CA2118788A1 - Method and apparatus for conveying a liquid and another fluent medium through the same pipeline - Google Patents
Method and apparatus for conveying a liquid and another fluent medium through the same pipelineInfo
- Publication number
- CA2118788A1 CA2118788A1 CA002118788A CA2118788A CA2118788A1 CA 2118788 A1 CA2118788 A1 CA 2118788A1 CA 002118788 A CA002118788 A CA 002118788A CA 2118788 A CA2118788 A CA 2118788A CA 2118788 A1 CA2118788 A1 CA 2118788A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- pipeline
- liquid
- medium
- freezing
- ice plug
- 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
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
- F17D—PIPE-LINE SYSTEMS; PIPE-LINES
- F17D3/00—Arrangements for supervising or controlling working operations
- F17D3/03—Arrangements for supervising or controlling working operations for controlling, signalling, or supervising the conveyance of several different products following one another in the same conduit, e.g. for switching from one receiving tank to another
- F17D3/08—Arrangements for supervising or controlling working operations for controlling, signalling, or supervising the conveyance of several different products following one another in the same conduit, e.g. for switching from one receiving tank to another the different products being separated by "go-devils", e.g. spheres
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16L55/00—Devices or appurtenances for use in, or in connection with, pipes or pipe systems
- F16L55/10—Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses
- F16L55/12—Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses by introducing into the pipe a member expandable in situ
- F16L55/128—Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses by introducing into the pipe a member expandable in situ introduced axially into the pipe or hose
- F16L55/1283—Plugging pig
Abstract
In the method proposed, various free-flowing media are conveyed in succession through the same pipe line, the media being substantially prevented from mixing by separating them with a plug of ice formed by local cooling of one medium which can be frozen to give a solid.
Description
2~1~7~8 Title: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING A LIQUID AND
ANOTHER FLUENT MEDIUM THROUGH THE SAME PIPELINE
..
Description This invention relates to a method of conveying a liquid and another fluent medium through the same pipeline, in which the liquid and the o,th~r medium are fed one after the other to the front end of the pipeline and a separating body is located between the liquid and the other medium and fills the pipe cross-section, whereby the separating body is passed through the pipeline together with the liquid and the other medium, the separating body separating the liquid and the other medium from one~another largely without mixing.
There are many applications in which only one pipeline is available for transporting different products, so that the products have to be pumped one after the other through the pipeline. These product.s may be for example foodstuffs (milk products, drinks, spreading fats, etc.) or other substances (waste water, chemicals, etc.) which can be transported through a pipeline. These products can have the consistency of a thin liquid, a ~hick liquid or even be pasty.
` 2118788 The simplest conveyor method consists in pushing the preceding product through the pipeline by the following product. However, this leads to a more or less strong mixing of the two products, with the consequence that a corresponding mixed phase volume has to be separated out on account of insufficient product purity, even when, as can be the case with products similar to one another, a small foreign '~ proportion of the other product can be tolerated. The results are substantial product losses and also a burden on the environment from the mixed phases not matching the ~, purity requirements and which have to be disposed of. lt is apparent that, with frequent or regularly repeating changes of product, the losses or burdens lead to seriousdisadvantages .
~' It can also be necessary before beginning to convey the following product firstly to clean the pipeline or at least to rinse it, with a cleaning liquid and/or a rinsing agent 1 (water~ transported through the pipeline be~ween the products. Instead of mixing of I products, there is then contamination or dilution of the final volume of the firs~ product and the initial volume of the second product, by the cleaning liquid or the rinsing water, which is likewise a disadvantage.
In order to counteract the mixed phase forrnation, it is known to operate with separating bodies between the individual liquids or media, as in the initially described method, (DE 2 529 346 B). So-called separating moles in the forrn of rubber balls ~re used as separating bodies, having a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the pipeline. The known installation is provided for filling and clischarging tankers with mineral oil products or chemicals.
The conveying of separating moles between the products or liquids does largely prevent mixing but ~he insertion and extraction of the separating nnole is a problem.
This applies in particular mea~sure in feeding foodstuffs, milk products for example, with which there is a risk of bacterial contamination.
. ...
Dirk Pizel 16th August 1993 i Nevertheless we have already'used conveying with a separating mole with milk (EP 22 276 A~. Here insertion and extraction of the separating moles is avoided in that a predetermined number of separating moles are integrated in t~e-~ystem and, aher fulfilling their function of separating milk from rinsing liquid and this from cleaning liquid, are trapped in a central receiving'device within an enlargement in the pipeline, in order to be fed'back by means of compressed air at the conclusion of a feed and cleaning cycle through the pipeline to an insertion station at the start or the front end~
of the of the pipellne. Such a mode of operation is however comparatively troublesome and requires a`cornplicated installation, as weil as an expensive controller.
The invention is based on the problem of preventing the mixing of sequentially conveyed products or media in a simple and y'et effective way, without the danger of bacterial contamination.
