Gas processing system and vessel containing same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a gas processing system and a ship including the same, comprising a liquefied gas storage tank, a cooling device that supercools the liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank and returns it, and a main compressor that pressurizes the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank and supplies it to a demand destination, wherein the cooling device comprises a supercooler that supercools the liquefied gas with a refrigerant, and a gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with at least one of the evaporated gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination or the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination, and the gas heat exchanger has a refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant flows, and a gas flow path through which at least one of the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas flows.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas processing system and a vessel including same. [Background technology]

[0002] A ship is a means of transportation that sails the ocean carrying large amounts of minerals, crude oil, natural gas, or thousands of containers. Made of steel, it floats above the waterline due to buoyancy and moves using thrust generated by the rotation of propellers.

[0003] Such vessels generate thrust by running engines, which typically use gasoline or diesel to move pistons, which in turn rotate a crankshaft, which in turn rotates a shaft connected to the crankshaft to drive a propeller.

[0004] However, when heavy oil such as HFO or MFO is used as a propulsion fuel, various harmful substances contained in the exhaust gas cause serious environmental pollution, so regulations on the use of heavy oil as fuel oil are being strengthened and the costs of complying with such regulations are gradually increasing.

[0005] As a result, technology is being developed to use liquefied gases such as liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas as ship fuel instead of gasoline or diesel.

[0006] Such liquefied gases are stored in liquefied gas storage tanks in the liquid phase, and have the advantage of high storage efficiency, as liquefied natural gas is reduced to 1 / 600 of its volume through liquefaction, while liquefied petroleum gas (propane) is reduced to 1 / 260 and butane to 1 / 230.

[0007] However, because such liquefied gas is stored at extremely low temperatures below -50 degrees, there are problems such as the generation of evaporated gas due to external heat penetration. Therefore, technology for stably storing and processing liquefied gas is being continuously researched and developed. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention has been created to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and the object of the present invention is to suppress evaporation of gas in the tank by injecting supercooled liquefied gas into the tank.

[0009] The objects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A gas processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a liquefied gas storage tank, a cooling device that supercools the liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank and returns it, and a main compressor that pressurizes the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank and supplies it to a demand destination, wherein the cooling device includes a supercooler that supercools the liquefied gas with a refrigerant, and a gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with at least one of the evaporated gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination or the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination, and the gas heat exchanger has a refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant flows, and a gas flow path through which at least one of the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas flows.

[0011] Specifically, the system may further include an evaporation gas line that transmits evaporation gas from the liquefied gas storage tank to the destination of demand, and a liquefied gas line that transmits liquefied gas from the liquefied gas storage tank to the destination of demand, and the evaporation gas line and the liquefied gas line may be arranged to share the gas flow path of the gas heat exchanger.

[0012] Specifically, the system may further include an evaporation gas bypass line branching off from the evaporation gas line and bypassing the gas heat exchanger, a liquefied gas bypass line branching off from the liquefied gas line and bypassing the gas heat exchanger, and a control unit that controls the flow of the evaporation gas bypass line and the liquefied gas bypass line.

[0013] Specifically, the cooling device may further include a refrigerant line through which a refrigerant circulates, the gas heat exchanger may have a plurality of refrigerant flow paths connected to the refrigerant line, and the subcooler may be provided on the refrigerant line connecting the plurality of refrigerant flow paths of the gas heat exchanger to each other.

[0014] Specifically, the cooling device may further include a refrigerant compressor that compresses a refrigerant and transfers it to the refrigerant flow path of one of the gas heat exchangers, and a refrigerant expander that expands the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant flow path of one of the gas heat exchangers and transfers it to the supercooler.

[0015] Specifically, the gas heat exchanger includes an evaporative gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with the evaporative gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination, and a liquefied gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination, and the evaporative gas heat exchanger and the liquefied gas heat exchanger may be arranged in series on the refrigerant line.

[0016] Specifically, the evaporation gas heat exchanger may have the gas flow path shared by the evaporation gas line and the liquefied gas line, and may be provided downstream of the liquefied gas heat exchanger based on the flow of the liquefied gas.

[0017] Specifically, the cooling device may further include a refrigerant heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor and a refrigerant downstream of the subcooler, and the refrigerant heat exchanger may be installed in parallel with the gas heat exchanger.

[0018] Specifically, the gas heat exchanger includes an evaporation gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with the evaporation gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination, and a liquefied gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and transmitted to the demand destination, and the cooling device further includes a refrigerant heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor and the refrigerant downstream of the subcooler, and the refrigerant heat exchanger and the liquefied gas heat exchanger are provided in parallel on the refrigerant line, and the evaporation gas heat exchanger and the liquefied gas heat exchanger or the refrigerant heat exchanger may be provided in series on the refrigerant line.

[0019] A ship according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the gas processing system described above. Effect of the Invention

[0020] The gas treatment system and the ship including the same according to the present invention can reduce evaporative gas generated in the tank by injecting supercooled liquefied gas into the tank.

[0021] The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the claims. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]1 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 25] FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 26] 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28] 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 29] 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 30] 1 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The object, particular advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this specification, when referring to the components in each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are referred to by the same numbers as much as possible even if they are displayed in different drawings. In addition, when describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known technologies will be omitted if they are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention.

[0024] In the following description, the terms "first", "second", etc., are intended to indicate that a specific configuration is provided in a plurality of units in the present invention, and each term may refer to any one of the plurality of units. When the terms "first", "second", etc., are not added, the corresponding configuration may be a concept that includes all the configurations to which the terms "first", "second", etc. are added.

[0025] In the present invention, gas can be used to encompass all gas fuels that are generally stored in a liquid state, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethylene, ammonia, etc., and gas that is not in a liquid state due to heating or pressurization can be conveniently referred to as liquefied gas. This can also be applied to evaporated gas.

[0026] In addition, for convenience, LNG can be used to encompass not only natural gas (NG) in a liquid state, but also natural gas (NG) in a supercritical state, etc., and evaporated gas can be used to encompass not only evaporated gas in a gaseous state, but also evaporated gas that has been liquefied.

[0027] In the following, it should be noted that high pressure (HP), low pressure (LP), high pressure, and low pressure are relative values ​​and do not indicate absolute values.

[0028] The present invention includes a ship equipped with a gas processing system described below. In this case, the ship is a concept that includes all of gas propulsion ships, gas carriers, FSRUs, FPSOs, bunkering vessels, offshore plants, etc.

[0029] The present invention not only allows pressure sensors (PT), temperature sensors (TT), flow sensors (FT), etc. to be installed at appropriate positions without restrictions, but also allows the measurement values ​​from each sensor to be used in a variety of ways without restrictions in the operation of the configuration described below.

[0030] In addition, the straight lines in the drawings of the present invention indicate flow paths through which various fluids such as gas, refrigerant, heat transfer medium, and non-explosive gas move, and can be interpreted as pipelines.

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 1, a gas processing system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a liquefied gas storage tank 10, a cooling device 20, a main compressor 30, and a consumer 40.

[0034] The liquefied gas storage tank 10 stores the liquefied gas to be supplied to the consumer 40. In this case, the liquefied gas storage tank 10 can store the liquefied gas in a liquid state and can have the form of a pressure tank. A plurality of the liquefied gas storage tanks 10 may be provided, or a plurality of the liquefied gas storage tanks 10 may be arranged side by side.

[0035] Although the liquefied gas storage tank 10 has a thermal insulation structure, when heat is applied to the liquefied gas storage tank 10 from the outside, the liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 becomes warm and some of it evaporates. This evaporated liquefied gas is stored in the space above the liquid level of the liquid phase liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 as boil off gas (BOG).

[0036] The liquefied gas storage tank 10 may be provided with an evaporation gas line L1 at the top of the liquefied gas storage tank 10, which can extract the evaporation gas stored in the upper space of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 to the outside of the liquefied gas storage tank 10. The evaporation gas line L1 branches midway and is connected to an evaporation gas branch line L1a, and an evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 may be provided on the evaporation gas branch line L1a.

[0037] That is, the evaporative gas line L1 can bypass the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, and the evaporative gas branch line L1a can pass through the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21.

[0038] For reference, in the following description, heat exchange is embodied as an evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, and a configuration in which evaporative gas or liquefied gas flows can be defined as a gas heat exchanger.

