Sorptive separation process and system with pre-concentration of a target component

Abstract

Sorptive gas separation systems employing a solid sorbent and processes of operating the sorptive gas separation systems using temperature and / or partial pressure swing mechanisms.

Description

[0001] SORPTIVE SEPARATION PROCESS AND SYSTEM WITH PRE-CONCENTRATION OF A TARGET COMPONENT

[0002] FIELD

[0003] The present technology relates generally to sorptive gas separation systems with a solid sorbent and processes of operating sorptive gas separation systems using temperature and / or partial pressure swing for producing a product stream enriched with and / or with a high purity of a target component from a multicomponent gas stream, and more particularly, to regeneration streams employed for the sorptive gas separation systems.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Moisture swing sorptive methods are known in the art for use in sorptive separation of multi-component gas mixtures, as disclosed in US Patent Number US 11 ,117,088 B2 and International Publication WO 2022 / 238934 A2. Many conventional temperature swing sorptive processes are used for preferentially sorbing one component of a feed gas on a sorbent material, thereby separating the sorbed component from the remaining feed gas components, and subsequently regenerating the sorbent material by desorbing the sorbed component, allowing for cyclic reuse of the sorbent material. Typically, a regeneration stream employed to regenerate the sorbent material consists of a component or can be substantially a component, for example, consisting of water, in the form of steam.

[0006] One type of industrial process where gas separation may be desirable includes combustion processes, where an oxidant and a carbon-containing fuel are combusted to generate, for example, heat, a combustion gas stream (also known as a combustion flue gas stream or flue gas) and mechanical power, such as through expansion of combustion gases and / or a suitable working fluid. The separation of one or more gas components from the combustion gas stream may be desirable, for example, the removal or sequestration of carbon dioxide from the combustion gas or flue gas stream.

[0007] In a combustion process and system incorporating temperature or partial pressure swing sorptive gas separation, it can be desirable to reduce the quantity of steam, high in exergy (or useful energy of a steam stream), consumed for regeneration of the sorbent material as the availability of steam may be limited. Thus, when the quantity of steam high in exergy (or high exergy steam) can be reduced, the process may require some energy to generate some of the steam and / or the steam may be highly valued, which may result in reducing the operating cost (or OPEX) of a combustion-based system incorporating a moisture swing sorptive gas separation.

[0008] Additionally, in applications where additional steam generation can be desired to enable CO2 separation and recovery, this steam generation may also be associated with the production of additional CO2 that may also need to be mitigated. This can occur, for example, when using an auxiliary boiler powered by natural gas or by increasing the fuel input to the main process in order to produce more steam for the CO2 separation process. Methods and systems to reduce the amount of steam used high in exergy in the separation process are presented in the invention disclosed herein.

[0009] The exergy of the steam produced and the ability to recycle waste heat in supporting the steam generation process has a significant impact on the overall energy efficiency of the separation process when considering efficiency at a plant or integrated systems level rather than a sorptive separator level.

[0010] Solid sorbent separation systems have great advantages in enabling a compact footprint for the contactors between feed gas and sorbent material. One downside can be that heat stored on the solid sorbent may be more difficult to recycle than in the case of a liquid sorbent that can be pumped and directed to a heat exchanger.

[0011] The present invention describes processes and system design for solid sorbent gas separation processes and systems enhancing the overall plant efficiency of a sorptive gas separation system for separation of a component from a multi-component gas stream. SUMMARY

[0012] In a broad aspect, a process of operating a sorptive gas separation system comprises: (a) contacting a multi-component gas stream as a first stream or a third stream with a sorbent. In an embodiment, in contacting the multi-component gas stream as a first stream with a sorbent in a sorptive separator, sorbing a first component from the first stream and generating heat from sorption of the first component, and producing a fourth stream depleted in the first component relative to the first stream, and recovering the fourth stream from the sorptive separator; (b) introducing a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising a second component into a first conditioning device, combining the second component with the second stream for forming a fifth stream with a concentration of the second component of 10-70 vol%, (c) contacting the fifth stream with the sorbent, sorbing at least a fraction of the second component from the fifth stream and generating heat from sorption of the second component, and producing a sixth stream with a greater concentration of the first component relative to at least one of the first stream and the fifth stream and a lesser concentration of the second component relative to the fifth stream, recovering the sixth stream from the sorptive separator, and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c), wherein the heat from sorption of the second component generated in step (c) can be controlled by the amount of the second component added in step (b) and the heat of sorption of the second component can be greater in step (c) than the heat of sorption of the first component generated in step (a).

[0013] In another broad aspect, a sorptive gas separation system comprises: (a) a flow splitting device fluidly connected to receive a multi-component gas stream as a first stream, and splitting the first stream and forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream for use as a second stream; (b) a first conditioning device fluidly connected to receive the second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream, and (c) a sorptive separator with at least one sorbent, fluidly connected to receive the first fraction of the first stream from the flow splitting device or a third stream, to a vent to recover a fourth stream from the sorptive separator, to receive the fifth stream from the first conditioning device and a downstream device or a discharge to recover a sixth stream from the sorptive separator.

[0014] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a graph showing plots of sorptive isotherms for a CALF-20 sorbent of water as a function of relative humidity at temperatures of 40°C, 70°C, and 110°C;

[0016] Figure 2a is a graph showing simulated plots at various times of CO2 concentration along the axial position of a contactor during a regeneration step for Example 1 ;

[0017] Figure 2b is a graph showing simulated plots at various times of water concentration along the axial position of a contactor during a regeneration step for Example 1 ;

[0018] Figure 3 is a simulated plot of temperature versus time of a contactor for Example 1 ;

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating embodiments of a sorptive gas separation system and processes of operating the sorptive gas separation system;

[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating embodiments of a sorptive gas separation system and processes of operating the sorptive gas separation system;

[0021] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating embodiments of a sorptive gas separation system and processes of operating the sorptive gas separation system;

[0022] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating embodiments of a sorptive gas separation system and processes of operating the sorptive gas separation system.

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Definitions:

[0025] CAPEX: Capital expenditures (or CapEx) are funds used by a company to acquire, upgrade, and maintain physical assets such as property, plants, buildings, technology, or equipment.

[0026] Conditioned flue gas: Flue gas entering a CO2 sorptive machine, sorptive separator or separation and purification machine.

[0027] Conditioning device: a device for changing at least one of a temperature, a pressure, and / or a composition of a fluid stream recovered from the conditioning device relative to the fluid stream admitted into the conditioning device. Conditioning devices can include, for example, a direct contact cooler (DCC), a heat exchanger (HEX), a mixing device for adding and combining at least one component to a fluid stream admitted into the mixing device, a condensing device for removing a condensable component from a fluid stream admitted into the mixing device, and an evaporator device for adding a gaseous component into a fluid stream admitted into the evaporator and converting the a liquid phase fluid stream into a gas phase.

[0028] COP: Coefficient of Performance or COP of the heat pump, refrigerator or air conditioning system can be a ratio of the useful heating or cooling energy provided to the work (energy) used.

[0029] CO2: Carbon dioxide.

[0030] Contactor: a volume comprising a sorbent in solid form and flow channels for a fluid and optionally an enclosure surrounding the sorbent and for directing the flow of the fluid between an inlet and an outlet of the contactor. A contactor can comprise including but is not limited to, for example, a structured bed configured with repeated elements forming a set of substantially parallel channels between an inlet and an outlet, or a packed bed configured with sorbent particles stacked together with voids between the particles for providing flow channels for the fluids entering and exiting the contactor.

[0031] Concentration: refers to volume or molar concentration in the text.

[0032] DCC: Direct Contact Cooler, a device where a stream of gas can be contacted with a stream of liquid and heat can be transferred from the gas to the liquid. In this application a DCC can also be used as a vaporizer which may increase a moisture content of a gas stream while cooling the gas stream.

[0033] Evaporator: a device converting at least a fraction of a liquid stream into a gas stream either as a pure stream of a vaporized component from the liquid stream or as a mixture of gases through mixing with another gas stream.

[0034] Isotherm: a line or plot representing the sorption capacity of a sorbent as a function of partial pressure or relative humidity at a set temperature.

[0035] MOF: Metal-Organic Framework (MOF), a class of porous materials that consist of metal ions or clusters of ions coordinated with organic ligands. MOFs have a crystalline structure that forms a regular array of cages or channels that can be utilized for many applications including the cyclic sorption and desorption of gases.

[0036] MT: Metric Ton or 1000kg.

[0037] OPEX: operating expenses, or OPEX, are expenditures a business incurs as part of its normal day-to-day operations, such as rent, travel, utilities, salaries, office supplies, maintenance and repairs, property taxes, electrical power, fuel costs and depreciation.

[0038] OTSG: Once Through Steam Generator (OTSG) can be a combustion device using natural gas and producing steam for various applications including oil recovery and naval applications.

[0039] RH: Relative Humidity or RH can be the ratio of steam partial pressure in a gas mixture to the saturation partial pressure of water at the temperature and pressure of the gas mixture (when in equilibrium with pure water liquid phase at the same temperature).

[0040] First component: component to separate from the first stream, typically CO2.

[0041] Second component: component sorbing and desorbing on the sorbent in the sorption separator to transfer heat in the form of a heat of sorption to the sorbent material, typically water which can be in the form of steam.

[0042] First stream: a multi-component gas stream such as a process gas stream, an air stream, or a flue gas stream from a combustion process comprising both the first and second components, typically CO2 and H2O, where the first component can be desired to be concentrated and / or separated.

[0043] Second stream: a stream comprising a second component in a vapor phase or enriched in second component in a vapor phase prior to entering the sorptive separator, typically a flue gas from a combustion process but can also be an air stream or another stream desired to be enriched in the first component.

[0044] Third stream: an effluent stream of a second conditioning device comprising at least a fraction of the first stream.

[0045] Fourth stream: an effluent stream of a sorptive separator comprising at least a fraction of the first stream that can be depleted in first component relative to the first stream.

[0046] Fifth stream: an effluent stream of a first conditioning device comprising at least a fraction of the second stream and a second component.

[0047] Sixth stream: an effluent stream of the sorptive separator comprising at least a fraction of the fifth or second stream and the first component desorbed from the sorbent of the sorptive separator. The first component can be typically CO2 and second component can be typically water in the form of steam.

