CA2045252A1 - Refrigerant reclaim unit - Google Patents
Refrigerant reclaim unitInfo
- Publication number
- CA2045252A1 CA2045252A1 CA002045252A CA2045252A CA2045252A1 CA 2045252 A1 CA2045252 A1 CA 2045252A1 CA 002045252 A CA002045252 A CA 002045252A CA 2045252 A CA2045252 A CA 2045252A CA 2045252 A1 CA2045252 A1 CA 2045252A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- gas
- compressor
- recycling
- oil
- filter
- 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.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
- Y02P70/10—Greenhouse gas [GHG] capture, material saving, heat recovery or other energy efficient measures, e.g. motor control, characterised by manufacturing processes, e.g. for rolling metal or metal working
Landscapes
- Filtering Of Dispersed Particles In Gases (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Method and apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of refrigerant gases comprising a frame mounted on a trolley containing means to collect the gas from refrigeration equipment, first filter means to scrub the gas to remove large contaminants, second filter means to dry and further filter the gas, a compressor to compress the filtered gas, an oil separator to remove oil that may have contaminated the gas whilst in the compressor, said separator returning the collected oil back to the compressor, a condenser to cool the gas and collection means to collect the gas in liquid form whereby the gas can be recovered, cleaned and charged for recycling in a single pass.
Method and apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of refrigerant gases comprising a frame mounted on a trolley containing means to collect the gas from refrigeration equipment, first filter means to scrub the gas to remove large contaminants, second filter means to dry and further filter the gas, a compressor to compress the filtered gas, an oil separator to remove oil that may have contaminated the gas whilst in the compressor, said separator returning the collected oil back to the compressor, a condenser to cool the gas and collection means to collect the gas in liquid form whereby the gas can be recovered, cleaned and charged for recycling in a single pass.
Description
2~45;~
TITLE
Refrigerant Reclaim Unit FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the reclaiming of gases and refers particularly, though not exclusively, to a method and apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of air-conditioning and refrigeration gases, commonly known as Chlorina~ed Fluoro Carbons (C.F.C.).
DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
For many years, it was the practice when dealing with air-conditioning units with gas as the refrigerant to allow the gas to escape into the atmosphere when repairing the system, or re-gassing the system. Over the last few years, it has been realised that this releasing of the refrigerant gases into the atmosphere has been the cause of much pollution and, specifically, a contributor to the reduction of the ozone layer around the earth. It is therefore now a requirement in some countries and highly recommended in others that such gases be reclaimed and, where possible, cleaned and recycled for future use. Where this is not possible, they should be recovered and destroyed in a way so as to not increase pollution nor reduce the ozone layer.
A number of proposals have been made for such recovery, cleaning and recycling systems. Most of these are very large and complex pieces of equipment that are beyond the financial reach of most of those who deal in air-conditioning units. Furthermore, their almost inherent lack of portability means they are not very suitable for on-site work. As this is a significant percentage of the work, the development of a unit that is portable to enable on-site work to be done has been the subject of a great deal of research.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a recovery, cleaning and recycling system and apparatus for gases, particularly refrigerant gases, and which is able to be relatively easily moved.
.
~, .
, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ~04 According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of gases comprising a portable frame containing means to collect the gas, preferably refrigerant gas from refrigeration equipment, first filter means to scrub the gas to remove large contaminants, second filter means to dry and further filter the gas, a compressor to compress the filtered gas, an oil separator to remove oil that may have contaminated the gas whilst in the compressor, said separator returning the collected oil bac]c to the compressor, a condenser to cool the gas and collection means to collect the gas in liquid form whereby the gas can be recovered, cleaned and charged for recycling in a single pass.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of recovering, cleaning and recycling a gas preferably refrigerant gas including the steps of passing the gas through a scrubber to remove large : contaminants, passing the gas through a dryer to filter and dry the gas, passing the gas through a compressor, passing the gas through an oil separator to prevent discharge of oil from the compressor, passing the gas through a condenser to cool the gas and passing the gas to collection means in liquia form whereby in a single pass the gas is recovered cleaned and charged ready for recycling.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be .~ described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic layout of one form of refrigerant reclaim unit, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the unit when : mounted on a small trolley, : Figures 3 and 3A are schematic system layouts of an ~ alternative form of reclaim unit.
;'' .
