JP2006098000A - Method of eliminating ice nucleus for ice making device by supercooling of brine, and ice making device using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ice making device low in running cost and capable of positively melting and eliminating ice nuclei in brine with minimum energy before supercooling the brine and requiring only a little energy for supercooling. <P>SOLUTION: In an ice making method of producing ice slurry with brine and fine ice pieces mixed by supercooling the brine and then releasing the supercooled state of the brine, before supercooling the ice making brine, the ice making brine is heated by a heating means 1 to be higher by 0.3-1.5°C than the freezing temperature of the brine and to have temperature below the freezing point, then the ice making brine is allowed to pass through ice nucleus melting time holding means 11, 12 before supercooling the ice making brine, and the ice making brine or ice nuclei in the brine are retained in the ice nucleus melting time holding means for an ice nucleus melting time determined based on the amount of ice nuclei and the heating quantity in the heating means. The ice nuclei in the ice making brine are thereby melted and eliminated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides an ice making device for producing a sherbet-like ice slurry in which brine and ice fragments are mixed by supercooling the brine, and the ice nuclei that obstruct supercooling from the ice making brine of the ice slurry. The present invention relates to a removing method and an ice making device using the same method.

  A device that generates sherbet-like ice slurry in which ice strips are mixed with water by supercooling fresh water into supercooled water and then releasing the supercooled state by applying shocks such as vibration to the supercooled water And methods have been provided for practical use (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2), and ice slurries produced by such devices and methods are fluid and easy to transport, and the latent heat of ice. Therefore, it is advantageous in that it has good energy efficiency, and is widely used as a cooling source for cooling articles and ice storage devices.

  In the production of ice slurry by supercooling as described above, if ice nuclei, which are fine ice particles, are present in the ice making water, ice crystals are likely to be formed around the ice nuclei, and the ice making water is used at its freezing temperature. If it is supercooled below, it will freeze rather than in a supercooled state, and not only ice slurry will not be generated properly, but also the ice-making water flow path in the supercooling heat exchanger will be blocked by ice formation. Therefore, there is a possibility that the generation of the ice slurry itself cannot be performed.

  Therefore, conventionally, fresh water for ice making before supercooling is heated to a temperature higher than 0 ° C., for example, about 0.5 ° C., that is, plus temperature (Celsius) to melt and remove ice nuclei in the ice making water. There is a means.

  In the ice nucleation removing means in the conventional apparatus or method using fresh water as a cold medium, the fresh water before supercooling is heated to a temperature higher than 0 ° C., but the fresh water becomes supercooled at about −2 ° C. The energy required for heating and the energy required for subsequent supercooling do not become so large.

  By the way, if ice making water is not fresh water but brine, sensible heat and latent heat are larger than when fresh water is used, so if brine is used as a cold medium, brine at a temperature below freezing point can be sent to the load side. For example, it can be effectively used as a cooling heat source for low-temperature air conditioning equipment.

However, if the ice nucleation removing means in the conventional apparatus and method using fresh water is applied as it is to the brine, the temperature at which the brine becomes supercooled (depending on the type and concentration of the brine, for example, about −7 ° C.) Heating is performed at a temperature higher than 0 ° C., and both the energy required for heating and the energy required for supercooling are significantly larger than when fresh water is used, and the energy efficiency is not good. is there.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-180467 (pages 1 to 5, FIGS. 1 to 4) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-296503 (pages 1 to 3, FIGS. 1 to 3)

  The object of the present invention is to reliably melt and remove the ice nuclei in the ice-making brine before the brine is overcooled with as little energy as possible, and hence the energy for the supercooling is also reduced. The object is to provide an ice making device that can be used at a low running cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, the method according to claim 1 of the present invention generates an ice slurry in which brine and ice fragments are mixed by supercooling the brine and then releasing the supercooled state of the brine. In this ice making method, before supercooling the ice-making brine, the ice-making brine is placed in the heating means so that it is 0.3 to 1.5 ° C. higher than the freezing temperature of the brine and below the freezing point. Then, the ice nucleation time holding means is allowed to pass through until the ice making brine is supercooled, and the ice nucleation brine or ice nuclei in the brine are contained in the ice nucleation time holding means. The ice nuclei in the ice making brine are melted and removed by holding the ice nucleation melting time determined based on the amount of ice nuclei and the amount of heating by the heating means.

  In the method according to claim 2 of the present invention, the ice nucleus melting time holding means is constituted by a filter provided with a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in ice-making brine.

  The method according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the ice nucleation time holding means is configured such that the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet is set to a flow path length and a cross-sectional area corresponding to the ice nucleation time. It consists of a coil for nuclear fusion.

