Purification of nitrogen comprises use of combination of methane oxidation catalyst and nitrogen-saturated zirconium getter alloy

摘要

Purification of nitrogen comprises: (a) reacting a zirconium (Zr) getter alloy containing minor amounts of iron (Fe) and optionally vanadium (V) with nitrogen at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum; (b) introducing the nitrogen-saturated getter into a lower column or column zone; (c) contacting crude nitrogen with a palladium/alumina (Pd/Al2O3) catalyst at 200-450 deg C in an upper column or column zone to oxidize methane; and (d) removing impurities with the nitrogen-saturated getter. An Independent claim is also included for nitrogen purification apparatus comprising a lower column or column zone containing the nitrogen-saturated getter and an upper column or column zone containing the Pd/Al2O3 catalyst.