[0039] The evaporation gas line L1 and the evaporation gas branch line L1a are provided with valves V1 and V1a for controlling temperature. The opening degree of the valves V1 and V1a can be adjusted according to the temperature required by the main compressor 30 and the temperature of the evaporation gas. For example, the higher the temperature of the evaporation gas is than the temperature required by the main compressor 30, the more the evaporation gas branch valve V1a provided on the evaporation gas branch line L1a is closed, and the lower the temperature of the evaporation gas is than the temperature required by the main compressor 30, the more the evaporation gas valve V1 provided on the evaporation gas line L1 is closed.

[0040] The evaporated gas is transferred to the demand destination 40 via the evaporated gas line L1 or the evaporated gas branch line L1a. When the evaporated gas passes through the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21, the evaporated gas transferred to the demand destination 40 is heated, and at the same time, the refrigerant in the refrigerant line RL can be cooled.

[0041] When the pressure inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10 is high, the evaporated gas is delivered to the consumer 40, where the evaporated gas is consumed, thereby lowering the pressure inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0042] A gas processing system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention may include a control unit (not shown) that controls the evaporative gas to pass through the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 or the liquefied gas to pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 depending on the internal pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0043] When a large amount of evaporated gas is generated in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and the pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 is high, the evaporated gas can be consumed to reduce the pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10. In this case, the control unit can lower the temperature of the refrigerant by transferring the evaporated gas to the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21 in the process of consuming the evaporated gas. Specifically, the control unit opens the evaporated gas branch valve V1a to transfer the evaporated gas to the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21.

[0044] On the other hand, when not much evaporated gas is generated in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and the pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 is not high, the liquefied gas can be vaporized and supplied to the demand destination 40. In this case, the control unit can transfer the liquefied gas to the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 in the process of supplying the liquefied gas to the demand destination 40 to lower the temperature of the refrigerant. Specifically, the control unit opens the liquefied gas branch valve V2 to transfer the evaporated gas to the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0045] The demand destination 40 is a main propulsion device and may be a dual fuel (DF) engine. In this specification, when it is stated that the liquefied gas is delivered to the demand destination 40, it may include the liquefied gas being delivered to a power generation engine 41 that generates electricity required on the ship or a gas combustion unit (GCU) 42 that burns evaporated gas.

[0046] The evaporated gas heat exchanger 21 can exchange heat between the refrigerant and the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 , and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can exchange heat between the refrigerant and the liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 .

[0047] Also, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be combined heat exchangers. That is, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 can perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10, and can also perform heat exchange between the refrigerants. Similarly, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can perform heat exchange between the refrigerant and the liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10, and can also perform heat exchange between the refrigerants.

[0048] The liquefied gas storage tank 10 may be provided with pumps 11, 12, and the liquefied gas stored in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 may be extracted through the pumps 11, 12. The pumps 11, 12 may be provided so as to be immersed in the liquefied gas stored inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10, or may be provided outside the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0049] When the pumps 11, 12 are provided outside the liquefied gas storage tank 10, the pumps 11, 12 can be provided at a position lower than the liquefied gas storage tank 10. The pumps 11, 12 may not be able to pump the liquefied gas if the water level of the liquefied gas is low, but by providing the pumps 11, 12 at a position lower than the liquefied gas storage tank 10, the liquefied gas can be prevented from falling below a certain water level, and it is possible to prevent the liquefied gas from being unable to be pumped due to the low water level.

[0050] The pumps 11, 12 may be boost pumps that are provided inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and are immersed in the liquefied gas.

[0051] The first pump 11 can deliver the liquefied gas to the supercooler 24 via the supercooling line SL. The liquefied gas supercooled through the supercooler 24 is circulated to the liquefied gas storage tank 10 via the injection device 13. Preferably, the circulated liquefied gas can be injected into the liquefied gas storage tank 10 to cool the liquefied gas inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10. By cooling the liquefied gas inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10, the generation of evaporated gas inside the liquefied gas storage tank 10 can be suppressed. Although not shown in the figure, the circulated liquefied gas may be injected near the bottom of the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0052] The second pump 12 can deliver the liquefied gas to the consumer 40. The second pump 12 can deliver the liquefied gas to the consumer 40 via a liquefied gas line L2 connected to the upstream of the main compressor 30, bypassing the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0053] In addition, the second pump 12 can transmit the liquefied gas to the demand destination 40 through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22. The second pump 12 can transmit the liquefied gas to the demand destination 40 through a liquefied gas mixing line L2a that passes through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and is connected to the front stage of the main compressor 30, a liquefied gas heating line L3a that passes through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and is connected to the liquefied gas heater 51, a liquefied gas bypass line L3 that passes through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and is bypassing the liquefied gas heater 51, or a liquefied gas transmission line L4 that passes through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and is connected to the rear stage of the main compressor 30.

[0054] When the liquefied gas being delivered to the consumer 40 passes through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, the liquefied gas being delivered to the consumer 40 can be heated and at the same time the refrigerant in the refrigerant line RL can be cooled.

[0055] When the internal pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 is not high and liquefied gas needs to be supplied to a consumer 40, the liquid phase liquefied gas can be supplied to a liquefied gas heater to vaporize the liquefied gas, and the evaporated gas can be delivered to the consumer 40.

[0056] One or more liquefied gas storage tanks 10 may be provided, and one of the liquefied gas storage tanks 10 may be a pressurized tank. The evaporated gas generated in the plurality of liquefied gas storage tanks 10 may be stored in a pressurized tank, and the evaporated gas may be pressurized in the pressurized tank. The evaporated gas may be supplied to the consumer 40 by utilizing the pressure of the pressurized tank without providing additional pressure to the pressurized tank. It goes without saying that the evaporated gas of a liquefied gas storage tank 10 that is not a pressurized tank may also be delivered to the consumer 40 together with the evaporated gas of the pressurized tank.

[0057] In the following, the same contents as those explained with reference to FIG. 1 will be substituted for the explanation of the above embodiment.

[0058] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0059] 2, when the internal pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 is low, the liquid-phase liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 can pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and be supplied to the consumer 40. A portion of the liquefied gas that has passed through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can be supplied to the consumer 40 via a liquefied gas line L2 connected to the upstream of the main compressor 30, bypassing the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 depending on the temperature of the upstream of the main compressor 30.

[0060] That is, the liquid phase liquefied gas can be vaporized in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and supplied to the upstream stage of the main compressor 30, and at this time, a portion of the liquefied gas can bypass the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 to match the temperature required by the main compressor 30.

[0061] The liquefied gas that has passed through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the liquefied gas that has bypassed the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can be mixed in the mixer 50.

[0062] In order to adjust the temperature of the liquefied gas in this manner, a first liquefied gas mixing valve V21 and a second liquefied gas mixing valve V22 may be provided. The control unit can open the first liquefied gas mixing valve V21 to lower the temperature of the liquefied gas supplied to the upstream stage of the main compressor 30, and the liquefied gas that has not passed through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can be supplied via the liquefied gas line L2.

[0063] In a situation where the cooling device 20 does not need to operate, the liquefied gas diversion valve V2 may be closed and the liquefied gas supply valve V3 may be open. In this case, the liquefied gas can bypass the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and be transferred via the liquefied gas bypass line L3 or the liquefied gas heating line L3a.

[0064] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a gas processing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] 3, when the internal pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 is low, the liquid-phase liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 can pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22. Then, depending on the temperature of the downstream stage of the main compressor 30 so that the temperature of the liquefied gas is finally matched to the temperature of the downstream stage of the main compressor 30, the liquefied gas can be controlled to pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and be supplied to the consumer 40 via the liquefied gas heating line L3a passing through the liquefied gas heater 51, or can be controlled to pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and be supplied to the consumer 40 via the liquefied gas bypass line L3 bypassing the liquefied gas heater 51.

[0066] Here, the liquefied gas may be supplied directly to the consumer 40 without passing through the main compressor 30. Since the liquefied gas does not pass through the main compressor 30, the temperature does not increase in the main compressor 30. Therefore, in order to satisfy the temperature condition required by the consumer 40, the liquefied gas heater 51 can adjust the temperature to match the temperature of the downstream stage of the main compressor 30.

[0067] At this time, if the temperature of the liquefied gas passing through the liquefied gas heater 51 becomes higher than the temperature conditions required by the demand destination 40, a portion of the liquefied gas can be supplied to the demand destination 40 via a liquefied gas bypass line L3 that bypasses the liquefied gas heater 51.

