Facility for producing and storing liquefied cryogenic fluid

Abstract

The invention relates to a facility (100) for producing and storing liquefied cryogenic fluid, comprising: - a liquefier (3) configured to produce a liquefied cryogenic fluid from a supply gas (30); - a first storage means (4) configured to allow the storage of the liquefied cryogenic fluid; - a nitrogen gas source (6) configured to deliver nitrogen gas; - an air source (7) configured to deliver air (2); - a control unit configured to control at least one set of valves (11, 12, 13) for selectively flushing and / or purging the first storage means (4) with air (2), nitrogen gas and fluid from the liquefier (3).

Description

Liquefied cryogenic fluid production and storage facility

[0001] The present invention relates to an installation for producing and storing liquefied cryogenic fluid and a method for preparing such an installation.

[0002] A hydrogen liquefier is generally configured to produce liquid hydrogen without it being possible to guarantee continuous operation, particularly when the availability of feed gas is linked to the presence of solar or wind energy. The liquid hydrogen produced by the liquefier is therefore stored in one or more liquefied hydrogen storage tanks from which tanks to be filled, such as semi-trailers, are filled. Thus, even when the liquefier is stopped, it is still possible to ensure the filling of one or more tanks to be filled.

[0003] When commissioning the liquefier, while the storage does not contain liquid hydrogen, it is necessary to prepare the storage by removing any impurities it may contain in order to avoid pollution of the storage. It is also essential to reduce the temperature of the internal wall of the storage until it reaches a value lower than or equal to -150 °C.

[0004] A problem arises particularly when the liquefier is in the start-up phase, notably due to the presence of impurities in the fluid delivered by the liquefier when its temperature is between -150°C and 50°C.

[0005] The present invention aims to effectively overcome these drawbacks by proposing an installation for producing and storing liquefied cryogenic fluid, for example liquefied hydrogen, comprising: a liquefier configured to produce a liquefied cryogenic fluid from a feed gas; a first storage configured to allow the storage of the liquefied cryogenic fluid, the installation being configured to allow the supply of the first storage with the fluid produced by the liquefier, via a first transfer pipe provided with a first transfer valve of a set of valves and being configured to allow the filling of a tank to be filled with the liquefied cryogenic fluid coming from the first storage, via a filling pipe provided with a filling valve;a gaseous nitrogen source configured to deliver gaseous nitrogen, the installation being configured to allow the transfer into the first storage, of at least a portion of the gaseous nitrogen delivered by the gaseous nitrogen source, via a second transfer line provided with a second transfer valve of the set of valves; an air source configured to deliver air, the installation being configured to allow the transfer into the first storage, of at least a portion of the air delivered by the air source, via a third transfer line provided with a third valve of the set of valves; a control unit configured to control at least the set of valves to selectively sweep and / or purge the first storage with air, gaseous nitrogen and fluid from the liquefier.;

[0006] The invention thus makes it possible to prepare the storage, in particular by removing the impurities that it could contain and / or by lowering the temperature of the mass of the first storage, even when the liquefier is in the start-up phase. Indeed, in the start-up phase, the liquefier delivers a fluid whose temperature is greater than or equal to -150°C. In the start-up phase, the liquefier delivers a fluid which can thus contain an impurity level greater than 1 ppm.

[0007] According to one embodiment, the installation comprises a second storage intended to store liquid nitrogen, the gaseous nitrogen source comprising a vaporizer configured to receive liquid nitrogen from the second storage and to deliver gaseous nitrogen.

[0008] According to one embodiment, the first storage comprises a double-envelope enclosure separated by thermal insulation.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the installation comprises a collection pipe equipped with a collection valve, configured to allow the transfer of a gas collected in a gaseous atmosphere of the tank to be filled, to the liquefier, for recycling.

[0010] The invention further relates to a method for preparing an installation as described above, comprising the steps: a) sweeping and / or purging the first storage with air, in particular to dry the interior of the first storage; b) sweeping and / or purging the first storage with gaseous nitrogen, in particular to remove oxygen from the interior of the first storage; c) sweeping and / or purging the first storage with fluid from the liquefier, the fluid being a gas at a temperature between -150°C and 50°C, the fluid having in particular less than 10 ppm of nitrogen, in particular to remove nitrogen from the interior of the first storage;d) sweeping and / or purging the first storage with fluid from the liquefier, the fluid being a gas at a temperature between -151°C and -250°C, the fluid having in particular less than 0.1 ppm of nitrogen, to reduce the temperature of an internal wall of the first storage until it reaches a value below -100°C, the interior of the first storage comprising a quantity of nitrogen of less than 10 ppm, in particular at the start of step d), the interior of the first storage comprising in particular a quantity of nitrogen of less than 0.1 ppm at the end of step d), the temperature of the internal wall being in particular reduced at a rate of maximum 5°C per hour, for example reduced at a rate of maximum 8°C per hour;(e) cooling the first storage until it reaches a temperature at least equal to -250°C, in particular with fluid from the liquefier, the fluid comprising in particular a gas and / or a liquid, the fluid having for example a purity greater than or equal to 99.9999 moles;

[0011] According to one embodiment, step c) is implemented as soon as the first storage contains less than 0.5% oxygen.

