Device for vaporizing a liquid medium in a filling product filling system

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for evaporating a liquid medium in a product filling system, for example, for evaporating a disinfectant medium in a beverage filling system to provide a disinfectant gas for disinfecting areas of the beverage filling system that come into contact with the product. The present device serves, for example, for evaporating hydrogen peroxide for use in a disinfection process in a beverage filling system. State of the art

[0002] Various evaporators and evaporator designs are known for evaporating liquid media. These evaporators are also used, for example, in beverage bottling plants to provide gaseous hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting system components that come into contact with the product. These evaporators typically have a heated evaporator surface onto which the still-liquid medium to be evaporated is sprayed, and on which the liquid medium is then evaporated. The evaporator surface is heated, for example, using superheated steam or electric heating elements to provide the desired temperature of the evaporator surface, which is correspondingly above the boiling point of the liquid medium to be evaporated.

[0003] For example, JP 2005 065 882 A2 discloses an evaporator for evaporating an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, which is sprayed onto an inclined evaporator surface of the evaporator to enable corresponding evaporation of the hydrogen peroxide solution. The evaporator surface is arranged in an evaporator chamber, which is defined by a box-shaped housing that seals the evaporator surface from the environment.

[0004] WO 2006 / 125417 A2 describes a total evaporator and a device for the controlled mixing, evaporation, and / or reaction of multiple fluids. EP 2 604 294 A2 and EP 2 407 181 A1 describe evaporators for sterilizing containers. GB 987,121 A describes a method for evaporating liquids. Other evaporators relevant to this invention are described in patent publications CN205145623 U and WO2010 / 086375 A1. Description of the invention

[0005] Based on the known prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for evaporating a liquid medium which enables a high evaporator performance with a reliable design of the device.

[0006] This object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments emerge from the subclaims as well as from the figures and the present description.

[0007] Accordingly, a device for evaporating a liquid medium in a product filling system is proposed, comprising an inclined evaporator surface, a medium inlet for applying the liquid medium to be evaporated to the evaporator surface, and grooves in the evaporator surface for guiding the liquid medium. According to the invention, the grooves are nonlinear along the evaporator surface.

[0008] Because the grooves provided for guiding the liquid medium to be evaporated in the evaporator surface are nonlinear, the liquid medium to be evaporated can flow more slowly along these grooves on the evaporator surface, thus ensuring a uniform distribution of the liquid medium to be evaporated across the evaporator surface. Accordingly, the evaporator surface can be evenly exposed to the liquid medium to be evaporated across the entire evaporator surface, thus increasing the overall evaporator performance because the active evaporator surface is enlarged.

[0009] Furthermore, the groove design eliminates the need for spray nozzles to apply the liquid medium to be evaporated to the evaporator surface. Instead, the medium can simply be applied to the evaporator surface via the media inlet, where it is evenly distributed by the grooves. The absence of spray nozzles also prevents clogging of the spray nozzles, making this a particularly reliable and low-maintenance device.

[0010] A non-linear groove design is understood in particular to mean that the grooves in the respective evaporator surface do not extend straight across their entire length, but rather undergo a change in direction. This can be achieved, for example, by curved grooves, spiral grooves, zigzag grooves with abrupt changes in direction, and other groove shapes that do not extend straight across the respective evaporator surface. The grooves can also extend in a spiral, arc, or curved manner along the evaporator surface.

[0011] By designing the groove shape, it can be achieved that the liquid medium to be evaporated can be distributed in a directed manner on the evaporator surface, so that a largely complete wetting of the evaporator surface with the medium to be evaporated is ensured and thus a high evaporator performance is achieved.

[0012] Preferably, the evaporator surface is accommodated in an evaporator housing, wherein the contour of the inner wall of the evaporator housing essentially follows the contour of the evaporator surface, at least in the region of the inclined evaporator surface.

