Cold energy management system

Abstract

The invention provides a cold energy management system. The cold energy management system comprises a heat exchanger, a liquid hydrogen mechanism and a hydrogen storage mechanism. The heat exchanger is provided with a heat exchange cavity, and the heat exchange cavity is filled with a refrigerant used for conducting heat. The liquid hydrogen mechanism comprises a liquid hydrogen storage tank and a first pipeline, one end of the first pipeline communicates with the liquid hydrogen storage tank, and part of the first pipeline is contained in the heat exchange cavity so that hydrogen in the first pipeline can exchange heat with the refrigerant. The hydrogen storage mechanism comprises a hydrogen storage bottle set and a second pipeline, one end of the second pipeline communicates with the hydrogen storage bottle set, and part of the second pipeline is contained in the heat exchange cavity so that the refrigerant can exchange heat with hydrogen in the second pipeline, and therefore the temperature of the hydrogen in the second pipeline is reduced; therefore, the temperature of the hydrogen in the second pipeline can effectively meet the requirement of outward filling. Therefore, the cooling capacity of the hydrogen in the first pipeline is transferred into the hydrogen in the second pipeline through the refrigerant in the heat exchange cavity, heat exchange is achieved, and energy consumption of heat exchange is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of hydrogen energy application, and in particular to a cold energy management system. Background Art

[0002] In a hydrogen refueling station, the hydrogen output from the hydrogen storage bottle group needs to be pre-cooled before it is filled into the car to ensure the safety of hydrogen filling. The existing solution is to set a refrigeration chiller to pre-cool the hydrogen after the hydrogen flows out of the hydrogen storage bottle group, thereby reducing the temperature of the hydrogen to a preset temperature.

[0003] However, the energy consumption of the chiller in the process of generating circulating chilled water is high, and the procurement cost of the chiller used in the automobile hydrogen refueling station is high, which limits the application and popularization of automobile hydrogen refueling stations. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a cold energy management system that can utilize the cold energy of liquid hydrogen itself to exchange heat with hydrogen, so as to reduce the energy consumption when hydrogen filling is performed at a hydrogen filling station.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A cold energy management system is used in a hydrogen refueling station, and the cold energy management system includes: a heat exchanger, which is provided with a heat exchange chamber; the heat exchange chamber is filled with a refrigerant for heat conduction; a liquid hydrogen mechanism, which is used to provide low-temperature hydrogen; the liquid hydrogen mechanism includes a liquid hydrogen storage tank and a first pipeline; the liquid hydrogen storage tank is used to store liquid hydrogen; one end of the first pipeline is connected to the liquid hydrogen storage tank, and the other end extends out of the heat exchange chamber for conducting hydrogen outward; the first pipeline is partially accommodated in the heat exchange chamber for heat exchange with the refrigerant to transfer the cold of the hydrogen in the first pipeline to the refrigerant; the hydrogen storage mechanism includes a hydrogen storage bottle group and a second pipeline; the hydrogen storage bottle group is used to store high-pressure hydrogen; one end of the second pipeline is connected to the hydrogen storage bottle group, and the other end extends out of the heat exchange chamber so that high-pressure hydrogen can be added to the outside; the second pipeline is partially accommodated in the heat exchange chamber for heat exchange with the refrigerant to transfer the cold of the refrigerant to the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present application, the cold energy management system also includes a cooling mechanism; the cooling mechanism includes a cooling pipeline, a cooling pump, and a refrigerant storage tank; the cooling pump and the refrigerant storage tank are connected in series to the cooling pipeline; the refrigerant storage tank is used to store refrigerant; the two ends of the cooling pipeline are respectively connected to the two ends of the heat exchange chamber; the cooling pump is arranged on the cooling pipeline to drive the refrigerant to flow in the heat exchange chamber and the cooling pipeline.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present application, the liquid hydrogen mechanism further includes a heater; the heater is connected to the first pipeline and is located downstream of the heat exchanger to heat the hydrogen in the first pipeline flowing out of the heat exchanger.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, the liquid hydrogen mechanism further includes a flowmeter and an interface assembly; the flowmeter is connected to the first pipeline and is located downstream of the heater to measure the hydrogen flowing out of the first pipeline; the interface assembly is connected downstream of the flowmeter to communicate with an external hydrogen storage device.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present application, the liquid hydrogen mechanism further includes a solenoid valve; the solenoid valve is connected to the first pipeline and is located between the heater and the flowmeter to control the on-off of the first pipeline.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, the liquid hydrogen mechanism is further provided with a heat preservation member; the heat preservation member is connected to the outside of the first pipeline and is located between the liquid hydrogen storage tank and the heat exchanger.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present application, the hydrogen storage mechanism further includes a hydrogen filling machine; the hydrogen filling machine is connected to the second pipeline and is located downstream of the heat exchanger to communicate with an external hydrogen-consuming device.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, a monitoring component is provided on the heat exchanger; the monitoring component communicates with the heat exchange chamber to monitor the temperature in the heat exchange chamber.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the heat exchanger is provided with a vacuum insulation layer; the vacuum insulation layer is wrapped around the outside of the heat exchanger to be able to insulate the heat exchange chamber.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, the cooling medium mechanism further includes a cooling medium motor; the cooling medium motor is connected to the cooling medium pump to drive the cooling medium pump to work.

