Modelling Simulation and Optimization of Innovative Hybrid Separation Processes for Energy Savings

Abstract

Adsorption and membrane systems have become highly important gas separation technologies in chemical manufacturing, petroleum and natural gas refining and new clean energy concepts. The global market for the industrial gas business was worth 63 billion dollars in 2008. For instance, over 41 million tons/year of hydrogen and 100 million tons/year of oxygen is produced worldwide. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) has attracted increasing interest because of its low energy requirements as well as low capital investment costs in comparison to the traditional separation processes. PSA has become state-of-the-art technology for small to intermediate scale oxygen and nitrogen production from air, small to large-scale gas drying, hydrogen recovery from different petrochemical processes (steam-methane reforming off gas or coke oven gas), and trace impurity removal from contaminated gases...