CA1091544A - Gas storage systems - Google Patents
Gas storage systemsInfo
- Publication number
- CA1091544A CA1091544A CA220,861A CA220861A CA1091544A CA 1091544 A CA1091544 A CA 1091544A CA 220861 A CA220861 A CA 220861A CA 1091544 A CA1091544 A CA 1091544A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- gas
- container
- storage
- outlet
- discharge system
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
- F17B—GAS-HOLDERS OF VARIABLE CAPACITY
- F17B1/00—Gas-holders of variable capacity
- F17B1/24—Gas-holders of variable capacity of dry type
- F17B1/26—Gas-holders of variable capacity of dry type with flexible walls, e.g. bellows
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Filling Or Discharging Of Gas Storage Vessels (AREA)
- Waste-Gas Treatment And Other Accessory Devices For Furnaces (AREA)
- Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
- Air Bags (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A storage system for a combustible gas comprises a collapsible container selectively connectable to a source of the gas and to a suitable discharge point together with means effective cyclically to produce controlled expansion of the container so as to enable gas to be transferred from the source for storage and to produce collapse of the container to enable stored gas to be discharged.
A storage system for a combustible gas comprises a collapsible container selectively connectable to a source of the gas and to a suitable discharge point together with means effective cyclically to produce controlled expansion of the container so as to enable gas to be transferred from the source for storage and to produce collapse of the container to enable stored gas to be discharged.
Description
1~)9~5~
, This invention relates to the storage of gases and '~ ls particularly concerned with the storage for reuse of carbon monoxide obtained as a reaction by-product in basic oxygen steelmaking.
`,5 In a basic oxygen steelmaking process iron derived --' from a blast furnace is refined by blowing oxygen i.nto the melt ~; contained in a suitable converter. During refining, some impurities in the iron react with the bLown oxygen to form a slag which floats to the top of the melt and which can subsequentLy ,-io be separated from the refined metal poured from the converter.
A predomlnant impurity in iron d~rived from a blast ' furnace is carbon which can be present in concentrations of ' up to 5% weight. During refining this contained carbon is ~, ox~dised by blown oxygen and the reaction product is evolved `,'15 from the converter as carbon monoxide gas. During blowing a proportion of the iron in the converter also is oxidised ' and is evolved as fine particulate iron oxide~ which is entrained ~, as fume in the carbon monoxide. -," ~ In conventional BOS converters, the evolved iron ' oxide-carbon monoxide gas stream generally is discharged into -~ a stack which terminates at its upper end in a suitable flare ¦ ,, , at which the~gas stream is burnt in atmosphere. In order to i '~ , " avoid contamin,tion of the ambient, the gas strea~l from the -- converter is cooled by bringing it into heat exchange ~25 relationship with water flowing in a cooling circuit and is ., - j ~I ~
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subsequently water scrubbed to remove iron oxides.
The flaring of the carbon monoxide at the stack outlet is recognized as representing a considerable loss of potentially combustible gas which could be used as an energy source in ot~er processes or in energy conversion for example to mechanical or electrical powerO Generation of carbon monoxide in BOS is however intermittent and a number of methods have been proposed for storing the gas stream from the converter or reuse as and when required.
Difficulties inherent in any storage scheme for carbon monoxide gas arise from the highly explosive characteristics of carbon monoxide when diluted with oxygen or with air, and ... . . .
- from the high level of toxicity of carbon monoxide to living beings. It is accordingly an object of the present invention ,... - .
to produce a combustible gas storage and discharge system which can be used inter alia with the gas reaction products of basic oxygen steekmaking and in which the risks arising from leakage .
are reduced.
- The improved gas storage and discharge system accord-` 20 lng to the present invention comprises a collapsible container or holding a given quantity of gas suitable for storage; this - container being sealed into a rigid chamber containing an ambient gas. The system also comprises a conduit between a source of gas suitable for storage, the collapsible container ',! and a discharge point. The system further comprises additional j means operable independantly of the pressure of the gas suitable 'I . .
for storage in said source and conduit, to cause expansion of the container so as to permit to the gas to be transferred from the source for storage in the container, and subsequently :~ .
to cause contraction of said container to enable stored gas to be discharged from said container to the discharge point.
