Krypton / Xenon

Industrial-scale rare gas recovery

Krypton and xenon exist in trace amounts in ambient air (1.1 ppm Kr / 0.086 ppm Xe). Recovery is highly economical for large-scale ASUs processing over 3,000-4,000 tonnes per day (tpd).

The seamless extraction process features:

• Feedstock: Utilizes a liquid oxygen stream from the host ASU.
• Purification: The extraction cold box removes atmospheric contaminants (N2O and hydrocarbons).
• Pre-concentration: Cryogenic distillation columns enrich the trace gases into a raw mixture.

Advanced upgrading and plug-and-play skids

The crude mixture enters the Krypton-Xenon upgrader, where a specialized hydrocarbon purifier and a final distillation column enrich the product to >98% purity (typically 91% Kr, 7% Xe, 2% O2). The gas is compressed to 150 barg into cylinders for final laboratory isolation.

To minimize site disruption, our units are delivered as fully pre-assembled, factory-tested skids, streamlining mechanical tie-ins and commissioning.

Looking to purchase rare gas molecules?

While Air Liquide Engineering & Technologies designs and builds the cryogenic recovery plants, our advanced commercial networks handle the direct supply of high-purity rare gases to end consumers. See the dedicated pages.