FMM Liquid Surface for Cryogenic Ice Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing frozen material formation prevention systems are inadequate for deep hydrocarbon stream dehydration and cryogenic removal of CO2, as they fail to prevent ice and frost formation at temperatures below -60°C.
Innovation Solution
A frozen material prevention system that uses a surface configured to interact with a freezable-material-miscible (FMM) liquid, such as propylene glycol, to absorb and prevent the freezing of freezable materials like water, thereby preventing accumulation of frozen material on the surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional hydrophobic liquid impregnation is used to prevent ice formation, then ice and frost formation is prevented down to -10°C, but it fails to prevent freezing at temperatures below -60°C required for deep hydrocarbon stream dehydration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of liquid miscibility with freezable material. Instead of using water-immiscible hydrophobic liquids, the invention employs water-miscible hydrophilic liquids (such as propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, or glycerol) that can mix with water in all proportions. This parameter change allows the liquid to remain effective at much lower temperatures (below -60°C) by forming homogeneous mixtures that prevent ice crystal formation, thereby resolving the contradiction between temperature range and reliability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If hydrophobic liquid is used to increase nucleation energy barrier, then contact angle increases and ice formation is reduced, but the method is insufficient for cryogenic removal of CO2 and deep dehydration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by using water-miscible hydrophilic liquids instead of water-immiscible hydrophobic liquids. The hydrophilic liquid forms a low contact angle with water, allowing water to spread and mix rather than bead up. This inversion of the wetting behavior fundamentally changes the mechanism from increasing nucleation energy barrier through high contact angle to preventing ice formation through complete miscibility and homogeneous mixing, thereby achieving adaptability to deep dehydration and cryogenic CO2 removal applications.
3Reliability
If FMM liquid absorbs freezable material to prevent freezing, then frozen material accumulation is prevented, but the FMM liquid requires regeneration to remove absorbed freezable material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a regeneration system that periodically removes the absorbed freezable material from the FMM liquid. The FMM liquid circulates through a regeneration unit where heating or other separation methods remove the absorbed water or CO2, restoring the liquid's capacity to absorb more freezable material. This discarding and recovering process enables continuous operation and maintains reliability while managing the complexity through systematic material recovery.
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
The system effectively suppresses ice formation to well below -70°C, allowing for continuous operation and regeneration of the FMM liquid, which is essential for deep hydrocarbon stream dehydration and cryogenic removal of CO2.
Implementation Method 1
a freezable-material-miscible (FMM) liquid configured to absorb the freezable material to prevent freezing and accumulation of frozen material on the surface
Data Source
AI summary
A frozen material prevention system for preventing a freezable material in a fluid flow from freezing and accumulating frozen material in a flow path, including, a surface configured to interact with a freezable-material-miscible (FMM) liquid to retain the FMM liquid to the surface. The system can include the FMM liquid. The FMM liquid can be configured to absorb the freezable material to prevent freezing and accumulation of frozen material on the surface.