Natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device

Abstract

The invention discloses a natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device which comprises a dehydration tower, a gas inlet pipe and a gas outlet pipe are arranged at the bottom and the top of the dehydration tower respectively, the dehydration tower is sequentially provided with a guide plate, a heating assembly and a molecular sieve filling structure from bottom to top, and the molecular sieve filling structure comprises an upper mesh plate and a lower mesh plate which are arranged at intervals in a layered mode. The lower mesh plate is fixedly connected with the inner wall of the dehydrating tower, the upper mesh plate is arranged in the dehydrating tower in a sliding manner, a pressure regulating mechanism is arranged in the dehydrating tower at the top of the upper mesh plate, an elastic spiral plate is arranged between the upper mesh plate and the lower mesh plate, and molecular sieves and elastic microspheres are filled in the dehydrating tower between the upper mesh plate and the lower mesh plate; according to the scheme, the natural gas flow velocity distribution is uniform, and the contact time of the natural gas and the molecular sieve is prolonged, so that the dehydration effect of the natural gas is ensured; meanwhile, by changing the density of the molecular sieve, the natural gas with different water contents can be dehydrated, so that the dehydration effect and efficiency of the natural gas are considered.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of natural gas processing technology, and more specifically to a natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device. Background Technology

[0002] Dehydration is a crucial step in the extraction, transportation, and storage of natural gas. The presence of moisture can cause natural gas to form hydrates at low temperatures, clogging pipelines and equipment, and may also lead to corrosion, reducing pipeline lifespan and affecting the safety of natural gas transportation and use.

[0003] Common technologies for natural gas dehydration include freezing, dehydrating agent adsorption, and molecular sieve adsorption. Freezing requires hydrate inhibitors and regeneration systems, while dehydrating agent adsorption requires dehydrating agent regeneration systems, resulting in high costs. For molecular sieve adsorption, existing devices use traditional uniform packing of molecular sieves, leading to short and insufficient contact time between the linearly rising gas flow and the molecular sieve, resulting in low dehydration efficiency. Furthermore, the natural gas flow entering the bottom of the dehydration tower generally rises directly, resulting in uneven gas velocity distribution. This causes localized areas of the molecular sieve with higher gas velocity to become saturated and fail, requiring frequent regeneration to maintain the dehydration effect, further reducing dehydration efficiency and increasing energy consumption. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device and solves the problem of low dehydration efficiency in the existing natural gas molecular sieve dehydration process.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: A natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device is provided, comprising a dehydration tower, with an inlet pipe at the bottom and an outlet pipe at the top. From bottom to top, the dehydration tower includes a guide plate, a heating assembly, and a molecular sieve filling structure. The molecular sieve filling structure includes a layered perforated plate and a lower perforated plate, with the lower perforated plate fixedly connected to the inner wall of the dehydration tower. The upper perforated plate is slidably disposed within the dehydration tower. A pressure regulating mechanism for adjusting the distance between the upper and lower perforated plates is provided within the dehydration tower at the top of the upper perforated plate. An elastic spiral plate is disposed between the upper and lower perforated plates. Molecular sieves and elastic microspheres are filled within the dehydration tower located between the upper and lower perforated plates.

[0006] Furthermore, the pressure regulating mechanism includes a fixed frame installed above the dehydration tower. The fixed frame is equipped with a guide rail and a horizontal lead screw. One end of the horizontal lead screw is connected to a drive motor. The horizontal lead screw includes symmetrically arranged positive and negative external threads. A first slider and a second slider are threadedly engaged on the positive and negative external threads, respectively. Both the first and second sliders are slidably mounted on the guide rail. The first and second sliders are vertically hinged to one end of two push-pull rods, and the other end of both push-pull rods is vertically hinged to the upper end of a transmission rod. The lower end of the transmission rod passes through a through hole at the top of the dehydration tower and is fixedly connected to the mesh plate.