[0013] The evaporator surface and the evaporator housing thus form an evaporator chamber, in which the volume in which evaporation takes place is determined by the distance between the evaporator surface and the interior of the evaporator housing. The parallel alignment of the surfaces creates a channel-shaped structure with a substantially constant distance. The evaporator chamber is therefore essentially annular in cross-section, at least in the areas where the evaporator housing is opposite the evaporator surface and follows its contour.

[0014] In this way, the volume of the evaporator chamber can be controlled or kept so small that the design of the evaporator chamber, and thus the volume of the evaporator chamber, remains small. This is particularly important with regard to the regulations of the Pressure Equipment Directive 97 / 23 / EC, since pressure vessels are not subject to acceptance if the pressure-volume product, i.e., the product of the pressure chamber volume times the pressure rating of the vessel, is less than 50. If the volume of the evaporator chamber can be kept small, a low-maintenance evaporator that does not require acceptance can be provided, which is advantageous both for cost reasons and for reasons of system efficiency.

[0015] The evaporator surface is provided by a conical, pyramidal, or conoidal evaporator body. The evaporator body can, in particular, be designed as a truncated cone, on whose upper surface the liquid medium to be evaporated, flowing from the medium inlet, is distributed to the individual grooves and over the entire evaporator surface.

[0016] If the inner contour of the evaporator housing follows the evaporator surface, only an annular gap or a conical gap is created between the evaporator surface and the inside of the evaporator housing, along which the carrier gas or carrier air can flow along the evaporator surface. Even at higher pressures, which occur due to the evaporation of the liquid medium, the pressure-volume product can still be controlled in such a way that the limits specified in the Pressure Equipment Directive are not exceeded within the evaporator, thus providing an efficient and low-maintenance device.

[0017] Preferably, a media distribution device, which is preferably dome-shaped, adjoins the upper region of the evaporator surface. Particularly preferably, the media distribution device has a dome onto which the liquid medium is applied from the media inlet. In a further development, a channel for receiving liquid medium is arranged between the dome and the evaporator surface, and particularly preferably, the grooves extending along the evaporator surface are in fluid communication with the channel.

[0018] In case the evaporator body is conical or truncated conical, the grooves extending along the evaporator surface are preferably spiral-shaped in a projection looking along the cone axis.

[0019] Preferably, a media supply is provided, which allows the liquid medium to be evaporated to be supplied to the inclined evaporator surface in the highest region of the inclined evaporator surface. Due to the grooves, the media supply can be carried out without the use of spray nozzles, since the liquid medium to be evaporated is distributed across the evaporator surface by the nonlinear grooves.

[0020] By eliminating the need to spray the medium onto the evaporator surface, problems caused by spray nozzle clogging, as is common in conventional evaporators, can be avoided. Instead, the liquid medium to be evaporated can be applied to the highest point or uppermost area of ​​the evaporator surface via a media supply, for example, in the form of a tube with a predetermined cross-section, without changing the cross-section of the media supply tube.

[0021] The pipe for the media supply is preferably selected with a cross-section that allows the liquid medium to be evaporated to be supplied at a constant rate that can also be directly evaporated by the device. In other words, the supplied medium is evaporated immediately, and the media supply can operate continuously.

[0022] A carrier gas is fed into the evaporator chamber via a carrier gas supply and then preferably discharged again via a gas discharge line to discharge the carrier gas enriched with the evaporated medium from the evaporator chamber.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the carrier gas supply is so pronounced that it directs the carrier gas with a pulse onto the evaporator surface, thus further supporting efficient evaporation. By flowing around or over the evaporator surface with the carrier gas, efficient removal of the evaporated liquid medium together with the carrier gas can be achieved.

[0024] The carrier gas supply can preferably be blown into the evaporator chamber via a nozzle in such a way that a turbulent, swirling flow is generated along the evaporator surface in order to achieve efficient removal of the evaporated medium.

[0025] The carrier gas supply comprises a carrier gas channel arranged around the circumference of the conical and / or pyramidal and / or conoidal evaporator surface and delivering the carrier gas to the evaporator surface via carrier gas outlets. This allows for a uniform coverage of the evaporation surface with the carrier gas, thus ensuring efficient utilization of the entire evaporator surface.