[0016] From the above technical solutions, it can be seen that the present invention has at least the following advantages and positive effects:

[0017] In the present invention, the cold energy management system includes a heat exchanger, a liquid hydrogen mechanism, and a hydrogen storage mechanism. Among them, the heat exchanger is provided with a heat exchange chamber, and the heat exchange chamber is filled with a refrigerant for heat conduction. The liquid hydrogen mechanism includes a liquid hydrogen storage tank and a first pipeline. One end of the first pipeline is connected to the liquid hydrogen storage tank and partially accommodated in the heat exchange chamber, so that the hydrogen in the first pipeline can exchange heat with the refrigerant. The hydrogen storage mechanism includes a hydrogen storage bottle group and a second pipeline. One end of the second pipeline is connected to the hydrogen storage bottle group and partially accommodated in the heat exchange chamber, so that the refrigerant can exchange heat with the hydrogen in the second pipeline, thereby reducing the temperature of the hydrogen in the second pipeline, so that the temperature of the hydrogen in the second pipeline can effectively meet the requirements for outward filling. Thus, the cold energy of the hydrogen in the first pipeline is transferred to the hydrogen in the second pipeline through the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber to achieve heat exchange and reduce the energy consumption of heat exchange. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the cold energy management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] The description of the reference numerals is as follows:

[0020] 10 - Heat exchanger; 11 - Heat exchange chamber; 12 - Monitoring component; 13 - Vacuum insulation layer; 20 - Liquid hydrogen mechanism; 21 - Liquid hydrogen storage tank; 22 - First pipeline; 23 - Heater; 24 - Flowmeter; 25 - Interface component; 26 - Solenoid valve; 27 - Thermal insulation member; 30 - Hydrogen storage mechanism; 31 - Hydrogen storage bottle group; 32 - Second pipeline; 33 - Hydrogen filling machine; 40 - Carrier cooling mechanism; 41 - Carrier cooling pipeline; 42 - Carrier cooling pump; 43 - Refrigerant storage tank; 44 - Carrier cooling motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Typical embodiments embodying the features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following description. It should be understood that the present invention can have various changes in different embodiments, all of which do not depart from the scope of the present invention, and the descriptions and illustrations therein are for illustrative purposes in nature and not intended to limit the present invention.

[0022] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that in the embodiments shown in the drawings, the indication of the direction or position relationship (such as up, down, left, right, front, and back, etc.) is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. When these elements are in the positions shown in the drawings, these descriptions are appropriate. If the description of the positions of these elements changes, then the indication of these directions also changes accordingly.

[0023] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used only for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the said features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0024] In a vehicle hydrogen refueling station, before the hydrogen gas output from the hydrogen storage bottle group is filled into a vehicle, it is necessary to pre-cool the hydrogen gas to ensure the safety of hydrogen filling. The existing solution is to set up a water chiller for refrigeration to pre-cool the hydrogen gas after the hydrogen gas flows out of the hydrogen storage bottle group, so as to reduce the temperature of the hydrogen gas to a preset temperature. However, during the process of the water chiller generating circulating chilled water, the energy consumption generated is relatively high. And the equipment procurement cost of the water chiller used in the vehicle hydrogen refueling station is high, which thus limits the application and popularization of the vehicle hydrogen refueling station. In addition, when liquid hydrogen is filled from a storage tank into the hydrogen storage tank of the hydrogen refueling station or transferred to another storage tank, due to gasification, the liquid hydrogen will absorb a large amount of heat and thus release a large amount of cold energy. If this cold energy cannot be utilized, it will cause waste of cold energy. Therefore, a cold energy management system is proposed to solve the above problems.

