JP2021037434A - Steam supply device, steam supply method and test device using steam - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a steam supply device, a steam supply method and a test device using steam, capable of stably supplying steam of high concentration continuously in a long term.SOLUTION: A steam supply device comprises: a liquid circulation mechanism including a loop-shaped liquid channel, and a pump for circulating a liquid to the liquid channel; a liquid drawing mechanism including a drawing pipeline for drawing the liquid from the liquid channel and a flow rate controller for controlling a flow rate of the liquid drawn by the drawing pipeline; and a heating mechanism for heating the liquid drawn by the liquid drawing mechanism for making the liquid steam.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a steam supply device, a steam supply method, and a test device using steam.

When evaporating or vaporizing a liquid, it is heated using an electric heater, a heat medium, or thermal power. In addition, the vapor of this heated liquid is used to bring it into contact with a catalyst to convert it into another substance, or to carry out a chemical synthesis reaction to produce another substance. These have been put to practical use in large chemical plants and the like. Further, in the case of water among liquids, steam can be generated by a boiler, a superheated steam generator, or the like.

On the other hand, it is necessary to generate vapor even in laboratory-scale evaluations and experiments, such as evaluations and experiments to examine the performance of the above-mentioned catalysts and evaluations and experiments in a system in which gas and liquid vapor are mixed under test conditions. There are many cases. In addition, such lab-scale evaluations and experiments may be performed not only in batch systems but also in distribution systems, in which case it is necessary to control the flow rate of steam. Furthermore, in such evaluations and experiments, there are cases where not only short-term evaluations / experiments such as several minutes to several hours but also long-term evaluations / experiments such as hundreds of hours or thousands of hours are performed. There are several methods for generating and supplying steam, and they are used properly depending on the case.

When the method of generating and supplying steam is used for laboratory-scale tests and evaluations, it is necessary to secure and supply a stable steam concentration. For example, in the case of evaporating water, when the water vapor concentration is 50 to 60% by volume, the steam can be stably supplied by using a method of humidifying the gas by bubbling it with a predetermined hot water using saturated vapor pressure. Can be done. However, when a water vapor concentration of 50 to 60% by volume or more is required, it becomes saturated water vapor near the boiling point of water, which makes temperature control very difficult. Therefore, it can be used when a high water vapor concentration is required. Can not.

On the other hand, in the steam generation method in which a fixed amount of liquid supplied by a pump is completely vaporized, the amount of liquid supplied fluctuates due to the pulsation of the pump, especially when a small amount of liquid is continuously supplied, so that high-concentration steam is stable. Difficult to supply. In this case, if the liquid is supplied by the syringe method, it is possible to suppress the supply pulsation of the liquid. However, in the syringe method, since the capacity of the syringe is fixed, it cannot be used for supplying steam for a long time.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-252550

As described above, in the past, for example, in laboratory-scale evaluations and experiments, when a long-term stable steam supply at a high steam concentration was required, there was a problem that it was difficult to realize this. ..

An object of the present invention is to provide a steam supply device capable of stably and stably supplying high-concentration steam for a long period of time, a steam supply method, and a test device using steam.

The steam supply device of the embodiment includes a liquid circulation mechanism having a loop-shaped liquid flow path, a pump for circulating the liquid in the liquid flow path, a pull-out pipe for drawing the liquid from the liquid flow path, and the above-mentioned. It is characterized by including a liquid withdrawal mechanism having a flow controller for controlling the flow rate of the liquid to be drawn out by a withdrawal pipe, and a heating mechanism for heating the liquid drawn out by the liquid withdrawal mechanism into steam. And.

The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the steam supply apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The flow chart which shows the process of the steam supply method which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the steam supply apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the steam supply apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the steam supply apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment. The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the heater in 4th Embodiment. The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the modification of the heater in 4th Embodiment. The figure which shows typically the schematic structure of the test apparatus using steam which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, the steam supply device, the steam supply method, and the test device using steam according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted. Further, in each embodiment, the type of the liquid is not particularly limited, but water is a typical example of the liquid.

(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a schematic configuration of the steam supply device 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the vapor supply device 10 includes a liquid tank 101 for storing a liquid, a loop-shaped liquid flow path 102 for circulating the liquid, and a pump 103 arranged in the liquid flow path 102. The liquid circulation mechanism 100 is provided. The liquid flow path 102 is composed of a pipe capable of flowing a liquid inside, and constitutes a loop-shaped flow path that circulates the liquid led out from the liquid tank 101 and returns it to the liquid tank 101.

