Oxygen rich gas in this context means a gas produced by the separation of air and containing at least 75% mol. oxygen, preferably at least 80% mol. oxygen. The rest of the gas contains mainly nitrogen. The separation of the air is preferably carried out by cryogenic distillation.

It is known from EP-A-1992876 to feed a boiler selectively with air or an oxygen rich gas. The boiler is supplied with fuel, which may be biomass fuel or a fossil fuel such as coal or natural gas. The boiler may for example be of the pulverized fuel (known for coal as PC) or fluidized bed or the cyclone type.

The advantages of combustion in a boiler fed with oxygen rich gas include: improved combustion, especially when the fuel has a reduced calorific value,

improved thermal efficiency of the boiler due to reduced heat loss in the flue gas,

- higher flame temperature, allowing the exchange surface to produce more steam,

reduced NOx emissions (as described in US-A-6568185), improved throughput for the boiler.

However oxygen enriched gas is not generally sent to boilers because of the cost of the oxygen rich gas.

It is however well known to send oxygen rich gas to a unit consuming oxygen rich gas in large quantities, the unit being for example integrated in a unit for the generation of electricity. For example, an oxycombustion boiler is generally fed with oxygen rich gas and fuel. The combustion is used to produce heat which in turn raises steam to be used in a steam turbine to generate electricity. This type of unit produces a carbon dioxide containing waste gas which is at least in part recycled to the unit, possibly after treatment. The first unit may also for example be an IGCC unit or a gasification unit, such as a coal gasification unit. Since the air separation unit is necessary to provide an oxygen rich gas for this first unit, in many cases, it may be interesting to use part of the oxygen rich gas, at least from time to time, in a second unit, which is a combustion unit in which the oxidant used is normally air, which has not been enriched with oxygen. The associated advantages may even justify an increase in the size of the air separation unit.

According to the invention, there is provided a process for providing an oxygen rich gas and fuel to at least first and second units, both of which are oxygen rich gas consuming units comprising:

i) separating air in an air separation unit to produce oxygen rich gas. ii) during a first and a second period of time, sending a first stream of oxygen rich gas from the air separation unit to the first oxygen rich gas consuming unit, sending a first stream of fuel to the first unit, removing a first carbon dioxide containing gas from the first unit, the first unit being integrated with a system for the generation of electricity and optionally sending at least part of the first carbon dioxide containing gas or a gas derived therefrom back to the first unit.

iii) during the first period of time, sending a second stream of oxygen rich gas from the air separation unit to the second oxygen rich gas consuming unit, the second unit being a combustion unit, at least a second stream of fuel and a first stream of air being supplied to the combustion unit during the first period, removing a second carbon dioxide containing gas from the second unit without sending any of the second carbon dioxide containing gas or any gas derived therefrom back to the second unit.

iv) during the second period of time, supplying at least a second stream of air and a third stream of fuel to the combustion during the second period and removing a third carbon dioxide containing gas from the second unit without sending any of the third carbon dioxide containing gas back to the second unit characterized in that during the second period of time, no oxygen rich gas is sent from the air separation to the second unit or a third stream of oxygen rich gas at least 50% less than the second stream is sent from the air separation to the second unit.

According to other alternative features, the process may include the following steps or features: ^ a first stream of air is supplied to the second unit during the first period and a second stream of air is supplied to the second unit during the second period, the first stream being at least 50% less than the second stream.

where the first unit is an oxycombustion unit, sending at least part of the first carbon dioxide containing gas or a gas derived therefrom back to the first unit.

where the first unit is an IGCC unit, not sending at least part of the first carbon dioxide containing gas or a gas derived therefrom back to the first unit.

where the first unit is a gasification unit, not sending at least part of the first carbon dioxide containing gas or a gas derived therefrom back to the first unit the first stream is greater than the second stream, preferably at least three times greater than the second stream.

during the first period, the second stream of oxygen enriched gas is mixed with air to be supplied to the combustion unit or sent directly to the second unit without having been mixed with air being supplied to the combustion unit.

the first period corresponds to a period when there is a partial interruption to the sending of air to the second unit.

during the first period, the average price of electricity is above a given threshold and during the second period, the average price of electricity is below a given threshold.

during the first period, the combustion unit operates with a fuel having a lower heating value below a given threshold and during the second period, the combustion unit operates with a fuel having a lower heating value above the given threshold.

