Today I won't give you popular science knowledge, but I will explain to you the history of the development of cryogenic air separation technology. The development of science and technology is developed based on the predecessors. So what technological innovations have been experienced? I hope this article provides you with some thoughts.
First of all, cryogenic air separation technology, as the core technology in the field of industrial gas production, has witnessed the continuous innovation of science and technology and has had a profound impact on the progress of modern industry. From its infancy to its mature application today, this technology has been continuously breakthroughs and plays a key role in many industries.
At the end of the 19th century, the wave of industrial revolution swept the world, industrial production flourished, and the demand for pure industrial gases grew sharply, and cryogenic air separation technology came into being. In 1895, German Linde Company made a major breakthrough and successfully developed the first practical cryogenic air separation device. The device uses the principle of throttling expansion and refrigeration to achieve large-scale air separation to produce oxygen and nitrogen for the first time. At that time, the device could produce only 30 cubic meters of oxygen per hour, with a purity of about 90%. Although the production capacity and purity are far behind modern equipment, its birth is like a dawn, opening a new era of cryogenic air separation technology.
By the beginning to the middle of the 20th century, cryogenic air separation technology entered a stage of rapid development. Technicians continue to optimize the refrigeration cycle and distillation process. In 1910, Linde Company introduced expanders, and this innovative measure greatly improved refrigeration efficiency. Through the adiabatic expansion process, the expander can obtain more cooling capacity, allowing the air separation device to handle a larger flow of air. By 1930, the air processing volume of the air separation unit jumped to 500 cubic meters per hour, and the oxygen purity also increased to more than 95%. At the same time, the design of the distillation tower is constantly improved, and the use of new tray plates and fillers has significantly improved the gas-liquid separation efficiency and further improved the purity and yield of the product. For example, after upgrading the distillation tower, a certain company's nitrogen output increased by 20% compared with the previous one.
After going through the mid-to-late 20th century, cryogenic air separation technology ushered in major changes. The rapid development of materials science and automation control technology has brought a qualitative leap to the improvement of the performance of air separation equipment. The application of high-efficiency heat exchangers, such as plate-fin heat exchangers, greatly improves heat exchange efficiency and reduces energy consumption. Around the 1970s, the energy consumption of new air separation devices was about 30% lower than that of early equipment. The introduction of automated control systems is even more milestone, realizing accurate monitoring and adjustment of operating parameters of air separation equipment. With the help of the control system, operators can adjust pressure, temperature, flow and other parameters in real time to ensure the stable operation of the equipment and the product quality is more stable and reliable. At that time, the oxygen production of large-scale air separation devices could reach tens of thousands of cubic meters per hour, with a purity of more than 99.6%. For example, large-scale air separation equipment used on a large scale in the steel industry has stably supplied high-purity oxygen, which has effectively promoted the improvement of steel smelting efficiency.
Entering the 21st century, cryogenic air separation technology continues to innovate to meet the diverse needs of different industries for gas purity and output. A variety of advanced process flows have been launched one after another, such as double-tower distillation and full-distillation argon making process, which not only improves the argon extraction rate, but also reduces production costs. According to statistics, the argon extraction rate of modern advanced cryogenic air separation devices increased from 30% to 40% in the early stage to 70% to 80%. The trend of large-scale equipment is becoming increasingly significant. The air processing volume of super-large air separation devices can reach more than 100,000 cubic meters per hour, greatly improving production efficiency and reducing unit gas production costs. In the chemical industry, large-scale air separation devices provide sufficient oxygen and nitrogen for large-scale chemical production to ensure smooth production.
Cryogenic air separation technology has evolved from a simple device to more than a hundred years of development to a large-scale equipment that is now highly precise, efficient and energy-saving. Every technological innovation is accompanied by an increase in output, an increase in purity and a decrease in energy consumption, providing stable and high-quality industrial gases to many industries such as steel, chemicals, and electronics, effectively promoting the vigorous development of modern industries. Looking ahead, with the continuous advancement of technology, cryogenic air separation technology is expected to make more breakthroughs in energy conservation and consumption reduction, intelligent control, etc., explore broader application areas, and inject new vitality into global industrial development.