Further, the liquid flow path 102 is provided with a liquid drawing mechanism 110 having a drawing pipe 111 and a flow rate controller 112 arranged in the drawing pipe 111. The liquid withdrawal mechanism 110 is provided to draw out the liquid from the liquid flow path 102 while controlling the flow rate with the flow rate controller 112.

Further, a heating mechanism 130 for heating the drawn liquid into vapor is arranged on the downstream side of the drawing pipe 111 of the liquid drawing mechanism 110.

A steam generation method using the steam supply device 10 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the vapor supply device 10, first, a liquid such as water is stored in the liquid tank 101, the liquid is discharged by the pump 103 and passed through the liquid flow path 102, and the discharged liquid is returned to the liquid tank 101 again. It is circulated in a loop (step 201 in FIG. 2).

Next, a part of the circulating liquid is drawn out from the drawing pipe 111 by utilizing the pressure of the circulating liquid. At this time, the flow rate is controlled by the flow rate controller 112, and a constant flow rate of liquid is drawn out (step 202 in FIG. 2).

Then, the liquid drawn out at the above constant flow rate flows into the heating mechanism 130, evaporates and vaporizes to generate vapor, and is discharged from the heating mechanism 130 (step 203 in FIG. 2).

The above steps are continuously carried out for a predetermined time, and the generation of steam is stopped after the lapse of a predetermined time (step 204 in FIG. 2).

As described above, in the steam supply device 10, the liquid is circulated in the loop-shaped liquid flow path 102, and a part of the liquid is drawn out at a constant flow rate by the drawing pipe 111 and flows into the heating mechanism 130 to generate steam. In this case, the flow rate of the liquid circulating in the liquid flow path 102 (hereinafter referred to as the circulating flow rate) and the flow rate in the drawer pipe 111 whose flow rate is controlled by the flow controller 112 (hereinafter referred to as the withdrawal flow rate). By comparison, the circulating flow rate needs to be higher than the withdrawal flow rate.

The ratio of the circulation flow rate to the withdrawal flow rate is preferably, for example, about 10 times to 100,000 times. By increasing this ratio, the influence of pulsating current in the pump 103 is reduced, a constant flow rate of liquid is accurately flowed into the heating mechanism 130, and a constant amount of vapor is generated by vaporizing the entire amount of this liquid. Can be made to. On the other hand, if the circulation flow rate is increased more than necessary, wasteful energy consumption will occur. Therefore, when efficiency is taken into consideration, the ratio is more preferably set to, for example, about 100 to 10000 times.

As described above, in order to increase the circulation flow rate as compared with the withdrawal flow rate, the inner diameter of the pipe constituting the liquid flow path 102 needs to be larger than the inner diameter of the withdrawal pipe 111. As the pump 103, for example, a type of pump such as a plunger pump, a piston pump, a diaphragm pump, a wing pump, a gear pump, an eccentric pump, a screw pump, or the like can be used.

The capacity and shape of the liquid tank 101 for storing the liquid are not particularly limited. As for the replenishment of the liquid, a method of replenishing each time or a method of continuously replenishing the liquid may be used. Further, the liquid level may be monitored by a liquid level gauge or the like, and when the liquid in the liquid tank 101 falls below the predetermined storage amount, it may be provided with a function of automatically replenishing the liquid. Further, it may have a function of degassing the gas component dissolved in the liquid. The position where the liquid flows out from the inside of the liquid tank 101 to the liquid flow path 102 is not particularly limited, but the lower part of the liquid tank 101 is desirable.

The type and method of the flow rate controller 112 arranged in the drawer pipe 111 are not particularly limited. For example, a controller that controls the flow rate by a Coriolis type, a thermal type, a differential pressure type, or the like can be used. As the flow rate controller 112, for example, a mass flow controller can be preferably used. The pressure of the liquid is applied to the inlet side of the flow rate controller 112, but if the pressure / flow rate of the supplied liquid fluctuates / pulsates, there is a high possibility that the control flow rate also pulsates. Therefore, it is preferable to supply the liquid to the inlet side of the flow rate controller 112 with a stable pressure and flow rate.

