Gas separation membrane cascades I. One-compressor cascades with minimal exergy losses due to mixing

Abstract In this first part of this two part paper, attention is paid to the one-compressor cascades with minimal exergy loss due to mixing of streams with different compositions. The desire to avoid mixing losses leads to the development of several new binary gas separation process schemes with no exergy losses due to mixing of streams with different compositions. These schemes are simulated and compared with the “series type two unit separation cell” for higher purity/recovery separations, and with other conventional schemes for enrichment or rejection of the more permeable component. These comparisons show that schemes with no mixing losses are much more efficient than conventional schemes in most cases, although they are only marginally more efficient for low pressure side feed schemes with high permeate purity requirements.

[1]  Rakesh Agrawal,et al.  Membrane separation process analysis and design strategies based on thermodynamic efficiency of permeation , 1996 .

[2]  J. G. Wijmans,et al.  Economic comparison of several membrane configurations for H2/N2 separation , 1989 .

[3]  Rakesh Agrawal,et al.  Gas separation membrane cascades II. Two-compressor cascades , 1996 .

[4]  C. Pan,et al.  An Analysis of the Single-Stage Gaseous Permeation Process , 1974 .

[5]  T. Miyauchi,et al.  Comparison of Gas Membrane Separation Cascades Using Conventional Separation Cell and Two-Unit Separation Cells , 1978 .

[6]  J. A. Quinn,et al.  Separation of gases with synthetic membranes , 1983 .

[7]  K. Kammermeyer,et al.  Operating lines in cascade separation of binary mixtures , 1965 .

[8]  N. Laguntsov,et al.  The use of recycle permeator systems for gas mixture separation , 1992 .

[9]  H. W. Habgood,et al.  Gas separation by permeation Part I. Calculation methods and parametric analysis , 1978 .

[10]  Sun-Tak Hwang,et al.  The continuous membrane column , 1980 .

[11]  T. Miyauchi,et al.  Radioactive Rare Gas Separation Performance of a Two-Unit Series-Type Separation Cell , 1978 .

[12]  William J. Koros,et al.  Membrane-based gas separation , 1993 .

[13]  K. Sirkar,et al.  An experimental investigation of oxygen enrichment in a silicone capillary permeator with permeate recycle , 1987 .

[14]  R. Rautenbach,et al.  Oxygen and methane enrichment — a comprison of module arrangements in gas permeation , 1987 .

[15]  S. A. Stern,et al.  A new evaluation of membrane processes for the oxygen-enrichment of air. I, Identification of optimum operating conditions and process configuration , 1991 .

[16]  Manson Benedict,et al.  Nuclear Chemical Engineering , 1981 .

[17]  R. W. Spillman,et al.  Economics of gas separation membranes , 1989 .