[0068] A liquefied gas bypass valve V31 and a liquefied gas heating valve V32 may be provided to adjust the path of the liquefied gas. The control unit can control the liquefied gas bypass valve V31 to be opened in order to lower the temperature of the liquefied gas supplied to the rear stage of the main compressor 30, and a part of the liquefied gas can be supplied through the liquefied gas bypass line L3.

[0069] When liquefied gas is supplied directly to the demand destination 40 via the liquefied gas heater 51 in this manner, the main compressor 30 does not need to be operated or the load on the main compressor 30 can be reduced, thereby reducing the electricity used in the gas processing system 1.

[0070] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0071] 4, when the liquefied gas is sufficiently heated in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and meets the temperature condition required by the consumer 40, the liquefied gas can bypass the liquefied gas heater 51. The liquid-phase liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 can pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and be delivered to the consumer 40 via the liquefied gas delivery line L4 connected to the rear of the main compressor 30. In this case, the liquefied gas delivery valve V4 installed in the liquefied gas delivery line L4 can be opened.

[0072] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[0073] 5, the supercooling line SL may be provided with an ejector 14. The ejector 14 is provided in front of the supercooler 24 and sucks in the evaporated gas using the liquefied gas entering the supercooler 24 as a driving force, mixes the evaporated gas with the liquefied gas, and circulates the mixture to the liquefied gas storage tank. In this process, the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10 can be liquefied and collected.

[0074] Although not shown in the figure, the ejector 14 may be provided downstream of the subcooler 24, in which case the subcooled liquefied gas can be used as a driving force to suck in and condense the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0075] If the ejector 14 is provided in the front stage of the supercooler 24, the ratio of the evaporated gas mixed increases, and the volume of the fluid in which the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas are mixed increases due to the increased ratio of the evaporated gas, so the size of the supercooler 24 for cooling the mixed fluid may also increase. Therefore, in consideration of the installation cost and space efficiency of the supercooler 24, it is preferable that the ejector 14 is provided in the rear stage of the supercooler 24.

[0076] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] 6, an evaporative gas condenser 15 may be provided at the rear of the supercooler 24. The rear of the main compressor 30 and the rear of the supercooler 24 are connected to each other, and the evaporative gas condenser 15 can liquefy the evaporative gas by mixing a part of the evaporative gas supplied from the rear of the main compressor 30 with the subcooled liquefied gas. Although not shown in the figure, the evaporative gas condenser 15 may be provided at the front of the subcooler 24. Also, heat exchange may be performed between the evaporative gas flowing from the rear of the main compressor 30 to the rear of the subcooler 24 and the evaporative gas flowing through the evaporative gas line L1.

[0078] FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] 7, the cooling device 20 includes a supercooling line SL and a refrigerant line RL. The supercooling line SL is connected to the liquefied gas storage tank 10, and the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 flows through the supercooling line SL. The refrigerant line RL flows with a refrigerant for supercooling the liquefied gas.

[0080] The refrigerant line RL may include a refrigerant expander 23, a subcooler 24, a refrigerant compressor 25, a refrigerant cooler 26, and a refrigerant heat exchanger 27. The refrigerant cooler 26 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may be connected in series. The refrigerant cooler 26 may be provided downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may be provided downstream of the refrigerant cooler 26.

[0081] The refrigerant is compressed to a high pressure by the refrigerant compressor 25. Here, the refrigerant compressor 25 may have a structure in which a compression stage and a cooler are connected in multiple stages.

[0082] The refrigerant is pressurized in the refrigerant compressor 25 and then guided to the refrigerant cooler 26, where it exchanges heat with the evaporated gas or liquefied gas delivered to the consumer 40, thereby removing the heat of compression.

[0083] The high-pressure refrigerant cooled in the refrigerant cooler 26 can be guided to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and exchange heat with the refrigerant that has passed through the subcooler 24 .

[0084] The refrigerant is then guided to the refrigerant expander 23, where it is decompressed to become a low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant. The refrigerant is guided to the subcooler 24, where it can exchange heat with the liquefied gas that leaves the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and circulates to the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0085] The refrigerant exchanges heat in the subcooler 24, increasing its temperature, and the relatively high-temperature refrigerant is guided to the refrigerant compressor 25, where it is compressed to a high pressure.

[0086] The refrigerant line RL may be branched at a lower stage of the refrigerant compressor 25 so that the refrigerant can bypass the refrigerant cooler 26. Depending on the temperature of the refrigerant introduced into the refrigerant cooler 26, the temperature of the evaporation gas or the temperature of the liquefied gas, etc., a part of the refrigerant may bypass the refrigerant cooler 26, and the flow rate of the refrigerant may be adjusted. Similarly, depending on the temperature of the refrigerant introduced into the refrigerant cooler 26, the temperature of the evaporation gas or the temperature of the liquefied gas, etc., the evaporation gas or the liquefied gas may bypass the refrigerant cooler 26, and the flow rate of the evaporation gas or the liquefied gas may be adjusted.

[0087] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] 8, in the cooling device 20 according to the second embodiment, the order of the refrigerant cooler 26 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 in FIG. 7 may be reversed, and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may be provided downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, and the refrigerant cooler 26 may be provided downstream of the refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0089] The refrigerant is pressurized in the refrigerant compressor 25 and then guided to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 to exchange heat with the refrigerant that has passed through the subcooler 24, and then guided to the refrigerant cooler 26 to exchange heat with the evaporated gas or liquefied gas delivered to the consumer 40.

[0090] FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0091] 9, the refrigerant cooler 26 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may be connected in parallel. The refrigerant line RL may be branched into a first refrigerant line RL1 connected to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25 and a second refrigerant line RL2 connected to the refrigerant cooler 26.

[0092] The refrigerant is pressurized in the refrigerant compressor 25 and then guided to the refrigerant cooler 26 where it can exchange heat with the evaporated gas or liquefied gas delivered to the consumer 40 to remove the compression heat, or it can be guided to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 where it can exchange heat with the refrigerant that has passed through the supercooler 24 to be cooled.

[0093] The refrigerant is then guided to the refrigerant expander 23, where it is decompressed to become a low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant. The refrigerant is guided to the subcooler 24, where it can exchange heat with the liquefied gas that leaves the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and circulates to the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0094] FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of a cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0095] 10, the cooling device 20 includes an integrated heat exchanger 28. The integrated heat exchanger 28 can perform the functions of the refrigerant cooler 26 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 integrated into one.

[0096] The refrigerant is pressurized in the refrigerant compressor 25 and then guided to the integrated heat exchanger 28 where it can exchange heat with the evaporated gas or liquefied gas delivered to the consumer 40 to remove the compression heat, and at the same time, can be cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant that has passed through the supercooler 24.

[0097] The refrigerant is then guided to the refrigerant expander 23, where it is decompressed to become a low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant. The refrigerant is guided to the subcooler 24, where it can exchange heat with the liquefied gas that leaves the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and circulates to the liquefied gas storage tank 10.

[0098] 7 to 9 show that the refrigerant cooler 26 is connected to the evaporative gas branch line L1a, and FIG. 10 shows that the integrated heat exchanger 28 is connected to the evaporative gas branch line L1a, but the refrigerant cooler 26 or the integrated heat exchanger 28 may be connected to the liquefied gas lines L2a, L3a, and L4. When the refrigerant cooler 26 or the integrated heat exchanger 28 is connected to the evaporative gas branch line L1a, the refrigerant can be cooled by the evaporative gas, and when the refrigerant cooler 26 or the integrated heat exchanger 28 is connected to the liquefied gas lines L2a, L3a, and L4, the refrigerant can be cooled by the liquefied gas.

[0099] It goes without saying that the cooling device 20 according to the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 10 may be applied to the gas processing system 1 according to the embodiment of FIGS.

[0100] In this manner, the gas treatment system 1 according to the present invention can supercool the liquefied gas using the refrigerant and circulate the supercooled liquefied gas in the tank, thereby reducing the amount of evaporated gas generated in the tank.

[0101] In addition, the gas processing system 1 according to the present invention can cool the refrigerant using the cold energy of the evaporated gas depending on the internal pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10, or can cool the refrigerant using the cold energy of the liquefied gas.