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. These additional means comprises blower means connected to said ,! rigid chamber to pump said ambient gas out of the same so as to cause expansion of the container independenly of the pressure - of the gas suitable for storage which is drawn or siphoned from the source, or to pump ambient gas into the chamber so as to cause contraction of the container and discharge of the stored gas from said container _ `
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By the use of the invention, the controlled and independent expansion of the container can produce gas storage substantially at the pressure of the gas source; thus in the case where the gas source comprises the st3ck of a BOS converter in which gas pressure is substantially that of abmvsphere, gas will be drawn from the stack also at substantially atmospheric pressure and will be stored at this pressureO In the case where the gas source is at a pressure above atmosphere, any suitable means of pressure reduction, for example by the use ~: 10 of a controlled orifice of selected flow impedance can be used The absence o a significant pressure differential between the gas when stored and the oxygen containing ambien~
. i ;- will reduce to a minimum the risk of dilution of the gas or of the ambient and accordingly will reduce the possibility of an explosive mixture being formed. Here while in ideal .
cLrc~Qstances the gas pressure in the storage container is : matched to that of the atmosphere, higher or preferably lower preasures may be provlded according to clrcumstances.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the , i : 20 collapsible container is sealed into a chamber from which the air or other ambient for example an inert gas can be :` exhausted at a selected rate to produce the required degree of and rate of expansion for storage and înto whioh the air - or ambient can be re-introduced to produce collapse with . . , ~.. 25 accompanying dl~charge of stored gas. Suitably the chamber :., . . .
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can be exhausted and filled by way of a blower arranged selectively to pump air into or out of the chamber. Suitable valves are introduced into the system to ensure that during expansion of the container gas is drawn only from the source and that during collapse the gas is discharged only into a suitable outlet.
Suitably the container comprises a large bag of flexible sheet material which may be of rubber or a plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride.
Gas analysis e~uipment preferably is provided to sample gas drawn from the source and to provide an indication when this is contaminated to an unacceptable level. Shut-off with the collapsible container to prevent gas belng drawn or storage if contamination rises above the level at which an explosive mixture may be produced. The shut off valves ` may be arranged to operate automatically in response to a signal from~the analyser or may be manually operatedO As an additional safeguard a similar analyser may be provided in the chamber to enable leakage from the container to be detected.
An embodiment of the invention will now be particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying I
drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for storing carbon monoxide evolved from a basic oxygen steelmakLng ; 25 process, and ..
Figure 2 illustr~tes an al~:erna~ive form of gas storage vessel to that shown in Figure 1.
Referring to the drawing the storage ~ystem is adapted to receive gas from a BOS converter which discharges through a : 5 flare stack 2 terminating at its uppe~r end in a burner 4.
The lower end of the stack 2 receives cool scrubbed gas from the converter by way of the conventional converter hood ~not shown) and a flow rate measuring device 7 of the kind well known in the art.
Evolved gas comprising carbon monoxide which normally - ls burnt ~t the burner 4 is tapped for storage at the station which is controlled by a shut-off valve 8 per~its gas flow ~` through conduit 10 into a common inlet/outlet 14 of a storage cont~iner indicated generally at 15. A meter 12 monitors the x~ 15 rate of gas flow into the container which comprises a ....
~` collapsible bag 16 of a suitable grade and gauge of polyvinyl ~, chloride or rubber or a suitable combination thereof. The open , I end of the bag is sealed into the base 18 of a rigid chamber 20 which enclosed the bag and which is of sufficient volume to accomod~te the b2g when fully expanded. In its fully expanded condit~on, a bag will be of sufficient volume to accomodate the - quantity of carbon monoxide evolved during one refining operation in a converter, and a bag of some 1 million cubic eet will be ., . sufficient to accomodate the carbon monoxide gas evolved from a 25: typical refining operation in a coverter of some 250 tons capacity.
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~)9~544 The common intlet/outlet 14 which also is provided with a gas analyser 22 to monitor the onset of a potentially explosive mixture of carbon monoxide with oxygen or air is connected also to a duct~26 effective to discharge gas stored in the container 16 by way of shut-off valve 28 and a flow meter 24.
Chamber 20 may be provided with wlndows so that the movement and extent of expansion of the bag or balloon can be observed together with any cracking or other failuxe of the bag fabric.
