DEVICE FOR PRODUCING WATER HAVING REDUCED HEAVY MOLECULE CONTENT

Abstract

The device is designed for production of light, highly pure water with a high content of light molecules .sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.16O.

The technical results are productivity increasIIITII of the device and a reduction in energy costs per unit of the finished product.

The device is equipped with a heat pump, the distillation column consists of two coaxial tubes of diameter D1 and D2 with a layer of random packing located in the gap between them, where (D1D2)/2<300 mm, and the liquid distributor at the top of the column has at least 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column.

Claims

1. A device for production of water with reduced heavy water molecule content, including a distillation column operating under vacuum, an evaporator and a condenser, characterized in that the device is provided with a heat pump, the distillation column consists of two coaxial tubes of diameter D1 and D2 (D1>D2) (D1D2)/2<300 mm, and the liquid distributor at the top of the column has at least 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the random packing is in the form of a spiral prismatic packing.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the refrigerant is used as the working body of the heat pump.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat pump operates by means of mechanical compression of water vapor.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device includes several series-connected heat pumps.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention is illustrated by the following graphical materials.

[0024] Table 1 shows the values of HETS in packing columns of cylindrical section filled with a spiral prismatic packing 330.2, depending on the diameter of the column.

[0025] Table 2 shows the values of HETS in packing columns of cylindrical section filled with a spiral prismatic packing 330.2, depending on the number of irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing column for a column with a diameter of 300 mm.

[0026] Table 3 shows the values of HETS in packing columns of a ring cross section filled with a spiral-prismatic packing 330.2, depending on the size of the column for a liquid distributor with 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column.

[0027] Table 4 shows the parameters of the claimed device and the closest analog for the production of water of the same degree of purification.

[0028] FIG. 1 is a photo of a support grid that simultaneously functions as a vapor flow redistributor.

[0029] FIG. 2 is a photo of the liquid flow distributor.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows a distillation column consisting of two coaxial tubes.

[0031] FIG. 4 shows the claimed device, with a heat pump, being a chiller operating with freon as refrigerant.

[0032] FIG. 5 shows the claimed device, with a heat pump working by means of mechanical compression of water vapor.

[0033] The positions in FIG. 3-5 are:

[0034] 1outer tube; 2inner tube; 3a packing layer located in the space between said coaxial tubes; 4support grid; 5liquid coming from above; 6liquid flow distributor, 7vapor coming from below, 8distillation column; 9electric heating elements (hereinafter referred to as heating elements) to start the device; 10condenser-dephlegmator; 11the pump; 12container for product collection; 13evaporator of the heat pump device; 14the compressor; 15condenser of the heat pump deviceboiler; 16cube of the column; 17throttle valve; 18feeder line; 19line of the dump; 20recuperative heat exchanger.

EMBODIMENT DESCRIPTION

[0035] The known liquid flow distributors used in the packing columns have an irrigation number of 100 to 300 per m2 of the apparatus section. We have experimentally found that using of an effective liquid distributor with at least 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column allows increasing the diameter of a column filled with a spiral prismatic packing up to 300 mm, practically without changing the HETS (see Tables 1, 2). In this case, the degree of unevenness of the distribution of liquid per 1 m of the height of the packing decreases to 5%, which dramatically increases the efficiency of the column.

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a photo of a vapor flow redistributor used by the inventors, and FIG. 2 shows a photo of a liquid distributor.

[0037] Table 1 shows the change in HETS in packing columns of cylindrical section filled with a spiral prismatic packing 330.2 depending on the diameter of the column. The liquid distributor has 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing column.

[0038] Table 2 shows the change in HETS in packing columns of cylindrical section filled with a spiral prismatic packing 330.2, depending on the number of irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column. The column is 300 mm in diameter.

[0039] The determination of HETS was carried out according to the degree of separation of hydrogen isotopes in the distillation column in the stationary state and the non-taking away mode [12]. To do this, after the column enters the stationary state (when the profile of concentrations stops changing), water samples were taken from the condenser ([D]b) and from the cube ([D]n) of the column, and the calculation of the following have been done: [0040] degree of separation of the column K by the equation:

K=[D]n/[D]b; [0041] the number of theoretical separation stages (NTSS) N according to the Fenske equation for the non-taking away mode:

[0042] N=ln K/ln , where is the average hydrogen isotope separation factor in the column.

