Compressed air dehumidifying apparatus system

Abstract

To provide a compressed air dehumidifying apparatus system which activates exhaust heat of an air compressor 10, and can perform a heating regeneration step of a regeneration step related to an adsorption type compressed air dehumidifying apparatus 70.SOLUTION: A compressed air dehumidifying apparatus system includes an adsorption type compressed air dehumidifying apparatus for dehumidifying compressed air by alternately and repeatedly performing a dehumidifying step and a regeneration step including a heating regeneration step in other adsorption tower, when performing the dehumidifying step in one adsorption tower, using an air compressor 10 for sucking air and discharging the compressed air, and two adsorption towers 71 and 72 storing an adsorption material, and includes heating means 80 for regeneration which introduces exhaust heat discharged when the compressed air of the air compressor 10 is discharged into a heat exchanger part 81 for heating provided on a branch flow channel 83 for regeneration which is a flow channel branched for regeneration in an adsorption type compressed air dehumidifying apparatus 70, so as to generate compressed air heated using in the heating regeneration step, and heating the compressed air for regeneration by heat exchange.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a compressed air dehumidifier system including an air compressor that draws in air and discharges compressed air, and an adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier that uses two adsorption towers containing an adsorbent, and dehumidifies the compressed air by alternately repeating the following steps: while a dehumidification process is performed in one adsorption tower, the other adsorption tower performs a regeneration process including a heating regeneration process in which heated compressed air is circulated to regenerate the adsorbent. Note that the air in the present invention is not limited to atmospheric air, and can of course be other gases, including air with adjusted components, and the present invention can also be used as an example of a system for dehumidifying gases such as hydrogen that contain moisture. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional cooling type compressed air dehumidifier proposed by the present applicant is a compressed air dehumidifier in which high-temperature, high-pressure air discharged from an air compressor is cooled and dehumidified by a cooler in a refrigeration cycle to produce cooled and dehumidified compressed air, which is then reheated and supplied to the outside of the device. The compressed air dehumidifier is equipped with an aftercooler in which the high-temperature compressed air exchanges heat with the cooled and dehumidified compressed air, a primary heat exchanger in which the high-temperature compressed air precooled in the aftercooler exchanges heat with the cooled and dehumidified compressed air, and a secondary heat exchanger in which the high-temperature discharge gas refrigerant from the refrigeration cycle exchanges heat with the cooled and dehumidified compressed air, and is configured so that the cooled and dehumidified compressed air is reheated in the primary heat exchanger, secondary heat exchanger and aftercooler before being supplied (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also, as a conventional cooling type compressed air dehumidification device system, the present applicant has proposed a refrigeration cycle having a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, and a secondary cooling unit in which the evaporator is disposed and which exchanges heat between the compressed air to be dehumidified and the refrigerant in the evaporator to cool the compressed air, configured to be able to dehumidify moisture in the compressed air, and which is disposed at a predetermined position (in this example, the position of the condenser) between the refrigerant outlet of the compressor in the refrigerant flow path in which the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle and the expansion valve in the refrigerant flow path, and which is provided with a second heat exchange unit (cooler and condenser) which exchanges heat between drain water generated in a compressed air supply system configured including the compressed air dehumidification system and the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle to cool the refrigerant, and an expansion valve which adiabatically expands the drain water in the second heat exchange unit (see Patent Document 2). According to this, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the compressed air in the heat exchanger while reducing the burden on the refrigeration cycle.

[0004] The present applicant has also proposed a conventional vertically-mounted cooling type compressed air dehumidifier in which a heat exchanger is provided in two stages, a first heat exchanger section and a second heat exchanger section, the two heat exchanger sections being arranged vertically next to each other and built into an outer wall cylindrical body, the first small chamber being located below the two heat exchanger sections, into which the air outlet of the second heat exchanger section opens and into which the inlet of the reheating flow path opens, the first small chamber being provided with a drain section at its lower end, a second small chamber being located above the two heat exchanger sections and for retaining the compressed air immediately before it is discharged, an extended air vent section being extended downward so that the air outlet of the second heat exchanger section is located below the inlet of the reheating flow path, and a demister being disposed at the lower end within the extended air vent section and through which the compressed air passes (see Patent Document 3).

[0005] The present applicant has also proposed a part of a drain discharge device connected to the drain discharge port of a cooling type compressed air dehumidifier, the drain discharge circuit device comprising: a drain discharge flow path that communicates with a drain outlet (drain discharge port) provided at the bottom of a drain receiving tank and guides drain liquid downward for discharge, a drain discharge on-off valve that opens and closes the drain discharge flow path, and a pressurized gas vent pipe that communicates between the gas space portion of the drain receiving tank and the pressurized gas reservoir portion of the drain discharge flow path and has one end port arranged in the gas space portion and the other end port arranged in the pressurized gas reservoir portion so as to vent the pressurized gas from the pressurized gas reservoir portion, and a drain tank is connected to a midway portion of the drain discharge flow path up to the drain discharge on-off valve as a portion that expands the flow path so that drain liquid can be stored on the side of the drain discharge on-off valve rather than the other end port of the pressurized gas vent pipe line (see Patent Document 4). This drain discharge circuit device is connected to a drain treatment machine equipped with, for example, a gas-liquid separation tank and an adsorption treatment tank (oil-water separator). In this drain treatment machine, for example, drain liquid (drain water) generated in a compressed air dehumidifier and pumped together with compressed air is introduced as water to be treated via the drain discharge circuit device, and the oil contained in the water to be treated is adsorbed in the oil-water separator for purification treatment.

[0006] Furthermore, the present applicant has proposed an example of a cooling type compressed air dehumidifier equipped with a conventional plate type heat exchanger, which includes a plate type heat exchanger having an air inlet, an air outlet, a drain outlet, a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet, and which dehumidifies the compressed air by condensing moisture contained in the compressed air by exchanging heat between the compressed air in a first space and the refrigerant in a second space, a control unit for controlling the operation of the refrigeration cycle, a lubricating oil discharge pipe for discharging the lubricating oil remaining in the second space into the refrigerant pipe, and a solenoid valve for adjusting the flow rate of fluid moving through the lubricating oil discharge pipe, and which executes a "first process" (see Patent Document 5) in which, when the control unit detects a predetermined high load state, it controls the solenoid valve to increase the flow rate of fluid moving through the lubricating oil discharge pipe.