In order to solve this problem an ice plug is used in accordance with the invention in the initially described method as the separating body, being formed by cooling the liquid in a front pipe ~iection of the pipeline.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying oul this method, with a pipeline, with whose front end there is as~ociated at'least one closable connection for feeding in a liquid to be conveyed and at least one oti~er fluent meclium to be conveyed and which comprises a front pipe sec~ion with an arrangement for providing a separating body in the pipeline, which body is conveyed between the liquid and the medium, characterized in that the arrangement for providing the separating body is a freezing arrangement which comprises an inlet `r~ `: : ` : ` `
211~788 -3a-for a fluent cooling agent for freezing a partial volume of the liquid in the fron~ pipe section filling the pipeline cross-section into an ice plug forrning an entrained separating body.
A freezing device is already known from EP 82 895 A for use in pipelines, especially for oil, wh;ch can be assembled from two a,Yially divided jacket halves, so that after application of the free7ing device, a pipeline section is-surrounded by an annular chamber, through which a cooling agent circulates. This known freezing device is not however associated with the front pipe section, is not fitted for freezing conveyed liquid and also does not serve to form an ice plug wllich i~s moved through the pipeline.
Rather it applies to being able to carry out work on the pipeline, for exampl~ to~
exchange a valve, ~vithout the pipeline or a large section thereof having to be emptied completely. Therefore, two sp~cial moles are applied to the pipeline and are conveyed with the conveyed liquid to places respectively before and after the valve to beexchanged, where they are secured in position by rods inserted radially into thepipeline. The special moles have sealing flanges at their front and rear ends and a cylindrical rubber sleeve, ~hich delimit an annular chamber filled with water and which can be expanded in~o abutment with the inner periphery of the pipeline. This expansion takes place from freezing the ~vater filling, which thus experiences acorresponding increase in volume, in that a freezing device is fitted to corresponding places on the pipeline before and after the stop valve to be exchanged. In this manner two pipeline moles are converted by the freezing operation into positionally fixed pipe closures, so that pipeline work such as exchanging a valve can be effected therebetween.
There i.s thu.s no ice plug forrned which alone fills the pipeline cross-section and which is , . ~ . ,;, ~'.`!`:, . ' ' ' -`~ 2~1~78~
.
, ~. -3b-.
transported through the pipeline with the conveyed liquid in the manner of a pipeline mole. Furtherrnore the known freezing does not make the use of pipeline moles superfluous, so that the problem of introducing the mole into the pipeline and the consequent danger from especially bacterial impurities remain unchanged.
A similar state of the art, in which a pipeline mole is used~i~conjunction with an çxternal freezing device to produce a closure of the pipeline, is known from US 3 695 301. Delimited pipeline sections are there to be checked and possible leak points localised by means of the pipeline closure. ~he mole is fitted with a transmitter in order to be able to locate it exactly and move it~to a desired location, at which the~
freezing device is then fitted. Here the rubber sleeve which can be enlarged against the pipeline inner wall is here missing, so that conve~ed liquid is frozen between the pipeline wall, an axial mole pipe with annular ribs and front and rear sealing flanges.
The annular ice body i~s here also intended to forrn a seal which is secure against pressure difference... It is tha~ved again at the point of! its creation, after performing the pipeline check, and i.s likewise therefore not transported through the pipeline with flowing liquid.
Advantageous embodiments and developments of the method according to the invention and the apparatus according to the invention appear from the dependentclaims .
.?
~ 2118788 ~ . ., 4~
Thus, in accordance with the invention, operation is still with the separating mole principle but use is made of the knowledge that it is not necessary to insert a `~ special separating mole in the sensP of a foreign obJect between the sequentially :~' transported liquids or media but it is possible to create a separating body from the liquid to be transported itself, in that a suitable volume of liquid is solidified by freezing or crystallisation. There is therefore no risk of contamination. The necessity `' of separating out the ice plug at the end of the pipeline and feeding it back to the start of the pipeline is also obviated. Rather the ice plug can simple be passed into the original liquid by melting it again.
lt is just as simple to manage with an obstruction to passage such as a valve ~j with a reduction of cross-section f;tted in the pipeline or a bend in the pipe, in that the , ice plug is melted directly before the obstruction and a new ice plug is forrned again directly after the obstruction. There is no need to fear any significant mixing, . ' especially as the new ice plug can be forrned already before the old one is melted.
Gases and liquids can be used as the cooling agent for freezing the liquid into an ice plug, being capable of crystallising or freezing the liquid to be transported through the pipeline in a short time. Exarnples of gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2) or oxygen (2)~ which can be fed in also in liquid form if desired.
Examples of liquid cooling agents are liquids with markedly lower freezing temperatures that the liquid to be frozen. Likewise, refrigerants such as ammonia (NH2) or Freon, which are used in refrigerating plants, can be used.