[0025] The solution is further illustrated by the following embodiments:

[0026] Please refer to Figure 1 , the cold energy management system of this embodiment is mainly applied to a hydrogen refueling station to effectively utilize the cold energy in hydrogen gas and reduce the energy consumption during the hydrogen filling process.

[0027] Specifically, the cold energy management system includes a heat exchanger 10, a liquid hydrogen mechanism 20, and a hydrogen storage mechanism 30. Among them, the heat exchanger 10 is provided with a heat exchange chamber 11, and the heat exchange chamber 11 is filled with a refrigerant for conducting heat or cold energy.

[0028] At the same time, the liquid hydrogen mechanism 20 is used to provide low-temperature hydrogen gas to be able to provide a cold source for the cold energy management system. Specifically, the liquid hydrogen mechanism 20 includes a liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 and a first pipeline 22. The liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 is used to store liquid hydrogen. One end of the first pipeline 22 is connected to the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21, and the other end extends out of the heat exchange chamber 11 for exporting hydrogen gas outward. A part of the first pipeline 22 is accommodated in the heat exchange chamber 11 and immersed in the refrigerant, so that the low-temperature hydrogen gas in the first pipeline 22 can exchange heat with the refrigerant and transfer the cold energy of the hydrogen gas in the first pipeline 22 to the refrigerant.

[0029] In addition, the hydrogen storage mechanism 30 includes a hydrogen storage bottle group 31 and a second pipeline 32. Among them, the hydrogen storage bottle group 31 is used to store high-pressure hydrogen. One end of the second pipeline 32 is connected to the hydrogen storage bottle group 31, and the other end extends out of the heat exchange chamber 11 to be able to fill high-pressure hydrogen outward. A part of the second pipeline 32 is accommodated in the heat exchange chamber 11, and the second pipeline 32 is immersed in the refrigerant, so that the cold quantity in the refrigerant can exchange heat with the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline 32 and transfer the cold quantity of the refrigerant to the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline 32.

[0030] Therefore, the low-temperature hydrogen in the first pipeline 22 can transfer the cold quantity carried by the low-temperature hydrogen to the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 in the heat exchange chamber 11. At the same time, the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 can transfer the cold quantity in the refrigerant to the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline 32, thereby reducing the temperature of the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline 32 and ensuring that the temperature of the high-pressure hydrogen meets the temperature for outward filling.

[0031] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the refrigerant is ice river refrigerant to be able to transfer cold quantity. In addition, in this embodiment, the temperature of the low-temperature hydrogen in the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 is lower than the temperature of the high-pressure hydrogen in the hydrogen storage bottle group 31, so that the low-temperature hydrogen and the high-pressure hydrogen can exchange heat through the refrigerant. In addition, it should be noted that, in actual use, the low-temperature hydrogen in the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 needs to release cold quantity and rise to a specific temperature before it can be filled outward. At the same time, the high-pressure hydrogen in the hydrogen storage bottle group 31 needs to be cooled to a specific temperature before it can be filled outward to ensure the filling safety of the high-pressure hydrogen.

[0032] In this embodiment, the low-temperature hydrogen and the high-pressure hydrogen may be descriptions adopted only for the convenience of describing hydrogen in different states, and the low temperature or high pressure therein may be only a differential description without specific technical features.

[0033] Refer to Figure 1 , a monitoring component 12 is provided on the heat exchanger 10. The monitoring component 12 is connected to the heat exchange chamber 11 to monitor the temperature in the heat exchange chamber 11. Specifically, the monitoring component 12 is a thermometer to be able to monitor the temperature of the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 to ensure the cold exchange effect of the refrigerant on the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline 32.

[0034] At the same time, in this embodiment, the heat exchanger 10 is provided with a vacuum insulation layer 13 to isolate the heat exchange chamber 11 from the external environment and prevent the external environmental temperature from affecting the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11. The vacuum insulation layer 13 is wrapped on the outside of the heat exchanger 10 to be able to keep the heat exchange chamber 11 warm.

[0035] In some other embodiments, the vacuum insulation layer 13 can also be set as a thermal insulation layer to insulate the heat exchange chamber 11 from the external environment and prevent the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 from leaking cold.