[0007] Furthermore, as an example of a conventional adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier system, a hydrogen gas purification system has been disclosed that includes a reformer and a temperature swing adsorption device, the temperature swing adsorption device being characterized in that it includes one or more adsorption towers filled with an adsorbent that adsorbs carbon monoxide, a reformed gas introduction path that supplies hydrogen gas containing carbon monoxide supplied from the reformer to one end of the adsorption tower, a product gas outlet path that extracts purified hydrogen gas from the other end of the adsorption tower, a regeneration gas supply path that branches off from the product gas outlet path and supplies a portion of the purified hydrogen gas as regeneration gas to the other end of the adsorption tower, a heating means that is provided in the regeneration gas supply path and heats the regeneration gas, and a regeneration gas recovery path that supplies the regeneration gas containing carbon monoxide desorbed from the adsorbent to the reforming means (see Patent Document 6). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Publication No. 61-95424 (Page 1) [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-101167 A (Page 1) [Patent Document 3] JP 2017-127801 A (Page 1) [Patent Document 4] JP 2019-55347 A (Page 1) [Patent Document 5] JP 2014-124565 A (Page 1) [Patent Document 6] JP 2017-87108 A (Page 1) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The problem to be solved regarding compressed air dehumidifier systems is that, in a compressed air dehumidifier system that includes an air compressor and an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier, there has been no proposal to improve the energy efficiency of the system as a whole by utilizing the exhaust heat from the air compressor to perform a heating regeneration process in the regeneration process related to the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier.

[0010] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a compressed air dehumidifier system that can improve the energy efficiency of the entire system by utilizing the exhaust heat from an air compressor to perform the heating regeneration process of the regeneration process related to an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. According to one embodiment of the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the compressed air dehumidifier system includes an air compressor that takes in air and discharges compressed air, and an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier that uses two adsorption towers containing an adsorbent, and dehumidifies the compressed air by alternately repeating a dehumidification process in one adsorption tower and a regeneration process including a heating regeneration process in which heated compressed air is circulated in the other adsorption tower to regenerate the adsorbent, and the system includes a regeneration heating means that introduces exhaust heat released when the compressed air is discharged from the air compressor into a heating heat exchanger section provided in a regeneration branch flow path, which is a flow path from which the compressed air in the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier branches for regeneration, in order to generate heated compressed air to be used in the heating regeneration process, and heats the compressed air for regeneration by heat exchange.

[0012] In addition, according to one embodiment of the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the regeneration heating means can be characterized by comprising the heating heat exchanger section and a heating fan that blows high-temperature exhaust air blown by an aftercooler cooling fan of an aftercooler provided to cool the high-temperature compressed air discharged from the air compressor, to the heating heat exchanger section.

[0013] Moreover, according to one aspect of the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier can be characterized in that it comprises an inlet side flow path for introducing the compressed air discharged from the air compressor into the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier, an inlet side switching mechanism for switching the flow path so that the inlet side flow path is connected to and the compressed air is alternately introduced into the two adsorption towers, an outlet side switching mechanism for switching the flow path so that the product air from the two adsorption towers is alternately discharged, the regeneration branch flow path for branching the compressed air from the inlet side flow path and communicating the regeneration compressed air to the outlet side switching mechanism, the regeneration heating means including the heating heat exchanger unit connected to a midway portion of the regeneration branch flow path, a regeneration communicating flow path connected to communicate from the inlet side switching mechanism to a midway portion of the inlet side flow path, and a regeneration cooling means including a cooling heat exchanger unit connected to the midway portion of the regeneration communicating flow path so as to cool the regeneration compressed air.

[0014] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the regeneration branch flow path may be provided with a regeneration bypass flow path so that the compressed air for regeneration bypasses the heating heat exchanger section when a cooling regeneration process is performed without heating the compressed air for regeneration.

[0015] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, a portion of the regeneration branch flow path that is closer to the inlet flow path than the heating heat exchanger section and a portion of the regeneration connecting flow path that is closer to the inlet flow path than the cooling heat exchanger section are connected to each other via a regeneration flow path switching valve, and when a cooling regeneration process is performed without heating the compressed air for regeneration during the regeneration process, the regeneration flow path switching valve is switched so that the compressed air for regeneration passes through the regeneration cooling means, the adsorption tower of the two adsorption towers where the regeneration process is being performed, and the regeneration branch flow path, in that order, and is returned to the inlet flow path. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, by utilizing the exhaust heat from the air compressor to carry out the heating regeneration process of the regeneration process related to the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier, it is possible to achieve the particularly advantageous effect of improving the energy efficiency of the system as a whole. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of an embodiment of a compressed air dehumidifier system according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an air circuit showing an example of an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier that can be used in the example of FIG. 1, in which a dehumidification process is performed in adsorption tower A, (a) shows a state in which a heating regeneration process is performed in adsorption tower B, and (b) shows a state in which a cooling regeneration process is performed in adsorption tower B. [Diagram 3] 3 shows an air circuit of the example embodiment of the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier shown in FIG. 2, where (a) shows a state in which a heating regeneration process is being performed in adsorption tower A, and (b) shows a state in which a cooling regeneration process is being performed in adsorption tower A. [Figure 4] 4 is a time chart according to the embodiment of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an air circuit showing an example of an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier equipped with a regeneration bypass flow path that can be used in the example of FIG. 1, in which (a) shows a state in which a heating regeneration process is performed in adsorption tower B, and (b) shows a state in which a cooling regeneration process is performed in adsorption tower B. [Figure 6] 6 is a time chart according to the embodiment of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 2A and 2B are air circuits showing another example of an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier that can be used in the example of FIG. 1, in which (a) shows a state in which a heating regeneration process is being performed in adsorption tower B, and (b) shows a state in which a cooling regeneration process is being performed in adsorption tower B. [Figure 8] 8 is a time chart according to the embodiment of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system that can be used in the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic front view of the embodiment of FIG. 9. [Figure 11] 10 is a schematic diagram showing a refrigerant piping (refrigerant circulation flow path) and an extension part (drain flow path) of a drain discharge pipe in the embodiment of FIG. 9. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a piping diagram showing a simplified drain passage (first example) of the embodiment of FIG. 11. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a piping diagram showing a second example of a drain passage. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a piping diagram showing a third example of a drain passage. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a piping diagram showing a fourth example of a drain passage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] An embodiment of a compressed air dehumidifier system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings (FIGS. 1 to 8). First, a compressed air dehumidifier system in which at least an air compressor 10 that takes in air and discharges compressed air, and an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70 are integrally arranged will be described.

[0019] The adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70 of the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention uses two adsorption towers 71, 72 containing adsorbents, and is configured to dehumidify the compressed air by alternately performing a dehumidification process in one adsorption tower while performing a regeneration process in the other adsorption tower, the regeneration process including a heating regeneration process in which heated compressed air is circulated to regenerate the adsorbent.

[0020] In order to generate heated compressed air for use in the heating regeneration process, the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention is provided with a regeneration heating means 80 that introduces exhaust heat released when the compressed air of the air compressor 10 is discharged into a heating heat exchanger section 81 provided in a regeneration branch flow path 83, which is a flow path from which the compressed air in the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70 is branched for regeneration, and heats the compressed air for regeneration by heat exchange.

[0021] According to the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the energy efficiency of the entire system can be improved by utilizing the exhaust heat of the air compressor 10 to perform the heating regeneration process of the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70. In other words, the exhaust heat that is wasted when the air compressor 10 is operated can be rationally used as an energy source for heating the compressed air for regeneration, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the compressed air dehumidifier system.

