Gas treatment covers the full range of adsorption duties on gaseous streams: water removal, acid gas removal, hydrocarbon recovery, and pressure swing separation. The fourteen applications in this theme span natural gas dehydration to cryogenic air pre purification, hydrogen recovery to biogas upgrading, and on site nitrogen and oxygen generation.
SorbiTech engineers the duty as one decision. The grade selection, the vessel design, the cycle parameters, and the regeneration energy budget close out together. The same engineering team that specifies the molecular sieve charge sizes the heater for the regeneration step and writes the operating procedure for the first start up.
Outlet specifications are documented in the contract. Water dew point, residual acid gas, hydrogen recovery rate, and nitrogen purity are confirmed during commissioning and held under a performance guarantee for the first campaign. The bed is supported through its service life under a single lifecycle agreement.
The adsorbent grade is selected for the duty. The cycle is engineered to match. Adsorption capacity, regeneration energy, and pressure drop close out as one specification.
In thermal swing adsorption the bed adsorbs at process temperature and pressure, then regenerates at elevated temperature using a slip stream of dry gas. Cycle times run from 8 to 16 hours. The molecular sieve and activated alumina grades are sized by water mass balance against the regeneration heat input.
In pressure swing adsorption the bed cycles between high pressure adsorption and low pressure or vacuum regeneration. Cycle times are seconds to minutes. The carbon molecular sieve grade and the zeolite 13X grade are selected for the kinetic or equilibrium regime that fits the target separation: nitrogen from air, hydrogen from off gas, oxygen from air.
SorbiTech delivers gas treatment duties as one engineered package. The bed sizing, the vessel design, the cycle parameters, and the regeneration energy budget close out in a single engineering record. The mechanical scope covers the twin tower vessels, the heater, the cooler, the switching valves, and the PLC sequence controller, all built to ASME and PED with NACE materials when the duty calls for sour service.
The package ships with the adsorbent charge already specified, the certificate of analysis released against the lot, and the as built documentation prepared for the operator audit. SorbiTech commissions the unit, witnesses the first start up, logs the outlet specification, and signs the performance guarantee against the contracted duty.
Each duty page carries the inlet specification, the recommended media or system, the cycle parameters, and the engineering selection guidance.
Pellet activated carbon guard bed for beverage grade carbon dioxide purification meeting ISBT (International Society of Beverage Technologists) specifications for carbonated soft drinks, beer, and sparkling water.
Solvent vapor recovery using twin tower pellet activated carbon adsorbers with steam or vacuum regeneration to capture and recover volatile organic solvents from process and printing vents.
Drying and sulphur removal from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), propane, and butane streams using 3A molecular sieve and impregnated activated carbon to meet pipeline and storage specifications.
On site oxygen generation by pressure swing or vacuum pressure swing adsorption using lithium exchanged X zeolite for medical, aquaculture, ozone, and metals applications.
Pre purifying air feed to cryogenic air separation units by removing water, carbon dioxide, and trace hydrocarbons on a graded molecular sieve and activated alumina bed.
Heatless desiccant drying of compressed instrument air and plant air using activated alumina to deliver pressure dew points below minus 40 °C for DCS pneumatic systems.
Breaking the ethanol water azeotrope using 3A molecular sieve to produce fuel grade anhydrous ethanol at 99.5 percent purity or higher for blending into gasoline.
Drying ethylene cracked gas using 3A molecular sieve to protect downstream low temperature distillation and polymerisation catalysts from water poisoning and coke laydown.
Sulphur impregnated activated carbon mercury removal from natural gas, condensate, and refinery streams to protect cryogenic and brazed aluminium equipment from mercury amalgam attack.
Carbon dioxide removal from anaerobic digester biogas and landfill gas using carbon molecular sieve PSA to deliver grid quality bio methane for pipeline injection or CNG vehicle fuel.
Four representative industries where SorbiTech delivers installations under this application theme, with the engineering record behind each.
Adsorption duties touch the media specification, the vessel design, and the project execution at the same time. SorbiTech engineers all three from the same record, with one performance guarantee against the contracted outlet condition.
The grade shipped is the grade engineered into the vessel design. SorbiTech designs the unit, sizes the bed, and supplies the media as one decision.
Every shipment carries a certificate of analysis covering iodine, water capacity, crush strength, attrition loss, and bulk density measured against the lot.
The bed is supported through its service life. Field sampling, performance audit, reactivation logistics, and end of life return under one agreement.
Process engineers, mechanical designers, and lifecycle specialists work the same project. The recommendation closes against duty data, not a catalogue page.
Starting point for the engineering conversation. The final specification closes out after SorbiTech receives the inlet composition, the operating window, and the target outlet condition.
Pipeline grade transmission specifies a water dew point of minus 10 °C at operating pressure. Cryogenic feed gas to an LNG train or NGL recovery needs minus 50 to minus 90 °C. The 4A grade serves the first; 13X is the standard for the second when the inlet has any sulphur to manage in the same bed.
The regeneration step removes the water and any co adsorbed acid gas loaded during adsorption. The heat duty equals the bed mass times the specific heat plus the latent heat of desorption. Regeneration time runs half to three quarters of adsorption time. The heater is sized to deliver the peak heat input with a 10 to 15 percent margin.
When the cycle has to be fast and the energy budget for regeneration is constrained. PSA cycles run in seconds to minutes against vacuum or low pressure, with no external heat. Nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen separations sit naturally in the PSA regime.
Three to five years on natural gas dehydration. Two to three years on hydrogen PSA. Eight to twelve years on on site nitrogen PSA where the feed air conditioning is in line and the cycle is held within design. Field samples at 12 months baseline the wear rate for the installation.
For continuous demand above 10 normal cubic metres per hour, on site PSA nitrogen breaks even against bulk liquid within 2 to 4 years on a typical industrial tariff. For intermittent demand below 5 Nm³/h, bulk liquid is usually cheaper. The breakeven point depends on the electricity rate and the demand profile.
Our 112-application database covers most industrial duties. Contact us to find the right solution.
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