[0026] In a further embodiment of the evaporation device, the injection of the carrier gas or the air to be enriched with the evaporated liquid medium is preferably carried out via a plurality of supply openings or a supply slot, respectively, in order to achieve a substantially uniform application of the carrier gas to the evaporator surface. This also increases the efficiency of evaporation and simultaneously ensures reliable and uniform removal of the evaporated liquid medium.

[0027] The gas flow along the evaporator surface is preferably turbulent to facilitate the removal of evaporation products and the absorption of the evaporated liquid medium into the carrier gas. However, for energy efficiency reasons, the flow can also be laminar to reduce the resistance within the evaporation chamber.

[0028] In a further preferred embodiment, a heating device is provided for the evaporator surface, which is configured for operation with a heating medium having a boiling point above the operating temperature of the evaporator surface. This design of the heating device allows heating to take place without any further restrictions resulting from the Pressure Equipment Directive. For example, a thermal oil can be used as an efficient heating medium, which is supplied to the evaporator body at low pressure. Short description of the characters

[0029] Preferred further embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description of the figures. In the figures: Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view through a device for evaporating a liquid medium in the form of an aqueous H 2 O 2 solution; Figure 2 is a partially sectioned, perspective view of the device from Figure 1 ; Figure 3 a schematic, sectional view of the device from the Figures 1 and 2 , in which the air flow passing through the evaporator chamber is schematically indicated; and Figure 4 shows a schematic, partially sectioned, perspective view of a device for evaporating a liquid medium in a further embodiment. Detailed description of preferred embodiments

[0030] Preferred embodiments are described below with reference to the figures. Identical, similar, or equivalent elements are designated by identical reference numerals. To avoid redundancies, some of these elements are omitted from the following description.

[0031] In the Figures 1 to 3 is a schematic representation of a device 1 for evaporating a liquid medium. In this case, an aqueous 35% H 2 O 2 solution, for example, is evaporated in the device 1 as the liquid medium, thereby enriching a carrier gas, for example air. The carrier gas enriched with the evaporated liquid medium is then subsequently used, for example, in a disinfection process in a filling product filling system, for example to disinfect it on a regular basis or to bring it back into a hygienically perfect condition after a conversion or a system shutdown, so that a hygienically perfect filling can be provided for the subsequent filling of the filling product, for example a beverage or other foodstuff.

[0032] The device 1 for evaporating the liquid medium comprises an evaporator chamber 2, which is defined by an evaporator housing 3. An evaporator body 4 is provided in the evaporator housing 3 and thus in the evaporator chamber 2, forming an evaporator surface 40. The evaporator surface 40 is designed to be inclined so that the applied liquid medium essentially flows downwards.

[0033] The liquid medium to be evaporated is applied to the evaporator surface 40 of the evaporator body 4 via a media inlet 5 and is accordingly evaporated on the evaporator surface 40, so that the evaporated medium reaches the evaporator chamber 2.

[0034] In order to transport the vaporized medium that has been vaporized on the vaporizer surface 40 and is located in the vaporizer chamber 2 away and subsequently use it in a product filling system, for example, for disinfection, a carrier gas is introduced into the vaporization chamber 2 via a carrier gas supply 60 and then discharged via a gas outlet 62 together with the medium vaporized on the vaporizer surface 40. The gas outlet 62 accordingly serves to transfer the vaporized medium together with the carrier gas to a subsequent processing step. The carrier gas can be air, for example.

[0035] In the illustrated embodiment, the evaporator body 4 is essentially conical. Accordingly, the evaporator surface 40 is designed in the form of a conical surface. The conical design of the valve body 4 makes it possible to provide a relatively large evaporator surface 40 on a relatively small footprint, while also providing an easily cleanable device 1 without undercuts.

