Sorbent Drying via Vapor Compression Heat Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processes for drying sorbents are inefficient in terms of energy usage and environmental impact, as they often require significant amounts of energy to overcome the enthalpy of desorption and evaporation.
Innovation Solution
A process that involves desorbing a substance (preferably water) from a sorbent by increasing its pressure, partially condensing it, and transferring the heat released by condensation back to the sorbent, thereby reusing energy and improving efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If traditional heating methods are used to desorb water from the sorbent, then the sorbent can be dried, but significant energy is consumed to overcome desorption and evaporation enthalpy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of water (liquid-vapor-liquid) to achieve drying. Water is desorbed as vapor, compressed, condensed back to liquid, and the condensation heat is transferred back to the sorbent to drive further desorption, creating a cyclic process that recovers energy
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the condensation of desorbed water vapor releases heat that is transferred back to the sorbent to drive additional desorption. This closed-loop energy recovery reduces external energy input requirements while maintaining high drying efficiency
2Productivity
If external heat supply is increased to improve drying speed, then productivity increases, but energy consumption and environmental impact worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful waste heat that would normally be lost during water condensation into a beneficial resource. The condensation heat is captured and transferred back to the sorbent to drive desorption, turning an energy loss into energy recovery that accelerates drying without additional external energy input
Solution Approach 2:
The system exploits the phase transition of water from vapor to liquid during compression, where the condensation process releases latent heat that is immediately utilized to drive further desorption. This phase change mechanism provides both rapid water removal and internal heat generation for sustained drying speed
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
This process achieves a particularly efficient desorption of substances from sorbents, reducing energy requirements and environmental impact while allowing for continuous operation by recycling energy from condensation.
Implementation Method 1
desorbing a substance, preferably water, from the sorbent
Implementation Method 2
The removal of the substance from the sorbent may comprise an evaporation of the substance. Therefore, it may additionally be necessary to overcome an evaporation enthalpy of the sorbed substance
Implementation Method 3
In the further step of increasing the pressure of the substance desorbed from the sorbent, the substance may be compressed and/or it may be introduced into an environment with a higher pressure
Implementation Method 4
In the present invention, at least a part of the heat released by the condensation of the substance is transferred to the sorbent
Implementation Method 5
the heat may be transferred to the sorbent mainly via conduction and/or convection, for example by flowing the substance through the heat transfer device, which may be in contact with the sorbent
Implementation Method 6
the heat may be transferred to the sorbent mainly via conduction and/or convection
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a process for drying a sorbent, comprising the steps of desorbing (IX) a substance (2), preferably water, from the sorbent (3), increasing (X) the pressure of the substance (2) desorbed from the sorbent (3), at least partially condensing (XI) the substance (2) having the increased pressure, and transferring (XII) heat released by the condensation of the substance (2) to the sorbent (3). The present invention further relates to an apparatus (1) for desorbing a substance (2), preferably water, from a sorbent (3), comprising a sorbent (3), a pressure increasing device (11) and a heat transfer device (9). The apparatus (1) is arranged and configured to increase the pressure of the substance (2) desorbed from the sorbent (3) with the pressure increasing device (11), to at least partially condense the substance (2) having the increased pressure, and to transfer heat released by the condensation of the substance (2) with the heat transfer device (9) to the sorbent (3).