Electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vaporizer for liquid hydrogen. An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to the present invention vaporizes liquid hydrogen through an electric heater rod, and comprises: a vaporizer main body in which a plurality of hydrogen layers in which a flow path through which liquid hydrogen flows is etched and a plurality of heater layers inserted between the hydrogen layers are continuously bonded; a purge block coupled to an upper portion of the vaporizer main body; a heater chamber coupled to an upper portion of the purge block to provide a vaporizing heat source to the vaporizer main body; a plurality of electric heater rods extending from the heater chamber and installed in through-holes formed in the heater layers; and a protective film installed to surround the outer surfaces of the electric heater rods.

Description

Electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer, and more specifically, to an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer that rapidly vaporizes liquid hydrogen using an electric heater rod while possessing durability.

[0002] Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is obtained by cooling and liquefying a gas primarily composed of methane, which is produced by refining natural gas, and a vaporizer is a type of heat exchanger that converts liquefied natural gas into natural gas in a gaseous state.

[0003] In other words, natural gas transported or stored in a liquefied state must be converted back into gaseous natural gas for use by applying heat.

[0004] Among these types of vaporizers, methods using seawater, plate type, Shell & Tube type, or PCHE (Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger) are used to pass LVG and EGW (antifreeze: a mixture of ethylene glycol and water) through cold fluid passages and hot fluid passages, respectively, to vaporize LNG through heat exchange to obtain NG (Natural Gas), and to cool the EGW and use it as a cold heat source (cooling or refrigeration).

[0005] In particular, a printed circuit board type plate heat exchanger (PCHE) forms micro-channels on a plate through an etching process using chemical etching, and stacks the plates with the formed micro-channels to enable heat exchange between two fluids.

[0006] This printed circuit board-type plate heat exchanger (PCHE) has the advantage of high heat transfer efficiency due to the formation of multiple micro-channels through which the heat medium travels, resulting in a high heat exchange surface area within a small volume.

[0007] Prior art related to such vaporizers includes Application No. 10-2022-0054827 (Liquefied Natural Gas Vaporization Device) and Korean Published Patent Application No. 10-2003-0025345 (Liquefied Natural Gas Vaporization System of a Double-Pipe Triple-Flow Type Using the Latent Heat of a Phase Change Fluid).

[0008] However, conventional printed circuit board-type plate heat exchangers (PCHEs) adopt a structure in which the electric heater is directly inserted into the core, and if hydrogen leaks, the hydrogen comes into contact with the electric heater, posing a fire hazard.

[0009] The purpose of the electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to the present invention is to provide an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer capable of preventing hydrogen from penetrating into the heater even if hydrogen leaks and preventing the risk of fire.

[0010] The electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to the present invention is an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer that vaporizes liquid hydrogen through electric heater rods, and is characterized by comprising: a hydrogen layer having an etched flow path for liquid hydrogen; a vaporizer body in which a plurality of heater layers inserted between the hydrogen layers are continuously joined; a purge block coupled to the upper part of the vaporizer body; a heater chamber coupled to the upper part of the purge block and providing a vaporization heat source to the vaporizer body; a plurality of electric heater rods extending from the heater chamber and installed in a through hole formed in the heater layer; and a protective film installed to surround the outer surface of the electric heater rods.

[0011] Here, the protective film is characterized by having a clearance space formed at the bottom.

[0012] In addition, the heater chamber is characterized by comprising a body, a cover screw-coupled to the upper part of the body, and a bottom plate coupled to the lower part of the body and to which the heater rod is fixed.

[0013] In addition, the purge block is characterized by forming a purge space between the vaporizer body and the heater chamber, and forming a purge hole to discharge leaked hydrogen gas to the outside.

[0014] Another embodiment of the electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to the present invention is characterized in that a hydrogen detection sensor for detecting leaked hydrogen gas is installed in the purge block, and a control valve for controlling the injection of purge gas is formed in the purge hole into which purge gas is injected.

[0015] The electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to the present invention has the advantage of preventing the risk of fire by preventing hydrogen from penetrating into the heater rod through a protective film even if hydrogen leaks during the liquid hydrogen vaporization process.

[0016] In addition, it has the advantage of being able to quickly inject purge gas into the leaked hydrogen through the purge hole.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 4 is an internal cross-sectional view of an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] <Explanation of Symbols>

[0023] 10: Main body

[0024] 12: Hydrogen layer

[0025] 14: Heater layer

[0026] 15: Penetrating hole

[0027] 30: Heater chamber

[0028] 31: Cover

[0029] 32: Body

[0030] 33: Base plate

[0031] 34: Fuzzy Block

[0032] 34a: Fuzzy Hole

[0033] 40: Heater rod

[0034] 50: Shield

[0035] 52: Free space section

[0036] 60: Control valve

[0037] 62: Purge gas storage tank

[0038] 70: Detection sensor

[0039] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1.

[0041] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to the present invention basically comprises a vaporizer body (10) having a plurality of hydrogen layers joined together, each having an etched flow path through which liquid hydrogen flows, and a heater chamber (30) that transmits electricity to a heater rod installed inside the body (10) through an external power source.