[0036] Refer to Figure 1 Figure 1 , the cold energy management system further includes a secondary refrigerant mechanism 40. Among them, the secondary refrigerant mechanism 40 includes a secondary refrigerant pipeline 41, a secondary refrigerant pump 42, and a refrigerant storage tank 43. Among them, the secondary refrigerant pump 42 and the refrigerant storage tank 43 are connected in series on the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41. The secondary refrigerant pump 42 is used to drive the refrigerant to flow along the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41, and the refrigerant storage tank 43 is used to store the refrigerant. Specifically, both ends of the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41 are respectively communicated with both ends of the heat exchange chamber 11, so that the heat exchange chamber 11 and the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41 form a connected passage. The secondary refrigerant pump 42 is arranged on the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41 to drive the refrigerant to flow in the heat exchange chamber 11 and the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41.

[0037] In this embodiment, the refrigerant storage tank 43 is used to store the refrigerant, that is, when the temperature of the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 is lower than the preset temperature, the secondary refrigerant pump 42 drives the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 and the secondary refrigerant pipeline 41 to flow into the refrigerant storage tank 43, and stores the refrigerant carrying cold energy in the refrigerant storage tank 43 to be able to store more cold energy. It should be noted that, due to the possible asynchronous situation of the low-temperature hydrogen in the liquid hydrogen mechanism 20 and the high-pressure hydrogen in the hydrogen storage mechanism 30 during actual use, the refrigerant storage tank 43 is set to store the cold energy in the low-temperature hydrogen in the liquid hydrogen mechanism 20 in the refrigerant and store it in the refrigerant storage tank 43. When the hydrogen storage mechanism 30 uses high-pressure hydrogen, the cold energy is transferred to the high-pressure hydrogen through the refrigerant to complete the cooling, thereby expanding the usage flexibility of the cold energy management system.

[0038] In addition, the secondary refrigerant mechanism 40 further includes a secondary refrigerant motor 44, and the secondary refrigerant motor 44 is connected to the secondary refrigerant pump 42 to drive the secondary refrigerant pump 42 to work.

[0039] Refer to Figure 1 Figure 1 , the liquid hydrogen mechanism 20 further includes a heater 23, a flow meter 24, an interface assembly 25, and a solenoid valve 26. Among them, the heater 23 is communicated with the first pipeline 22 and is located downstream of the heat exchanger 10 to heat the hydrogen in the first pipeline 22 flowing out of the heat exchanger 10, so as to ensure that the temperature of the hydrogen flowing out of the first pipeline 22 reaches the preset requirement. The flow meter 24 is communicated with the first pipeline 22 and is located downstream of the heater 23 to measure the hydrogen flowing out of the first pipeline 22. The interface assembly 25 is connected downstream of the flow meter 24 to communicate with an external hydrogen storage device. The solenoid valve 26 is communicated with the first pipeline 22 and is located between the heater 23 and the flow meter 24 to control the on-off of the first pipeline 22.

[0040] It should be noted that the liquid hydrogen mechanism 20 is also provided with a heat preservation member 27. Among them, the heat preservation member 27 is connected to the outside of the first pipeline 22 and is located between the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 and the heat exchanger 10 to insulate the first pipeline 22 between the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 and the heat exchanger 10 and prevent the low-temperature hydrogen in the first pipeline 22 between the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 and the heat exchanger 10 from leaking cold. Specifically, the heat preservation member 27 is made of heat-insulating material and is wrapped on the outside of the heat preservation member 27.

[0041] Refer to Figure 1 , the hydrogen storage mechanism 30 further includes a hydrogen filling machine 33. Among them, the hydrogen filling machine 33 is connected to the second pipeline 32 and is located downstream of the heat exchanger 10 and is used to connect to external hydrogen-consuming equipment, such as hydrogen-consuming vehicles, etc.

