected wheel, and the measurement of flatness along a circular path on the bottom sealing surface.

[0168] Example 2: A composite mounted sealing element formed from three laminations arranged concentrically around a 6 inch diameter cylindrical support.

[0169] The three layers are from ID to OD: 5mm Teflon, 15mm carbon rope filler and 5mm Teflon. The assembly was pressed against a steel surface with 1 micron RMS roughness using a force of 50 kPa and the composite mounted seal assembly was rotated at 180 rpm for 415 hours, during which the seal was periodically monitored for thickness reduction and mass loss from abrasion and the leak rate across the seal was measured.

[0170] The leak rate remained within specification of less than 10 L / min per metre of sealed length (approximately 8 L / min), while the wear rate was measured at approximately 8 microns per day (approximately 3 mm / year).

[0171] The embodiments disclosed herein allow for a variety of configuration options that can accommodate desired variations in gas separation processes and associated process cycles. The process cycle is defined, at least in part, by the proportion of beds exposed to a particular process stream as well as the cycle duration. The modular approach allows for multiple design applications to be addressed using a common set of building blocks for sorption gas separators. For example, different sorbent materials can be used as a function of the partial pressure of the components to be concentrated. Each sorbent material has a unique set of preferred operating conditions to enhance the effectiveness and / or efficiency of the gas separation process, including, for example, feed step duration, regeneration step duration, and conditioning step duration. The ability to tailor the number of sorbent contactor beds per process step is highly advantageous and facilitates mass production of these machines by using the same design building blocks in the various variations of the machines deployed in the field.

[0172] One other important design feature illustrated in the various figures is a diffuser designed to distribute the gas stream to a limited number of sorbent vessels in parallel. Multiple diffusers can be used and fluidly connected to one or more ducts to supply process streams, such as a feed stream and / or a second regeneration stream.

[0173] This exemplary design also allows for distribution of various process and product streams for the gas separation process such that one or an integer number of process cycles of the sorbent are performed as the sorbent vessel completes one loop of the sorption gas separator.

[0174] Additionally, the multi-segmented design of the cooperating sealing and counterface elements reduces the undesirable effects of thermal expansion and deformation of the support structure by providing additional degrees of freedom for expansion. For example, expansion joints can be placed between each counterface plate and / or element, reducing the risk of stress buildup in some areas.

[0175] The moving or driving elements of the sorption gas separator may be exposed to process streams at temperatures ranging from ambient to about 100° C., or from ambient to several hundred degrees C. The operating temperatures of the moving elements are expected to reach temperatures significantly higher than ambient due to heat generated from exposure to the process stream and friction of the sliding seal surfaces. As a result, some elements of the support structure may thermally expand more significantly than some other elements of the support structure. These differences in operating temperatures are accommodated in the design embodiments described herein by allowing some elements to expand and not overly constraining this expansion.

Claims

1. A rotating toroid, a toroid having at least one substantially flat or frusto-conical shaped surface adapted to be used as an interface for at least one sliding seal or at least one sealing surface integrated with a sorption gas separator or a multi-stream switching valve; at least one circular rail operatively connected to an inner diameter of the toroid; and a set of wheels disposed in fixed positions and distributed at angular increments along the inner diameter for contacting the at least one circular rail; A rotating toroid, wherein the set of wheels is adapted to provide a force that counteracts a static load of the toroid, and at least one wheel of the set of wheels is adapted to provide a motive force to rotate the toroid without being driven or supported by a central shaft.

2. The rotating toroid of claim 1 , wherein the toroid further comprises an outer diameter and has an outer diameter to inner diameter ratio of less than 1.

5.

3. The rotating toroid of claim 1 , wherein said toroid further includes a protrusion for operatively connecting to said at least one circular rail.

4. The rotating toroid of claim 3 , wherein said projections have a cantilever cross section.

5. the toroid further comprises a substantially vertical axis of rotation; the set of wheels are evenly distributed circumferentially along the inner diameter; 5. The rotating toroid of claim 1, wherein the set of wheels further comprises at least two wheels having motors mounted thereon to provide the motive force, at least four support wheels for a toroid having an inner diameter of 4 meters, at least eight support wheels for a toroid having an inner diameter of 10 meters, at least twelve support wheels for a toroid having an inner diameter of 20 meters, and sixteen support wheels for a toroid having an inner diameter of 30 meters.

6. 6. A rotating toroid as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one sealing surface further comprises a plurality of openings, each having a surface area to allow fluid flow across the at least one sealing surface of the toroid, the sum of the surface areas of the plurality of openings being greater than or equal to 30% of the surface area of ​​the at least one sealing surface and less than or equal to 90% of the surface area of ​​the at least one sealing surface.