[0036] In order to apply the liquid medium supplied via the media inlet 5, which in the embodiment shown is designed in the form of a feed pipe through which the H 2 O 2 solution is brought to the evaporator surface 40, evenly to the evaporator surface 40, a dome 42 is provided in the upper region of the evaporator body 4, which dome distributes the medium flowing out of the media inlet 5 evenly around the circumference of the evaporator surface 40.

[0037] For this purpose, a channel can be arranged between the dome 42 and the evaporator surface 40, which channel retains the liquid medium until it overflows and which leads to a uniform distribution of the liquid medium on the evaporator surface 40 and in particular enables a uniform distribution around the circumference.

[0038] In addition, grooves 44 are provided in the evaporator surface 40, along which the medium to be evaporated is guided and can be distributed accordingly over the evaporator surface 40. The grooves 44, which are arranged in the evaporator surface 40 of the evaporator body 4, are, as shown for example in Figure 2 As can be clearly seen, they are arranged non-linearly or curvedly or bently on the evaporator surface. The grooves 44 are particularly preferably in fluid communication with the channel and, in a preferred embodiment, originate in the channel.

[0039] In the special version of the Figures 1 to 3The grooves 44 are arranged in spiral sections on the evaporator surface 40. The non-linear and particularly the spiral arrangement of the grooves 44 enables efficient transport of the liquid, not yet evaporated medium across the entire evaporator surface 40. At the same time, the spiral design prevents the liquid, not yet evaporated medium from immediately flowing downwards and only accumulating in the lower region. Rather, the non-linear or spiral design of the grooves 44 allows the liquid, not yet evaporated, but still to be evaporated medium to flow more slowly and to be distributed evenly across the evaporator surface 40.Accordingly, a particularly efficient evaporation of the liquid medium to be evaporated can be achieved since all surface areas of the evaporator surface 40 can be uniformly and continuously exposed to the liquid medium.

[0040] The grooves 44 particularly preferably extend from the uppermost region of the evaporator surface 40 to its lowermost region, so that a uniform distribution of the liquid medium over the entire evaporator surface 40 can be achieved.

[0041] In the illustrated embodiment, the media inlet 5 is designed in the form of a tube that has no taper or nozzle at its outlet end 50. In other words, the liquid medium to be evaporated flows directly onto the dome 42 of the evaporator body 4 and is only distributed onto the evaporator surface 40 through the dome 42. Thus, the media inlet 5 is not equipped with a nozzle for spraying the medium to be evaporated, so that reliable operation and a reduction in the maintenance requirements of the media inlet 5 within the device 1 are achieved by eliminating the need to clog, block, or readjust nozzles for supplying the medium to be evaporated.

[0042] The evaporator body 4 has a heating circuit that provides a heating medium inlet 70 in the form of a central bore within the conical evaporator body 4. A heating medium return 72 is provided in the evaporator body 4 in the form of a plurality of bores extending radially from an upper region of the heating medium inlet 70 and parallel to the evaporator surface 40. Accordingly, the heating medium can be led up centrally within the evaporator body 4 via the heating medium inlet 70 and then returned via the heating medium return 72 along the evaporator surface 40 within the evaporator body 4, enabling uniform and efficient heat transfer to the evaporator surface 40 within the evaporator body 4.The heating medium return 72 in the form of the holes extending parallel to the evaporator surface 40 opens into a return channel 74 at the lower end of the evaporator body 4, by means of which the heating medium can then be returned to an external heat exchanger.

[0043] The heating medium used is preferably one with a boiling point that is above the operating temperature of the device 1 or above the desired operating temperature of the evaporator surface 40. In the exemplary embodiment shown, a thermal oil is preferably used for this purpose, the boiling point of which is significantly above the operating temperature of the evaporator surface 40. In this way, the heating circuit with the heating medium inlet 70 and the heating medium return 72 as well as the return channel 74 can be operated at a low pressure, and the occurrence of pressure peaks due to evaporation of the heating medium within the heating circuit can be avoided. In this way, heating of the evaporator surface 40 is provided in a particularly reliable manner.