[0048] Seventh stream: a conditioning stream with a low concentration of the second component use to strip or desorb the second component from the sorbent during a conditioning step after the first component recovery or regenerating step. A seventh stream can be typically air but can be any suitable gas.

[0049] Eighth stream: an effluent stream from the sorptive separator comprising at least a fraction of the seventh stream and the second component desorbed from the sorbent of the sorptive separator.

[0050] Ninth stream: an effluent stream from a second-stage sorptive separator or purification device with an increased concentration of the first component relative to a sixth stream.

[0051] Tenth stream: an effluent stream from a third conditioning device comprising at least a fraction of the ninth stream where the concentration of the first component can be equal to or greater than 90% volume%.

[0052] Eleventh stream: an effluent stream from a combustion device external to a sorptive gas separation system, the combustion device uses the sixth stream as an oxidant for combustion in the combustion device, the sixth stream can be enriched in the first component relative to the first stream. Twelfth stream: a fraction of a multi-component stream or first stream used as an influent stream for a second-stage sorptive separator providing a fraction of the first component desired to be separated from the first stream.

[0053] Thirteenth stream: an effluent stream of a second-stage sorptive separator comprising at least a fraction of the sixth stream. The thirteenth stream can be depleted in the first component relative to the sixth stream.

[0054] Fourteenth stream: an influent stream to a second-stage sorptive separator used as a regeneration stream in the second-stage sorptive separator for producing a tenth stream. In some applications the fourteenth stream comprise a concentration of the second component or stream of greater than 50 volume%, or preferably greater than 95 volume%.

[0055] Fifteenth stream: an effluent stream of the second-stage sorptive separator depleted in the first component relative to the twelfth stream.

[0056] Sorbent: a material used to selectively absorb and / or adsorb (generically referred to herein as “sorb”) a component targeted for separation from a multicomponent gas stream. The sorbent can be in the form of a solid unless otherwise stated.

[0057] Sorptive separator: a device, machine or assembly comprising at least one contactor which are stationary or moving with a solid sorbent on and / or in the at least one contactor unless otherwise stated.

[0058] Pre-concentrator: a device for increasing the concentration of a first component in a stream relative to a multi-component stream introduced into the device, which forms at least two outlet streams, an outlet stream enriched in the first component and an outlet stream depleted in the first component relative to the multi-component stream. For example, producing a stream with less than 50 volume % of the first component. The pre-concentrator can comprise a sorptive separator, a membrane, or a cryogenic device.

[0059] Purification device: a device increasing the concentration of a first component in a stream relative to a multi-component stream forming at least two outlet streams, an outlet stream enriched in a first component with greater than 90 volume % concentration and an outlet stream depleted in the first component relative to the multi- component stream. The purification device can comprise a cryogenic device, a sorptive separator or a membrane.

[0060] Secondary flue gas: a flue gas generated within the integrated separation system as a modified stream, or a new stream.

[0061] VVC: sorptive capacity unit for a sorbent contactor, volume of purified product per volume of contactor (or bed) per sorption-desorption cycle of a sorptive separation process. For CO2 purification that would be the amount of CO2 recovered per cycle in standard volume (liters) per liter of contactor volume.

[0062] Description:

[0063] Processes and devices for concentration of an acid gas, for example, CO2, are described herein for use in a sorptive gas separation system which can decrease the energy use during separation and recovery of an acid gas from a multi-component gas mixture, for example, a flue gas, or a process gas, or for use as a stand-alone enrichment system if a gas stream enriched with an acid gas can be desired rather than a purified stream of acid gas. For example, an air stream enriched with CO2 may be produced for use in a greenhouse or an air stream doped with CO2 may be produced for integration of selective EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) with a combustor.

[0064] The enclosed invention can be informed by the following experimental observation: some solid sorbents used for separation of CO2 can be at least partially regenerated by contacting the CO2 laced sorbent with a steam stream with a steam partial pressure of less than 50 kPa absolute. For example, a CALF-20 sorbent may be regenerated using a stream with a relative humidity of greater than about 15%, preferably greater than about 20%, most preferably greater than about 30%. The exergy cost of producing a stream with diluted steam can be much lower than the exergy cost of producing a stream with pure steam, or a stream with steam partial pressure of greater than 100 kPa absolute.

[0065] A sorptive pre-concentration process for forming, a first product stream or fourth stream depleted or nearly depleted in CO2 relative to the feed stream, and a second product stream or sixth stream enriched in CO2 relative to the feed stream, using a feed stream with a low CO2 content, for example, less than about 10 vol% CO2 concentration and a regeneration stream comprising diluted steam with a fraction of the feed stream can be proposed.

[0066] This concept may be extended further to any process using a sorbent with a selectivity for sorbing and removing a first component from a feed stream or first stream and subsequently desorbing and transferring the first component to a second product stream or sixth stream by contacting a regeneration stream with a diluted concentration of a second component with the sorbent.

[0067] Advantageously, this process can create a stream with a diluted concentration of the second component, which can reduce an energy cost relative to creating a stream with a substantially pure concentration of the second component. In the case of steam at atmospheric pressure and 100°C, a substantially pure or 100% steam stream can be created, whereas a 30% concentration of steam in an air, a nitrogen, or a flue gas stream can be created at only about 70°C, and a 20% concentration of steam in an air, a nitrogen, or a flue gas stream can be created at about 60°C. The use of a regeneration stream with a diluted concentration enables greater use of what would be considered process waste heat with the prior art methods of using substantially pure steam for regeneration of the sorbent.

[0068] A feature of the invention can be the selection of the one or more sorbents used in the separation, transfer, and / or concentration of the first component.

[0069] The sorbent can be selected such that a heat of sorption generated from the second component contacting and sorbing in and / or on the sorbent during a regeneration step can be greater than the heat of desorption to desorb a set amount of the first component from the sorbent during the regenerating step.

[0070] The amount of heat generated from sorption of the second component can be the product of the molar heat of sorption of the second component multiplied by the number of moles sorbed on the sorbent.

[0071] The amount of heat consumed by desorbing the first component can be the product of the molar heat of sorption of the first component multiplied by the number of moles desorbed from the sorbent. As the temperature of the sorbent can also increase during the regeneration or desorbing step, some of the energy from sorption of the second component may not be available for desorption of the first component.

[0072] In an embodiment, a process of transferring or concentrating a first component from a first stream into a sixth stream can be carried out by cyclically contacting a sorbent with the first stream and at least one of the second stream or a fifth stream comprising a second component with a concentration in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%.

[0073] The sorbent can be selected for its affinity for the first component and the second component at a sorbent temperature, a stream pressure and composition of the first and second streams which contacts the sorbent, where the amount of the second component sorbed during the regeneration step generates a heat of sorption of the second component greater than the heat of desorption of the first component during the same regenerating step.

[0074] In an embodiment, during a sorbing step a fourth stream can be formed at a sorption pressure in a sorptive separator, and during a regenerating step a sixth stream can be formed at a regeneration pressure in the sorptive separator, wherein a pressure ratio between the sorption pressure to the regeneration pressure can be less than 1.2.

[0075] In an embodiment, the first stream and the second stream can be portions of a multi-component or flue gas stream wherein the first component can be CO2 and the second component can be water, wherein water vapor can be added to the second stream to form the fifth stream prior to contacting the sorbent thus forming the sixth stream enriched in first component relative to the second and fifth streams.

[0076] In one embodiment, the rates and flow durations of the first stream and the second stream are adjusted and controlled to increase the concentration of CO2 in the sixth stream by 4 vol% to 20 vol% or preferably 8 vol% to 15 vol% relative to the concentration of CO2 by volume of the fifth stream. The reduced temperature of vaporization of the second component at low partial pressure of second component in the gas phase enables greater utilization of lower grade or waste heat.

[0077] A disadvantage of this process can be that the second product stream or sixth stream formed may have a lower concentration of the first component relative to using a regeneration stream substantially pure in the second component.

[0078] In some applications generating and using a regeneration stream with a diluted concentration of the second component can be desirable.

[0079] A first application can be increasing the concentration of CO2 in a gas stream with a low flow rate with the addition of a gas stream with a higher concentration of CO2 obtained from another source. The concentrated stream can then be optionally further purified in a separate process for CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) applications.

[0080] A second application can be forming a mixture of CO2 and hydrogen or syngas (by using moisture containing hydrogen stream from syngas) for use as a regeneration stream for a sorbent with CO2 sorbed from a flue gas or process gas stream.

[0081] A third application can be generating a CO2 doped humid air stream for use in a combustor for selective exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Selective EGR facilitates CO2 capture from the combustion process by increasing the CO2 concentration in the flue gas.

[0082] While a sorptive transfer device relying only on the difference or change in partial pressure of CO2 between the flue gas and air has been proposed, adding moisture to air with a selected sorbent can be readily regenerated by a modest swing in relative humidity and can greatly enhance the CO2 concentration in the combustor EGR loop and in the combustion flue gas.

[0083] In an embodiment, a multi-component gas stream employed as a first stream can be split into at least two fractions for forming a first fraction of the first stream which can be subsequently cooled and partially dried for forming a third stream, and a second fraction of the first stream herein referred to as a second stream which can be doped with water for forming a fifth stream. The third stream can be contacted with a sorbent in a sorptive separator to produce a first product stream or a fourth stream depleted or nearly depleted in CO2 relative to the first stream while a fraction of the CO2 from the third stream can be sorbed on the sorbent. The fifth stream can be formed by contacting the second stream with an aqueous stream comprising the second component in a first conditioning device which can be heated at least in part by cooling the second stream while increasing the concentration of the second component or water vapor content of the second and fifth streams in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%. The concentration of the second component in the fifth stream can be controlled by adjusting at least one of the flow rate, temperature, pressure, contact time between the second stream and the aqueous stream, and composition of the aqueous stream and / or the flow rate, temperature, pressure, contact time between the second stream and aqueous solution, and composition of the second stream. The fifth stream can be then admitting into the sorptive separator to contact the sorbent with sorbed CO2 which at least partially regenerates the sorbent by sorbing the second component or moisture from the fifth stream, generating an exotherm from sorption or condensation of water, while simultaneously desorbing the CO2 from the sorbent, forming a second product stream or a sixth stream with a greater concentration of CO2 relative to the first stream.