The required ice plug can be made particularly rapidly or abruptly in that a cooling agent gas is squirled into the relevant pipe section of the pipeline. With accurate metering of the _, , ` 211~788 ~` amount squirted in ~he size (length) of the ice plug can be determined in accordance with the characteristics of the liquid to be conveyed. Since the aforementioned cooling ~d agent gases are steri}e and w;thout taste, which furthermore escape from the conveyed liquid, direct introduction of the gases in the area of foodstuffs also is without risk.
The method according to the invention can also be used not only to separate different liquids from one another during their conveying but separat~n can be effected between a gas and a liquid within the pipeline. In this case the ice plug can only be formed from the one liquid medium. It follows as a result that at least every second conveyed medium must be a liquid which can be frozen. It is naturally possible to ^1 introduce a small volume of a liquid which can be frozen between two norrnally~
sequential media which cannot be frozen, so that mixing of the media can be prevented in accordance with the invention in ~his ca~se also.
~ n embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to schematic drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a plant for processing or conveying three different products;
I:;igure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the freezing stations provided in Figure I with indirect cooling;
Figure 3 shows an alternative freezing station to Figure 2 with direct injectioncooling; and ~ Figure 4 shows the thawing station provided in Figure I to a larger scale.
$ Figure I shows three containers 1, 2, 3, which contain different products P1, PZ, P3. The containers 1, 2, 3 are connected to a common product line 10 at their bottoms through connections 4, 5, 6 respectively, which each contain a shut-off cont~;n~l valve 7 ~, 9, ~p~c~iveb, Ehe p~ cont~:nine ll~r--i `
` 211~788 product valves 11, 12, 13 associated with the three containers respectively and leading to a pump 14.
~ urthermore a common cleaning line 15 with three cleaning valves 16, 17, 18 is provided, these valves leading through respective branch lines 19, 20, 21 to the product valves 11, 12, 13 respectively. The cleaning valves 16, 17 and 18 and the product valves 11, 12, 13 as well as the container valves 7, 8, 9 can be so operated or ;;. .
}. set that a cleaning liquid or rinsing water can be fed out of the cleaning line 15 - if desired sectionally - to the product line 10 and - individually or simultaneously - to the ~3 containers 1, 2, 3. The containers 1, 2, 3 can likewise be connected individually to the product line 10.
A common pipeline 22 is connected to the pump 14 and comprises a front pipe section 23, a middle pipe section 24 and a rear pipe section 25. The front pipe section 23 is provided with a freezing device 26 while the rear pipe section 25 has an , -associated thawing device 27.
The middle pipe section 24 comprises an obstruction to passage 28 which does allow }iquid to flow through but does not allow a solid body filling the pipe cross-section to pass. In the illustrated case the obstruction to passage is a pipe bend 29 but it can be a valve or other device with a narrowing of the cr~ss-section. Directly in front of this obstruction to passage 28 there is a further thawing device 30 and directly i after the obstruction to passage 28 there is a further freezing device 31.
As can be seen from Figure 2, the freezing device 26 comprises a jacket 32 surrounding the front pipe section 23 of the pipeline 22, with an inlet 33 and an outlet 34. A freezing chamber 35 is thus forrned between the pipe section 23 and the jacket 32, through which a cooling agent 36 can be passed, as i.s shown by the verticalarrows. The freezable liquid in the pipe section 23 can be coolecl sufficiently by means of this cooling agent for an . 2118788 J, ice plug 37 to forrn in the region of this freezing device 26, as in indicated in Figure Z. This ice plug 37 forms a mole-like separat;ng body between the fluent media on its opposite sides. As is indicated by the hori70ntal arrows in Figure 2, the ice plug can be passed through the pipeline 22 together with the media separated thereby.
Figure 3 shows a freezing device 38 which can be u~sed in place of the freezing device 26, comprising a borehole neck 39 with a valve chamber 4p'~d an inlet 4I for . the cooling agent 42. A valve shaft 44 sealed by a membrane 43 is adjustable between the open position and the illustrated closed position by means a control device, not shown, the mushroom head valve body 45 closing the pipe bore 46 formed in the pipe section 23 in the closed position. By a brief opening of the shut-off valve 48 formed~
î/ by the valve body 45 and the valve seat 47 a predetermined amount of the cooling agent 42 can thus be squirted into the pipe section 23, i.e. into the liquid in the pipe section 23.
The injected cooling agent is preferably a deeply cooled and possibly liquified gas. The injected cooling agent causes an immediate freezing of the freezable liquid with forrnation of an ice plug 49, as is indicated in Figure 3.
The thawing device 27 shown in Figure 4 corresponds in construction to the freezing device 26 of Figure 2 and thus comprises a jacket 50 surrounding the rear pipe section 25 and forming a thawing chamber 51, to which a heating agent 52 is fed instead of a cooling agent. Accordingly the thawing arrangement 27 provides the ability to melt in a short time the ice plug 37 forrned in the freezing device at the start of the pipeline 22.
It is apparent that the thawing device 27 can be dispensed with if it is possible to wait for the ice plug 37 to melt simply with input of heat from the surroundings, with the feed opera~ion iAterrupted, i.e. Ihe pump 14 stationary. If desired ~ 1 --8---~ jthe ice plug 37 can simply be separated out after it has fulfilled its separating function.