[0022] In addition, in this embodiment, the regeneration heating means 80 includes a heating heat exchanger section 81 and a heating fan 82 that blows high-temperature exhaust air, which is blown by an aftercooler cooling fan 15 of an aftercooler 14 provided to cool the high-temperature compressed air discharged from the air compressor 10, to the heating heat exchanger section 81.

[0023] This allows heat transport for utilizing the exhaust heat of the air compressor 10 to be performed rationally with a simple configuration, and the degree of heat transport (the strength of heating the compressed air for regeneration) can be appropriately adjusted by controlling the rotation speed of the drive motor of the heating fan 82. Inverter control can be used to control the rotation speed of the drive motor of the heating fan 82.

[0024] The means of heat transport is not limited to this, and can be designed as appropriate, for example, by thermally connecting the heat radiating section of the aftercooler 14 and the heating heat exchanger section 81 with a member having high thermal conductivity, or by substantially integrating the heat radiating section of the aftercooler 14 and the heating heat exchanger section 81. This also makes it possible to utilize the exhaust heat of the air compressor 10 and efficiently perform the heating regeneration step in the regeneration step related to the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70.

[0025] In this embodiment, the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70 includes an inlet side flow path 36 for introducing compressed air discharged from the air compressor 10 into the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70, an inlet side switching mechanism 73 connected to the inlet side flow path 36 for switching the flow path so that the compressed air is alternately introduced into the two adsorption towers 71, 72, an outlet side switching mechanism 74 connected to the sides of the two adsorption towers 71, 72 from which the product air is discharged and for switching the flow path so that the product air from the two adsorption towers 71, 72 is alternately discharged, and the inlet side switching mechanism 73 and the inlet side flow path 36; a regeneration heating means 80 having a heating heat exchanger section 81 connected to a middle part of the regeneration branch flow path 83; a regeneration communicating flow path 93 connected to communicate with a middle part of the inlet side flow path 36; and a regeneration cooling means 90 having a cooling heat exchanger section 91 connected to a middle part of the regeneration communicating flow path 93 and provided to cool the regeneration compressed air.

[0026] Three embodiments of the compressed air circuit of the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70 having the above configuration will be described below with reference to Figs.

[0027] 2 to 4, the compressed air for regeneration flows in the same direction when it is heated and when it is cooled, resulting in a simple structure. Details will be described below.

[0028] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2(a), when one adsorption tower 71 (tower A) is in the dehumidification process and the other adsorption tower 72 (tower B) is in the thermal regeneration process, compressed air is introduced from the inlet side flow path 36 to the inlet side switching mechanism 73 via the pressure reducing means 37 arranged in the middle of the inlet side flow path 36, dehumidified by the moisture absorbent (adsorbent) as it passes through the A tower 71, and discharged as product air to an external air device or the like via the outlet side switching mechanism 74. At this time, compressed air for regeneration, which is a part of the compressed air branched from the upstream side of the pressure reducing means 37 of the inlet side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83, passes through the heating heat exchanger section 81 and is introduced into the B tower 72 via the outlet side switching mechanism 74, and the adsorbent in the B tower 72 is heated and regenerated. The compressed air for regeneration, which contains a large amount of moisture by heating and regenerating the adsorbent, then passes through the inlet-side switching mechanism 73, is cooled and dehumidified in the cooling heat exchanger section 91, and merges with the inlet-side flow path 36 from the regeneration communication flow path 93, and is further dehumidified in the A-tube 71. At this time, the heating fan 82 of the heating means for regeneration 80 is operating, and the exhaust air (exhaust heat of the aftercooler 14) heated by the air compressor 10 is blown against the heating heat exchanger section 81, whereby the compressed air for regeneration is heated by heat exchange. The heating of the compressed air for regeneration can be adjusted by controlling the operation of the heating fan 82. As the pressure reducing means 37, a pressure reducing valve or an orifice can be used.

[0029] 2(b), even when the A tower 71 is a dehumidification process and the B tower 72 is a cooling and regeneration process, the compressed air is introduced into the inlet side switching mechanism 73 through the inlet side flow path 36 and the pressure reducing means 37, dehumidified by the moisture absorbent (adsorbent) as it passes through the A tower 71, and discharged as product air to an external air device or the like through the outlet side switching mechanism 74. At this time, compressed air for regeneration, which is a part of the compressed air, branched from the upstream side of the pressure reducing means 37 of the inlet side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83 passes through the B tower 72 to cool and regenerate the adsorbent in the B tower 72. At this time, the heating fan 82 is in a state in which the blowing direction is reversed by the reverse operation of its drive motor. (Note that the flow of compressed air in the state shown in FIG. 2(b) is the same as that in the heating regeneration step described above.) According to this, since the heating fan 82 is reversed, the exhaust heat (exhaust air from the aftercooler 14) heated by the air compressor 10 is not blown to the heating heat exchanger section 81, and the lower temperature surrounding air (outside air) is blown, and the compressed air for regeneration is not heated. Therefore, the compressed air for regeneration branched from the inlet side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83 is not heated, and can cool the B tower 72, and preparation can be made for the B tower 72 to be used as a dehumidification step in the next step. Note that the compressed air for regeneration that has cooled the adsorbent in this step is then cooled in the cooling heat exchanger section 91 through the inlet side switching mechanism 73, and merges with the inlet side flow path 36 from the regeneration communication flow path 93, and is dehumidified in the A tube 71.

[0030] In this manner, while tower A 71 is in the dehumidification process, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 4, the inlet side switching mechanism 73 and the outlet side switching mechanism 74 are not switched so as not to change the flow of compressed air as described above, and switching between the heating regeneration process and the cooling regeneration process is performed by reversing the rotation direction of the drive motor of the heating fan 82.

[0031] In order to switch from the state shown in FIG. 2(b) to a state shown in FIG. 3(a) in which Tower B 72 is in the dehumidification process and Tower A 71 is in the thermal regeneration process, the flow path switching operation is controlled in the inlet side switching mechanism 73 and the outlet side switching mechanism 74, as shown by the arrows in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the time chart in FIG. 4.

[0032] To change from the state of Fig. 3(a) to the state of Fig. 3(b), the dehumidification process is maintained in tower B 72, and switching between the heating regeneration process and the cooling regeneration process is performed in tower A 71. To switch to the state of Fig. 3(b) in this manner, an operation is performed to reverse the rotation direction of the drive motor of the heating fan 82, as shown in the time chart of Fig. 4. At this time, no flow path switching operation is performed in the inlet side switching mechanism 73 and the outlet side switching mechanism 74.

[0033] The above-described process cycle performed alternately in the two adsorption towers 71, 72 is repeated in sequence to continuously discharge the required dehumidified product air. Reference numeral 92 denotes a drain discharge means, which is provided so as to be able to discharge the drain generated in the cooling heat exchanger section 91.

