Silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of demisters, in particular to a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production, which comprises a tank body and an interception layer arranged at the top of the tank body. Wherein the top of the tank body is provided with an air outlet, and the bottom of the tank body is respectively provided with a liquid outlet and an air inlet; the interception layer is made of a porous ceramic material and is used for separating liquid foam entrained in hydrogen. The demister has the effect of prolonging the service life of the demister.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of demisters, and in particular to a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production. Background Art

[0002] Currently, in the water electrolysis hydrogen production system, the temperature of hydrogen after leaving the gas-liquid separation tank is usually between 70 degrees Celsius and 95 degrees Celsius. The high-temperature hydrogen will then be washed with water through a scrubber to remove alkali and other impurities. The washed hydrogen will become saturated moisture and will be cooled by a plate heat exchanger (cooler), and the temperature after cooling will be between 38 degrees Celsius and 42 degrees Celsius. In this process, cooling will cause a large amount of droplets to be generated, and the role of the demister is to intercept the condensate produced after the cooling and return it to the gas-liquid separation tank. In the related art, the demister is usually made of a metal wire mesh or an organic woven mesh. Regarding the above-mentioned related technologies: the metal wire mesh or organic woven mesh has poor hydrophilicity, which makes it difficult for droplets to separate from the wire mesh, and the wire mesh structure is easily blocked, resulting in large overall resistance, which affects the flow efficiency of the gas. The organic woven mesh is easily corroded when in contact with high-temperature alkaline liquid for a long time. Therefore, there is a problem of low service life. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to extend the service life of the demister, the present application provides a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production.

[0004] The present application provides a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production, which adopts the following technical solution: A silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production, comprising: A tank body, wherein the top of the tank body is provided with an air outlet, and the bottom of the tank body is respectively provided with a liquid outlet and an air inlet; The interception layer is arranged on the top of the tank body. The interception layer is made of porous ceramic material and is used to separate liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen.

[0005] By adopting the above technical solution, when it is necessary to separate the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen, the hydrogen passing through the cooler is first transported to the tank body through the air inlet, and the hydrogen flows above the tank body and passes through the interception layer. At this time, the interception layer can intercept the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen, so that the hydrogen can flow out of the tank body through the air outlet, and the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen can be retained in the interception layer, and the liquid foam can fall to the bottom of the tank body under the action of gravity, and finally flow out from the liquid outlet, thereby effectively separating the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen. In addition, the interception layer is made of porous ceramic material, and the porous ceramic material has good hydrophilicity and corrosion resistance, so that on the one hand, the liquid foam can be intercepted and can fall smoothly from the interception layer to the bottom of the tank body to reduce the possibility of the interception layer being blocked, and on the other hand, the interception layer can maintain stable performance in a high temperature alkaline environment to reduce the possibility of the interception layer being corroded, thereby helping to improve the hydrogen separation efficiency and extend the service life of the equipment.

[0006] Optionally, the interception layer is a silicon carbide foam layer, and the opening rate of the interception layer is 70%-76%.

[0007] By adopting the above technical solution, the silicon carbide foam layer is used as the interception layer, and its opening rate is 70%-76%, which can significantly improve the separation efficiency of liquid foam in hydrogen. Since the silicon carbide foam layer has good hydrophilicity and high opening rate, it can effectively intercept and gather droplets to prevent them from escaping with hydrogen. At the same time, the high temperature resistance and corrosion resistance of silicon carbide materials make the demister not easy to be blocked during long-term use, thereby ensuring the long life and stable operation of the hydrogen demister, reducing the frequency of filter element replacement and the impact on the environment.

[0008] Optionally, a coagulation layer group is provided in the tank body, and the coagulation layer group is located below the interception layer, and the coagulation layer group is used to accelerate the convergence and flow of droplets.

[0009] By adopting the above technical solution, the interception layer made of silicon carbide foam material and the design of the coagulation layer group can significantly improve the convergence and flow efficiency of the droplets. Specifically, the interception layer can effectively separate the tiny liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen. After the tiny liquid foam falls on the coagulation layer group, the coagulation layer group can further improve the coagulation effect of the droplets, so that the droplets flow downward quickly and are discharged from the liquid outlet, avoiding the liquid foam being carried out of the demister by the hydrogen, thereby significantly reducing the droplet content in the hydrogen and improving the purity of the hydrogen.