-`~The thawing device 30 and the freezing device 31 in the middle pipe section 24 s`~of the pipeline 22, which are only provided in the presence of an obstruction to passage 28, are formed in the same way as the thawing device 27 and the freezing device 26`1 or 38, so that further details are ~superfluous.
In order to explain the method according to the invention it will be assumed that the products P1, P2 and P3 are three different kinds of yoghurt which are to be processed by a common filling device which is connected to the pipeline 22 and is not shown in Figure 1. The filling is to be effected with the greatest possible product purity, i.e. with as little mixing as possible between the products P1, P2 and P3.
With the pipeline 22 emptied and cleaned a start is made with the filling of theproduct P3, i.e. emptying of the container 3, in that the liquid product is forced through the pipeline 22 by rneans of the pump 14. After the container 3 has beencompletely emptied the product line 10 is likewise emptied while the pipeline 22 is still filled with the product P3. Accordingly the front pipe section 23 contains the last amolunt of the product P3 conveyed by the pump 14. With the pump 14 turned off the free~ing device 26 or 38 is now operated and thus an ice plug 37 or 49 is forrned from the last amount of the product P3.
The container 2 is then connected to the product line l 0, whereafter the product P2 is fed through the pipeline 22 by means of the pump 14. The product P2 pushes the ice plug 37 or 49 in front of itself through the pipeline, whereby the residual product P1 still in the pipeline 22 is pushed into the filling device.
`~:. 211~788 .` g `, After emptying the container 2 an ice plug 37 or 49 is formed from the product `~ P2 by means of the freezing device 26 or 38, whereafter the container I is colmected ~i to the product line 10 and is emptied by means of the pump 14. After emptying the container 1 also an ice plug 37 or 49 is forrned from the last product quantity Pl, whereafter the product Pl still remaining in the pipeline Z can be pushed out bymeans of rinsing water which is fed from the cleaning line ]5 through the product line 10.
As alrèady said the ice plug 37 or 49 can simply be separated out when it ! reaches the end of the pipeline 22 and be removed, ~vithout the feed through the pipeline 22 having to be interrupted. Alternatively the feed can be interrupted by~
~i, stopping the pump 14 and the thawing device 27 be operated, in order to tran~form the ~:~ ice plug 37 or 49 into the liquid product again.
,1,
ANOTHER FLUENT MEDIUM THROUGH THE SAME PIPELINE
..
Description This invention relates to a method of conveying a liquid and another fluent medium through the same pipeline, in which the liquid and the o,th~r medium are fed one after the other to the front end of the pipeline and a separating body is located between the liquid and the other medium and fills the pipe cross-section, whereby the separating body is passed through the pipeline together with the liquid and the other medium, the separating body separating the liquid and the other medium from one~another largely without mixing.
There are many applications in which only one pipeline is available for transporting different products, so that the products have to be pumped one after the other through the pipeline. These product.s may be for example foodstuffs (milk products, drinks, spreading fats, etc.) or other substances (waste water, chemicals, etc.) which can be transported through a pipeline. These products can have the consistency of a thin liquid, a ~hick liquid or even be pasty.
` 2118788 The simplest conveyor method consists in pushing the preceding product through the pipeline by the following product. However, this leads to a more or less strong mixing of the two products, with the consequence that a corresponding mixed phase volume has to be separated out on account of insufficient product purity, even when, as can be the case with products similar to one another, a small foreign '~ proportion of the other product can be tolerated. The results are substantial product losses and also a burden on the environment from the mixed phases not matching the ~, purity requirements and which have to be disposed of. lt is apparent that, with frequent or regularly repeating changes of product, the losses or burdens lead to seriousdisadvantages .
~' It can also be necessary before beginning to convey the following product firstly to clean the pipeline or at least to rinse it, with a cleaning liquid and/or a rinsing agent 1 (water~ transported through the pipeline be~ween the products. Instead of mixing of I products, there is then contamination or dilution of the final volume of the firs~ product and the initial volume of the second product, by the cleaning liquid or the rinsing water, which is likewise a disadvantage.
In order to counteract the mixed phase forrnation, it is known to operate with separating bodies between the individual liquids or media, as in the initially described method, (DE 2 529 346 B). So-called separating moles in the forrn of rubber balls ~re used as separating bodies, having a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the pipeline. The known installation is provided for filling and clischarging tankers with mineral oil products or chemicals.
The conveying of separating moles between the products or liquids does largely prevent mixing but ~he insertion and extraction of the separating nnole is a problem.
This applies in particular mea~sure in feeding foodstuffs, milk products for example, with which there is a risk of bacterial contamination.
. ...
