Pelletizing Channel Segmentation for Cryogenic Cooling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for pelleting or granulating substances with cryogenic media face challenges such as large cooling channel requirements, maintenance-intensive moving parts, and inflexibility in accommodating substances with different freezing behaviors, leading to inefficient cooling and handling issues.
Innovation Solution
A device with a channel arrangement featuring a closed bottom fixing section for initial freezing and a permeable to coolant but impermeable separating section for pellet separation, allowing adjustable angles and segmentable channels for flexibility, along with a conveying system ensuring laminar flow and further cooling using gaseous coolant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a large cooling channel is used to achieve sufficient residence time and thorough cooling, then the cooling effectiveness is improved, but the device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The channel is divided into a fixing section with closed bottom for initial freezing and a separating section with passage area for coolant permeation. This segmentation allows the cooling process to be optimized in stages without requiring a uniformly large channel throughout, reducing overall device volume while maintaining cooling effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The channel arrangement allows for adjustable angles and segmentable channels that can be configured based on specific cooling requirements. This dynamic configurability enables optimization of residence time and cooling effectiveness without permanently increasing device size for all possible applications.
2Reliability
If a conveyor belt is used as a separating device to separate pellets from coolant, then the separation function is improved, but the maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical conveyor belt system with a passive separating section that uses gravity and coolant flow dynamics to separate pellets from coolant. The separating section has a passage area that allows coolant to pass through while pellets are diverted by gravity, eliminating moving parts and significantly reducing maintenance requirements.
3Device complexity
If permanently installed cooling channels are used, then the cooling structure is simplified, but the adaptability to different substances with different freezing behaviors decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The channel arrangement features adjustable angles and segmentable channels that can be reconfigured based on the specific freezing characteristics of different substances. This allows the same physical structure to be optimized for various materials without requiring completely different permanently installed channels for each substance.
Solution Approach 2:
The separating section with its passage area serves multiple functions: it separates pellets from coolant, allows coolant recirculation, and provides a transition zone for different cooling rates. This multi-functionality reduces the need for specialized components for each substance type.
4Adaptability or versatility
If moving parts are used in the cooling channel to enable flexibility, then the adaptability is improved, but the reliability at low temperatures decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates moving parts from the cooling channel by using a fixed channel arrangement with adjustable geometry and passive separation mechanisms. The adapting elements are designed without motors, bearings, or other components that would fail at cryogenic temperatures, significantly improving reliability while maintaining flexibility through geometric adjustment.
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 enables efficient, flexible, and easy-to-maintain pellet production, accommodating various substances by optimizing coolant flow and temperature control, ensuring complete freezing and reliable pellet transport without complex moving parts.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid coolant is transported into a channel arrangement... the substance to be pelleted is fed into the channel arrangement... separating the pelletized or granulated substance from the coolant
Implementation Method 2
Frozen pellets of liquid food, such as liquid egg, are produced by dropping the food through a nozzle or a plurality of nozzles in the liquid stream of a cryogenic medium
Implementation Method 3
a passage area which is permeable to the liquid coolant, but is impermeable to the pelleted or granulated substance
Implementation Method 4
the pelleted or granulated substance is fed to a channel-shaped separating section running downwards in the flow direction... the pellets or granules pass through the channel-shaped separating section under the effect of gravity
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The device comprises a liquid coolant (7), a conveyor device (6) through which the coolant is transported into a channel assembly (10) that partially opens at the top, an insertion device (19) through which the material to be pelletized is added into the channel assembly, and a device (15) for separating the pelletized or granulated materials from the coolant. The channel assembly comprises a downwardly closed groove-shaped fixing portion and an adjacent groove-shaped separating section in its fixing portion that is equipped with a passage region in the underside. The device comprises a liquid coolant (7), a conveyor device (6) through which the coolant is transported into a channel assembly (10) that partially opens at the top, an insertion device (19) through which the material to be pelletized is added into the channel assembly, and a device (15) for separating the pelletized or granulated materials from the coolant. The channel assembly comprises a downwardly closed groove-shaped fixing portion and an adjacent groove-shaped separating section in its fixing portion that is equipped with a passage region in the underside, which is permeable to the liquid coolant and impermeable to the pelletized or granulated materials. The fixing portion and/or the separating section are arranged in an adjustable angle inclined against the horizontal angle. The fixing portion and/or the separating section is made from many adjustable segments in its inclination angle against the horizontal angle. The channel assembly comprises a first channel portion permeable to the coolant, where the second channel is present below the fixing portion in the first channel. The second channel is formed from movable segments which are switchable from a first state, where the segment lies in liquid-tight manner in the first channel to a second state, in which the segments are spaced apart from the first channel. The first and second channels are adjustably arranged axially to each other. The separating section for guaranteeing the permeability of the coolant comprises a grid-, groove- or sieve-shaped passage region, which is formed as a perforated plate. The channel assembly is formed as a winding spiral around the vertical axis. A cold-liquefied gas or gas mixture is used as liquid coolant. The channel assembly is housed in a thermally insulated housing. The separating section of the channel assembly is equipped with a device for removing solid freezing pellets in the channel assembly. A pump, a bucket elevator and/or Archimedes' screw is present as the conveyor device. An independent claim is included for a method for pelletizing or granulating a liquid or pasty material.