[0010] Optionally, the coagulation layer group includes a first coagulation layer and a second coagulation layer, the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer are sequentially arranged in the tank body from top to bottom, the first coagulation layer is located below the intercepting layer, and the air inlet is located between the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer.

[0011] By adopting the above technical solution, the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer are sequentially arranged in the tank body from top to bottom, and the air inlet is located between the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer, so that the hydrogen enters the tank body and passes through the first coagulation layer and then the interception layer, so as to better separate the liquid foam in the hydrogen, and when the liquid foam falls from the interception layer, the liquid foam will pass through the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer in sequence, and the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer can make the liquid foam converge into droplets to improve the convergence efficiency of the droplets and effectively increase the droplet size, which is conducive to speeding up the speed of the liquid downward transfer, so that the liquid can flow out of the liquid outlet faster. At the same time, the second coagulation layer can also intercept solid impurities such as heat exchanger scaling entrained in the hydrogen, further improving the service life and working efficiency of the demister.

[0012] Optionally, a sedimentation zone is formed between the first coagulation layer and the interception layer.

[0013] By adopting the above technical scheme, the sedimentation zone formed between the first coagulation layer and the interception layer can reduce the speed of hydrogen passing through, which helps the droplets to settle in the sedimentation zone and flow downward into the first coagulation layer, thereby effectively preventing the droplets from rising to the top gas phase with the hydrogen, which is beneficial to improving the separation effect of the droplets.

[0014] Optionally, the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer are both silicon carbide sintered layers, and the silicon carbide sintered layers are made of orderly arranged silicon carbide sintered material particles.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, both the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer are made of silicon carbide sintered layers, in which the silicon carbide sintered material particles are arranged in an orderly manner, which is conducive to accelerating the convergence and flow of the liquid, so as to effectively increase the size of the droplets and improve the sedimentation efficiency of the droplets. In addition, the orderly arranged silicon carbide sintered material has good corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance, which prolongs the service life of the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer to a certain extent, thereby prolonging the service life of the demister and reducing the blockage phenomenon.

[0016] Optionally, the gaps in the first coagulation layer are smaller than the gaps in the second coagulation layer.

[0017] By adopting the above-mentioned technical scheme, the gap in the first coagulation layer is smaller than the gap in the second coagulation layer, so that the liquid foam can be more effectively coagulated into droplets when passing through the first coagulation layer, thereby accelerating the convergence and downward flow speed of the droplets, and when the droplets settle from the first coagulation layer to the second coagulation layer, the second coagulation layer can further promote the convergence and flow of the droplets, so that smaller droplets can be coagulated into larger droplets, thereby further accelerating the downward flow speed of the droplets, which is beneficial to improving the defoaming efficiency.

[0018] Optionally, the silicon carbide sintered material particles are in the shape of an inverted isosceles triangle.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, since the silicon carbide sintered material particles are designed as an inverted isosceles triangle, this shape can significantly improve the droplet condensation efficiency. During the flow of hydrogen, irregular droplets are more likely to condense into larger droplets when they collide with the inclined surface of the isosceles triangle, thereby accelerating the droplet sinking speed and effectively reducing the liquid foam carried out. At the same time, the shape design also has a larger contact area, making it easier for the droplets to adhere and condense when in contact, enhancing the ability of the demister to remove the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen, and significantly improving the defoaming efficiency.

[0020] Optionally, the bottom of the tank body is designed to be conical, and the second coagulation layer is located at the bottom of the tank body and is adapted to the shape of the bottom of the tank body.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution, the bottom of the tank body is designed to be conical, and the second coagulation layer is located at the bottom of the tank body and adapted to the shape of the bottom of the tank body, so that the droplets can be quickly collected to the liquid outlet at the bottom of the tank body under the action of gravity and discharged, effectively avoiding the phenomenon that the droplets are taken away by the rising hydrogen again, which is conducive to improving the defoaming efficiency. At the same time, the conical design makes the second coagulation layer have a larger contact area, enhances the coagulation effect of the droplets, and further improves the working performance of the defoamer.

[0022] Optionally, a thickness ratio of the first coagulation layer, the second coagulation layer and the interception layer is 1:1.5:3.

