Patent Application
20200140271
Today's challenge is to offer technical solutions with significant emission reductions without jeopardizing project economics. Priorities include technical risk as well as a safe and reliable operation.
There is an industry need to address the integration of tailored air separation unit, an oxycombustion power generation process and a high-pressure partial oxidation based synthesis gas generation plant.
Comparing this novel process integration with the state of the art stand-alone process units, the overall operating and capital expenditures will be reduced and the direct and indirect CO2 and criteria pollutants such as SOX, NOX, CO, VOC, particles will be significantly reduced.
A method of co-producing a carbon dioxide containing stream and a syngas stream, including, introducing a first high-pressure hydrocarbon containing stream and a first high-pressure oxygen containing stream into a syngas generator, thereby producing a high-pressure syngas stream, introducing a second high-pressure hydrocarbon containing stream and a second high-pressure oxygen containing stream into an oxy-combustion device, thereby producing a high-pressure carbon dioxide containing stream, and introducing the high-pressure carbon dioxide containing stream into a work expander, thereby generating work and a carbon dioxide containing stream.
For a further understanding of the nature and objects for the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are given the same or analogous reference numbers and wherein:
Illustrative examples of the invention are described below. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer's goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
Turning now to
At least a portion of the high-pressure syngas 104 may be introduced into a second carbon dioxide separator 125 and thus be used to produce a second carbon dioxide product stream 126. At least a portion of the high-pressure syngas 104 may be introduced into a hydrogen separator 127 and thus be used to produce a hydrogen product stream 128.
As used herein, the term “high-pressure” is defined as meaning having a pressure of greater than 10 barg, preferably greater than 50 barg. One embodiment of the present invention, high-pressure syngas stream 104 may be used in downstream processes involving the synthesis of ammonia or methanol. As these processes typically operate at pressures above 100 barg, the term “high-pressure” as used herein preferably means having a pressure equal to or greater than 100 barg. First high-pressure hydrocarbon containing stream 101 may be at the pressure required by syngas generator 103 to produce high-pressure syngas stream 104.
A second high-pressure hydrocarbon containing stream 107 and a second high-pressure oxygen containing stream 108 are introduced into an oxy-combustion device 109, thereby producing a high-pressure carbon dioxide containing stream 110.
High-pressure carbon dioxide containing stream 110 is then introduced into a work expander 111, thereby generating work 112 and a lower-pressure carbon dioxide containing stream 113. Lower pressure carbon dioxide containing stream 113 may be separated in a downstream carbon dioxide separator 120. Carbon dioxide containing stream 113 may be suitable for downstream separation 120. The resulting carbon dioxide product stream 113 may be exported.
High-pressure syngas stream 104 may be suitable for producing a downstream product 106. In one embodiment the downstream product may be a metallurgical process 123 or may be an oxy-alcohol process 124. High-pressure syngas stream 104 may be suitable for producing a downstream product 106 without further syngas compression. Downstream product may be methanol 122 produced in a methanol reactor 121.
Downstream product may be ammonia 119 produced in an ammonia reactor 118. A high-pressure nitrogen stream 115 may be combined with high-pressure syngas stream 104, thereby producing an ammonia reactor feed stream 116, which is then introduced into the ammonia reactor 118. High-pressure nitrogen stream 116 may not be subject to further nitrogen compression. In one embodiment of the present invention ammonia reactor feed stream 116 is further compressed in feed compressor 117. First high-pressure oxygen stream 101 and high-pressure nitrogen containing stream 115 may be introduced in the same air separation unit 114.
As illustrated in
Second stream 135 is further compressed 131 to an intermediate pressure, and hence adding additional energy required to produce vaporized oxygen. The cooled second stream 135 is then expanded 131 to produce cold and this cold, expanded stream is then introduced into the LP column 136 of air separation unit 114. Thus first high-pressure oxygen stream 102, second high-pressure oxygen stream 108, and high-pressure nitrogen stream 115 are produced by vaporizing a first high-pressure liquid oxygen stream 137, a second high-pressure oxygen stream 139, and a high-pressure liquid nitrogen stream 141 in a main heat exchanger 132. In one embodiment, high-pressure nitrogen stream 115 is not subject to further nitrogen compression.
In the cycle represented in
However, this system introduces a second liquid nitrogen stream 146, which is pressurized in second liquid nitrogen stream pump 147. This second pressurized liquid nitrogen stream is then vaporized, along with second high-pressure oxygen containing stream 108, against compressed feed air stream 133 in a first split core heat exchanger 148. Also, first high-pressure oxygen containing stream 102 and first high-pressure nitrogen containing stream 115, are vaporized against a portion of compressed feed air stream 133a in a second split core heat exchanger 149.
It will be understood that many additional changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangement of parts, which have been herein described in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments in the examples given above.