[0044] As an alternative to the described heating of the evaporator body 4 via a thermal oil or another heat-carrying medium with a boiling temperature that is above the working temperature of the evaporator surface 40, the evaporator body 4 and in particular the evaporator surface 40 can also be heated with electric heating elements or in another known manner in order to simultaneously provide a high level of operational reliability and, on the other hand, to achieve reliable and uniform heating of the evaporator surface 40.

[0045] The liquid medium supplied via the media inlet 5 and in particular the outlet end 50 of the media inlet 5, which is not evaporated on the evaporator surface 40, can be drained and removed from the evaporator chamber 2 periodically or as needed via a media outlet 52, which is arranged in the lower region of the evaporator chamber 2.

[0046] As can be seen, for example, from the presentation of the Figure 3 The carrier gas is blown into the evaporator chamber 2 via the carrier gas supply 60. The carrier gas supply 60 has a deflection area 64, by means of which the carrier gas can be blown directly onto the evaporator surface 40 of the evaporator body 4, as indicated, for example, by the schematically indicated arrows within the evaporator chamber 2 in Figure 3 In this way, the carrier gas stream, which is supplied via the carrier gas supply 60, can impinge on the evaporator surface 40 in a swirling and turbulent flow, thus enabling efficient removal of the evaporated liquid medium.

[0047] The occurrence of the turbulent flow is further supported by the grooves 44, which are provided in the evaporator surface 40 of the evaporator body 4, so that due to the multi-layered and diverse turbulence, a particularly efficient removal of the evaporation products is also achieved at the grooves 44.

[0048] In an alternative embodiment, which is shown in a schematic, perspective and partially sectioned illustration in Figure 4 As shown, the device 1 for evaporating a liquid medium is again provided with an evaporator chamber 2, which is formed by an evaporator housing 3 in which a conical evaporator body 4 is provided. The design of the evaporator body 4, with its conical shape and correspondingly the conical evaporator surface 40, essentially corresponds to that of the previously discussed embodiments.

[0049] In the example of the Figure 4 However, the evaporator housing 3 is designed such that the contour of the inside of the evaporator housing 3 essentially follows the contour of the evaporator surface 40 of the evaporator body 4. Accordingly, the evaporator housing 3 is also essentially conical, so that the space of the evaporator chamber 2 formed between the evaporator surface 40 and the inside of the evaporator housing 3 corresponds in cross-section to an annular channel. The evaporator surface 40 and the inside of the evaporator housing 30 are accordingly guided essentially parallel to one another.

[0050] In this way, the volume of the evaporator chamber 2, which is defined by the inner wall of the evaporator housing 3 and reduced by the volume displacement of the evaporator body 4, can be controlled such that the evaporator chamber 2 forms only a relatively small volume. Accordingly, also based on the Pressure Equipment Directive 97 / 23 / EC, the pressure-volume product of the device 1 for evaporating the liquid medium can be kept so small that the pressure vessel is not subject to acceptance under the Pressure Equipment Directive.

[0051] The pressure-volume product or pressure-content product is the number resulting from multiplying the volume of the pressure chamber by the pressure rating of the vessel. According to the Pressure Equipment Directive, this value must be less than 50 bar*I in order for the vessel to be exempt from acceptance testing. This is achieved, for example, with an evaporator chamber 2 volume of 8 liters at a working pressure of 6 bar, which then results in a pressure-volume product of, for example, 48 bar*I.

[0052] Accordingly, by dimensioning the evaporator body 4 and the geometric design of the evaporator housing 3 surrounding the evaporator body 4 such that the evaporator chamber 2 has the smallest possible volume, it can be achieved that the evaporator, despite being designed for higher pressures, is not subject to acceptance due to the low pressure volume product and the installation and maintenance costs as well as the time required can be reduced accordingly.