A fan 30 selectively connected intc chamber 20 by way of shut-off vaIves 32 - 38 is effective to evacuate the chamber with valves 38 - 34 closed and valves 32 and 36 open so as to cause container 15 to expand independently of internal gas pressure and thereby to draw or syphon gas from the source stack 2. Depending on the rate of expansion which is controlled by the adjustable pumping rate of fan 30, gas drawn for storage into the container will be substantially at atmospheric pressure.
A gas sample analyser 33 is provided to test air in the chamber 20 to ensure that no leakage has occurred from container 16.
Collapse of the container to discharge stored gas through duct 26 is achieved with valves 34 and 38 open and valves 32 and 36 closed, and valve 8 closed to pump air into `
the chamber 20.
, ., . . ~ . :., .. , .. :. : - , , 1~91~ 4 In use of the storage system valves 8 and 2~ ini-tially are closed with the container 16 fully collapsed. At this point which generally is imrnediately before the beginning of an oxygen steel making blow, air i5 being drawn through the cooler and scrubber associated with the stack 2 and is being discharged to atmosphere by way of the flare 4.
As oxygen blowing commences the carbon monoxide produced is sampled by the analyser 5 for oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide content. With gas flow established and detected as being substantially free of oxygen or air, valve 8 is automatically or manually opened in response to an acceptable reading from analyser 5 and flow meter.
At this stage fan 30 with valves 32 and 36 open and valves 34 and 38 closed, draws air from the chamber 20 to produce expansion of container 16; expansion accordingly draws carbon monoxide from the flare stack 2 for storage ~y way of duct 10 and continues until a prede-termined point before the end - of the blow. The pumping rate of fan 30 is controlled so that the gas withdraw rate as measured by meter 12 is slightly lower than the ~low rate through the flare stack 2 measured by meter 7 to ensure that air is not drawn down the flare stack and into the conduit 10.
At the predetermined point the fan 30 is opened to atmosphere and valve 8 is closed. At this stage container 16 contains carbon monoxlde at substantially atmospheric pressure . . . , , : . .
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9~544 so that the pressure diferential acr~ss the container is substantially zero and is effective to reduce to a minimum any risk of leakage capable of producing a potentiall~ explosive or toxic mixture. Moreover analyser 22 has monitored the quality and possible contamination of the stored gas so that its accept-ibility for reuse can be assessed before it is dlscharged through the outlet duct 26.
In the case where the carbon monoxlde stored in container 16 is found to be unacceptably contaminated it can be discharged into stack 2 for combustion at the flare 4 together with the gas produced during a subsequent oxygen blow.
The rate of discharge is selected so that the overall ~" contamination at the flare 4 is below explosive level.
Discharge of acceptable gas for example for combustion in a boiler or a gas turbine is achieved by opening valve 38 and 34 with valves 32 and 36 closed.
In the alternative embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 2, the bag 16 of Figure 1 which is of corrugated wall ~ cylindrical form to assist collapse is replaced with a bag in ;~ 20 the form of an oblate spheroid. As with the cylinder of Figure 19 the spheroid of Figure 2 is shaped to permit optimum collapse of the bag 16 so that in the collapsed condition the containe~l vo~umeis reduced to a minimum pre erably substantially zero.
With the contained volume at collapse approaching substantialiy zero, the risk of contamination of a stored charge by residue from a charge stored in a previous-~ .
:. : ~ . , :` : : : ' . , , . ~
~1S44 cycle is considerably reduced; moreover by ensuring that the bag 16 can be expanded to the maximum extent permitted by the container 20 any contaminated residue from a previously stored cycle will be diluted as far as possible to further reduce - 3 any risk from combustion.
~ It will be appreciated that the invention descrlbed - possesses a number of advantages and avoids a number of the `~ disadvantages inherent in gas storage systems for combustion I -and potentlally explosive gases. Thus for example since d~ring storage the pressure differential across the container 16 is ~i small and is dictated solely by the dead weight of the container, -' the likelihood of leakage is small- Any leakage will be detected by analyser 33. Moreover any leakages of stored gas i at valve 8 will be carried away by the flare stack 4 so that -"15 the closer the tap-off sta~ion is to the upper end of the ~ ~`
`- stack the better.
-~ The carbon mono~ide within container 16 and ducts 10 and 26 is always at a pressure virtually equal to the pressure of air Ln chamber 20 which is controlled by fan 30 and associated l ,~
~'20 valves. The carbon monoxide pressure within container 16 is therefore always under control and can be made greater than, equal to, or less than ambient, at will.