[0012] According to one embodiment, steps a), b), c, d) and e) are carried out successively one after the other.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the first storage comprises a pressure relief valve configured to selectively authorize or prevent an excess pressure inside the first storage from being evacuated to the outside, steps a), b), c), d) and e) being carried out in particular while the pressure relief valve is configured to authorize the evacuation of an excess pressure inside the first storage.

[0014] According to one embodiment, steps b) and / or c) and / or d) comprise a sweep, for example at low pressure, the low pressure being in particular between 1.0 and 3.5 bara, the sweep being in particular carried out with gaseous nitrogen and respectively with the fluid coming from the liquefier, the sweep being followed by a plurality of compression / expansion cycles.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the compression / expansion cycles are accompanied by an alternation of openings / closings of the pressure relief valve.

[0016] The invention will be better understood by reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures. These figures are given only for illustrative purposes but in no way limit the invention.

[0017] is a schematic representation of an installation according to the invention;

[0018] is a schematic representation of a method according to the invention.

[0019] With reference to the, a facility 100 for the production and storage of liquefied cryogenic fluid, for example liquefied hydrogen.

[0020] The installation 100 comprises: a liquefier 3 configured to produce a liquefied cryogenic fluid from a feed gas 30; a first storage 4 configured to allow the storage of the liquefied cryogenic fluid, the installation 100 being configured to allow the supply of the first storage 4 with the fluid produced by the liquefier 3, via a first transfer pipe 21 provided with a first transfer valve 11 of a set of valves 11, 12, 13 and being configured to allow the filling of a tank to be filled 8 with the liquefied cryogenic fluid coming from the first storage 4, via a filling pipe 24 provided with a filling valve 14;a gaseous nitrogen source 6 configured to deliver gaseous nitrogen, the installation 100 being configured to allow the transfer into the first storage 4, of at least a portion of the gaseous nitrogen delivered by the gaseous nitrogen source 6, via a second transfer pipe 22 provided with a second transfer valve 12 of the set of valves 11, 12, 13; an air source 7 configured to deliver air 2, the installation 100 being configured to allow the transfer into the first storage 4, of at least a portion of the air delivered by the air source 7, via a third transfer pipe 23 provided with a third valve 13 of the set of valves 11, 12, 13; a control unit configured to control at least the set of valves 11, 12, 13 to selectively sweep and / or purge the first storage 4 with air 2, nitrogen gas and fluid from the liquefier 3.;

[0021] The installation comprises a second storage 5 intended to store liquid nitrogen, the gaseous nitrogen source 6 comprising a vaporizer 6 configured to receive liquid nitrogen from the second storage 5 and to deliver gaseous nitrogen.

[0022] The first storage 4 comprises a double-envelope enclosure separated by thermal insulation.

[0023] The installation 100 comprises a collection pipe 25 provided with a collection valve 15, configured to allow the transfer of a gas collected in a gaseous atmosphere of the tank to be filled 8, to the liquefier 3, with a view to its recycling by the liquefier 3.

[0024] The tank to be filled 8 is for example a mobile tank such as a tanker truck.

[0025] The installation 100 comprises an inlet pipe 20 provided with an inlet valve 10, the inlet pipe 20 being configured to allow the entry of the feed gas 30 into the liquefier 3.

[0026] La represents a method of preparing a facility 100 as described above.

[0027] The method comprises the steps: a) sweeping and / or purging the first storage 4 with air, in particular to dry the interior of the first storage 4; b) sweeping and / or purging the first storage 4 with gaseous nitrogen, in particular to remove oxygen from the interior of the first storage 4; c) sweeping and / or purging the first storage 4 with fluid from the liquefier 3, the fluid being a gas at a temperature between -150°C and 50°C, the fluid having in particular less than 10 ppm of nitrogen, in particular to remove nitrogen from the interior of the first storage 4;d) sweeping and / or purging the first storage 4 with fluid from the liquefier 3, the fluid being a gas at a temperature between -151°C and -250°C, the fluid having in particular less than 0.1 ppm of nitrogen, to reduce the temperature of an internal wall of the first storage 4 until it reaches a value below -100°C, the interior of the first storage 4 comprising a quantity of nitrogen of less than 10 ppm, in particular at the start of step d), the interior of the first storage 4 comprising in particular a quantity of nitrogen of less than 0.1 ppm at the end of step d), the temperature of the internal wall being in particular reduced at a rate of maximum 5°C per hour, for example reduced at a rate of maximum 8°C per hour;e) cooling the first storage 4 until it reaches a temperature at least equal to -250°C, in particular with fluid coming from the liquefier 3, the fluid comprising in particular a gas and / or a liquid, the fluid having for example a purity greater than or equal to 99.9999 moles;

[0028] Steps a), b), c), d) and e) are carried out successively one after the other.

[0029] The first storage 4 comprises a pressure relief valve configured to selectively allow or prevent excess pressure inside the first storage 4 from being discharged to the outside.

