Air Products starts MOLTOX pilot: new oxygen source for synfuels
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. has successfully started up a 0.25 ton per day pilot plant demonstrating the MOLTOX chemical process for oxygen production. The MOLTOX process uses a molten mixture of sodium and potassium nitrites which chemically absorbs oxygen from air in a continuous gas/liquid absorption process. Oxygen reacts with the nitrites to form nitrates at operating temperatures of about 1000/sup 0/F and moderate pressure. Oxygen can then be stripped from the melt either by heating or by depressurizing. The process can therefore be configured either as pressure swing absorption (PSA) or thermal swing absorption (TSA): PSA - For integration with the pressurized gases of gas turbine power plants. PTS - For integration with the heat recovery and steam generation section of industrial and utility steam boilers. PSA and PTS - For any application in which heat and pressure energy are available. The primary advantage of chemical air separation is that the chemical reaction does not consume the compression energy of the major portion of the supply air, i.e., the nitrogen. With the PSA MOLTOX process, a nitrogen expansion turbine recovers the energy. With the TSA MOLTOX process version, high level heat regenerates oxygen from the salt and is then rejected at about 1000/sup 0/F by generating steam. Integration is needed with a heat source and heat sink for power recovery. The MOLTOX oxygen process is projected to be competitive wherever significant process heat integration can be achieved. Each application or market will have its own optimum design, depending on the type of heat source, the amount of high level heat available, and the type heat recovery employed.
- OSTI ID:
- 7223753
- Journal Information:
- Pace Synth. Fuels Rep.; (United States), Vol. 23:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Air separation by the Moltox process
Air separation by the Moltox process. Interim final report