Air Distillation

Praveen G
Fractional distillation of air
 Fractional distillation of air

About 78 % of the air is nitrogen and 21 % is

oxygen.
These two gases can be separated by fractional
distillation of liquid air.
Air is filtered to remove dust, and then cooled in
stages until it reaches –200°C. At this temperature it
is a liquid. The air has been liquefied.
water vapor condenses, and is removed using
absorbent filters
carbon dioxide freezes at -79°C, and is removed
oxygen liquefies at -183°C
nitrogen liquefies at -196°C
The liquefied air is passed into the bottom of a
fractionating column.
 Linde’s First Fractionation
• Liquefaction of gas with Linde cycle
• Liquid sent to the top of fractionation column.
• As the liquid flows down the column it enriched in
oxygen with incoming air
• Some portion is evaporated by incoming air
• Nitrogen is separated & returned to the Heat exchanger
• Basic distillation employed.
• Trial & Error method.
Drawbacks :
Recovery of Oxygen is Less - 71%.
Product containing 7% oxygen was unusable.
Only pure oxygen can be produced.
 Linde’s Second Attempt
• First attempt didn’t work even though temp difference
is of 12.9 K at 1 atm.
• Second attempt, liquid air was pump into middle of
the column.
• It vapor rise to the top and pass through special
apparatus containing pure liquid nitrogen which boils
at 75 K.
• This procedure stripped the rising vapor of all the
oxygen, which is recondensed and sent to the bottom
of tower.
• Top product was pour nitrogen and this system
requires vacuum pump.
• Requires vacuum pump with ancillary equipment.
• Commercially not accepted.
Linde’s Third Fractionation column
• Two rectification columns are used
(Double Column System)
• Lower column –High Pressure column, (5
to 6 atm)
• Upper column- Low pressure column
(1atm)
• Liquid Nitrogen is produced in lower
column
• Cooled air expanded in expansion valve &
introduced to middle portion of lower
column
 Important fundamentals to understand

• Evaporation and Condensation

• Vapor pressure of water vapor (for e.g,) at varying temperatures
• Volatility of gases
• Vapor-pressure (boiling point) curves
• Vapor pressure curves (between triple points and critical points)
• Raoult’s law
• Daltons law
• Temperature–composition diagram for oxygen–nitrogen mixtures
at various pressures
Development of low oxygen-purity processes

Applications of low purity oxygen

• Pyrometallurgical Industries.
• Steel mills
• Smelting operations
• Copper smelters
• Syngas producers
Development of low oxygen-
purity processes