French
Customer Background
Located in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the enterprise is a leading specialty chemical company in Europe, focusing on the production of pharmaceutical intermediates and high-performance coating raw materials. Its core process, the phthalic anhydride oxidation reaction, requires a continuous and stable supply of high-purity oxygen. Moreover, its production process must comply with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), REACH Regulation, and local TÜV energy efficiency standards in Germany. Previously, it relied on liquid oxygen supply, which exposed it to issues such as high costs and significant transportation risks.
Core Pain Points
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The oxidation reaction has extremely high requirements for oxygen purity (≥93%) and pressure stability. Pressure fluctuations during the vaporization of liquid oxygen easily lead to a decrease in reaction conversion rate and an increase in by-products;
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In 2024, the price of liquid oxygen in Europe rose by 28% year-on-year, and long-distance transportation resulted in a 5%-8% loss. The annual oxygen supply cost exceeded 1.5 million euros;
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After the implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), carbon emissions from the liquid oxygen transportation link have put the enterprise under additional cost pressure, creating an urgent need for a low-carbon on-site oxygen production solution.
Solution
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GNEE customized a 1200Nm³/h PSA oxygen generation system for it, developing an exclusive solution tailored to the chemical oxidation process;
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Adopting a high-efficiency lithium-based molecular sieve and a double-tower adsorption structure, and through the independently developed "intelligent variable-cycle algorithm", the oxygen purity is stably controlled at 93.5%-94.5%, with a pressure fluctuation of ≤±0.03bar;
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The core components of the equipment are made of 316L stainless steel, and it is equipped with multi-stage oil and impurity removal filters to ensure that the oxygen cleanliness meets the production requirements of pharmaceutical intermediates;
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The energy consumption design is optimized, with a variable-frequency air compressor and a waste heat recovery system. It is adapted to the 380V/50Hz industrial power grid in Germany, and the entire unit has passed CE certification and TÜV energy efficiency testing.
Application Effects
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Process Quality Improvement: The oxidation reaction conversion rate increased from 86% to 98%, the output of by-products decreased by 40%, and the purity of pharmaceutical intermediate products reached 99.9%, successfully entering the high-end European pharmaceutical supply chain;
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Significant Cost Reduction: The oxygen production cost was reduced to 0.28 euros/Nm³, saving more than 800,000 euros annually compared with liquid oxygen supply. Carbon emissions were reduced by 650 tons per year, avoiding the risk of CBAM carbon tariffs;
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Stability and Reliability: The equipment operated continuously for 12 months with a zero failure rate. The TÜV test report showed that its energy efficiency level reached the European Class A standard, and it won the enterprise's title of "Annual Best Technology Partner".
In addition to VPSA Oxygen Generators, we also produce PSA Oxygen Generators, storage tanks, heat exchangers and other products. If you are interested in VPSA Oxygen Systems or other products, please feel free to send an email to info@gneeheatex.com. We will be very happy to serve you.