Dirk Pizel 16th August 1993 i Nevertheless we have already'used conveying with a separating mole with milk (EP 22 276 A~. Here insertion and extraction of the separating moles is avoided in that a predetermined number of separating moles are integrated in t~e-~ystem and, aher fulfilling their function of separating milk from rinsing liquid and this from cleaning liquid, are trapped in a central receiving'device within an enlargement in the pipeline, in order to be fed'back by means of compressed air at the conclusion of a feed and cleaning cycle through the pipeline to an insertion station at the start or the front end~
of the of the pipellne. Such a mode of operation is however comparatively troublesome and requires a`cornplicated installation, as weil as an expensive controller.
The invention is based on the problem of preventing the mixing of sequentially conveyed products or media in a simple and y'et effective way, without the danger of bacterial contamination.
In order to solve this problem an ice plug is used in accordance with the invention in the initially described method as the separating body, being formed by cooling the liquid in a front pipe ~iection of the pipeline.
The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying oul this method, with a pipeline, with whose front end there is as~ociated at'least one closable connection for feeding in a liquid to be conveyed and at least one oti~er fluent meclium to be conveyed and which comprises a front pipe sec~ion with an arrangement for providing a separating body in the pipeline, which body is conveyed between the liquid and the medium, characterized in that the arrangement for providing the separating body is a freezing arrangement which comprises an inlet `r~ `: : ` : ` `
211~788 -3a-for a fluent cooling agent for freezing a partial volume of the liquid in the fron~ pipe section filling the pipeline cross-section into an ice plug forrning an entrained separating body.
A freezing device is already known from EP 82 895 A for use in pipelines, especially for oil, wh;ch can be assembled from two a,Yially divided jacket halves, so that after application of the free7ing device, a pipeline section is-surrounded by an annular chamber, through which a cooling agent circulates. This known freezing device is not however associated with the front pipe section, is not fitted for freezing conveyed liquid and also does not serve to form an ice plug wllich i~s moved through the pipeline.
Rather it applies to being able to carry out work on the pipeline, for exampl~ to~
exchange a valve, ~vithout the pipeline or a large section thereof having to be emptied completely. Therefore, two sp~cial moles are applied to the pipeline and are conveyed with the conveyed liquid to places respectively before and after the valve to beexchanged, where they are secured in position by rods inserted radially into thepipeline. The special moles have sealing flanges at their front and rear ends and a cylindrical rubber sleeve, ~hich delimit an annular chamber filled with water and which can be expanded in~o abutment with the inner periphery of the pipeline. This expansion takes place from freezing the ~vater filling, which thus experiences acorresponding increase in volume, in that a freezing device is fitted to corresponding places on the pipeline before and after the stop valve to be exchanged. In this manner two pipeline moles are converted by the freezing operation into positionally fixed pipe closures, so that pipeline work such as exchanging a valve can be effected therebetween.
There i.s thu.s no ice plug forrned which alone fills the pipeline cross-section and which is , . ~ . ,;, ~'.`!`:, . ' ' ' -`~ 2~1~78~
.
, ~. -3b-.
transported through the pipeline with the conveyed liquid in the manner of a pipeline mole. Furtherrnore the known freezing does not make the use of pipeline moles superfluous, so that the problem of introducing the mole into the pipeline and the consequent danger from especially bacterial impurities remain unchanged.
A similar state of the art, in which a pipeline mole is used~i~conjunction with an çxternal freezing device to produce a closure of the pipeline, is known from US 3 695 301. Delimited pipeline sections are there to be checked and possible leak points localised by means of the pipeline closure. ~he mole is fitted with a transmitter in order to be able to locate it exactly and move it~to a desired location, at which the~
freezing device is then fitted. Here the rubber sleeve which can be enlarged against the pipeline inner wall is here missing, so that conve~ed liquid is frozen between the pipeline wall, an axial mole pipe with annular ribs and front and rear sealing flanges.
The annular ice body i~s here also intended to forrn a seal which is secure against pressure difference... It is tha~ved again at the point of! its creation, after performing the pipeline check, and i.s likewise therefore not transported through the pipeline with flowing liquid.
Advantageous embodiments and developments of the method according to the invention and the apparatus according to the invention appear from the dependentclaims .
.?
~ 2118788 ~ . ., 4~
Thus, in accordance with the invention, operation is still with the separating mole principle but use is made of the knowledge that it is not necessary to insert a `~ special separating mole in the sensP of a foreign obJect between the sequentially :~' transported liquids or media but it is possible to create a separating body from the liquid to be transported itself, in that a suitable volume of liquid is solidified by freezing or crystallisation. There is therefore no risk of contamination. The necessity `' of separating out the ice plug at the end of the pipeline and feeding it back to the start of the pipeline is also obviated. Rather the ice plug can simple be passed into the original liquid by melting it again.
lt is just as simple to manage with an obstruction to passage such as a valve ~j with a reduction of cross-section f;tted in the pipeline or a bend in the pipe, in that the , ice plug is melted directly before the obstruction and a new ice plug is forrned again directly after the obstruction. There is no need to fear any significant mixing, . ' especially as the new ice plug can be forrned already before the old one is melted.