[0084] In a further embodiment, a supplemental or auxiliary heating of the aqueous stream or second stream to further increase the water vapor content of the second product stream or sixth stream can be added to the process and system. The water heating may be electric powered with a heat pump or direct resistive heating or may use an auxiliary combustion process burning a fuel comprised of for example natural gas, biogas, or solid fuel. The second stream and aqueous stream can be controlled and passed through a first conditioning device to form a fifth stream with a concentration of the second component greater than about 90% of the saturation value for the temperature and pressure of the fifth stream.

[0085] While vaporisation can be occurring, the aqueous stream and / or the second stream are cooled. If the energy for vaporization can be primarily extracted from the hot aqueous solution, the cooled aqueous solution can be directed to one or more heat exchangers to be reheated to a temperature greater than 60°C, or preferably greater than 70°C.

[0086] In this innovative process, when the second component can be water the difference in partial pressure of water in the first stream versus fifth stream drives the moisture swing effect used in assisting the transfer and recovery of the first component from the first stream to the sixth stream. Drying the first stream, in this case can be also advantageous.

[0087] In an embodiment, prior to a sorbing step or contacting a third stream with the sorbent, the process additional comprises a step of introducing the first stream comprising the first component and second component into a second conditioning device and thus forming the third stream by reducing a concentration of the second component from the first stream.

[0088] In an embodiment, the second component or moisture in the first fraction of the first stream or the second stream in the form of a gas contributes to the total amount of the second component in the fifth stream and accounts for at least 30% of the concentration of the second component or water vapor in the fifth stream.

[0089] This can be advantageous as no additional costs associated with vaporization of the fraction of the second component or moisture already present in the second stream relative to the conventional processes since the heat of condensation for the second stream can be not recovered. In fact, there can be a savings in power cost related to cooling of the first stream from bypassing a second fraction of the first stream as a second stream away from a second conditioning device such as a direct contact cooler (DCC) using a low temperature liquid. With conventional processes, all of the steam content of the regeneration stream can be generated by combustion or utilizing heat of the multi-component gas stream or first stream.

[0090] In an embodiment, vaporization of the second component or water into the second stream for forming the fifth stream can be carried out in a first conditioning device at a temperature below 90°C, and preferably below 80°C, while the pressure of the second stream or fifth stream in the first conditioning device can be in the range between 90 kPa and 110 kPa.

[0091] In an embodiment, a second component or water added to the second fraction of the first stream or second stream can be carried out in the first conditioning device by at least one conduit, for example, a nozzle, forming a stream of fine droplets mixed into the second fraction of the first stream or second stream. Excess nonvaporized second component or water within the first conditioning device may be removed by passing the second stream or fifth stream saturated with the second component or water through a packing, a demisting gauze, a ceramic monolith, or any other high surface area demisting structure.

[0092] In an embodiment, the first conditioning device can be a direct contact cooler (DCC) used to increase the concentration of the second component in the second stream while heating an aqueous stream admitted into the DCC. By contrast, the prior art discloses cooling of a liquid admitted into a DCC while conditioning the first stream to form a fifth stream entering a sorptive separator with a solid sorbent and a moisture swing regeneration process.

[0093] In an embodiment the aqueous stream can be heated and controlled to a temperature greater than 80°C, or preferably 90°C. Control of the temperature can be performed by a heat pump or an auxiliary heat source such as an electric heater or a combustor.

[0094] Alternatively, direct heat exchange may be used with a hot liquid admitted or injected into a direct heat exchanger, for example, a desuperheater, as a spray or mist before being recovered from the direct heat exchanger. The hot liquid may be substantially pure water, a mixture containing water with a high boiling point polar solvent or dissolvable molecule, or a non-water miscible liquid or slurry with a high heat capacity per unit volume.

[0095] In an embodiment, a heat pump can be used to simultaneously reduce the temperature of one or more product stream(s) of a sorptive separator and a temperature of the first fraction of the first stream or first stream can be reduced to less than 50°C, or preferably less than 40°C, where at least a fraction of the heat extracted by the heat pump can be used to vaporize the second component or water, in a heat exchanger, for example, a first conditioning device.

[0096] Product streams from a sorptive separator during the sorbing step (first product stream or fourth stream) and the conditioning step (third product stream or seventh stream) may have greater concentrations of the second component or water relative to the first stream.

[0097] Heat recovery at lower temperatures enables recovering greater than 50% of the heat of condensation of the second component or water in the first fraction of the first stream.

[0098] In one embodiment, a flow or a flow rate of the second stream can be in the range of 25% to 75% of a flow or a flow rate of the first stream or the sum of the flows of the first fraction of the first stream and the second stream, and the flows can be controlled using a flow diverter, a flow distributor, valves, or other suitable devices for achieving substantially the same function.

[0099] In one embodiment, the partial pressure of the second component or steam exiting the first conditioning device can be at least 50% greater than the partial pressure of the second component or steam entering the first conditioning device.

[0100] In one embodiment, the third stream with a lesser partial pressure of the second component or steam relative to the first stream can be admitted into a sorptive separator to form a first product stream or a fourth stream depleted in or with a lower concentration of the first component or CO2 relative to the first stream while a second fraction of the flue gas, a second stream, or a fifth stream can be admitted into the sorptive separator and form a second product stream or sixth stream enriched in or with a greater concentration of the first component or CO2 relative to the first stream, wherein a difference in a partial pressure of the second component or steam between the fifth stream and the third stream can be greater than 50% of a partial pressure of the second component or steam in the third stream.

[0101] The increased partial pressure of the second component or steam in the second stream can be used to regenerate the sorbent in the sorptive separator by sorbing at least a fraction of the second component or the water vapor contained in the second stream. The sorption of the second component or moisture on the solid sorbent can result in an exotherm raising the temperature of the sorbent and releasing a fraction or substantially most of the first component or CO2 sorbed on the sorbent by shifting the equilibrium between the first component or CO2 in the gas phase and the first component or CO2 sorbed while the first component or CO2 contained in the second stream or the fifth stream can be transported through the sorptive separator in contact with the sorbent with no net first component or CO2 sorbed from the second stream.

[0102] A benefit of this process can be the first component or CO2 in the second or fifth stream passes through the sorptive separator as a carrier gas with no energy spent for cyclic sorption and desorption for that fraction of the first component or CO2.

[0103] In one embodiment, a process of separating and concentrating the first component or CO2 from a first stream with a first volumetric flow rate and transferring the separated CO2 into a sixth stream with a second volumetric flow rate where equal to or greater than about 25% of the first component or CO2 in the first stream can be recovered in the sixth stream without adding heat to or generating heat at the sorbent. In one embodiment, the second volumetric flow rate of the sixth stream can be equal or greater than 25% of the first volumetric flow rate of the first stream.

[0104] In one process embodiment, the flow rates and flow durations of at least one of the first stream and the second stream are adjusted and controlled to increase the concentration of the first component or CO2 in the sixth stream by 4 vol% to 20 vol% or preferably 8 vol% to 15 vol% relative to the volume concentration of the first component or CO2 of the fifth stream.

[0105] In one embodiment, the process comprises employing a sorbent in a sorptive separator, wherein the sorbent has an isotherm for water sorption as a function of relative humidity of the gas in contact with the sorbent, and wherein the isotherm can be in the shape of a sigmoid.

[0106] In one embodiment, the process comprises employing a sorbent in a sorptive separator, wherein the sorbent can be comprised of at least one of a metalorganic framework or a covalent organic framework material.

[0107] In one embodiment, the process comprises employing a sorbent in a sorptive separator, wherein the sorbent can be comprised of CALF-20 which can be a zinc triazolate oxalate metal-organic framework compound.

[0108] In an embodiment, a process of operating a sorptive gas separation system for separating a first component from a multi-component gas stream comprises the following steps:

[0109] (a) admitting the multi-component gas stream as a first stream into the sorptive separator with a sorbent, contacting the first stream with the sorbent, sorbing the first component from the first stream, generating heat from sorption of the first component, producing a fourth stream depleted in the first component relative to the first stream, and recovering the fourth stream from the sorptive separator;

[0110] (b) introducing a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising a second component into a first conditioning device, combining the second component with the second stream and forming a fifth stream with a concentration of the second component in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%;

[0111] (c) contacting the fifth stream with the sorbent, sorbing at least a fraction of the second component from the fifth stream, generating heat from sorption of the second component, and producing a sixth stream with a greater concentration of the first component relative to the fifth stream and a lesser concentration of the second component relative to the fifth stream, and recovering the sixth stream from the sorptive separator, wherein the heat from sorption of the second component generated in step (c) can be greater than the heat from sorption of first component generated in step (a).