[0034] Here, the temperature of each part will be described in the state of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2(a) as an example. That is, according to the embodiment of FIG. 2(a), as one example, the temperature of the compressed air introduced into the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70 is set to 35° C., the temperature of the compressed air discharged from the outlet-side switching mechanism 74 as product compressed air is set to 40° C., the temperature of the air (exhaust air) generated in the aftercooler 14 by the exhaust heat of the air compressor 10 and blown by the heating fan 82 is set to 150° C., the temperature of the compressed air for regeneration heated by the heating heat exchanger unit 81 is set to 90 to 110° C., the temperature of the compressed air flowing out from the inlet-side switching mechanism 73 after the adsorbent has been heated and regenerated is set to 40 to 50° C., the temperature of cooling water as an example of a cooling medium for cooling the cooling heat exchanger unit 91 is set to 20° C., the temperature of drain water cooled by a cooling medium as another example of a cooling medium for cooling the cooling heat exchanger unit 91 is set to 5 to 20° C., and the temperature of the compressed air flowing out of the cooling heat exchanger unit 91 and returned to the inlet-side flow path 36 is set to 35° C.

[0035] Next, in the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, when the cooling regeneration process is performed without heating the compressed air for regeneration, a regeneration bypass flow path 85 is provided in the regeneration branch flow path 83 so that the compressed air for regeneration bypasses the heating heat exchanger section 81. According to this, a bypass circuit is formed by the regeneration bypass flow path 85, so that the time required to cool the heating heat exchanger section 81, which is necessary to perform an appropriate cooling regeneration process as in the embodiment shown in Figures 2 to 4, is completely eliminated by switching the flow path, and efficient switching between the heating regeneration process and the cooling regeneration process can be performed, the process time can be shortened, and energy savings can be achieved in the compressed air dehumidifier system.

[0036] That is, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a regeneration bypass flow path 85, an upstream bypass valve 84 arranged at a portion where the regeneration branch flow path 83 branches off to the regeneration bypass flow path 85 (a portion upstream of the heating heat exchanger section 81 in the flow of compressed air for regeneration), and a downstream bypass valve 86 arranged at a portion where the regeneration bypass flow path 85 merges with the regeneration branch flow path 83 (a portion downstream of the heating heat exchanger section 81 in the flow of compressed air for regeneration) are added to the embodiment shown in Figs. 2 to 4.

[0037] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5(a), when the A tower 71 is a dehumidification process and the B tower 72 is a heat regeneration process, compressed air is introduced into the inlet side switching mechanism 73 through the inlet side flow path 36 and the pressure reducing means 37, dehumidified by the moisture absorbent (adsorbent) by passing through the A tower 71, and discharged as product air to an external air device or the like through the outlet side switching mechanism 74. At this time, the compressed air for regeneration branched from the inlet side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83 passes through the heating heat exchanger section 81 and is introduced into the B tower 72, where the adsorbent in the B tower 72 is heated and regenerated. The compressed air for regeneration containing a large amount of moisture from the adsorbent that has been heated and regenerated then passes through the inlet side switching mechanism 73 and is cooled and dehumidified in the cooling heat exchanger section 91, and merges with the inlet side flow path 36 from the regeneration communication flow path 93, where it is further dehumidified in the A tube 71. At this time, the heating fan 82 of the regeneration heating means 80 is operating, and the exhaust air heated by the air compressor 10 (the exhaust heat of the aftercooler 14) is blown against the heating heat exchanger section 81, and the compressed air for regeneration is heated by heat exchange. By controlling the operation of the heating fan 82, the heating of the compressed air for regeneration can be adjusted.

[0038] 5(b), even when tower A 71 is in the dehumidification process and tower B 72 is in the cooling and regeneration process, compressed air is introduced into the inlet-side switching mechanism 73 via the inlet-side flow path 36 and the pressure reducing means 37, passes through tower A 71 and is dehumidified by the moisture absorbent (adsorbent), and is discharged as product air to an external air device or the like via the outlet-side switching mechanism 74. At this time, compressed air for regeneration branched from the inlet-side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83 passes through the regeneration bypass flow path 85 and is introduced into tower B 72, where the adsorbent in tower B 72 is cooled and regenerated. At this time, the heating fan 82 is stopped and heat exchange is not performed.

[0039] The above steps are alternately performed in the two adsorption towers 71, 72, and the cycle consisting of these alternating steps is repeated in sequence, whereby the required dehumidified product air is continuously discharged.

[0040] 7 and 8, a portion of the regeneration branch passage 83 closer to the inlet-side passage 36 than the heating heat exchanger section 81 and a portion of the regeneration communication passage 93 closer to the inlet-side passage 36 than the cooling heat exchanger section 91 are connected to each other via a regeneration passage switching valve 95 at their midpoints, and when a cooling regeneration process is performed without heating the compressed air for regeneration in the regeneration process, the regeneration passage switching valve 95 is switched so that the compressed air for regeneration passes through the regeneration cooling means 90, the adsorption tower in which the regeneration process is being performed out of the two adsorption towers 71 and 72, and the regeneration branch passage 83 in that order, and returns to the inlet-side passage 36. That is, the regeneration branch passage 83 is connected to the inlet-side passage 36 between the pressure reducing means 37 and the inlet-side switching mechanism 73 via the regeneration passage switching valve 95 and the regeneration communication passage 93, forming an air circuit in which the compressed air for regeneration returns to the inlet-side passage 36. The portion of the regeneration communicating flow path 93 connecting the regeneration flow path switching valve 95 and the inlet side flow path 36 is a portion of the total length of the regeneration communicating flow path 93 that is connected from the inlet side switching mechanism 73 through the cooling heat exchanger section 91 of the regeneration cooling means 90 to the inlet side flow path 36, and is also the portion connecting the cooling heat exchanger section 91 to the inlet side flow path 36 from the regeneration flow path switching valve 95 to the inlet side flow path 36.

[0041] According to this, in the cooling regeneration process, the compressed air cooled by passing through the regeneration cooling means 90 is passed to the adsorption tower in which the regeneration process is being performed out of the two adsorption towers 71, 72, and the switching from the heating regeneration process to the cooling regeneration process can be performed rationally, and the heated adsorbent can be cooled efficiently. As a result, the cooling time in the cooling regeneration process can be shortened, and energy conservation of the compressed air dehumidifier system can be more efficiently achieved.

[0042] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7(a), when the A tower 71 is a dehumidification process and the B tower 72 is a heat regeneration process, compressed air is introduced into the inlet side switching mechanism 73 through the inlet side flow path 36 and the pressure reducing means 37, dehumidified by the moisture absorbent (adsorbent) by passing through the A tower 71, and discharged as product air to an external air device or the like through the outlet side switching mechanism 74. At this time, the compressed air for regeneration branched from the inlet side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83 is introduced into the B tower 72 through the heating heat exchanger section 81 via the regeneration flow path switching valve 95, and the adsorbent of the B tower 72 is heated and regenerated. The compressed air for regeneration containing a large amount of moisture by heating and regenerating the adsorbent is then passed through the inlet side switching mechanism 73 and cooled and dehumidified in the cooling heat exchanger section 91, and merges with the inlet side flow path 36 from the regeneration communication flow path 93 via the regeneration flow path switching valve 95, and is further dehumidified in the A tube 71. At this time, the heating fan 82 of the regeneration heating means 80 is operating, and the exhaust air heated by the air compressor 10 (the exhaust heat of the aftercooler 14) is blown against the heating heat exchanger section 81, and the compressed air for regeneration is heated by heat exchange. By controlling the operation of the heating fan 82, the heating of the compressed air for regeneration can be adjusted.

