CN110817442A - Feeding and discharging device and method with liquid for transportation as sealing medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a charging and discharging device (101) with a reactor (110) for transporting a liquid (102) for transporting an upstream object (103) from an upstream space (106) to a downstream space (107) in a gas-tight manner, by: a carrier transition space (108) is formed which accommodates the upstream object (103), and the gas mass and volume in the carrier transition space are adjusted, whereupon the upstream object (103) is introduced into the downstream space (107), in the course of which the transport liquid (102) at least partially seals the opening (104') through which the upstream object passes. The invention also relates to a method for feeding and discharging by using the feeding and discharging device (101).

Description

Feeding and discharging device and method with liquid for transportation as sealing medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a charging and discharging device and a method, particularly to a charging and discharging device for air-tightly conveying materials or objects from one space to another space in a reactor with a liquid for transportation, and a method for charging and discharging operations by using the charging and discharging device.

Background

The anaerobic reactors disclosed in WO0206439 and EP1767500 must be operated with the anaerobic reaction space open to the atmosphere during the feeding and discharging operations, resulting in interruption of the anaerobic reaction, and therefore the reactors can only be operated in batch mode.

The piston type feeding and discharging device disclosed in EP1170357 and the screw conveyer feeding and discharging device disclosed in CN202626179(U) are all prone to failure due to continuous friction, corrosion and clamping stagnation of materials.

DE102006047828(a1) discloses a feeding device for a digester, in which the sealing contact surfaces of the inner and outer doors and the inner wall of the lock chamber are in contact with the material or even pressed by the material, with the undesirable consequences of damage to the mechanical structure, failure of the sealing function, and caking of the material by compaction; in addition, the amount of material fed and discharged from a batch is limited because the inner door of the device bears the weight of the material stack.

Although the CN106591099A solves the problem of airtight feeding and discharging of multiple batches, for the batches with large feeding and discharging amount, the feeding and discharging device needs to be increased in structural strength and structural size, and the sealing structure of the sealing door needs to be increased and reinforced, which actually limits the application of the feeding and discharging device in ultra-large engineering construction.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a feed and discharge device and method for transporting heavy, bulky materials or objects in a gas-tight manner from an upstream space to a downstream space separate therefrom, in a reactor using a transport liquid, while overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art.

Gas-tight transport between the upstream and downstream spaces means that the mass of gas flowing from at least one space to the other space during transport is limited to a defined limit value or less. For gas mass values below the tightness requirement limit values, the values are expressed as "negligible".

The objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by the following apparatus and method for feeding and discharging materials of the present invention.

According to the present invention, there is provided a charging and discharging device in a reactor using a transport liquid, which can transport upstream objects from an upstream space to a downstream space separated therefrom in a gas-tight manner, comprising at least one opening, wherein an opening through which the upstream objects are discharged from the upstream space is constituted as an upper opening, an opening through which the upstream objects are discharged into the downstream space is constituted as a lower opening, and after the operations of opening the upper opening, passing the upstream objects in the upstream space through the upper opening and discharging from the upstream space and then closing the upper opening are sequentially completed, a carrying transition space containing the upstream objects and being free from gas communication with neither the upstream space nor the downstream space is formed, and after the operations of opening the lower opening, passing the upstream objects through the lower opening and discharging into the downstream space and then closing the lower opening are sequentially completed, forming an empty transition space which does not contain an upstream object and has no free gas communication relation with the upstream space and the downstream space, wherein the mass and the volume of gas in the load transition space can be adjusted, and the method is characterized in that: the transport liquid at least partially hermetically seals at least one of the openings when the upper opening or the lower opening is in a closed state.

According to the invention, a method for feeding and discharging by using the feeding and discharging device of the invention is also provided, which comprises the following operation steps executed in sequence:

a. opening the upper opening; passing the upstream object in the upstream space through the upper opening and out of the upstream space; closing the upper opening to form and maintain a load-bearing transition space;

b. opening the lower opening; passing an upstream object through the lower opening and into the downstream space; closing the lower opening to form and maintain a no-load transition space;

the method is characterized by comprising at least one of the following operation steps:

c. during the execution of the operation step a, adjusting the mass and the volume of the gas in the bearing transition space;

d. during the execution of operation b, the mass and volume of the gas in the empty-load transition space are adjusted.

