A skid device and method for purifying inert gas

Abstract

The present invention relates to a skid block device and method for inert gas purification, comprising a base, a heat exchanger, a cooler, an adsorption unit and a collection unit installed on the base; the heat exchanger has at least two groups of air inlets and air outlets, one of which is connected to the inlet end of the inert gas, one of which and the other are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet of the adsorption unit, and the other is connected to the cooler. The skid block device and method for inert gas purification provided by the present invention adopts a skid block design, has simple equipment, solves the problems of equipment redundancy and large floor space, and has the advantage of low purification cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a gas purification device and method, and in particular to an inert gas purification device and method. Background Art

[0002] Inert gases, such as helium, argon, nitrogen, etc., are widely used in aerospace, electronic chips, chemical industry and other industries due to their inactive chemical properties. Most of these industries have high requirements for gas purity, and the mass concentration of inert gases must reach above 99.999%. The inert gases used are mostly produced by low-temperature deep-cold separation of air, which is doped with trace impurity gases such as oxygen, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, etc., so that the purity of the inert gas does not meet the requirements and needs to be purified; in addition, trace impurities will be mixed into the inert gas during use to reduce its purity. After use, it does not meet the purity requirements and is directly discharged into the atmosphere, causing waste of resources and increased costs, and it also needs to be recovered and purified.

[0003] Although these inert gases after production or use are doped with a variety of trace gases, their purity is still high, with a mass concentration generally above 99.99%, so the technical threshold for their purification process equipment is relatively high. The purification equipment currently used has complex processes, requires a large number of equipment, is large in size, has high requirements for sites and environment, and has high costs for recovery and purification. These limitations have slowed the development of domestic inert gas recovery and purification. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a skid device and method for purifying inert gas with simple process, small equipment footprint and low purification cost, in view of the problems of complex inert gas purification process, redundant equipment and high purification cost.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0006] On the one hand, the present invention provides a skid device for an inert gas purification process, comprising a base, a heat exchanger, a cooler, an adsorption unit and a collection unit installed on the base; the heat exchanger has at least two groups of air inlets and air outlets, one of the air inlets is connected to the inert gas inlet end, one of the air outlets and the other air inlet are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet of the adsorption unit, and the other air outlet is connected to the cooler.

[0007] Preferably, the adsorption unit includes an internal heating component, an external heating component mounted outside the internal heating component, an insulation component mounted outside the external heating component, an adsorbent filled in a receiving space formed by the internal heating component and the external heating component, an air inlet pipe inserted into the bottom of the receiving space, and an air outlet pipe connected to the top of the receiving space.

[0008] Preferably, the heat exchanger comprises two groups of air inlets and air outlets. In the present invention, the inert gas to be purified is passed through the heat exchanger for preliminary temperature increase and then passed through the adsorption unit. After heating and filtering in the adsorption unit, the purified high-temperature gas is passed through the heat exchanger for cooling. The purified high-temperature gas transmits part of its energy to the unpurified inert gas through the heat exchanger, and at the same time, the temperature of the purified high-temperature gas is cooled and the temperature of the unpurified inert gas is heated, so that the secondary utilization of heat energy is effectively carried out, energy waste is avoided, and it is more power-saving and economical.

[0009] Preferably, the getter is one or more of a ZrAl getter, a ZrVFe getter, a BaTi getter, and a BaAl getter.

[0010] Further preferably, the ZrAl getter includes but is not limited to ZrAl16 type ZrAl getter.

[0011] Preferably, the internal heating assembly comprises one or more heaters and the external heating assembly comprises one or more heaters.

[0012] Further preferably, the heater is a U-tube heater.

[0013] Further preferably, the number of the external heaters is greater than the number of the internal heaters. The heaters in the present invention can be increased or decreased with the size of the adsorption unit. When the heater is a U-tube heater, the external heaters are evenly distributed to surround the evenly distributed internal heaters.

[0014] Specifically and preferably, the number of the internal heaters is 4 to 8, and the number of the external heaters is 24 to 30.

[0015] Further preferably, the internal heaters are uniformly arranged in a cylindrical shape and inserted into the center of the adsorption unit.