[0043] 7(b), even when the A tower 71 is a dehumidification process and the B tower 72 is a cooling regeneration process, the compressed air is introduced into the inlet side switching mechanism 73 through the inlet side flow path 36 and the pressure reducing means 37, passes through the A tower 71 and is dehumidified by the moisture absorbent (adsorbent), and is discharged as product air to an external air device through the outlet side switching mechanism 74. At this time, the compressed air for regeneration branched from the inlet side flow path 36 to the regeneration branch flow path 83 passes through the cooling heat exchanger section 91 of the regeneration cooling means 90 through the regeneration flow path switching valve 95, is cooled, and is then introduced into the B tower 72 to cool and regenerate the adsorbent in the B tower 72. Then, the compressed air for regeneration that has cooled and regenerated the adsorbent passes through the regeneration branch flow path 83 including the heating heat exchanger section 81, passes through the regeneration flow path switching valve 95, and passes through the regeneration communication flow path 93 to be returned to the inlet side flow path 36. At this time, the heating fan 82 is stopped and heat exchange is not performed (see FIG. 8). The switching from the heating regeneration process (state in FIG. 7(a)) to the cooling regeneration process (state in FIG. 7(b)) can be performed by controlling the flow of compressed air branched off as compressed air for regeneration by switching the regeneration flow path switching valve 95, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 8. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, heating regeneration and cooling regeneration can be performed in the same flow direction, but the flow path allows cooling regeneration to be selectively performed in the opposite direction by switching the regeneration flow path switching valve 95. This provides a flow path that is effective when cooling is performed in a short time (e.g., the time until switching is short) or when the temperature around the regeneration heating means 80 including the heating heat exchanger section 81 is high.

[0044] The above steps are alternately performed in the two adsorption towers 71, 72, and the cycle formed by these alternating steps is repeated in sequence, whereby the required product air is continuously discharged.

[0045] Next, with reference to Figs. 1 to 8, an embodiment of a compressed air dehumidifier system according to the present invention will be described, which includes an air compressor 10 that takes in air and discharges compressed air, a cooling means for dehumidification (not shown) arranged inside a dehumidifier housing 31 so as to cool the compressed air and dehumidify the moisture in the compressed air by condensing it, and an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier 70 that introduces the compressed air discharged from the cooling-type compressed air dehumidifier 30 and uses two adsorption towers 71 and 72 in which adsorbents are stored, and dehumidifies the compressed air by alternately repeating the following regeneration steps: a heating regeneration step in which the heated compressed air is circulated as compressed air for regeneration to heat the adsorbent and regenerate it in the other adsorption tower, and a cooling regeneration step in which the adsorbent heated in the heating regeneration step is cooled by circulating the compressed air as compressed air for regeneration. The above steps are alternately repeated.

[0046] According to the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70 is provided with a regeneration cooling means 90 including a cooling heat exchanger section 91 through which the cooling medium that has cooled the dehumidification cooling means of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 and the drain water generated by cooling with the cooling medium are circulated so as to cool the regeneration compressed air by heat exchange.

[0047] According to the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the cold energy of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 can be utilized to effectively perform the cooling regeneration process of the regeneration process of the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70, thereby achieving the special advantageous effect of improving the energy efficiency of compressed air dehumidification. In other words, the cold energy that would otherwise be wasted when the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 is operated can be utilized rationally, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the compressed air dehumidifier system.

[0048] The cooling medium that has cooled the dehumidification cooling means of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 may be, for example, industrial groundwater, cold water generated by heat exchange in a refrigeration cycle, or the cooling fluid itself generated by a refrigeration cycle. Also, the drain water generated by cooling the dehumidification cooling means of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 (the cooling section by a refrigeration cycle device in the embodiment shown in Figs. 9 to 11) with the cooling medium is, for example, generated and retained in the dehumidifier housing 31 in the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 described later with reference to Figs. 9 to 15, and discharged via the drain discharge opening and closing valve 42, and is a low-temperature fluid.

[0049] 1, the cooling heat exchanger section 91 constituting the regenerative cooling means 90 is disposed in the flow path 11a of air flowing into the intake port 11 of the air compressor 10 so as to cool the air to be sucked into the air compressor 10, thereby also functioning as the intake section cooler 50. Note that examples of the configuration for cooling the air to be sucked into the air compressor 10 can be appropriately applied to examples of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system shown in Figs. 9 to 15 described later.

[0050] This makes it possible to effectively perform the cooling regeneration process of the regeneration process of the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70 by optimally utilizing the cooling means of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30, and also to cool the air taken into the air compressor 10, thereby achieving the special advantageous effect of improving the energy efficiency of both compressed air generation and compressed air dehumidification. In other words, it is possible to rationally utilize the cold energy that would otherwise be wasted when the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 is operated, and it is possible to further reduce the energy consumption of the compressed air dehumidifier system as a whole.

[0051] Moreover, according to the compressed air dehumidifier system of the present invention, the configuration of the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70 of the above-mentioned embodiment can be appropriately adopted. The details of the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 70 are as described above.

[0052] Next, examples of cooling type compressed air dehumidifier systems that can be used in the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings (FIGS. 9 to 15). First, an invention relating to an intake cooler 50 that cools air flowing into an intake port 11 of an air compressor will be described.

[0053] As shown in Fig. 9 to Fig. 11, the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system of this embodiment includes an air compressor 10 that draws in air and discharges compressed air, a refrigeration cycle device 20 that includes a compressor 21, a condenser 22, an expansion valve 23, and an evaporator 24, and a cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30. In this embodiment, these components are integrally arranged as a system. The structure of the air compressor 10 is not particularly limited, and a compression type related to a rotary pump or a claw pump can be appropriately used.

[0054] In this embodiment, the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 dehumidifies the primary compressed air introduced from the air compressor 10 by heat exchange, and is provided with a dehumidifier housing 31 to discharge the dehumidified secondary compressed air. The evaporator 24 (see Figure 11) of the refrigeration cycle device 20 is installed inside the dehumidifier housing 31 so as to dehumidify the compressed air by cooling it and condensing the moisture in the compressed air, and a drain discharge pipe 40 is provided extending to the outside as a passage for discharging drain water, which is a collection of condensation generated inside the dehumidifier housing 31.