When the sealing door M seals the opening K such that the spaces S1, S2 at both sides of the sealing door M cannot be in gas communication via the opening K, defining that the opening K is closed by the sealing door M; when the opening K is not closed so that the spaces S1 and S2 are in gas communication via the opening K, it is defined that the opening K is opened, or the opening K is opened to the spaces S1, S2. The spaces S1 and S2 are referred to as spaces on the side of the opening K, respectively, regardless of whether the opening K is closed or opened.

Consider the following process: after the operations of opening the opening K, causing the relative movement between the object T in the space S1 on one side of the opening K and the opening K only in relation to the present opening K, and then closing the opening K again are sequentially completed, the object T is now in the space S2 on the other side of the opening K. If the above process is available, defining the opening K to allow the object T to pass through, and defining the above process of the relative movement as a process of the object T passing through the opening K; meanwhile, the definition opening K is configured as an opening through which the object T passes when being output from the space S1, and is also configured as an opening through which the object T passes when being input to the space S2.

The term "relative movement only in relation to the opening K" refers to a relative movement between the object T and the opening K, characterized in that: this relative movement can be achieved regardless of the on-off state of the passage connecting the spaces S1 and S2 other than the opening K.

The opening is a channel which can be communicated with the spaces on two sides of the opening by gas and can also be used for conveying solid objects or materials. The gas pipeline is a channel which can only be in gas communication with the space connected with the two sides of the gas pipeline and can not convey solid objects or materials.

The gas-free connection of the two spaces means that the two spaces are spaces on both sides of at least one opening and/or that there is at least one gas-free line between the two spaces which connects each other. The gas free pipeline is a gas pipeline which is in gas communication with the space connected with the two sides of the gas free pipeline at any time.

The invention adopts the liquid for transportation in the reactor as the medium for sealing the opening, thereby greatly simplifying the sealing mechanism of the opening and the operations of sealing and removing the opening.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention there is a support and containment device in the load-bearing transition space for supporting and containing the upstream object, characterized in that the support and containment device floats in the transport liquid. This eliminates the need for mechanical parts such as wheels or rails for transporting the reactor, and the container portion for holding the material does not require a great structural strength. Therefore, the technical scheme of the invention can be applied to the working condition of single batch feeding and discharging with huge amount.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the size of the door closing the opening is only required to be larger in one dimension than in one dimension of the upstream object. Therefore, the structure of the sealing door can be greatly simplified, and the overall size of the sealing door can be greatly reduced, so that the technical scheme of the invention can be applied to the working condition of large single-batch feeding and discharging volume.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mass of the gas in the load-bearing transition space can be adjusted to a negligible value. This embodiment ensures that the mass of gas entering the downstream space from the upstream space is less than the limit specified by the tightness requirements.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mass and volume of the gas in the empty transition space are adjustable, and the mass of the gas is adjustable to a negligible value. This embodiment ensures that the mass of gas entering the upstream space from the downstream space is less than the limit specified by the tightness requirement.

The adjustment of the mass and volume of the gas in the transition space (including the load-bearing transition space and the empty-load transition space) comprises the adjustment of the initial mass value and the initial volume value of the gas in the transition space to be formed and/or the adjustment of the current mass value and the current volume value of the gas in the formed transition space.

Wherein the initial mass value and the initial volume value refer to the initial values of the gas mass and the gas volume in the transition space at the beginning of the formation of the transition space, respectively. The current values of mass and volume refer to the value of gas mass and gas volume, respectively, in the transition space while the adjustment is in progress.

The two adjustment operations of the mass of the gas in the transition space and the volume of the gas can be performed simultaneously or separately at different times.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the following operating steps is included:

e. adjusting the pressure of the gas in the bearing transition space;

f. and adjusting the pressure of the gas in the air load transition space.

Even if the gas pressure difference exists between the upstream space and the downstream space, the sealing door can be ensured to be closed and opened under the condition of no pressure difference between the two sides by adjusting the pressure of the gas in the transition space.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the method comprises the following steps:

g. and carrying out thermal refining operation on the upstream object in the bearing transition space.

Tempering operations refer to operations that alter or monitor certain characteristics of an upstream object, such as adjusting the temperature of the upstream object, adding additional substances to the upstream object to alter its composition, agitating the upstream object, sampling the upstream object, and the like.

Drawings

Fig. 1 to 10 are sectional views of a feeding and discharging device 101 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein fig. 1 to 5 and fig. 7 to 10 are sectional views of the feeding and discharging device 101 on the same section, and fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along a line a-a in fig. 5; fig. 1 to 10 show a process of the feeding operation of the feeding and discharging device 101 in sequence.

