Objective
To develop improved methods for obtaining reliable basic data and improved methods to aid process design of an energy efficient gas adsorption process, used to separate and recover gaseous products or eliminate pollutants before gases are discharged into the atmosphere.
R&D concentrates on four main areas:
Air separation
Natural gas/fuel gas separation
Hydrocarbon isomer separation
Gas drying.
The project concerning basic data investigates the equilibria and kinetics of single-phase and multi-component systems, to develop new techniques for measuring these properties, and to provide better information for process design models. The work on process design is aimed at a better understanding of discrete steps in the adsorption cycle, and includes studies of pressure swing systems and non-isothermal systems. The data generated by the first set of projects provides valuable input of these models. The process design studies also includes experiments to validate models, both under controlled laboratory conditions and at pilot plant scale. Such experiments also link into other work undertaken as part of the JOULE programme, particularly a project studying the behaviour of fluid flows in packed beds through computational fluid dynamics. This enables the results of the various projects to be collated into a form that industry will be able to apply with confidence, and will thus improve the energy efficienc of industrial separation processes. The deliverables from the project will be assembled in an unified methodology for the design of gas adsorption processes.
Apart from the eight laboratories which carry out research, a consortium of industrial companies (e.g. Shell, BP, Air Liquide, Dominic Hunter Filters) are actively involved in managing the project. Such a participation ensures relevance of the research objectives and easy transfer of results from the research environment into industry.
In the context of an extension, more tests are carried out using more adsorption material. This provides additional data for selecting, designing and operating adsorption processes for gas separation, recovery of volatile organic compounds and gas drying. It improves the possibilities for industrial application.
Moreover, the study examines the possibility to extend the adsorption process to liquid separations, which have numerous applications.
Pilot plants results provided energy savings of 30-40% compared to cryogenic distillation.
Fields of science
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryvolatile organic compounds
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryhydrocarbons
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfossil energynatural gas
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringseparation technologiesdistillation
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsfluid dynamicscomputational fluid dynamics
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
OX11 0RA Didcot - Oxfordshire
United Kingdom