[0055] In the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system of this embodiment, an intake cooler 50 is provided, which is configured by arranging an extension 41 (see FIG. 11) of a drain discharge pipe in a flow path 11a (see FIG. 9) of air flowing into the intake port 11 of the air compressor so as to cool the air drawn into the air compressor 10. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the middle part of the extended drain discharge pipe 40 is a component of the intake cooler 50. As shown in FIG. 10, 16 is a switchboard, and as shown in FIG. 11, 42 is a drain discharge opening and closing valve.

[0056] According to this cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system, the cold energy of the drain discharged from the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 can be effectively utilized to cool the air (intake air) drawn into the air compressor 10, improving compression efficiency and thus improving energy efficiency related to air compression. For example, by lowering the temperature of the air (intake air temperature) drawn into the air compressor 10 by 5°C, the power consumption of the electric motor 12a that drives the air compressor 10 can be reduced by about 1%.

[0057] In this embodiment, the intake cooler 50 is provided with heat exchange fins 41a on the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe. This improves the cooling performance of the intake cooler 50, and allows the air sucked into the air compressor 10 to be efficiently cooled.

[0058] In this embodiment, the intake cooler 50 is disposed below the dehumidifier housing 31 of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30. (Note that the lower side (lower, lower end, lower part) refers to the lower side (lower, lower end, lower part) in the vertical direction. Similarly, the upper side (upper, upper end, upper part) described later refers to the upper side (upper, upper end, upper part) in the vertical direction.) This allows the drain outlet 39 provided at the lower end of the dehumidifier housing 31 where drain water accumulates, the drain outlet 39, the drain outlet pipe 40 extending from the drain outlet 39, and the extension part 41 to be continuously arranged from top to bottom in that order, and the drain water can flow smoothly with gravity. This prevents the drain water from stagnating, and the intake cooler 50 through which the drain water passes can efficiently cool the air sucked into the air compressor 10.

[0059] Further, as an example of the configuration of the drain discharge pipe extension 41 according to the present invention, a bypass flow passage 51 is branched so as to bypass a part or the whole of the intake cooler 50, and a switching valve 52 for switching the flow of drain water is provided at the branching part of the bypass flow passage 51. The switching valve 52 in the example shown in FIG. 11 or 12 is a three-way valve. In addition, in the bypass flow passage 51 in the example shown in FIG. 11 or 12, the branched bypass flow passage 51 is piped so as to merge again downstream of the drain discharge pipe extension 41 in the intake cooler 50 so as to bypass a part of the intake cooler 50. According to this, in a case where the air sucked by the air compressor 10 is low in temperature and does not need to be cooled, such as in winter, the drain water can be appropriately discharged using the bypass flow passage 51.

[0060] In an example of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 according to the present invention, a heat exchanger is provided in two stages, a first heat exchanger section and a second heat exchanger section, inside the dehumidifier housing 31, and the first heat exchanger section is provided by arranging a pre-cooling flow path for the primary side compressed air and a reheating flow path for the secondary side compressed air to intersect so as to pre-cool the primary side compressed air and reheat the secondary side compressed air, and the second heat exchanger section is provided to cool the compressed air pre-cooled in the first heat exchanger section in an evaporator 24 to cause condensation and dehumidify the compressed air.

[0061] According to this, the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system according to the present invention can suitably apply the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 in which the heat exchanger is provided in two stages, that is, the first heat exchanger section and the second heat exchanger section. Examples of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 in which the heat exchanger is provided in two stages include cylindrical dehumidifiers as described in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3 and a plate type dehumidifier as described in the above Patent Document 5.

[0062] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described, which relates to a condenser cooler 60 for cooling the condenser 22 of the refrigeration cycle device 20. The basic configuration of the present invention includes the above-mentioned air compressor 10, the refrigeration cycle device 20, and the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30.

[0063] In the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system of this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 9 to 11, the condenser 22 of the refrigeration cycle device 20 includes a condenser heat exchanger 22a arranged around a refrigerant pipe 25 so that the refrigerant pumped from the compressor 21 flows from top to bottom as a whole, a condenser cooling fan 22b arranged to generate a cooling air flow for cooling the condenser heat exchanger 22a, and a condenser cooler 60 is provided in which an extension part 41 of a drain discharge pipe is arranged in contact with the upper side of the condenser heat exchanger 22a so as to cool the upper side of the condenser heat exchanger 22a. The condenser heat exchanger 22a of this embodiment is provided in a thin shape in the flow direction of the cooling air flow compared to the size of the opening through which the cooling air flow passes, so that heat exchange is efficiently performed with the horizontally flowing cooling air (cooling air flow) generated by the condenser cooling fan 22b, which is an axial flow fan with a horizontally arranged rotation axis.

[0064] According to this cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system, the cold energy of the drain discharged from the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 can be more effectively utilized, and the energy efficiency related to the compressed air dehumidification can be improved. That is, according to this, in the refrigerant flow path provided by the refrigerant pipe 25 constituting the condenser heat exchange section 22a, the condenser cooler 60 is provided in the upstream part of the flow path. Therefore, the upstream part is a part through which a refrigerant with a higher temperature and pressure passes, and the temperature difference with the drain water passing through the extension part 41 of the drain discharge pipe becomes large. Therefore, the heat exchange between the refrigerant and the drain water is effectively performed, and the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 25 can be effectively cooled, and the condensation efficiency can be improved. As a result, the energy consumption related to the refrigeration cycle device 20 can be reduced, and the energy efficiency related to the compressed air dehumidification can be improved. In addition, if the condenser 22 is not sufficiently cooled, the air dryer (cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30) may stop the system for the purpose of protecting the compressor due to an increase in the condensation temperature (pressure), but according to this invention, this can be avoided as much as possible and continuous operation can be performed.

[0065] Furthermore, according to this, when there is a possibility of freezing of the drain discharge pipe 40 and its extension 41, such as when the outside air temperature is low and the discharge amount of compressed air as product air (output as a system) is low, the freezing can be prevented by heat dissipation from the condenser 22 (upper side of the condenser heat exchanger 22a). This also enables proper continuous operation of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30.

[0066] In this embodiment, the condenser cooler 60 is provided with heat exchange fins 41a on the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe. This makes it easier to transfer the cold heat of the drain water to the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant pipe 25 of the condenser 22 (upper side of the condenser heat exchange section 22a). This makes it possible to more efficiently exchange heat between the refrigerant and the drain water, and more effectively cool the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 25, thereby improving the condensation efficiency. This reduces the energy consumption related to the refrigeration cycle device 20 and improves the energy efficiency related to compressed air dehumidification.