Fig. 11 to 19 are sectional views of a charging and discharging device 201 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, taken along the same plane, and sequentially show a progress of the charging and discharging operation of the charging and discharging device 201.

Detailed Description

In the following examples, there are several assumptions: first, the mass of the gas contained in the gas pipeline is small, and the gas tightness of the feeding and discharging device cannot be affected. Second, the sum of a number of "negligible" values is still a "negligible" value.

The gas control unit used in the following embodiments is a system made of the prior art, which can deliver gas in both directions in the gas line in which it is located, and can precisely meter and control the mass of the delivered gas; the system can be used as a valve when not delivering gas, namely, when the system is opened, the gas pipeline where the system is positioned is in a connected state, and when the system is closed, the gas pipeline where the system is positioned is not in a connected state.

The direction of movement of the upstream object is specified to be from upstream to downstream.

As shown in fig. 1 to 10, the first embodiment of the present invention is a charging and discharging device 101 having an anaerobic reactor 110 for transporting a liquid 102. The feeding and discharging device 101 can be used for feeding and discharging, and the process described in connection with fig. 1 to 10 is a feeding process, and the discharging process can be completed only by exchanging the upstream and downstream spaces and performing similar operations.

In the feed condition, the reactor outer space 106 is an upstream space and the reactor inner space 107 is a downstream space. Wherein the upstream opening 104 is an opening formed by the top of the reactor 110, and the upper cover, i.e., the sealing door 105, can hermetically seal the opening 104 in cooperation with the liquid sealing groove 111 and the sealing liquid 112 therein. The lower opening 104 ' is the lower opening of a conical barrel 105 ', which is also a sealing door 105 ' movable in the vertical direction, the opening 104 ' being open when it places the lower opening 104 ' above the level of the transport liquid; the transport liquid 102 completely hermetically seals the lower opening 104 'when it places the lower opening 104' below the level of the transport liquid.

The upper lid, i.e., the sealing door 105, and the film 116 attached to the side thereof together form a filling space 117, which is connected to the atmosphere through a gas line 118 provided with a gas flow control unit 119.

The support and accommodation device 113 supports and accommodates the upstream object 103, and may float in the transport liquid 102. A heating device and a stirring device, which are not shown in the drawing, are also disposed on the support container 113.

The gas lines 120 and 122 are connected to the upstream space 106 and the downstream space 107, respectively, and valves 121 and 123 are installed in the gas lines 120 and 122, respectively.

As shown in fig. 1, the conical cylinder, i.e. the lower sealing door 105 ', is in a lower position, so that the lower opening 104' is closed, the upper cover, i.e. the upper sealing door 105, is in a vertical position, so that the upper opening 104 is open, the air flow control unit 119 and the valves 121, 123 are closed, and the upstream object 103 in the upstream space 106 is lowered vertically through the upper opening 104 to the support container 113 floating in the transport liquid 102.

The initial values of mass and volume of the gas in the bearing transition space 108 to be formed can now be adjusted: the filling space 117 is inflated by the gas flow control unit 119 so that it gradually expands, which will reduce the initial value of the gas mass and volume in the load-bearing transition space 108 to be formed.

Then, as shown in fig. 2, the upper cover, i.e. the upper sealing door 105, is closed and cooperates with the sealing liquid 112 in the sealing liquid groove 111 to hermetically seal the upper opening 104, thereby forming a carrying transition space 108 between the upper and lower sealing doors 105, 105'.

Then, the valve 121 is opened, and then the current values of the mass and the volume of the gas in the bearing transition space 108 are adjusted: the filling space 117 is inflated gradually by the air flow control unit 119 through the line 118, the direction of the air flow being indicated by the arrow 130; at the same time, the gas, i.e. air, in the carrier transition space 108 is discharged to the upstream space 106 through the gas pipe 120 and the valve 121, and the gas flow direction is shown by arrows 131, 132'.

Then, as shown in fig. 3, by taking appropriate measures, such as making the membrane 116 sufficiently flexible and light, setting the inlets of the tubes 120 sufficiently large in the load-bearing transition space 108, etc., the membrane 116 can be brought into close contact with the surface it encounters after the load-bearing transition space 108 has been continuously vented, so that the mass and volume of gas in the load-bearing transition space 108 are negligible.

Then, the valve 121 is closed.

The following description is based on the premise that the film can be tightly attached to the surface encountered by the film, and detailed description of the measures taken for the purpose is omitted.

