Method and System for Using a Target Gas Provided by a Gas Decomposition Device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for utilising a target gas flow consisting of pressurised target gas, which is provided by a continuously-operated gas decomposition device, wherein the target gas flow is supplied to a target load which discontinuously decreases the target gas flow, so that occasionally an excess target gas flow that is not decreased by the target load accrues, as well as a system for supplying a target load. The excess target gases occurring in a gas decomposition device and optionally additionally resulting waste gases may be used in a resource-saving manner through the method and the system according to the invention. This is achieved by the excess target gas flow being supplied as a propellant gas to a compressor which compresses another gas and supplies it as a compressed gas in a compressed gas line, via which it is fed to another load.

Claims

1. A method for utilising a target gas flow consisting of compressed target gas provided from a continuously operated gas decomposition device, comprising: using the target gas flow to supply a target load; using the target load to discontinuously decrease the target gas flow; accruing an excess target gas flow that is not decreased by the target load; supplying the excess target gas flow a propellant gas to a compressor; compressing another gas; and supplying the compressed gas in a compressed gas line which it is fed to another load.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the compressor is a gas jet compressor, comprising a drive side that is supplied with the excess target gas flow.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the target gas is oxygen, which is obtained by the gas decomposition device separating ambient air.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the excess target gas flow is mixed with the other gas before, during, or after its compression.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a waste gas flow results from the generation of the target gas the gas decomposition device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the waste gas flow is fed to a pressure accumulator, the waste gas is stored there, and the waste gas is used to drive the compressor if necessary.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the waste gas is mixed with the other gas before or after compression.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein both the excess target gas and the waste gas are mixed in a certain mixing ratio with the other before or after compression.

9. A system for supplying a target load with a compressed target gas flow and another load with another compressed gas, comprising: a gas decomposition device, which provides a target gas flow to a target load that discontinuously decreases the target gas flow, so that an excess target gas flow is obtained in the gas decomposition device, and a compressed gas operated compressor for compressing and feeding a compressed gas into a compressed gas line leading to another load, wherein the compressor is connected to an outlet of the gas decomposition device on a drive side via a propellant gas line, through which the excess target gas flow flows as a propellant gas to a propellant gas connection of the compressor.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the compressor is a gas jet compressor.

11. The system according to claim 9, further comprising an accumulator which is connected to the outlet of the gas decomposition device for a waste gas arising during the gas decomposition process.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the accumulator is connected to the drive side of the compressor via a supply line, and a valve is provided to free the supply line if necessary, and drive the compressor by means of the waste gas stored in the accumulator.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the accumulator is connected on an outlet side to a suction side of the compressor or with the compressed gas line in order to mix the waste gas in a gas flow to be compressed by the compressor, or in a compressed gas flow compressed by the compressor.

14. The system according to claim 9, further comprising a mixing device which is intended to admix a further gas to the target gas or waste gas flow to be introduced into a pressure line.

Description

[0035] The method according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing, wherein:

[0036] FIG. 1 schematically shows a system for supplying a target load with a pressurised target gas flow and another load with another compressed gas.

[0037] FIG. 2 schematically shows a diagram illustrating the components of the method according to the invention and their interaction.

[0038] The system 1 shown in FIG. 1 for supplying a target load and at least one further load, is constructed as follows:

[0039] In the gas decomposition device 2, a highly pressurized target gas flow Z consisting of oxygen is generated from the ambient air U. In the decomposition process, a waste gas flow A consisting of the remaining gas constituents of the ambient air U, mainly nitrogen, is additionally separated in the gas decomposition device 2.

[0040] The target gas flow Z generated by the gas decomposition device 2 is supplied to a target load 4 via a supply line 3. However, the target load 4 decreases the target gas ZG only discontinuously, so that at times an excess target gas flow Zue is produced in the gas decomposition device 2.

[0041] The excess target gas flow Zue is guided via a propellant gas line 5 to the propellant gas inlet 6 of a compressor 7 that is in the form of a gas jet compressor. The commercially-available compressor 7 that is designed in a manner known per se, comprises a mixing chamber 8 with a suction connection 9 and a nozzle device 10, via which the excess target gas flow Zue is introduced into the mixing chamber 8. The nozzle device 10 is so designed that the discharged excess target gas flow Zue enters the mixing chamber 8 at high speed, entrains another gas G at the suction connection 9, and then enters a funnel-shaped compression chamber 10a that tapers conically in the flow direction of the excess target gas flow Zue entering the mixing chamber 8, in which the gas mixture formed from the target gas flow Zue and the other gas G is compressed, so that it is fed as compressed gas DG into a compressed gas line 11. If it turns out that the power of the compressor 7 is not sufficient, it may be arranged in series with a conventional compressor which carries out the optionally still required final compression of the compressed gas DG to the respective specified pressure.