[0112] In further embodiments, the process further comprises at least one of: repeating steps (a) through (c); wherein the heat from sorption of the second component generated in step (c) can be greater than the heat from sorption of first component generated in step (a), at the first stream composition, pressure, and sorbent temperature in step (a) and the second stream composition, pressure, and sorbent temperature in step (c); prior to step (a), introducing the first stream with the first component and the second component into a second conditioning device, reducing a concentration of the second component from the first stream and forming a third stream, and in step (a) replacing the first stream with the third stream; after step (c), introducing a seventh stream into the sorptive separator, desorbing the second component from the sorbent, forming an eighth stream enriched in the second component relative to the seventh stream, and recovering the seventh stream from the sorptive separator; in step (a) admitting first stream into a flow splitting device such as a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves, forming a first fraction of the first stream, a second fraction of the first stream for use as the second stream; wherein the first stream and the second stream are fractions of the multi-component gas stream or a flue gas stream, the first component can be CO2, the second component can be water; in step (b) adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between the second stream and the aqueous stream, compositions, flow rates, and flow durations, of at least one of the second stream and the aqueous stream, and thereby increasing the concentration of the first component or CO2 in the sixth stream relative to the concentration of the first component or CO2 of the fifth stream by 4 vol% to 20 vol%; cooling and condensing the second component from the first stream in the second conditioning device; transferring the heat captured in the second conditioning device during the cooling and condensation of the first stream to the first conditioning device for vaporizing the second component in the aqueous stream and forming the fifth stream; recovering heat from an influent stream to the sorptive separator, for example, the first stream, the third stream, the seventh stream or an effluent or product stream of the sorptive separator, for example, the fourth stream, the sixth stream or the eight stream, and transferring the heat recovered to the first conditioning device for vaporizing the second component in the aqueous stream and forming the fifth stream; prior to step (b) heating and / or controlling the aqueous stream to at least one of a temperature equal to or less than about 90°C, or about 70°C; wherein the sorbent has an isotherm for water sorption as a function of relative humidity of a gas in contact with the sorbent, and the isotherm can be in the shape of a sigmoid; wherein the sorbent comprise at least one of a metal-organic framework or a covalent organic framework; wherein the sorbent comprise CALF-20 sorbent which can be a zinc triazolate oxalate metal-organic framework compound; employing a heat pump for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device; in step (a) admitting the first stream into a flow splitting device such as a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves, forming a first fraction of the first stream, a second fraction of the first stream for use as the second stream, and a third fraction of the first stream for use as a twelfth stream; admitting the twelfth stream into a second-stage purification device or a second- stage sorptive separator with a sorbent during a first sorbing step, sorbing the first component, producing a fifteenth stream depleted in the first component relative to the twelfth stream, and recovering the fifteenth stream from the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator; admitting the sixth stream into a second- stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator with a sorbent for purifying the sixth stream and forming a second product stream of the second-stage sorptive separator or a ninth stream; the sorptive gas separation system with a second- stage sorptive gas separator uses equal or less than 80% of the energy relative to a sorptive gas separator for purifying a sixth stream from a first stream; admitting the sixth stream into a second-stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator; admitting the sixth stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator to contact the sorbent before admitting the twelfth stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator; admitting the sixth stream into a second-stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator, during a second sorbing step wherein the second sorbing step can be subsequent to the first sorbing step; admitting the sixth stream into a second-stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator and forming a product stream of the second-stage sorptive separator (for example, a second product stream, a ninth stream, and / or a tenth stream) with a concentration of the first component of equal to or greater than 90 vol% after removal of moisture from the second product stream of the second-stage sorptive separator or ninth stream; admitting the second stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator as a regeneration stream and the second stream comprise the first component; admitting a fourteenth stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator as a regeneration stream; wherein the second-stage purification device can be a cryogenic purification device or a sorptive separator with a liquid or a solid sorbent using a pressure swing, a temperature swing or a partial pressure swing process; wherein the second stream can be air, the first stream can be air or a flue gas containing the first component or CO2, and the sixth stream can be enriched in the first component or CO2 relative to the first stream with a concentration of oxygen equal to or greater than 15 vol%, or 18 vol%; admitting the sixth stream into a combustor to produce heat or power for forming a tenth stream enriched in CO2 relative to the sixth stream; wherein the first component or CO2 in the tenth stream can be admitted into and separated from the tenth stream by a sorptive separator or the first component or CO2 in the tenth stream can be mixed with the first stream; directing the first component or C02in the sixth stream to a plant or an algae; wherein the first stream can be a flue gas comprising the first component or CO2, the second stream can be a hydrogen or syngas stream, and forming a sixth stream comprising hydrogen and CO2; supplying equal to or greater than 30 vol% of the first component or CO2 in the sixth stream from the second stream; and conducting step (a) wherein the sorbent can be at a temperature of equal to or less than 80°C and step (c) wherein the sorbent can be at a temperature of equal to or greater than 100°C.

[0113] In an embodiment, a process of operating a sorptive gas separation system can comprise:

[0114] (a) admitting a multi-component gas stream as a first stream or a fraction of the multi-component gas stream as a first fraction of a first stream, the first stream comprising a first component and a second component, into a second conditioning device forming a third stream and recovering heat by reducing a temperature of and / or condensing the second component in the first stream or first fraction of the first stream in the second conditioning device;

[0115] (b) admitting a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, into a first conditioning device for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream;

[0116] (c) during a sorbing step of a sorptive separator with at least one sorbent admitting the third stream as a feed stream into the sorptive separator, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream, recovering the first product stream or the fourth stream from the sorptive separator, and during a regenerating step of the sorptive separator admitting the fifth stream as a regeneration stream into the sorptive separator, producing a second product stream or a sixth stream, recovering the second product stream or the sixth stream from the sorptive separator, and

[0117] (d) transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

[0118] In further embodiments, the process of operating the sorptive gas separation system further comprises at least one of: in step (a) admitting the multicomponent gas stream or the first stream into a flow splitting device, for example, a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves to produce the first fraction of the first stream, and the second fraction of the first stream for use as the second stream; admitting a coolant stream comprising the second component or water into the second conditioning device; employing a heat pump for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device; in step (b) adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between the second stream and the aqueous stream, compositions, flow rates, and flow durations, of at least one of the second stream and the aqueous stream for forming the fifth stream with a concentration of the second component in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%; in step (c), introducing a seventh stream into the sorptive separator, desorbing the second component from the sorbent, forming an eighth stream enriched in the second component relative to the seventh stream, and recovering the seventh stream from the sorptive separator; wherein the second stream comprise the first component; wherein the second stream is a flue gas stream, an air stream, a hydrogen gas stream or a syngas stream; wherein the aqueous stream comprise at least one of the second component or water; wherein the first component is CO2; wherein the second component is water; wherein the multicomponent gas stream comprise CO2; wherein the multi-component gas stream is a flue gas stream, an air stream, or a process gas stream; and the sorbent can be comprised of at least one of a metal-organic framework or a covalent organic framework.

[0119] In an embodiment, a process of operating a sorptive gas separation system comprises:

[0120] (a) admitting a multi-component gas stream as a first stream into a flow splitting device, for example, a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves for forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream for use as a second stream;

[0121] (b) admitting the second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, into a first conditioning device for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream, and

[0122] (c) during a sorbing step of a sorptive separator admitting the first fraction of the first stream or a third stream as a feed stream into the sorptive separator, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream, recovering the first product stream or the fourth stream from the sorptive separator, and during a regenerating step of the sorptive separator admitting the fifth stream as a regeneration stream into the sorptive separator, producing a second product stream or a sixth stream, and recovering the sixth stream from the sorptive separator.

[0123] In further embodiments, the process of operating the sorptive gas separation system further comprises at least one of: admitting the first fraction of the first stream comprising a first component and a second component into a second conditioning device for forming the third stream, admitting the third stream as the feed stream into the sorptive separator; recovering heat by reducing a temperature of and / or condensing the second component in the first fraction of the first stream in the second conditioning device; transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device; using a heat pump for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device; admitting a coolant stream comprising the second component or water into the second conditioning device; in step (b) adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between the second stream and the aqueous stream, compositions, flow rates, and flow durations, of at least one of the second stream and the aqueous stream for forming the fifth stream with a concentration of the second component in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%; wherein the second stream comprise the first component; in step (c), introducing a seventh stream into the sorptive separator, desorbing the second component from the sorbent, forming an eighth stream enriched in the second component relative to the seventh stream, and recovering the seventh stream from the sorptive separator; wherein the second stream is a flue gas stream, an air stream, a hydrogen gas stream or a syngas stream; wherein the aqueous stream comprise at least one of the second component or water; wherein the first component is CO2; wherein the second component is water; wherein the multicomponent gas stream comprise CO2; wherein the multi-component gas stream is a flue gas stream, an air stream or a process gas stream; and the sorbent can be comprised of at least one of a metal-organic framework or a covalent organic framework.

[0124] Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate embodiments of processes of operating a sorptive gas separation system. In Fig. 4, a sorptive gas separation system 90 has a second stream 206 in a gas phase, for example, an air stream or a process gas stream. Sorptive gas separation system 90 can be employed as a stand-alone system for applications where a second product stream for a sorptive separator, such as, a sixth stream 231 , with an elevated concentration of the first component or CO2 relative to a multi-component gas stream or a second stream 206 can be desired. For example, a CO2 doped humid air stream for use as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for a combustor.

[0125] The sorptive gas separation system in Fig. 5 is similar to the sorptive gas separation system shown in Fig. 4 with the addition of splitting the first stream 101 into a first fraction and a second fraction for use as a second stream 206, and a heat transfer from second conditioning device 220 to first conditioning device 210 with the use of a heat pump 240 and working fluid loop 241 .

[0126] In Fig. 5, a sorptive gas separation system 91 divides a portion of first stream 101 into a first fraction of first stream and a second fraction of first stream, where the second fraction of first stream can be employed as second stream 206. Sorptive gas separation system 91 can be employed for applications where a concentrating the first component in the sixth stream 231 can be desired relative to that present in the first stream 101. In Fig. 5, sorptive gas separation system 91 further illustrates an embodiment having a heat transfer process where a heat pump 240 and working fluid loop 241 are employed for transferring heat captured in second conditioning device 220 to first conditioning device 210. In an embodiment, a heat transfer process shown in Fig. 5 can be employed for use in processes of operating a sorptive gas separation system of the present invention.

[0127] Referring to Fig. 4, an embodiment of operating a sorptive gas separation system includes the steps of:

[0128] (a) supplying and admitting a multi-component gas stream, for example, a flue gas stream, a combustion gas stream, a process gas stream, or an air stream, into a sorptive gas separation system 90 as a first stream 101 which can be at a pressure above about the atmospheric air pressure; adjusting and / or controlling passively or actively the flow rate and / or pressure of the first stream 101 and / or the fan or pump; admitting first stream 101 into a second conditioning device 220, forming a third stream 201 with a temperature between -20°C and 90°C and a reduced concentration of a second component, for example, water, relative to first stream 101 ; recovering third stream 201 from second conditioning device 220, admitting third stream 201 into a sorptive separator 230 where the first component can be selectively sorbed onto a sorbent in sorptive separator 230, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream 232 depleted in the first component relative to first stream 101 ; and recovering fourth stream 232 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 90;

[0129] (b) admitting a second stream 206 and an aqueous stream 104 comprising the second component into first conditioning device 210, adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between second stream 206 and aqueous stream 104, the flow rates, and the flow durations, of at least one of the second stream 206 and the aqueous stream 104; combining the second component from aqueous stream 104 with second stream 206 and forming a fifth stream 211 with a concentration of the second component in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%, and enriched in the second component relative to second stream 206; recovering fifth stream 211 from first conditioning device 210; admitting fifth stream 211 into sorptive separator 230 to contact the sorbent with the first component sorbed in and / or on the sorbent, thereby desorbing the first component from the sorbent, forming a sixth stream 231 enriched in the first component relative to first stream 101 and depleted in the second component relative to fifth stream 211 ; and recovering sixth stream 231 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 90.

[0130] In an embodiment, the first stream 101 can be moved through a fan or a pump.