Then, as shown in fig. 4, the valve 123 is opened, and then the current values of the mass and the volume of the gas in the carrier transition space 108 are adjusted again: the filling space 117 is gradually contracted by pumping air from the air flow control unit 119 through the pipe 118, and the air flow direction is shown by an arrow 130'; at the same time, the gas in the downstream space 107, i.e. biogas, is led through the gas pipe 122 and the valve 123 into the carrying transition space 108, the gas flow direction of which is shown by arrows 134, 133'.

Next, as shown in fig. 5, the air flow control unit 119 is closed, the valve 123 is closed, and the conical cylinder, i.e., the lower sealing door 105 ', is raised until the lower opening 104 ' rises above the liquid level of the transport liquid 102 and above the highest point of the support container 113, thereby not only opening the lower opening 104 ', but also allowing the support container 113 to move horizontally in the transport liquid 102.

Next, as shown in fig. 6, the support container 113 floating in the transport liquid 102 and the upstream object 103 therein are made to enter the interior of the reactor in the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow 135.

Next, as shown in fig. 7, the conical cylinder, i.e. the lower sealing door 105 ', is lowered below the level of the transport liquid 102, so that the lower opening 104 ' is closed and an empty transition space 109 is formed between the upper and lower sealing doors 105, 105 '.

Then, the valve 123 is opened to adjust the current mass value and the current volume value of the gas in the empty load transition space 109: the filling space 117 is gradually inflated by the air flow control unit 119 through the duct 118, the direction of the air flow being indicated by the arrow 130; at the same time, the gas in the empty transition space 109, i.e. biogas, is discharged via gas line 122 and valve 123 into the downstream space 107, the direction of flow of which is indicated by arrows 133, 134'.

As shown in fig. 8, after the empty transition space 109 is continuously vented, the membrane 116 is in close contact with the surface it encounters, so that the mass and volume of gas in the empty transition space 109 are negligible.

Then, the valve 123 is closed.

Next, as shown in fig. 9, the valve 121 is opened, and then the current values of the mass and the volume of the gas in the empty load transition space 109 are adjusted again: the filling space 117 is deflated by air suction from the air flow control unit 119, the direction of the air flow being indicated by arrow 130'; at the same time, the gas, i.e. air, in the upstream space 106 is caused to enter the empty-loading transition space 109 through the gas line 120 and the valve 121, and the flow direction thereof is indicated by arrows 132, 131'.

Next, as shown in fig. 10, the upper cover, i.e., the upper sealing door 105, is opened, i.e., the upper opening 104 is opened, and the feeding and discharging device 101 is in a state of waiting for the feeding operation of the next batch.

During the above-described feeding process, the mass of biogas entering the upstream space 106 from the downstream space 107 is negligible, and the mass of air entering the downstream space 107 from the upstream space 106 is also negligible.

The second embodiment of the invention shown in fig. 11 to 18 is a charging and discharging device 201 with an anaerobic reactor 210 for transporting liquid 202. The feeding and discharging device 201 can be used for feeding and discharging, and the process described in connection with fig. 11 to 18 is a discharging process, and the feeding process can be completed only by exchanging the upstream and downstream spaces and performing similar operations.

In the discharge condition, the reactor inner space 206 is an upstream space and the reactor outer space 207 is a downstream space. The feed and discharge channel is a channel with a rectangular cross-section containing a transport liquid 202, which is enlarged in height and width to form an enlarged channel section as shown in fig. 11 to 18. Upper and lower sealing doors 205, 205 'having a structure similar to a foldable sunshade are respectively and fixedly connected to both ends of the passage expansion section in an airtight manner, and when the sealing doors 205, 205' are respectively unfolded, the movable sides thereof enter the liquid 202 for transportation, so that the upper and lower openings 204, 204 'at both ends of the passage expansion section are respectively sealed in an airtight manner by the sealing doors 205, 205' in cooperation with the liquid 202 for transportation; when the sealing doors 205, 205 ' are folded, the openings 204, 204 ' are opened, respectively, allowing the upstream material 203 and its supporting containment means 213 to pass through the openings 204, 204 ', respectively.

The top of the passage enlargement and the membrane 216 connected thereto together form a filling space 217, which is connected to the atmosphere via a gas line 218 provided with a gas flow control unit 219.

The support and accommodation device 213 supports and accommodates the upstream object 203, and can float in the transport liquid 202.

The gas lines 220 and 222 are connected to the upstream space 206 and the downstream space 207, respectively, and valves 221 and 223 are installed in the gas lines 220 and 222, respectively.

