Apparatus and method for heating cofferdam of ship using boil-off gas

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification, a device for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas may include: a collection unit for collecting evaporated gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank; a combustion unit for heating a target material by burning the collected evaporated gas; and a moving unit for moving the heated target material into the cofferdam, and by raising the temperature of the cofferdam using the combustion heat obtained by burning the naturally occurring evaporated gas inside the cryogenic fluid storage tank, the amount of evaporated gas discharged into the air can be reduced and overall energy efficiency can be increased.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to an apparatus and method for heating a ship's cofferdam using boil-off gas (BOG), and more specifically, to an apparatus and method for heating a ship's cofferdam using boil-off gas generated from a cryogenic fluid storage tank as a heat source. Background Technology

[0002] For vessels transporting cryogenic fluids, such as LNG CCS (Liquefied Natural Gas Cargo Containment System), it is essential to install bulkheads between individual cryogenic fluid storage tanks to prevent the intrusion of stored materials from one compartment into another and to prevent fires. To this end, cofferdams are positioned between the cryogenic fluid storage tanks; however, due to the nature of storage tanks maintaining a cryogenic environment, the surfaces of the cofferdams in contact with the tanks are continuously exposed to low temperatures. Consequently, there is a risk of damage to the storage tanks and the vessel due to the low-temperature brittleness of the materials constituting the cofferdams. Therefore, it is necessary to install a heating system inside or outside the cofferdams to heat the internal temperature.

[0003] Conventional technology uses heaters or heating coils to heat the temperature of the cofferdam to 0 to 5°C, but when using heating coils, it is necessary to install an excessive number of coils inside the cofferdam, which is costly and has the disadvantage of being difficult to install, manage, and maintain.

[0004] Accordingly, methods have been proposed to raise the temperature inside the cofferdam by directly heating external air and injecting it into the cofferdam, or by heating antifreeze such as ethylene glycol and circulating it into the cofferdam; however, these methods have the problem of requiring additional power and energy to heat the external air or antifreeze. The problem to be solved

[0005] The technology disclosed in this specification aims to solve the aforementioned problem and other related problems.

[0006] One exemplary objective of the present specification is to provide an apparatus and method for heating a cofferdam capable of raising the temperature inside the cofferdam by heating a target material from the heat of combustion obtained by burning evaporated gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank.

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the apparatus and method for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas according to the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the problem mentioned above, and other unmentioned problems will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description below. means of solving the problem

[0008] An apparatus for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to one embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification may include: a collection unit for collecting evaporated gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank; a combustion unit for heating a target material by burning the collected evaporated gas; and a moving unit for moving the heated target material into the cofferdam.

[0009] The target substance heated in the combustion section may be characterized as being a gas.

[0010] The gas, which is the target substance heated in the combustion chamber, can be characterized as air moving from the outside to the combustion chamber.

[0011] The gas, which is the target substance heated in the combustion chamber, may also be characterized by being released from inside the ship's cofferdam and moving to the combustion chamber.

[0012] The target substance heated in the combustion section may also be characterized as being antifreeze.

[0013] The moving part includes a supply pipe that moves the target material into the cofferdam, and the supply pipe may include a valve that can control the opening and closing of the supply pipe.

[0014] The supply pipe may also include a flow meter capable of measuring the flow rate of the target substance moving through the supply pipe.

[0015] A method for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to one embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification may include the steps of: collecting evaporated gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank; burning the collected evaporated gas to heat a target material; and moving the heated target material into the cofferdam.

[0016] The target material being heated may be characterized as air supplied from the outside.

[0017] The target material being heated may also be characterized as a gas released from inside the ship's cofferdam.

[0018] The target substance to be heated may also be characterized as being antifreeze.

[0019] A computer program stored on a non-transient recording medium containing instructions according to an embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification may include instructions configured to cause the computer to perform any one of the methods of heating a ship's cofferdam using the aforementioned evaporated gas when executed by the computer. Effects of the invention

[0020] The apparatus and method for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas according to an embodiment based on the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification can economically heat the cofferdam by raising the internal temperature of the cofferdam from the combustion heat obtained by burning naturally occurring evaporated gas, thereby eliminating the need for the installation of heating coils, etc.

[0021] In addition, by burning the evaporative gas, the amount of evaporative gas emitted into the air is reduced, and overall energy efficiency can be increased by utilizing the heat of combustion obtained from burning the evaporative gas rather than additional energy.

[0022] However, the effects that can be achieved by the method of a device for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas according to an embodiment based on the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification are not limited to those mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art from the description below. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0023] A brief description of each drawing is provided to help to better understand the drawings cited in this specification. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional method for treating evaporated gas generated inside a cryogenic fluid storage tank. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a device for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to an embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a device for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to another embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a device for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to another embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0024] The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments. Specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. Identical or similar components are given the same reference numerals regardless of the drawing symbols, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0025] In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related prior art may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present invention, such detailed description is omitted. Additionally, numbers used in the description of this specification (e.g., 1st, 2nd, etc.) are merely identification symbols to distinguish one component from another.