[0131] In further embodiments, the embodiment of operating a sorptive gas separation system includes an additional step of:

[0132] (c) admitting a seventh stream 103 depleted in the second component relative to fifth stream 211 into sorptive separator 230 thereby desorbing the second component from the sorbent, forming an eighth stream 233 enriched in the second component relative to first stream 101 , and recovering eighth stream 233 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 90. The steps can be repeated thus forming a substantially continuous flow of sixth stream 231 enriched in the first component and fourth stream 232 depleted in the first component relative to first stream 101. The multi-component gas stream can be, for example, a flue gas stream, a combustion gas stream, a process gas stream, or an air stream, the first component can be CO2, the second component can be water, and / or the sorbent can be a metalorganic framework, or CALF-20.

[0133] Referring back to Fig. 5, in further embodiments of operating a sorptive gas separation system, the process includes additional steps of: admitting first stream 101 into one or more flow splitting device such as a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves, (all not shown in Fig. 5), forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream; admitting the first fraction of the first stream into second conditioning device 220, forming a third stream 201 with a temperature between -20°C and 90°C and a reduced concentration of a second component, for example, water, relative to first stream 101 ; employing the second fraction of the first stream as second stream 206; controlling and / or adjusting at least one of the flow rate and pressure of at least one of the first fraction of the first stream, the second fraction of the first stream, and second stream 206; and transferring heat captured in the second conditioning device 220 to the first conditioning device 210 by a heat pump 240 and a working fluid loop 241 .

[0134] First stream 101 , first fraction of the first stream, the second fraction of the first stream, and second stream 206 can be supplied from the same source, as shown in Fig. 5. Alternatively, in an embodiment, first stream 101 and second stream 206 may be supplied from different sources and comprise different components, in which case the selectively sorbed component can be transferred between two streams with different sets of components, for example, a first component from the first stream can be transferred to the sixth stream comprising the first component from the first stream and components in the fifth stream.

[0135] A benefit of the embodiments disclosed herein can be the cost of producing a regeneration stream with a diluted concentration of the second component, which is less than the cost of producing a regeneration stream having a substantially pure second component under the same pressure conditions. In an embodiment, the process of operating a sorptive gas separation system can be integrated with a purification device, for example, a second-stage sorptive separator, using moisture swing, partial pressure swing, or pressure swing for applications where a product stream with high purity, for example, greater than 90%, of the first component can be desired, for example, carbon sequestration applications. A second product stream or a sixth stream from a first sorptive separator can be admitted as a feed stream during a sorbing step into the second-stage sorptive separator while a regeneration stream comprising a high concentration of or substantially pure in the second component can be admitted during a regenerating step into the second-stage sorptive separator. The high concentration of the second component in the regeneration stream or fourteenth stream for the second-stage sorptive separator enables the high concentration and purity of the first component in a second product stream of the second-stage sorptive separator or a ninth stream after removal of the second component or in a tenth stream.

[0136] Fig. 6 illustrate embodiments of processes of operating a sorptive gas separation system where a sorptive gas separation system 92 can be similar to sorptive gas separation system 91 in Fig. 5, but with the addition of a second-stage sorptive separator 330 and a third conditioning device 340, the second product stream or sixth stream 231 of sorptive separator 230 can be employed and admitted as a feed stream into second-stage sorptive separator 330, and a regeneration stream or fourteenth stream 311 for second-stage sorptive separator 330. While Fig. 6 does not show the heat transfer process with a heat pump 240 and working fluid loop 241 as shown in Fig. 5, but can include a heat transfer process, if desirable.

[0137] Referring to Fig. 6, an embodiment of operating a sorptive gas separation system includes the steps of:

[0138] (a) supplying and admitting a multi-component gas stream, for example, a flue gas stream, a combustion gas stream, a process gas stream, or an air stream, into a sorptive gas separation system 92 as a first stream 101 which can be at about a pressure above atmospheric air pressure; adjusting and / or controlling passively or actively the flow rate and / or pressure of the first stream 101 and / or the fan or pump; admitting first stream 101 into a flow splitting device such as a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves (all not shown in Fig. 6), forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream; controlling and / or adjusting at least one of the flow rate and pressure of at least one of the first fraction of the first stream, the second fraction of the first stream; admitting the first fraction of the first stream into second conditioning device 220, forming a third stream 201 with a temperature between -20°C and 90°C and a reduced concentration of a second component, for example, water, relative to first stream 101 ; recovering third stream 201 from second conditioning device 220, admitting third stream 201 into a sorptive separator 230 where the first component can be selectively sorbed onto a sorbent in sorptive separator 230, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream 232 depleted in the first component relative to first stream 101 ; and recovering fourth stream 232 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 92;

[0139] (b) employing the second fraction of the first stream as second stream 206; admitting second stream 206 and an aqueous stream 104 comprising the second component into a first conditioning device 210, adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between second stream 206 and aqueous stream 104, the flow rates, and the flow durations, of at least one of the second stream 206 and the aqueous stream 104; combining the second component from aqueous stream 104 with second stream 206 and forming a fifth stream 211 with a concentration of the second component in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%, and enriched in the second component relative to second stream 206; recovering fifth stream 211 from first conditioning device 210; admitting fifth stream 211 into sorptive separator 230 to contact the sorbent with the first component sorbed in and / or on the sorbent, thereby desorbing the first component from the sorbent, forming a sixth stream 231 enriched in the first component relative to first stream 101 and depleted in the second component relative to fifth stream 211 ; and recovering sixth stream 231 from sorptive separator 230;

[0140] (c) admitting sixth stream 231 as a feed stream into second-stage sorptive separator 330 where the first component can be selectively sorbed onto a sorbent in second-stage sorptive separator 330, producing a thirteenth stream 332 depleted in the first component relative to sixth stream 231 ; and recovering thirteenth stream 332 from second-stage sorptive separator 330 and sorptive gas separation system 92;

[0141] (d) admitting a fourteenth stream 311 into second-stage sorptive separator 330 to contact the sorbent with the first component sorbed in and / or on the sorbent, thereby desorbing the first component from the sorbent, forming a ninth stream 331 enriched in the first component relative to sixth stream 231 , recovering ninth stream 331 from second-stage sorptive separator 230, admitting ninth stream 331 into a third conditioning device 340 for separating the second component from ninth stream 331 forming a condensate stream 341 and a tenth stream 342, and recovering tenth stream 342 from third conditioning device 340 and sorptive gas separation system 92.

[0142] In an embodiment, the first stream 101 can be moved through a fan or a pump (not shown in Fig. 6).

[0143] In further embodiments of operating a sorptive gas separation system, the process further includes after step (b):

[0144] (b1 ) admitting a seventh stream 103 depleted in the second component relative to fifth stream 211 into sorptive separator 230 thereby desorbing the second component from the sorbent, forming an eighth stream 233 enriched in the second component relative to first stream 101 , and recovering eighth stream 233 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 92.

[0145] The multi-component gas stream can be, for example, a flue gas stream, a combustion gas stream, a process gas stream, or an air stream, the first component can be CO2, the second component can be water, and / or the sorbent can be a metalorganic framework, or CALF-20.

[0146] Fig. 7 illustrates embodiments of processes of operating a sorptive gas separation system where a sorptive gas separation system 93 can be similar to sorptive gas separation system 92 in Fig. 6, but with the addition of a by-pass stream 410 for bypassing a portion of first stream 101 away from sorptive separator 230 (also referred to herein as a “pre-concentrator”) to second-stage sorptive separator 330 (also referred herein as a “purification device”). In second-stage sorptive separator 330, two or more sorption steps occur where by-pass stream 410 can be contacted with a sorbent in second-stage sorptive separator 330 during a first sorption step and sixth stream 231 from sorptive separator 230 can be admitted into and contacted with the sorbent in second-stage sorptive separator 330 during a subsequent second sorption step. While Fig. 7 does not show a heat transfer process with a heat pump 240 and working fluid loop 241 as shown in Fig. 5, but can include a heat transfer process, if desirable.

[0147] In one embodiment, a process of operating a sorptive gas separation system for concentrating and / or purifying an effluent or product stream of the sorptive gas separation system with a concentration of the first component equal to or greater than 90 vol% from a multi-component gas stream with a diluted concentration of the first component can comprise the following steps:

[0148] (a) supplying and admitting a multi-component gas stream, for example, a flue gas stream, a combustion gas stream, a process gas stream, or an air stream, into a sorptive gas separation system 93 as a first stream 101 which can be at about a pressure above atmospheric air pressure; adjusting and / or controlling passively or actively the flow rate and / or pressure of the first stream 101 and / or the fan or pump; admitting first stream 101 into a flow splitting device such as a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves, forming a first fraction of the first stream, a second fraction of the first stream for use as second stream 206, and a third fraction of the first stream for use as twelfth stream 410; controlling and / or adjusting at least one of the flow rate and pressure of at least one of the first fraction of the first stream, the second fraction of the first stream, second stream 206, the third fraction of the first stream, and twelfth stream 410; admitting the first fraction of the first stream into second conditioning device 220, forming a third stream 201 with a temperature between -20°C and 90°C and a reduced concentration of a second component, for example, water, relative to first stream 101 ; recovering third stream 201 from second conditioning device 220, admitting third stream 201 into a sorptive separator 230 where the first component can be selectively sorbed onto a sorbent in sorptive separator 230, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream 232 depleted in the first component relative to first stream 101 ; and recovering fourth stream 232 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 93;

[0149] (b) employing the second fraction of the first stream as second stream 206; admitting second stream 206 and an aqueous stream 104 comprising the second component into a first conditioning device 210, adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between second stream 206 and aqueous stream 104, the flow rates, and the flow durations, of at least one of the second stream 206 and the aqueous stream 104; combining the second component from aqueous stream 104 with second stream 206 and forming a fifth stream 211 with a concentration of the second component in a range of about 10 vol% to about 70 vol%, about 15 vol% to about 60 vol%, or about 20 vol% to about 50 vol%, and enriched in the second component relative to second stream 206; recovering fifth stream 211 from first conditioning device 210; admitting fifth stream 211 into sorptive separator 230 to contact the sorbent with the first component sorbed in and / or on the sorbent, thereby desorbing the first component from the sorbent, forming a sixth stream 231 enriched in the first component relative to first stream 101 and depleted in the second component relative to fifth stream 211 ; and recovering sixth stream 231 from sorptive separator 230;

[0150] (c) admitting the twelfth stream 410 as a feed stream during a first sorbing step into second-stage sorptive separator 330 where the first component from twelfth stream 410 can be selectively sorbed on and / or in a sorbent in second-stage sorptive separator 330 producing a fifteenth stream 333 depleted in the first component relative to twelfth stream 410; and recovering twelfth stream 410 from second-stage sorptive separator 330 and sorptive gas separation system 93;

[0151] (d) admitting sixth stream 231 as a feed stream during a second sorbing step into second-stage sorptive separator 330 where the first component from sixth stream 231 can be selectively sorbed on and / or in the sorbent in second-stage sorptive separator 330, producing a thirteenth stream 332 depleted in the first component relative to sixth stream 231 ; and recovering thirteenth stream 332 from second-stage sorptive separator 330 and sorptive gas separation system 93;

[0152] (e) admitting a fourteenth stream 311 comprising a concentration of the second component greater than 50 vol%, or preferably greater than 95 vol% into second-stage sorptive separator 330 to contact the sorbent with the first component sorbed in and / or on the sorbent, thereby desorbing the first component from the sorbent, forming a ninth stream 331 enriched in the first component relative to sixth stream 231 , recovering ninth stream 331 from second-stage sorptive separator 230, admitting ninth stream 331 into a third conditioning device 340 for separating the second component from ninth stream 331 forming a condensate stream 341 and a tenth stream 342, and recovering tenth stream 342 from third conditioning device 340 and sorptive gas separation system 93.