~ In addition the storage system does not interfere `l with the basic oxygeTI refining operation and in particular ;'l !
~'25 any fault in the gas collection system does not prevent ., :
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~09~5~4 continuation of steelmaking.
, It will be appreciated that while the invention has been described wlth reference to one container 16 connected to draw carbon monoxide from a single flare stack 2, a plurality of containers can be provided and can be selectively inter-connected to a number of flare stacks associated wLth ~:. different converters so that continuous storage facilities are made available irrespective of the ~lowing programme.
It will be appreciated that the storage system of the invention can be used for the retention of any gas whether combustible toxic or not.
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, This invention relates to the storage of gases and '~ ls particularly concerned with the storage for reuse of carbon monoxide obtained as a reaction by-product in basic oxygen steelmaking.
`,5 In a basic oxygen steelmaking process iron derived --' from a blast furnace is refined by blowing oxygen i.nto the melt ~; contained in a suitable converter. During refining, some impurities in the iron react with the bLown oxygen to form a slag which floats to the top of the melt and which can subsequentLy ,-io be separated from the refined metal poured from the converter.
A predomlnant impurity in iron d~rived from a blast ' furnace is carbon which can be present in concentrations of ' up to 5% weight. During refining this contained carbon is ~, ox~dised by blown oxygen and the reaction product is evolved `,'15 from the converter as carbon monoxide gas. During blowing a proportion of the iron in the converter also is oxidised ' and is evolved as fine particulate iron oxide~ which is entrained ~, as fume in the carbon monoxide. -," ~ In conventional BOS converters, the evolved iron ' oxide-carbon monoxide gas stream generally is discharged into -~ a stack which terminates at its upper end in a suitable flare ¦ ,, , at which the~gas stream is burnt in atmosphere. In order to i '~ , " avoid contamin,tion of the ambient, the gas strea~l from the -- converter is cooled by bringing it into heat exchange ~25 relationship with water flowing in a cooling circuit and is ., - j ~I ~
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subsequently water scrubbed to remove iron oxides.
The flaring of the carbon monoxide at the stack outlet is recognized as representing a considerable loss of potentially combustible gas which could be used as an energy source in ot~er processes or in energy conversion for example to mechanical or electrical powerO Generation of carbon monoxide in BOS is however intermittent and a number of methods have been proposed for storing the gas stream from the converter or reuse as and when required.
Difficulties inherent in any storage scheme for carbon monoxide gas arise from the highly explosive characteristics of carbon monoxide when diluted with oxygen or with air, and ... . . .
- from the high level of toxicity of carbon monoxide to living beings. It is accordingly an object of the present invention ,... - .
to produce a combustible gas storage and discharge system which can be used inter alia with the gas reaction products of basic oxygen steekmaking and in which the risks arising from leakage .
are reduced.
- The improved gas storage and discharge system accord-` 20 lng to the present invention comprises a collapsible container or holding a given quantity of gas suitable for storage; this - container being sealed into a rigid chamber containing an ambient gas. The system also comprises a conduit between a source of gas suitable for storage, the collapsible container ',! and a discharge point. The system further comprises additional j means operable independantly of the pressure of the gas suitable 'I . .
for storage in said source and conduit, to cause expansion of the container so as to permit to the gas to be transferred from the source for storage in the container, and subsequently :~ .
to cause contraction of said container to enable stored gas to be discharged from said container to the discharge point.
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. These additional means comprises blower means connected to said ,! rigid chamber to pump said ambient gas out of the same so as to cause expansion of the container independenly of the pressure - of the gas suitable for storage which is drawn or siphoned from the source, or to pump ambient gas into the chamber so as to cause contraction of the container and discharge of the stored gas from said container _ `
, .: . , . . . . ; , . .. ~ : , 54~
By the use of the invention, the controlled and independent expansion of the container can produce gas storage substantially at the pressure of the gas source; thus in the case where the gas source comprises the st3ck of a BOS converter in which gas pressure is substantially that of abmvsphere, gas will be drawn from the stack also at substantially atmospheric pressure and will be stored at this pressureO In the case where the gas source is at a pressure above atmosphere, any suitable means of pressure reduction, for example by the use ~: 10 of a controlled orifice of selected flow impedance can be used The absence o a significant pressure differential between the gas when stored and the oxygen containing ambien~
. i ;- will reduce to a minimum the risk of dilution of the gas or of the ambient and accordingly will reduce the possibility of an explosive mixture being formed. Here while in ideal .
