Gas treatment method and system

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a gas treatment method for treating water vapor and / or impurities in a mixture of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas, wherein the impurities include one or more of O2, N2, CH4, CO, and CO2. The method comprises: filling a reaction bed with a reaction material, wherein the reaction material is a powdered alloy material including at least Zr and Fe modifications, wherein a filter is added during the filling of the reaction material; heating the reaction bed to a preset temperature; and introducing a mixed gas into the reaction bed to remove water vapor and / or impurities in the mixed gas with the aid of the reaction material. Embodiments of the present application also provide a gas treatment system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of gas processing technology, and in particular to a gas processing method and system. Background Art

[0002] During the preparation of hydrogen isotope gas, a carrier gas containing trace amounts of hydrogen is typically used to displace the prepared hydrogen isotopes, forming a mixture of the carrier gas and the hydrogen isotope gas. This mixture also typically contains water vapor and impurities, which require treatment. Related technologies typically use uranium beds, magnesium beds, zinc hot metal beds, and other methods to treat these water vapor and / or impurities, but these treatment methods have limited effectiveness. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, the present application is proposed to provide a gas purification method and system that overcomes the above problems or at least partially solves the above problems.

[0004] According to the first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a gas treatment method is provided for treating water vapor and / or impurity components in a mixed gas of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas, wherein the impurity components include one or more of O2, N2, CH4, CO, and CO2. The method comprises: filling a reaction bed with reaction material, wherein the reaction material is a powdered alloy material modified at least by Zr and Fe, wherein a filter is added when filling the reaction material; heating the reaction bed to a preset temperature; and introducing a mixed gas into the reaction bed to remove water vapor and / or impurity components in the mixed gas with the aid of the reaction material.

[0005] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a gas treatment system is provided for treating water vapor and / or impurity components in a mixed gas of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas, wherein the impurity components include one or more of O2, N2, CH4, CO, and CO2, and comprises: a reaction bed, wherein the reaction bed is provided with a reaction chamber for filling reaction materials, and the reaction materials are powdered alloy materials modified by at least Zr and Fe; a multi-layer filter screen, wherein the filter screen is detachably arranged in the reaction chamber; and a ventilation device, wherein the ventilation device is used to introduce the mixed gas into the reaction bed to remove water vapor and / or impurity components in the mixed gas with the aid of the reaction materials.

[0006] The gas treatment method and system provided in this embodiment can effectively improve the efficiency of treating water vapor and / or impurity components in the mixed gas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a gas processing method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0008] Figure 21 is a top view of a reaction chamber and a filter screen according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0009] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a reaction chamber and a filter screen according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0010] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a reaction chamber, a filter screen, and an elastic member according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a gas processing system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] To make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of this application more clear, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiment is only one embodiment of this application, not all embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0013] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in this application should have the usual meanings understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which this application belongs. If the full text involves descriptions such as "first" and "second", the "first" and "second" descriptions are only used to distinguish similar objects, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance, order of precedence, or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. It should be understood that the data described by "first" and "second" can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances. If "and / or" appears in the full text, its meaning includes three parallel solutions. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes Solution A, Solution B, or solutions that meet both A and B.

[0014] The embodiment of the present application first provides a gas treatment method for treating water vapor and / or impurity components in a mixed gas of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas. As described above, the mixed gas in this embodiment can be a mixed gas of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas obtained when preparing hydrogen isotope gas using any suitable method in the art. The carrier gas is usually an inert gas, such as helium. The mixed gas usually contains water vapor, which includes H2O, HTO, etc. The mixed gas usually also contains impurity components, and common impurity components include O2, N2, CH4, CO, CO2, etc. The method provided in this embodiment can be used to remove water vapor and / or impurities in the above-mentioned mixed gas.

[0015] Specifically, the method provided in this embodiment includes:

[0016] Step S102: Filling the reaction bed with reaction materials, which are powdered alloy materials containing at least Zr and Fe modifications, with a filter added during the filling process.

[0017] Step S104: heating the reaction bed to a preset temperature.

[0018] Step S106: introducing a mixed gas into the reaction bed to remove water vapor and / or impurities in the mixed gas with the aid of the reaction material.