[0102] Furthermore, when the gas processing system 1 according to the present invention uses the cold energy of the evaporated gas to cool the refrigerant, the evaporated gas can be controlled so as to bypass the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21 depending on the temperature of the upstream stage of the main compressor 30.

[0103] In addition, when the gas processing system 1 according to the present invention uses the cold energy of the liquefied gas to cool the refrigerant, it can control the liquefied gas to bypass the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 depending on the temperature of the upstream stage of the main compressor 30, and can control the liquefied gas to bypass the liquefied gas heater 51 depending on the temperature of the downstream stage of the main compressor 30.

[0104] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[0105] In the following, the present embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the above-mentioned embodiment, and the omitted parts will be replaced with the above-mentioned contents. This applies to all embodiments included in the present invention.

[0106] Referring to FIG. 11, a gas processing system 1 according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention includes a cooling device 20 for implementing supercooling of liquefied gas, similar to the above-described embodiments.

[0107] Specifically, the cooling device of this embodiment includes a refrigerant expander 23, a subcooler 24, a refrigerant compressor 25, etc. These components may be arranged in series or in parallel on a refrigerant line RL that forms a closed loop.

[0108] The refrigerant expander 23 is provided in the refrigerant line RL, and expands the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and transmits the refrigerant to the subcooler 24. For reference, the flow path through which the refrigerant is transmitted from the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 to the refrigerant expander 23 may be different from the flow path through which the refrigerant flows from the refrigerant compressor 25 described later to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0109] The refrigerant expander 23 may be an expansion turbine, a pressure reducing valve, an expander, or any other pressure reducing / expansion means without limitation. The refrigerant expander 23 may also be connected to the refrigerant compressor 25 to form a compander.

[0110] The refrigerant expander 23 expands the refrigerant between the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the subcooler 24 to reduce the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant. The refrigerant decompressed and cooled by the refrigerant expander 23 may be used in the subcooler 24 to subcool the liquefied gas.

[0111] The subcooler 24 subcools the liquefied gas with a refrigerant. The subcooler 24 may be provided on the subcooling line SL and the refrigerant line RL, and has a structure in which one of the flow paths is connected to the subcooling line SL and the other flow path is connected to the refrigerant line RL.

[0112] The subcooler 24 receives the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 by the first pump 11 or the like, and also receives the depressurized refrigerant from the refrigerant expander 23. The subcooler 24 can subcool the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 with the refrigerant depressurized by the refrigerant expander 23.

[0113] The liquefied gas supercooled by the supercooler 24 is returned to the inside of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 through the injection device 13 provided in the form of a spray or a pipe, etc. This allows the liquefied gas storage tank 10 to suppress the generation of evaporated gas.

[0114] The subcooling line SL connected to the subcooler 24 may be provided so that the liquefied gas flows between the pump and the injection device 13. However, the subcooling line SL may be provided so that at least a portion of the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 bypasses the subcooler 24.

[0115] The pump that transmits liquefied gas to the subcooling line SL may be the first pump 11 or the second pump 12, and in this embodiment, the pump for subcooling and the pump for supply to the demand destination 40 may be integrated together.

[0116] That is, in this embodiment, one pump can be used to deliver liquefied gas to the supercooler 24 or the consumer 40. In this case, various valves are provided in the liquefied gas line L2, so that the flow rate of the liquefied gas delivered to the supercooler 24 or the consumer 40 can be adjusted. The flow rate of the liquefied gas can be adjusted by adjusting the valve opening degree by the above-mentioned control unit.

[0117] The refrigerant compressor 25 is provided in the refrigerant line RL, compresses the refrigerant, and transmits it to one of the gas heat exchangers 21a and 22. The gas heat exchanger of this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0118] The refrigerant compressor 25 may have a structure in which compression stages and coolers are alternately provided, and may have at least two compression stages. Of course, the number of compression stages is not limited. Also, as described above, the refrigerant compressor 25 may have a compression stage that is integrally connected to the refrigerant expander 23 via one shaft.

[0119] This embodiment includes an evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a and a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 as gas heat exchangers similar to the first embodiment, but the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a may be different from that of the first embodiment.

[0120] The evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a of this embodiment is capable of cooling the refrigerant through the evaporation gas while having a plurality of flow paths for heat exchange between refrigerants. Furthermore, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a can also use the cold energy of the liquefied gas to cool the refrigerant.

[0121] However, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a does not include a dedicated flow path for liquefied gas in addition to the refrigerant flow path and the evaporation gas flow path. The evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a of this embodiment can allow liquefied gas to flow in the flow path for evaporation gas as necessary.

[0122] That is, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a can cool the refrigerant with at least one of the evaporated gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and delivered to the demand destination 40 or the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and delivered to the demand destination 40.

[0123] In particular, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a may have a refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant flows, and a gas flow path through which at least one of the liquefied gas and the evaporation gas flows. In this case, the gas flow path may be connected to both the evaporation gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2.

[0124] That is, the evaporation gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2 are provided to share the gas flow path of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a. Therefore, the evaporation gas or the liquefied gas can flow selectively on one flow path in the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0125] The evaporation gas line L1 transmits the evaporation gas from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 to the demand destination 40, and may be provided so that the evaporation gas cools the refrigerant while passing through the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a. Of course, the evaporation gas line L1 may be provided so that at least a part of the evaporation gas bypasses the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a. For example, the evaporation gas line L1 may be provided with an evaporation gas bypass line L1c that branches off upstream of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a and joins the evaporation gas line L1 between the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a and the main compressor 30, and the evaporation gas bypass line L1c may be provided with an evaporation gas bypass valve (symbol not shown). In addition, the evaporation gas bypass valve can be controlled by the control unit.

[0126] The evaporated gas is transferred to the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a as necessary, and can cool the refrigerant heated by the heat of compression while being compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25. The evaporated gas can cool both the refrigerant before compression and the refrigerant after compression.

[0127] The liquefied gas may also be transferred to the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a and used to cool the refrigerant. The liquefied gas is transferred from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 to the consumer 40 along the liquefied gas line L2, and at least a part of the liquefied gas may be transferred to the consumer 40 via the liquefied gas heater 51 or the like, and the remaining part may pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0128] The liquefied gas line L2 is provided so as to pass through the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a. In this case, the liquefied gas line L2 and the evaporated gas line L1 can join together upstream of the gas flow path of the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0129] Therefore, the gas flow passage of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a can be connected to the liquefied gas line L2 and the evaporated gas line L1, and either the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas can flow through the gas flow passage.

[0130] The downstream of the gas flow path of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a may be branched into an evaporation gas line L1 and a liquefied gas line L2 (particularly, a liquefied gas transmission line L4). At this time, the branching of the gas downstream of the gas flow path may be controlled by a control unit via various valves shown in the figure or omitted.

[0131] For example, when liquefied gas flowing along the liquefied gas line L2 flows into the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a, the liquefied gas can be transferred from downstream of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a to the consumer 40 along the liquefied gas line L2.

[0132] Meanwhile, when the evaporated gas flowing along the evaporated gas line L1 flows into the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a, the evaporated gas flows from downstream of the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a along the evaporated gas line L1 into the main compressor 30 and can then be transmitted to the demand destination 40.

[0133] The gas flow passage of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a may be structured to allow gases of different pressures to flow. The evaporation gas flowing into the gas flow passage via the evaporation gas line L1 may be in a low-pressure state having a pressure at which it flows into the main compressor 30, whereas the liquefied gas flowing into the gas flow passage via the liquefied gas line L2 may be in a high-pressure state having a pressure at which it is mixed with the evaporation gas downstream of the main compressor 30. Therefore, the gas flow passage of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a may be provided so that a relatively low-pressure evaporation gas or a relatively high-pressure liquefied gas can alternatively flow therethrough.

[0134] The liquefied gas line L2 can allow the liquefied gas to bypass the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a. For this reason, a liquefied gas bypass line L4a is branched off from the liquefied gas line L2 upstream of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a, and the liquefied gas bypass line L4a can merge with the liquefied gas line L2 downstream of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0135] The liquefied gas bypass line L4a can branch off from the liquefied gas line L2 upstream of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and merge with the liquefied gas line L2 downstream of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a. Therefore, the liquefied gas can bypass the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a at once via the liquefied gas bypass line L4a.

[0136] Of course, the liquefied gas bypass line L4a may be provided for each of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a so as to implement bypass of the liquefied gas.