[0043] Further, the HETS was calculated by the equation:

HETS=H/N,

where H is the height of the packing layer in the column.

[0044] As it can be seen from Table 1, further increasing in the diameter of the column of the cylindrical section is accompanied by a significant increase in the HETS and, correspondingly, the height of the column. This makes the use of columns with a diameter of more than 300 mm inefficient and, therefore, does not allow further increasing the productivity of a single device.

[0045] The authors have experimentally proved, see Table 3, that, for the solution of the problem, it is possible to use columns of a larger diameter without losing the HETS. For this purpose, it is proposed to use a distillation column consisting of two coaxial tubes of diameter D1 and D2 (D1>D2) with a layer of random packing located in the gap between them (see FIG. 3). In this case, the distance between the walls should not exceed 300 mm. That is, the following condition must be met: (D1D2)/2 is less than or equal to 300 mm. This makes it possible to substantially increase the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column at the same distance between the walls as the cylindrical column. For example, with the diameter of the outer column 700 mm and the diameter of the inner column 100 mm, the cross-sectional area of the packing column will be 5.3 times larger than the cross-sectional area of a single cylindrical column of 300 mm in diameter. The distance between the walls will be the same 300 mm.

[0046] This technical solution allows to increase the productivity of the device significantly when using columns with a diameter of more than 300 mm without reducing the HETS.

[0047] The change of the HETS in packing columns of ring cross section filled with a spiral prismatic packing 330.2 depends on the dimensions of the column. The fluid distributor has 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column.

[0048] The central (inner) tube can also be filled with a packing and be an independent column of solid cross section with a separate cube and a condenser.

[0049] One way to reduce heat consumption on rectification devices is to use the heat of vapor condensation at the top of the column to heat the product in the column cube. However, due to the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the column, it is impossible to directly use the heat of condensation of the upper product vapor. In this case, a rectification scheme with a heat pump can be used. FIG. 4, shows a schematic diagram of a device in which a chiller operating with freon as refrigerant is used as a heat pump.

[0050] The distillation column (see FIG. 3) consists of an outer and an inner coaxial tubes. The packing layer is located in the space between the coaxial tubes on the support grid, which is also a redistributor of the 1o vapor flow. The packing is designed to increase the interaction surface between the ascending vapor flow and the descending flow of liquid in the distillation column. The liquid comes from above through the distributing unit, vapor comes from below. The water vapor obtained in the cube of the column enters the distillation column, which is the unit of interaction between the ascending vapor flow and the descending flow of the liquid.

[0051] The vapors leaving the top of the distillation column 8 (see FIG. 4) are fed to the condenser-dephlegmator 10, where they condense, giving heat to the water of the intermediate circuit. The condensate formed is partially fed to the product collection tank 12, partly to the irrigation of the column 8. The circulation of the water of the intermediate circuit between the condenser-dephlegmator 10 and the evaporator of the heat pump device 13 is provided by a pump 11. In the evaporator 13, the coolant of the heat pump device is evaporated by means of cooling the network water of the intermediate circuit. The refrigerant vapor is compressed by the compressor 14 and supplied to the condenser of the heat pump devicethe boiler 15. With a certain ratio of the parameters it may happen that the heat of condensation of the coolant is not enough to evaporate the water. In this case, the heat deficit is covered by electric heating elements 9, which are also necessary for the initial (starting) heating of the device.

[0052] The operation of the claimed device can be demonstrated by the following examples.

[0053] * It should be noted that the examples are given only to illustrate the effectiveness and capabilities of the present invention, without limiting the scope of its application in any way.

Example 1

[0054] The initial distilled water enters the column cube through the water supply line. When the column is started, the vapor is produced with the help of heating elements with a total power of 80 kW. Further the column operates using a heat pump while heating elements are switched off. The heat pump is a chiller operating with refrigerant-freon R134a. The electric power of the compressor drive is 48 kW. The distillation column consists of external and internal coaxially located tubes. The diameter of the inner tube is 100 mm, the diameter of the outer tube is 400 mm. The distance between the walls is 150 mm. The packing layer is located in the space between the coaxial tubes on the support grid, which is also a redistributor of the vapor flow. The packing consists of 3 mm spiral-prismatic elements made of stainless steel wire of 0.2 mm diameter. The specific surface of the packing is 2800 m.sup.2/m.sup.3, the proportion of the free volume is 0.9 m.sup.2/m.sup.3. The liquid comes from above through the distribution device, vapor comes from below. The fluid distributor has 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column. The process of mass transfer occurs by counterflow of liquid and vapor were the main flow of liquid and the main flow of vapor are directed along the axis of the column. The column is made of stainless steel 02X12T, the wall thickness is 2 mm, the height of the column is 6000 mm.