[0019] In step S102, the reaction bed is filled with reaction materials. The reaction materials used in this application are powdered alloy materials modified with at least Zr and Fe. Modification refers to optimizing the crystal structure and adsorption sites of the alloy material through element tempering and composition control. The reaction materials used in this application are obtained by modifying ordinary powdered alloy materials containing Zr and Fe. As an example, transition elements can be used to adjust the crystal structure of the ZrFe alloy, resulting in higher water vapor cracking efficiency and impurity purification efficiency.

[0020] Specifically, the reaction material can react with water vapor in the following manner to decompose the water vapor into hydrogen (or hydrogen isotope gas).

[0021] Zr(M 0.5 Fe 0.5 )2+3H2O→ZrO2+MO+Fe+3H2 Formula (1)

[0022] In formula (1), M is any one of the modifying elements required for Zr and Fe-based modified alloy materials.

[0023] The reaction material used in the related art reacts with the impurity components as follows to leave the impurity components in the reaction material.

[0024] 2M+x2→2Mx Formula (2)

[0025] 2M+CO→MC+MO(CO2+C=2CO) Formula (3)

[0026] M+CH4→MC+H2 Formula (4)

[0027] Similarly, M in formulas (2), (3), and (4) is any one of the desired modifying elements in the Zr- or Fe-modified alloy material, and x in formula (2) is one of O and N.

[0028] The combination of the above elements can effectively treat water vapor and impurity components, especially CO, CH4, and CO2, which are difficult to treat in related technologies. In addition to the above elements, those skilled in the art may also add other elements to the reaction materials according to actual processing requirements, without limitation.

[0029] Furthermore, the present application also proposes that, although the above-mentioned reaction materials have a good treatment effect in theory, in the actual treatment process, the above-mentioned reaction materials often form lumps, resulting in a decrease in the treatment effect. For this reason, in this embodiment, a filter is further added when filling the reaction materials. The addition of the filter can avoid a large amount of accumulation of the reaction materials, and further can avoid large lumps of the reaction materials during the treatment process, thereby ensuring a better treatment effect. The filter can be made of a mesh structure made of a chemically stable material such as stainless steel or precious metal materials. Those skilled in the art can select the size of the mesh in the filter according to the properties of the reaction materials actually used, and can determine the shape, addition method and quantity of the filter according to the shape of the reaction chamber of the specific reaction bed used.

[0030] After the filling of the reaction material is completed, the reaction bed can be heated to a preset temperature in step S104, and then a mixed gas is introduced into the reaction bed for treatment in step S106. The preset temperature here can be determined by those skilled in the art based on the reaction temperature required for the reaction in the above formulas (1) to (4), and can be adjusted to a certain extent according to the specific composition of the mixed gas actually treated. As an example, the temperature required for the reaction in the above formula (1) is 350°C-450°C, the temperature required for the reaction in formula (2) is 200°C, the temperature required for the reaction in formula (3) is 350°C, and the temperature required for the reaction in formula (4) is 350°C. Therefore, the preset temperature of the reaction bed can be 350°C-450°C.

[0031] In some embodiments, when filling the reaction bed with reaction materials, multiple layers of filter screens can be inserted into the reaction chamber of the reaction bed, with each layer of filter screen added followed by a batch of reaction materials. This filling method allows the filter screens to effectively separate different batches of reaction materials, preventing accumulation at the edges of the filter screens. It also reduces resistance to the reaction materials during the addition process, thereby improving filling efficiency.

[0032] Figure 2 shows a top view of the reaction chamber and the filter screen in some embodiments, Figure 3Cross-sectional views of the reaction chamber and filter screen in some embodiments are shown. In these embodiments, the reaction chamber 21 may be annular, and the filter screen 22 may be cylindrical. Multiple layers of filter screens 22 may be distributed radially along the reaction chamber 21. This annular reaction chamber 21 can increase the contact area between the mixed gas and the reaction materials, thereby effectively improving the processing efficiency. This filling method of the filter screen 22 can most effectively prevent the accumulation of reaction materials in the annular reaction chamber 21.

