Development Of Pressure Swing Adsorption Technology

Development overview
The concept of pressure swing adsorption was proposed by H. Kahle in a patent applied for in Germany in 1942. At that time, the adsorbents he used were only silica gel, activated alumina and activated carbon. These adsorbents have low adsorption efficiency and small separation coefficient for oxygen and nitrogen with low boiling points and similar molecular diameters, and it is difficult to separate them from each other. Therefore, this method developed slowly before the 1950s. Later, due to the birth of zeolite molecular sieves, it began to be used for hydrogen purification in 1958, and industrial-scale hydrogen production was achieved in 1962. After entering the 1970s, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) has developed rapidly. It is mainly used for hydrogen extraction from natural gas and industrial tail gas, and air purification and drying. It is further used to separate oxygen and nitrogen gases from air. In 1977, Germany's Essen Mining Co., Ltd. (B.F) successfully developed carbon molecular sieves using coal. The United States, Japan and other countries have purchased B. F Company's patent trial production uses carbon molecular sieve pressure swing adsorption (CMS-PSA) to separate air and produce oxygen and nitrogen. The main international companies that use pressure swing adsorption to produce oxygen and nitrogen from air include Linde in Munich, Germany, Airco in New York, USA, Oxygen Technology Co., Ltd. in London, UK, Mangels in Sao Paulo, Brazil, etc. Pressure swing adsorption devices have been commercialized, and small and medium-sized pressure swing adsorption air separation oxygen and nitrogen production equipment can compete with cryogenic distillation. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) of the United States is in a leading position in the world in the use of pressure swing adsorption to produce gases. It has manufactured hundreds of sets of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen production equipment. UCC has developed a multi-bed process (10 to 12 beds) to produce hydrogen with a purity of 99.999% and a recovery rate of more than 85%. The company uses its own patented zeolite adsorbent to produce 99.95% nitrogen and 99.5% oxygen. Compared with ordinary pressure swing adsorption equipment, this equipment saves 50% of investment and reduces energy consumption by 25% to 30%. Southwest Institute of Chemical Industry, Ministry of Industry. In 1995, the State Science and Technology Commission approved the establishment of the "National PSA Technology Promotion and Application Center" in the institute.