[0137] The flow of the liquefied gas bypass and the above-mentioned evaporated gas bypass are controlled by the control unit. The control unit can control the flow of the evaporated gas bypass line L1c and the liquefied gas bypass line L4a based on variables such as the internal pressure of the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and the refrigerant state.

[0138] In the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a, the evaporated gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2 are connected to each other, and the evaporated gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2 share a gas flow path. However, the gas flow path may be embodied in a selective manner.

[0139] In this case, the line from the point where the evaporated gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2 join upstream of the gas flow path to the point where the evaporated gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2 branch off downstream of the gas flow path can be defined as the gas shared line.

[0140] The evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a cools the refrigerant with evaporated gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and transferred to the demand destination 40, and can be provided in series with the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 on the refrigerant line RL.

[0141] That is, the refrigerant line RL may sequentially pass through the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25. Conversely, the refrigerant line RL may sequentially pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a downstream of the subcooler 24, and then be connected to the refrigerant compressor 25.

[0142] The evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a has a flow path through which the liquefied gas flows, similar to the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, but the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a can be provided downstream of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 based on the flow of the liquefied gas.

[0143] The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 cools the refrigerant with the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and delivered to the consumer 40. The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may have at least two or more refrigerant flow paths so that the refrigerants exchange heat with each other while flowing, and may also include a gas flow path through which the liquefied gas flows.

[0144] A liquefied gas line L2 is connected to the gas flow passage of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 so that liquefied gas flows through the gas flow passage. The liquefied gas in the gas flow passage can cool the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25.

[0145] The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a are arranged in series based on the flow of the refrigerant and the liquefied gas. Therefore, the liquefied gas can transfer cold to the refrigerant in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 along the liquefied gas line L2, and then transfer cold to the refrigerant in the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0146] Alternatively, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21a transfers cold heat to the refrigerant along the evaporative gas line L1, and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 is bypassed by the liquefied gas, so that heat exchange between the liquefied gas and the refrigerant does not occur in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, and only heat exchange between refrigerants can occur.

[0147] This is because the liquefied gas bypass line L4a is provided so as to bypass the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a at once. Of course, if the liquefied gas bypass line L4a can bypass both the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a, it is possible for the liquefied gas to cool the refrigerant in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and for the evaporation gas to cool the refrigerant in the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0148] The following will be described again based on the flow of the refrigerant. After being compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25, the refrigerant is transferred to the refrigerant flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 via the refrigerant flow path of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a. The refrigerant is cooled by receiving the cold heat of at least the liquefied gas out of the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas through at least the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a out of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 under the control of the control unit.

[0149] The refrigerant discharged from the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 is expanded in the refrigerant expander 23 and then transferred to the subcooler 24. The refrigerant is used to subcool the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 in the subcooler 24, and then transferred to another refrigerant flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 again.

[0150] The refrigerant downstream of the subcooler 24 may be cooled by at least the liquefied gas among the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas while passing through another refrigerant flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and another refrigerant flow path of the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a in sequence. Alternatively, the refrigerant downstream of the subcooler 24 may be used to cool the refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compressor 25.

[0151] The refrigerant discharged from the other refrigerant flow paths of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a flows into and is circulated in the refrigerant compressor 25. That is, in the refrigerant line RL of this embodiment, a subcooler 24 may be provided on the refrigerant line RL connecting the multiple refrigerant flow paths of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, and a refrigerant compressor 25 may be provided on the refrigerant line RL connecting the multiple refrigerant flow paths of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a.

[0152] Therefore, the refrigerant receives the cold heat of the evaporated gas or liquefied gas before and after the subcooler 24 in the refrigerant line RL, so that effective subcooling can be ensured.

[0153] In this manner, in this embodiment, taking into consideration that the temperature gradient of the liquefied gas (-160°C to 40°C) is wider than that of the evaporated gas (-90°C to 40°C), the liquefied gas can pass not only through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 but also through the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a, and the evaporated gas is arranged to pass only through the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a. In particular, in the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a, the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas can pass through the same space (one gas flow path) to perform heat exchange.

[0154] FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

[0155] 12, the gas processing system 1 according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention includes a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 in comparison with the seventh embodiment described above, but the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may have a gas flow path that selectively receives the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas. Also, the cooling device 20 of this embodiment may include a refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0156] This embodiment can be understood as a configuration in which the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 is changed from the above-mentioned embodiment and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 is omitted. In other words, this embodiment can be interpreted as a configuration in which the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 is omitted from the above-mentioned embodiment and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 is provided.

[0157] Alternatively, this embodiment may be interpreted as an integrated form of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 described in the seventh embodiment. However, for the sake of convenience, the gas heat exchanger of this embodiment will be described as the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 below.

[0158] The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 of this embodiment may include one refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compressor 25 flows, and another refrigerant flow path through which the refrigerant discharged from the subcooler 24 flows.

[0159] The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 includes a gas flow path, to which not only the liquefied gas line L2 but also the evaporated gas line L1 can be connected, so that the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can cool the refrigerant through at least one of the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas.

[0160] As described above, the gas flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 is provided with a gas common line, and the liquefied gas line L2 and the evaporated gas line L1 merge or branch before and after the gas common line.

[0161] Depending on the relationship between the amount of evaporated gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and the amount required by the consumer 40, either evaporated gas or liquefied gas can alternatively flow through the gas flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0162] In this case, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can cool the refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25 using the liquefied gas, or can cool the refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25 using the evaporated gas.

[0163] Under the premise that the pressure difference is little or can be eliminated as necessary, the present invention also includes an example in which the evaporation gas and the liquefied gas are simultaneously flowed into the gas flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22. This can be similarly applied to the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 of the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0164] Although this embodiment includes a refrigerant heat exchanger 27 in addition to the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may be provided in parallel with the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 on the refrigerant line RL.

[0165] The refrigerant heat exchanger 27 is configured to exchange heat between the refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25 and the refrigerant downstream of the subcooler 24, and the refrigerant line RL branches downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25 and may be connected to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 or the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22. Therefore, a portion of the refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compressor 25 may be transferred to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, and the remainder may be transferred to the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0166] Therefore, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 of this embodiment can act as a component for cooling the refrigerant bypassing the refrigerant heat exchanger 27. In addition, the refrigerant line RL joins downstream of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and is then transmitted to the refrigerant expander 23, so that the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may be used complementarily to adjust the temperature of the refrigerant.

[0167] The refrigerant line RL may have a structure in which it branches at one point and merges at another point in order to provide the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 in parallel. Furthermore, the refrigerant line RL may be provided with a refrigerant bypass line (not shown).

[0168] The refrigerant bypass line can deliver refrigerant to the refrigerant expander 23, bypassing both the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25. Or, conversely, the refrigerant bypass line can deliver refrigerant to the refrigerant compressor 25, bypassing both the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the subcooler 24.

[0169] The refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be used in cooperation with each other to control the temperature of the refrigerant, and the refrigerant bypass line may also be used to adjust the temperature of the refrigerant. The control unit can control the amount of refrigerant flowing to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 in the refrigerant line RL using a valve or the like, and can also control the amount of refrigerant bypassed through the refrigerant bypass line.

[0170] The refrigerant bypass line shown in the figure may be used mainly when there is no need to increase the temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant compressor 25. Of course, the control unit can also control the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigerant bypass line in various ways depending on the operating state of the refrigerant compressor 25, the pressure and flow rate of the refrigerant circulating along the refrigerant line RL, and other conditions.

[0171] In this manner, this embodiment selectively uses liquefied gas or evaporated gas for cooling the refrigerant, and although one gas heat exchanger is provided, the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 can be arranged in parallel for use.

[0172] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

[0173] Referring to FIG. 13, a gas processing system 1 according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention may include a cooling device 20 including one evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a, and a refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0174] The evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 can exchange heat between the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25 and cooled by the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a (described later) and the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant heat exchanger 27. The evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 can also utilize the cold energy of the evaporation gas supplied to the demand destination 40.

[0175] The evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 of this embodiment is similar to the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 described in the first embodiment above, but differs in that a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a and a refrigerant heat exchanger 27 are provided upstream and downstream, respectively, of the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 based on the refrigerant flow downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25.

[0176] The liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a in this embodiment can be divided into a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 arranged in parallel with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, and a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a arranged between the refrigerant compressor 25 and the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21.