[0016] Preferably, the outer side of the internal heating component and the inner side of the external heating component are respectively provided with isolation plates for isolating the internal heating component, the getter, and the getter and the external heating component; the adsorption unit is also provided with a bottom plate and a top plate, and the bottom plate, the top plate and the isolation plate are jointly enclosed to form the accommodation space. The getter is filled in the accommodation space, and the external heating component and the internal heating component are not in direct contact with the getter, and the getter is heated by heat radiation and heat conduction.

[0017] Preferably, the adsorption unit further comprises a shell sleeved outside the insulation component, the shell is provided with a top shell that can be opened and closed, and a bottom shell that can be opened or closed; the insulation component comprises a top insulation layer that can be opened and closed, a bottom insulation layer that can be opened and closed, and a side insulation layer. Since the getter is used at high temperature for a long time, it will stick together and cannot be separated, which affects the purification effect of the inert gas, and the continuous use of the getter will lead to a saturated state, and the getter needs to be replaced regularly. The shell and the insulation component in the present invention can be opened to replace the getter according to actual needs.

[0018] Further preferably, the side insulation layer, the top insulation layer, and the bottom insulation layer are surrounded by a closed container, the external heating component, the getter and the internal heating component are arranged in the closed container, the air inlet pipe passes through the top insulation layer and is connected to an outlet of the heat exchanger, and the air outlet pipe passes through the top insulation layer and is connected to another air inlet of the heat exchanger.

[0019] Further preferably, the thermal insulation component is formed by splicing a plurality of arc blocks.

[0020] Further preferably, the side insulation layer is formed by splicing three 120° annular arc cylinders.

[0021] Preferably, the collecting unit comprises a buffer tank and a vacuum pump respectively connected to the cooler, and the buffer tank and the vacuum pump are provided with air outlets.

[0022] Preferably, the skid device further comprises an electric control box mounted on the base plate, and the electric control box is respectively connected to the heat exchanger, the adsorption unit and the cooler.

[0023] Further preferably, the heat exchanger, the adsorption unit and the cooler are all provided with a pressure gauge and a thermometer, and the pressure gauge and the thermometer are respectively connected to the electric control box.

[0024] Preferably, a first valve is provided at the air inlet end of the heat exchanger communicating with the inert gas, and the first valve is connected to the electric control box.

[0025] Preferably, a second valve is provided at the air inlet end of the vacuum pump, and the second valve is connected to the electric control box.

[0026] Preferably, a third valve is provided at the air inlet end of the buffer tank, and the third valve is connected to the electric control box.

[0027] Further preferably, a fourth valve is provided at the gas outlet end of the buffer tank, and the fourth valve is connected to the electric control box.

[0028] Preferably, the first valve, the second valve, the third valve and the fourth valve are pneumatic valves.

[0029] Preferably, a sampling unit is further provided at the outlet end of the cooler, and the sampling unit comprises a ball valve, a pressure reducing valve, and a purity measuring instrument, and the ball valve, the pressure reducing valve, and the purity measuring instrument are respectively connected to the electric control box.

[0030] Further preferably, the sampling unit is arranged at the front end of the second valve and the third valve.

[0031] The vacuum pump in the present invention can be used to evacuate gas and control the vacuum degree of the skid device; it can also be used to exhaust gas. When the purified gas detected by the sampling unit does not meet the requirements, the gas is discharged from the vacuum pump. The buffer tank in the present invention is used to collect qualified gas after purification. When the purified gas detected by the sampling unit meets the requirements, the purified gas enters the buffer tank.

[0032] Preferably, the inert gas to be purified is an inert gas having a mass concentration greater than or equal to 99.99%, and the inert gas after purification is an inert gas having a mass concentration greater than or equal to 99.999%.

[0033] Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for purifying an inert gas, wherein unpurified inert gas is passed through the skid device as described above for purification.