:
.:
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODI~ENTS Z~4525 The reclaim unit described hereunder provides C.F.C. gas recovery, cleaning and recycling in a single unit that can be mounted on a portable trolley. One embodiment of the invention is illustrated with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The C.F.C. gas that is the subject to the invention is a refrigerant such as, for example, a refrigerant used in domestic or commercial appliances of the nature of refrigerators and freezers, air-conditioning units including automotive air-conditioning units. The invention does however embrace any other gas where recycling is a possibility.
As shown in the schematic layout of Figure 1 r the gas is passed into the unit via a suction pick-up hose T.
A discharge pic~-up hose U is also provided. A set of pressures gauges A enables an operator to keep a careful watch upon the pressure to ensure proper and adequate operation so that the equipment cannot be damaged by over pressure or under pressure operations.
The gas is first passed via a 1/4 inch diameter pipe A2 through a pressure regulating valve B to ensure that the gas passes through the system at as high a pressure as possible without damaging or overloading a downline compressor. The outlet B2 from the valve B passes to a scrubber C via a 3/8 inch diameter pipe. The scrubber is designed to filter and remove large contaminants such as metal pieces, dirt and the like.
The scrubber is designed with a diameter large enough to significantly reduce the velocity of the gas from the 3/8 inch entry pipe to cause the contaminants to settle out to the bottom where they can be easily removed. The scrubber is therefore also designed to work in tandem with a dryer D as a pre-filter of contaminants and heavy oils and thereby increase the efficiency and life of the filter medium in the dryer. A scrubber drain valve K is provided together with a scrubber oil outlet P so as to be able to remove these contaminants after each operation. The scrubber C is in the form of a 3 inch diameter, 6 inch long .
Z(~52SZ
copper hollow cylinder mounted with its axis vertical and closed at either end with end caps C2~ C3. The scrubber cylinder C is filled with stainless steel scrubber pads (not shown). The gas enters the scrubber C from the top via a pipe C4 that extends to the base of the copper cylinder. At this stage, the velocity of the yas is substantially reduced thereby allowing the contaminants to collect in the base for removal via a 1/4 inch diameter draining pipe C5 that extends from the base of the cylinder through the top end cap C2 to the drain valve X.
The outlet C6 from the scrubber C passes the ~as to the drier D via a 3/8 inch diameter pipe. The drier D is fitted with a permanent and heavy duty burn-out core, to further filter out smaller particles of contamination, acid and moisture from the gas. The core is a hollow open ended cylinder of activated carbon manufactured by Alco -Controls Division of Emerson Electric Company under the brand W48 - Activated Carbon Style Filter Drier Block.
The outlet D2 from the drier D passes into the compressor E via pipework that is initially 3/8 inch diameter but steps down to 1/4 inch diameter on entry to the compressor E.
; It is to be noted that the gas is first scrubbed and dried and all acid removed before it enters the compressor. As the gas is cleaned and filtered before entering the compressor the dome of the compressor is protected resulting in a much longer compressor operating life. The compressor serves the role of pumping the gas through the circuit as well as increasing the temperature and pressure of the gas. A compressor oil drain valve L
and oil outlet Q are provided off the base of the compressor via a 1/4 inch diameter pipe E4. The compressor oil drain valve L is used to drain excess oil from the compressor to the oil outlet Q.
The outlet E2 from the compressor E goes onto an oil separator F via a 1/4 inch diameter pipe. The separator F collects oil and ensures that a minimum of oil ' , ~.
', :
Z~LS2~
contamination passes with the reclaimed refrigerant into the gas storage cylinder. This collected oil is then passed back to the compressor sump via a 1/4 diameter return pipe E3 to maintain proper oil level.
The outlet F2 from the separator F is into a condenser G via a 1/2 inch diameter pipe. The condenser G
is preferably a modine condenser to provide adequate condensing capacity for R-12, R-22 and R-502 refrigerants at high ambient temperatures. The condenser liquifies the high pressure gas by extracting heat through use of an air current from an electrically driven fan.