[0153] In embodiments, the first stream 101 can be moved through a fan or a pump.

[0154] In further embodiments of operating a sorptive gas separation system, the process further includes after step (b):

[0155] (b1 ) admitting a seventh stream 103 depleted in the second component relative to fifth stream 211 into sorptive separator 230 thereby desorbing the second component from the sorbent, forming an eighth stream 233 enriched in the second component relative to first stream 101 , and recovering eighth stream 233 from sorptive separator 230 and sorptive gas separation system 92.

[0156] In further embodiments of operating a sorptive gas separation system, the first sorbing step can be subsequently followed by the second sorbing step. The multicomponent gas stream can be, for example, a flue gas stream, a combustion gas stream, a process gas stream, or an air stream, the first component can be CO2, the second component can be water, and / or the sorbent can be a metal-organic framework, or CALF-20. The tenth stream 342 with a concentration of the first component to a concentration equal to or greater than 90 vol%.

[0157] This type of integration can be beneficial in reducing the size and duty of the first sorptive separator or sorptive pre-concentrator, while reducing the flow of the multi-component gas stream into the purification device.

[0158] For example, 50% of the multi-component gas stream can be directed to flow to the purification device while 50% of the multi-component gas stream can be direct to flow to a first sorptive separator or sorptive pre-concentrator. The concentration of the first component from the sorptive pre-concentrator can be concentrated by a factor of two compared to the concentration in the multi-component gas stream. The flow rate out of the sorptive pre-concentrator directed to the purification device can be 50% of the flow rate of the second fraction of the first stream or 25% of the flow rate of the multi-component gas stream. In this example, the purification device will receive 25% less of the multi-component gas stream than if the sorptive pre-concentrator was absent. The flue gas split can be optimized depending upon the desired outcome including, for example, optimizing for the cost of equipment (CAPEX) or optimizing for the energy use (OPEX).

[0159] A number of process parameters can be computed or controlled either actively or passively in order to achieve and maintain an efficient separation.

[0160] The split ratio between the first fraction of the first stream and the second fraction of the first stream (or second stream) can be set as a function of the composition and temperature of the first stream. The amount of the second component or water added to the second fraction of the first stream (or second stream) can be a function of the composition of and split ratio between the first fraction of the first stream and the second fraction of the first stream (or second stream).

[0161] Devices to measure gas temperatures and composition would be added to the system to control active flow control elements such as valve positioners or injection pumps. For a system operating with a first stream at fixed temperature and compositions, some of the active control elements can be replaced by passive devices.

[0162] The transfer process of the first component from a first stream into a sixth stream can also be used to enrich an oxidant stream directed to a combustion device with the first component or CO2. This would result in an effluent stream of the combustion device to be enriched in CO2 which may be advantageous, for example, if it can be desirable to separate and capture the CO2 from the combustion device in a sorptive separator.

[0163] In an embodiment, the second stream can be air, the first stream can be a flue gas containing CO2 and the sixth stream can be enriched in CO2 relative to the first stream with a concentration of oxygen greater than 15 vol%, and, in embodiments, greater than 18 vol%.

[0164] In a further embodiment, the sixth stream can be recycled to a combustor or combustion device which forms the first stream, thereby increasing a concentration of the first component in the first stream.

[0165] In one embodiment, equal to or greater than about 30 vol% of the first component or CO2 in the sixth stream can be provided by the second stream. In one embodiment, the process comprises a step (a) and step (c), wherein during step (a) CO2 can be sorbed onto a sorbent when the sorbent temperature can be less than 80°C and during step (c) CO2 can be desorbed from the sorbent when the sorbent temperature greater than 100°C.

[0166] In an embodiment of a sorptive gas separation system, the system can comprises:

[0167] (a) a second conditioning device fluidly connected to receive a multicomponent gas stream as a first stream or a fraction of the multi-component gas stream as a first fraction of a first stream, the first stream comprising a first component and a second component, the second conditioning device can be used for forming a third stream and recovering heat by reducing a temperature of and / or condensing the second component in the first stream or first fraction of the first stream;

[0168] (b) a first conditioning device fluidly connected to receive a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream;

[0169] (c) a sorptive separator with at least one sorbent, fluidly connected during a sorbing step to receive the third stream from the second conditioning device as a feed stream and to a first vent to recover a fourth stream as a first product stream from the sorptive separator, and during a regenerating step to receive the fifth stream from the first conditioning device as a regeneration stream and to a downstream device for use or further processing or to a second vent for discharge to recover a sixth stream from the sorptive separator, and

[0170] (d) a heat pump fluidly and thermally connected to the second conditioning device and the first conditioning device for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

[0171] In further embodiments, the sorptive gas separation system can further comprise a flow splitting device, for example, a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves fluidly connected to receive the first stream, to admit the third stream into the sorptive separator, and to admit the second stream into the first conditioning device.

[0172] In aspects of the sorptive gas separation system, at least one of: wherein the downstream device can be a second-stage sorptive separator, a pipeline, a storage facility, a downstream process, a combustor, or a greenhouse; wherein the sorbent can be at least one of a solid sorbent, a metal-organic framework, a covalent organic framework, and a CALF-20 based sorbent; wherein the second conditioning device can be a direct contact cooler; wherein the second conditioning device can be fluidly connected to receive a coolant stream and to recover a condensate stream; wherein the first conditioning device can be a vaporizer; wherein the multi-component gas stream can be a combustion or flue gas stream, the first component can be CO2; the second component can be water; and the first vent can be fluidly connected to the second vent.

[0173] In an embodiment of a sorptive gas separation system, the system comprises:

[0174] (a) a flow splitting device, for example, a flow diverter, a flow distributor, or one or more valves fluidly connected to receive a multi-component gas stream as a first stream for forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream for use as a second stream;

[0175] (b) a first conditioning device fluidly connected to receive the second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream, and

[0176] (c) a sorptive separator with at least one sorbent, fluidly connected during a sorbing step to receive the first fraction of the first stream from the flow splitting device or a third stream as a feed stream and to a first vent to recover a fourth stream as a first product stream from the sorptive separator, and during a regenerating step to receive the fifth stream from the first conditioning device as a regeneration stream and to a downstream device for use or further processing or a second vent for discharging to recover a sixth stream from the sorptive separator.

[0177] In further embodiments, the sorptive gas separation system can further comprise a second conditioning device fluidly connected to receive the first fraction of the first stream comprising a first component and a second component, the second conditioning device can be used for forming the third stream and recovering heat by reducing a temperature of and / or condensing the second component in the first stream or first fraction of the first stream; and a heat pump fluidly and thermally connected to the second conditioning device and the first conditioning device for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

[0178] In aspects of the sorptive gas separation system, at least one of: wherein the downstream device can be a second-stage sorptive separator, a pipeline, a storage facility, a downstream process, a combustor, or a greenhouse; wherein the sorbent can be at least one of a solid sorbent, a metal-organic framework, a covalent organic framework, and a CALF-20 based sorbent; wherein the second conditioning device can be a direct contact cooler; wherein the second conditioning device can be fluidly connected to receive a coolant stream and to recover a condensate stream; wherein the first conditioning device can be a vaporizer; wherein the multi-component gas stream can be a combustion or flue gas stream, the first component can be CO2; the second component can be water; and the first vent can be fluidly connected to the second vent.

[0179] Examples

[0180] Example 1 :

[0181] A simulation of axial sorbent loading in water and carbon dioxide as well as sorbent temperature versus time was solved numerically for 45 second cycles with 3 steps of 15 seconds each. The sorbent simulated comprises a CALF-20 metal organic framework sorbent with a bed or contactor bulk density of 350 kg / m3and a void fraction of 55% for the structured sorbent. The feed and product streams for this example are provided in Table 1 .

[0182] Fig. 1 presents isotherms for the CALF-20 sorbent for water as a function of relative humidity. A plot 2 can be an isotherm at a temperature of 40°C, a plot 4 can be an isotherm at a temperature of 70°C, and a plot 6 can be an isotherm at a temperature of 110°C.

[0183] In a first step, a first stream with a composition of 10% CO2, 3.5% water, 4.5% oxygen and balance nitrogen, at near atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 40°C, can be contacted with a 1 m length sorbent contactor with an inlet velocity of about 3 m / s. In the second step, a second stream with a composition of 8% CO2, 22.5% water, 3.5% oxygen and balance nitrogen, can be admitted into the same contactor in the opposite direction at near atmospheric pressure and 75°C with a superficial velocity of about 2.64 m / s. In the third step, air with 0.5% water at 115°C can be admitted in the same direction as the first flue stream near atmospheric pressure and with a velocity of about 5 m / s. After about 50 cycles, the sorbent cyclic performance stabilizes. Compositions of the first product stream (or sixth stream) and the second product stream (or fourth stream) are presented in Table 1 .

[0184] TABLE 1

[0185] [* after cooling and some water removal for product streams].

