Multi-Chamber Gas Drying with Blower-Assisted Adsorbent Regeneration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas drying methods, such as Thermal Swing Adsorption (TSA) and Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA), face inefficiencies and high costs when used for high-pressure, high-flow-rate gas drying, particularly due to the need for large, expensive vessels and the use of humid air for regeneration, and the PSA method requires improvements in drying capacity and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a series of chambers with regenerable adsorbents and a blower to introduce air for adsorbent regeneration, using a bidirectional transfer and venting valves to optimize the drying process, with optional pre-heating of air through heat exchangers, enhancing the drying capacity and efficiency by alternating drying and regeneration phases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If Thermal Swing Adsorption (TSA) method is used to regenerate desiccant, then moisture desorption is achieved, but the process requires high temperature heating and cooling which increases energy consumption and process time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the regeneration parameter from temperature (TSA) to pressure (PSA). By switching to pressure swing adsorption, the desiccant is regenerated by reducing pressure rather than heating, thereby eliminating the energy-intensive heating and cooling cycles while maintaining effective moisture desorption and improving overall drying capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the thermal mechanical system (heating/cooling cycles) with a pressure-based mechanical system. Instead of using thermal energy to regenerate the desiccant, the system uses pressure variations, substituting a more efficient mechanical process that reduces energy consumption and increases productivity.
2Productivity
If TSA method is used for desiccant regeneration, then moisture desorption is achieved, but the process is much slower due to heating and cooling time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the regeneration parameter from temperature (TSA) to pressure (PSA). By switching to pressure swing adsorption, the desiccant is regenerated by reducing pressure rather than heating, thereby eliminating the energy-intensive heating and cooling cycles while maintaining effective moisture desorption and improving overall drying capacity.
3Loss of energy
If PSA method is used for gas drying, then external heating and cooling is eliminated, but drying capacity and efficiency need improvement for high-pressure, high-flow-rate applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gas drying system into multiple chambers with desiccant beds arranged in series. This segmentation allows continuous operation where while one chamber is drying gas, another chamber is being regenerated, thereby increasing the overall drying capacity and efficiency without requiring external heating or cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous drying operation by arranging multiple desiccant chambers in series and alternating between drying and regeneration phases. This ensures that at least one chamber is always in the drying phase, maintaining continuous useful action and improving productivity while eliminating the need for external heating or cooling.
4Stress or pressure
If large vessels are used to withstand high pressure in TSA vessels, then high pressure containment is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases due to thick walls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the operational parameter from high-temperature TSA to pressure-based PSA. This parameter change allows the use of smaller vessels with thinner walls since the pressure variations in PSA are less extreme than the thermal stress cycles in TSA, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining pressure containment 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
The method achieves efficient and continuous drying of high-pressure, high-flow-rate gases by improving adsorbent regeneration, reducing the need for large vessels and external heating/cooling, and enhancing drying capacity and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
A known method consists in adsorbing the water vapour of the compressed gas on a desiccant
Implementation Method 2
The PSA method does not use changes in temperature but rather changes in pressure in order to release the adsorbed moisture
Data Source
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AI summary
Method for drying a gas by feeding the gas into a series of at least two chambers (10, 20) containing each a regenerable adsorbent for drying said gas and meanwhile to feed a part of the dried gas into a series of at least two other chambers (30, 40) while those other chambers are vented, in order to regenerate the adsorbent contained into these two other chambers. Meanwhile, a blower (70) feeds air from an air intake (75) into at least one of the at least two other chambers (30, 40) in order to improve the regeneration of their adsorbent. An apparatus (1) that is adapted to implement the method, is also disclosed.