[0033] In some embodiments, it is understandable that although it is necessary to avoid a large accumulation of reaction materials, if large gaps appear in the reaction materials, the effective contact area between the reaction materials and the mixed gas will be reduced, thereby reducing the processing efficiency. To this end, in some embodiments, the filter can be configured to be compressible. After all the reaction materials are filled into the reaction chamber, the filter and the reaction materials can be compressed to reduce the gaps between the reaction materials. The compressible design of the filter can make the edge of the filter flush with the edge of the reaction materials, preventing waste of space in the reaction chamber.

[0034] The compression can be accomplished specifically with the aid of a compression structure 23 disposed in the reaction chamber. In some embodiments, referring to Figure 4 The compression structure 23 may include a spring 231 and a pressure plate 232. One end of the spring 231 may be fixed to the top cover of the reaction chamber 21, and the other end may be connected to the pressure plate 232. Thus, after the filling is completed and the top cover of the reaction chamber 21 is closed, the elastic force of the spring 231 may be used to push the pressure plate 232 to compress the filter screen 22 and the reaction material. Moreover, in this embodiment, even if gaps are generated in the reaction material due to the blowing of the mixed gas or the occurrence of the above-mentioned reaction during the processing process, the elastic force of the spring 231 may be used to continue to push the pressure plate 232 to compress the filter screen and the reaction material in a timely manner.

[0035] In some embodiments, before the reaction material is filled into the reaction bed, the reaction material can be mixed with a heat-conducting material. As described above, the above reaction needs to occur under certain temperature conditions, and mixing the reaction material with the heat-conducting material can effectively ensure that the reaction material at each position is heated evenly, which can meet the reaction requirements, thereby maximizing the utilization of the reaction material and improving the processing efficiency. In some embodiments, the heat-conducting material can be metal powder. In other embodiments, the heat-conducting material can be spiral metal chips. Compared with metal powder, the spiral metal chips have a larger effective contact area with the reaction material and a better heat conduction effect.

[0036] Those skilled in the art can select appropriate thermally conductive materials according to actual conditions, and reasonably select the amount of thermally conductive material to be added and the method of mixing. It only needs to be able to effectively improve the temperature uniformity in the thermally conductive material, and there is no limitation on this.

[0037] In some embodiments, the reactor bed may be subjected to a vacuum treatment before being heated to a predetermined temperature to minimize the impact of residual impurities in the reactor bed on the efficiency of the treatment. In some embodiments, a purge gas may be introduced into the reactor bed during the heating process to further purge impurities from the reactor bed.

[0038] In some embodiments, when the mixed gas is introduced into the reaction bed, a circulation pump can be used to circulate the mixed gas in and out of the reaction bed. Specifically, the circulation pump can be used to recirculate the mixed gas flowing out of the reaction bed back into the reaction bed for reaction, thereby ensuring that the mixed gas remains in the reaction bed for a sufficient period of time, thereby avoiding the residual impurities and / or water vapor caused by a short reaction time.

[0039] In some embodiments, the dew point and / or impurity concentration of the mixed gas near the reactor bed outlet can be monitored. The dew point can reflect the water vapor content of the mixed gas. When the dew point and / or impurity concentration meet treatment requirements, circulation of the mixed gas can be stopped and the mixed gas can be drawn out of the reactor bed for subsequent treatment. Specific methods for monitoring the dew point and / or impurity concentration can be referenced to relevant techniques in the art and are not further described here.

[0040] In some embodiments, the dew point value and / or the concentration of impurity components in the mixed gas near the inlet of the reaction bed can also be monitored, so that the treatment efficiency can be evaluated based on the dew point value and / or the concentration of impurity components at both ends of the reaction bed.

[0041] In some embodiments, when the mixed gas is introduced into the reaction bed, the flow rate of the mixed gas can be controlled at a preset flow rate. The preset flow rate can be determined by a person skilled in the art based on the parameters of the specific reaction bed and reaction materials used, or based on preliminary tests. By controlling the mixed gas at an appropriate flow rate, the processing efficiency can be further improved.

[0042] In some embodiments, the pressure values at both ends of the reaction bed can be monitored. The change in the pressure difference at both ends of the reaction bed can reflect whether blockage has occurred in the reaction bed, thereby avoiding the occurrence of safety accidents.

[0043] An embodiment of the present application also provides a gas processing system for processing water vapor and / or impurity components in a mixed gas of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas, where the impurity components include one or more of O2, N2, CH4, CO, and CO2.

