Cryogenic Liquid Oxygen Plant
Overview
A Cryogenic Liquid Oxygen Plant is an industrial air separation system designed to produce high-purity liquid oxygen from atmospheric air through deep cryogenic cooling and distillation. The produced liquid oxygen can be stored, transported, or converted back into gaseous oxygen for continuous industrial use.
Working principle
| Step | Process Stage | Core Function | Key Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Air Compression | Atmospheric air is compressed to 0.6–1.2 MPa and cooled to remove compression heat. | Stable compressed air for downstream processing |
| 02 | Air Pre-Cooling | The compressed air is cooled to 5–10°C to condense and remove most moisture. | Reduced moisture load for purification system |
| 03 | Air Purification | Molecular sieve adsorption removes residual moisture, CO₂, and hydrocarbons. | Clean process air with ultra-low impurity levels |
| 04 | Deep Air Cooling | Purified air enters the main heat exchanger and is cooled to around -170°C to -175°C. | Partially liquefied cryogenic air |
| 05 | Distillation Separation | High-pressure and low-pressure distillation towers separate oxygen and nitrogen through repeated evaporation and condensation. | Oxygen purity ≥ 99.6% and nitrogen purity ≥ 99.999% |
| 06 | Oxygen Liquefaction | High-purity oxygen is cooled and liquefied at approximately -183°C. | Liquid oxygen (LOX) product |
| 07 | LOX Storage & Output | Liquid oxygen is stored in insulated cryogenic tanks and delivered by tanker or vaporized for pipeline supply. | Stable liquid or gaseous oxygen delivery |
Cryogenic Liquid Oxygen Plant Core Features
High liquid oxygen purity
The liquid oxygen product purity is stably ≥ 99.6%, and the high-purity configuration can reach 99.999%, which meets the strict requirements of high-precision fields such as electronic industry (oxygen for semiconductor manufacturing) and aerospace (oxidant for rocket fuel).
Large liquid oxygen output
The single-set equipment can realize 50 ~ 80,000 Nm³/h liquid oxygen output (equivalent to gaseous oxygen), and can be customized according to user needs. It is suitable for large-scale industrial scenarios such as large steel plants and chemical parks that require continuous and large-volume oxygen supply.
Strong storage and transportation flexibility
Taking liquid oxygen as the core product, it can be stored in a low-temperature storage tank for a long time (the storage period can reach several months), and can be transported to remote areas through liquid oxygen tankers, solving the problem of difficult long-distance transportation of gaseous oxygen.
Rich by-products
While producing liquid oxygen, high-purity nitrogen (purity ≥ 99.999%) and argon-rich gas (argon content about 8 ~ 12%) can be co-produced. The argon-rich gas can be further purified to obtain high-purity argon (purity ≥ 99.999%), which improves the comprehensive utilization rate of air resources and brings additional economic benefits to users.
Stable and reliable operation
The equipment adopts a fully automatic control system (with PLC and DCS control options), which can realize automatic start-up, shutdown, load adjustment and fault alarm. The typical continuous operation cycle is 2 ~ 3 years, and only regular maintenance (such as molecular sieve replacement) is required, with low operation and management difficulty.
Low energy consumption
The main heat exchanger adopts high-efficiency aluminum plate-fin structure, with heat exchange efficiency ≥ 98%; the air compressor adopts frequency conversion control, which can adjust the air intake according to the load change, and the unit energy consumption of liquid oxygen production is as low as 0.6 ~ 0.8 kWh/Nm³ (equivalent gaseous oxygen), which is more energy-saving than traditional liquid oxygen production equipment.
Comparison of Various Liquid Oxygen Production Methods
|
Liquid oxygen production method |
Core principles |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Applicable scenarios |
|
Cryogenic liquid oxygen plant |
Cryogenic distillation of air, separation of oxygen and nitrogen, then liquefaction of oxygen |
High liquid oxygen purity (≥99.6%), large output (up to 80,000 Nm³/h), stable operation, rich by-products |
Long start-up time (24 ~ 48 hours), large equipment investment, large floor area |
Large-scale industrial scenarios (steel, chemical industry), large medical institutions, regional oxygen supply centers |
|
VPSA (Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption) liquid oxygen plant |
Molecular sieve adsorbs nitrogen, enriches oxygen, then cools and liquefies oxygen |
Fast start-up (1 ~ 2 hours), small floor area, low investment |
Low liquid oxygen purity (≤95%), small output (≤500 Nm³/h), high energy consumption |
Small-scale emergency oxygen supply (disaster areas, small hospitals), temporary construction sites |
|
Membrane separation liquid oxygen plant |
Polymer membrane selectively permeates oxygen, enriches oxygen, then liquefies oxygen |
Simple structure, easy maintenance, low noise |
Low liquid oxygen purity (≤90%), small output (≤100 Nm³/h), easy membrane aging |
Micro-scale oxygen supply (laboratory, small fish ponds), low-purity oxygen demand scenarios |
Applicable Scenarios
- Specialized low-density air configurations for high-altitude mining operations above 3,500 meters, compensating for atmospheric pressure drops without efficiency loss.
- Multi-stage self-cleaning filtration systems for desert/cement environments (high dust), and C5-M marine-grade anti-corrosion protection for coastal industrial zones to lower long-term maintenance overhead.
- Structural optimization that reduces dynamic foundation load requirements, cutting civil engineering concrete volume and shortening site preparation timelines.
- Pre-fabricated, skid-mounted, or containerized auxiliary subsystems to minimize on-site mechanical/electrical installation hours in remote regions.
- Integrated voltage and frequency fluctuation ride-through protection, critical for remote mining locations with unstable power infrastructure.
Engineering Capabilities
- Custom-engineered cryogenic air separation plants from 50 TPD to 2,000 TPD, delivering oxygen purity from 99.5% to 99.8% tailored to your specific process recipe.
- Future-proof layout allowing parallel compression or expansion trains to increase future tonnage without scrapping or replacing the core cold box system.
- Turnkey medical oxygen systems built strictly to regional pharmacopeia standards (USP/EP) with integrated automated backup manifolds for hospital networks.
Lifecycle Support
- Commissioning and 2-year critical operational spare parts mapped and packed pre-delivery to eliminate commissioning delays.
- Direct OEM technical supervision for major overhauls of critical rotating machinery (turbomachinery, compressors, turboexpanders) and vacuum cold boxes.
- Recommended internal cold box inspection intervals extended to 5–8 years under optimal operating conditions, backed by digital asset serialization for 100% component traceability.
- Structured operator retraining and safety recertification programs following plant expansions or workforce turnover.
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