John D Griffiths

US Patent:

6490883, Dec 10, 2002

Filed:

Jun 12, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/879016

Inventors:

Jean-Philippe Trembley - Allentown PA
John Louis Griffiths - Bethlehem PA

Assignee:

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Allentown PA

International Classification:

F25J 100

US Classification:

62637, 62642, 62908

Abstract:

Volatile compounds (âVCsâ), especially volatile organic compounds (âVOCsâ), are cryogenically removed from a process gas stream (p ) by cooling the gas stream in a condenser to condense the VC to form both liquid VC and VC ice and providing a treated process gas essentially freed of the VC but containing entrained VC ice particles, which are subsequently removed by passing the treated process gas through a filter downstream of the condenser to remove at least particles of a size greater than 50 m. The condensation can be conducted in an indirect heat exchanger or by direct contact of the process gas with a liquid cryogen such as liquid nitrogen. It is preferred that the filter removes VC ice particles greater than 1 m.

US Patent:

6735980, May 18, 2004

Filed:

Jan 4, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/039866

Inventors:

Stephen John Cook - Macungie PA
John Louis Griffiths - Pittsburgh PA

Assignee:

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Allentown PA

International Classification:

F25J 304

US Classification:

62640, 62925, 252372, 423210

Abstract:

A method for recovering krypton and xenon from air comprises (a) separating an air feed stream into oxygen-enriched and nitrogen-enriched product streams; (b) reacting the oxygen-rich product stream with a hydrocarbon feed in a synthesis gas generation process to yield a synthesis gas stream comprising hydrogen, carbon oxides, krypton, and xenon, which synthesis gas stream contains essentially no oxygen; (c) introducing the synthesis gas stream into a synthesis gas conversion process and converting the synthesis gas stream into a liquid synthesis product stream and an unreacted synthesis gas stream; (d) recycling at least a portion of the unreacted synthesis gas stream to the synthesis gas generation process; (e) reducing the pressure of the liquid synthesis product stream to yield a two-phase reduced-pressure product stream, and separating the two-phase reduced-pressure product stream into a final liquid synthesis product stream and a gas stream enriched in krypton and xenon; and (f) separating the gas stream enriched in krypton and xenon into a purge gas stream and a gas product stream further enriched in krypton and xenon.

US Patent:

62636596, Jul 24, 2001

Filed:

Jun 4, 1999

Appl. No.:

9/326219

Inventors:

John Lloyd Dillon - Kutztown PA
John Louis Griffiths - Emmaus PA

Assignee:

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. - Allentown PA

International Classification:

F02G 300

US Classification:

60 3902

Abstract:

A method for the separation of a feed gas mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen in which an oxidant gas and fuel are combusted in a combustion engine to generate shaft work and a hot exhaust gas, the feed gas mixture comprising oxygen and nitrogen is compressed, and the resulting compressed feed gas mixture is separated into two or more product gas streams with differing compositions. The shaft work of the combustion engine is utilized to provide at least a portion of the work required for compressing the feed gas mixture, one of the product gas streams by is heated by indirect heat exchange with the hot exhaust gas from the combustion engine, and the resulting heated product gas is work expanded to generate shaft work and yield an expanded product gas stream. The combustion engine may be a gas turbine combustion engine.