[0023] By adopting the above technical scheme, the reasonable thickness ratio of the first coagulation layer, the second coagulation layer and the interception layer is 1:1.5:3, which ensures that the hydrogen has sufficient contact time and space when passing through each layer, so that the liquid foam carried in the hydrogen can fully contact with the first coagulation layer and the interception layer, so as to separate the liquid foam and make the liquid foam coagulate into droplets in the first coagulation layer, and the size of the droplets can be further increased in the second coagulation layer, finally realizing efficient droplet interception and convergence, thereby effectively reducing the hydrogen pressure resistance through a reasonable thickness ratio, and preventing blockage at the same time, so that the operating life of the demister is significantly extended.

[0024] In summary, the present application includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: 1. By setting an interception layer in the tank body, and the interception layer is made of porous ceramic material, the interception layer can intercept the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen to achieve gas-liquid separation, and effectively reduce the possibility of the interception layer being blocked or corroded, which is conducive to extending the service life of the equipment; 2. Through the cooperation of the interception layer, the first coagulation layer and the second coagulation layer, after the hydrogen enters the tank through the air inlet, it can pass through the first coagulation layer and the interception layer in sequence and be discharged from the air outlet. In this process, the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen can first be coagulated into droplets in the first coagulation layer, and then settle in the second coagulation layer and coagulate into larger droplets in the second coagulation layer, so as to accelerate the speed of the liquid downward transfer, so that the liquid can flow out of the liquid outlet faster, which is beneficial to improve the gas-liquid separation efficiency and extend the service life of the equipment; 3. By forming a sedimentation zone between the first coagulation layer and the interception layer, the speed of hydrogen passing through is reduced, which helps the droplets to settle in the sedimentation zone and flow downward into the first coagulation layer, thereby effectively preventing the droplets from rising to the top gas phase with the hydrogen, which is beneficial to improving the separation effect of the droplets. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Figure 2 is along Figure 1 Section view along line AA.

[0027] Description of reference numerals: 1. Tank body; 11. Air outlet; 12. Liquid outlet; 13. Air inlet; 14. Sedimentation zone; 2. Intercepting layer; 3. Coagulation layer group; 31. First coagulation layer; 32. Second coagulation layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following is combined with Figure 1-2 This application is described in further detail.

[0029] The embodiment of the present application discloses a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production.

[0030] It should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicating orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0031] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2A silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production includes a tank body 1, an intercepting layer 2 and a coagulating layer group 3. The top of the tank body 1 is provided with an air outlet 11, and the bottom of the tank body 1 is provided with a liquid outlet 12 and an air inlet 13, respectively. The air inlet 13 is used to communicate with a cooler so as to transport the cooled hydrogen into the tank body 1. The intercepting layer 2 and the coagulating layer group 3 are sequentially arranged in the tank body 1 from top to bottom, so that the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen can be effectively separated through the cooperation of the intercepting layer 2 and the coagulating layer group 3.

[0032] In this embodiment, the liquid outlet 12 is used to communicate with the gas-liquid separation tank, so as to transport the liquid separated from the hydrogen to the gas-liquid separation tank, thereby achieving the purpose of cost saving.

[0033] Reference Figure 2 The interception layer 2 is made of porous ceramic material. In this embodiment, the interception layer 2 includes a silicon carbide foam layer. The internal structure of the silicon carbide foam layer is complex and a large number of irregularly shaped micro-channels are evenly distributed. The opening size is between 0.1-5 mm, so that hydrogen can pass through, while tiny liquid foam will be captured, effectively preventing liquid foam entrainment.

[0034] The opening rate of the interception layer 2 is 70%-76%. Specifically, the opening rate of the interception layer 2 is 75%, so that the interception layer 2 can effectively separate the liquid foam and maintain a low airflow resistance.

[0035] It should be noted that the material of the silicon carbide foam layer has good corrosion resistance, can work stably in the range of PH0 to PH14, and has a maximum temperature resistance of up to 500 degrees Celsius. In addition, the silicon carbide foam layer also has good hydrophilicity, and its surface acute angle is close to zero, which is conducive to the adsorption and polymerization of droplets. In other embodiments, the silicon carbide foam layer can also be replaced by a silicon nitride foam layer.