  In the method according to claim 4 of the present invention, before the ice making brine is swirled in the ice nucleus melting coil, a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in the ice making brine is swirled beforehand. It is a feature.

  In the method according to claim 5 of the present invention, the ice nucleation melting time holding means is formed into a cylinder with a lid and a bottom, and the ice making brine flowing from the inlet is discharged to a position eccentric from the central axis. Is composed of a vortex tank in which a vortex is formed inside, and the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet of the tank corresponds to the ice nucleus melting time.

  The method according to claim 6 of the present invention is characterized in that a filter provided with a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in the ice making brine is swirled before the ice making brine is passed through the vortex tank. .

  In the method according to claim 7 of the present invention, the cooling heat source for the supercooling of the ice making brine is the latent heat of vaporization of the liquid refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant circuit including a refrigerator, and the heating heat source is refrigerated. The method for removing ice nuclei of an ice making device by supercooling brine according to claim 1, wherein sensible heat of liquid refrigerant from the machine is used.

  The apparatus according to claim 8 of the present invention includes a supercooling heat exchanger that supercools the ice-making brine, and releases the supercooling state of the brine supercooled by the heat exchanger, An ice slurry generator for generating ice slurry mixed with fine pieces in this order, a brine feed pipe for sending ice-making brine from the load side to the supercooling heat exchanger, and a load side from the ice slurry generator An ice slurry feed tube for feeding ice slurry to the ice, and in the middle of the brine feed tube, the ice making brine is 0.3 to 1.5 ° C. higher than the freezing temperature of the brine, and the temperature is below the freezing point. The ice nucleation time is maintained by melting the ice nucleation brine or the ice nuclei in the brine with the ice nucleation time determined based on the amount of the ice nuclei and the heating amount in the heating means. For ice making by providing means in this order There ice nuclei in line as those configured to remove melted.

  In the apparatus according to claim 9 of the present invention, the ice nucleus melting time holding means is constituted by a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in ice making brine.

  The apparatus according to claim 10 of the present invention is characterized in that the ice nucleation time holding means is configured such that the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet is set to a flow path length and a cross-sectional area corresponding to the ice nucleation time. It consists of a nuclear melting coil.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus having a filter provided with a filter medium that prevents the passage of ice nuclei in ice making brine on the upstream side of the ice nucleus melting coil.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the ice nucleation melting time holding means is formed in a cylindrical shape with a lid and a bottom, and the ice making brine flowing from the inlet is discharged to a position eccentric from the central axis. Is constituted by a vortex tank that forms a vortex inside, and the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet of the tank corresponds to the ice nucleation time.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus provided with a filter provided with a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in ice making brine on the upstream side of the vortex tank.

  According to the method and apparatus of the present invention, the brine supplied to the supercooling heat exchanger is preliminarily heated by the heater, and then the ice nuclei melting time holding means is swirled, thereby causing ice nuclei in the brine to flow. Is melted and removed, and there is no inconvenience that the brine freezes in the supercooling heat exchanger, and a stable ice slurry is supplied.

  Further, the temperature of the brine for ice making is heated by 0.3 to 1.5 ° C. higher than the freezing temperature by the heater, and the temperature after heating is not higher than 0 ° C. The energy required for the operation is small, and since the temperature rise of the ice making brine is small, the energy for supercooling is also small, so that energy saving can be achieved, and therefore the running cost of the apparatus can be reduced. Reduction can be realized.

  Furthermore, in the apparatus and method of the present invention in which the ice nucleation time holding means is composed of multiple stages of an ice nucleation filter and an ice nucleation coil or vortex tank, the ice nuclei are contained in the ice making brine after being heated by the heater. Even if the ice remains, the ice nuclei are reliably captured or melted, so that the temperature of the brine raised in the heater is required to be minimal, and further energy saving can be achieved.

Embodiments of the method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to specific examples shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a first embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a heater, 2 denotes a supercooling heat exchanger, and 3 denotes an ice slurry generator. For example, a brine feed having one end connected to a load side such as an ice heat storage tank (not shown) The tube 4 is connected to the brine inlet 2a of the supercooling heat exchanger 2 via the brine flow path 1a of the heater 1 and the ice core removal filter 11 as the ice core melting time holding means, and one end is connected to the outlet 2b. The other end of the ice slurry feed pipe 5 is connected to a load side such as an ice heat storage tank through the ice slurry generator 3.

  The ice nucleus removing filter 11 is configured to include a filter medium having an eye size that can pass brine but cannot pass ice nuclei in the brine or difficult to pass, and after passing through the heater 1. However, the ice nuclei remaining in the brine are not simply dammed with a filter medium, but are melted and removed by staying in the filter until the ice nuclei are melted.