The shape, size, structure, etc. of the heating mechanism 130 are not particularly limited. Further, the supply direction (upward, downward, sideways, etc.) is not particularly limited. As the heating means in the heating mechanism 130, for example, an electric heater can be preferably used. Further, it is desirable to use PID control for temperature control of the electric heater. When the liquid evaporates, the temperature drops due to the latent heat of vaporization. Energy is input to compensate for this temperature drop, but in order to generate steam stably, it is preferable to keep the temperature constant by using PID control or the like. Further, for example, it is desirable that the piping for introducing the liquid into the heating mechanism 130 has a structure inserted into the inside of the heating mechanism 130. If the liquid is introduced directly near the inlet of the heating mechanism 130, the end portion of the heating mechanism 130 is relatively low temperature depending on the structure, and the liquid may not be sufficiently heated. Further, it is desirable that the piping for introducing the liquid has a material and structure having good heat conduction. As a result, steam can be stably generated and supplied.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress fluctuations in the amount of steam generated due to the pulsation of the pump, and it is possible to stably supply high-concentration steam for a long period of time.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the steam supply device 20 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, since the pump 103 has a discharge pressure, the pressure of the liquid in the liquid flow path 102 becomes high. Under the pressure of this liquid, the liquid is supplied into the branching drawer pipe 111. Therefore, it is preferable to dispose a pressure regulator 104 in the liquid flow path 102 so that the pressure of the liquid inside can be adjusted.

The type and method of the pressure regulator 104 are not particularly limited. It may be performed manually using a stop valve or the like, or a pressure sensor may be installed and the electromagnetic valve or the like may be controlled by the signal. When the flow rate controlled by the flow rate controller 112 is changed, stable flow rate control can be performed by setting the pressure of the liquid suitable for the flow rate.

(Third Embodiment)
Next, the steam supply device 30 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. If impurities or the like are contained in the circulated liquid, or if biofilm or the like is formed during long-term operation, these may flow into the flow rate controller 112, which may cause fluctuations in the flow rate or failure. There is. Therefore, it is desirable to install a filter 113 in the drawer pipe 111 to remove such foreign matter and prevent it from flowing into the flow controller 112. Further, when it is necessary to deal with clogging of the filter 113 or the like, two systems may be arranged so that the filters 113 are alternately distributed and the filter 113 which is not distributed is replaced.

(Fourth Embodiment)
Next, the steam supply device 40 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the steam supply device 40, a gas introduction pipe 131 for introducing a gas is provided in the heating mechanism 130, and a desired gas (for example, hydrogen gas or the like) having a desired flow rate flows through the gas introduction pipe 131. It is designed to be able to be made to.

That is, in the steam supply device 40, as shown in FIG. 6, the gas introduction pipe 131 allows the desired gas at a desired flow rate to flow along with the steam generated in the heating mechanism 130. ing. The accompanying gas can create a flow in the generated steam, and the steam can be stably supplied. The heating mechanism 130 shown in FIG. 6 has a circular tubular shape as a whole, and has a structure in which a heating heater 130a composed of an electric heater is arranged so as to surround the periphery. Further, it is desirable that the length of the portion of the drawer pipe 111 inserted in the heating mechanism 130 is increased to some extent so that the liquid does not suddenly boil.

The direction in which the gas accompanies and the position in which the gas accompanies are not particularly limited, but as shown in FIG. 6, if the direction is the same as the steam flow, the flow is in the same direction, which is desirable for creating a stable flow. Further, the gas flows outside the drawer pipe 111 through which the liquid flows, so that the heat supply to the liquid is stabilized and the evaporation is stabilized. Although only one gas introduction pipe 131 is shown in FIG. 6, for example, even if a plurality of gas introduction pipes 131 are provided around the extraction pipe 111, they are concentric so as to surround the periphery of the extraction pipe 111. A gas introduction pipe 131 having a double pipe structure configured in a shape may be provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a heat conductor 132 such as a metal member having good heat conduction may be filled in the heating region between the heating heater 130a and the drawer pipe 111 through which the liquid flows. The liquid can be effectively heated by the heat conduction by the heat conductor 132, and steam can be stably generated and supplied.

(Test equipment using steam)
Next, an embodiment of the test apparatus 50 using steam will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, in the test apparatus 50, a sample chamber 140 for accommodating the sample 150 is provided on the downstream side of the heating mechanism 130 of the steam supply apparatus 40 described above.

The inside of the sample chamber 140 is divided into two spaces above and below the sample 150, and one of the spaces (lower side in FIG. 8) is connected to the outlet of the heating mechanism 130 by a connecting pipe 130b. A gas introduction pipe 141 for introducing a gas is connected to the space on the other side (upper side in FIG. 8). High-concentration steam and other gas such as hydrogen gas are introduced from the heating mechanism 130, and other gas such as air is introduced from the gas introduction pipe 141. In this case, the high-concentration water vapor can be, for example, 80% to 95% by volume and the rest can be hydrogen gas or the like.

Further, the sample chamber 140 is provided with a temperature control mechanism (not shown) for controlling to a predetermined temperature, a measurement circuit 160 for measuring the electrical state of the sample 150, and the like, depending on the type of the sample 150. Will be done. For example, when the sample 150 is an element containing a catalyst used for a fuel cell, hydrogen production, or the like, the above gas is circulated in the sample chamber 140 in a state of being heated to about 700 ° C. to 1000 ° C., and both sides of the sample 150 are measured. The voltage of (electrode) is measured by a voltage measuring device 161 or the like of the measuring circuit 160.

