Gas Flow Cleaning via Segmented Liquid Recirculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas cleaning technologies are inefficient and require excessive fresh water, as the cleaning liquid becomes saturated with pollutants and loses effectiveness over time, necessitating frequent replenishment and deactivation.
Innovation Solution
A device and method utilizing a pipeline with a direct current separator, swirl generators, and a cascading system of spray scrubbers that recirculates contaminated liquid in stages to maintain high cleaning efficiency with reduced fresh water consumption, employing a combination of co-current and counter-current separation processes and a quench area for pollutant management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fresh water is continuously added to the buffer tank to replenish evaporated cleaning fluid, then the cleaning fluid level is maintained, but the cleaning effect diminishes because the newly added water deactivates the cleaning properties by reducing the saturation level
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the cleaning process into two distinct segments: a spray scrubber that uses fresh water for initial cleaning, and a direct-flow separator that uses recirculated contaminated liquid for subsequent cleaning. This segmentation allows each component to use the most appropriate liquid type for its function, preventing the deactivation problem while maintaining effective cleaning throughout the system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary arrangement where the spray scrubber acts as a pre-treatment stage that removes a portion of pollutants before the gas stream enters the direct-flow separator. This intermediary step protects the recirculated cleaning fluid in the direct-flow separator from becoming overly saturated, thereby maintaining its cleaning effectiveness without requiring continuous fresh water addition
2Quantity of substance
If recirculated contaminated liquid is used in the spray scrubber, then fresh water consumption is reduced, but the cleaning efficiency decreases due to saturation with pollutants
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the cleaning function between two devices: the spray scrubber uses recirculated contaminated liquid (accepting lower efficiency in exchange for water savings), while the direct-flow separator uses fresh or less contaminated liquid to maintain high cleaning efficiency for the final cleaning stage. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both water conservation and maintained cleaning performance
Solution Approach 2:
Different qualities of cleaning liquid are applied at different locations in the system. The spray scrubber, which handles the bulk of pollutant removal, uses recirculated contaminated liquid. The direct-flow separator, which provides the final cleaning stage, uses fresh or less contaminated liquid. This local differentiation of liquid quality optimizes both water usage and cleaning efficiency at each stage
3Device complexity
If a single direct-flow separator with recirculated cleaning fluid is used, then the system is simple in structure, but the cleaning efficiency decreases over time as the liquid becomes saturated with pollutants
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single direct-flow separator, the system segments the cleaning function into two devices: a spray scrubber for pre-cleaning and a direct-flow separator for final cleaning. This segmentation allows the recirculated contaminated liquid to be used in the spray scrubber where saturation has less impact on overall performance, while the direct-flow separator maintains high efficiency with fresher liquid
Solution Approach 2:
The spray scrubber performs preliminary cleaning action before the gas stream enters the direct-flow separator. This preliminary removal of pollutants reduces the saturation burden on the recirculated liquid in the direct-flow separator, allowing it to maintain its cleaning properties for longer periods without requiring frequent replacement
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 achieves improved cleaning efficiency and reduced fresh water usage by utilizing already contaminated liquid for initial cleaning, followed by fresh liquid for enhanced pollutant removal, maintaining a high cleaning effect through cascading liquid circulation and efficient pollutant management, allowing for smaller regenerator design and increased cleaning capacity.
Implementation Method 1
EP 1 458 490 B1 shows a cyclone separator, with a pipe and an inlet opening and an outlet opening, wherein a stationary vortex body is arranged in the pipe, which sets the gas/liquid flow into a spiral motion so that the liquid contained in the gas flow is thrown radially outwards under the influence of the centrifugal force prevailing in the spiral flow and is separated there.
Implementation Method 2
WO 2014 180 861 A1 discloses a device and method for separating foreign particles from a gas stream, which, by means of a Venturi constriction and a swirl generator in a pipeline along a displacement body, distributes a washing liquid with high shear forces in the gas stream in order to subsequently separate the foreign particles 'captured' by finely dispersed droplets via the resulting centrifugal forces.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device and a method for cleaning a gas flow. The method for cleaning a gas flow has the following steps: • introducing a gas flow to be treated with a flow direction (11) into a pipeline (1) with a co-current separator (G); • injecting an uncontaminated cleaning liquid (W) into the co-current separator (G), generating a rotation of the gas flow using a swirler (10), separating contaminated liquid (K) from the gas flow via a water drain (5), and discharging the clean gas (14) via an immersion tube (13); • temporarily storing the contaminated liquid (K) in a buffer container (8); • injecting the contaminated liquid (K) by means of injection nozzles (4') in a spray scrubber (I) in the pipeline (1) upstream of the co-current separator (G); and • separating the contaminated liquid (K') in a water drain (5') arranged downstream in the flow direction (11) and temporally storing same in a corresponding buffer container (8') for the contaminated liquid (K'). The contaminated liquid (K') can then be reused in an additional device, can be introduced into an additional spray scrubber (II), or can be introduced into a quench circuit of a pre-cleaning stage.