  The time until the ice nuclei are melted is set according to the amount of heat in the heater 1 and the amount of ice nuclei contained in the brine.

  The other end of the refrigerant forward pipe 7 connected at one end to the discharge port 6a of the compressor 6 is connected to the supercooling heat exchanger 2 via the condenser 8, the refrigerant flow path 1b of the heater 1, and the expansion valve 9. The other end of the refrigerant return pipe 10, which is connected to the refrigerant inlet 2c and connected to the outlet 2d at one end, is connected to the suction port 6b of the compressor to constitute a refrigerant circuit.

  Thus, the brine that has flowed into the brine flow path 1a of the heater 1 from the load side through the brine feed pipe 4 is liquefied by the capacitor 8 in the refrigerant circuit, and the liquid refrigerant and heat that flow through the refrigerant flow path 1b of the heater. The ice nuclei in the brine are melted and removed by heating, and the ice nuclei remaining in the brine are retained in the filter 11 and thawed.

The heating of the brine by heat exchange with the liquid refrigerant is such that the temperature rise of the brine is, for example, about 0.5 ° C. and the brine temperature does not become higher than 0 ° C.
Since the brine returned from the load side contains ice nuclei, the temperature is the freezing temperature of the brine, and the heating raises the brine temperature to a temperature higher by 0.3 to 1.5 ° C. than the freezing temperature. If the temperature rise is less than 0.3 ° C, the ice nuclei are not sufficiently melted. If the temperature rise exceeds 1.5 ° C, the energy for heating and the cooling energy for supercooling increase. Running costs.

  The ice-making brine from which the ice nuclei have been removed is cooled by the supercooling heat exchanger 2 to a supercooling state at a temperature lower by about 2 ° C. than the freezing temperature of the brine, and sent to the ice slurry generator 3.

  In the ice slurry generator 3, the supercooled brine is subjected to physical action such as vibration and impact to release the supercooled state, and the brine (liquid phase) and ice flakes (solid phase) are separated. A mixed sherbet-like ice slurry is formed and fed to the load side by the ice slurry feed pipe 5.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a second embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.
In the apparatus of the second embodiment, the ice nucleus melting time holding means is replaced by the ice nucleus melting coil 12 in place of the above-described ice nucleus removal filter 11 of the first embodiment. The melting coil 12 has a long passage tube 12c from the inlet 12a to the outlet 12b, and the time required for the brine to pass through the coil 12 is the melting of ice nuclei commensurate with the amount of heating in the heater and the amount of residual ice nuclei in the brine. It is configured to correspond to time.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the ice nuclei, that is, the solid phase remaining in the brine without passing a sufficient heat of fusion when passing through the heater 1 are transferred to the ice nucleation melting coil 12 by the brine. Heat is taken away from the liquid phase of the brine within the required time and is sufficiently melted, so that heating to the brine in the heater 1 can be kept to a minimum and the energy efficiency of the ice making device can be further improved. .
The configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the ice nucleus melting coil 12 is provided.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a third embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.
In the apparatus of the third embodiment, the ice nucleus melting time holding means is replaced with the ice nucleus removing filter 11 of the first embodiment and the surface nucleus melting coil 12 of the second embodiment, instead of the vortex tank 13. As shown in FIG. 4, the vortex tank 13 has a cylindrical shape with a lid and a bottom so that the discharge direction of the inlet pipe 15 is eccentric with respect to the central axis of the tank body 14. A brine vortex is generated in the tank by the discharge pressure of the brine from the inlet pipe, and the brine stays for a time corresponding to the ice nucleus melting time and is sent out from the outlet pipe 16. It is configured.

Therefore, also in the third embodiment, the ice nuclei, that is, the solid phase remaining in the brine without passing the heat of melting when passing through the heater 1, is the time during which the brine stays in the vortex tank 13. Since the heat is taken away from the liquid phase of the brine and sufficiently melted, the heating to the brine in the heater 1 can be kept to the minimum necessary, and the energy efficiency of the ice making device can be further improved.
The configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first and second embodiments except that the vortex tank 13 is provided.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the configurations of the fourth and fifth embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, respectively, and both embodiments have two stages of ice nucleus melting time holding means. .
Specifically, the fourth embodiment of FIG. 5 is provided with a vortex tank 13 downstream of the ice core removal filter 11 in the first embodiment, and the fifth embodiment of FIG. In this example, an ice nucleus melting coil 12 is provided on the downstream side of the ice nucleus removal filter 11 in the first embodiment.

  In any of the fourth and fifth embodiments described above, the ice nucleation time holding means is provided in two stages, so that the ice nuclei can be melted and removed more reliably. There is an advantage that the cooling energy for supercooling can be further reduced.

