Technical features of several domestic air separation companies

This post was last edited by That's just how I am on 2009-5-11 at 12:43. The development of internationally renowned air separation equipment companies: With the rapid advancement of science, technology, and the economy worldwide, there is a growing demand for oxygen, nitrogen, and argon in various industries, which has led to the development of increasingly larger air separation equipment (oxygen generators). In particular, industries such as large-scale steel production, large-scale fertilizer production, large-scale petrochemical manufacturing, and large-scale coal chemical processing all require super-large air separation equipment. Experts believe that the demand for air separation equipment in the petroleum and chemical industries may exceed that of the metallurgical industry. Therefore, the development prospects of air separation equipment are very promising. Air Liquide France: Founded in 1902, this company designs and manufactures large-scale air separation units that are most widely used by SASOL in South Africa. In total, Air Liquide has supplied 2 sets of air separation units with an oxygen content of 98% and a capacity of 66,900 m3/h, as well as 1 set of unit with a capacity of 74,000 m3/h. The air separation plant order of 103,660 m3/h acquired by Air Liquide from SASOL in South Africa is scheduled to come online by the end of 2003; it will be the largest air separation plant in the world. Once this facility comes online, SASOL will become Air Liquide’s largest air separation plant owner in the world serving a single customer, as well as the world’s largest oxygen production facility; the total oxygen production capacity upon completion will exceed 1.124 million m3/h. Air Liquide is one of the oldest companies in the world specializing in the manufacture of air separation equipment, and it is the world’s leading air separation company. Currently, Air Liquide has 130 subsidiaries in 65 countries. The largest air separation units currently in operation around the world, with a capacity of 93,440 m3/h, were manufactured by Air Liquide, and two such units are already in use. Linde German Cryogenic Machinery Manufacturing Company was founded in 1879. After the 1960s, Linde Corporation manufactured units with capacities of 11,000 m3/h, 12,000 m3/h, 12,500 m3/h, 20,000 m3/h, 26,000 m3/h, 28,000 m3/h, 30,000 m3/h, 37,250 m3/h, 40,000 m3/h, 44,600 m3/h, 55,000 m3/h, and 70,000 m3/h. The 66,000 m3/h purification unit designed and manufactured by Linde for German BASF was put into operation in 1992. It uses a molecular sieve purification process at normal temperature; a packed tower is employed to produce crude argon, which is then subjected to hydrogenation deoxidation to yield 2,527 m3/h of high-purity argon with a purity of 99.9995%. The 34,000 m8/chamber equipment used by Linde Corporation was put into operation in 1998; it employs a normal-temperature molecular sieve purification process and is equipped with an oxygen flow regulation system of 17,500 m3/h. High-purity argon is produced through low-temperature distillation in three packed towers, with both the argon extraction system and the main tower located within the same cryogenic chamber. The largest nitrogen production units currently manufactured by Linde are those installed in Cantarell, Mexico – 4 units with a capacity of 335,000 m3/h each. These units were put into operation in the year 2000; the nitrogen is compressed to 120 bar and then transported via undersea pipelines to offshore oil fields located 80 kilometers away, as well as to the GUL refinery’s oil fields in Mexico, where it is used for nitrogen injection to enhance oil extraction. The entire nitrogen supply complex consists of three parts: a power plant with a capacity of 550 MW, a nitrogen production facility, and nitrogen delivery pipelines. Each cold box contains two parallel distillation columns, with a diameter of 4.9 meters and equipped with 74 sieve trays. This set of extra-large nitrogen production equipment has an air processing capacity of 500,000 m3/h. Air Products and Chemicals Company of the United States (APCI) was founded in 1939. APCI supplied a set of large-scale nitrogen production equipment with a capacity of 220,000 m3/h for Phillips Petroleum’s Ekofisk field in the North Sea; this was the first time that such large-scale air separation equipment was installed on an offshore oil production platform, and it came into operation in 1992. APCI’s largest air separation unit is the one supplied to Shell Oil in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with a capacity of 90,520 m3/h. It came online in 1997; its air processing capacity is 450,000 m3/h, and it is able to produce 90,520 m3/h of oxygen, 216,450 m3/h of nitrogen, 450 tons per day of liquid natural gas, and 2,878 m3/h of argon. Between 1989 and 2003, APCI manufactured 14 air separation units with an oxygen production capacity of over 1,500 tons per day. These large air separation units are located in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, China, and other places. Praxair Inc. in the United States: This company was formerly known as Union Carbon Industrial Gases Company, and it is one of the three major subsidiaries of Union Carbide Corporation. In 1991, United Carbon Corporation of the United States announced that it would divide itself into two separate companies: United Carbon Corporation, which would be focused on the production of chemicals and plastics ； Praxair Inc. in the United States is primarily engaged in the production and sales of industrial gases. It is the largest producer of industrial gases in North and South America, as well as one of the largest such producers in the world. The largest air separation unit manufactured by Praxair in the United States has a capacity of 2,700 tons per day. British Oxygen Company (BOC) was founded in 1886; its original name was Bryans Oxygen Company. BOC’s process equipment company has a history of over 80 years, specializing in the design and manufacture of air separation equipment and similar products. Since 1995, the company has manufactured and put into operation a number of large and medium-sized air separation units, such as the 1600 tons/day air separation unit for Weirton Steel in the United States, the 2200 tons/day unit for US Steel, the 700 tons/day unit for Oxygen Company of South Africa, the 1100 tons/day unit for Statoil in Norway, the 1250 tons/day unit for Dolvi in India and the 1051 tons/day unit for Tata Steel, the 1800 tons/day unit for British Steel, the 1300 tons/day unit in Thailand, the 1098 tons/day unit in Wales, UK, the 1340 tons/day unit for ZAK in Poland, and the 1090 tons/day unit for Crosik Steel Plant in India. BOC operates a set of air separation equipment with a capacity of 67,680 m3/h in the United States, which is BOC’s largest air separation facility. The German company MG also produced air separation equipment before the 1960s; thereafter, it mainly focused on selling industrial gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. The largest air separation unit manufactured by MG, the LuNeng model with a capacity of 1,700 tons per day, is installed in Oberhausen, Germany, and came online in 1998. Messer’s market share in gases: 30% in Germany, and 3%–4% in the United States. Russian Cryogenic Machinery Company was founded in 1945; by 1992, it had produced 10 large-scale air separation units based on customer orders. Nippon Oxygen Company: Founded in 1910, the company has manufactured air separation units with capacities of 12,100 m3/h and 35,000 m3/h, among others. Nippon Oxygen Company is one of the world’s eight major gas companies. Editor’s note: It marks the 100th anniversary of the production of oxygen generators, since the first 10 m3/h oxygen generator was developed by the German company Linde in 1903. After a century of development, the global air separation equipment industry has seen a tripartite competition among Air Liquide, APCI, and Linde ； BOC, Praxair, and Messer are also competing fiercely, giving rise to what is known as the ’post-tripartite rivalry’. This post was last edited by chc1125 on 2009-4-28 13:28.]

The original poster is really well-informed; they even know about those that are under construction. Great job!