cLrc~Qstances the gas pressure in the storage container is : matched to that of the atmosphere, higher or preferably lower preasures may be provlded according to clrcumstances.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the , i : 20 collapsible container is sealed into a chamber from which the air or other ambient for example an inert gas can be :` exhausted at a selected rate to produce the required degree of and rate of expansion for storage and înto whioh the air - or ambient can be re-introduced to produce collapse with . . , ~.. 25 accompanying dl~charge of stored gas. Suitably the chamber :., . . .
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can be exhausted and filled by way of a blower arranged selectively to pump air into or out of the chamber. Suitable valves are introduced into the system to ensure that during expansion of the container gas is drawn only from the source and that during collapse the gas is discharged only into a suitable outlet.
Suitably the container comprises a large bag of flexible sheet material which may be of rubber or a plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride.
Gas analysis e~uipment preferably is provided to sample gas drawn from the source and to provide an indication when this is contaminated to an unacceptable level. Shut-off with the collapsible container to prevent gas belng drawn or storage if contamination rises above the level at which an explosive mixture may be produced. The shut off valves ` may be arranged to operate automatically in response to a signal from~the analyser or may be manually operatedO As an additional safeguard a similar analyser may be provided in the chamber to enable leakage from the container to be detected.
An embodiment of the invention will now be particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying I
drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for storing carbon monoxide evolved from a basic oxygen steelmakLng ; 25 process, and ..
Figure 2 illustr~tes an al~:erna~ive form of gas storage vessel to that shown in Figure 1.
Referring to the drawing the storage ~ystem is adapted to receive gas from a BOS converter which discharges through a : 5 flare stack 2 terminating at its uppe~r end in a burner 4.
The lower end of the stack 2 receives cool scrubbed gas from the converter by way of the conventional converter hood ~not shown) and a flow rate measuring device 7 of the kind well known in the art.
Evolved gas comprising carbon monoxide which normally - ls burnt ~t the burner 4 is tapped for storage at the station which is controlled by a shut-off valve 8 per~its gas flow ~` through conduit 10 into a common inlet/outlet 14 of a storage cont~iner indicated generally at 15. A meter 12 monitors the x~ 15 rate of gas flow into the container which comprises a ....
~` collapsible bag 16 of a suitable grade and gauge of polyvinyl ~, chloride or rubber or a suitable combination thereof. The open , I end of the bag is sealed into the base 18 of a rigid chamber 20 which enclosed the bag and which is of sufficient volume to accomod~te the b2g when fully expanded. In its fully expanded condit~on, a bag will be of sufficient volume to accomodate the - quantity of carbon monoxide evolved during one refining operation in a converter, and a bag of some 1 million cubic eet will be ., . sufficient to accomodate the carbon monoxide gas evolved from a 25: typical refining operation in a coverter of some 250 tons capacity.
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~)9~544 The common intlet/outlet 14 which also is provided with a gas analyser 22 to monitor the onset of a potentially explosive mixture of carbon monoxide with oxygen or air is connected also to a duct~26 effective to discharge gas stored in the container 16 by way of shut-off valve 28 and a flow meter 24.
Chamber 20 may be provided with wlndows so that the movement and extent of expansion of the bag or balloon can be observed together with any cracking or other failuxe of the bag fabric.
A fan 30 selectively connected intc chamber 20 by way of shut-off vaIves 32 - 38 is effective to evacuate the chamber with valves 38 - 34 closed and valves 32 and 36 open so as to cause container 15 to expand independently of internal gas pressure and thereby to draw or syphon gas from the source stack 2. Depending on the rate of expansion which is controlled by the adjustable pumping rate of fan 30, gas drawn for storage into the container will be substantially at atmospheric pressure.
A gas sample analyser 33 is provided to test air in the chamber 20 to ensure that no leakage has occurred from container 16.
Collapse of the container to discharge stored gas through duct 26 is achieved with valves 34 and 38 open and valves 32 and 36 closed, and valve 8 closed to pump air into `
the chamber 20.
, ., . . ~ . :., .. , .. :. : - , , 1~91~ 4 In use of the storage system valves 8 and 2~ ini-tially are closed with the container 16 fully collapsed. At this point which generally is imrnediately before the beginning of an oxygen steel making blow, air i5 being drawn through the cooler and scrubber associated with the stack 2 and is being discharged to atmosphere by way of the flare 4.
As oxygen blowing commences the carbon monoxide produced is sampled by the analyser 5 for oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide content. With gas flow established and detected as being substantially free of oxygen or air, valve 8 is automatically or manually opened in response to an acceptable reading from analyser 5 and flow meter.
At this stage fan 30 with valves 32 and 36 open and valves 34 and 38 closed, draws air from the chamber 20 to produce expansion of container 16; expansion accordingly draws carbon monoxide from the flare stack 2 for storage ~y way of duct 10 and continues until a prede-termined point before the end - of the blow. The pumping rate of fan 30 is controlled so that the gas withdraw rate as measured by meter 12 is slightly lower than the ~low rate through the flare stack 2 measured by meter 7 to ensure that air is not drawn down the flare stack and into the conduit 10.
At the predetermined point the fan 30 is opened to atmosphere and valve 8 is closed. At this stage container 16 contains carbon monoxlde at substantially atmospheric pressure . . . , , : . .
- :~
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9~544 so that the pressure diferential acr~ss the container is substantially zero and is effective to reduce to a minimum any risk of leakage capable of producing a potentiall~ explosive or toxic mixture. Moreover analyser 22 has monitored the quality and possible contamination of the stored gas so that its accept-ibility for reuse can be assessed before it is dlscharged through the outlet duct 26.
In the case where the carbon monoxlde stored in container 16 is found to be unacceptably contaminated it can be discharged into stack 2 for combustion at the flare 4 together with the gas produced during a subsequent oxygen blow.
The rate of discharge is selected so that the overall ~" contamination at the flare 4 is below explosive level.
Discharge of acceptable gas for example for combustion in a boiler or a gas turbine is achieved by opening valve 38 and 34 with valves 32 and 36 closed.
In the alternative embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 2, the bag 16 of Figure 1 which is of corrugated wall ~ cylindrical form to assist collapse is replaced with a bag in ;~ 20 the form of an oblate spheroid. As with the cylinder of Figure 19 the spheroid of Figure 2 is shaped to permit optimum collapse of the bag 16 so that in the collapsed condition the containe~l vo~umeis reduced to a minimum pre erably substantially zero.
With the contained volume at collapse approaching substantialiy zero, the risk of contamination of a stored charge by residue from a charge stored in a previous-~ .
:. : ~ . , :` : : : ' . , , . ~
~1S44 cycle is considerably reduced; moreover by ensuring that the bag 16 can be expanded to the maximum extent permitted by the container 20 any contaminated residue from a previously stored cycle will be diluted as far as possible to further reduce - 3 any risk from combustion.
~ It will be appreciated that the invention descrlbed - possesses a number of advantages and avoids a number of the `~ disadvantages inherent in gas storage systems for combustion I -and potentlally explosive gases. Thus for example since d~ring storage the pressure differential across the container 16 is ~i small and is dictated solely by the dead weight of the container, -' the likelihood of leakage is small- Any leakage will be detected by analyser 33. Moreover any leakages of stored gas i at valve 8 will be carried away by the flare stack 4 so that -"15 the closer the tap-off sta~ion is to the upper end of the ~ ~`
`- stack the better.
-~ The carbon mono~ide within container 16 and ducts 10 and 26 is always at a pressure virtually equal to the pressure of air Ln chamber 20 which is controlled by fan 30 and associated l ,~
~'20 valves. The carbon monoxide pressure within container 16 is therefore always under control and can be made greater than, equal to, or less than ambient, at will.
~ In addition the storage system does not interfere `l with the basic oxygeTI refining operation and in particular ;'l !
~'25 any fault in the gas collection system does not prevent ., :
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~09~5~4 continuation of steelmaking.
, It will be appreciated that while the invention has been described wlth reference to one container 16 connected to draw carbon monoxide from a single flare stack 2, a plurality of containers can be provided and can be selectively inter-connected to a number of flare stacks associated wLth ~:. different converters so that continuous storage facilities are made available irrespective of the ~lowing programme.
It will be appreciated that the storage system of the invention can be used for the retention of any gas whether combustible toxic or not.
