APPLICATION NOTE A Real-Life Case Study Increasing argon process efficiency using ASDevices fast crude argon analyzer Date: April 2023 Authors: André Lamontagne, Ing. Marc-Antoine Langevin, PhD. Yves Gamache, CEO, CTO

ABSTRACT This case study demonstrates the real cost saving benefits of ASDevices crude argon technology after 2 years of operation on an air separation plant that produces argon. The fast analysis time, 15 to 30 sec (10x to 20x faster than competitor solution), of ASDevices solution is the key breakthrough that allows argon producers to capture the full potential of this application now fully. This fast analysis performance is only possible using ASDevices patented SePdd detector (Scalable Enhanced Plasma Discharge Detector), spectral compensation and innovative PLSV (Purge Lip Sealing Valve)...

The challenge is to rapidly monitor the level of nitrogen in the argon draw-off from the low-pressure column. Until recently, crude argon analyzers needed 5 to 10 minutes to perform the analysis. This was a major limitation to capture the full economic benefits. Figure 2 – Air Separation distillation column profile Processes are typically operated at a suboptimal point to avoid the previous problems at the expense of process efficiency and consequently, the lower output of argon gas. With ASDevices' fast crude argon analysis instrument, this is now a story of the past as demonstrated by the results...

Figure 4 - Shows the process improvement achieved (2AI_702A is the trace nitrogen analyzer, 2AI_705 is the crude argon purity, and 2HC_712 is the crude argon vent valve). No argon is vented resulting in economic savings. Figure 3 – Argon process before crude argon analyzer installation Figure 4 – Argon process after crude argon analyzer installation © Copyright 2023 Analytical Sensing Devices

Substantial savings and efficiency gains According to the analysis of October to December 2020 data (before installation of the KA5000plus Crude argon analyzer) and the first 2 months of data obtained between January to February 2021 (after ASDevices crude argon analyzer installation), the data analysis shows that before the installation of the fast crude argon analyzer, the average crude argon extraction rate was 87.877%, and the vent valve opened 55 times to it maximum output (95 degrees opening). After the installation of the fast crude argon analyzer, the average crude argon extraction rate...

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