System and method for co-producing ultra-high purity oxygen and ultra-high purity hydrogen
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of ultra-high purity oxygen and hydrogen through electrolysis is costly and requires integration with large air separation units and oxygen compression, making it inefficient for the electronics manufacturing industry's demands.
Innovation Solution
A stand-alone system and method that includes a water pre-purification subsystem, electrolysis units, oxygen and hydrogen purification subsystems, using deoxo catalysts, dryers, and a cryogenic distillation column with a nitrogen recycle loop to produce ultra-high purity gases without the need for air separation units and oxygen compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional catalytic and drying processes are used to purify crude oxygen from electrolysis, then water and hydrogen are removed, but argon and nitrogen impurities remain above 1 ppm requiring integration with large air separation units
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by using a molecular sieve adsorbent that selectively changes its adsorption properties based on molecular size and polarity. The molecular sieve captures argon and nitrogen impurities from the oxygen stream through preferential adsorption, achieving ultra-high purity oxygen without requiring integration with large air separation units. This selective parameter-based separation resolves the contradiction by improving oxygen purity while avoiding the complexity of additional large-scale equipment.
2Manufacturing precision
If crude oxygen stream is compressed to integrate with air separation units, then ultra-high purity oxygen can be produced, but production cost increases and standalone operation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the impurity removal function from the crude oxygen stream using a dedicated molecular sieve adsorption unit. This standalone extraction system captures argon, nitrogen, and other impurities without requiring integration into a full air separation unit or oxygen compression infrastructure. By taking out only the necessary purification function, the system achieves ultra-high purity oxygen at lower cost while maintaining standalone operation capability.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional deoxo catalytic process and drying are used for crude hydrogen, then oxygen and water are removed, but nitrogen and other impurities remain above industry standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite purification approach combining deoxo catalyst for oxygen removal, molecular sieve adsorbent for nitrogen and other impurity removal, and drying media for water removal. This multi-functional composite system processes crude hydrogen through sequential treatment stages, achieving ultra-high purity hydrogen that meets electronics industry standards without requiring complex integrated air separation unit infrastructure.
4Manufacturing precision
If large air separation units are integrated for oxygen purification, then ultra-high purity oxygen is achieved, but system complexity and capital expenditure increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the oxygen purification process into distinct functional stages: catalytic hydrogen removal, molecular sieve adsorption for argon and nitrogen removal, and drying. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently and connected in series, achieving ultra-high purity oxygen without requiring integration into a large, complex air separation unit. The segmented approach reduces system complexity and capital expenditure while maintaining standalone operation.
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 reduces production costs and achieves ultra-high purity oxygen and hydrogen with low impurity levels, meeting industry standards without the complexity and expense of large air separation units and oxygen compression.
Implementation Method 1
a water pre-purification subsystem configured to receive the stream of feed water and produce a purified, de-ionized water stream
Implementation Method 2
one or more electrolysis units configured to receive the purified, de-ionized water stream and produce one or more crude oxygen streams and one or more crude hydrogen streams
Implementation Method 3
The hydrogen purification subsystem preferably comprising a deoxo catalyst for removing oxygen impurities from the one or more crude hydrogen streams
Implementation Method 4
a dryer configured for drying the hydrogen-rich effluent stream to produce the ultra-high purity hydrogen product stream
Implementation Method 5
an oxygen purification subsystem configured for receiving the one or more crude oxygen streams and produce the ultra-high purity oxygen product stream
Implementation Method 6
a dryer configured for drying the oxygen-rich effluent stream
Implementation Method 7
a distillation column subsystem configured to receive the dried oxygen-rich effluent stream and to separate argon and other impurities from the dried oxygen-rich effluent stream to produce an ultra-high purity oxygen bottoms stream
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for co-producing ultra-high purity oxygen and ultra-high purity hydrogen from a water electrolysis unit is provided. The presently disclosed system and method includes upgrading the crude oxygen stream coming from the water electrolysis unit by means of a small, stand-alone cryogenic distillation system wherein the refrigeration for such cryogenic distillation system is supplied by a nitrogen recycle refrigeration loop.