[0067] In this embodiment, the refrigerant pipe 25 of the condenser heat exchanger 22a is provided with the radiating fins 22c, and the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe is incorporated so as to use the radiating fins 22c as heat exchange fins as well, so that the condenser cooler 60 is provided integrally with the condenser 22. This allows the condenser cooler 60 and the condenser 22 to be configured compactly, and the efficiency of heat exchange can be improved, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the refrigeration cycle device 20. Note that the present invention is not limited to this arrangement, and for example, the condenser cooler 60 and the condenser heat exchanger 22a may be arranged side by side in the flow direction of the cooling air flow, and the condenser cooler 60 may be arranged upstream of the condenser heat exchanger 22a in the cooling air flow. This also allows the condenser cooler 60 to cool the condenser heat exchanger 22a.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 13, the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe is provided with a bypass flow path 61 that branches off to bypass a part or the whole of the condenser cooler 60, and a switching valve 62 that switches the flow of drain water may be provided at the branch of the bypass flow path 61. The switching valve 62 in this embodiment is a three-way valve, and the bypass flow path 61 in this embodiment is piped so as to bypass the whole of the condenser cooler 60. This allows the drain water to be appropriately discharged using the bypass flow path 61 when it is not necessary to cool the condenser heat exchange section 22a, such as in winter or at low output. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13, the extension 41 further beyond the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe of the condenser cooler 60 is provided with a bypass flow path 51 that branches off to bypass a part or the whole of the intake section cooler 50, and a switching valve 52 that switches the flow of drain water is provided at the branch of the bypass flow path 51.

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the intake cooler 50 is provided. The extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe in the intake cooler 50 is configured by a portion that is continuous with the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe of the condenser cooler 60 and is downstream of the flow of drain water. In addition, in the intake cooler 50, the extension 41 of the drain discharge pipe is provided with heat exchange fins 41a. In this way, by providing the intake cooler 50, the cold energy of the drain water can be suitably utilized to appropriately cool the air (intake air) sucked into the air compressor 10, and the above-mentioned effect can be achieved.

[0070] In this embodiment, the condenser cooler 60 is disposed below the dehumidifier housing 31 of the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30, and the intake cooler 50 is disposed below the condenser cooler 60. This allows the drain outlet 39 provided at the lower end of the dehumidifier housing 31 where drain water accumulates, the drain outlet 39, the drain pipe 40 extending from the drain outlet 39, the portion above the extension 41 of the drain pipe passing through the condenser cooler 60, and the portion below the extension 41 of the drain pipe passing through the intake cooler 50 to be continuously arranged from top to bottom, allowing the drain water to flow smoothly with gravity. This prevents the drain water from stagnating, so that the condenser can be efficiently cooled by the condenser cooler 60 through which the drain water passes, and the intake cooler 50 can efficiently cool the air sucked into the air compressor 10.

[0071] Furthermore, the installation form of the bypass flow paths 51, 61 and the switching valves 52, 62 is not limited to the examples of Figs. 11 to 13, and as described above, for example, the drain discharge pipe extension portion 41 may be arranged in parallel as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. That is, in the example of Fig. 14, the drain discharge pipe extension portion 41 is branched into a piping portion for cooling the intake section cooler 50 and a piping portion for cooling the condenser cooler 60, and the switching valves 52, 62 can be open / close valves or flow control valves. According to this, for example, if the switching valve 52 is opened and the switching valve 62 is closed, only the intake section cooler 50 can be cooled and the condenser cooler 60 can be bypassed. Also, if the switching valve 52 is closed and the switching valve 62 is opened, the intake section cooler 50 can be bypassed and only the condenser cooler 60 can be cooled. 15, the drain discharge pipe extension 41 is branched into a piping section having a bypass flow path 51 for cooling the intake cooler 50 and a piping section having a bypass flow path 61 for cooling the condenser cooler 60, and the changeover valves 52 and 62 can be three-way valves. According to this, the intake cooler 50 and the condenser cooler 60 can be appropriately bypassed by operating the changeover valve 52 and the changeover valve 62. In this way, there are various variations in the flow path related to the drain discharge pipe extension 41, and by appropriately and selectively setting it, the cold energy of the drain water can be appropriately utilized according to the use conditions.

[0072] Furthermore, for the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system of the invention relating to this condenser cooler 60, the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 in which the above-mentioned heat exchanger is provided in two stages, a first heat exchanger section and a second heat exchanger section, can be appropriately used.

[0073] Next, an invention relating to a simple and rational configuration for heating the compressed air discharged from a compressed air dehumidifier will be described. The basic configuration of this invention includes an air compressor 10 and a cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30.

[0074] The air compressor 10 of this embodiment is an air compressor that takes in air and discharges compressed air, and is provided with an aftercooler 14 connected to a compressed air discharge port 13 of an air compressor body 12 in order to cool the discharged compressed air, and an aftercooler cooling fan 15 arranged to cool the aftercooler 14.

[0075] The cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 of this embodiment is provided so as to circulate a cooling medium inside a dehumidifier housing 31 provided with a compressed air inlet 32 ​​through which compressed air is introduced from an air compressor 10 and a compressed air outlet 34 through which dehumidified compressed air is discharged, thereby dehumidifying the compressed air. In this embodiment, the compressed air passes through an inlet pipe 33 connected to the compressed air inlet 32 ​​from an aftercooler 14 and is introduced into the dehumidifier housing 31. Note that, as in this embodiment, the evaporator 24 of the refrigeration cycle device 20 is disposed inside the dehumidifier housing 31, and thus the dehumidification of the compressed air is not limited thereto, and the compressed air can also be dehumidified by cooling water (cooling medium) introduced from a cooling water source, for example.

[0076] According to the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system of this embodiment, the compressed air outlet extension flow path 35 (outlet piping) extended from the compressed air outlet 34 is disposed downstream of the exhaust heat air flow (exhaust air) generated by the aftercooler cooling fan 15 so that the compressed air discharged from the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 is heated by the exhaust heat of the air compressor.

[0077] According to this cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system, the compressed air discharged from the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 can be effectively heated with a simpler configuration, and energy efficiency can be improved. That is, the compressed air discharged to pneumatic equipment as product air can be heated by blowing the exhaust air from the aftercooler cooling fan 15 onto the compressed air outlet extension flow path that is extended from the compressed air outlet. Since the compressed air as product air can be heated in this way, the air volume of the compressed air can be increased to reduce the relative humidity, and the temperature of the exhaust air discharged outside the system by the aftercooler cooling fan 15 can be reduced. In addition, the compressed air outlet extension flow path 35 can be more simply configured with a flow path piping. When the compressed air outlet extension flow path 35 is configured with a flow path piping, heat exchange efficiency can be further improved by providing a heat exchange fin on the outside of the flow path piping.

[0078] In this embodiment, the aftercooler cooling fan 15 is disposed above the aftercooler 14, and the compressed air outlet extension flow path 35 is disposed above the aftercooler cooling fan 15. With this, the heat of the compressed air heated by compressing the air in the air compressor body 12 is exchanged by the aftercooler 14 and transferred to the outside air, and the direction of the rising air current of the outside air generated by the heating coincides with the direction of the exhaust air flow (air blown) generated by the aftercooler cooling fan 15, so that the air flows smoothly as exhaust air. This also allows for smooth heat exchange and improves energy efficiency.