From the outlet G2 of the condenser G, the liquid gas passes through a check valve H which is mounted in the 1/4 inch diameter delivery line H2 to ensure that the gas that has been cleaned cannot be returned back into the system when the system is in the "Off" cycle. A pressure gauge J coupled via a 0.050 inch capillary line J2 is provided so that the outlet pressure can be carefully monitored by an operator. A delivery valve M is provided to enable the liquid gas to be supplied through delivery outlet R for collection in a suitable cylinder. A crystal salts sight glass N is fitted to the 1/4 inch diameter outlet line H3 to show the condition of the gas as this would indicate when it would be necessary to change the dryer core to ensure adequate and proper operation. The sight glass that has been selected is of high quality due to the type of indicator, e.g. Salt Crystals. These crystals indicate the moisture content in the refrigerant by changing colour when an unacceptable level has been reached in excess of 15 ppm. Unlike litmus type indicators this sight glass can withstand in excess of 1,000 accurate colour changes without breaking down. As a "1 pass" unit of this nature relies on this glass to indicate when the drier core needs replacing it is essential to use a Salt Crystal type sight glass, manufactured to the required ;~ specification, to indicate change at a 15 ppm moisture level.
,,. ~ . - ,~' ' ' ' ' ~O~L5~5;:
For the unit as described above, there is preferably included a high pressure/low pressure switch S
coupled to the outlet line G2 via 0.050 inch diameter capillary line S2 so as to protect the system against misuse, e.q. starting the unit with the cylinder valve closed.
As can be readily understood, this apparatus and/or method not only recovers or evacuates the gas, it also cleans it and recycles it for reuse. This not only protects the environment by decreasing the requirement for new gas, but prevents the significant re-purchasing costs of gas. The expression 'cleaning' embraces cleaning as dictated by U.S. Standards. The clean gas has less than 15 parts per million moisture and less than 0.05% by volume acid and oil.
~ t has been made possible to make a unit in accordance with the above description of a size to be able to fit onto a txolley such that it is transportable and able to be used on-site. An illustration of such a unit is shown in Figure 2 in which the pipework and exterior panels are removed for clarity. The sight glass N and delivery outlet M are positioned on the front panel of the unit.
The unit is arranged to be coupled to a suitable source of mains voltage to power the componentry. Such a unit may have a nominal capacity of the order of up to 20 ~ilograms of gas per hour, depending on the pressure of the gas entering the unit and the ambient temperature. The unit provides the major advantage that it can as a small portable unit clean for recycling gas in a single pass.
In a smaller domestic reclaim unit shown in Figures 3 and 3A, the scrubber C of the first embodiment is removed as in the oil separator F between the compressor E and the condenser G. The remaining circuitry is much the same with the gas being passed through an oil separator F2 via an inlet port B and inlet valve V. The separated oil is tapped from the separator F2 via line F3 and outlet F4.
From the oil separator the gas flows to the dryer D and ' - ~ , , : .
525~:
then into the compressor E and onto the modine condenser G
via check valve H. The remaining circuitry is substantially as the first embodiment.
This unit is handheld weighing 15 kg and has a capacity of cleaning 7 kg of gas per hour in contrast to the large unit of Figures 1 and 2. The unit of Figure 3 is particularly useful for the reclaiming, cleaning and recycling in a single gas of C.F.C.~s in units such as domestic fridges and freezers and small domestic air-conditioning units.
Throughout the reclaim unit special care has been taken with regards to pipework, sizing and assembly. If pipework is undersized the unit will not perform at the best possible efficiency and therefore the amount of gas processed per hour would be reduced. On the other hand, if the pipework was grossly oversized in parts of the circuit, such as in the scrubber, solid contaminants and heavy oils will separate out of the refrigerant and settle in these low velocity areas. This condition can eventually cause blockages and unnecessary failure.
Particularly, the relationship between components presented by the pipework is equally important in that components will not work in tandem and achieve peak effi~iency if the pipework is such that there is an efficient balance between those components. As this unit is being used to recover and reclaim refrigerant which is frequently contaminated with solids or heavy oils it is even more critical that care be taken and that proper pipework sizing and balance and installation be closely adhered to.
Whilst there has been described in the foregoing description a preferred construction of a gas recovery, cleaning and recycling unit as well as a method of recovering, cleaning and recycling a gas it would be understood by those skilled in the art that many variations or modifications in details of design or construction may be made without departing from the essential nature of the present invention.
'
TITLE
Refrigerant Reclaim Unit FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the reclaiming of gases and refers particularly, though not exclusively, to a method and apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of air-conditioning and refrigeration gases, commonly known as Chlorina~ed Fluoro Carbons (C.F.C.).
DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
For many years, it was the practice when dealing with air-conditioning units with gas as the refrigerant to allow the gas to escape into the atmosphere when repairing the system, or re-gassing the system. Over the last few years, it has been realised that this releasing of the refrigerant gases into the atmosphere has been the cause of much pollution and, specifically, a contributor to the reduction of the ozone layer around the earth. It is therefore now a requirement in some countries and highly recommended in others that such gases be reclaimed and, where possible, cleaned and recycled for future use. Where this is not possible, they should be recovered and destroyed in a way so as to not increase pollution nor reduce the ozone layer.
A number of proposals have been made for such recovery, cleaning and recycling systems. Most of these are very large and complex pieces of equipment that are beyond the financial reach of most of those who deal in air-conditioning units. Furthermore, their almost inherent lack of portability means they are not very suitable for on-site work. As this is a significant percentage of the work, the development of a unit that is portable to enable on-site work to be done has been the subject of a great deal of research.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a recovery, cleaning and recycling system and apparatus for gases, particularly refrigerant gases, and which is able to be relatively easily moved.
.
~, .
, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ~04 According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of gases comprising a portable frame containing means to collect the gas, preferably refrigerant gas from refrigeration equipment, first filter means to scrub the gas to remove large contaminants, second filter means to dry and further filter the gas, a compressor to compress the filtered gas, an oil separator to remove oil that may have contaminated the gas whilst in the compressor, said separator returning the collected oil bac]c to the compressor, a condenser to cool the gas and collection means to collect the gas in liquid form whereby the gas can be recovered, cleaned and charged for recycling in a single pass.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of recovering, cleaning and recycling a gas preferably refrigerant gas including the steps of passing the gas through a scrubber to remove large : contaminants, passing the gas through a dryer to filter and dry the gas, passing the gas through a compressor, passing the gas through an oil separator to prevent discharge of oil from the compressor, passing the gas through a condenser to cool the gas and passing the gas to collection means in liquia form whereby in a single pass the gas is recovered cleaned and charged ready for recycling.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be .~ described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic layout of one form of refrigerant reclaim unit, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the unit when : mounted on a small trolley, : Figures 3 and 3A are schematic system layouts of an ~ alternative form of reclaim unit.
;'' .
:
.:
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODI~ENTS Z~4525 The reclaim unit described hereunder provides C.F.C. gas recovery, cleaning and recycling in a single unit that can be mounted on a portable trolley. One embodiment of the invention is illustrated with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The C.F.C. gas that is the subject to the invention is a refrigerant such as, for example, a refrigerant used in domestic or commercial appliances of the nature of refrigerators and freezers, air-conditioning units including automotive air-conditioning units. The invention does however embrace any other gas where recycling is a possibility.
As shown in the schematic layout of Figure 1 r the gas is passed into the unit via a suction pick-up hose T.
A discharge pic~-up hose U is also provided. A set of pressures gauges A enables an operator to keep a careful watch upon the pressure to ensure proper and adequate operation so that the equipment cannot be damaged by over pressure or under pressure operations.
The gas is first passed via a 1/4 inch diameter pipe A2 through a pressure regulating valve B to ensure that the gas passes through the system at as high a pressure as possible without damaging or overloading a downline compressor. The outlet B2 from the valve B passes to a scrubber C via a 3/8 inch diameter pipe. The scrubber is designed to filter and remove large contaminants such as metal pieces, dirt and the like.
The scrubber is designed with a diameter large enough to significantly reduce the velocity of the gas from the 3/8 inch entry pipe to cause the contaminants to settle out to the bottom where they can be easily removed. The scrubber is therefore also designed to work in tandem with a dryer D as a pre-filter of contaminants and heavy oils and thereby increase the efficiency and life of the filter medium in the dryer. A scrubber drain valve K is provided together with a scrubber oil outlet P so as to be able to remove these contaminants after each operation. The scrubber C is in the form of a 3 inch diameter, 6 inch long .
Z(~52SZ
copper hollow cylinder mounted with its axis vertical and closed at either end with end caps C2~ C3. The scrubber cylinder C is filled with stainless steel scrubber pads (not shown). The gas enters the scrubber C from the top via a pipe C4 that extends to the base of the copper cylinder. At this stage, the velocity of the yas is substantially reduced thereby allowing the contaminants to collect in the base for removal via a 1/4 inch diameter draining pipe C5 that extends from the base of the cylinder through the top end cap C2 to the drain valve X.
The outlet C6 from the scrubber C passes the ~as to the drier D via a 3/8 inch diameter pipe. The drier D is fitted with a permanent and heavy duty burn-out core, to further filter out smaller particles of contamination, acid and moisture from the gas. The core is a hollow open ended cylinder of activated carbon manufactured by Alco -Controls Division of Emerson Electric Company under the brand W48 - Activated Carbon Style Filter Drier Block.