[0044] The gas processing system provided in this embodiment can be used to implement the gas processing method described in any of the above embodiments. Figure 2-Figure 5The gas treatment system may include: a reaction bed 20, wherein the reaction bed 20 is provided with a reaction chamber 21 for filling a reaction material, wherein the reaction material is a powdered alloy material including at least Zr and Fe-based modifications; a multi-layer filter screen 22, wherein the filter screen 22 is detachably arranged in the reaction chamber 21 of the reaction bed 20; and a ventilation device 10, wherein the ventilation device 10 is used to introduce a mixed gas into the reaction bed 20 to remove water vapor and / or impurity components in the mixed gas with the help of the reaction material.

[0045] The reaction bed 20 may be a flow-type reaction bed commonly used in the art, and the ventilation device 10 may be connected to the inlet of the reaction bed 20. The filter 22 can effectively prevent the accumulation of the reaction material filled in the reaction chamber 21, avoid the agglomeration of the reaction material during the treatment process, and ensure the treatment efficiency.

[0046] The filter screen 22 can be detachably mounted in the reaction chamber 21. Thus, during the process of filling the reaction material, as described above, a batch of reaction material can be filled after each installation of the filter screen 22. When the filter screen 22 is mounted in the reaction chamber 21, it can be fixedly connected to the reaction chamber 21 or can be freely movable within the reaction chamber 21, without limitation.

[0047] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2-Figure 3 The reaction chamber 21 may be annular, the filter screen 22 may be cylindrical, and the multiple layers of filter screen 22 may be distributed along the radial direction of the reaction chamber 21 .

[0048] In some embodiments, reference Figure 4 The filter screen is compressible in the axial direction. The gas processing system further includes a compression structure 23, which is disposed in the reaction chamber 21 and is used to compress the filter screen 22 and the reaction material.

[0049] In some embodiments, as described above, the compression structure 23 may include a spring 231 and a pressure plate 232, one end of the spring 231 may be fixed to the top cover of the reaction chamber 21, and the other end may be connected to the pressure plate 232, so that after the filling is completed and the top cover of the reaction chamber 21 is closed, the elastic force of the spring 231 can be used to push the pressure plate 232 to compress the filter screen 22 and the reaction material. Moreover, in this embodiment, even if gaps are generated in the reaction material due to the blowing of the mixed gas or the occurrence of the above-mentioned reaction during the processing process, the elastic force of the spring 231 can be used to continue to push the pressure plate 232 to compress the filter screen and the reaction material in time.

[0050] In some embodiments, the gas processing system may further include a circulation pump 30, which can drive the mixed gas to circulate in and out of the reaction bed 20 to ensure that the mixed gas remains in the reaction bed 20 for a sufficient period of time. The circulation pump 30 can be disposed in a suitable circulation passage, which can be connected to both ends of the reaction bed 20. To prevent backflow during the circulation of the mixed gas, a one-way valve 40 can be disposed in the circulation passage.

[0051] In some embodiments, the gas treatment system may further include a vacuum pump 50. The vacuum pump 50 may perform vacuum treatment on the reaction bed before heating the reaction bed to a preset temperature, thereby minimizing the impact of residual impurities in the reaction bed on the treatment efficiency. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump 50 may also be provided in the aforementioned circulation path. In some embodiments, a one-way valve 40 is also provided at the inlet of the vacuum pump 50. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump 50 may also be used to draw the mixed gas out of the reaction bed 20 after the treatment is completed. In some other embodiments, an additional gas outlet may also be provided to draw the mixed gas out, without limitation.

[0052] In some embodiments, the gas processing system may further include a monitoring device 60, which may monitor the dew point and / or the concentration of impurities in the mixed gas near the outlet of the reactor bed 20. Specifically, if the dew point needs to be monitored, the monitoring device 60 may include a dew point meter, and if the concentration of impurities needs to be monitored, the monitoring device 60 may include a chromatographic measurement device. In some embodiments, the monitoring device 60 may also be used to monitor the dew point and / or the concentration of impurities in the mixed gas near the inlet of the reactor bed 20.

[0053] In some embodiments, the gas processing system may further include a flow control device 70 . The flow control device 70 may be connected between the ventilation device 10 and the reaction bed 20 to control the flow of the mixed gas introduced into the reaction bed 20 .