[0186] In this example, about 1 GJ / MT of CO2 in the concentrated stream can be required for steam production. All of this energy can be derived from heat integration with cooling of hot streams. This example provides an illustration of the functionality of this concept and does not represent the most favorable split ratio between the second fraction of the first stream and second stream or the quantity of steam addition.

[0187] Figs. 2a and 2b illustrate simulated plots at various times (0 seconds, +3 seconds, +6 seconds, +9 seconds, +12 seconds, and +15 seconds) of Example 1 with a regeneration step using a regeneration stream with 8% CO2 and 25% water vapor for 15 seconds, a contactor with the CALF-20 sorbent, and a previous feed step using a feed stream with 8% CO2 and 3.5% water vapor for 15 seconds. Figs. 2a and 2b illustrate the axial concentration profile of a component in the gas phase in contact with the sorbent during the 15 second regeneration step. In Fig. 2a the component can be CO2 and in Fig. 2b the component can be water. The y-axis in Figs. 2a and 2b can be a concentration of a component, while the x-axis can be an axial location along the bed or contactor. The direction of the regeneration stream versus axial location in the bed or contactor can be represented by arrow 20. The moist regeneration stream can be seen saturating the sorbent bed or contactor and slowly breaking through the 1 m long sorbent contactor while a concentrated CO2 plug can be also pushed towards the opposite end from the regeneration feed inlet. While the peak concentration of CO2 can be observed to exceed a concentration of greater than 20% CO2 on a moist basis, the average composition of the effluent can be what would be utilized in a downstream process, for example, can be about 16.9%.

[0188] Fig. 3 illustrates simulated plots at various axial location of the contactor of temperature versus time through two sorption, desorption, and conditioning cycles of Example 1 . During regeneration the sorbent temperature peaks at about 120°C due to the rapid heat release from the sorption of water vapor during this step. The sorbing step was carried out at about 70°C. The regeneration step with a cycle time of 45 seconds can be performed with the regeneration stream in a counter-flow direction relative to the feed stream during a feed step.

[0189] The measured recovery of CO2 can be defined as CO2 flux in the concentrated products stream divided by the sum of the CO2 flux admitted into the sorptive separator with flue gas (not including the dry air CO2 fraction) can be about 74%. The concentration of CO2 effluent can be on average 16.9% on a dry basis and the apparent CO2 cyclic capacity can be about 5.8 volumes of CO2 per volume of bed or contactor.

[0190] An increase in CO2 concentration by greater than 60% can be highly desirable for solid sorbent systems that have a strong dependency of their cyclic sorption capacity as a function of the inlet concentration of CO2 of the feed. While in this example the recovery rate can be modest, the cycle can be adapted to increase the recovery to greater than 90% by recycling some of the feed or conditioning gas.

[0191] Example 2:

[0192] In example 2, the cycle was further optimized to improve the recovery from 74% to 86% and to increase the CO2 dry concentration from 16.9% to 20.3% for the first product stream or sixth stream as illustrated in Table 2 below. TABLE 2.

[0193] [* after cooling and some water removal for product streams].

[0194] The following discussion focuses on applications of this technology for CO2 enrichment and separation from a flue gas.

[0195] Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, two example integration scenarios with a preconcentration process for the first stream comprising an once through steam generator (OTSG) flue gas increasing the CO2 concentration in the first stream from about 10% CO2 to about 20% CO2 in the sixth stream prior to a further purification step further increasing the CO2 concentration from about 20% in the sixth stream to about 95% in a ninth stream using a moisture swing gas separation process with a steam stream injected onto the second stage separation sorbent during a regeneration step as disclosed in International Publication Number WO 2022 / 238934 A2.

[0196] Fig. 6 illustrates a process of utilizing the entire OTSG feed stream as a primary flue gas to the pre-concentrator where it can be spit into first stream and second stream while Fig. 7 illustrates directing only a fraction of the OTSG feed stream as the primary flue gas through the pre-concentrator and the balance of the OTSG feed stream to the purification stage.

[0197] Figs. 6 and 7 does not show flue gas pre-treatment units to cool the OTSG feed stream and remove water and optionally remove sulfur and nitric oxide compounds. The pre-concentration device may be advantageous in reducing the volume of flue gas that requires pre-treatment. However, if the regenerating stream does not include sulfur or nitric oxide compounds removal the sorbent used in the preconcentrator would need to be selected to tolerate those minor species contaminants in the flue gas which can be deleterious to the reliability of many solid sorbents. For the regeneration stream, as water can be not removed but added, the removal of minor species within the evaporator or vaporizer requires a liquid purge stream to be added to enable NOxand SOXscrubbing. In a DCC, a large amount of excess water can be looped from top to bottom of the device, therefore adding of a small purge stream in this case can be relatively straight-forward. If the addition of water can be through a spray nozzle without significant excess liquid water addition, then NOXand SOXwill mostly remain in the gas phase.

[0198] If a DCC with hot aqueous stream can be used for water vapor addition, sulfur and nitrogen oxide scrubbing capability would be included because of the excess water circulation in the device. If a liquid spray system can be used without a large excess of liquid injection, it may be less efficient at removing NOXand SOXin this fraction of the flue gas. The preferred vapor addition device provides a high surface area of exchange between liquid and gas.

[0199] As the second purification stage device can be capable of sorbing CO2 at low partial pressure, the OTSG feed CO2 can be captured efficiently by this device. However, to maximize sorbent utilization a second step of sorption to generate increased partial pressure in CO2 can increase cycle capacity and decrease steam use in the purification stage.

[0200] The choice between using a bypass and a two-step sorption process in the purification stage can be driven by the capital cost of the device, overall energy efficiency and operability considerations. The impact of increasing the CO2 concentration in the flue gas directed into the purification stage producing a greater than 90% CO2 stream post drying can be illustrated in Fig. 6.

[0201] The cycle capacity of the CALF-20 sorbent increased by about 40% in terms of CO2 per volume of contactor per cycle (WC) when the inlet CO2 concentration of the flue gas can be increased from 11.5% to about 18% as measured experimentally for a contactor with CALF-20 sorbent. At the same time, the energy required to separate the CO2 decreased by about 30% as the cycle capacity increased. This can be expected as the heat losses from cycling the bed or contactor temperature would be reduced proportionally to the increases in the CO2 cycle capacity. The steam usage can be represented by the ratio of steam admitted in the process versus the weight of purified CO2 recovered from the process.

[0202] To quantify the quantity of additional steam required, the following table can be shown with moisture content versus relative humidity at different temperatures (Table 3A). This assumes a certain concentration of the CO2 in the effluent product stream from the pre-concentrator regeneration step and an apparent steam ratio can be computed. In this case, assuming 14% CO2 at the pre-concentration outlet the apparent steam ratio on a molar basis can be between 1 .7 and 3.6 as shown in Table 3B. It can be important to note that a large fraction of the diluted steam can be present in the flue gas without steam addition. The net steam ratio for the set of RH targets with 15% moisture can be shown in Table 3C.

[0203] Table 3A Table 3B 20 Table 3C

[0204] Finally, the question of how much energy can be required to generate the additional steam can be evaluated using simple equations considered at equilibrium conditions of saturated stream under adiabatic conditions. Table 4 shows the heat and material balance of the streams from a HYSYS simulation. The influent or second stream comprised of a 15% moisture, 8% CO2 mixture at a temperature of 205°C that can be being enriched in steam to a concentration of about 23.0% when contacted with 80°C liquid water with fifth stream equilibrium temperature of 63°C. Table 4

[0205] This example demonstrates that no additional heat may be required with hot flue gas scenarios for enabling sufficient steam addition for the regeneration stream of the pre-concentrator concept beside pre-heating of the water added.

[0206] While the use of a heat pump requires significant mechanical or electrical energy it does have the advantage of reducing or eliminating the need to place an air cooler in the system and recovering a fraction of the heat of condensation of water from waste streams. From a control perspective, cooling one stream at a fixed temperature and injecting this heat into another stream with a constant output can be simpler than cooling with air that may be at very different temperatures depending on the location or time of the day or year.

[0207] With a low temperature differential between cold source and hot sink of less than 60°C, preferably less than 40°C the COP (coefficient of performance, i.e. a measure of the electrical or mechanical energy required to transfer the heat in question) of the heat pump can be likely to be greater than 3 or 4.

[0208] Rotary sorptive machines are well suited for this type of multistep process as the cost of the machine or sorptive separator can be only modestly affected by the number of steps in the process.

[0209] Moving beds or moving contactors may also be used to carry out the multi-step process including several pre-concentration steps in series.

[0210] The same machine may also integrate a purification step where the sorbent loading can be carried out first with the sorbent at the highest CO2 concentration prior to regeneration with concentrated steam yielding a post condensable removal stream of greater than 90% CO2 concentration. While the process described above as using two fractions of the same gas to carry out the transfer of a target component from one dry stream to another wetter stream, this process can be used with different gases instead of multiple flue gas streams.

[0211] Other applications in addition to a reduction of the cost of separation of CO2 from flue gas using a sorptive separation system are also claimed in this disclosure.

[0212] In an embodiment air can be purified from excess CO2 using a sorbent pre-concentrator system with decreased CO2 in one stream and increased CO2 and moisture in a second stream. The sixth stream may be discarded outside of a building while the fourth stream can be recirculated inside the building with make-up air or oxygen. Such an application may be of benefit to reduce the air exchange rate of buildings or closed spaces occupied by people and to reduce heating or cooling energy demand for the building.

[0213] In an embodiment air can be enriched in CO2 using a pre-concentration cycle with dry air and humidified and heated air. CO2 would be removed from the air, while the sorbent would be regenerated by exposure to moist air. In this case, sorbent blends may be needed to enable both the low concentration CO2 capture and the mild relative humidity regenerative step. For example, an amine-based sorbent with primary or secondary amine functions for example can be mixed with a MOF material with a water isotherm that exhibits a strong dependency in RH around 10 to 30% to enable the energy transfer from the mild RH stream of RH 30% or greater to the CO2 containing sorbent material.

[0214] In an embodiment, air can be enriched in CO2 using a moist air stream, instead of a fraction of flue gas, to regenerate a sorbent loaded with CO2 after sorbing CO2 from a flue gas. The CO2 enriched air can be then fed into a combustion process, creating a CO2 loop around the combustion process using a selective EGR method.