[0177] The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, which is arranged in parallel with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, can be used to supplement the refrigerant temperature control in the refrigerant heat exchanger 27. For this purpose, a refrigerant line RL may be provided between the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 and the refrigerant expander 23 to bypass the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and pass through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 instead.

[0178] That is, the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be used in cooperation with each other to mutually compensate for the temperature control of the refrigerant, and the distribution of the refrigerant may be controlled by the control unit.

[0179] In the present invention, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a provided downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25 can cool the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25 with a liquefied gas. In this case, the liquefied gas may be liquefied gas that has passed through the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 provided in parallel with the above-mentioned refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0180] That is, the two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a may be provided in series based on the flow of the liquefied gas. Of course, the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a may be provided so that the liquefied gas can be bypassed from at least one of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a.

[0181] On the other hand, based on the flow of the refrigerant, the two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a may be provided in series sandwiching the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21. Of course, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 also has a structure that allows the evaporation gas to be bypassed.

[0182] As described above, this embodiment takes into consideration the fact that the temperature gradient of the liquefied gas (-160°C to 40°C) is wider than the temperature gradient of the evaporated gas (-90°C to 40°C). That is, in this embodiment, the liquefied gas passes through both of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a, and the evaporated gas passes through only one evaporated gas heat exchanger 21.

[0183] In addition, in this embodiment, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 is arranged in parallel with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 to cool a portion of the refrigerant, and the remaining cold energy can be fully utilized by the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a.

[0184] FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

[0185] Referring to FIG. 14, the gas processing system 1 according to the tenth embodiment of the present invention is similar to the above-mentioned ninth embodiment in that it has two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a and one evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, but the separate refrigerant heat exchanger 27 can be omitted.

[0186] In this embodiment, instead of providing a separate refrigerant heat exchanger 27 in which liquefied gas or evaporated gas does not flow and only heat exchange between refrigerants is realized, heat exchange between refrigerants can be sufficiently performed in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 or evaporated gas heat exchanger 21.

[0187] As an example, in this embodiment, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 has multiple refrigerant flow paths, so that the refrigerants before and after the refrigerant compressor 25 can be cooled by the evaporative gas while exchanging heat with each other within the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21.

[0188] In the present embodiment, at least one of the two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a has a plurality of refrigerant flow paths. Therefore, the refrigerants before and after the subcooler 24 can be cooled by the liquefied gas while exchanging heat with each other in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0189] That is, this embodiment can be understood as integrating the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 provided in parallel in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0190] FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

[0191] Referring to FIG. 15, a gas processing system 1 according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention may include one evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 and two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a.

[0192] The single evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 is similar to that described in the above-mentioned tenth embodiment, but in this embodiment, a separate heat exchange configuration does not need to be added between the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the refrigerant expander 23 based on the refrigerant line RL.

[0193] In addition, in this embodiment, at least one of the two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a may be provided in parallel with the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 based on the flow of the refrigerant. That is, the refrigerant that has passed through the refrigerant compressor 25 and one of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22a may be branched through a refrigerant line RL and transferred to the other liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 or the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21.

[0194] The refrigerant that has passed through the other liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 may be joined upstream of the refrigerant expander 23 and transferred to the subcooler 24. Therefore, the other liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 may be used and controlled in cooperation with each other when adjusting the temperature of the refrigerant.

[0195] The two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a can be arranged in series with the liquefied gas line L2 as the reference, and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 provided upstream can be arranged in parallel with the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 with the refrigerant line RL as the reference.

[0196] In addition, in the refrigerant line RL, any one of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22a and another one of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22 may be arranged in series based on the refrigerant flow downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, and any one of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22a may be arranged in series with the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21.

[0197] In this embodiment, the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a may have two flow paths to perform mutual heat exchange between the refrigerant and the liquefied gas, or the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 may perform mutual heat exchange between the refrigerants and cooling by the evaporation gas. That is, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 may have a plurality of refrigerant flow paths and at least one or more gas flow paths, while the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a may have one refrigerant flow path and at least one or more gas flow paths.

[0198] In this embodiment, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 provided upstream based on the flow of the liquefied gas may be omitted. In this case, one liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a and one evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 may be provided, and the refrigerant is compressed and then cooled in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21, and flows into the subcooler 24 via the cooling expander.

[0199] FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

[0200] Referring to FIG. 16, a gas processing system 1 according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention can have a refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 arranged in parallel, similar to the ninth embodiment described in FIG. 13 above.

[0201] Furthermore, this embodiment further includes a modified evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b. The evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b of this embodiment can be installed in the refrigerant line RL between the refrigerant compressor 25 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, or between the refrigerant compressor 25 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22. The evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b can cool the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25 by the evaporation gas flowing along the evaporation gas line L1.

[0202] Furthermore, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b of this embodiment can be configured so that either the evaporation gas or the liquefied gas flows through one gas flow path. That is, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b of this embodiment can have a gas flow path shared by the liquefied gas line L2 and the evaporation gas line L1, similar to the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21a described in the seventh embodiment.

[0203] Specifically, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b may have a gas flow path to which the evaporation gas line L1 upstream of the main compressor 30 is connected. In this case, a liquefied gas line L2 may also be connected to the gas flow path of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b.

[0204] However, the gas flow path of the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b may be connected to the downstream portion of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 in the liquefied gas line L2. That is, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b may be sequentially arranged in series based on the flow of the liquefied gas.

[0205] In this case, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b can cool the refrigerant compressed in the refrigerant compressor 25 by using the evaporation gas flowing into the main compressor 30, or can cool the refrigerant by using the remaining cold energy of the liquefied gas that has been heat exchanged with the refrigerant in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0206] Of course, the liquefied gas line L2 may be arranged to bypass the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, so that the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21b can cool the refrigerant using the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank 10 and flowing through the liquefied gas line L2.

[0207] Evaporative gas or liquefied gas can alternatively flow through the gas flow path of the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21b. For this purpose, the evaporative gas line L1 and the liquefied gas line L2 are joined or branched upstream or downstream of the gas flow path provided in the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21b. Alternatively, the gas flow path can be called a shared gas line, as described above.

[0208] In this embodiment, the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 are provided in parallel on the refrigerant line RL, so the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be provided in series on the refrigerant line RL with the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b as a reference. In this case, the refrigerant is compressed and discharged from the refrigerant compressor 25, and then cooled by the evaporation gas or the liquefied gas in the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b, and can be transferred to the subcooler 24 via the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 or the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0209] FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.

[0210] Referring to FIG. 17, the gas processing system 1 according to the 13th embodiment of the present invention can be configured by dividing the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 described in the 12th embodiment above, and by configuring it with one evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and one liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a.

[0211] In this case, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 are provided in this order based on the refrigerant line RL, and then the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 are arranged in parallel.

[0212] Therefore, the refrigerant may be sequentially cooled in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21, and then undergo refrigerant heat exchange in the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 before being transferred to the refrigerant expander 23. Alternatively, the refrigerant may be sequentially cooled in the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21, and then cooled by the liquefied gas in another liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, and then transferred to the refrigerant expander 23.

[0213] In the above-described embodiment, when the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21b, which is provided downstream of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 based on the flow of the liquefied gas, receives the evaporative gas, the liquefied gas transfers cold to the refrigerant through one liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0214] On the other hand, in this embodiment, two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a are provided based on the flow of liquefied gas, and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 is provided independently of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a. Therefore, in this embodiment, the liquefied gas can perform two-stage heat exchange with the refrigerant, regardless of the operation of transferring cold to the refrigerant by the evaporation gas. As a result, in this embodiment, the cold of the liquefied gas can be sufficiently recovered by the refrigerant.

[0215] FIG. 18 is a conceptual diagram of a gas processing system according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention.

[0216] Referring to FIG. 18, a gas processing system 1 according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention can integrate the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 provided in parallel in the above-mentioned thirteenth embodiment.

[0217] This embodiment may be equipped with two liquefied gas heat exchangers 22, 22a and one evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, but the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, which is located upstream in terms of the flow of liquefied gas, may include multiple refrigerant flow paths and at least one gas flow path.

[0218] Therefore, based on the refrigerant line RL, the refrigerant can flow sequentially through one of the liquefied gas heat exchangers 22a, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21, and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, and be cooled by the cold energy of the liquefied gas and the evaporation gas.

[0219] 19 to 21 are conceptual diagrams of a gas processing system according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention.

