Method and System for Injecting Low Pressure Oxygen from an Ion Transport Membrane into an Ambient or Super Ambient Pressure Oxygen-Consuming Process

Abstract

A stream of sub ambient oxygen from an ion transport membrane is injected into an ambient pressure or super ambient pressure oxygen-consuming process through an annular space in between concentrically disposed inner and outer tubes where a high velocity gas is injected into the process from the inner tube.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for injecting low pressure oxygen from an ion transport membrane into an ambient or super ambient pressure oxygen-consuming process, comprising the steps of:
 feeding a super ambient pressure, oxygen-containing feed gas to a first ion transport membrane to produce a sub-ambient pressure first permeate stream essentially consisting of oxygen and a first non-permeate stream essentially consisting of oxygen-deficient feed gas, the ion transport membrane comprising a material that is a hybrid electron/O 2−  anion hybrid conductor;   injecting a high velocity gas into the oxygen-consuming process from an interior of an inner tube, the high velocity gas having a velocity of at least 80 m/s; and   injecting the sub-ambient pressure first permeate stream into the oxygen consuming process form an annular space in between the inner tube and an outer tube concentrically disposed around the inner tube, the first permeate stream being sucked from the annular space by the relative vacuum created by expansion of the high velocity gas from the inner tube, the sub ambient pressure first permeate stream having a pressure of at least 8000 Pascal.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first permeate stream is not compressed before it is injected into the oxygen-consuming process. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of feeding compressed air to a second ion transport membrane to produce a super ambient pressure second permeate stream essentially consisting of oxygen and a super ambient pressure second non-permeate stream essentially consisting of oxygen-deficient air, wherein the oxygen-containing feed gas fed to the first ion transport membrane is the second non-permeate stream and the second ion transport membrane comprises a material that is a hybrid electron/O 2−  anion hybrid conductor. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the high velocity gas is the second permeate stream. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the oxygen-consuming process is an oxy-combustion furnace; and   the inner and outer tubes are part of a burner that also feeds a fuel into oxy-combustion furnace where it reacts with the first permeate stream and the high velocity gas.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the oxygen-consuming process is an oxy-combustion furnace;   the feed gas is compressed air; and   the high velocity gas comprises a flue gas that is recovered from the oxy-combustion furnace.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the oxygen-consuming process is a combustion space of a boiler, an industrial melting furnace, an electric arc furnace, a blast furnace, or a partial oxidation reactor. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the oxygen-consuming process is an oxy-combustion furnace producing flue gas; and   the feed gas is compressed air that has been pre-heated through heat exchange with the flue gas.   
     
     
         9 . A system for consuming oxygen that is received at low pressure from an ion transport membrane, comprising:
 a reactor adapted for consuming oxygen;   a first ion transport membrane comprising a material that is a hybrid electron/O 2−  anion hybrid conductor, the first ion transport membrane having an inlet, a first permeate stream outlet and a first non-permeate stream outlet;   a source of a gas;   an oxygen injection device comprising an outer tube concentrically disposed around an inner tube, inner tube having an inlet and outlet, an annular space in between the inner and outlet tubes having an inlet and outlet, wherein the inlet of the inner tube is in fluid communication with the gas source, the inlet of the annular space is in fluid communication with the first permeate stream outlet, and the outlets of the inner tube and the annular space are in fluid communication with an interior of the reactor.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein there is no compressor in fluid communication between the first permeate stream outlet and the outer tube inlet. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a compressor having an air inlet; and   a compressed air outlet and a second ion transport membrane comprising a material that is a hybrid electron/O 2−  anion hybrid conductor, the second ion transport membrane having an inlet, a second permeate stream outlet and a second non-permeate stream outlet, the second ion transport membrane being adapted to permeate oxygen from a feed gas that is fed to the inlet of the second ion transport membrane, the non-permeate portion of the feed gas fed to the inlet of the second ion transport membrane being channelled to the second non-permeate stream outlet, the permeated oxygen from the second ion transport membrane being channelled to the second permeate stream outlet, wherein:
 the compressed air outlet is in fluid communication with the inlet of the second ion transport membrane; 
 the inlet of the first ion transport membrane is in fluid communication with the second non-permeate stream outlet; and 
 the gas source is the second permeate stream outlet. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the reactor is an oxy-combustion furnace; and   the inner and outer tubes are part of a burner that is adapted to feed a fuel into the oxy-combustion furnace where it reacts with oxygen from the first permeate outlet that is injected from the outlet of the annular space and oxygen from the second permeate outlet that is injected from the outlet of the inner tube.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a compressor, wherein:
 an outlet of the compressor is in fluid communication with the inlet of the first ion transport membrane;   the reactor is an oxy-combustion furnace; and   the gas source is compressed flue gas that is recovered from the oxy-combustion furnace.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the reactor is a combustion space of a boiler, a furnace, an aluminum furnace, a cement kiln, an electric arc furnace, a blast furnace, or a partial oxidation reactor.