As shown in fig. 11, the lower opening 204' is closed, the upper opening 204 is opened, the airflow control unit 219 and the valves 221, 223 are closed, and the upstream object 203 and its supporting receptacle 213 in the upstream space 206 are floated in the transport liquid 202 and pass through the upper opening 204 in the direction indicated by the arrow 235 into the passage expansion section.

Next, as shown in fig. 12, after the upper sealing door 205 is unfolded, its movable side is engaged with the transporting liquid 202 to seal the upper opening 204, thereby forming a load-bearing transition space 208 between the upper and lower sealing doors 205, 205'.

Next, the valve 221 is opened, and then the current values of the mass and volume of the gas in the carrier transition space 208 are adjusted: the filling space 217 is inflated by the air flow control unit 219 through the line 218 so as to be gradually expanded, the direction of the air flow being indicated by the arrow 230; at the same time, the gas in the carrier transition space 208, i.e. biogas, is discharged via the gas line 220 and the valve 221 into the upstream space 206, the gas flow direction of which is indicated by arrows 231, 232'.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13, after the load bearing transition space 208 is continuously vented, the membrane 216 is in close proximity to the surface it encounters, thereby resulting in negligible mass and volume values of the gas in the load bearing transition space 208.

Valve 221 is then closed.

Then, as shown in fig. 14, the valve 223 is opened, and then the current values of the mass and the volume of the gas in the carrier transition space 208 are adjusted again: the filling space 217 is gradually contracted by air suction through the line 218 by the air flow control unit 219, the direction of which is indicated by the arrow 230'; at the same time, the gas, i.e. air, in the downstream space 207 is introduced into the carrying transition space 208 through the gas line 222 and the valve 223, and the flow direction thereof is shown by arrows 234, 233'.

Next, as shown in fig. 15, the gas flow control unit 219 is closed, the valve 223 is closed, the sealing door 205 ' is folded, the lower opening 204 ' is opened, and the upstream object 203 and its support container 113 are caused to pass through the lower opening 204 ' in the transport liquid in the direction indicated by the arrow 235 and move into the downstream space, i.e. the reactor exterior space 207.

Next, as shown in fig. 16, after the lower sealing door 205 ' is deployed, its movable side engages the transport liquid 202, sealing the lower opening 204 ', forming an empty transition space 209 between the upper and lower sealing doors 205, 205 '.

Then, the valve 223 is opened to adjust the current mass value and the current volume value of the gas in the empty load transition space 209: the filling space 217 is inflated by the air flow control unit 219 via the line 218 so that it gradually expands, the direction of the air flow being indicated by the arrow 230. At the same time, the gas, i.e. air, in the empty-load transition space 209 is discharged via the gas line 222 and the valve 223 into the downstream space 207, the direction of which is indicated by arrows 233, 234'.

As shown in fig. 17, the membrane 216 is then brought into close contact with the surface it encounters after the empty transition space 209 has been continuously vented, so that the mass and volume values of the gas in the empty transition space 209 are negligible.

Then, the valve 223 is closed.

Next, as shown in fig. 18, the valve 221 is opened, and then the current values of mass and volume of the gas in the empty load transition space 209 are adjusted again: the filling space 217 is deflated by air suction from the air flow control unit 219, the direction of the air flow being indicated by arrow 230'; at the same time, the gas in the upstream space 206, i.e. biogas, is led via the gas line 220 and the valve 221 into the empty-load transition space 209, the gas flow direction of which is indicated by arrows 232, 231'.

Next, as shown in fig. 19, the upper sealing door 205 is folded, that is, the upper opening 204 is opened, and the feeding and discharging device 201 is in a state of waiting for the discharging operation of the next batch.

During the above-described feeding process, the mass of air entering the upstream space 206 from the downstream space 207 is negligible, and the mass of biogas entering the downstream space 207 from the upstream space 206 is also negligible.

Both the upper and lower openings 204, 204' are rectangular openings, the height of which is not limited by the dimensions of the upstream object 203 and its supporting receptacle 113. It is only necessary that the width of the upper and lower openings 204, 204' be greater than the dimension of the support receptacle 113 in the same direction. That is, the structural dimensions of the upper and lower openings 204, 204 'and their sealing doors 205, 205' need only be greater in one dimension than in one dimension of an upstream object.

In all the implementations described above, the mass and volume of the gas in the transition space are adjusted to the desired values to meet the gas-tightness requirements. In addition, the mass and volume of the gas in the transition space can be adjusted to other desired values according to the process requirements.