[0034] Due to the application of the above technical scheme, the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art: the present invention provides a skid device and method for purifying inert gas, which adopts a skid design and has simple equipment, thus solving the problems of equipment redundancy and large floor space, and has the advantage of low purification cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 A connection diagram of various units of a skid device provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 2 A schematic top view of a skid device provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 3A cross-sectional view of an adsorption unit 2 provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 4 A top view of an adsorption unit 2 provided in Example 1 of the present invention;

[0039] Among them, 1. heat exchanger, 2. adsorption unit, 3. cooler, 4. buffer tank, 5. vacuum pump, 6. electric control box, 7. base, 8. internal heating component, 9. getter, 10. external heating component, 11. insulation component, 12. shell, 13. pressure gauge, 14. first valve, 15. second valve, 16. third valve, 17. fourth valve, 18. ball valve, 19. pressure reducing valve, 20. purity measuring instrument;

[0040] a. Air inlet, b. Air outlet, c. Unqualified gas outlet, A. Air inlet of adsorption unit, B. Air outlet of adsorption unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples. The implementation conditions used in the examples can be further adjusted according to the different requirements of specific use, and the implementation conditions not specified are conventional conditions in the industry. The technical features involved in each embodiment of the present invention can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0042] In the following, only some exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the described embodiments may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, the drawings and descriptions are considered to be exemplary and non-restrictive in nature.

[0043] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", etc. indicate positions or location relationships based on the attached Figure 3 The orientation or positional relationship shown is only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention.

[0044] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0045] In the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms such as "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or communication; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0046] In order to simplify the disclosure of the embodiments of the present invention, the components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention may repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or arrangements discussed.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, a skid device for an inert gas purification process includes a base 7, a heat exchanger 1, a cooler 3, an adsorption unit 2, and a collection unit installed on the base 7. The heat exchanger 1 has at least two groups of air inlets and air outlets, one of which is connected to the inlet end of the inert gas, one of which and the other are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet of the adsorption unit 2, and the other is connected to the cooler 3. The heat exchanger 1 in this embodiment has two groups of air inlets and air outlets, the 1-1 air inlet is connected to the inert gas inlet end, the 1-2 air outlet is connected to the air inlet of the adsorption unit 2, the 2-1 air inlet is connected to the air outlet of the adsorption unit 2, and the 2-2 air outlet is connected to the air inlet of the cooler 3.

[0049] The adsorption unit 2 includes an internal heating component 8, an external heating component 10 sleeved outside the internal heating component 8, an insulation component 11 sleeved outside the external heating component 10, a getter 9 filled in the accommodation space formed by the internal heating component 8 and the external heating component 10, an air inlet pipe inserted into the bottom of the accommodation space, and an air outlet pipe connected to the top of the accommodation space. The getter is one or more of a ZrAl getter, a ZrVFe getter, a BaTi getter, and a BaAl getter. The getter used in this embodiment is a ZrAl16 type ZrAl getter. The inert gas enters the bottom of the accommodation space from the air inlet pipe, and is purified from the getter 9 from bottom to top and then discharged from the air outlet pipe. The adsorption unit 2 of the present invention adopts a cylindrical structure. It should be particularly noted that the structural shape of the adsorption unit 2 of the present invention is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and can be a hexagonal prism or an octagonal prism, which is not limited here.

[0050] The outer side of the internal heating component 8 of the adsorption unit 2 and the inner side of the external heating component 10 are respectively provided with isolation plates for isolating the internal heating component 8 and the getter 9 and isolating the getter 9 and the external heating component 10; the adsorption unit 2 is also provided with a bottom plate and a top plate, and the bottom plate, the top plate and the isolation plate together enclose a containing space. The getter 9 is filled in the containing space, and the external heating component 10 and the internal heating component 8 are not in direct contact with the getter 9, and the getter 9 is heated by heat radiation and heat conduction. The adsorption unit 2 also includes an outer shell 12 that is sleeved on the outside of the insulation component 11, and the outer shell 12 is provided with a top shell that can be opened or closed and a bottom shell that can be opened or closed; the insulation component 11 includes a top insulation layer that can be opened or closed, a bottom insulation layer that can be opened or closed, and a side insulation layer. The side insulation layer, the top insulation layer, and the bottom insulation layer are surrounded to form a closed container, the external heating assembly 10, the getter 9, and the internal heating assembly 8 are arranged in the closed container, the air inlet pipe passes through the top insulation layer and is connected to the 1-2 outlet of the heat exchanger 1, and the air outlet pipe passes through the top insulation layer and is connected to the 2-1 air inlet of the heat exchanger 1. The side insulation layer in the present invention is formed by splicing three 120° annular arc cylinders.