[0026] In addition, when a component is described in this specification as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected to or directly connected to the other component, but unless otherwise specifically stated, it may also be connected or connected through another component in between. On the other hand, when a component is described as being "directly connected" to or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in between.

[0027] In addition, components expressed as '~part' in this specification may consist of two or more components combined into a single component, or a single component may be divided into two or more components according to more detailed functions. Furthermore, each component described below may additionally perform some or all of the functions performed by other components in addition to the primary function it is responsible for, and it goes without saying that some of the primary functions performed by each component may be exclusively performed by other components.

[0028] A singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0029] In this application, terms such as “comprising” or “having” are intended to specify the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0030] Although the present disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and above description, it should be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative rather than limiting in nature, and that only certain embodiments have been shown and described, and that all variations and modifications falling within the spirit of the present disclosure are preferably protected.

[0031] Hereinafter, embodiments based on the technical concept of the present invention will be described in detail in turn.

[0032] Figure 1 illustrates a part of a ship in which a cofferdam is installed between unit cryogenic fluid storage tanks, and is a schematic diagram of a conventional method for treating evaporated gas generated inside the cryogenic fluid storage tanks.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 1, inside a storage tank (110) that stores cryogenic fluids such as LNG or liquid hydrogen, evaporation gas is naturally and continuously generated by heat intrusion or evaporation over time. Since safety issues may arise due to pressure increase caused by the evaporation gas if it continues to accumulate inside the storage tank, there is a need to discharge the evaporation gas generated inside the storage tank (110) to the outside.

[0034] Accordingly, in the case of a conventional method for treating discharged evaporated gas, the liquefied evaporated gas was circulated back to a cryogenic fluid storage tank (110) using a re-liquefaction device (120) to convert the evaporated gas into LNG or liquid hydrogen for reuse; however, in the case where a larger amount of evaporated gas is generated than can be re-liquefied, the evaporated gas is burned by a combustor (130) and discharged into the air, which was the conventional technology.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a device for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to an embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 2, a device (200) for heating a cofferdam (220) of a ship using evaporated gas may include a collection unit (not shown) for collecting evaporated gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank (210), a combustion unit (230) for heating a target substance by burning the collected evaporated gas, and a moving unit (240) for moving the heated target substance into the cofferdam (220) located between the storage tanks (210).

[0037] Compared to FIG. 1, the device (200) for heating a coffer dam (220) using evaporated gas of FIG. 2 allows a target substance heated by combustion heat generated by burning evaporated gas in the combustion section (230) to move through a moving section (240) that can connect the combustion section (230) and the coffer dam (220). That is, unlike the conventional technology in which evaporated gas that was not re-liquefied by the re-liquefaction device (120) was burned by the combustion device (130) and immediately discharged into the air, the present invention burns evaporated gas that remains in a gaseous state without being re-liquefied by the re-liquefaction device (250) in the combustion section (230), and moves the target substance heated by combustion heat generated therefrom into the coffer dam (220) to raise the temperature of the coffer dam, thereby achieving high energy efficiency and reusability compared to the conventional technology that required additional energy to heat the air or antifreeze to be introduced into the coffer dam.

[0038] A moving unit (240) for moving a target material heated in a combustion unit (230) into a cofferdam (220) may include a supply pipe for moving the target material, and the supply pipe may include a valve (not shown) capable of controlling the opening and closing of the supply pipe. The supply pipe may also include a temperature measuring device (not shown) capable of measuring the temperature inside the cofferdam, and the valve may determine whether to move the target material heated in the combustion unit (230) into the cofferdam (220) according to the temperature inside the cofferdam (220) measured by the temperature measuring device.

[0039] Additionally, the supply pipe may further include a flow meter capable of measuring the flow rate of the target substance moving through the supply pipe, and the flow meter may measure the flow rate to determine whether the amount of the target substance moving into the coffer dam (220) is appropriate.

[0040] The configurations described above are merely examples and are not limited thereto, and it goes without saying that the above configurations may also be applied to other embodiments of the present invention.

[0041] In FIG. 2, the target material heated in the combustion section (230) is air introduced from the outside, and the external air introduced from the outside is heated by the combustion heat of the evaporated gas and injected into the cofferdam (220), then the cofferdam (220) is heated and then released back to the outside, having an open circuit structure.

[0042] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a device (300) for heating a coffer dam (320) of a ship using evaporated gas according to another embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification.

[0043] The device (300) for heating the cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas illustrated in FIG. 3 may further include a heat exchanger (360) in addition to the combustion section (330), the moving section (340), and the re-liquefaction device (350).