The block diagram which shows 1st Example of the apparatus which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows 2nd Example of the apparatus which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows 3rd Example of the apparatus which concerns on this invention. The perspective view which shows a partially broken eddy current tank. The block diagram which shows 4th Example of the apparatus which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows 5th Example of the apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heater 2 Heat exchanger for supercooling 3 Ice slurry generator 4 Brine feed pipe 5 Ice slurry feed pipe 6 Compressor 7 Refrigerant outbound pipe 8 Condenser 9 Expansion valve 10 Refrigerant return pipe 11 Ice nucleus removal filter 12 Ice nucleus melting | dissolving Coil 13 Eddy current tank 14 Tank body 15 Inlet pipe 16 Outlet pipe

Claims (13)

  In an ice making method of producing an ice slurry in which brine and ice fragments are mixed by subcooling the brine and then releasing the supercooling state of the brine, the ice making brine is cooled before the ice making brine is supercooled. Brine is heated by a heating means so that it is 0.3 to 1.5 ° C. higher than the freezing temperature of the brine and below the freezing point, and then ice nuclei are cooled until the ice-making brine is supercooled. The ice nuclei are determined based on the amount of ice nuclei and the amount of heat in the heating means. A method for removing ice nuclei from an ice making apparatus by supercooling brine in which the ice nuclei in the brine for ice making are melted and removed by retaining the melting time.   The method for removing ice nuclei from an ice making apparatus by supercooling brine according to claim 1, wherein the ice nucleation melting time holding means is constituted by a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in ice making brine.   The ice nucleus melting time holding means is composed of an ice nucleus melting coil set to have a flow path length and a cross-sectional area corresponding to the ice nucleus melting time, the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet. 2. A method for removing ice nuclei from an ice making device by supercooling brine according to 1.   The brine of claim 3, wherein a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in the ice making brine is swirled before the ice making brine is swirled in the ice nucleus melting coil. A method for removing ice nuclei from an ice making device by supercooling.   The ice core melting time holding means is a tube with a lid and a bottom, and the ice making brine flowing from the inlet is discharged to a position eccentric from the central axis so that the ice making brine forms a vortex inside. The ice nuclei of an ice making device by supercooling brine according to claim 1, wherein the ice nuclei are constituted by a tank, and the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet of the tank is equivalent to the ice nucleation melting time. Removal method.   6. The brine overcooling according to claim 5, wherein a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in the ice making brine is swirled before flowing the ice making brine through the vortex tank. A method for removing ice nuclei from an ice making apparatus.   The cooling heat source for supercooling the ice making brine is used as the latent heat of vaporization of the liquid refrigerant supplied from the refrigerant circuit including the refrigerator, and the sensible heat of the liquid refrigerant from the refrigerator is used as the heating heat source. The method for removing ice nuclei of an ice making device by supercooling brine according to claim 1.   A supercooling heat exchanger that supercools the brine for ice making, and ice that generates an ice slurry in which the brine that has been supercooled in the same heat exchanger is released and the brine and ice fragments are mixed A brine generator for supplying ice making brine from the load side to the supercooling heat exchanger, and an ice slurry supplying tube for sending ice slurry from the ice slurry generator to the load side. In the middle of the brine feeding pipe, a heater for heating the ice making brine to be 0.3 to 1.5 ° C. higher than the freezing temperature of the brine and a temperature below the freezing point; Ice nucleation time holding means for melting the ice nuclei in the brine while maintaining the ice nucleation melting time determined based on the amount of ice nuclei and the amount of heating in the heating means is provided in this order. Melting and removing ice nuclei in brine Ice making device according to supercooling of the brine formed by constructed so that.   The ice making device by overcooling of brine according to claim 8, wherein the ice nucleus melting time holding means is constituted by a filter provided with a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in ice making brine.   The ice nucleus melting time holding means is composed of an ice nucleus melting coil set to have a flow path length and a cross-sectional area corresponding to the ice nucleus melting time, the time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet. 9. An ice making device by supercooling of brine according to 8.   The ice making device by supercooling of brine according to claim 10, wherein a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in the ice making brine is provided upstream of the ice nucleus melting coil.   The ice core melting time holding means is a tube with a lid and a bottom, and the ice making brine flowing from the inlet is discharged to a position eccentric from the central axis so that the ice making brine forms a vortex inside. 9. The ice making device by supercooling of brine according to claim 8, comprising a tank and configured so that a time required for flow from the inlet to the outlet of the tank corresponds to the ice nucleus melting time.   The ice making device by supercooling of brine according to claim 12, wherein a filter including a filter medium that prevents passage of ice nuclei in the ice making brine is provided on the upstream side of the vortex tank.

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