Ultra-high-purity oxygen production method and ultra-high-purity oxygen production apparatus
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing ultra-high-purity oxygen from water electrolysis are costly due to the need for complex nitrogen heating medium cycles and high equipment investment, particularly when removing low-boiling-point impurities like argon, which are chemically inert and similar in size to oxygen molecules.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus utilizing a main heat exchanger, nitrogen rectification columns, oxygen rectification columns, and vaporizers to efficiently remove low-boiling-point components from by-product oxygen, leveraging cryogenic separation and heat exchanger processes to achieve ultra-high-purity oxygen production with reduced equipment and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If cryogenic separation is used to remove low-boiling-point impurities from oxygen, then impurity removal effectiveness is improved, but equipment complexity and investment cost increase due to nitrogen heating medium cycles and multiple heat exchangers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes only the necessary components for the specific purification need. By directly using the oxygen-containing liquid from the air separation unit's bottom product without requiring a complete nitrogen heating medium cycle, the system extracts the essential purification function while eliminating unnecessary complex equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The oxygen-containing liquid from the air separation unit serves multiple functions: it acts as both the feed material for oxygen purification and as the heating medium for the heat exchanger. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate nitrogen compression and heating systems, reducing equipment complexity while maintaining cryogenic separation effectiveness.
2Manufacturing precision
If nitrogen heating medium cycles with multiple heat exchangers and compressors are used, then oxygen purification capability is improved, but power consumption and operating costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses its own bottom product (oxygen-containing liquid) to serve as the heating medium for the heat exchanger, eliminating the need for external nitrogen compression and heating systems. This self-service approach significantly reduces power consumption while maintaining the cryogenic temperatures necessary for effective oxygen purification.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention recovers and utilizes the oxygen-containing liquid that would otherwise be discarded or required additional processing. By recovering this stream and using it as the heating medium, the system eliminates energy-intensive nitrogen compression and heating operations while maintaining purification capability.
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 approach enables the efficient generation of ultra-high-purity oxygen using fewer equipment items and reduces costs by simplifying the nitrogen compressor cycle, while maintaining high purity and low impurity levels, specifically targeting semiconductor industry requirements.
Implementation Method 1
feed oxygen...is introduced from a warm end of a main heat exchanger and cooled
Implementation Method 2
the feed oxygen which has been at least partially liquefied in the main heat exchanger
Implementation Method 3
cryogenic separation is suitable
Implementation Method 4
oxygen is liquefied and separated by means of a rectification operation
Implementation Method 5
an oxygen vaporizer which vaporizes liquefied oxygen and supplies a vapour stream
Implementation Method 6
arranged below a bottom portion of the oxygen rectification column and vaporizes liquefied oxygen
Data Source
AI summary
An ultra-high-purity oxygen production method and apparatus are provide, in which the method can include a step in which feed oxygen comprising low-boiling-point components as impurities is introduced from a warm end of a main heat exchanger and cooled, then introduced into an oxygen rectification column, and product ultra-high-purity oxygen from which the low-boiling-point components have been removed is drawn as a gas or a liquid from a lower portion of the oxygen rectification column.