The outlet D2 from the drier D passes into the compressor E via pipework that is initially 3/8 inch diameter but steps down to 1/4 inch diameter on entry to the compressor E.
; It is to be noted that the gas is first scrubbed and dried and all acid removed before it enters the compressor. As the gas is cleaned and filtered before entering the compressor the dome of the compressor is protected resulting in a much longer compressor operating life. The compressor serves the role of pumping the gas through the circuit as well as increasing the temperature and pressure of the gas. A compressor oil drain valve L
and oil outlet Q are provided off the base of the compressor via a 1/4 inch diameter pipe E4. The compressor oil drain valve L is used to drain excess oil from the compressor to the oil outlet Q.
The outlet E2 from the compressor E goes onto an oil separator F via a 1/4 inch diameter pipe. The separator F collects oil and ensures that a minimum of oil ' , ~.
', :
Z~LS2~
contamination passes with the reclaimed refrigerant into the gas storage cylinder. This collected oil is then passed back to the compressor sump via a 1/4 diameter return pipe E3 to maintain proper oil level.
The outlet F2 from the separator F is into a condenser G via a 1/2 inch diameter pipe. The condenser G
is preferably a modine condenser to provide adequate condensing capacity for R-12, R-22 and R-502 refrigerants at high ambient temperatures. The condenser liquifies the high pressure gas by extracting heat through use of an air current from an electrically driven fan.
From the outlet G2 of the condenser G, the liquid gas passes through a check valve H which is mounted in the 1/4 inch diameter delivery line H2 to ensure that the gas that has been cleaned cannot be returned back into the system when the system is in the "Off" cycle. A pressure gauge J coupled via a 0.050 inch capillary line J2 is provided so that the outlet pressure can be carefully monitored by an operator. A delivery valve M is provided to enable the liquid gas to be supplied through delivery outlet R for collection in a suitable cylinder. A crystal salts sight glass N is fitted to the 1/4 inch diameter outlet line H3 to show the condition of the gas as this would indicate when it would be necessary to change the dryer core to ensure adequate and proper operation. The sight glass that has been selected is of high quality due to the type of indicator, e.g. Salt Crystals. These crystals indicate the moisture content in the refrigerant by changing colour when an unacceptable level has been reached in excess of 15 ppm. Unlike litmus type indicators this sight glass can withstand in excess of 1,000 accurate colour changes without breaking down. As a "1 pass" unit of this nature relies on this glass to indicate when the drier core needs replacing it is essential to use a Salt Crystal type sight glass, manufactured to the required ;~ specification, to indicate change at a 15 ppm moisture level.
,,. ~ . - ,~' ' ' ' ' ~O~L5~5;:
For the unit as described above, there is preferably included a high pressure/low pressure switch S
coupled to the outlet line G2 via 0.050 inch diameter capillary line S2 so as to protect the system against misuse, e.q. starting the unit with the cylinder valve closed.
As can be readily understood, this apparatus and/or method not only recovers or evacuates the gas, it also cleans it and recycles it for reuse. This not only protects the environment by decreasing the requirement for new gas, but prevents the significant re-purchasing costs of gas. The expression 'cleaning' embraces cleaning as dictated by U.S. Standards. The clean gas has less than 15 parts per million moisture and less than 0.05% by volume acid and oil.
~ t has been made possible to make a unit in accordance with the above description of a size to be able to fit onto a txolley such that it is transportable and able to be used on-site. An illustration of such a unit is shown in Figure 2 in which the pipework and exterior panels are removed for clarity. The sight glass N and delivery outlet M are positioned on the front panel of the unit.
The unit is arranged to be coupled to a suitable source of mains voltage to power the componentry. Such a unit may have a nominal capacity of the order of up to 20 ~ilograms of gas per hour, depending on the pressure of the gas entering the unit and the ambient temperature. The unit provides the major advantage that it can as a small portable unit clean for recycling gas in a single pass.
In a smaller domestic reclaim unit shown in Figures 3 and 3A, the scrubber C of the first embodiment is removed as in the oil separator F between the compressor E and the condenser G. The remaining circuitry is much the same with the gas being passed through an oil separator F2 via an inlet port B and inlet valve V. The separated oil is tapped from the separator F2 via line F3 and outlet F4.
From the oil separator the gas flows to the dryer D and ' - ~ , , : .