Gases and liquids can be used as the cooling agent for freezing the liquid into an ice plug, being capable of crystallising or freezing the liquid to be transported through the pipeline in a short time. Exarnples of gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen (N2) or oxygen (2)~ which can be fed in also in liquid form if desired.
Examples of liquid cooling agents are liquids with markedly lower freezing temperatures that the liquid to be frozen. Likewise, refrigerants such as ammonia (NH2) or Freon, which are used in refrigerating plants, can be used.
The required ice plug can be made particularly rapidly or abruptly in that a cooling agent gas is squirled into the relevant pipe section of the pipeline. With accurate metering of the _, , ` 211~788 ~` amount squirted in ~he size (length) of the ice plug can be determined in accordance with the characteristics of the liquid to be conveyed. Since the aforementioned cooling ~d agent gases are steri}e and w;thout taste, which furthermore escape from the conveyed liquid, direct introduction of the gases in the area of foodstuffs also is without risk.
The method according to the invention can also be used not only to separate different liquids from one another during their conveying but separat~n can be effected between a gas and a liquid within the pipeline. In this case the ice plug can only be formed from the one liquid medium. It follows as a result that at least every second conveyed medium must be a liquid which can be frozen. It is naturally possible to ^1 introduce a small volume of a liquid which can be frozen between two norrnally~
sequential media which cannot be frozen, so that mixing of the media can be prevented in accordance with the invention in ~his ca~se also.
~ n embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to schematic drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a plant for processing or conveying three different products;
I:;igure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the freezing stations provided in Figure I with indirect cooling;
Figure 3 shows an alternative freezing station to Figure 2 with direct injectioncooling; and ~ Figure 4 shows the thawing station provided in Figure I to a larger scale.
$ Figure I shows three containers 1, 2, 3, which contain different products P1, PZ, P3. The containers 1, 2, 3 are connected to a common product line 10 at their bottoms through connections 4, 5, 6 respectively, which each contain a shut-off cont~;n~l valve 7 ~, 9, ~p~c~iveb, Ehe p~ cont~:nine ll~r--i `
` 211~788 product valves 11, 12, 13 associated with the three containers respectively and leading to a pump 14.
~ urthermore a common cleaning line 15 with three cleaning valves 16, 17, 18 is provided, these valves leading through respective branch lines 19, 20, 21 to the product valves 11, 12, 13 respectively. The cleaning valves 16, 17 and 18 and the product valves 11, 12, 13 as well as the container valves 7, 8, 9 can be so operated or ;;. .
}. set that a cleaning liquid or rinsing water can be fed out of the cleaning line 15 - if desired sectionally - to the product line 10 and - individually or simultaneously - to the ~3 containers 1, 2, 3. The containers 1, 2, 3 can likewise be connected individually to the product line 10.
A common pipeline 22 is connected to the pump 14 and comprises a front pipe section 23, a middle pipe section 24 and a rear pipe section 25. The front pipe section 23 is provided with a freezing device 26 while the rear pipe section 25 has an , -associated thawing device 27.
The middle pipe section 24 comprises an obstruction to passage 28 which does allow }iquid to flow through but does not allow a solid body filling the pipe cross-section to pass. In the illustrated case the obstruction to passage is a pipe bend 29 but it can be a valve or other device with a narrowing of the cr~ss-section. Directly in front of this obstruction to passage 28 there is a further thawing device 30 and directly i after the obstruction to passage 28 there is a further freezing device 31.
As can be seen from Figure 2, the freezing device 26 comprises a jacket 32 surrounding the front pipe section 23 of the pipeline 22, with an inlet 33 and an outlet 34. A freezing chamber 35 is thus forrned between the pipe section 23 and the jacket 32, through which a cooling agent 36 can be passed, as i.s shown by the verticalarrows. The freezable liquid in the pipe section 23 can be coolecl sufficiently by means of this cooling agent for an . 2118788 J, ice plug 37 to forrn in the region of this freezing device 26, as in indicated in Figure Z. This ice plug 37 forms a mole-like separat;ng body between the fluent media on its opposite sides. As is indicated by the hori70ntal arrows in Figure 2, the ice plug can be passed through the pipeline 22 together with the media separated thereby.
Figure 3 shows a freezing device 38 which can be u~sed in place of the freezing device 26, comprising a borehole neck 39 with a valve chamber 4p'~d an inlet 4I for . the cooling agent 42. A valve shaft 44 sealed by a membrane 43 is adjustable between the open position and the illustrated closed position by means a control device, not shown, the mushroom head valve body 45 closing the pipe bore 46 formed in the pipe section 23 in the closed position. By a brief opening of the shut-off valve 48 formed~
î/ by the valve body 45 and the valve seat 47 a predetermined amount of the cooling agent 42 can thus be squirted into the pipe section 23, i.e. into the liquid in the pipe section 23.
The injected cooling agent is preferably a deeply cooled and possibly liquified gas. The injected cooling agent causes an immediate freezing of the freezable liquid with forrnation of an ice plug 49, as is indicated in Figure 3.
