PSA pressure swing adsorption- pressure cycle adsorption for nitrogen production

PSA industrial technology for generating nitrogen from compressed air

Cyclic Pressure Adsorption (PSA) can generate N2 or O2 from compressed air fed to a unit that uses adsorption phenomena to remove N2 contaminants when necessary. pure O2 gas or O2 if pure N2 gas is required. In both cases, H2O and CO2, as well as other minor pollutants, are removed. The PSA unit contains two columns packed with a selective adsorbent that has an affinity for the component being removed.

A carbon molecular sieve is used to make N2 and zeolites to make O2. Each column goes through a cyclical sequence of high pressure and low pressure steps which guarantees the generation of a continuous flow of high purity gas. In the high pressure step, the adsorbent retains the impurities present in the compressed air and the desired gas (N 2 or O 2) is obtained from the top of the columns. The regeneration is carried out in a low-pressure step with the release of impurities that are retained by the adsorbent