Flow battery cooling and heating system based on compressed air
By designing a flow battery cooling and heating system based on compressed air and using compressed air for heat exchange, the existing system has solved the problems of poor insulation performance, large power consumption and high cost, and efficient and economical flow battery temperature control is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202420639142.1
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-03-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-18
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-03-29
AI Technical Summary
Existing flow battery cooling and heating systems have problems such as poor insulation performance, large power consumption and high cost, and it is difficult to use effectively in large-scale energy storage applications.
A liquid flow battery cooling and heating system based on compressed air is designed, and the compressed air is used to exchange heat through the vortex tube and the surrounding titanium tube to achieve cooling and heating of the liquid flow battery electrolyte.
The system can realize the cooling and heating of the flow battery in the same hardware system, saving space and cost, and improving the insulation performance and energy efficiency of the system.
Smart Images

Figure CN222775338U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of liquid flow battery temperature control, in particular to a liquid flow battery cooling and heating system based on compressed air. Background Art
[0002] With the development of large-scale energy storage technology, flow batteries with different electrolyte media have emerged, including iron-chromium flow batteries, all-vanadium flow batteries, zinc-nickel flow batteries, zinc-bromine flow batteries, etc. Their working principle is to input electrolyte into the battery stack through a liquid pump for chemical reaction. Temperature is an important factor affecting chemical reactions, so the temperature must be controlled within a reasonable temperature range, otherwise it will affect charging and discharging and cause damage to the charging electrode. At present, the commonly used cooling method is a combination of a chiller plus a plate heat exchanger or a cooling tower plus a heat exchanger. The purpose of cooling is achieved through heat exchange between cold water and electrolyte, but this method has poor insulation, the charged ions in the electrolyte are easy to conduct electricity with water, and the power consumption is large, the price is high, and it is not suitable for large-scale energy storage; the traditional heating method uses resistance wire or high-frequency induction heating, and it is necessary to add an additional heating device on the basis of the cooling device, which not only continues to increase power consumption, but also further increases the cost, making it difficult to apply to large-scale energy storage.
[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to seek a relatively economical, environmentally friendly, dielectrically insulated cooling and heating system that can complete the cooling of the flow battery electrolyte at high temperatures and heating at low temperatures with low power consumption and an extremely simple system to keep it within a certain temperature range. Utility Model Content
[0004] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the utility model aims to provide a liquid flow battery cooling and heating system based on compressed air that can solve the problems of high power consumption and high cost of traditional heating and cooling systems.
[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution provided by the utility model is: a liquid flow battery cooling and heating system based on compressed air, the system comprises a tray, the tray is provided with a circulation pump, a cooling and heating mechanism, a liquid storage tank and a battery stack support, the liquid storage tank stores electrolyte, and the battery stack support is provided with a battery stack connected to the liquid storage tank;
[0006] The circulation pump is connected to the electrolyte in the liquid storage tank through a filter, the circulation pump is connected to the battery stack through a first pipeline, the electrolyte in the liquid storage tank is connected to the battery stack through a second pipeline, a pressure gauge, a temperature sensor, a flexible joint, and a flow sensor are sequentially arranged on the first pipeline, and a manual ball valve is arranged on the second pipeline;
[0007] The cooling and heating mechanism is connected to the electrolyte in the liquid storage tank, and the cooling and heating mechanism includes a pressure switch valve capable of controlling compressed external air, the pressure switch valve is connected to a vortex tube, and the vortex tube is connected to two parallel manual switch valves in two directions respectively, wherein the two manual switch valves are commonly connected to an electric switch valve, and the electric switch valve is connected to a surrounding titanium tube arranged in the electrolyte, and the surrounding titanium tube is connected to a pressure sensor.
[0008] Compared with the existing technology, this solution has the following significant advantages:
[0009] This solution solves the problems of poor system insulation performance, high power consumption and high cost caused by the existing liquid flow battery cooling using chillers and plate heat exchangers and the use of resistance wire heating or high-frequency induction heating. The liquid flow battery cooling and heating system designed in this solution uses the same hardware system to achieve cooling of the liquid flow battery and heating of the liquid flow battery in a low temperature environment, which greatly saves space and cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:
[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of this system;
[0012] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of the cooling and heating mechanism;
[0013] In the figure: 1-tray, 2-circulation pump, 3-pressure gauge, 4-temperature sensor, 5-flexible joint, 6-flow sensor, 7-manual ball valve, 8-cooling and heating mechanism, 9-liquid storage tank, 10-cell stack bracket, 11-cell stack, 12-filter, 801-pressure switch valve, 802-vortex tube, 803-804-805-806-manual switch valve, 807-electric switch valve, 901-pressure sensor, 902-surrounding titanium tube, 903-electrolyte. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The preferred examples of the present invention are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the preferred examples described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.
[0015] like Figure 1 and 2As shown, the compressed air-based liquid flow battery cooling and heating system described in the utility model includes a tray 1, on which a circulating pump 2, a cooling and heating mechanism 8, a liquid storage tank 9 and a battery stack bracket 10 are provided. The liquid storage tank 9 stores electrolyte 903, and the battery stack bracket 10 is provided with a battery stack 11 connected to the liquid storage tank 9.
[0016] Specifically, the circulating pump 2 is a magnetic pump, the liquid storage tank 9 is made of PP material, and the horizontal inlet of the circulating pump 2 is connected to the electrolyte 903 in the liquid storage tank 9 through a 316L steel filter 12, and the vertical outlet of the circulating pump 2 is connected to the inlet of the fuel cell stack 11 through a first pipeline. On the first pipeline, a pressure gauge 3, a temperature sensor 4, a flexible joint 5, a flow sensor 6 and a manual ball valve 7 are provided in sequence.