[0007] Furthermore, several rubber rings are installed inside the through hole to slide and seal with the outer wall of the transmission rod.

[0008] Furthermore, the air inlet pipe and the air outlet pipe are respectively horizontally installed on one side of the bottom and top of the dehydration tower, and the tangent at the connection between the air inlet pipe and the dehydration tower forms a 30-degree angle with the air inlet pipe.

[0009] Furthermore, the heating assembly includes a spiral heating plate, in which a plurality of heating tubes extending along its spiral direction are embedded, the upper ends of the plurality of heating tubes being connected to a water inlet pipe, and the lower ends of the plurality of heating tubes being connected to a water outlet pipe.

[0010] Furthermore, the guide vane is a spiral guide vane.

[0011] Furthermore, the spiral plates, spiral heating plates, and spiral guide plates all rotate in the same direction.

[0012] Furthermore, the elastic microspheres are made of polyimide foam with a three-dimensional mesh-like open-cell structure.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. In this scheme, when natural gas passes through the dehydration tower, the guide plate guides the flow of natural gas, and the heating component controls the temperature of the natural gas, preparing it for subsequent dehydration processes. Finally, the natural gas is adsorbed and dehydrated through the molecular sieve filling structure. The pressure regulating mechanism can adjust the spacing between the upper and lower perforated plates. When the water content of the natural gas is high, the spacing between the upper and lower perforated plates can be reduced, compressing the elastic spiral plate and the internally filled elastic microspheres, thereby increasing the density of the molecular sieve and reducing the flow rate of natural gas through the molecular sieve, thus improving the dehydration effect. When the water content of the natural gas is low, the spacing between the upper and lower perforated plates can be increased, causing the elastic spiral plate and the internally filled elastic microspheres to rebound to their original shape. The presence of the elastic microspheres reduces the density of the molecular sieve, and its three-dimensional mesh structure increases the flow rate of natural gas through the molecular sieve, thereby improving the dehydration efficiency of the molecular sieve.

[0014] 2. In this solution, the drive motor can drive the horizontal lead screw to rotate, while the first and second sliders move closer or further apart under the action of the forward and reverse external threads, and the push-pull rod drives the transmission rod to slide up and down, thereby driving the mesh plate to adjust its height, and thus realizing the adjustment of the distance between the mesh plate and the lower mesh plate.

[0015] 3. In this scheme, the natural gas passing through the dehydration tower maintains a spiral upward movement under the action of the spiral guide plate, spiral heating plate, and elastic spiral plate, which makes the natural gas flow velocity distribution uniform and increases the contact time between the natural gas and the spiral heating plate and molecular sieve, thereby ensuring the heating and dehydration effect of the natural gas. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort. The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become clearer through the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals indicate the same parts in all the drawings. The drawings are not intentionally drawn to scale to actual dimensions; the focus is on illustrating the main points of the invention.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device.

[0018] Among them, 1. Dehydration tower, 2. Air inlet pipe, 3. Air outlet pipe, 4. Mesh plate, 5. Lower mesh plate, 6. Elastic spiral plate, 7. Air inlet, 8. Spiral heating plate, 9. Heating tube, 10. Spiral guide plate, 11. Fixing frame, 12. Guide rail, 13. Horizontal lead screw, 14. Drive motor, 15. Forward external thread, 16. Reverse external thread, 17. First slider, 18. Second slider, 19. Push-pull rod, 20. Transmission rod, 21. Rubber ring. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0020] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0021] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0022] Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device of this scheme includes a dehydration tower 1. An inlet pipe 2 and an outlet pipe 3 are respectively installed at the bottom and top of the dehydration tower 1. From bottom to top, the dehydration tower 1 is equipped with a guide plate, a heating assembly, and a molecular sieve packing structure. The molecular sieve packing structure includes a perforated upper plate 4 and a perforated lower plate 5 arranged in layers. The perforated lower plate 5 is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the dehydration tower 1. The perforated upper plate 4 is slidably installed inside the dehydration tower 1. A pressure regulating machine is installed inside the dehydration tower 1, located at the top of the perforated upper plate 4, to adjust the distance between the perforated upper plate 4 and the perforated lower plate 5. The structure includes an elastic spiral plate 6 between the upper perforated plate 4 and the lower perforated plate 5. The dehydration tower 1, located between the upper perforated plate 4 and the lower perforated plate 5, is filled with molecular sieves and elastic microspheres. The elastic microspheres are made of polyimide foam with a three-dimensional mesh open structure. In this scheme, natural gas flows in from the inlet 7 of the inlet pipe 2 and flows out from the outlet pipe 3. When passing through the dehydration tower 1, the guide plate can guide the natural gas flow, and the heating component can control the temperature of the natural gas to prepare for the subsequent dehydration process. Finally, the natural gas is adsorbed and dehydrated through the molecular sieve filling structure.

