Installation and process for liquefying a cryogenic fluid
By utilizing a common heater and pressurization system for multiple hydrogen liquefier storages, the installation addresses the inefficiencies and high costs of existing architectures, achieving cost-effective and efficient liquefaction and storage.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2023006889
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-06-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-06
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-06-29
AI Technical Summary
Existing architectures for hydrogen liquefiers are expensive and require a large number of components, making them inefficient and costly to maintain.
The installation features a common heater connected in parallel to multiple cryogenic fluid storages via pressurization pipes with valves, allowing for simultaneous pressurization, reheating, and return of the reheated fluid to the storages, thereby reducing the number of components needed.
This configuration allows for efficient pooling of equipment and lines, significantly reducing costs associated with storage, interconnections, and operation while maintaining effective liquefaction and storage capabilities.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Installation and method for liquefying a cryogenic fluid
[0001] The invention relates to an installation and a method for liquefying a cryogenic fluid, for example hydrogen.
[0002] The invention relates more particularly to an installation for liquefying a cryogenic fluid, for example hydrogen, comprising a circuit for supplying fluid to be cooled provided with an upstream end intended to be connected to a gas source and a downstream end connected in parallel to several cryogenic storages of liquefied fluid, the installation comprising a set of heat exchanger(s) in heat exchange with the supply circuit and a cooling device in heat exchange with the set of heat exchanger(s), said cooling device comprising a refrigerator with a refrigeration cycle of a cycle gas comprising for example at least one of: hydrogen, helium, the installation comprising a set of liquid withdrawal pipes provided with a set of valve(s) and connecting the storages to at least one connection end intended to be connected to a tank to be filled.
[0003] Hydrogen liquefiers are generally connected to liquid storage facilities which are themselves connected to loading bays in order to fill trucks. See for example FR3088415 AL
[0004] These architectures are relatively expensive and require a large number of components.
[0005] An aim of the present invention is to overcome all or part of the drawbacks of the prior art noted above.
[0006] To this end, the installation according to the invention, moreover in accordance with the generic definition given in the preamble above, is essentially characterized in that the installation comprises a common heater connected in parallel to the plurality of cryogenic fluid storages via a set of pressurization pipes provided with valves, the set of pressurization pipes and the corresponding valve(s) being configured to allow the pressurization of each of the cryogenic storages via a withdrawal of liquid from the storage, a reheating of the liquid withdrawn from the common heater and a return of the reheated fluid to the storage.
[0007] Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features: - the liquid withdrawal pipe assembly comprises a portion of common pipe connected in parallel to each of the storages and connected in parallel to the at least one connection end, to allow several storages to supply liquid simultaneously to the at least one connection end, - the set of pressurization pipes comprises a first portion of common pipe connected in parallel to the lower portion of each of the storages and connected to a first end of the heater, the set of pressurization pipes comprising a second portion of common pipe connected to a second end of the heater and connected in parallel to each of the storages, - the heater comprises two heat exchangers arranged in parallel, each ensuring a heat exchange between the fluid carried by the set of pressurization pipes and a heating fluid, for example air, - the installation comprises a set of valve(s) configured to distribute the flow of the fluid conveyed by the set of pressurization pipes in the one or two heat exchangers arranged in parallel, - the installation comprises a set of return pipe(s) connecting the upper portion of each of the storages to the refrigerator and / or to the supply circuit and configured to allow vaporization gas to be transferred from the storage(s) to the refrigerator and / or the supply circuit, - the return pipe assembly(s) comprises a common pipe portion connected in parallel to the upper portion of each of the storages, said common pipe portion comprising a common isolation or flow and / or pressure control valve, - the common pipe portion of the return pipe assembly(s) includes a bypass provided with a discharge valve configured to allow the discharge of the gas flow to the receiver or a vent.
[0008] The invention also relates to a method for producing and storing a liquefied cryogenic fluid using an installation conforming to any one of the characteristics above or below, the method comprising a step of pressurizing several or all of the storages simultaneously via the common heater (4).
[0009] The invention may also relate to any alternative device or method comprising any combination of the above or below features within the scope of the claims.
[0010] Other features and advantages will appear on reading the description below, given with reference to the figures in which: Brief description of the figures
[0011] [Fig. 1] is a schematic and partial view illustrating an example of structure and operation of an installation according to the invention.