[0042] The compressed gas line 11 supplies various other loads 12,13,14 with compressed gas DG. In the event that no excess target gas flow Zue sufficient for the operation of the compressor 7 is available, pressurised gas DG is fed into the compressed gas line 11 via a conventional compressor 15.

[0043] The other gas G available at the suction connection 9 of the compressor 7, i.e. supplied separately from the excess target gas flow Zue, is mixed from waste gas AG and ambient air U. For this purpose, a mixing device 16 connected to the suction connection 9 is provided, that mixes ambient air U with a waste gas flow A in a specific mixing ratio. The mixing ratio is adjusted as a function of the excess target gas flow Zue guided into the compressor 7, so that, on the one hand, a sufficiently large pressure gas flow D enters the compressed gas line 11 and, on the other hand, the compressed gas DG fed into the compressed gas line 11 as a compressed gas flow D comprises an oxygen content, for example, between the oxygen content of normal air and 30 vol.-%. If a sufficiently large waste gas flow A is available, the amount of admixed ambient air U may be reduced to 0%. Likewise, the oxygen content of the compressed gas DG may be set significantly higher if the corrosion resistance of the compressed gas line system 11, through which the pressurised gas DG flows, and the loads 13 which are supplied with the compressed gas DG, allow this.

[0044] The waste gas flow A reaches the mixing device 16 via a line 19, which is connected to an outlet of an accumulator 17. The accumulator 17 is fed by the gas decomposition device 2 with the waste gas flow A via a supply line 18. Another or several further loads 21 may be supplied with the waste gas AG via a supply line 20 connected to a further outlet of the accumulator 17. The gas decomposition device 2 is decoupled from the drive side of the compressor 7 by the accumulator 17.

[0045] FIG. 2 clarifies the sequence of the method according to the invention, implemented, for example, on a system of the type shown in FIG. 1, in a general form.

[0046] A gas mixture U (ambient air) is separated into compressed target gas ZG and waste gas AG in the gas decomposition device 2.

[0047] However, the waste gas AG is not vented unused into the environment, but is buffered in the accumulator 17.

[0048] A further load 21 may be supplied with the waste gas AG via the accumulator 17.

[0049] In addition, waste gas AG is supplied from the accumulator 17 to the mixing device 16. There, a gas mixture G is adjusted as a function of the excess target gas flow Zue introduced into the compressor 7, so that the composition of the compressed gas DG fed into the compressed gas line 11 corresponds to a target specification. If the waste gas flow A present in the mixing device 16 is insufficient, ambient air U may be added to the waste gas flow A in the mixing device 16.

[0050] In the compressor 7 the gas mixture G is compressed to the compressed gas DG, which is fed into the compressed gas line 11 as the compressed gas flow D and supplies the other loads 12-14.

[0051] If the available excess target gas flow Zue is not sufficient for the generation of a sufficiently large compressed gas flow D, compressed gas DG is additionally fed into the compressed gas line 11 via the compressor 15.

REFERENCE LIST

[0052] 1 System [0053] 2 Gas decomposition device [0054] 3 Supply line [0055] 4 Target load [0056] 5 Propellant gas line [0057] 6 Propellant gas inlet [0058] 7 Compressor (gas jet compressor) [0059] 8 Mixing chamber [0060] 9 Suction connection [0061] 10 Nozzle device [0062] 10a Compression chamber [0063] 11 Compressed gas line [0064] 12-14 Other loads [0065] 15 Compressor [0066] 16 Mixing device [0067] 17 Accumulator [0068] 18 Supply line [0069] 19 Line [0070] 20 Supply line [0071] 21 Further load(s) [0072] A Waste gas flow [0073] A Waste gas flow [0074] AG Waste gas [0075] D Compressed gas flow [0076] DG Compressed gas [0077] G Other gas [0078] U Ambient air [0079] Z Target gas flow [0080] ZG Target gas [0081] Zue Target gas flow