The structure of the opening and the sealing door and the method for sealing the opening by the sealing door can adopt other solutions in the prior art, and are not limited to the two embodiments.

Other solutions of the prior art can also be used for determining that the filling space is full of its space, for example, a method of detecting that a specific point on the outer wall of the filling space reaches a specific spatial position.

Various other configurations of the prior art that can hermetically change the volume are contemplated as configurations for adjusting the mass and volume of gas in the transition space in the present invention. For example, the filling medium in the filling space may be filled with other gases than N₂In addition, liquids such as water may also be employed.

All the embodiments described are not to be construed as limiting the invention, within the scope of which the embodiments and their features can be combined arbitrarily without departing from the frame of concept of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A feed and discharge device (101, 201) for a reactor with a transport liquid (102, 202) for transporting upstream objects (103, 203) in a gas-tight manner from an upstream space (106, 206) to a downstream space (107, 207) separated therefrom, comprising at least one opening, wherein the opening through which the upstream objects (103, 203) are discharged from the upstream space (106, 206) is configured as an upper opening (104, 204) and the opening through which the upstream objects (103, 203) are introduced into the downstream space (107, 207) is configured as a lower opening (104 ', 204'), and wherein, after the operations of opening the upper opening (104, 204), passing the upstream objects (103, 203) in the upstream space (106, 206) through the upper opening (104, 204) and discharging from the upstream space (106, 206), and subsequently closing the upper opening (104, 204), a container is formed which contains the upstream objects (103, 203) and a load-bearing transition space (108, 208) being free from gas communication with both the upstream space (106, 206) and the downstream space (107, 207), after the operations of opening the lower opening (104 ', 204'), passing the upstream object (103, 203) through the lower opening (104 ', 204') and into the downstream space (107, 207), and subsequently closing the lower opening (104 ', 204'), forming an empty transition space (109, 209) not containing the upstream object (103, 203) and being free from gas communication with both the upstream space (106, 206) and the downstream space (107, 207), wherein the mass and volume of gas in said load-bearing transition space (108, 208) are adjustable, characterized in that: the transport liquid (102, 202) at least partially hermetically seals at least one of the openings (104, 204, 104 ', 204') when the upper opening (104, 204) or the lower opening (104 ', 204') is in a closed state.

2. The charging and discharging device (101, 201) according to claim 1, further comprising a support and receiving device (113, 213) for supporting and receiving an upstream object (103, 203) in the load-bearing transition space (108, 208), characterized in that: the support and containment device (113, 213) floats in the transport liquid (102, 202).

3. The charging and discharging device (101, 201) according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: the mass of the gas in the load-bearing transition space (108, 208) can be adjusted to a negligible value.

4. A feeding and discharging device (101, 201) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: the mass and volume of the gas in the empty transition space (109, 209) are adjustable, and wherein the mass of the gas is adjustable to a negligible value.

5. The feeding and discharging device (201) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: the size of the door (205, 205 ') closing the opening (204, 204') need only be larger in one dimension than the size of the upstream object (203) in one dimension.

6. Method for feeding and discharging with a feeding and discharging device (101, 201) according to any of claims 1 to 5, comprising the following operational steps performed in order:

a. opening the upper opening (104, 204), allowing the upstream object (103, 203) in the upstream space (106, 206) to pass through the upper opening (104, 204) and be output from the upstream space (106, 206), closing the upper opening (104, 204), and forming and maintaining a load-bearing transition space (108, 208);

b. opening the lower opening (104 ', 204'), allowing the upstream object (103, 203) to pass through the lower opening (104 ', 204') and be input into the downstream space (107, 207), closing the lower opening (104 ', 204'), forming and maintaining an empty transition space (109, 209);

the method is characterized by comprising at least one of the following operation steps:

c. during the execution of the operating step a, the mass and volume of the gas in the load-bearing transition space (108, 208) are adjusted;

d. during the execution of operation step b, the mass and volume of the gas in the empty-load transition space (109, 209) are adjusted.

7. Method for performing a charging and discharging operation according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises at least one of the following operating steps:

e. adjusting the pressure of the gas in the load-bearing transition space (108, 208);

f. the pressure of the gas in the empty load transition space (109, 209) is adjusted.

8. Method for performing a charging and discharging operation according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises the following operating steps:

g. quenching and tempering operations are performed on the upstream object (103, 203) in the load-bearing transition space (108, 208).

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