[0055] The process of water vapor enrichment with the lightest water molecules takes place in the distillation column at the packing surface at a temperature of 60 C. and a pressure of 0.2 bar. The vapors leaving the top of column 8 (see FIG. 4) enter the condenser-dephlegmator 10, where they condense, giving heat to the water of the intermediate circuit. The formed condensate is partially supplied to the collection tank 12, partly to the irrigation of the column 8. Circulation of the water of the intermediate circuit between the condenser-dephlegmator 10 and the evaporator of the heat pump device 13 is provided by the pump 11. In the evaporator 13, the coolant of the heat pump device is evaporated by means of cooling the network water of the intermediate circuit. The refrigerant vapors are compressed by the compressor 14 and supplied to the condenser of the heat pump deviceboiler 15. The resulting vapor with an increased content of .sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.16O in amount of 240 l/h is condensed in the condensation unit located at the top of the distillation column. The yield of the condensed light water is 0.025 of the total amount of water vapor passing through the distillation column and is equal to 6 l/h. The finished product is light water with an increased content of .sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.16O molecules, residual deuterium content of 10 ppm and heavy oxygen water (.sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.18O)800 ppm.

Example 2

[0056] All operations are the same as in example 1. The electrical power of the heat pump compressor drive is 200 kW. The dimensions of the column: the diameter of the inner tube is 100 mm, the diameter of the outer tube is 700 mm. The distance between the walls is 300 mm. The yield of the finished productlight water with a residual deuterium content of 10 ppm and heavy oxygen water (.sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.18O) content of 800 ppmis 20 l/h.

Example 3

[0057] FIG. 5 shows the operation of the claimed device with a heat pump using distillate vapors that are directly supplied to the compressor and the heat pump of the device operates by means of mechanical compression of water vapor. The original distilled water enters the column cube through the water supply line. When the column is started, the vapor is produced with the help of heating elements with a total power of 80 kW. Further the column operates using heat pump while heating elements are switched off. The distillation column consists of external and internal coaxially located tubes. The diameter of the inner tube is 200 mm, the diameter of the outer tube is 400 mm. The distance between the walls is 100 mm. The packing layer is located in the space between the coaxial tubes on the support grid, which is also a redistributor of the vapor flow. The packing is 3 mm spiral-prismatic elements made of stainless steel wire of 0.2 mm diameter. Specific surface of the packing is 2800 m.sup.2/m.sup.3, the proportion of free volume 0.9 m.sup.2/m.sup.3. The liquid comes from above through the distribution device, vaporcomes from below. The fluid distributor has 800 irrigation points per square meter of the cross-sectional area of the packing part of the column. The process of mass transfer occurs by counterflow of liquid and vapor where the main flow of liquid and the main flow of vapor are directed along the axis of the column. The column is made of stainless steel 02X12T, the wall thickness is 2 mm, the height of the column is 6000 mm. The column is operated at a temperature of 60 C. and a pressure of 0.2 bar. The vapors leaving the top of column 8 in amount of 210 l/h are compressed by a mechanical vapor compressor 14 and supplied to the heat exchanger of column cube 16 where they condense by evaporating the water in the cube at a lower pressure. The water vapor from the cube rises up the column and again enters the mechanical compressor 14 with a vapor compression ratio of 2. Formed condensate is supplied by the pump 11 into the tank to collect the product 12 and to irrigate the column. In this case, only 0.025 of the condensate amount, equal to 5.2 liters, enters the tank for collecting the product 12, and the rest is supplied to the irrigation of the column 8. The finished product is light water with an increased content of .sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.16O molecules, a residual deuterium content of 10 ppm and a heavy oxygen water (.sup.1H.sub.2 .sup.18O)) content of 800 ppm. To increase the efficiency of the heat pump, a recuperative heat exchanger 20 is used, in which the vapors emerging from the top of the column are heated with condensate and the condensate returns from the column cube heat exchanger.

[0058] Table 4 shows the parameters of the claimed device and the closest analog for the production of water of the same degree of purification.

[0059] As can be seen from the Table, the claimed invention far exceeds the closest analogue in energy efficiency and productivity.

INFORMATION SOURCES

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