Patent
Combination membrane system for producing nitrogen enriched air
| العنوان: | Combination membrane system for producing nitrogen enriched air |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 9,168,490 |
| تاريخ النشر: | October 27, 2015 |
| Appl. No: | 13/585040 |
| Application Filed: | August 14, 2012 |
| مستخلص: | A system for providing nitrogen enriched air (NEA) from ambient air uses at least two gas separation membranes that are selectively gas permeable for oxygen and nitrogen. The oxygen/nitrogen selectivity and oxygen permeance of two of the membranes are different such that (1) the selectivity of first membrane is less than the second membrane and the oxygen permeance of first membrane is greater than the second membrane, or (2) the selectivity of first membrane is greater than the second membrane and the oxygen permeance of first membrane is less than the second membrane. The system is very compact, is energy efficient, and highly effective for generating NEA. It is ideally suited for mobile, remote and specialized end use applications, such as automotive vehicles, marine vessels, off-shore platform fuel storage and especially for supplying NEA to blanket ullage of onboard aircraft fuel storage tanks. |
| Inventors: | Majumdar, Sudipto (Newark, DE, US); Pennisi, Kenneth J. (Bear, DE, US); Stookey, Donald J. (Chesterfield, MO, US) |
| Assignees: | CMS TECHNOLOGIES HOLDINGS, INC. (Newport, DE, US) |
| Claim: | 1. A nitrogen enriched air (NEA) production system comprising a first gas separation module comprising a first selectively gas permeable membrane defining a first feed-retentate chamber on one side of the first membrane and a first permeate chamber on a side of the first membrane opposite the first feed retentate chamber, the first membrane having an oxygen/nitrogen selectivity, α 1 , greater than 1.0, and an oxygen permeance f 1 , a second gas separation module comprising a second selectively gas permeable membrane defining a second feed-retentate chamber on one side of the second membrane and a second permeate chamber on a side of the second membrane opposite the second feed retentate chamber, the second membrane having an oxygen/nitrogen selectivity, α 2 , greater than 1.0, and an oxygen permeance f 2 , and a transfer line capable of feeding a gas from the first feed-retentate chamber to the second feed-retentate chamber and in which α 2 is greater than α 1 , and f 1 is greater than f 2 . |
| Claim: | 2. The NEA production system of claim 1 in which α 2 is at least about 10% more than α 1 and in f 1 is at least about 10% more than f 2 . |
| Claim: | 3. The NEA production system of claim 1 in which no compressor is present in the transfer line between the first feed-retentate chamber of the first gas separation module and the second feed-retentate chamber of the second gas separation module. |
| Claim: | 4. The NEA production system of claim 1 in which the permeate chamber of the first gas separation module is in gaseous communication with the permeate chamber of the second gas separation module. |
| Claim: | 5. The system of claim 1 which further comprises a tank containing a volatile combustible liquid and a vapor in equilibrium with the liquid, and in which one of the gas separation modules is in gaseous communication with the vapor in the tank. |
| Claim: | 6. The system of claim 5 which is a component of a motor vehicle selected from the group consisting of aircraft, automotive vehicle, and marine vessel. |
| Claim: | 7. The system of claim 5 which is a component of a utility selected from the group consisting of an offshore natural resource recovery drilling platform, an onshore natural resource recovery facility, an oil production facility, a natural gas production facility, a food processing facility, a beverage processing facility and an industrial chemical production facility. |
| Patent References Cited: | 4180388 December 1979 Graham et al. 4687578 August 1987 Stookey 5051114 September 1991 Nemser et al. 5102432 April 1992 Prasad 6035641 March 2000 Lokhandwala 6180168 January 2001 Stookey et al. 6755975 June 2004 Vane et al. 8710173 April 2014 Liu et al. 2004/0004040 January 2004 Colling et al. 2008/0167512 July 2008 Sanders et al. 2010/0212501 August 2010 Peters et al. 2011/0077446 March 2011 Shanbhag et al. 2011/0094379 April 2011 Cordatos 2011/0114547 May 2011 Sanders et al. 2011/0305310 December 2011 Sanchez et al. 2012/0055385 March 2012 Lien et al. 2012/0085232 April 2012 Sethna et al. 2012/0322646 December 2012 Liu et al. 2013/0108531 May 2013 Mitariten 2014/0243572 August 2014 Straub et al. |
| Other References: | “module” <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/p/module> Retrived Oct. 27, 2014. cited by examiner Roman, Ian C., Membranes for Nitrogen Generation: Recent Advances and Impact on Other Gas Separations, Seminar Presentation, Ecological Applications fo Innovative Membrane Technology in the Chemical Industry, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Centraro, Italy, May, 1996. cited by applicant Roman, Ian C. How Do You Coax 99+% Nitrogen from Membranes?, Presentation Membrane Technology and Separation Planning Conference, Newton, MA, Oct. 23-25, 1995. cited by applicant |
| Assistant Examiner: | Shumate, Anthony |
| Primary Examiner: | Greene, Jason M |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Lew, Jeffrey C. |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.09168490 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |