FR2815701A1 - Extraction procedure and plant for frozen substance such as pure water from sea water uses two vessels with coils for circulating refrigerant - Google Patents

Abstract

Extraction procedure and plant comprising two vessels with coils to circulate refrigerant for separating pure water from sea water and for freezing the pure water, is new. The plant consists of two vessels (A and B) with coils (S) forming a circuit for a refrigerant fluid, one vessel containing a liquid to be treated and the other cooling water. It has a heat pump between the two vessels comprising a compressor (C), a collector/dustributor (D), and an expander (E) with a non-return valve to regulate the flow of refrigerant fluid between the two coils. Each of the vessels has a tap (R) at the top and bottom for filling and emptying and the collector/distributor has a series of solenoid valves (1, 2, 3 and 4) for reversing the flow of the refrigerant fluid outside the heat pump. After the refrigerant fluid has returned to the compressor, the heat pump is stopped, and the cooling water is emptied from its vessel, replaced with treated liquid from the other vessel and topped up with more liquid from a storage tank. The vessel containing the ice from the first process is filled with the cooling water and the process repeated in the opposite direction.

Description

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The present invention relates to a device allowing after capture on a cryogenic support, the extraction of a freezable element, part of a fluid compound body, coveted for itself or to exclude it for the disadvantages that it causes.

 By way of unlimited examples, let us cite: 10 - fresh water which is sought for itself, for food or other uses and which one wishes to extract from salt water from the sea.

 20 - the excess water in the wine, which limits its alcoholic power and thereby reduces its quality during tasting, which one wants to extract from this wine, without appreciable interest for itself, but which at detriment to the volume of wine, will increase its alcoholic strength and its gustatory quality.

 30 - the water contained in the humid air which dries up in household freezers forming ice on their interior walls and which should be defrosted.

 The great cold that the polar regions of the earth experience in winter produces a glaciation of fresh water on the surface of the seas there, separating it by the phenomenon of salt water of which it was a component. This is a perfectly known natural effect, but which if it were necessary to demonstrate the result, would be done by thawing this ice which would convert into fresh water.

 The need for fresh water which is felt in regions not undergoing the effects of glaciation of the polar zones, led the observer of the natural glaciation described previously, to seek the artificial means to reconstitute this natural phenomenon, that the many other identical needs will also be used.

 The apparatus and its operating method described below, makes it possible to extract by capture on cryogenic support, a freezable element part of a fluid compound body.

The device of the invention is illustrated in section by an attached drawing and in which: P-represents the plate on which the device is fixed.

 A-tank fixed on the left on the tray.

 B-tank fixed on the right on the plate.

 R-valve for emptying the tanks.

C-compressor of the heat pump D- (surrounded by dotted lines) collector-distributor system in the circuits, of the refrigerant of the heat pump.

E-regulator with non-return valve, controlling and directing the passage of the refrigerant in circuits.

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T and T'-pipes with directional signs given to the refrigerant they contain and lead in one direction or the other, from the compressor to the collector-distributor.

S-coil A, coil B.

 Additional information on A, B, C, D, E, T, S.

 A and B are closed tanks of equal capacity, provided with external levels, the walls of which are insulated as far as possible, and which, with respect to atmospheric pressure, can withstand a depression or a pressure equal to twice the atmospheric pressure.

 C represents the compressor of the heat pump fixed to the plate on its rear part between the tanks A and B. (9) represents the inlet of the compressor, and (10) its outlet.

 D represents the manifold-distributor made up of a tube whose two ends are connected to the high exits of the coils A and B, and on which are placed two electromagnetic valves (1) and (2) between which the pipe T is connected with one end, and on the other with the inlet (9) of the compressor in order to establish with it the transit of the refrigerant.

 E represents the expansion valve system (6) with its non-return valve (5) placed on a pipe ensuring the transit of the refrigerant in first operation, coils from tanks A to B, and in second operation, coils from tanks B to A by the second pipe on which the regulator (8) and the non-return valve (7) are placed.

 T represents the pipe leading the refrigerant from the evaporator coil to the compressor C at the inlet (9) from which it is connected.

 T'represent the pipe connected to the outlet of the compressor (10) which extends in two possible directions to the command, one passing through the electromagnetic valve (3), the other through the electromagnetic valve (4).

 S represents the coils A and B which will, according to the programmed command to the collector-distributor, alternatively evaporator or condenser.

 First start-up of the device.

 The previously presented apparatus is designed to cryogenically extract a freezable element from a fluid compound body. Many compound bodies could, their composition suitable, be used for the operations which we will follow, but a choice to be made is wine which has been retained for these purposes and which is contained in a tank of storage placed near the device.

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Loading the appliance: the tank A must be filled with wine drawn from the storage tank, and cover the coil A but leaving an air cushion in order to allow the extension of the volume of the wine that the ice will cause as of his training.

The tap at the bottom of the tank B, open, must be by a pipe, connected to an open water service tap, which after having drowned the coil B, to constantly cool it, lets pass a trickle of water, which the top tap of this tank, open, evacuates after it has warmed up.

 When the device has finished charging, the operation of the heat pump must be controlled. The solenoid valves (2) and (3) remain closed, while those (1) and (4) are open. The compressor C is put into operation and the hot refrigerant finding its passage through the open valve (4), gains the coil S of the tank B becoming condenser, where it cools, leaving its calories with ambient water, and it liquefies under the combined cold-pressure influence.

qui lui interdit le passage par cette voie, alors que le clapet (7) ouvert, agissant en sens inverse du précédent, lui livre accès au détendeur (8) régulateur du débit de son entrée dans le serpentin S cuve A. Continuing on with its compulsory route, it presents itself to the closed non-return valve (5)

which prohibits him from passing by this route, while the open valve (7), acting in the opposite direction to the previous one, gives him access to the regulator (8) regulating the flow rate of its entry into the coil S tank A.

This then becomes an evaporator-support-sensor on which, under the influence of radiation from the extreme cold that occurs there, a loaf of ice from the wine, will come to settle. At the same time inside the evaporator the refrigerant captures the calories of its environment which heat it and gasify it, then carries them with it, after its passage in the valve (1) open.

Then by the pipe T, it gains the entry (9) of the compressor C, which implies its course until the stop of the device having finished its first cycle.

 The expected effects appear during the preparation of the second operation after the evacuation of tank A of the unfrozen wine and the discovery of the frozen ice bread on the walls of the evaporator-support-sensor of the first cycle.

Second activation of the device.

Release tank B from the water it contains; transfer the wine contained in tank A, in tank B, and complete its charge until the coil S is covered with wine drawn from the storage tank.

 It is now necessary to retain a first and interesting observation: the wine now contained in tank B, mostly from tank A of the first operation where, it has cooled considerably compared to the temperature of the wine of the

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 storage tank, which made the first charge, will facilitate, the result of second operation.

 The ice produced in the first operation remains frozen on the sensor coil of tank A.

 The solenoid valves (1) and (4) will be closed and those (2) and (3) will be open.

fait son circuit inversement à celui qu'il faisait en première opération. When compressor C is put into operation, the refrigerant under pressure,

does its circuit inversely to the one it did in the first operation.

It starts from the compressor C through the pipe T ', passes the open valve (3) then the upper part of the coil S of the tank A which becomes the condenser of the heat pump, where it begins its cooling and ends up liquid at the bottom of the evaporator at room ice temperature.

 In the first operation the environment of the condenser was lukewarm water at the top of the tank and cool at the bottom, the temperature at which it found itself again liquid.

glace produite en première opération, qui) y a lieu de décongeler. La décongélation de ce pain de glace, fera que le liquide frigorigène sortira du condenseur à la température de cette glace, et non, seulement refroidi à la température de l'eau, comme en première opération ; De plus, ce pain de glace constitue un avoir en stock de frigories transférables par opération successives, de l'évaporateur d'une opération, à l'évaporateur de l'opération suivante. Tout ceci aura une influence considérable sur le résultat des opérations à

suivre, constituant une importante deuxième constatation. In the second operation, the environment of the condenser of tank A is of the

ice produced in the first operation, which) should be thawed. The thawing of this ice bread, will cause the refrigerant to come out of the condenser at the temperature of this ice, and not only cooled to the temperature of water, as in the first operation; In addition, this ice bread constitutes a stock of frigories transferable by successive operations, from the evaporator of one operation, to the evaporator of the following operation. All this will have a considerable influence on the result of the operations to

follow, constituting an important second observation.

Following the route that has been traced, the refrigerant collides with the closed non-return valve (7), but finds its passage through the open non-return valve (5), and to be followed, enters the regulator (6) which regulates it access to the coil S of the tank B which has become an evaporator-support-sensor for the water contained in the surrounding wine, which under the effect of the extreme cold of the latter, clumps there becoming ice bread.

