Cryogenic Column Feed Sleeve Design for CO2 Freeze Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for purifying natural gas to remove CO2 are inefficient, especially when the CO2 concentration is low, leading to increased energy costs and equipment challenges due to CO2 freezing on column walls.
Innovation Solution
A cryogenic distillation process with a controlled freeze zone in a column, where the feed gas is introduced above the melt tray to prevent CO2 freezing on the walls, allowing for efficient separation of CO2 from methane by controlled freezing and melting without freeze-suppression additives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If cryogenic distillation is used to separate CO2 from natural gas, then separation efficiency is improved, but CO2 freezes on column walls causing equipment malfunction and reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The feed gas is preheated to a temperature above the freezing point of CO2 before entering the column. This preliminary heating action prevents CO2 from freezing on the column walls during the separation process, thereby maintaining equipment reliability while preserving separation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature parameter of the feed gas is changed from below freezing point to above freezing point of CO2. This parameter change prevents CO2 solidification on equipment surfaces, resolving the contradiction between achieving cryogenic separation and preventing equipment malfunction.
2Device complexity
If conventional separation methods are used to remove CO2, then equipment complexity is reduced, but energy consumption increases and separation efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The process utilizes the phase transition of CO2 from gas to solid and back to gas through controlled freezing and melting in the column. This phase transition mechanism enables efficient CO2 separation using relatively simple equipment, reducing both energy consumption and device complexity compared to conventional methods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This process effectively separates CO2 from methane, reducing energy consumption and preventing column plugging, thereby enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of natural gas purification.
Implementation Method 1
maintaining a temperature of a zone in the column below the freezing point of the acid gas component... allowing for efficient separation of CO2 from methane by controlled freezing and melting
Implementation Method 2
flowing the raw natural gas stream downward through the internal sleeve to cool the raw natural gas stream and warm an internal wall of the column in the zone, melting accumulated solids from the inner wall
Data Source
AI summary
A system and methods for processing a feed gas in a column are provided herein. A method includes feeding a feed gas into a port of a sleeve disposed around at least a portion of a periphery of the column. The sleeve includes a space between an outer wall of the column and an inner wall of the column. The sleeve releases the feed gas into the column through an opening disposed at an opposite end of the sleeve from the port.