[0079] In this embodiment, the air compressor body 12 that generates compressed air is disposed below the aftercooler 14. With this, the heat of the compressed air heated by compressing the air in the air compressor body 12 is transferred from the air compressor body 12 to the outside air, and the direction of the rising air current of the outside air caused by this heating coincides with the direction of the exhaust air flow (air blown) generated by the aftercooler cooling fan 15, and they flow smoothly as the merged exhaust air. This also allows for smooth heat exchange and improves energy efficiency.

[0080] In this embodiment, the refrigeration cycle device 20 includes the compressor 21, the condenser 22, the expansion valve 23, and the evaporator 24 as described above. The evaporator 24 of the refrigeration cycle device 20 is installed inside the dehumidification device housing 31 to cool the compressed air through a cooling medium. The compressed air outlet extension flow path 35 is disposed downstream of the exhaust heat air flow generated by the condenser cooling fan 22b of the condenser 22. In this manner, the exhaust air from the condenser cooling fan 22b can be directed to the compressed air outlet extension flow path 35 extended from the compressed air outlet 34 as shown by the dotted arrow in FIG. 9. As a result, the compressed air, which is the product air, can be suitably heated by utilizing the exhaust heat of the condenser 22, so that the air volume of the compressed air can be increased to reduce the relative humidity, and the temperature of the exhaust air exhausted to the outside of the system by the condenser cooling fan 22b can be reduced. This improves the energy efficiency of the system.

[0081] In this embodiment, the compressed air outlet extension passage 35 is disposed above the condenser cooling fan 22b. This allows the flow direction of the rising air current of the outside air generated by heating with the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant introduced into the condenser 22 and the flow direction of the air blown by the condenser cooling fan 22b to easily merge as exhaust air and flow smoothly. This also allows smooth heat exchange and improves energy efficiency. Furthermore, the condenser cooling fan 22b is not operated all the time, and the temperature of the exhaust air flow (dotted arrow in FIG. 9) by the condenser cooling fan 22b is lower than the temperature of the exhaust air flow by the aftercooler cooling fan 15. This allows the compressed air outlet extension passage 35 to be hit with high-temperature exhaust air as it moves downstream, so that heating can be performed efficiently through heat exchange.

[0082] Furthermore, for the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier system of the invention which heats the compressed air discharged from the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30, the cooling type compressed air dehumidifier 30 in which the above-mentioned heat exchanger is provided in two stages, a first heat exchanger section and a second heat exchanger section, can be appropriately used.

[0083] Although the present invention has been described above in various preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 10. Air Compressor 11 Air Intake 11a Air flow path 12 Air compressor body 12a Electric motor 13 Compressed air outlet 14 Aftercooler 15 Aftercooler cooling fan 16 Switchboard 20 Refrigeration cycle equipment 21 Compressor 22 Condenser 22a Condenser heat exchange section 22b Condenser cooling fan 22c Heat sink fin 23 Expansion valve 24 Evaporator 25 Refrigerant piping 30 Cooled compressed air dehumidifier 31 Dehumidifier housing 32 Compressed air inlet 33 Inlet pipe 34 Compressed air outlet 35 Compressed air outlet extension channel 36 Inlet flow path 37 Pressure reduction means 39 Drain outlet 40 Drain discharge pipe 41 Drain discharge pipe extension 41a Heat exchange fin 42 Drain discharge opening and closing valve 50 Intake Cooler 51 Bypass flow path 52 Switching valve 60 Condenser Cooler 61 Bypass flow path 62 Switching valve 70 Adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier 71 Adsorption tower 72 Adsorption tower 73 Inlet side switching mechanism 74 Exit side switching mechanism 80 Heating means for regeneration 81 Heating heat exchanger section 82 Heating fan 83 Regeneration branch channel 84 Upstream bypass valve 85 Regeneration bypass flow path 86 Downstream bypass valve 90 Cooling means for regeneration 91 Cooling heat exchanger section 92 Drain discharge means 93 Regeneration connecting flow path 95 Regeneration flow path switching valve

Claims

1. an air compressor that draws in air and discharges compressed air; a compressed air dehumidifier system including an adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier that uses two adsorption towers containing an adsorbent, and dehumidifies the compressed air by alternately repeating a dehumidification process in one adsorption tower and a regeneration process including a heating regeneration process in which heated compressed air is circulated to regenerate the adsorbent in the other adsorption tower, In order to generate heated compressed air to be used in the heating regeneration process, the compressed air dehumidifier system is characterized by comprising a regeneration heating means that introduces exhaust heat released when the compressed air of the air compressor is discharged into a heating heat exchanger section provided in a regeneration branch flow path, which is a flow path from which the compressed air in the adsorption-type compressed air dehumidifier is branched for regeneration, and heats the compressed air for regeneration by heat exchange.

2. The heating means for regeneration is The heating heat exchanger portion; 2. The compressed air dehumidifier system according to claim 1, further comprising a heating fan that blows high-temperature exhaust air, which is blown by an aftercooler cooling fan of an aftercooler provided to cool the high-temperature compressed air discharged from the air compressor, to the heating heat exchanger.

3. The adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier comprises: an inlet side flow path for introducing the compressed air discharged from the air compressor into the adsorption type compressed air dehumidifier; an inlet-side switching mechanism that switches the flow path by connecting the inlet-side flow path so that the compressed air is alternately introduced into the two adsorption towers; an outlet side switching mechanism that is connected to the sides of the two adsorption towers from which the product air is discharged and switches a flow path so that the product air from the two adsorption towers is alternately discharged; a regeneration branch flow path that branches the compressed air from the inlet flow path and communicates the regeneration compressed air to the outlet side switching mechanism; the regeneration heating means including the heating heat exchanger portion connected to a middle portion of the regeneration branch flow path; a regeneration communication flow path connected to communicate with a middle portion of the inlet side flow path from the inlet side switching mechanism; 2. The compressed air dehumidifier system according to claim 1, further comprising a regeneration cooling means having a cooling heat exchanger unit connected to a middle portion of the regeneration communicating flow path so as to cool the compressed air for regeneration.

4. 4. The compressed air dehumidifier system according to claim 3, wherein a regeneration bypass flow path is provided in the regeneration branch flow path so that the compressed air for regeneration bypasses the heating heat exchanger section when the cooling regeneration process is performed without heating the compressed air for regeneration.

5. 4. The compressed air dehumidifier system according to claim 3, wherein a portion of the regeneration branch flow path that is closer to the inlet flow path than the heating heat exchanger unit and a portion of the regeneration connecting flow path that is closer to the inlet flow path than the cooling heat exchanger unit are connected to each other via a regeneration flow path switching valve, and when a cooling regeneration process is performed without heating the compressed air for regeneration during the regeneration process, the regeneration flow path switching valve is switched so that the compressed air for regeneration passes through the regeneration cooling means, the adsorption tower of the two adsorption towers where the regeneration process is being performed, and the regeneration branch flow path, in that order, and is returned to the inlet flow path.

Images