[0012] The invention will be better understood on reading the following description, given solely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings in which: Detailed description
[0013] In all the figures, the same references refer to the same elements.
[0014] In this detailed description, the following embodiments are examples. Well that the description refers to one or more embodiments, this does not mean that the features apply only to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined and / or interchanged to provide other embodiments.
[0015] The installation 1 for liquefying a cryogenic fluid illustrated, for example for liquefying hydrogen, comprises a circuit 2 for supplying fluid to be cooled provided with an upstream end 21 intended to be connected to a source 23 of gas (for example electrolyzer or reformer).
[0016] The supply circuit 2 has a downstream end 22 connected in parallel to several cryogenic storages 8 of liquefied fluid (typically double-jacketed storages thermally insulated under vacuum). The storages 8 can be filled simultaneously by the liquefier, for example via the opening of a common valve 122.
[0017] The installation 1 comprises a set of heat exchanger(s) 3 in heat exchange with the supply circuit 2 (two in the schematic illustration). The installation 1 further has a cooling device 7 in heat exchange with the set of heat exchanger(s) 3. This cooling device comprises a cryogenic refrigerator 7 with a refrigeration cycle of a cycle gas comprising, for example, at least one of: hydrogen, helium.
[0018] Typically, the refrigerator 7 comprises a cycle circuit in which the cycle gas is subjected to a thermodynamic cycle (compression, cooling, expansion and reheating) to produce a cold power which is transferred to the supply circuit 2 in order to liquefy it. The installation 1 may also comprise a pre-cooling device (not shown) in heat exchange with a part of the heat exchanger assembly 3 to ensure intermediate cooling (for example around 80K) of the fluid to be cooled between its temperature at the upstream end 21 and its temperature between the downstream end 22 (for example around 20K).
[0019] The installation 1 comprises a set of liquid withdrawal pipes 18 provided with a set of valves 38 and connecting the storages 8 to at least one connection end 28 (for example flexible) intended to be connected to a tank 10 to be filled.
[0020] As illustrated, the set of liquid withdrawal pipes 18 may comprise a common (collector) pipe portion connected in parallel to each of the storages 8 and connected in parallel to the connection end(s) 28. This may allow several storages 8 to supply liquid simultaneously to the connection end(s) 28.
[0021] The installation 1 comprises a common heater 4 connected in parallel to the plurality of cryogenic fluid storages 8 via a set of pressurization pipes 5, 6 provided with valves 15, 16. The set of pressurization pipes 5, 6 and the corresponding valve(s) 15, 16 being configured to allow the pressurization of each of the cryogenic storages 8 via a withdrawal of liquid from the storage 8, a reheating of the liquid withdrawn from the common heater 4 and a return of the reheated fluid to the storage 8. The set of pressurization pipes 5, 6 may in particular comprise a first portion of common pipe connected in parallel to the lower portion of each of the storages 8 (to withdraw liquid) and also connected to a first end of the heater 4.The set of pressurization pipes 5, 6 may further comprise a second portion of common pipe connected to a second end of the heater 4 (to recover the heated fluid) and connected in parallel to each of the storages 8 (to reinject it in order to increase the pressure within the storage(s) 8.
[0022] That is to say that the common heater 4 connected in parallel to the plurality of cryogenic fluid storages 8 forms a common pressure building unit (“PBU” “Pressure Building Unit”) making it possible to pressurize each of the storages 8, or even pressurize several storages 8 simultaneously. Thus, the installation 1 can comprise a single heater 4 for several separate storages 8.
[0023] This allows advantageous pooling of equipment and lines to limit the cost of storage, interconnections and operation.
[0024] As illustrated, the heater 4 may comprise or consist of two separate heat exchangers arranged in parallel and each ensuring a heat exchange between the fluid conveyed by the set of pressurization pipes 5, 6 and a heating fluid, for example air. The circuit may comprise a set of distribution valve(s) 14 configured to distribute the flow of the fluid conveyed by the set of pressurization pipes 5, 6 in the one or two heat exchangers arranged in parallel. These two separate heat exchangers 4 arranged in parallel may each be sized to ensure the heating of the entire flow to be heated. That is to say that this heating function may be doubled. to ensure the possibility of reheating by one heat exchanger 4 while the other heat exchanger 4 is temporarily unavailable (for example, frozen). Thus, preferably, during reheating only one of the exchangers 4 is used.