[0044] That is, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, in which air introduced from the outside into the combustion section (330) is heated and then moves into the coffer dam (320), the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 has a closed-loop structure in which gas released from the inside of the coffer dam (320) is heated in the heat exchanger (360) and then moves back into the coffer dam (320) to heat the coffer dam (320). The evaporated gas collected in the collection section is combusted in the combustion section (330) to generate combustion heat, and the combustion heat moves to the heat exchanger (360) to heat the gas circulating in the coffer dam (320).

[0045] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a device for heating a cofferdam of a ship using evaporated gas according to another embodiment of the technical concept of the technology disclosed in this specification.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 4, the target substance heated by the combustion heat generated by burning the collected evaporated gas may be a liquid rather than a gas. In one embodiment, the target substance may be antifreeze, but is not limited thereto.

[0047] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, a pipe through which liquid can circulate is provided inside the coffer dam (420), and the circulating liquid is heated by the combustion heat generated by the combustion of evaporated gas from the heat exchanger (460) and moves into the interior of the coffer dam (420) to heat the gas inside the coffer dam. At this time, heat exchange between the liquid and the gas occurs inside the coffer dam (420), and a pump or the like may be provided to facilitate the smooth movement of the liquid.

[0048] The liquid heated inside the cofferdam (420) can be moved back to the heat exchanger (460) through the moving part (440) and has a closed-circuit structure that can be heated again to heat the inside of the cofferdam (420).

[0049] The present invention may further include a computer program comprising instructions for executing the methods described above in order to effectively control the methods described above. The computer program is stored on a data storage medium, and the instructions for performing the methods described above are read through a computer processor according to a value entered by a user or a set environment.

[0050] The method and control therefor described above may be implemented as hardware components, software components, and / or a combination of hardware and software components. For example, the method and components described in the embodiments may be implemented using one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers, such as a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing unit may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications executed on said operating system. Additionally, the processing unit may access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing unit may be described as being used as a single unit, but those skilled in the art will understand that the processing unit may include multiple processing elements and / or multiple types of processing elements. For example, the processing unit may include multiple processors or one processor and one controller. In addition, other processing configurations, such as parallel processors, are also possible.

[0051] Software may include computer programs, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, and may configure a processing unit to operate as desired or instruct the processing unit independently or in combination. Software and / or data may be permanently or temporarily embodied in any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual device, computer storage medium, or device so as to be interpreted by the processing unit or to provide instructions or data to the processing unit. Software may be distributed over networked computer systems and stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer-readable non-temporary recording media.

[0052] The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., either alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specifically designed and configured for the embodiment, or they may be those known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Examples of program instructions include machine code, such as that generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operation of the embodiment, and vice versa.

[0053] Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to limited examples and drawings, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations from the description above. For example, suitable results can be achieved even if the described techniques are performed in a different order than described, and / or the components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. are combined or assembled in a form different from described, or replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents.

[0054] Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims also fall within the scope of the claims set forth below. Explanation of the symbols

[0055] 100, 200, 300, 400: Cofferdam heating device using evaporative gas 110, 210, 310, 410: Cryogenic fluid storage tanks 120: Reliquefaction device 130: Combustion device 220, 320, 420: Cofferdam 230, 330, 430: Combustion section 240, 340, 440: Moving part 250, 350, 450: Reliquefaction device 360, 460: Heat exchanger

Claims

Claim 1 A device for heating a ship's cofferdam using boil-off gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank, comprising: a boil-off gas collection unit configured to collect the boil-off gas; a combustion unit configured to heat a target substance by the combustion heat generated by burning the collected boil-off gas; and a moving unit configured to move the heated target substance into the cofferdam, wherein the target substance heated in the combustion unit comprises a gas released from the inside of the ship's cofferdam and moved to the combustion unit. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 A device for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas, characterized in that, in claim 1, the target material heated in the combustion section includes air moving from the outside to the combustion section. Claim 4 delete Claim 5 A device for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas, characterized in that, in claim 1, the target substance heated in the combustion section includes antifreeze. Claim 6 A device for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas, characterized in that, in claim 1, the moving part includes a supply pipe for moving a target substance into the cofferdam, and the supply pipe includes a valve capable of controlling the opening and closing of the supply pipe. Claim 7 A device for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas, characterized in that, in claim 6, the supply pipe further comprises a flow meter capable of measuring the flow rate of a target substance moving through the supply pipe. Claim 8 A method for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas generated in a cryogenic fluid storage tank, comprising: a step of collecting evaporated gas; a step of heating a target substance by combustion heat generated by burning the collected evaporated gas; and a step of moving the heated target substance into the cofferdam, wherein the target substance being heated comprises gas released from the inside of the ship's cofferdam. Claim 9 A method for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas, characterized in that, in claim 8, the target material to be heated includes air supplied from the outside. Claim 10 delete Claim 11 A method for heating a ship's cofferdam using evaporated gas, characterized in that, in claim 8, the target substance to be heated includes antifreeze. Claim 12 A computer program stored on a non-transient recording medium containing instructions, wherein the instructions are configured to cause the computer to perform a method according to any one of claims 8 through 9 and 11 when executed by the computer.

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