[0042] Here, a detailed description of the shape of the flow path formed by etching the hydrogen layer, the supply line for supplying liquid hydrogen to the fluid layer, and the discharge line for discharging the hydrogen vaporized inside the vaporizer body (10) will be omitted.

[0043] In other words, in a conventional vaporizer that vaporizes liquid hydrogen using a printed circuit board-type plate heat exchanger, electricity is used as the heat source for the vaporization of liquid hydrogen.

[0044] First, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body (10) has a plurality of hydrogen layers (12) joined together, in which a channel for liquid hydrogen to flow is etched, and a plurality of heater layers (14) are inserted between the hydrogen layers (12).

[0045] The heater layer (14) has multiple through holes formed at regular intervals, and multiple electric heater rods (40) are each connected to the through holes.

[0046] Looking more closely at the coupling structure of these heater rods, FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 3, a heater rod (40) is inserted into a through hole (15) formed vertically in the heater layer (14), and a protective film (50) is installed to surround the outer surface of the heater rod (40).

[0048] This protective layer (50) serves to prevent the heater rod from being damaged even in the event of an accident where liquid hydrogen leaks.

[0049] In particular, a clearance space (52) is formed in the lower part of the protective film (50) so that the protective film is not damaged even if the heater rod (40) undergoes vertical expansion due to heat.

[0050] Next, regarding the heater chamber, as shown in FIG. 2, the heater chamber (30) includes a body (32) for protecting the connection point between the heater rod (40) and the external power source, a cover (31) screw-coupled to the upper part of the body (32), and a bottom plate (not shown in FIG. 2) coupled to the lower part of the body (32) and fixed to the upper part of the heater rod.

[0051] And, the purge block (34) coupled to the upper part of the vaporizer body forms a purge space between the vaporizer body and the heater chamber, and a purge hole (34a) is formed to discharge leaked hydrogen gas to the outside.

[0052] These fuzzy blocks (34) are configured to correspond to the external shape of the main body (10) connected to the lower part so that a fuzzy space is formed inside.

[0053] Additionally, one end of a heater rod with a protective film attached is vertically connected inside the body (32), and a cover (31) for connecting the heater rod to an external power source is screw-connected to the upper part of the connecting body (32).

[0054] If we examine the coupling structure of these heater rods in more detail,

[0055] FIG. 4 is an internal cross-sectional view of an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 4, the heater rod (40) combined with the protective film (50) is inserted into the through hole formed in the heater layer (14), and the upper end of the heater rod (40) is fixed to the bottom plate (33), which is the lower surface of the body (32).

[0057] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] As previously described, the purge block (34) forms a purge space between the vaporizer body (10) and the heater chamber (30) and forms a purge hole to discharge leaked hydrogen gas to the outside.

[0059] In the event that hydrogen gas leaks from the vaporizer body (10), contact with the heater rod is prevented through the protective film described above, and the hydrogen gas leaked into the purge block (34) is controlled by a hydrogen detection sensor (70) installed in the purge space to detect the leaked hydrogen gas, and a control valve (60) for controlling the injection of purge gas into the purge hole is controlled.

[0060] The purge gas can also be supplied by connecting a nitrogen or air storage tank (62) separately to a control valve (60).

[0061] As described above, the main technical concept of the present invention is to provide an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer. Since the embodiment described above with reference to the drawings is merely one example, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims.

Claims

1. In an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer that vaporizes liquid hydrogen through an electric heater rod, A vaporizer body having a plurality of etched hydrogen layers through which liquid hydrogen flows and heater layers inserted between the hydrogen layers, wherein the hydrogen layers are continuously joined; A purge block coupled to the upper part of the above-mentioned carburetor body; A heater chamber coupled to the upper part of the above purge block and providing a vaporization heat source to the above vaporizer body; A plurality of electric heater rods extending from the heater chamber and installed in a through hole formed in the heater layer; An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer characterized by including a protective film installed to surround the outer surface of the electric heater rod.

2. In Paragraph 1, The above protective film is, An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer characterized by having a clearance space formed in the lower part.

3. In Paragraph 1, The heater chamber above is, An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer characterized by comprising a body, a cover screw-coupled to the upper part of the body, and a bottom plate coupled to the lower part of the body and fixed to the heater rod.

4. In Paragraph 1, The above fuzzy block is, An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer characterized by forming a purge space between the vaporizer body and the heater chamber and forming a purge hole for discharging leaked hydrogen gas to the outside.

5. In Paragraph 4, An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer characterized by having a hydrogen detection sensor installed in the purge block to detect leaked hydrogen gas, and a control valve formed in the purge hole into which purge gas is injected to control the injection of purge gas.

6. In an electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer that vaporizes liquid hydrogen through an electric heater rod, A vaporizer body having a plurality of etched hydrogen layers through which liquid hydrogen flows and heater layers inserted between the hydrogen layers, wherein the hydrogen layers are continuously joined; A plurality of electric heater rods installed in through holes formed in the heater layer; An electric liquid hydrogen vaporizer characterized by including a protective film installed to surround the outer surface of the electric heater rod.

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