[0024] As an optional implementation, the inlet pipe 2 and the outlet pipe 3 are respectively horizontally arranged on one side of the bottom and top of the dehydration tower 1, and the tangent at the connection between the inlet pipe 2 and the dehydration tower 1 forms a 30-degree angle with the inlet pipe 2, so that the natural gas can enter the bottom of the dehydration tower 1 in a "spiral" manner.

[0025] As an optional implementation, the heating assembly includes a spiral heating plate 8, in which a plurality of heating tubes 9 extending along its spiral direction are embedded. The upper ends of the plurality of heating tubes 9 are all connected to the water inlet pipe, and the lower ends of the plurality of heating tubes 9 are all connected to the water outlet pipe. Specifically, hot water can be circulated through the water inlet pipe and the water outlet pipe, thereby heating the spiral heating plate 8 and heating the natural gas passing through the spiral heating plate 8.

[0026] The guide plate in this scheme is a spiral guide plate 10, and the spiral guide plate 10, spiral heating plate 8 and elastic spiral plate 6 have the same direction of rotation. This ensures that the natural gas passing through the dehydration tower 1 always maintains a spiral upward movement under the action of the spiral guide plate 10, spiral heating plate 8 and elastic spiral plate 6, resulting in a uniform distribution of natural gas flow velocity and increasing the contact time between natural gas and spiral heating plate 8 and molecular sieve, thereby ensuring the heating and dehydration effect of natural gas.

[0027] As an optional implementation, the pressure regulating mechanism includes a fixed frame 11 mounted above the dehydration tower 1. The fixed frame 11 is equipped with a guide rail 12 and a horizontal lead screw 13. One end of the horizontal lead screw 13 is connected to a drive motor 14. The horizontal lead screw 13 includes symmetrically arranged forward external threads 15 and reverse external threads 16. A first slider 17 and a second slider 18 are threadedly engaged on the forward external threads 15 and the reverse external threads 16, respectively. Both the first slider 17 and the second slider 18 are slidably mounted on the guide rail 12. 7 and the second slider 18 are vertically hinged to one end of the two push-pull rods 19 respectively. The other end of the two push-pull rods 19 are vertically hinged to the upper end of the transmission rod 20. The lower end of the transmission rod 20 passes through the through hole at the top of the dehydration tower 1 and is fixedly connected to the mesh plate 4. Several rubber rings 21 are provided in the through hole to slide and seal with the outer wall of the transmission rod 20. The rubber rings 21 are preferably made of perfluororubber (FFKM) with a temperature of -20℃ to 300℃ to match the working temperature of the dehydration tower 1 during adsorption dehydration or subsequent regeneration.

