Predictive numerical modelling of a complete pressure swing adsorption plant

Abstract

The current work presents a robust, generalizable, fully predictive computational fluid dynamics model of a complete pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system. Using an axisymmetric representation, the model accurately mimics all the key components of a gas separation plant, including adsorbent columns, air reservoir, product buffer tank, pressure regulator, solenoidal valves, and mesh filters. The cyclic operation of the PSA plants, typically controlled by solenoid valves, is emulated by dynamically modifying the boundary conditions of different subdomains. The integrated approach closely replicates the purity and pressure transients of an in-house PSA pilot setup, producing high-purity oxygen from the air. The advantage of the model lies in its ability not only to simulate column-level phenomena but also to integrate the dynamics of the entire plant in a fully predictive manner. The ability of the model to optimize the system-level performance to produce high-purity oxygen is also demonstrated.