[0036] Reference Figure 2 The coagulation layer group 3 includes a first coagulation layer 31 and a second coagulation layer 32. The first coagulation layer 31 and the second coagulation layer 32 are sequentially arranged in the tank body 1 from top to bottom, and the first coagulation layer 31 is located below the interception layer 2, and the air inlet 13 is located between the first coagulation layer 31 and the second coagulation layer 32, so that after hydrogen enters the tank body 1 through the air inlet 13, the hydrogen can pass through the first coagulation layer 31 and the interception layer 2 in sequence and be discharged from the air outlet 11.

[0037] In the present embodiment, the first coagulation layer 31 and the second coagulation layer 32 are both silicon carbide sintered layers, and the silicon carbide sintered layers are made of orderly arranged silicon carbide sintered material particles, which is beneficial to accelerate the convergence and flow of the liquid, so as to effectively increase the size of the droplets and improve the sedimentation efficiency of the droplets, and the orderly arranged silicon carbide sintered material has good corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance, which prolongs the service life of the first coagulation layer 31 and the second coagulation layer 32 to a certain extent, and thus helps to prolong the service life of the demister and reduce blockage.

[0038] The shape of the silicon carbide sintered material particles is an inverted isosceles triangle, and the two angles at the bottom of the isosceles triangle are both 75 degrees. Through the design of this geometric shape, on the one hand, the surface area is increased, which is conducive to the condensation of droplets. On the other hand, due to the existence of the inclined angle, it helps the droplets slide down the inclined surface to avoid accumulation. In other embodiments, the shape of the silicon carbide sintered material particles can also adopt a square or rectangular structure to improve space utilization and droplet capture efficiency.

[0039] Reference Figure 2 The base length of the isosceles triangle of the silicon carbide sintered material particles in the first coagulation layer 31 is 5 mm, the height is 6 mm, and the gap between adjacent triangles is set to 3 mm. The base length of the isosceles triangle of the silicon carbide sintered material particles in the second coagulation layer 32 is 10 mm, the height is 12 mm, and the gap between adjacent triangles is set to 5 mm, so that the gap between the silicon carbide sintered material particles in the first coagulation layer 31 is smaller than the gap between the silicon carbide sintered material particles in the second coagulation layer 32.

[0040] When hydrogen carries liquid foam through the first coagulation layer 31, the liquid foam will be coagulated into droplets under the action of the first coagulation layer 31 and flow downward, so that the droplets settle from the first coagulation layer 31 to the second coagulation layer 32. The second coagulation layer 32 can further promote the convergence and flow of the droplets, so that the droplets with smaller sizes can be coagulated into droplets with larger sizes, thereby further accelerating the downward flow speed of the droplets, which is beneficial to improve the defoaming efficiency. In addition, in this process, the second coagulation layer 32 can also more effectively intercept solid impurities such as heat exchanger scaling that may exist in the hydrogen, so as to avoid impurities blocking the liquid outlet 12, and reduce the possibility of impurities entering the gas-liquid separation tank, which improves the service life and working effect of the defoamer to a certain extent.

[0041] Reference Figure 2In this embodiment, the thickness ratio of the first coagulation layer 31, the second coagulation layer 32 and the interception layer 2 is 1:1.5:3, thereby ensuring that the hydrogen has sufficient contact time and space when passing through each layer, and thus, on the one hand, it is convenient to separate the liquid foam from the hydrogen to optimize the overall separation efficiency, and on the other hand, the first coagulation layer 31 and the second coagulation layer 32 can provide a larger space to accommodate the droplets, so as to reduce the risk of accumulation and clogging of the droplets in the first coagulation layer 31 and the second coagulation layer 32, and to a certain extent improve the stability and reliability of the demister. In other embodiments, the thickness ratio of the first coagulation layer 31, the second coagulation layer 32 and the interception layer 2 can also be set to 1:2:3 or 1:2:4.

[0042] Reference Figure 2 The first coagulation layer 31 is spaced from the interception layer 2 so that a sedimentation zone 14 is formed between the first coagulation layer 31 and the interception layer 2. The height of this zone is designed to be wide enough to reduce the speed of hydrogen passing through. As a result, when the interception layer 2 separates the liquid foam entrained in the hydrogen and the liquid foam settles to the first coagulation layer 31 under the action of gravity, the liquid foam is not easily blown upward by the hydrogen and carried to the top gas phase, which helps to settle the liquid foam to the first coagulation layer 31 below to ensure the separation effect of the liquid foam.

