1. Introduction

Industries require large quantities of gases with high purity for steel-making, chemical production, and electronics manufacturing applications. For this reason, cryogenic air separation process is vital to large-scale industrial gas production.

It produces oxygen, nitrogen, and argon gases with ultra-high purity. This is why the cryogenic air separation process is the most advanced process of air separation on an industrial scale.

2. What Is Cryogenic Air Separation Process 

Cryogenic air separation process is a process which cools atmospheric air to extremely low temperatures to separate it into different constituent gases.

Internal link: Cryogenic Air Separation Equipment

Since all gases have different boiling points, separation is possible by liquefaction and distillation.

3. Principles of Cryogenic separation Process

The cryogenic separation process is based on two principles:

l Gas Liquefaction

Air gets cooled down to become liquid.

l Fractional Distillation

Components of liquefied air are separated according to their boiling points.

Nitrogen boils at -196° C

Oxygen boils at -183° C

Argon boils at -186° C

4. Cryogenic Air separation process Steps by Step

Step 1: Atmospheric air feed

Ambient air is fed to compressor.

Step 2: Compressing the air

Air gets compressed into higher pressure.

Step 3: Purification of air

Removal of impurities from air such as moisture, CO2 & hydrocarbons.

Step 4: Cooling the air

Air is passed through heat exchanger and gets super cooled.

Step 5: Production of Liquid air

Compressed air gets liquefied.

Step 6: Distillation of liquid air

Liquid air is fed to distillation column.

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Step 7: Collection of individual gases

Separated Oxygen, Nitrogen & Argon are collected.

Step 8: Storage or product delivery

Separated gases are delivered or sent to storage tanks.

Conclusion: This plant will continuously produce industrial gases.

5. Compression & Purification of Air

Prepare the incoming air before sending it through the cryogenic air separation process.

l Compression

Air is compressed by air compressors.

l Purification

Air passes through filters to eliminate:

l H20

l CO2

l Oil Mist

With proper filtration, your system will run more efficiently.

6. Cooling & liquefaction

The cooling portion of the process requires the most energy.

l Heat exchanger

Air is cooled down gradually using heat exchangers.

l Expansion Turbine

Expansion turbine creates refrigeration through expansion of gas..

Ultra-cold temperatures are reached allowing the air to liquefy.

7. Distillation Process

Distillation is the primary separation process.

l Distillation Unit

The gases separate due to difference in boiling point.

l Collecting Oxygen

Liquid Oxygen(oxygen) being less than nitrogen collects at bottom of column.

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l Collecting Nitrogen

Nitrogen having higher boiling point collects at top.

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Thus multiple products can be made at once.

8. Storage and Supply of Products

Separated gases can now be stored or supplied.

Includes

l Cryogenic storage tanks

l Gas Cylinders

l Pipeline facilities.

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Hence the system allows continuous usage for industrial purposes.

9. Products Of Cryogenic Air Separation Process 

The system output is,

Oxygen -Used in steel making and medical industries.

Nitrogen -Used in food industry, electronics and chemical industries.

Argon -Used in welding industry and semiconductor manufacturing.

Hence Cryogenic systems support more than one industries.

10. Cryogenic vs PSA vs VPSA Comparison

11. Industrial Uses

Products produced by cryogenic air separation unit include:

l Iron and steel industry

l Petrochemical industry

l Semi-conductor industry

l Medical oxygen

l Aerospace

l Glass Industry

Industrial air separation units operating at cryogenic conditions is crucial for these heavy industries due to its high purity products.

12. Why Nanjing Bangwin Gas?

At Nanjing Bangwin Gas, we offer top-quality gas separation systems.

Products we offer:

l Cryogenic Air separation plants

l VPSA Oxygen Plants

l PSA Nitrogen Generators

l Liquid Oxygen Plants

l Hydrogen Generation Plants

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Key Benefits:

l Tailor made engineering design

l Energy saving

l Reasonable price

l Turnkey service

l Worldwide technical support

Customers can benefit from quality industrial gas systems.

l For more industrial manufacturing insights:

l https://bangwingascylinder.com/

13. FAQ

1. What is cryogenic air separation?

Cryogenic air separation refers to a process which splits air into oxygen, nitrogen, and argon by freezing it to a very low temperature.

2. Which gases can be produced?

Oxygen, nitrogen, and argon can be produced.

3. Why should I choose cryogenic?

Cryogenic separation produces the highest purity gas on a large scale.

4. Is cryogenic better than PSA?

Yes, cryogenic towers are great for larger amounts of high purity gas.

5. Does Nanjing Bangwin Gas offer Cryogenic systems?

Nanjing Bangwin Gas offers customized cryogenic air separation solutions.

14. Conclusion

Cryogenic air separation is the largest industrial-scale method of producing oxygen, nitrogen, and argon with extremely high purity. Cryogenic processing of air is preferred because of its large-scale continuous capability, making it ideal for heavy industry.

Partner with Nanjing Bangwin Gas for stable, efficient and pure gas production.