Vertical and bedroom molecular sieve adsorber cylinders.

For vertical units, the air separation capacity is generally below 20,000; horizontal units usually have a larger gas handling capacity

The poster is talking about vertical radial flow~~ Hehe~~

Vertical radial flow was developed by Liquair; it represents the future direction for adsorption beds. Its advantages include low space requirement and low resistance, etc. Research in this area is also being carried out in China~~

Vertical radial flow is a technology from the night sky; Hangyang Oxygen has also been researching and applying it for 10 years now, and vertical radial flow features low resistance. Horizontal operation generates high resistance and exerts significant impact on the bed layer.

The absorber types in the purification system of air separation units are divided into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and concentric bed (radial flow) absorbers. In China, horizontal types are more commonly used in air separation applications, while vertical radial flow types are less used. In a horizontal adsorber, the airflow direction is vertical: air enters from below and exits from above after adsorption, while the nitrogen-rich gas used for regeneration enters from above and exits from below after desorption. As large horizontal adsorbers become longer, the distance between the air inlet and the end of the cover also increases; as a result, the airflow distribution in the vicinity of the inlet and at the end is uneven. This leads to differences in the adsorption performance across the molecular sieve bed, causing waste of adsorbent and increased energy consumption. Due to the alternating changes in pressure and temperature inside the adsorber, the internal components are constantly subjected to thermal expansion and contraction; as a result, the connections between the components and between those components and the housing must be movable. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent particles ranging in size from 1.6 to 3 mm from falling through the bed surface. This task is particularly difficult for very large adsorbers, those with a bed surface area of over 100 m2. Additionally, the failure of adsorbent mixing due to errors in air separation operations can also lead to shutdowns of the air separation plant. The internal structure of a vertical adsorber is similar to that of a horizontal one, and it is commonly used in small air separation units. The concentric bed adsorber has a vertical structure, with the adsorption bed located between two cylindrical sieve tubes. The process air enters from the bottom, flows from the periphery toward the center inside the outer tube, and exits through the top. Regenerated polluted nitrogen enters from the top, flows outward around the outer cylinder through the central channel, and is discharged from the bottom. During regenerative heating, the cylindrical screen cylinder can expand and contract freely. The adsorbent packing thickness can be thin, and its height can be designed according to the required amount of adsorbent. The bottom and top of the adsorber have only simple buffer plates to ensure even flow of air and contaminated nitrogen, without the need for guide plates. Its advantage is that it occupies less space. The resistance is low. Disadvantages: High requirements for the concentricity of the adsorbent, high manufacturing costs, inconvenient maintenance, affected by transportation constraints that prevent the adsorber from having too large a diameter, and high consumption of waste nitrogen during regeneration. The large-scale air separation unit adsorbers produced by Air Liquide are of this type; similarly, some major foreign companies such as Linde also have equipment that is similar in nature. Hangyang Oxygen has deployed such units in its 20,000-ton air separation plant in Xinyang, Henan, while Chuan Kong has used them in its 50,000-ton air separation plant in Qinghua, Xinjiang. Comparison: Compared with horizontal molecular sieves, the main advantages of vertical radial-flow molecular sieves are, first, a uniform airflow distribution and reliable operation; second, a much smaller footprint. Other advantages include high efficiency, energy savings, prevention of molecular sieve fluidization, a wide flow rate adjustment range, no thermal stress on the cylinder, and no need for insulation on the exterior shell. However, vertical radial-flow molecular sieves also have their drawbacks: the flow field design is complex, the structure is complicated, and the equipment cost is high. In terms of daily maintenance, it is difficult to load and unload these molecular sieves since there are no discharge ports, making maintenance challenging. Additionally, their elasticity in terms of packing is poor; if the air quality changes, it becomes necessary to increase the thickness of the molecular sieve, but vertical radial-flow systems cannot accommodate this change. In contrast, conventional horizontal molecular sieves allow for an increase in thickness, enabling the addition of more adsorbent to remove impurities when air quality changes.

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