[0215] Selective EGR processes using sorbent partial pressure swing have been disclosed in the past, however in this case, the moisturized air regeneration step would greatly enhance the ability to increase the CO2 concentration in the CO2 loop throughout the combustion process such as a natural gas turbine combustion process. The increased CO2 concentration post combustion enables a more cost-effective CO2 removal from the flue gas.

[0216] In one embodiment, CO2 can be transferred from a cooled and dried flue gas into a wet hydrogen stream using the diluted moisture sorbent regeneration process to create a CO2, H2 and H2O stream that can be directed to a reverse water gas shift reactor to produce, for example, carbon monoxide, or be directed to a reactor producing methanol, ethanol, or higher alcohols, under increased pressure and temperature.

[0217] In an embodiment of the transfer or concentration process, the first stream 101 can be a flue gas and the second stream 206 can be a fraction of the same flue gas or another flue gas.

[0218] In an embodiment, first stream 101 can be a flue gas and the second stream 206 can be air.

[0219] In an embodiment, first stream 101 can be flue gas and the second stream 206 can be hydrogen or syngas.

[0220] In an embodiment, first stream 101 can be air and the second stream 206 can be also air.

Claims

CLAIMS:1 . A process of operating a sorptive gas separation system for separating a first component from a multi-component gas stream, the process comprising:(a) contacting the multi-component gas stream as a first stream with a sorbent in a sorptive separator, sorbing the first component from the first stream and generating heat from sorption of the first component, producing a fourth stream depleted in the first component relative to the first stream, and recovering the fourth stream from the sorptive separator;(b) introducing a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising a second component into a first conditioning device, combining the second component with the second stream and forming a fifth stream with a concentration of the second component of 10 to 70 vol%;(c) contacting the fifth stream with the sorbent, sorbing at least a fraction of the second component from the fifth stream and generating heat from sorption of the second component, producing a sixth stream with a greater concentration of the first component relative to at least one of the first stream and the fifth stream and a lesser concentration of the second component relative to the fifth stream, recovering the sixth stream from the sorptive separator, and(d) repeating steps (a) through (c), wherein the heat from sorption of the second component generated in step (c) can be controlled by the amount of the second component added in step (b) and the heat of sorption of the second component can be greater in step (c) than the heat of sorption of the first component generated in step (a).

2. The process of claim 1 , further comprising prior to step (a), introducing the first stream with the first component and the second component into a second conditioning device, reducing a concentration of the second component from the first stream and forming a third stream, and in step (a) replacing the first stream with the third stream.

3. The process of claim 1 or 2, further comprising after step (c), introducing a seventh stream into the sorptive separator, desorbing the second component from the sorbent and forming an eighth stream.

4. The process of claims 1 ,2 or 3, wherein the first stream and the second stream are fractions of the multi-component gas stream or a flue gas stream, the first component can be CO2, the second component can be water.

5. The process of claim 1 , further comprising in step (b) adjusting at least one of the flow rates and the flow durations of at least one of the second stream and the aqueous stream, and thereby increasing the concentration of CO2 in the sixth stream relative to the concentration of CO2 of the fifth stream by between 4 vol% and 20 vol%.

6. The process of claim 2, further comprising cooling and condensing the second component from the first stream in the second conditioning device, transferring the heat captured during the cooling and condensation of the first stream to the first conditioning device for forming the fifth stream.

7. The process of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising recovering heat from at least one of the first stream, the third stream, the fourth stream, the sixth stream, the seventh stream, or the eight stream, and transferring the heat recovered to the first conditioning device for vaporizing the second component in the aqueous stream and forming the fifth stream.

8. The process of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising prior to step (b), heating the aqueous stream to a temperature equal to or less than 90°C.

9. The process of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sorbent has an isotherm for water sorption as a function of relative humidity of a gas in contact with the sorbent, and wherein the isotherm can be in the shape of a sigmoid.

10. The process of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sorbent comprises at least one of a metal-organic framework or a covalent organic framework material.11 . The process of claim 10, wherein the sorbent comprises CALF-20.

12. The process of claim 2, further comprising employing a heat pump for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

13. The process of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising admitting the sixth stream into a second-stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator.

14. The process of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising admitting the sixth stream into a second-stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator and forming a second product stream of the second-stage sorptive separator or a tenth stream with a concentration of the first component of equal to or greater than 90 vol%.

15. The process of claims 13 or 14, further comprising admitting the second stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator and the second stream comprises the first component.

16. The process of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the second- stage purification device can be a cryogenic purification device, a sorptive separator with a liquid or a solid sorbent using a pressure swing, a temperature swing or a partial pressure swing process.

17. The process of any one of claims 13 to 16, further comprising admitting a twelfth stream into the second-stage purification device or a second-stagesorptive separator, sorbing the first component, producing a fifteenth stream depleted in the first component relative to the twelfth stream, and recovering the fifteenth stream from the second-stage purification device or a second-stage sorptive separator.

18. The process of claim 17, further comprising admitting the sixth stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator before admitting the twelfth stream into the second-stage purification device or the second-stage sorptive separator.

19. The process of claim 1 , wherein the second stream can be air, the first stream can be air or a flue gas containing CO2 and the sixth stream can be enriched in CO2 relative to the first stream with a concentration of oxygen equal to or greater than 15%.

20. The process of any one of claims 1 to 19, further comprising admitting the sixth stream into a combustor for forming the first stream or a combustor external to the sorptive gas separation system.21 . The process of any one of claims 1 to 20, further comprising directing the CO2 in the sixth stream to a plant or an algae.

22. The process of claim 1 , wherein the first stream can be a flue gas comprising CO2, the second stream can be a hydrogen or a syngas stream, and forming a sixth stream comprising hydrogen and CO2.

23. The process of any one of claims 1 to 22, further comprising supplying equal to or greater than 30 vol% of the first component or CO2 in the sixth stream from the second stream.

24. The process of any one of claims 1 to 23, further comprising conducting step (a) wherein the sorbent can be at a temperature of equal to or less than80°C and step (c) wherein the sorbent can be at a temperature of equal to or greater than 100°C.

25. A process of operating a sorptive gas separation system, the process comprising:(a) admitting a multi-component gas stream as a first stream or a fraction of the multi-component gas stream as a first fraction of a first stream, the first stream comprising a first component and a second component, into a second conditioning device forming a third stream and recovering heat by reducing a temperature of and / or condensing the second component in the first stream or first fraction of the first stream;(b) admitting a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, into a first conditioning device for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream;(c) admitting the third stream as a feed stream into the sorptive separator, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream, recovering the first product stream from the sorptive separator, admitting the fifth stream as a regeneration stream into the sorptive separator, producing a second product stream or a sixth stream, recovering the second product stream or the sixth stream from the sorptive separator, and(d) transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

26. The process of claim 25, further comprising admitting the multicomponent gas stream or the first stream into a flow splitting device to produce the first fraction of the first stream, and the second fraction of the first stream.

27. The process of any one of claims 24 to 26, further comprising admitting a coolant stream into the second conditioning device.

28. The process of any one of claims 24 to 27, further comprising employing a heat pump for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

29. The process of any one of claims 24 to 27, further comprising in step (b) adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between the second stream and the aqueous stream, compositions, flow rates, and flow durations, of at least one of the second stream and the aqueous stream for forming the fifth stream with a concentration of the second component in a range of 10 vol% to 70 vol%.

30. A process of operating a sorptive gas separation system, the process comprising:(a) admitting a multi-component gas stream as a first stream into a flow splitting device for forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream for use as a second stream;(b) admitting the second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component into a first conditioning device for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream, and(c) admitting the first fraction of the first stream as a feed stream into the sorptive separator, producing a first product stream or a fourth stream, recovering the first product stream or the fourth stream from the sorptive separator, admitting the fifth stream as a regeneration stream into the sorptive separator, producing a second product stream or a sixth stream, and recovering the sixth stream from the sorptive separator.31 . The process of claim 30, further comprising admitting the first fraction of the first stream comprising a first component and a second component into a second conditioning device for forming the third stream, recovering heat by reducing a temperature of and / or condensing the second component in the first fraction of the first stream, and transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

32. The process of claim 30, further comprising using a heat pump for transferring heat from the second conditioning device to the first conditioning device.

33. The process of claim 31 or 32, further comprising admitting a coolant stream into the second conditioning device.

34. The process of any one of claims 30 to 33, further comprising in step (b) adjusting and / or controlling at least one of a contact time between the second stream and the aqueous stream, compositions, flow rates, and flow durations, of at least one of the second stream and the aqueous stream for forming the fifth stream with a concentration of the second component in a range of 10 vol% to 70 vol%.

35. A sorptive gas separation system, the system comprising:(a) a second conditioning device fluidly connected to receive a multicomponent gas stream as a first stream or a fraction of the multi-component gas stream as a first fraction of a first stream, the second conditioning device for forming a third stream and recovering heat;(b) a first conditioning device fluidly connected to receive a second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, for forming a fifth stream;(c) a sorptive separator with at least one sorbent, fluidly connected to receive the third stream from the second conditioning device, to a vent to recover a fourth stream from the sorptive separator, to receive the fifth stream from the first conditioning device and to a downstream device or a discharge to recover a sixth stream from the sorptive separator, and(d) a heat pump fluidly connected to the second conditioning device and the first conditioning device.

36. The system of claim 35, further comprising a flow splitting device, fluidly connected to receive the first stream, to admit the third stream into the sorptiveseparator, and to admit the second stream into the first conditioning device.

37. A sorptive gas separation system, the system comprising:(a) a flow splitting device fluidly connected to receive a multicomponent gas stream as a first stream, for forming a first fraction of the first stream and a second fraction of the first stream for use as a second stream;(b) a first conditioning device fluidly connected to receive the second stream and an aqueous stream comprising the second component, for vaporizing and adding the second component to the second stream thereby forming a fifth stream, and(c) a sorptive separator with at least one sorbent, fluidly connected to receive the first fraction of the first stream from the flow splitting device or a third stream, to a vent to recover a fourth stream from the sorptive separator, to receive the fifth stream from the first conditioning device and a downstream device or a discharge to recover a sixth stream from the sorptive separator.

38. The system of claim 37, further comprising a second conditioning device fluidly connected to receive the first fraction of the first stream for forming the third stream, and a heat pump fluidly connected to the second conditioning device and the first conditioning device.

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