[0017] The operation method of this system includes the following steps:
[0018] S1: The circulation pump 2 sucks out the electrolyte 903 from the liquid storage tank 9, and the electrolyte 903 enters the fuel cell stack 11 through the first pipeline to undergo a chemical reaction.
[0019] S2: When the battery stack 11 is charged, the electrolyte 903 in the liquid storage tank 9 is in a charged state; when the battery stack 11 is discharged, the electrolyte 903 is in a de-charged state and flows back to the liquid storage tank 9 from the outlet of the battery stack 11.
[0020] S3: Since the chemical reaction on the electrode generates heat, the heat needs to be taken away in time, so the electrolyte 903 must be within the preset temperature range, and the cooling and heating mechanism 8 needs to cool it. If the liquid storage tank 9 is at an extremely low ambient temperature, the temperature of the electrolyte 903 is too low to charge, and the electrolyte 903 needs to be heated to maintain it within the preset temperature range.
[0021] In addition, the pressure gauge 3 can be used to measure the pipeline pressure and can give an alarm in time when the pipeline is blocked. The temperature sensor 4 is used to measure the temperature of the electrolyte 903. When the temperature is higher or lower than the preset value, the cooling or heating operation is started in time. The flow sensor 6 is mainly used to measure the flow of the pipeline and to display the relationship between the flow and the charge and discharge.
[0022] The above-mentioned cooling and heating mechanism 8 is connected to the electrolyte 903 in the liquid storage tank 9. Specifically, it includes a pressure switch valve 801 that can control the compression of external air. The pressure switch valve 801 is connected to a vortex tube 802. The vortex tube 802 is connected to two manual switch valves 803, 804, 805 and 806 in two directions respectively. It can be seen from the figure that the manual switch valves 803 and 804 are a group, and 805 and 806 are a group. At the same time, the manual switch valve 804 and the manual switch valve 805 are connected to the electric switch valve 807. The electric switch valve 807 is connected to a surrounding titanium tube 902 arranged in the electrolyte 903, and the surrounding titanium tube 902 is connected to a pressure sensor 901.
[0023] The cooling and heating mechanism 8 has three working states:
[0024] Under high temperature conditions, control the manual switch valve 803 to open, 804 to close, 805 to open, and 806 to close. At this time, compressed air flows into the vortex tube 802, and cold air flows from the right end through the manual switch valve 805 into the surrounding titanium tube 902. When the cold air pressure passes through the threshold of the pressure sensor 901, the pressure switch valve 801 turns off the compressed air, and at the same time, the electric switch valve 807 is closed, and the cold air in the surrounding titanium tube 902 and the surrounding electrolyte 903 are heat exchanged. When the heat is fully exchanged, the pressure is reduced, and the compressed air is restarted to send the cold air into the surrounding titanium tube 902. After sufficient heat exchange, the heated air is discharged to the outdoors away from the flow battery, achieving the effect of cooling and energy saving. Since the hot air at the left end of the vortex tube 802 is also discharged to the outdoors away from the flow battery through the manual switch valve 805, no pollution will be generated.
[0025] Under low temperature conditions, the manual switch valve 803 is controlled to be closed, 804 is opened, 805 is closed, and 806 is opened. At this time, the compressed air flows into the vortex tube 802, and the hot air flows from the left end through the manual switch valve 804 into the surrounding titanium tube 902. When the hot air pressure exceeds the threshold of the pressure sensor 901, the pressure switch valve 801 closes the compressed air and closes the electric switch valve 807 at the same time. The hot air in the surrounding titanium tube 902 exchanges heat with the surrounding electrolyte 903. When the heat is fully exchanged, the pressure is reduced, and the compressed air is restarted to send the hot air into the surrounding titanium tube 902. After sufficient heat exchange, the cooled air is discharged to the outdoors away from the flow battery, achieving the effect of heating and energy saving. The cold air at the right end of the vortex tube 802 is also discharged to the outdoors away from the flow battery through the manual switch valve 806, without any pollution.
[0026] At normal temperature, the temperature sensor 4 detects that the temperature of the electrolyte 903 is within a preset range, and the compressed air does not work.
[0027] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a preferred example of the utility model and is not intended to limit the utility model. Although the utility model is described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the aforementioned embodiments or replace some of the technical features therein by equivalents. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the utility model shall be included in the protection scope of the utility model.
Claims
1. A compressed air-based flow battery cooling and heating system, characterized in that: The system comprises a tray, on which a circulation pump, a cooling and heating mechanism, a liquid storage tank and a stack support are arranged, wherein the liquid storage tank stores electrolyte, and the stack support is provided with a stack connected to the liquid storage tank; The circulation pump is connected to the electrolyte in the liquid storage tank through a filter, the circulation pump is connected to the battery stack through a first pipeline, the electrolyte in the liquid storage tank is connected to the battery stack through a second pipeline, a pressure gauge, a temperature sensor, a flexible joint, a flow sensor, and a manual ball valve are sequentially arranged on the first pipeline, and a manual ball valve is also arranged on the second pipeline; The cooling and heating mechanism is connected to the electrolyte in the liquid storage tank, and the cooling and heating mechanism includes a pressure switch valve capable of controlling compressed external air, the pressure switch valve is connected to a vortex tube, and the vortex tube is connected to two parallel manual switch valves in two directions respectively, wherein the two manual switch valves are commonly connected to an electric switch valve, and the electric switch valve is connected to a surrounding titanium tube arranged in the electrolyte, and the surrounding titanium tube is connected to a pressure sensor.