[0053] The air flow of the carrier gas is in the embodiment of the Figure 4This is achieved by providing a carrier gas supply 60 which injects the carrier gas into a carrier gas channel 600 extending around the circumference of the evaporator housing 3 at the bottom, and by providing different carrier gas outlets 602 around the circumference of the evaporator body 4, which is configured here in the shape of a cone, which allow the carrier gas to flow into the evaporator chamber 2. Accordingly, the carrier gas, which is supplied via the carrier gas supply 60 and distributed via the carrier gas channel 600 around the circumference of the evaporator chamber 2 in its base region, is injected into the evaporator chamber 2 via the carrier gas outlets 602. Accordingly, a uniform supply of the carrier gas into the evaporator chamber 2 takes place, so that the carrier gas can pass along the evaporator surface 40 of the evaporator body 4 and then, together with the evaporation products, be discharged from the gas outlet 62.

[0054] Due to the conical taper of the evaporator chamber 2, in the illustrated embodiment, the cross-section of the evaporator chamber 2 decreases upwards—that is, toward the gas outlet 62—which results in an increase in the flow velocity of the carrier gas within the evaporator chamber 2. This correlates with the temperature distribution of the evaporator surface 40 predetermined by the routing of the heating medium flow in the heating medium inlet 70 and the heating medium return 72, such that the evaporator surface 40 is somewhat warmer in the upper region than in its lower region. Furthermore, the evaporator surface 40 decreases in size in its upper region, so that a high evaporation performance can still be maintained here due to the higher air flow velocity and the higher temperature.

[0055] If such a pressure curve and the flow velocity of the carrier gas within the evaporator chamber 2 are not desired, then instead of forming the evaporator housing 3 with an exactly the same inner wall inclination as the evaporator surface 40, an evaporator chamber 2 can also be formed in which the evaporator housing 3 opens outwards in the direction of the cone tip of the evaporator body 4 in order to provide a constant flow cross-section across the entire evaporator chamber 2. List of reference symbols

[0056] 1Device for evaporating a liquid medium 2Evaporator chamber 3Evaporator housing 4Evaporator body 40Evaporator surface 42Dome 44Grooves 5Media inlet 50Outlet end 52Media outlet 60Carrier gas supply 62Gas outlet 64Deflection area 600Carrier gas channel 602Carrier gas outlet 70Heating medium inlet 72Heating medium return 74Return channel

Claims

1. Device (1) for evaporating a fluid medium in a filling product filling plant, comprising an inclined evaporator surface (40), a medium supply line (5) for applying the fluid medium that is to be evaporated to the evaporator surface (40), and grooves (44) in the evaporator surface (40) for conducting the fluid medium, wherein the evaporator surface (40) is cone-shaped and / or pyramid-shaped and / or conoid-shaped and the grooves (44) along the evaporator surface (40) have a non-linear design, characterized in that a carrier gas supply (60) is provided which directs a carrier gas onto the evaporator surface (40), wherein the carrier gas supply (60) comprises a carrier gas channel (600) which is arranged around the circumference of the evaporator surface (40) and discharges the carrier gas onto the evaporator surface (40) via carrier gas outlets (602).

2. Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the grooves (44) extend along the evaporator surface (40) in a spiral and / or curved and / or bent form.

3. Device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the evaporator surface (40) is accommodated in an evaporator housing (3), and the contour of the inner wall of the evaporator housing (3), at least in the region of the inclined evaporator surface (40), substantially follows the contour of the evaporator surface (40).

4. Device (1) according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that the upper region of the evaporator surface (40) is adjoined in an upwards direction by a medium distribution device, which preferably has a dome-shaped design.

5. Device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the medium distribution device has a dome (42), onto which the fluid medium is applied by the medium supply line (5).

6. Device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that a gutter for accommodating fluid medium is disposed between the dome (42) and the evaporator surface (40), and preferably the grooves (44) which extend along the evaporator surface (40) are in fluid communication with the gutter.

7. Device (1) according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that a heating device for the evaporator surface (40) is provided, which is configured to operate with a heating medium that has a boiling temperature above the working temperature of the evaporator surface (40).

8. Device (1) according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that the medium supply line (5) is formed by a tube with a constant cross-section.