Gas Purifier Adsorbent Layer Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas purification methods, particularly thermal swing adsorption, face challenges in downsizing gas purifiers due to the need for large adsorbent quantities and increased installation areas, as accelerating air velocity leads to adsorbent fluidization and decreased adsorption rates.
Innovation Solution
A method that packs a gas-purifying agent to form a mass transfer zone across the entire adsorbent layer, allowing for increased air velocity and reduced adsorbent quantity, with a gas-purifying agent layer packed to at least double the impurities' amount, and a particle diameter of 1.7 to 5 mm, to prevent fluidization and optimize adsorption efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If air velocity is accelerated to reduce purifier size, then installation area is reduced, but adsorbent fluidization occurs and adsorption rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the particle diameter parameter of the adsorbent from conventional small sizes to specifically 1.7-5.0 mm. This parameter change increases the adsorbent's resistance to fluidization at high air velocities while maintaining adequate adsorption capacity, enabling operation at velocities of 0.25-0.4 m/s that would otherwise cause fluidization and reduced adsorption efficiency.
2Volume of stationary object
If adsorbent quantity is reduced to downsize purifier, then device complexity is reduced, but mass transfer zone elongates and impurity removal efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the particle diameter parameter to 1.7-5.0 mm, which modifies the mass transfer characteristics. The larger particles reduce the tendency for mass transfer zone elongation compared to conventional fine particles, allowing adequate impurity removal with reduced adsorbent quantities and smaller purifier volumes.
3Reliability
If adsorbent particle diameter is increased to prevent fluidization, then adsorption rate decreases and mass transfer zone elongates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the particle diameter parameter to a specific range of 1.7-5.0 mm. This optimized range prevents fluidization at high air velocities while maintaining adequate adsorption rates. The lower bound (1.7 mm) ensures sufficient particle weight to resist fluidization, while the upper bound (5.0 mm) maintains adequate surface area for adsorption, achieving a balance between fluidization prevention and adsorption rate.
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 reduction of the gas purifier's size and installation area by maintaining effective impurity removal while preventing adsorbent fluidization and elongation of the mass transfer zone, allowing for a shorter adsorption step time and reduced adsorbent quantity.
Implementation Method 1
impurities in a gas are removed by a thermal swing adsorption method
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
A gas purifier of the present invention includes a purifier in which a gas-purifying agent is packed, wherein a gas is fed into the purifier, and impurities in the gas are removed by a thermal swing adsorption method, in which an amount A of the gas-purifying agent is determined such that an impurities-removing capacity possessed by half of the amount A of the gas-purifying agent is equal to the total amount of impurities in the gas to be purified in one purification step, and the amount of the gas-purifying agent packed in the purifier is the amount A or more.