Working Principle Of Air Separation Unit

Air Separation Unit (ASU) is a device used to extract oxygen, nitrogen and other gases from atmospheric air and separate them. The following is the general working principle of the air separation unit:

Compression and Refrigeration:

Air Absorption: ASU typically absorbs air from the atmosphere.

Compression: The absorbed air is first compressed to a high pressure state, usually using a compressor to accomplish this process.

Refrigeration: The compressed air needs to be cooled to a low temperature state, which is usually achieved through a cooling device or through expansion cooling.

Separation and purification:

Adsorption or separation device: The compressed and cooled air passes through a series of adsorption columns, separation membranes or other separation equipment to separate gases of different components, usually oxygen, nitrogen, rare gases, etc.

Separating gases: These separation devices can separate gases such as oxygen and nitrogen in the air using physical properties such as boiling points, adsorption properties or permeability of different gas components.

Collection and storage:

Oxygen and nitrogen collection: The separated oxygen, nitrogen and other gases are collected and stored respectively.

Storage: These gases are usually stored in high-pressure or cryogenic tanks for future use.

Recompression and conveying:

Recompression: After storage, gases such as oxygen and nitrogen may need to be compressed again to the appropriate pressure for delivery.

Delivery: These gases can be delivered via piping systems or cylinders to meet the needs of industrial, medical or other uses.

The air separation device uses the physical properties of various gas components in the air to separate, and collects and stores oxygen, nitrogen and other gases as needed. This working principle is commonly used in industrial production for large-scale production of gases to meet the needs of various uses.