[0054] In some embodiments, the gas processing system may further include a pressure measuring device 80 . The pressure measuring device 80 may be respectively disposed at both ends of the reaction bed 20 to monitor the pressure at both ends of the reaction bed 20 .

[0055] The above devices can be connected using appropriate pipelines, and multiple valves can be set in the pipelines ( Figure 5 Valves V1-V7 are shown in the figure, and the flow mode of gas in each pipeline is changed by switching each valve to achieve corresponding functions.

[0056] As an example, in Figure 5In the embodiment shown in FIG, when vacuuming the reactor bed 20, valves V1, V2, V5, and V6 can be closed, valves V3, V4, and V7 can be opened, and the vacuum pump 50 can be started. When introducing a mixed gas into the reactor bed 20, valves V1, V3, and V4 can be opened, valves V5 and V7 can be closed, and the circulation pump 30 can be started. After a sufficient amount of mixed gas has been introduced, valve V1 can be closed. To monitor the dew point and / or impurity concentrations at both ends of the reactor bed 20, valves V2 and V6 can be opened. In the event of an accident, such as a blockage in the reactor bed 20, valve V5 can be opened to promptly drain the mixed gas.

[0057] Some specific technical details of the above-mentioned gas treatment system when performing gas treatment can be referred to the description of the relevant parts above, and will not be repeated here.

[0058] The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications can be made within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Any content not described in detail in the present invention may be adapted from existing technologies.

Claims

1. A gas treatment method for treating water vapor and / or impurity components in a mixture of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas, wherein the impurity components include one or more of O2, N2, CH4, CO, and CO2, the method comprising: Filling the reaction bed with reaction materials, wherein the reaction materials are powdered alloy materials including at least Zr and Fe-based modifications, wherein a filter is added when filling the reaction materials; heating the reaction bed to a preset temperature; Passing the mixed gas into the reaction bed to remove the water vapor and / or the impurity components in the mixed gas with the help of the reaction material; The step of filling the reaction bed with the reaction material comprises: filling a plurality of filter screens into the reaction chamber of the reaction bed, and filling a batch of the reaction material after each layer of the filter screen is filled into the reaction chamber; The reaction chamber is annular to increase the contact area between the mixed gas and the reaction material, thereby improving the processing efficiency; the filter is cylindrical, and multiple layers of the filter are distributed along the radial direction of the reaction chamber to prevent a large amount of reaction material from accumulating in the annular reaction chamber; The filter screen is compressible in the axial direction, and the step of filling the reaction bed with reaction materials further comprises: After all the reaction materials are filled into the reaction chamber, the filter screen and the reaction materials are compressed to reduce gaps between the reaction materials.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Before the reaction material is filled into the reaction bed, the reaction material and a heat conductive material are mixed.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The heat-conducting material is metal powder.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The heat-conducting material is spiral metal chips.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Before heating the reaction bed to a preset temperature, the reaction bed is subjected to vacuum treatment.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The introducing the mixed gas into the reaction bed comprises: The mixed gas is circulated in and out of the reaction bed by means of a circulation pump.

7. A gas processing system for processing water vapor and / or impurities in a mixture of hydrogen isotope gas and carrier gas, wherein the impurities include one or more of O2, N2, CH4, CO, and CO2, the gas processing system comprising: A reaction bed, wherein the reaction bed is provided with a reaction cavity for filling a reaction material, wherein the reaction material is a powdered alloy material including at least Zr and Fe-based modifications; A multi-layer filter screen, wherein the filter screen is detachably arranged in the reaction chamber; a ventilation device, the ventilation device being used to introduce the mixed gas into the reaction bed so as to remove the water vapor and / or the impurity components in the mixed gas with the aid of the reaction material; The reaction chamber is annular to increase the contact area between the mixed gas and the reaction material, thereby improving the processing efficiency; the filter is cylindrical, and multiple layers of the filter are distributed along the radial direction of the reaction chamber to prevent a large amount of reaction material from accumulating in the annular reaction chamber; The filter screen is compressible in the axial direction. The gas processing system further includes a compression structure, which is arranged in the reaction chamber and is used to compress the filter screen and the reaction material.

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