The thawing device 27 shown in Figure 4 corresponds in construction to the freezing device 26 of Figure 2 and thus comprises a jacket 50 surrounding the rear pipe section 25 and forming a thawing chamber 51, to which a heating agent 52 is fed instead of a cooling agent. Accordingly the thawing arrangement 27 provides the ability to melt in a short time the ice plug 37 forrned in the freezing device at the start of the pipeline 22.
It is apparent that the thawing device 27 can be dispensed with if it is possible to wait for the ice plug 37 to melt simply with input of heat from the surroundings, with the feed opera~ion iAterrupted, i.e. Ihe pump 14 stationary. If desired ~ 1 --8---~ jthe ice plug 37 can simply be separated out after it has fulfilled its separating function.
-`~The thawing device 30 and the freezing device 31 in the middle pipe section 24 s`~of the pipeline 22, which are only provided in the presence of an obstruction to passage 28, are formed in the same way as the thawing device 27 and the freezing device 26`1 or 38, so that further details are ~superfluous.
In order to explain the method according to the invention it will be assumed that the products P1, P2 and P3 are three different kinds of yoghurt which are to be processed by a common filling device which is connected to the pipeline 22 and is not shown in Figure 1. The filling is to be effected with the greatest possible product purity, i.e. with as little mixing as possible between the products P1, P2 and P3.
With the pipeline 22 emptied and cleaned a start is made with the filling of theproduct P3, i.e. emptying of the container 3, in that the liquid product is forced through the pipeline 22 by rneans of the pump 14. After the container 3 has beencompletely emptied the product line 10 is likewise emptied while the pipeline 22 is still filled with the product P3. Accordingly the front pipe section 23 contains the last amolunt of the product P3 conveyed by the pump 14. With the pump 14 turned off the free~ing device 26 or 38 is now operated and thus an ice plug 37 or 49 is forrned from the last amount of the product P3.
The container 2 is then connected to the product line l 0, whereafter the product P2 is fed through the pipeline 22 by means of the pump 14. The product P2 pushes the ice plug 37 or 49 in front of itself through the pipeline, whereby the residual product P1 still in the pipeline 22 is pushed into the filling device.
`~:. 211~788 .` g `, After emptying the container 2 an ice plug 37 or 49 is formed from the product `~ P2 by means of the freezing device 26 or 38, whereafter the container I is colmected ~i to the product line 10 and is emptied by means of the pump 14. After emptying the container 1 also an ice plug 37 or 49 is forrned from the last product quantity Pl, whereafter the product Pl still remaining in the pipeline Z can be pushed out bymeans of rinsing water which is fed from the cleaning line ]5 through the product line 10.
As alrèady said the ice plug 37 or 49 can simply be separated out when it ! reaches the end of the pipeline 22 and be removed, ~vithout the feed through the pipeline 22 having to be interrupted. Alternatively the feed can be interrupted by~
~i, stopping the pump 14 and the thawing device 27 be operated, in order to tran~form the ~:~ ice plug 37 or 49 into the liquid product again.
,1,
Claims (11)
1. A method of conveying a liquid and another fluent medium through the same pipeline, in which the liquid and the other medium are fed one after the other to the front end of the pipeline (22) and a separating body (37, 49) is located between the liquid and the other medium and fills the pipe cross-section, whereby the separating body (37, 49) is passed through the pipeline (22) together with the liquid and the other medium, the separating body separating the liquid and the other medium from one another largely without mixing, characterized in that an ice plug (37, 49) is used as the separating body, being formed by cooling the liquid in a front pipe section (23) of the pipeline (22).
2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the ice plug (49) is formed by introducing a fluent cooling agent (42) into the liquid.
3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that a gas, possibly liquified, is fed in as the cooling agent (42).
4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the cold for freezing the liquid is introduced by flowing a cooling agent (36) around the front pipe section (23).
5. A method according to claim 4, characterized in that a refrigerant used for refrigeration is used as the cooling agent (36).
6. A method according to any of claims 1 to 5 with a pipeline (22) with an obstruction to passage (28) for the separating body (37, 49), characterized in that the ice plug (37, 49) is melted directly before the obstruction to passage (28) and a new ice plug (37, 49) is formed again directly behind the obstruction to passage (28).
7. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to claim 1, with a pipeline (22), with whose front end there is associated at least one closable connection (4, 5, 6) for feeding in a liquid to be conveyed and at least one other fluent medium to be conveyed and which comprises a front pipe section (23) with an arrangement (26, 38) for providing a separating body (37, 49) in the pipeline (22), which body is conveyed between the liquid and the medium, characterized in that the arrangement for providing the separating body is a freezing arrangement (26, 38) which comprises an inlet (33, 41) for a fluent cooling agent (36, 42) for freezing a partial volume of the liquid in the front pipe section (23) filling the pipeline cross-section into an ice plug (37, 49) forming an entrained separating body.
8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the inlet (41) opens into the pipeline (22) through a shut-off valve (48).
9. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the front pipe section (23) is jacketed by a freezing chamber (35), into which the inlet (23) opens and to which an outlet (34) for the cooling agent (36) is connected.
10. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the freezing chamber (35) forms the evaporator for a coolant circuit serving to generate cold.
11. Apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 10, with an obstruction (28) to the passage of the separating body in the pipeline (22), characterized in that a thawing device (27, 30) with a heat supply for thawing the ice plug (37, 49) is provided before the obstruction to passage (28) and a further freezing arrangement (31) is provided after the obstruction to passage (28) for forming a new ice plug (37, 49).
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEP4131208.2 | 1991-09-19 | ||
| DE4131208A DE4131208A1 (en) | 1991-09-19 | 1991-09-19 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONVEYING A LIQUID AND ANOTHER FLOWABLE MEDIUM THROUGH THE SAME CONVEYOR |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2118788A1 true CA2118788A1 (en) | 1993-04-01 |
Family
ID=6440998
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002118788A Abandoned CA2118788A1 (en) | 1991-09-19 | 1992-09-17 | Method and apparatus for conveying a liquid and another fluent medium through the same pipeline |
Country Status (11)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0604530A1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH06510840A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2584292A (en) |
| BR (1) | BR9206521A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2118788A1 (en) |
| CZ (1) | CZ62794A3 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE4131208A1 (en) |
| FI (1) | FI941283A0 (en) |
| HU (1) | HUT68946A (en) |
| NO (1) | NO940983L (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1993006409A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5461874A (en) * | 1993-12-07 | 1995-10-31 | Thompson; Michael C. | Method and apparatus for transporting material |
| DE19600749A1 (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 1997-03-20 | Schlumberger Rombach Gmbh | Temporary sealing of gas supply pipes |
| DE19830029A1 (en) * | 1998-07-04 | 2000-01-05 | Audi Ag | Painting rig for vehicle bodywork |
| US6485577B1 (en) * | 2000-01-07 | 2002-11-26 | Robert Kiholm | Pipe pig formed of frozen product |
| GB0000560D0 (en) * | 2000-01-11 | 2000-03-01 | Univ Bristol | Cleaning and fluid separation in fluid flow conduits |
| DE10216581B4 (en) * | 2002-04-14 | 2006-07-20 | Asis Gmbh | Supply line for coating plants, in particular painting plants |
| DE102008052026A1 (en) | 2008-01-08 | 2009-07-09 | Röper, Wilhelm, Dipl.-Ing. | Pipeline system for transporting sewage water, has heating and cooling devices designed such that produced ice pig includes incomplete frozen region, and splitting device designed such that ice pig breaks-open in incomplete frozen region |
Family Cites Families (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3676091A (en) * | 1970-09-08 | 1972-07-11 | Shell Oil Co | Method for forming and circulating plugs in a pipeline |
| US3695301A (en) * | 1971-06-07 | 1972-10-03 | Halliburton Co | Apparatus and method for pipeline testing |
| EP0082895A1 (en) * | 1981-12-24 | 1983-07-06 | Brister Incorporated | Pipeline pig and its use |
| FR2664359B1 (en) * | 1990-07-04 | 1992-10-23 | Challenger Special Oil Service | CRYOGENIC PROCESS AND SCRAPER FOR TEMPORARY SHUTTERING OF A PIPE. |
-
1991
- 1991-09-19 DE DE4131208A patent/DE4131208A1/en not_active Ceased
-
1992
- 1992-09-17 JP JP5505778A patent/JPH06510840A/en active Pending
- 1992-09-17 AU AU25842/92A patent/AU2584292A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1992-09-17 HU HU9400778A patent/HUT68946A/en unknown
- 1992-09-17 WO PCT/EP1992/002145 patent/WO1993006409A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1992-09-17 CA CA002118788A patent/CA2118788A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1992-09-17 BR BR9206521A patent/BR9206521A/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1992-09-17 EP EP92920045A patent/EP0604530A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1992-09-17 CZ CS94627A patent/CZ62794A3/en unknown
-
1994
- 1994-03-18 NO NO940983A patent/NO940983L/en unknown
- 1994-03-18 FI FI941283A patent/FI941283A0/en not_active Application Discontinuation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CZ62794A3 (en) | 1994-07-13 |
| NO940983D0 (en) | 1994-03-18 |
| AU2584292A (en) | 1993-04-27 |
| BR9206521A (en) | 1995-11-07 |
| HUT68946A (en) | 1995-08-28 |
| DE4131208A1 (en) | 1993-03-25 |
| JPH06510840A (en) | 1994-12-01 |
| NO940983L (en) | 1994-03-18 |
| WO1993006409A1 (en) | 1993-04-01 |
| EP0604530A1 (en) | 1994-07-06 |
| FI941283A (en) | 1994-03-18 |
| HU9400778D0 (en) | 1994-06-28 |
| FI941283A0 (en) | 1994-03-18 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Discontinued |