Air Products is celebrating the ground breaking ceremony of its new ion transport membrane (ITM) pilot test facility in Convent, Louisiana.
The 100 t per day (TPD) facility will include an electrical cogeneration unit that produces power and an ITM unit that produces oxygen.
The ITM technology utilizes a ceramic material, which helps to ionize and separate oxygen molecules from the atmosphere under temperature and pressure. The technology can be an ideal substitute for traditional cryogenic air separation systems. It has an ability to produce oxygen in a highly efficient and economical way. The ITM technology also decreases the footprint of oxygen facilities and minimizes cooling water needs for larger oxygen demand applications.
The Louisiana project represents a considerable expansion in size from the company’s successful five TPD ITM plant by increasing oxygen volume by 20 times. The new facility will offer reliable engineering and economic information for further scaling-up in size to about 2,000 TPD. This initiative will help the company to better serve extremely larger energy plants. Air Products’ Director of Business Development, Ted Foster stated that the ITM oxygen technology is expected to advance clean energy generation in both the existing power market and future carbon-constrained environment.
This is the first project, where the company has co-located a cogeneration facility and an ITM unit. The cogeneration facility has the capacity to generate 5 MW of power, which will be utilized for the oxygen plant operation and for exporting power. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) provides funding for the pilot project and is scheduled for operation in 2012.