[0220] For reference, Figure 19 shows the case where the cold energy of the evaporative gas and liquefied gas is not transferred to the refrigerant, Figure 20 shows the case where only the cold energy of the evaporative gas is transferred to the refrigerant, and Figure 21 shows the case where only the cold energy of the liquefied gas is transferred to the refrigerant.

[0221] 19 to 21, the gas processing system 1 according to the fifteenth embodiment of the present invention comprises a refrigerant heat exchanger 27, an evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, and a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, all of which can be arranged in parallel with respect to the refrigerant line RL.

[0222] In this case, the refrigerant can circulate along various closed circulation loops. For example, the refrigerant in this embodiment circulates along the refrigerant compressor 25, the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, the refrigerant expander 23, and the subcooler 24 as shown in Fig. 19, and is not affected by the cold energy of the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas supplied to the demand destination 40.

[0223] 20, the refrigerant may circulate through the refrigerant compressor 25, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, the refrigerant expander 23, and the subcooler 24. In this case, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 includes a gas flow path and a refrigerant flow path, but may include a plurality of refrigerant flow paths. Therefore, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 can transfer the cold of the evaporative gas to the refrigerant while mutually exchanging heat between the refrigerant compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25 and the refrigerant before being compressed by the refrigerant compressor 25.

[0224] 21, the refrigerant may be circulated through the refrigerant compressor 25, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, the refrigerant expander 23, and the subcooler 24. In this case, the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 includes at least one gas flow path and a plurality of refrigerant flow paths, thereby realizing heat exchange between the refrigerant before and after the refrigerant compressor 25 and cooling of the refrigerant via the liquefied gas.

[0225] In this embodiment, the refrigerant can be controlled so as not to utilize the cold energy of the liquefied gas and the evaporated gas, or the refrigerant can be controlled so as to utilize the cold energy of either the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas, as necessary.

[0226] In this embodiment, the refrigerant line RL is branched to the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21, and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, and the flow rate of the branched refrigerant can be controlled by the control unit. Therefore, the refrigerant can be cooled by at least one of the cold energy of the liquefied gas and the evaporation gas.

[0227] That is, in this embodiment, it is possible to implement a control that combines non-use of cold energy, use of cold energy from evaporated gas, and use of cold energy from liquefied gas, etc., so that cooling control of the refrigerant can be performed in various ways.

[0228] 22 and 23 are conceptual diagrams of a gas processing system according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention.

[0229] FIG. 22 shows a case where the refrigerant is cooled by the cold energy of the evaporated gas, and FIG. 23 shows a case where the refrigerant is cooled by a liquefied gas.

[0230] Although not shown, in this embodiment, similar to the above-mentioned 15th embodiment, it is also possible that only heat exchange between refrigerants is performed without recovering the cold energy of the liquefied gas and evaporated gas.

[0231] 22 and 23, the gas processing system 1 according to the 16th embodiment of the present invention may be provided with a refrigerant heat exchanger 27, an evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22, similar to the above-mentioned 15th embodiment, and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be arranged in parallel based on the refrigerant line RL.

[0232] However, compared to the fifteenth embodiment, this embodiment may further include a refrigerant bypass line (reference number not shown). The refrigerant bypass line may be provided in the refrigerant line RL so as to bypass the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22.

[0233] The refrigerant line RL is branched into the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21, and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, but in this embodiment, a flow in which the refrigerant is transferred from the subcooler 24 to the refrigerant compressor 25 without heat exchange can be embodied by bypassing the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, etc.

[0234] In this case, in this embodiment, the refrigerant flow in the refrigerant bypass line is controlled via the control unit, thereby adjusting the inlet temperature of the refrigerant compressor 25. For this purpose, a refrigerant bypass valve may be provided in the refrigerant bypass line.

[0235] 22, the refrigerant flows along the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 and the refrigerant bypass line after the liquefied gas is supercooled in the supercooler 24. Therefore, a part of the refrigerant is cooled by the evaporation gas supplied to the demand destination 40, and the rest is transferred to the refrigerant compressor 25 without being cooled by the evaporation gas. Since the refrigerant flowing along the refrigerant bypass line is not cooled by the evaporation gas, the inlet temperature of the refrigerant compressor 25 can rise when the refrigerant flow rate in the refrigerant bypass line increases.

[0236] Meanwhile, when the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing along the refrigerant bypass line is reduced or eliminated, the inlet temperature of the refrigerant compressor 25 can be lowered. In this manner, the present embodiment can appropriately adjust the inlet temperature of the refrigerant compressor 25 while increasing the subcooling efficiency by cooling the refrigerant with the cold energy of the evaporated gas.

[0237] 23, the refrigerant can flow along the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the refrigerant bypass line after supercooling the liquefied gas in the supercooler 24. That is, a portion of the refrigerant can flow into the refrigerant flow path of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and be cooled by the liquefied gas, and the remainder bypasses the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 along the refrigerant bypass line and does not recover the cold energy of the liquefied gas.

[0238] As described with reference to Fig. 22, in the case of Fig. 23, the inlet temperature of the refrigerant compressor 25 can be appropriately adjusted by controlling the bypass flow rate of the refrigerant bypass line. This operation can be implemented by the control unit.

[0239] Although not shown in the figure, it is also possible that a portion of the refrigerant discharged from the subcooler 24 flows into the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 and the remainder bypasses the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 .

[0240] 24 and 25 are conceptual diagrams of a gas processing system according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention.

[0241] For reference, Fig. 24 shows a state where the refrigerant is cooled using the evaporation gas, and Fig. 25 shows a state where the refrigerant is cooled using the liquefied gas. Of course, this embodiment can also use both the evaporation gas and the liquefied gas to cool the refrigerant.

[0242] 24 and 25, a gas processing system 1 according to a seventeenth embodiment of the present invention includes a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and an evaporated gas heat exchanger 21, and a separate refrigerant heat exchanger 27 may not be provided.

[0243] This embodiment may include the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21, similarly to the first embodiment. However, whereas in the first embodiment the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 are arranged in series with the refrigerant line RL as a reference, in this embodiment the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 can be arranged in parallel with the refrigerant line RL as a reference.

[0244] Therefore, in the case of FIG. 24, the refrigerant flows along the refrigerant line RL and passes through only the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 of the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, and then is transferred to the refrigerant expander 23.

[0245] On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 25, the refrigerant flows along the refrigerant line RL and passes through only the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 out of the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25, and then is transferred to the refrigerant expander 23.

[0246] Although not shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the refrigerant can be distributed to the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 downstream of the refrigerant compressor 25. In this case, the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 can be operated in conjunction with each other to adjust the temperature of the refrigerant. At this time, the control unit can adjust the distribution of the refrigerant based on the flow rates of the evaporation gas and the liquefied gas supplied to the demand destination 40, the temperatures of the evaporation gas and the liquefied gas, etc.

[0247] 26 to 30 are conceptual diagrams of gas processing systems according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0248] The gas processing system 1 shown in Figures 26 to 30 is a simplified view of only the cooling device 20 of the embodiment described above. Also, in Figures 26 to 30, a bypass line (not shown) and a bypass valve (not shown) are shown by dashed lines to bypass the gas heat exchangers 21, 21a, and 22 or to bypass the supercooler 24 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27, but it goes without saying that the bypass line and the like may be added or omitted as necessary.

[0249] Referring to FIG. 26, the present invention includes an embodiment in which the gas heat exchanger has one flow path that allows for the flow of liquefied or evaporated gas.

[0250] Specifically, Fig. 26(A) is related to the cooling device 20 of Fig. 11. That is, according to Fig. 26(A), the refrigerant obtains cold energy through either the evaporated gas or the liquefied gas, and the cold energy is used to supercool the liquefied gas in the supercooler 24, and at this time, the gas heat exchanger 21a that cools the refrigerant is provided so that the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas can flow selectively on one flow path.

[0251] FIG. 26(B) relates to the cooling device 20 of FIG. 12 described above, and shows a configuration in which a refrigerant heat exchanger 27 is separately added in addition to the gas heat exchanger.

[0252] It goes without saying that FIG. 26B can be interpreted as showing a partial configuration of the above-mentioned FIG.

[0253] Referring to FIG. 27, the present invention includes an embodiment in which the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 are arranged in series with respect to the refrigerant line RL.