7. The rotating toroid of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an outer diameter surface having a plurality of openings therethrough for inserting a plurality of sorbent vessels within the toroid.

8. A rotating toroid according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the inner diameter is greater than 4 m and less than 50 m.

9. A rotating toroid according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the toroid dimension in the direction of the axis of rotation is between 0.5 and 2.5 m.

10. A rotating toroid according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising an assembly of two or more toroid segments arranged and attached to form the toroid.

11. 9. A rotating toroid as claimed in claim 8, which achieves a displacement of less than 2 mm in the direction of the toroid's axis of rotation at the sealing surface when the toroid is rotated to achieve a displacement of 1 meter in a circular direction about the toroid's centre of rotation.

12. A rotating toroid according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising two opposing sealing faces.

13. The rotating toroid of claim 10 , wherein the toroid further comprises at least four toroid segments that are interlocked and attached to form 360 degrees of the toroid.

14. 1. A sorption gas separator comprising: A rotating toroid according to any one of claims 1 to 13; a plurality of vessels containing sorbent contactors; A plurality of ducts and duct connectors; a support structure for the drives and wheels that supports the toroids and positions the ducts and duct connectors to form a stator assembly; and A seal assembly including a flexible wearable seal component, the seal assembly being subject to friction; A sorption gas separator adapted to be connected to at least one duct for conveying the feed stream, a duct for conveying the regeneration stream, a duct for conveying the product stream, and a duct for conveying the waste product stream.

15. 15. The sorption gas separator of claim 14, further comprising a duct for conveying the conditioning stream.

16. 16. The sorption gas separator of claim 14 or 15, further comprising a power connection and control system for regulating the rotational speed of the toroid.

17. 20. The sorption gas separator of claim 16, further comprising monitoring means for measuring a performance parameter of said separator of at least one of gas composition, gas temperature, gas density and gas pressure.

18. 1. A sorption gas separator for separating a first component from a multi-component fluid stream, comprising: a. the toroid of any one of claims 1 to 13; b. a plurality of vessels rotating with said toroid, each vessel containing a sorbent for sorbing said first component from said multi-component fluid stream; c. A sealing assembly having a duct connector, inner and outer circumferential seals, and a radial seal; d. a plurality of motors for transmitting motive force to said plurality of vessels; e. a first process stream duct for conducting said multi-component fluid stream as a feed stream to said plurality of vessels, said feed stream duct being substantially fixed; f. a first product stream duct for conducting a first product stream withdrawn from said plurality of vessels, said first product stream duct being substantially fixed; g. a second process stream duct for conducting a first recycle stream to said plurality of vessels, said first recycle stream duct being substantially fixed; and h) a sorption gas separator including a second product stream duct for conducting a second product stream withdrawn from said plurality of vessels, the second product stream duct being substantially fixed.

19. 19. The sorption gas separator of any one of claims 14 to 18, further comprising two sealing surfaces located on opposite sides of the toroid, each of the two sealing surfaces being in contact with a sealing system having duct connectors and a gas distribution system connecting the ducts across the multiple vessels disposed within the toroid.

20. The sorption gas separator according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein each of the plurality of vessels is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

21. 21. The sorption gas separator of any one of claims 14 to 20, wherein each of the plurality of vessels comprises a contactor having a solid sorbent having selective adsorption capacity for at least one of the feed stream components.

22. A sorption gas separator according to any one of claims 14 to 21, wherein the duct is rated and sized to conduct the feed stream and / or the first regeneration stream at a pressure of 100 kPa(g) or less.

23. The openings through the sealing surface and / or the opposing surface have a flow coefficient value or C of 75,000, 100,000, 250,000, 500,000, 700,000 or 1,000,000 or more. ｖ A sorption gas separator according to any one of claims 14 to 22, comprising a value.

24. 24. The sorption gas separator of any one of claims 14 to 23, wherein each piece of the sorption gas separator is sized to be transported on a flatbed truck having maximum dimensions of 12 m length, 2.9 m height and 2.4 m width.

25. 25. The sorption gas separator of any one of claims 14 to 24, wherein the weight of the toroidal structure supporting the plurality of vessels is less than twice the weight of the plurality of vessels loaded with sorbent fixed to the rotating toroid.

26. A sorption gas separator according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the force exerted on the toroid by the head loss of at least one of the feed stream, the first regenerator stream and the conditioning stream across the sorbent contactor is less than 20,000 Pa, preferably less than 10,000 Pa in the direction of flow.