[0051] The internal heating component 8 of the adsorption unit 2 includes one or more heaters, and the external heating component 10 includes one or more heaters. The heater is a U-tube heater, and the number of external heaters is greater than the number of internal heaters. There is no specific restriction on the number of heaters in the present invention, and the number of heaters can be increased or decreased with the size of the adsorption unit 2. When the heater is a U-tube heater, the external heater is evenly distributed to surround the evenly distributed internal heating component 8. In this embodiment, the internal heating component 8 uses 6 U-shaped heating tubes, and the external heating component 10 uses 27 U-shaped heating tubes. The 6 U-shaped heating tubes in the internal heating component 8 are evenly arranged into a cylinder and pass through the outer shell 12 and the top insulation layer to be inserted into the middle position of the adsorption unit 2, and the axis of the internal heating component 8 coincides with the axis of the adsorption unit 2. In this embodiment, the adsorption unit 2 is also provided with a pressure gauge 13 and a thermometer.

[0052] The collection unit in the present invention includes a buffer tank 4 and a vacuum pump 5 respectively connected to the cooler 3, and the buffer tank 4 and the vacuum pump 5 are provided with air outlets. The skid device in the present invention also includes an electric control box 6 installed on the bottom plate, and the electric control box 6 is respectively connected to the heat exchanger 1, the adsorption unit 2, and the cooler 3. The air inlet end of the heat exchanger 1 connected to the inert gas is provided with a first valve 14, the air inlet end of the vacuum pump 5 is provided with a second valve 15, the first valve 14 is connected to the electric control box 6, the air inlet end of the buffer tank 4 is provided with a third valve 16, and the air outlet end of the buffer tank 4 is provided with a fourth valve 17. The first valve 14, the second valve 15, the third valve 16, and the fourth valve 17 in this embodiment are all pneumatic valves. The outlet end of the heat exchanger 1 is also provided with a sampling unit, and the sampling unit includes a ball valve 18, a pressure reducing valve 19, and a purity measuring instrument 20. In this example, the sampling unit is arranged at the front end of the second valve 15 and the third valve 16, the first valve 14, the second valve 15, the third valve 16, the fourth valve 17, the ball valve 18, the pressure reducing valve 19, and the purity measuring instrument 20 are all connected to the electrical control box 6, and the heat exchanger 1, the adsorption unit 2, and the cooler 3 are all provided with pressure gauges and thermometers and are respectively connected to the electrical control box 6.

[0053] The working process of the skid device of the present invention is as follows:

[0054] First, the equipment is activated through the preparation stage, and then the gas to be purified is passed into the first group of air inlets 1-1 of the heat exchanger 1 from the air inlet a, and is discharged from the first group of air outlets 1-2 after being heated, and is passed into the air inlet A of the adsorption unit 2. The purified gas is discharged from the air outlet B of the adsorption unit 2, and is passed into the second group of air inlets 2-1 of the heat exchanger 1, and is discharged from the second group of air outlets 2-2 after being cooled, and is passed into the cooler 3 to obtain the purified gas after cooling.

[0055] 1) Preparation

[0056] Vacuuming: the first valve 14, the second valve 15, and the fourth valve 17 are in a closed state, the third valve 16 is in an open state, and the vacuum pump 5 evacuates air to pump the skid device to below 5 kPa (abs); the adsorption unit 2 is heated to 800°C.

[0057] The first valve 14 is opened, the device is replenished with the gas to be purified, and then vacuumed.

[0058] Repeat 2-3 times to activate the device. (This operation is required when using the device for the first time or restarting it after a long period of downtime).