[0254] Specifically, (A) of Fig. 27 can relate to the cooling device 20 of Fig. 1. (A) of Fig. 27 can also be interpreted as showing a partial configuration of the cooling device 20 included in Fig. 14, Fig. 18, etc.

[0255] 27(B) may be provided with a refrigerant heat exchanger 27 in addition to the one shown in FIG 27(A). In this case, the present invention can be related to the cooling device 20 shown in FIG 17 or the like.

[0256] Referring to FIG. 28, the present invention includes an embodiment in which the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 are arranged in parallel with respect to the refrigerant line RL.

[0257] Specifically, FIG. 28A can relate to the cooling device 20 described above in FIG. 24 and FIG.

[0258] Compared to FIG. 28(A), FIG. 28(B) may have a separate refrigerant heat exchanger 27 added, in which case it can be related to the cooling device 20 shown in FIGS. 19 to 23 and the like described above.

[0259] With reference to FIG. 29, the present invention includes an embodiment in which two gas heat exchangers 22, 21a are arranged in series with respect to a refrigerant line RL.

[0260] Specifically, in (A) of Fig. 29, a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and an evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a may be sequentially provided as two gas heat exchangers 22, 21a. In this case, at least one of the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21a may have a structure in which evaporated gas or liquefied gas flows alternatively on one flow path.

[0261] Figure 29(A) may correspond to the cooling device 20 of Figure 11 described above. For reference, Figure 26(A) described as relating to Figure 11 differs from Figure 29(A) in that it is a form in which the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 shown in Figure 11 is omitted.

[0262] 29(B) is different from FIG 29(A) in that a refrigerant heat exchanger 27 is additionally added. FIG 29(B) can be regarded as relating to the cooling device 20 in FIG 12, and can be understood as corresponding to the cooling device 20 in FIG 16.

[0263] Referring to FIG. 30, the present invention provides a plurality of gas heat exchangers 22, 21b, 21 and a refrigerant heat exchanger 27, but includes cases where any one of the plurality of gas heat exchangers 22, 21b, 21 is arranged in parallel with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 on the refrigerant line RL, and at least one of the others is arranged in series with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0264] Specifically, in Fig. 30(A), the liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be provided in parallel with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27. Also, in Fig. 30(A), the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21b is provided, and the evaporated gas heat exchanger 21b may have a structure in which the liquefied gas or the evaporated gas is selectively supplied to one of the flow paths. Such evaporated gas heat exchanger 21b may be provided in series with the refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0265] The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b are provided in series with the refrigerant line RL as a reference. The liquefied gas heat exchanger 22 may be provided between the subcooler 24 and the refrigerant compressor 25, and the evaporation gas heat exchanger 21b may be provided between the refrigerant compressor 25 and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27.

[0266] Compared to Figure 30(A), (B) of Figure 30 divides the evaporative gas heat exchanger 21b into an evaporative gas heat exchanger 21 and a liquefied gas heat exchanger 22a, and in this case, there may be no line shared by the liquefied gas and the evaporative gas.

[0267] In addition, the present invention may further include structures capable of subcooling the liquefied gas through various combinations of the gas heat exchanger and the refrigerant heat exchanger 27 as other embodiments.

[0268] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may include combinations of the embodiments described above or combinations of at least one of the embodiments described above with known techniques as further embodiments.

[0269] The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to specific examples. However, these are for the purpose of specifically explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It is clear that modifications and improvements can be made by those having ordinary skill in the art within the technical spirit of the present invention.

[0270] Any simple variations or modifications of the present invention belong to the scope of the present invention, and the specific scope of protection of the present invention will be made clear by the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0271] 1 Gas Processing System 10 Liquefied gas storage tanks 11 First Pump 12 Second pump 13 Injection device 14 Ejector 15 Evaporative gas condensation device 20 Cooling device 21, 21a, 21b Evaporative gas heat exchanger 22, 22a Liquefied gas heat exchanger 23 Refrigerant expansion machine 231 Distributor 24 Supercooler 25 Refrigerant compressor 26 Refrigerant cooler 27 Refrigerant heat exchanger 28 Integrated Heat Exchanger 30 Main Compressor 40 Demand destination 41 Generator engine 42 GCU 50 mixer 51 Liquefied Gas Heater L1 Evaporative gas line L1a Evaporative gas branch line L1c Evaporative gas bypass line L2 Liquefied gas line L2a Liquefied gas blending line L3 Liquefied gas bypass line L3a Liquefied Gas Heating Line L4 Liquefied gas transmission line L4a Liquefied Gas Diversion Line SL Supercooling Line RL Refrigerant Line RL1 First refrigerant line RL2 Second refrigerant line V1 Evaporative gas valve V1a Evaporative gas branch valve V2 Liquefied gas branch valve V21 No. 1 liquefied gas mixing valve V22 No. 2 liquefied gas mixing valve V3 Liquefied gas supply valve V31 Liquefied gas diversion valve V32 Liquefied Gas Heating Valve V4 Liquefied Gas Transfer Valve

Claims

1. A liquefied gas storage tank; A cooling device that supercools the liquefied gas in the liquefied gas storage tank and returns it; a main compressor that compresses the evaporated gas in the liquefied gas storage tank and supplies it to a consumer; The cooling device is a supercooler that supercools the liquefied gas with a refrigerant; a gas heat exchanger that cools a refrigerant with at least one of an evaporated gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and delivered to the consumer or a liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and delivered to the consumer, The gas heat exchanger is A gas processing system comprising: a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant flows; and a gas flow path through which at least one of a liquefied gas and an evaporated gas flows.

2. an evaporation gas line for transmitting evaporation gas from the liquefied gas storage tank to the consumer; A liquefied gas line that delivers liquefied gas from the liquefied gas storage tank to the consumer, 2. The gas processing system of claim 1, wherein the evaporated gas line and the liquefied gas line are arranged to share the gas flow path of the gas heat exchanger.

3. an evaporation gas bypass line branching off from the evaporation gas line and bypassing the gas heat exchanger; a liquefied gas bypass line branched off from the liquefied gas line and bypassing the gas heat exchanger; The gas processing system of claim 2 , further comprising a controller for controlling flow in the evaporated gas bypass line and the liquefied gas bypass line.

4. The cooling device is Further comprising a refrigerant line through which a refrigerant circulates; the gas heat exchanger has a plurality of refrigerant flow paths connected to the refrigerant lines, 3. The gas processing system of claim 2, wherein the subcooler is provided on the refrigerant line interconnecting a plurality of the refrigerant flow paths of the gas heat exchanger.

5. The cooling device is a refrigerant compressor that compresses a refrigerant and transfers the refrigerant to the refrigerant flow path of any one of the gas heat exchangers; 5. The gas processing system according to claim 4, further comprising a refrigerant expander that expands the refrigerant discharged from the refrigerant flow path of any one of the gas heat exchangers and transfers the refrigerant to the subcooler.

6. The gas heat exchanger is an evaporation gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with evaporation gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and conveyed to the consumer; a liquefied gas heat exchanger that cools a refrigerant with the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and delivered to the consumer; 5. The gas processing system of claim 4, wherein said evaporative gas heat exchanger and said liquefied gas heat exchanger are disposed in series on said refrigerant line.

7. The evaporation gas heat exchanger is 7. The gas processing system of claim 6, wherein the evaporated gas line and the liquefied gas line share the gas flow path and are located downstream of the liquefied gas heat exchanger in terms of liquefied gas flow.

8. The cooling device is The cooling system further includes a refrigerant heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor and the refrigerant downstream of the subcooler, The refrigerant heat exchanger includes: The gas processing system of claim 5 in parallel with the gas heat exchanger.

9. The gas heat exchanger is an evaporation gas heat exchanger that cools the refrigerant with evaporation gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and conveyed to the consumer; a liquefied gas heat exchanger that cools a refrigerant with the liquefied gas discharged from the liquefied gas storage tank and delivered to the consumer; The cooling device is The cooling system further includes a refrigerant heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the refrigerant downstream of the refrigerant compressor and the refrigerant downstream of the subcooler, The refrigerant heat exchanger and the liquefied gas heat exchanger are provided in parallel on the refrigerant line, 6. The gas processing system of claim 5, wherein the evaporative gas heat exchanger and the liquefied gas heat exchanger or the refrigerant heat exchanger are provided in series on the refrigerant line.

10. A marine vessel comprising the gas processing system of claim 1.

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