[0025] As illustrated, the installation 1 may also comprise a set of return pipes 9 connecting the upper portion of each of the storages 8 to the refrigerator 7 and / or to the supply circuit 2 and configured to allow vaporization gas to be transferred from the storage(s) 8 to the refrigerator 7 and / or the supply circuit 2 (when the natures of the gases are compatible).
[0026] The return pipe assembly 9 comprises in particular a common pipe portion connected in parallel to the upper portion of each of the storages 8 (to recover vaporization gas). This common pipe portion may comprise a common valve 19 for isolation or flow control towards the liquefier. Of course, the connections of this common pipe to each of the storages 8 may also each be provided with a valve at each storage 8.
[0027] Furthermore, as illustrated, the common pipe portion of the return pipe assembly 9 preferably has a bypass provided with an evacuation valve 29 configured to allow the evacuation of the gas flow to the receiver or a vent, for example when the pressure and / or the flow rate and / or the nature of the gas cannot be recycled to the supply circuit and / or the refrigerator.
[0028] The installation 1 thus has several cryogenic liquid storages 8 which pool one or more components and which can be used as a single storage both for pressurization and for their withdrawal or filling.
Claims
Claims
1. Installation for liquefying a cryogenic fluid, for example hydrogen, comprising a circuit (2) for supplying fluid to be cooled provided with an upstream end (21) intended to be connected to a source (23) of gas and a downstream end (22) connected in parallel to several cryogenic storages (8) of liquefied fluid, the installation (1) comprising a set of heat exchanger(s) (3) in heat exchange with the supply circuit (2) and a cooling device (7) in heat exchange with the set of heat exchanger(s) (3), said cooling device comprising a refrigerator (7) with a refrigeration cycle of a cycle gas comprising for example at least one of: hydrogen, helium,the installation (1) comprising a set of liquid withdrawal pipes (18) provided with a set of valve(s) (38) and connecting the storages (8) to at least one connection end (28) intended to be connected to a tank (10) to be filled, the installation (1) being characterized in that it comprises a common heater (4) connected in parallel to the plurality of cryogenic fluid storages (8) via a set of pressurization pipes (5, 6) provided with valves (15, 16), the set of pressurization pipes (5, 6) and the corresponding valve(s) (15, 16) being configured to allow the pressurization of each of the cryogenic storages (8) via a withdrawal of liquid from the storage (8),a reheating of the liquid taken from the common heater (4) and a return of the reheated fluid to the storage (8) and in that the heater (4) comprises two heat exchangers arranged in parallel, each ensuring a heat exchange between the fluid conveyed by the set of pressurization pipes (5, 6) and a reheating fluid, for example air and in that the installation comprises a set of valve(s) (14) configured to distribute the flow of the fluid conveyed by the set of pressurization pipes (5, 6) in the one or two heat exchangers arranged in parallel,
2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the set of liquid withdrawal pipes (18) comprises a common pipe portion connected in parallel to each of the storages (8) and connected in parallel to the at least one connection end (28), to allow several storages (8) to supply liquid simultaneously to the at least one connection end (28).
3. Installation according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the set of pressurization pipes (5, 6) comprises a first portion of common pipe connected in parallel to the lower portion of each of the storages (8) and connected to a first end of the heater (4), the set of pressurization pipes (5, 6) comprising a second portion of common pipe connected to a second end of the heater (4) and connected in parallel to each of the storages (8).
4. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises a set of return pipe(s) (9) connecting the upper portion of each of the storages (8) to the refrigerator (7) and / or to the supply circuit (2) and configured to allow vaporization gas to be transferred from the storage(s) (8) to the refrigerator (7) and / or the supply circuit (2).
5. Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the return pipe assembly (9) comprises a common pipe portion connected in parallel to the upper portion of each of the storages (8), said common pipe portion comprising a common valve (19) for isolating or controlling flow and / or pressure.
6. Installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the common pipe portion of the return pipe assembly (9) comprises a bypass provided with an evacuation valve (29) configured to allow the evacuation of the gas flow towards the receiver or a vent.
7. A method of producing and storing a liquefied cryogenic fluid using an installation according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising a step of pressurizing several or all of the storages (8) simultaneously via the common heater (4).