525~:
then into the compressor E and onto the modine condenser G
via check valve H. The remaining circuitry is substantially as the first embodiment.
This unit is handheld weighing 15 kg and has a capacity of cleaning 7 kg of gas per hour in contrast to the large unit of Figures 1 and 2. The unit of Figure 3 is particularly useful for the reclaiming, cleaning and recycling in a single gas of C.F.C.~s in units such as domestic fridges and freezers and small domestic air-conditioning units.
Throughout the reclaim unit special care has been taken with regards to pipework, sizing and assembly. If pipework is undersized the unit will not perform at the best possible efficiency and therefore the amount of gas processed per hour would be reduced. On the other hand, if the pipework was grossly oversized in parts of the circuit, such as in the scrubber, solid contaminants and heavy oils will separate out of the refrigerant and settle in these low velocity areas. This condition can eventually cause blockages and unnecessary failure.
Particularly, the relationship between components presented by the pipework is equally important in that components will not work in tandem and achieve peak effi~iency if the pipework is such that there is an efficient balance between those components. As this unit is being used to recover and reclaim refrigerant which is frequently contaminated with solids or heavy oils it is even more critical that care be taken and that proper pipework sizing and balance and installation be closely adhered to.
Whilst there has been described in the foregoing description a preferred construction of a gas recovery, cleaning and recycling unit as well as a method of recovering, cleaning and recycling a gas it would be understood by those skilled in the art that many variations or modifications in details of design or construction may be made without departing from the essential nature of the present invention.
'
Claims (10)
1. Apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of gases comprising a portable frame containing means to collect the gas, preferably refrigerant gas from refrigeration equipment, first filter means to scrub the gas to remove large contaminants, second filter means to dry and further filter the gas, a compressor to compress the filtered gas, an oil separator to remove oil that may have contaminated the gas whilst in the compressor, said separator returning the collected oil back to the compressor, a condenser to cool the gas and collection means to collect the gas in liquid form whereby the gas can be recovered, cleaned and charged for recycling in a single pass.
2. The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein entry of the gas to the first filter is controlled by a pressure regulating valve.
3. The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein a drain valve and outlet is provided in the first filter means to remove contaminants after each operation of the apparatus.
4. The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the condenser is a modine condenser with an electrically driven fan mounted adjacent thereto.
5. The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein a sight glass is fitted to an outlet line of the apparatus to monitor for deterioration in filtering capacities to prompt replacement of filter elements.
6. The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the apparatus includes pressure gauges positioned at suitable points in the circuit to provide ready indication of operating pressures.
7. The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the frame is mounted on a wheeled trolley that can be coupled to a source of mains electricity to drive the compressor and condenser, the apparatus including fluid couplings to enable the apparatus to be coupled to equipment containing refrigerants to ensure against escape of refrigerants to the atmosphere.
8. A method of recovering, cleaning and recycling a gas preferably refrigerant gas including the steps of passing the gas through a scrubber to remove large contaminants, passing the gas through a dryer to filter and dry the gas, passing the gas through a compressor, passing the gas through an oil separator to prevent discharge of oil from the compressor, passing the gas through a condenser to cool the gas and passing the gas to collection means in liquid form whereby in a single pass the gas is recovered cleaned and charged ready for recycling.
9. Apparatus for the recovery, cleaning and recycling of refrigerant gases comprising a portable frame containing means to collect the gas from refrigeration equipment, filter means to scrub the gas to remove large contaminants, second filter means to remove acid, oil and moisture from the gas, a compressor to compress the filtered gas, a condenser to cool the gas and collection means to collect the gas in liquid form whereby the gas can be recovered, cleaned and charged for recycling in a single pass.
10. The apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the filter means comprises an oil separator positioned upstream of a dryer which removes acid and moisture from the gas.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002045252A CA2045252A1 (en) | 1991-06-21 | 1991-06-21 | Refrigerant reclaim unit |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002045252A CA2045252A1 (en) | 1991-06-21 | 1991-06-21 | Refrigerant reclaim unit |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2045252A1 true CA2045252A1 (en) | 1992-12-22 |
Family
ID=4147886
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002045252A Abandoned CA2045252A1 (en) | 1991-06-21 | 1991-06-21 | Refrigerant reclaim unit |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2045252A1 (en) |
-
1991
- 1991-06-21 CA CA002045252A patent/CA2045252A1/en not_active Abandoned
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