27. 1. A sorption gas separator comprising: a) a rotating assembly for rotation about an axis, comprising:

1. A toroidal shaped structure having an inner side located at an inner circumference of the rotating assembly, an outer side located at an outer circumference of the rotating assembly, a first span located between the inner side and the outer side, and a second span located between the inner side and the outer side; 2. A plurality of containers mountable within said toroidal shaped structure and enclosing a solid sorbent, said plurality of containers having an inlet and an outlet in fluid communication with said solid sorbent; 3. A rotating assembly having at least one protrusion attached to the inner side of the toroidal shaped structure; b) a stationary assembly having a plurality of drive wheels coupled to a plurality of motors for transmitting motive force to move the toroidal shaped structure about the axis; and c) at least one sealing system for directing process streams into said plurality of vessels and for directing product streams from said plurality of vessels, said at least one sealing system comprising a rotor sealing face and a stator side mounted sealing assembly; A sorption gas separator, wherein the stationary assembly is disposed on the interior side of the toroidal shaped structure.

28. 28. The sorption gas separator of claim 27, wherein the toroidal shaped structure further comprises an outer diameter and an inner diameter, the ratio of the outer diameter to the inner diameter being less than 1.

5.

29. a first plurality of ducts adapted to convey a fluid and disposed adjacent to the first span; and a second plurality of ducts adapted to convey a fluid and disposed adjacent the second span; the first and second plurality of ducts are fixed and in fluid communication with the inlets and the outlets of the plurality of vessels; 29. A sorption gas separator according to claim 27 or 28.

30. 30. The sorption gas separator of claim 27, 28 or 29, wherein the plurality of vessels are transportable from the exterior side of the toroidal shaped support structure.

31. A sorption gas separator according to any one of claims 27 to 30, wherein the at least one protrusion is a cantilever beam.

32. The sorption gas separator of any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein the plurality of drive wheels are adapted to support more than 50% of the weight of the rotating assembly.

33. 1. A method of operating an adsorption gas separator to separate a first component from a multicomponent fluid stream, comprising: a. providing the sorption gas separator of any one of claims 14 to 32; b. transmitting motive force from the plurality of motors to a toroid to move the plurality of containers; c. fluidly connecting said plurality of vessels with a duct for a feed stream and a duct for a first product stream; d) directing said multi-component fluid stream as a feed stream to said plurality of vessels, sorbing said first component onto said sorbent in said plurality of vessels to form a first product stream depleted in said first component relative to said feed stream, recovering said first product stream from said plurality of vessels, and directing said first product stream to said first product stream duct; e. fluidly connecting the sorbent of the plurality of vessels with a duct for the first regenerator stream and a duct for the second product stream; and f) directing a first recycle stream to said plurality of vessels, desorbing said first component from said plurality of vessels to form a second product stream enriched in said first component relative to said feed stream, recovering said second product stream from said plurality of vessels, and directing said second product stream into said second product stream duct.

34. a. fluidly connecting said sorbent of said plurality of vessels with a duct for said second regenerator stream and a duct for a third product stream; b. contacting a second regenerated stream with the sorbent in the plurality of vessels to form a third product stream, recovering the third product stream from the plurality of vessels, and directing the third product stream into a third product stream duct; c. fluidly connecting the sorbent of the plurality of vessels with a duct for the conditioning stream and a duct for a fourth product stream; and d. contacting the conditioning stream with the sorbent in the plurality of vessels to form a fourth product stream, recovering the fourth product stream from the plurality of vessels, and directing the fourth product stream into a fourth product stream duct; 34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

35. 35. The method of any one of claims 33-34, wherein the multi-component fluid stream is at least one of an industrial process gas stream, a commercial process gas stream, and a combustion gas stream, and the first component is an acid gas component, carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen, or oxygen.

36. A method according to any one of claims 33 to 35, further comprising moving the plurality of containers along a track, the plurality of containers moving with 1 to 3 degrees of freedom, in particular 1 to 2 degrees of freedom, when engaged and associated with the track.

37. 37. The method of any one of claims 33 to 36, further comprising moving the toroid having multiple reservoirs in a substantially horizontal plane in a path or loop that is a substantially circular path.

38. 38. The method of any one of claims 33 to 37, further comprising moving the plurality of containers at a substantially continuous speed and / or at a speed that is substantially constant within 10% of an average rotational speed, with a substantially continuous movement during one revolution.

39. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the rotational speed of the toroid is between 0.5 rpm and 10 rpm.

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