[0030] Steps a), b), c), d) and e) are carried out while the pressure relief valve is configured to allow the evacuation of excess pressure inside the first storage 4.

[0031] Steps b) and / or c) and / or d) comprise a sweep, for example at low pressure, the low pressure being in particular between 1.0 and 3.5 bara, the sweep being in particular carried out with gaseous nitrogen and respectively with the fluid coming from the liquefier, the sweep being followed by a plurality of compression / expansion cycles.

[0032] The compression / expansion cycles are accompanied by an alternation of opening / closing of the pressure relief valve.

[0033] Step c) is implemented as soon as the first storage 4 contains less than 0.5% oxygen.

Claims

Installation (100) for producing and storing liquefied cryogenic fluid, for example liquefied hydrogen, comprising:- a liquefier (3) configured to produce a liquefied cryogenic fluid from a feed gas (30);- a first storage (4) configured to allow the storage of the liquefied cryogenic fluid, the installation (100) being configured to allow the supply of the first storage (4) with the fluid produced by the liquefier (3), via a first transfer line (21) provided with a first transfer valve (11) of a set of valves (11, 12, 13) and being configured to allow the filling of a tank to be filled (8) with the liquefied cryogenic fluid coming from the first storage (4), via a filling line (24) provided with a filling valve (14);- a gaseous nitrogen source (6) configured to deliver gaseous nitrogen, the installation (100) being configured to allow the transfer into the first storage (4), of at least a portion of the gaseous nitrogen delivered by the gaseous nitrogen source (6), via a second transfer line (22) provided with a second transfer valve (12) of the set of valves (11, 12, 13);- an air source (7) configured to deliver air (2), the installation (100) being configured to allow the transfer into the first storage (4), of at least a portion of the air delivered by the air source (7), via a third transfer line (23) provided with a third valve (13) of the set of valves (11, 12, 13);- a control unit configured to control at least the set of valves (11, 12, 13) to selectively sweep and / or purge the first storage (4) with air (2), nitrogen gas and fluid from the liquefier (3).; Installation (100) according to the preceding claim, the installation comprising a second storage (5) intended to store liquid nitrogen, the source of gaseous nitrogen (6) comprising a vaporizer (6) configured to receive liquid nitrogen from the second storage (5) and to deliver gaseous nitrogen. Installation (100) according to one of the preceding claims, the first storage (4) comprising a double-walled enclosure separated by thermal insulation. Installation (100) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a collection pipe (25) provided with a collection valve (15), configured to allow the transfer of a gas collected in a gaseous atmosphere of the tank to be filled (8), to the liquefier (3), with a view to its recycling. A method of preparing an installation (100) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps: a) sweeping and / or purging the first storage (4) with air, in particular to dry the interior of the first storage (4); b) sweeping and / or purging the first storage (4) with gaseous nitrogen, in particular to remove oxygen from the interior of the first storage (4); c) sweeping and / or purging the first storage (4) with fluid from the liquefier (3), the fluid being a gas at a temperature between -150°C and 50°C, the fluid having in particular less than 10 ppm of nitrogen, in particular to remove nitrogen from the interior of the first storage (4);d) sweeping and / or purging the first storage (4) with fluid from the liquefier (3), the fluid being a gas at a temperature between -151°C and -250°C, the fluid having in particular less than 0.1 ppm of nitrogen, to reduce the temperature of an internal wall of the first storage (4) until it reaches a value below -100°C, the interior of the first storage (4) comprising a quantity of nitrogen of less than 10 ppm, in particular at the start of step d), the interior of the first storage (4) comprising in particular a quantity of nitrogen of less than 0.1 ppm at the end of step d), the temperature of the internal wall being in particular reduced at a rate of maximum 5°C per hour, for example reduced at a rate of maximum 8°C per hour;e) cooling the first storage (4) until it reaches a temperature at least equal to -250°C, in particular with fluid coming from the liquefier (3), the fluid comprising in particular a gas and / or a liquid, the fluid having for example a purity greater than or equal to 99.9999 moles; Method according to the preceding claim, step c) being implemented as soon as the first storage (4) contains less than 0.5% oxygen. Method according to one of claims 5 to 6, steps a), b), c, d) and e) being carried out successively one after the other. Method according to one of claims 5 to 7, the first storage (4) comprising a pressure relief valve configured to selectively authorize or prevent an excess pressure inside the first storage (4) from being evacuated to the outside, steps a), b), c), d) and e) being carried out while the pressure relief valve is configured to authorize the evacuation of an excess pressure inside the first storage (4). Method according to one of claims 5 to 8, steps b) and / or c) and / or d) comprising a sweep, for example at low pressure, the low pressure being in particular between 1.0 and 3.5 bara, the sweep being in particular carried out with gaseous nitrogen and respectively with the fluid coming from the liquefier, the sweep being followed by a plurality of compression / expansion cycles. Method according to the preceding claim, the compression / expansion cycles being accompanied by an alternation of openings / closings of the pressure relief valve.

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