- during the first period, the combustion unit operates with fuel having a biomass content above a given threshold and during the second period, the combustion unit operates with fuel having a biomass content below a given threshold.

the air separation unit receives a feed flow of compressed, cooled and purified air to be distilled and during the first period, the air separation unit is operating with a feed flow below a given threshold and during the second period, the air separation unit is operating with a feed flow below the given threshold.

the second stream of fuel is greater than the third stream of fuel. .

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the first stream of air and the second stream of oxygen rich gas have purities and flowrates such that the oxygen purity in a gas formed by mixing the first stream of air and the second stream of oxygen rich gas would be between 21 % and 40% mol. on a dry basis.

- the flowrate of the first stream of oxygen rich gas during the first and second periods is at least twice that of the second stream of oxygen rich gas during the first period.

the first carbon dioxide containing gas contains at least 70%. carbon dioxide on a dry basis and the second carbon dioxide containing gas contains at most 30% carbon dioxide on a dry basis.

the air separation unit produces and stores oxygen enriched liquid during second period and wherein at least part of said oxygen enriched liquid stored during the second period is vaporized during the first period to produce at least part of the second stream of oxygen rich gas.

- the first unit is not fed by air.

A number of cases in which this interrupted supply of oxygen rich gas to the second unit may be beneficial will be described.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the figure, which shows the operation of a process according to the invention.

An air separation unit ASU, which may be a cryogenic distillation unit, receives cooled, compressed and purified air 1 as feed gas. The air is then separated to form nitrogen 3 and an oxygen rich gas 5 containing at least 75% mol oxygen, preferably at least 80% mol. oxygen. The conduit means for transporting the oxygen rich gas is designed such that it is possible to divide oxygen rich gas 5 into a first oxygen rich gas stream 7 and a second oxygen rich gas stream 9, this division means being showing schematically as valves V1 , V2.

During a first period, the valves V1 and V2 are open and the oxygen rich gas is divided into two streams. The first stream 7 may have a flowrate at least twice that of the second stream 9. The first stream 7 is sent to a first unit C1 , as sole oxidant. Oxygen recirculated in the flue gas is not considered as an oxidant. The first unit C1 is also fed by fuel F1 , which may be coal or natural gas.

The first unit may be a unit for the generation of electricity. It may be an IGCC unit, a gasification unit or an oxycombustion unit. ,_

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The first unit produces heat which is used to generate electricity. It also produces a first carbon dioxide containing gas, often known as flue gas, 1 1 . This flue gas is divided in two, part 15 of the gas being sent back to the first unit C1 , where the first unit is an oxycombustion unit. The remainder 13, if any, of the flue gas, may either be released into the atmosphere, treated to remove impurities, in particular carbon dioxide or used in another process.

It is possible that the recycled gas 15 may have been derived from the flue gas by treatment of some sort, e.g. to remove impurities, dust etc.

The second stream of oxygen rich gas 9 is sent, during the first period, to a second unit C2 which is also fed by air 21 , in some cases. The oxygen rich gas may be sent directly to the second unit C2 (at boiler primary and/or secondary and/or burners) or may be mixed with the air 21 upstream of the unit C2 as shown in dashed lines (at boiler primary and/or secondary and/or burners). The unit C2 is a combustion unit and is fed with fuel F2 which may be....