[0059] 2) Purification stage

[0060] The temperature of the adsorption unit 2 is reduced to 400-600°C, and the first valve 14 is opened to allow an inert gas with a pressure of 1.2MPa and a purity of about 99.99wt% to pass through the heat exchanger 1, which is heated to 100°C and sent to the adsorption unit 2. The high-temperature purified gas coming out of the adsorption unit 2 enters the heat exchanger 1 again to be cooled to 200°C and then enters the cooler 3 to be cooled to below 50°C. After detection by the sampling unit, when the gas purity detected by the purity measuring instrument 20 is less than 99.999wt%, the gas is unqualified. The third valve 16 is opened to discharge the gas through the exhaust port c of the vacuum pump 5. When the gas purity detected by the purity measuring instrument 20 is greater than 99.999wt%, the gas is qualified. The second valve 15 is opened to allow the gas to enter the buffer tank 4. The fourth valve 17 is opened to the gas outlet b for use by the equipment.

[0061] 4) Material change stage

[0062] The adsorption unit 2 is filled with a ZrAl16 type getter 9, which is a metal alloy. When working at high temperature for a long time, the getter 9 will gradually stick together and cannot be separated, so the ZrAl16 type getter 9 needs to be replaced every year.

[0063] 5) Shutdown phase

[0064] Pressure and temperature monitoring are set at key parts of the system, including the heat exchanger 1, the adsorption unit 2, and the cooler 3. They can be monitored in real time from the electric control box 6. When the parameters exceed the preset values, an alarm action is executed and then the system is shut down.

[0065] The above detailed description of the present invention is intended to enable persons familiar with the art to understand the contents of the present invention and implement them. It does not limit the protection scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A skid device for inert gas purification, characterized in that: The invention comprises a base (7), a heat exchanger (1) mounted on the base (7), a cooler (3), an adsorption unit (2) and a collection unit; the heat exchanger (1) has at least two groups of air inlets and air outlets, one of the air inlets is connected to an inert gas inlet end, one of the air outlets and the other air inlet are respectively connected to an inlet and an outlet of the adsorption unit (2), and the other air outlet is connected to the cooler (3); the adsorption unit (2) comprises an internal heating component (8), an external heating component (10) sleeved outside the internal heating component (8), a heat preservation component (11) sleeved outside the external heating component (10), a getter (9) filled in a storage space formed by the internal heating component (8) and the external heating component (10), an air inlet pipe inserted into the bottom of the storage space, and an air outlet pipe connected to the top of the storage space.

2. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (1) comprises two sets of air inlets and air outlets.

3. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1, characterized in that: The getter (9) is one or more of a ZrAl getter, a ZrVFe getter, a BaTi getter, and a BaAl getter.

4. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1, characterized in that: The internal heating assembly (8) comprises one or more internal heaters, and the external heating assembly (10) comprises one or more external heaters, wherein the number of the external heaters is greater than the number of the internal heaters.

5. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer side of the internal heating component (8) and the inner side of the external heating component (10) are respectively provided with isolation plates for isolating the internal heating component (8) and the getter (9), and isolating the getter (9) and the external heating component (10); the adsorption unit (2) is also provided with a bottom plate and a top plate, and the bottom plate, the top plate and the isolation plate are jointly arranged to form the accommodation space.

6. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adsorption unit (2) further comprises an outer shell (12) sleeved outside the heat preservation component (11), the outer shell (12) being provided with an openable and closable top shell and an openable and closable bottom shell; The thermal insulation component (11) comprises a top thermal insulation layer that can be opened and closed, a bottom thermal insulation layer that can be opened and closed, and a side thermal insulation layer.

7. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1, characterized in that: The collection unit comprises a buffer tank (4) and a vacuum pump (5) respectively connected to the cooler (3); the buffer tank (4) and the vacuum pump (5) are provided with gas outlets.

8. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 1 or 7, characterized in that: The skid device further comprises an electric control box (6) mounted on the base (7), wherein the electric control box (6) is respectively connected to the heat exchanger (1), the adsorption unit (2), and the cooler (3).

9. The skid device for inert gas purification according to claim 8, characterized in that: The outlet end of the cooler (3) is also provided with a sampling unit, the sampling unit comprising a ball valve (18), a pressure reducing valve (19), and a purity measuring instrument (20), the ball valve (18), the pressure reducing valve (19), and the purity measuring instrument (20) being respectively connected to the electric control box (6).

10. A method for purifying an inert gas, characterized in that: The unpurified inert gas is passed into the skid device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 for purification.

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