[0042] In summary, it can be seen that the low-temperature hydrogen flowing out of the liquid hydrogen storage tank 21 flows through the first pipeline 22 and then into the heat exchange chamber 11, and the low-temperature hydrogen transfers cold energy to the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11. At the same time, the refrigerant in the heat exchange chamber 11 can transfer cold energy to the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline 32, so that the high-pressure hydrogen flowing out of the hydrogen storage bottle group 31 can be cooled down, enabling the high-pressure hydrogen to meet the temperature requirements for external filling. Therefore, the cold energy management system can realize the cold energy management between different hydrogen gases through the heat exchanger 10. On the one hand, it avoids the waste of the cold energy of the low-temperature hydrogen, on the other hand, it can cool down the high-pressure hydrogen, and at the same time, it can also reduce the procurement of cooling equipment.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described with reference to several exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the terms used are illustrative and exemplary, rather than restrictive. Since the present invention can be embodied in many forms without departing from the spirit or essence of the invention, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited to any of the foregoing details, but should be broadly construed within the spirit and scope defined by the appended claims. Therefore, all changes and modifications falling within the scope of the claims or their equivalents should be covered by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cold energy management system is applied to a hydrogen refueling station, characterized in that, The cold energy management system includes: A heat exchanger, which is provided with a heat exchange chamber; a refrigerant for heat conduction is filled in the heat exchange chamber; A liquid hydrogen mechanism, which is used to provide low-temperature hydrogen; the liquid hydrogen mechanism includes a liquid hydrogen storage tank and a first pipeline; the liquid hydrogen storage tank is used to store liquid hydrogen; one end of the first pipeline is connected to the liquid hydrogen storage tank, and the other end extends out of the heat exchange chamber for exporting hydrogen outward; a part of the first pipeline is accommodated in the heat exchange chamber for heat exchange with the refrigerant to transfer the cold energy of the hydrogen in the first pipeline to the refrigerant; A hydrogen storage mechanism, which includes a hydrogen storage bottle group and a second pipeline; the hydrogen storage bottle group is used to store high-pressure hydrogen; one end of the second pipeline is connected to the hydrogen storage bottle group, and the other end extends out of the heat exchange chamber to be able to fill high-pressure hydrogen outward; a part of the second pipeline is accommodated in the heat exchange chamber for heat exchange with the refrigerant to transfer the cold energy of the refrigerant to the high-pressure hydrogen in the second pipeline.

2. The cold energy management system according to claim 1, wherein It further includes a secondary coolant mechanism; the secondary coolant mechanism includes a secondary coolant pipeline, a secondary coolant pump, and a refrigerant storage tank; the secondary coolant pump and the refrigerant storage tank are connected in series on the secondary coolant pipeline; the refrigerant storage tank is used to store the refrigerant; both ends of the secondary coolant pipeline are respectively connected to both ends of the heat exchange chamber; the secondary coolant pump is arranged on the secondary coolant pipeline to drive the refrigerant to flow in the heat exchange chamber and the secondary coolant pipeline.

3. The cold energy management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The liquid hydrogen mechanism further includes a heater; the heater is connected to the first pipeline and is located downstream of the heat exchanger to heat the hydrogen in the first pipeline flowing out of the heat exchanger.

4. The cold energy management system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The liquid hydrogen mechanism further includes a flow meter and an interface assembly; the flow meter is connected to the first pipeline and is located downstream of the heater to measure the hydrogen flowing out of the first pipeline; the interface assembly is connected downstream of the flow meter to communicate with an external hydrogen storage device.

5. The cold energy management system according to claim 4, wherein The liquid hydrogen mechanism further includes a solenoid valve; the solenoid valve is connected to the first pipeline and is located between the heater and the flow meter to control the on-off of the first pipeline.

6. The cold energy management system according to claim 1, wherein The liquid hydrogen mechanism is further provided with a heat preservation member; the heat preservation member is connected to the outside of the first pipeline and is located between the liquid hydrogen storage tank and the heat exchanger.

7. The cold energy management system according to claim 1, wherein The hydrogen storage mechanism further includes a hydrogen filling machine; the hydrogen filling machine is connected to the second pipeline and is located downstream of the heat exchanger to communicate with an external hydrogen-consuming device.

8. The cold energy management system according to claim 1, wherein A monitoring component is arranged on the heat exchanger; the monitoring component communicates with the heat exchange chamber to monitor the temperature in the heat exchange chamber.

9. The cold energy management system according to claim 1, characterized in that The heat exchanger is provided with a vacuum insulation layer; the vacuum insulation layer is wrapped outside the heat exchanger to be able to insulate the heat exchange chamber.

10. The cold energy management system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The secondary coolant mechanism further includes a secondary coolant motor; the secondary coolant motor is connected to the secondary coolant pump to drive the secondary coolant pump to work.

Images