[0043] The bottom of the tank body 1 is conical in design. The second coagulation layer 32 is located at the bottom of the tank body 1 and is adapted to the shape of the bottom of the tank body 1 , so that the droplets can quickly coagulate into large-volume droplets under the action of gravity and finally be discharged through the liquid outlet 12 at the bottom of the tank body 1 .

[0044] In another preferred embodiment, the performance can be optimized by adjusting the thickness ratio and gap size of each layer of material in consideration of the use requirements under different working conditions. For example, for low flow rate scenarios, the gap of the first coagulation layer 31 can be appropriately reduced to enhance the aggregation effect of the droplets. For high flow rate scenarios, the gap of the second coagulation layer 32 can be increased to reduce resistance losses. In addition, in order to improve the corrosion resistance of the overall device, alloys with higher corrosion resistance or other high-performance materials can be selected as the support frame. This multifunctional design not only improves the working efficiency of the demister, but also makes it more flexible and can better meet the needs of different application scenarios.

[0045] The implementation principle of a silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production in an embodiment of the present application is as follows: when hydrogen is cooled by a cooler and transported to the tank body 1 through the air inlet 13, the hydrogen will carry liquid foam and flow toward the top of the tank body 1, and pass through the first coagulation layer 31, the sedimentation area 14 and the interception layer 2 in sequence. In this process, the liquid foam carried in the hydrogen will be separated by the first coagulation layer 31 and the interception layer 2, so that the hydrogen after the liquid foam is removed will leave the tank body 1 from the air outlet 11. At the same time, the liquid foam will condense into droplets in the first coagulation layer 31 and separate from the first coagulation layer 31 to transfer to the second coagulation layer 32, and then through the action of the second coagulation layer 32, the droplets of smaller size can be condensed into droplets of larger size, so that the droplets can flow downward quickly and finally be discharged through the liquid outlet 12 at the bottom of the tank body 1.

[0046] The above are all preferred embodiments of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Therefore, any equivalent changes made according to the structure, shape, and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production, characterized in that: include: A tank body (1), wherein the top of the tank body (1) is provided with an air outlet (11), and the bottom of the tank body (1) is respectively provided with a liquid outlet (12) and an air inlet (13); An interception layer (2) is arranged on the top of the tank body (1); the interception layer (2) is made of a porous ceramic material; and the interception layer (2) is used to separate liquid foam entrained in hydrogen.

2. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interception layer (2) is a silicon carbide foam layer, and the open porosity of the interception layer (2) is 70%-76%.

3. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 1, characterized in that: A coagulation layer group (3) is arranged in the tank body (1); the coagulation layer group (3) is located below the interception layer (2); the coagulation layer group (3) is used to accelerate the convergence and flow of droplets.

4. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 3, characterized in that: The coagulation layer group (3) comprises a first coagulation layer (31) and a second coagulation layer (32), wherein the first coagulation layer (31) and the second coagulation layer (32) are arranged in sequence from top to bottom in the tank body (1), the first coagulation layer (31) is located below the interception layer (2), and the air inlet (13) is located between the first coagulation layer (31) and the second coagulation layer (32).

5. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 4, characterized in that: A sedimentation zone (14) is formed between the first coagulation layer (31) and the interception layer (2).

6. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first coagulation layer (31) and the second coagulation layer (32) are both silicon carbide sintered layers, and the silicon carbide sintered layers are made of orderly arranged silicon carbide sintered material particles.

7. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 6, characterized in that: The gaps in the first coagulation layer (31) are smaller than the gaps in the second coagulation layer (32).

8. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 6, characterized in that: The shape of the silicon carbide sintered material particles is an inverted isosceles triangle.

9. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 4, characterized in that: The bottom of the tank body (1) is designed to be conical, and the second coagulation layer (32) is located at the bottom of the tank body (1) and is adapted to the shape of the bottom of the tank body (1).

10. The silicon carbide demister for hydrogen production according to claim 4, characterized in that: The thickness ratio of the first coagulation layer (31), the second coagulation layer (32) and the interception layer (2) is 1:1.5:3.

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