 Introduced into the evaporator the refrigerant becomes gas again having extracted the calories from its environment which it carries with it towards its exit by the valve (2) and is conveyed by the pipe T towards the inlet (9) of the compressor C , which continues the cycle until the end of the second operation.

l'eau de décongélation de la glace produite en première opération, et mis à sa place la charge de troisième opération on constate, en cuve B, à l'observation du pain de glace, que celui-ci est plus volumineux que n'était celui de première opération, ce qui signifie que la deuxième opération a été plus productive de glace que la première pour une During the preparation of the third operation, after having evacuated from tank A,

the thawing water from the ice produced in the first operation, and put in its place the charge for the third operation, we observe, in tank B, upon observation of the ice bread, that it is larger than was that of the first operation, which means that the second operation was more productive of ice than the first for a

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 lower consumption of electrical energy by the heat pump motor, the duration of the second operation having been deliberately shortened.

 The device is charged for a third operation or those to be followed, as was done for the second operation.

 The device working by successive operations, must during recharging, be stopped for as short a time as possible, in order to protect against heating up which would be an unnecessary loss, the cold acknowledgments of the previous operations.

 The device according to the invention is particularly intended, after collection on a cryogenic support, and evacuation of the non-frozen liquid from which it has been extracted, for the extraction after thawing, of a freezable element, part of a compound body, coveted for itself or exclude it for the inconvenience it causes.

 The device according to the invention has for primary vocation the extraction of water from wine.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS - 1-Device for extracting a freezable compound from a liquid composition, characterized in that it comprises: two tanks A and B crossed respectively by a coil S conveying a refrigerant, these two coils S making part of a circuit for circulating the refrigerant, one of these tanks containing the liquid composition to be treated, the other of the cooling water; a heat pump disposed between the two tanks comprising a compressor C, a collector-distributor D of refrigerant directing this fluid through the compressor C or at the inlet of the coil of tank A when this tank contains water cooling, or at the inlet of the coil of the tank B when this tank contains the cooling water; a pressure reducer E fitted with a non-return valve which regulates the flow of the liquefied refrigerant which leaves the coil submerged in the cooling water, then enters the coil immersed in the liquid to be treated, causing the freezable compound to solidify and finally returns to the collector-distributor system D which recycles it to compressor C.  -2-Device according to claim 1 characterized in that each tank is provided at its lower part and at its upper part with a tap for the respective admission and evacuation of the liquid contained in each of the tanks.  -3-Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the collector-distributor system D of refrigerant comprises a system of electromagnetic valves (1,2, 3,4) making it possible to reverse the direction of circulation of the fluid refrigerant outside the heat pump.  -4- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that after return to the compressor C of the refrigerant, the heat pump is stopped, the tank containing the cooling water is emptied, the water replaced by the liquid treated from the other tank completed with liquid drawn from the storage tank and the other tank containing the ice formed in the previous operation supplemented with cooling water, the heat pump restarted for a new extraction of freezable compound.  -5- Device according to claim 1 characterized in that quèle coil located in the tank containing the cooling water is condenser of the refrigerant and in that the coil located in the tank containing the liquid composition to be treated is evaporator of refrigerant.  -6- Process for extracting a freezable compound from a liquid composition using the device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: Filling tank A with the liquid to be treated. <Desc / Clms Page number 7>

Filling tank B with cooling water, letting a trickle of water flow through the upper tap of this tank. Closing of the valves (2) and (3) and opening of the valves (1) and (4) of the manifold-distributor D. Activation of the heat pump compressor C so that the gaseous refrigerant is directed into the coil of tank B to be condensed there, then sent via regulator E into the coil of tank A to solidify the freezable compound and finally return via distributor manifold D to compressor C until the heat pump stops. Complete draining of the water from tank B and its replacement by the liquid from tank A supplemented by liquid from the storage tank.

Filling of the tank A thus emptied containing the ice formed in the previous operation with cooling water if useful, renewed by letting a thread flow through the upper tap of this tank.  - Closing of valves (1) and (4) and opening of valves (2) and (3) of the distribution manifold D.  Start-up of compressor C of the heat pump which circulates the refrigerant in the coil of tank A, then in the coil of tank B to solidify the freezable compound, then return to compressor C and

 possibly repeat the starting cycle. Process according to Claim 6, characterized in that the liquid composition to be treated is salt water or wine so as to recover ice or wine containing less water.