The oxygen and air purities and flowrates are chosen such that if streams 9 and 21 were (or are) mixed, the resultant gas would contain between 21 % and 40% mol, preferably between 21 and 35% and preferable again between 21 % and 27% on a dry basis. It will thus be understood that the flowrate of second oxygen rich gas stream 9 is substantially less than that of first air stream 21 (for example lower than 35%, preferably 24%, preferably 10% of the first air stream 21 ).

During the second period, the first unit C1 operates as in the first period with oxygen rich gas constituting the sole oxidant and with recycling of at least part of the flue gas.

However during the second period, either no oxygen rich gas is sent to second unit C2, or else the amount of oxygen rich gas sent to the second unit is substantially reduced, for example to at most of half of the flowrate during the first period.

Thus the second unit C2 is fed only with air as sole oxidant or else with a mixture of air and oxygen enriched gas, the resultant mixture being less rich in oxygen than in the first period.

In the case where the air is fed to the second unit during the first period, the flowrate of air 21 sent during the first period may be substantially less than that sent during the second period.

The process may be used for example under the following circumstances. _

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In the case where the second unit C2 operates normally using only air 21 as sole oxidant, if the part of the air ventilators break down or part of the air flow is interrupted for any reason, the second unit C2 may continue to operate using second oxygen rich gas stream 9 as complementary oxidant. If the air flowrate is only reduced rather than interrupted completely, the oxygen rich gas may compensate at least partially for the lack of oxygen supplied to the combustion.

Another possibility is to send the oxygen rich gas to the second unit C2 only when the unit C2 is operating at a high production rate. In this case, the sending of oxygen rich gas to the unit C2 may be conditioned by the amount of fuel F2 being sent to the unit C2, since the unit consumes more fuel as the production rate increases. Thus the first period corresponds to the case where the amount of fuel supplied is higher than a given threshold and the second period corresponds to the case where the amount of fuel supplied is lower than that threshold. Means for measuring the fuel flowrate (FIC) and for transmitting this information to valve V2 are shown in the figure. A suggested threshold could be a value of 90% or 95% of the maximum fuel flow.

Another possibility would be to send the oxygen rich gas 9 to the second unit only in the case where the average cost of electricity is above a given threshold. Thus no oxygen rich gas 9 is sent to the second unit C2 when the cost of electricity is below the threshold, for example 50€/MWh. Alternatively less oxygen rich gas may be sent to the second unit when the price is below the threshold and more oxygen rich gas when the price is above the threshold. The operation of C2 using oxygen rich gas then becomes economically justified.

Another possibility is to send the oxygen rich gas to the second unit C2 only when the unit C2 is operating with low calorific value fuel or a biomass-based fuel. In this case, the sending of oxygen rich gas to the unit C2 may be conditioned by the lower heating value, the fuel preparation or combustion properties of the biomass-based fuel since they may impact the unit's flame stability, thermal efficiency, power output or production availability. Thus the first period may correspond to the case where the lower heating value of fuel F2 supplied is lower than a given threshold and the second period may correspond to the case where the lower heating value of fuel F2 supplied is higher than that threshold. Additionally or alternatively, the unit C2 may be fed by a fuel containing biomass and non-biomass. The first period may then correspond to the case where the proportion of biomass is higher than a given threshold (for example 15%) and the second period correspond to the case where the proportion of biomass is lower than that threshold or even zero.

In another example, when the flowrate of air 1 to the air separation unit ASU becomes particularly low, it may be impossible for the air separation unit to function correctly, unless compressed air and/or product gas is sent to the atmosphere. To avoid this waste, it may be useful to send oxygen rich gas to the second unit C2 only when the feed flow of air 1 to the air separation unit is below a given threshold. Thus when the feed flow is above the threshold, all the oxygen rich gas is sent to the first unit C1 . In this case, the threshold could for example be when the flowrate falls below 75% of the design flowrate of the air separation unit.

The ASU may include a "bascule" system which stores liquid oxygen during the second period and vaporises this oxygen during the first period to produce product gaseous oxygen.