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Energy Consumption of Air-Separation Adsorption Methods
Tomasz Banaszkiewicz1, Maciej Chorowski1
1Department of Cryogenic, Aeronautic and Process Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland.
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 3, 2020
Summary
Adsorption technology efficiently separates oxygen for industrial and medical uses. This study calculates minimum energy needs and identifies areas for improving real-world oxygen separation plants compared to theoretical energy consumption.
Area of Science:
- Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science
- Thermodynamics
Background:
- Adsorption technology is a leading method for air separation, producing high-purity oxygen.
- Oxygen produced via adsorption is vital for oxy-fuel combustion, metallurgy, and medical applications.
- The efficiency of adsorption is influenced by pressure, temperature, gas phase concentration, and surface area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To calculate the minimum theoretical energy required for oxygen separation using adsorption.
- To analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various adsorption methods.
- To compare the energy consumption of a real oxygen separation plant with theoretical minimums.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical energy calculation for oxygen separation.
- Analysis of factors affecting adsorption processes (pressure, temperature, etc.).
- Semi-technical scale experimental validation of oxygen separation installation.
Main Results:
- The study quantifies the minimum energy needed for oxygen separation via adsorption.
- It highlights significant discrepancies between theoretical and actual energy consumption in operational plants.
- Identifies specific components within adsorption installations that offer potential for energy efficiency improvements.
Conclusions:
- Adsorption is an energy-efficient method for oxygen production, but real-world applications lag behind theoretical potential.
- Optimizing components of oxygen separation installations can substantially reduce energy consumption.
- Further research into improving adsorption processes can lead to more sustainable industrial oxygen production.
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