Offset Butterfly Valves for CO2 Desorption Power-Loss Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas collection apparatuses face challenges in maintaining valve closure during power outages, leading to potential oxidation and degradation of adsorbents like solid amine, which increases operating costs and reduces CO2 collection efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus employs butterfly valves with offset rotary shafts and return springs to ensure valve closure during power loss, using differential pressure to maintain the valve in the closed position, thereby preventing adsorbent degradation and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the return spring abutment position is set to the fully open side to reduce power consumption during adsorption, then power consumption is reduced, but the valve cannot be reliably kept closed during power loss in desorption process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by offsetting the rotary shaft from the center of the valve body. This creates an asymmetric structure where the valve body rotates around an offset axis, enabling the valve to be held closed by differential pressure during power loss while still allowing the return spring to open the valve during normal operation. The offset distance is specifically designed to provide sufficient torque from differential pressure to counteract the return spring force when the valve needs to remain closed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes pneumatic principles by employing differential pressure (the pressure difference between the high-pressure source and low-pressure destination) to automatically hold the valve in the closed position during power loss. The offset rotary shaft design enables the differential pressure to generate sufficient torque to counteract the return spring force, creating a passive holding mechanism that relies on pressure differential rather than active power consumption.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the valve is allowed to open during power loss, then power consumption is minimized, but the adsorbent oxidizes and degrades reducing CO2 collection efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary anti-action by designing the valve mechanism to proactively prevent the harmful effect of adsorbent oxidation. The offset rotary shaft and differential pressure system are configured to automatically counteract the tendency of the return spring to open the valve during power loss, creating a preemptive barrier against oxygen contact with the adsorbent before degradation can occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful force of the return spring (which would open the valve and cause oxidation) into a beneficial element by using the offset rotary shaft design. The differential pressure acts on the offset valve body to generate closing torque that counteracts the return spring force, transforming what would be a harmful opening force into part of a balanced system that maintains valve closure during power loss.
3Device complexity
If a centered rotary shaft is used, then the valve structure is simpler, but the valve cannot be reliably held closed using differential pressure during power loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately introduces asymmetry by offsetting the rotary shaft from the valve body center. This asymmetric configuration is essential for the valve to function as intended, as it creates the mechanical leverage needed for differential pressure to generate sufficient closing torque during power loss. The offset distance is optimized to provide the necessary mechanical advantage while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset rotary shaft design serves multiple functions simultaneously: it enables the valve to be held closed by differential pressure during power loss, allows normal operation with the return spring, and provides a passive safety mechanism without requiring additional active control systems or complex components.
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 solution effectively keeps valves closed during power outages, preventing adsorbent oxidation and degradation, while minimizing power usage, ensuring efficient CO2 collection and rapid system reactivation upon power restoration.
Implementation Method 1
a return spring configured to bias the valve body in an open direction
Implementation Method 2
a center of rotation of the rotary shaft being offset from a center position of the valve body, seen from a normal direction for a plate surface of the valve body
Implementation Method 3
a reactor that internally holds an adsorbent and is configured to execute an adsorption process for sucking in a gas including a gas to be collected and causing the adsorbent to adsorb the gas to be collected
Implementation Method 4
a desorption process for desorbing the gas to be collected from the adsorbent by heating around the adsorbent
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a gas collection apparatus that can suppress power consumption at a time of normal operation, and can reliably keep a valve fully closed even in a case where supply of power is lost while performing a desorption process. A carbon dioxide collection apparatus is a gas collection apparatus that is provided with: a reactor; a fan; and a third valve and a fourth valve that are of a butterfly type and are provided at a gas inlet and a gas outlet of the reactor, plate-shaped valve bodies of the third valve and fourth valve that are configured to rotate around rotary shafts, a center of rotation of the rotary shafts being offset from a center position of the valve bodies, seen from a normal direction for a plate surface of the valve bodies.