High-Pressure Separation Vessel Bursting Disc Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-pressure polymerization plants face challenges in safely and efficiently separating liquid and gaseous components due to the need for multiple bursting discs, which increases the volume to be depressurized and requires complex installations, including separate steel blocks to prevent polymer entrainment and ensure safe pressure release.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical separation vessel with a thickened top wall housing a bursting disc holder, allowing for a dead-space-free installation of bursting discs, which are connected to vent lines for safe pressure relief without the need for multiple exit lines or massive steel blocks, enabling efficient separation of liquid and gaseous fractions at pressures from 10 MPa to 50 MPa.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple bursting discs are installed to ensure safe pressure release, then safety is improved, but device complexity and installation volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple bursting discs are integrated into a single thickened top wall structure, combining multiple safety devices into one unified installation location. This merging approach maintains the safety function of multiple bursting discs while eliminating the need for separate steel blocks and multiple exit lines, thereby reducing installation complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickened top wall serves multiple functions: it provides structural support, houses multiple bursting disc holders, and acts as the installation platform for all bursting discs. This multi-functional design consolidates what would otherwise require separate components and installation steps, reducing overall device complexity.
2Reliability
If bursting discs are installed in separate massive steel blocks to prevent polymer entrainment, then reliability is improved, but weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bursting discs are extracted from the massive steel blocks and directly integrated into the thickened top wall of the separation vessel. This extraction eliminates the need for separate steel blocks while maintaining the bursting discs' ability to prevent polymer entrainment through their direct installation in the vessel wall with appropriate holders.
3Reliability
If multiple exit lines are used to accommodate multiple bursting discs, then safety is improved, but device complexity and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple bursting discs share a single exit line, merging what would otherwise require multiple separate exit lines. The thickened top wall provides a common installation platform where multiple bursting discs can discharge through one exit line, eliminating the complexity of configuring and managing multiple separate exit lines while maintaining adequate pressure relief capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design simplifies the installation and construction of high-pressure separation vessels, allowing for economic production and safe operation by eliminating the need for complex steel block structures and ensuring efficient pressure relief, thereby enhancing the safety and efficiency of the separation process.
Implementation Method 1
the separation vessel bears at least one bursting disc which is held by a bursting disc holder which is installed pressure-tight within a boring in the thickened part of the separation vessel wall
Implementation Method 2
separating, at a pressure of from 10 MPa to 50 MPa, a composition comprising liquid components and gaseous components into a liquid fraction and a gaseous fraction
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
Vessel for separating, at a pressure of from 10 MPa to 50 MPa, a composition comprising liquid components and gaseous components into a liquid fraction and a gaseous fraction, wherein the separation vessel has a cylindrical shape and is vertically arranged, the separation vessel has at its top a manhole, which is surrounded by a thickened part of the separation vessel wall; the separation vessel is equipped with means for introducing the composition into the separation vessel, with means for withdrawing a gaseous fraction from the top of the separation vessel, and with means for withdrawing a liquid fraction from the bottom of the separation vessel; and the separation vessel bears at least one bursting disc which is held by a bursting disc holder which is installed pressure-tight within a boring in the thickened part of the separation vessel wall, process for separating, at a pressure of from 10 MPa to 50 MPa, a composition comprising liquid components and gaseous components into a liquid fraction and a gaseous fraction, and process for preparing ethylene homopolymers or copolymers from ethylenically unsaturated monomers in the presence of free-radical polymerization initiators at temperatures from 100°C to 350°C and pressures in the range of from 1 10 MPa to 500 MPa in a polymerization reactor, wherein the separation of the reaction mixture obtained by the polymerization is carried out in such a separation vessel.