[0028] This solution allows for adjustment of the distance between the upper perforated plate 4 and the lower perforated plate 5 via a pressure regulating mechanism. Specifically, the drive motor 14 rotates the horizontal lead screw 13, while the first slider 17 and the second slider 18 move closer or further apart under the action of the forward external thread 15 and the reverse external thread 16. The push-pull rod 19 drives the transmission rod 20 to slide up and down, thereby adjusting the height of the upper perforated plate 4 and thus achieving the adjustment of the distance between the upper perforated plate 4 and the lower perforated plate 5. When the water content of the natural gas is high, the distance between the upper perforated plate 4 and the lower perforated plate 5 can be reduced. The spacing of the perforated plates 5 compresses the elastic spiral plates 6 and the elastic microspheres filled inside, thereby increasing the density of the molecular sieve and reducing the flow rate of natural gas through the molecular sieve, thus improving the dehydration effect. When the water content of natural gas is low, the spacing between the upper perforated plate 4 and the lower perforated plate 5 can be increased, causing the elastic spiral plates 6 and the elastic microspheres filled inside to rebound to their original shape. The presence of the elastic microspheres can reduce the density of the molecular sieve, and its three-dimensional mesh open structure can increase the flow rate of natural gas through the molecular sieve, thereby improving the dehydration efficiency of the molecular sieve.

[0029] In summary, this solution can ensure a uniform distribution of natural gas flow rate and increase the contact time between natural gas and the molecular sieve, thereby guaranteeing the dehydration effect of natural gas. At the same time, by changing the density of the molecular sieve, it can dehydrate natural gas with different water contents, thus balancing the dehydration effect and efficiency of natural gas.

[0030] Although the specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this patent; various modifications and variations that can be made by a person skilled in the art without inventive effort within the scope described in the claims are still within the scope of protection of this patent.

Claims

1. A natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device, characterized in that, The system includes a dehydration tower, with an inlet pipe at the bottom and an outlet pipe at the top. From bottom to top, the dehydration tower comprises a guide plate, a heating assembly, and a molecular sieve filling structure. The molecular sieve filling structure includes a layered, spaced-apart upper perforated plate and a lower perforated plate. The lower perforated plate is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the dehydration tower, while the upper perforated plate is slidably disposed within the tower. A pressure regulating mechanism for adjusting the distance between the upper and lower perforated plates is located at the top of the upper perforated plate within the dehydration tower. An elastic spiral plate is positioned between the upper and lower perforated plates. Molecular sieves and elastic microspheres are filled within the dehydration tower located between the upper and lower perforated plates.

2. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure regulating mechanism includes a fixed frame mounted above the dehydration tower. The fixed frame is equipped with a guide rail and a horizontal lead screw. One end of the horizontal lead screw is connected to a drive motor. The horizontal lead screw includes symmetrically arranged positive and negative external threads. A first slider and a second slider are threaded onto the positive and negative external threads, respectively. Both the first and second sliders are slidably mounted on the guide rail. The first and second sliders are vertically hinged to one end of two push-pull rods, and the other ends of the two push-pull rods are vertically hinged to the upper end of a transmission rod. The lower end of the transmission rod passes through a through hole at the top of the dehydration tower and is fixedly connected to a mesh plate.

3. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 2, characterized in that, Several rubber rings are provided inside the through hole, which slide and seal with the outer wall of the transmission rod.

4. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air inlet pipe and air outlet pipe are respectively horizontally installed on one side of the bottom and top of the dehydration tower, and the tangent at the connection between the air inlet pipe and the dehydration tower forms a 30-degree angle with the air inlet pipe.

5. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heating assembly includes a spiral heating plate, in which a plurality of heating tubes extending along its spiral direction are embedded. The upper ends of the plurality of heating tubes are connected to a water inlet pipe, and the lower ends of the plurality of heating tubes are connected to a water outlet pipe.

6. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The guide plate is a spiral guide plate.

7. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The elastic spiral plate, spiral heating plate, and spiral guide plate rotate in the same direction.

8. The natural gas molecular sieve dehydration device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elastic microspheres are made of polyimide foam with a three-dimensional mesh-like open structure.

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