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Claims (21)
1. An improved gas storage and discharge system, comprising:
a collapsible container for holding a given quantity of gas suitable for storage, said container being sealed into a rigid chamber containing an ambient gas, a conduit between a source of gas suitable for storage in said collapsible container and a discharge point, and additional means operable independently of the pressure of the gas suitable for storage in said source and conduit, to cause expansion of the container so as to permit the gas to be transferred from the source for storage into the container, and subsequently to cause contraction of said container to enable stored gas to be discharged from said container to the discharge point, said additional means comprising blower means connected to said rigid chamber to pump said ambient gas out of the same so as to cause expansion of the container indepen-denly of the pressure of the gas suitable for storage which is drawn or siphoned from the source, or to pump ambient gas into the chamber so as to cause contraction of the container and discharge of the stored gas from said container.
a collapsible container for holding a given quantity of gas suitable for storage, said container being sealed into a rigid chamber containing an ambient gas, a conduit between a source of gas suitable for storage in said collapsible container and a discharge point, and additional means operable independently of the pressure of the gas suitable for storage in said source and conduit, to cause expansion of the container so as to permit the gas to be transferred from the source for storage into the container, and subsequently to cause contraction of said container to enable stored gas to be discharged from said container to the discharge point, said additional means comprising blower means connected to said rigid chamber to pump said ambient gas out of the same so as to cause expansion of the container indepen-denly of the pressure of the gas suitable for storage which is drawn or siphoned from the source, or to pump ambient gas into the chamber so as to cause contraction of the container and discharge of the stored gas from said container.
2. An improved gas storage and discharge system for use in an apparatus which evolves gas during an operation and releases at least a given quantity of gas suitable for storage through an outlet of said apparatus during a portion of said operation, said improved gas storage and discharge system comprising:
a collapsible container for substantially holding said given quantity of gas suitable for storage, said container being sealed with a rigid chamber containing an ambient gas;
a conduit between said gas outlet, said collapside container and a discharge point, valve means associated with said conduit for selec-tively connecting said container to said outlet and to said discharge point, said valve means being operable to connect said container to said outlet so long as said gas suitable for storage is being released through said outlet, and additional means operable independently of the pres-sure of gas in said outlet and in said conduit, to cause expan-sion of the container so as to permit gas to be transferred from said outlet for storage in said container while said gas suitable for storage is being released through said outlet, and subsequently to cause contraction of said container to enable stored gas to be discharged from said container to said outlet or to said discharge point, said additional means comprising blower means connected to said rigid chamber to pump said ambient gas out of the same so as to cause expansion of the container independently of the pressure of said gas suitable for storage which is drawn or siphoned from the outlet, or to pump ambient gas into the chamber so as to cause contrac-tion of the container and discharge of the stored gas from said container.
a collapsible container for substantially holding said given quantity of gas suitable for storage, said container being sealed with a rigid chamber containing an ambient gas;
a conduit between said gas outlet, said collapside container and a discharge point, valve means associated with said conduit for selec-tively connecting said container to said outlet and to said discharge point, said valve means being operable to connect said container to said outlet so long as said gas suitable for storage is being released through said outlet, and additional means operable independently of the pres-sure of gas in said outlet and in said conduit, to cause expan-sion of the container so as to permit gas to be transferred from said outlet for storage in said container while said gas suitable for storage is being released through said outlet, and subsequently to cause contraction of said container to enable stored gas to be discharged from said container to said outlet or to said discharge point, said additional means comprising blower means connected to said rigid chamber to pump said ambient gas out of the same so as to cause expansion of the container independently of the pressure of said gas suitable for storage which is drawn or siphoned from the outlet, or to pump ambient gas into the chamber so as to cause contrac-tion of the container and discharge of the stored gas from said container.
3. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said ambient gas within the chamber is air.
4. A gas storage and discharge as claimed in claim 2, wherein said ambient gas within the chamber is an inert gas.
5. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a gas analyser located upstream the outlet for controlling the quality of the gas passing through the outlet and automatically operating the blower means when the gas passing through the outlet is suitable for storage.
6. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 5, further comprising means for controlling the pumping rate of the blowing means so that the flow rate of gas drawn or siphoned from the outlet is slightly lower than the flow rate of gas released through said outlet.
7. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said control means comprises a flow rate measuring device located upstream of the outlet and a flow rate measuring device in the conduit between the outlet and the container.
8. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2 or 7, further comprising a gas analyser for controlling the quality of the gas entering or leaving the container.
9. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2 or 7, further comprising a gas analyser for control-ling the quality of the ambient gas leaving the rigid chamber.
10. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the collapsible container comprises a bag of flexible sheet material.
11. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sheet material is of rubber.
12. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sheet material is of a plastic material.
13. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the plastics material is polyvinyl chloride.
14. A gas storage and discharge as claimed in claim 12 or 13, wherein the plastics material is in combination with rubber.
15. A gas storage and discharge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the container is shaped to collapse to a minimum contained volume.
16. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the container is shaped to collapse to a substantially zero contained volume.
17. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the container is of cylindrical form.
18. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the cylinder wall is corrugated to assist collapse.
19. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the container is of spherical form.
20. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the sphere is oblate to assist collapse.
21. A gas storage and discharge system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gas suitable for storage is drawn from the flare slack of a BOS converter at a station adjacent the upper end thereof.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8673/74A GB1507021A (en) | 1974-02-26 | 1974-02-26 | Gas storage systems |
| GB8673/74 | 1974-02-26 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1091544A true CA1091544A (en) | 1980-12-16 |
Family
ID=9857017
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA220,861A Expired CA1091544A (en) | 1974-02-26 | 1975-02-25 | Gas storage systems |
Country Status (14)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS50124214A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU7852075A (en) |
| BE (1) | BE825964A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR7501136A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1091544A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2508144A1 (en) |
| ES (1) | ES435065A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2262250A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1507021A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1030217B (en) |
| LU (1) | LU71907A1 (en) |
| NL (1) | NL7502228A (en) |
| PL (1) | PL95043B1 (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA751025B (en) |
Families Citing this family (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL8004293A (en) * | 1980-07-25 | 1982-02-16 | Oostwouder Bv | HOLDER FOR THE STORAGE OF GAS UNDER LOW PRESSURE. |
| DE20108781U1 (en) | 2001-05-25 | 2001-09-13 | Reinelt, Markus, 49124 Georgsmarienhütte | Storage tank, in particular low-pressure gas storage, with at least one flexible, sealing membrane |
| US20070274845A1 (en) * | 2006-05-25 | 2007-11-29 | Air Products And Chemicals, Inc. | Fluid Storage And Dispensing System |
| DE102006040031B8 (en) * | 2006-08-23 | 2010-11-18 | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. | Gas storage for a micro fuel cell system |
-
1974
- 1974-02-26 GB GB8673/74A patent/GB1507021A/en not_active Expired
-
1975
- 1975-02-18 ZA ZA00751025A patent/ZA751025B/en unknown
- 1975-02-24 LU LU71907A patent/LU71907A1/xx unknown
- 1975-02-25 DE DE19752508144 patent/DE2508144A1/en active Pending
- 1975-02-25 FR FR7505773A patent/FR2262250A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
- 1975-02-25 BR BR1136/75A patent/BR7501136A/en unknown
- 1975-02-25 BE BE153725A patent/BE825964A/en unknown
- 1975-02-25 IT IT7567480A patent/IT1030217B/en active
- 1975-02-25 CA CA220,861A patent/CA1091544A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-02-25 ES ES435065A patent/ES435065A1/en not_active Expired
- 1975-02-25 AU AU78520/75A patent/AU7852075A/en not_active Expired
- 1975-02-25 NL NL7502228A patent/NL7502228A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1975-02-26 PL PL1975178411A patent/PL95043B1/pl unknown
- 1975-02-26 JP JP50022955A patent/JPS50124214A/ja active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| ES435065A1 (en) | 1977-04-01 |
| BR7501136A (en) | 1975-12-02 |
| NL7502228A (en) | 1975-08-28 |
| BE825964A (en) | 1975-06-16 |
| FR2262250A1 (en) | 1975-09-19 |
| ZA751025B (en) | 1976-01-28 |
| LU71907A1 (en) | 1975-06-24 |
| JPS50124214A (en) | 1975-09-30 |
| AU7852075A (en) | 1976-08-26 |
| GB1507021A (en) | 1978-04-12 |
| DE2508144A1 (en) | 1975-08-28 |
| IT1030217B (en) | 1979-03-30 |
| PL95043B1 (en) | 1977-09-30 |
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| Date | Code | Title | Description |
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| MKEX | Expiry |