In the test apparatus 50 using the vapor having the above configuration, for example, water is stored in the liquid tank 101, the water is discharged by the pump 103 and passed through the liquid flow path 102, and the discharged water is discharged again in the liquid tank. It is circulated in a loop so as to return to 101. Then, a part of the water is drawn out from the drawing pipe 111 by utilizing the pressure of the circulating water. At this time, the flow rate is controlled by the flow rate controller 112, and a constant flow rate (for example, about several milliliters to 100 ml per minute) of water is drawn out and flowed into the heating mechanism 130. By using the inflowing water as the total amount of water vapor, a certain amount of water vapor can be stably supplied. Further, by adjusting the flow rate of the hydrogen gas flowing into the heating mechanism 130 from the gas introduction pipe 131, the desired concentration of water vapor can be stably and continuously supplied into the sample chamber 140 for a long time. It can also be supplied over.

Here, in the test apparatus 50 using steam, since a certain amount of steam having a high concentration can be continuously and stably supplied, noise due to fluctuations in the amount of steam is added to the measurement result in the measurement circuit 160. Can be suppressed, and stable electrical measurement can be performed. Specifically, the noise due to the fluctuation of the amount of steam can be set to about 1%. As a result, even minute electrical changes that are conventionally hidden by noise due to fluctuations in the amount of steam can be accurately detected.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

10, 20, 30, 40 ... Steam supply device, 50 ... Steam test device, 100 ... Liquid circulation mechanism, 101 ... Liquid tank, 102 ... Liquid flow path, 103 ... Pump, 104 ... ... Pressure regulator, 110 ... Liquid extraction mechanism, 111 ... Extraction pipe, 112 ... Flow controller, 113 ... Filter, 130 ... Heating mechanism, 131 ... Gas introduction pipe, 132 ... Thermal conductor, 140 ... Sample chamber, 141 ... Gas introduction tube, 150 ... Sample, 160 ... Measuring circuit, 161 ... Voltage measuring device.

Claims (14)

A liquid circulation mechanism having a loop-shaped liquid flow path and a pump for circulating liquid in the liquid flow path,
A liquid withdrawal mechanism having a withdrawal pipe for drawing out the liquid from the liquid flow path and a flow rate controller for controlling the flow rate of the liquid to be withdrawn through the withdrawal pipe.
A heating mechanism that heats the liquid drawn out by the liquid drawing mechanism to vaporize it,
A steam supply device characterized by being equipped with. The vapor supply device according to claim 1, wherein a pressure regulator for controlling the pressure of the liquid is provided in the liquid flow path of the liquid circulation mechanism. The steam supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a filter mechanism for removing foreign matter in the liquid is provided on the upstream side of the flow controller of the drawer pipe. The steam supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heating mechanism is provided with a gas flow mechanism that allows a gas to flow along with the liquid. The steam supply device according to claim 4, wherein the flow direction of the liquid and the flow direction of the gas in the heating mechanism are the same. The vapor supply device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the gas is configured to flow on the outer peripheral side of the flow of the liquid in the heating mechanism. The steam supply device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein a heat conductor is disposed in a region where the gas flows in the heating region of the heating mechanism. The steam supply according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the volume percentage of the steam to the total volume of the steam and the gas at the outlet of the heating mechanism is 80% to 95%. apparatus. The vapor according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the flow rate of the liquid circulating in the liquid flow path is 10 to 100,000 times the flow rate of the liquid drawn out by the drawer pipe. Supply device. A step of circulating a liquid in the liquid flow path by a liquid circulation mechanism having a loop-shaped liquid flow path and a pump for circulating the liquid in the liquid flow path.
The liquid is drawn from the liquid flow path at a constant flow rate by a liquid drawing mechanism having a drawing pipe for drawing the liquid from the liquid flow path and a flow controller for controlling the flow rate of the liquid drawn by the drawing pipe. Steps to pull out and
A step of heating the liquid drawn by the liquid drawing mechanism to vapor by a heating mechanism that heats the liquid to vaporize it.
A steam supply method characterized by being provided with. A liquid circulation mechanism having a loop-shaped liquid flow path and a pump for circulating liquid in the liquid flow path,
A liquid withdrawal mechanism having a withdrawal pipe for drawing out the liquid from the liquid flow path and a flow rate controller for controlling the flow rate of the liquid to be withdrawn through the withdrawal pipe.
A heating mechanism that heats the liquid drawn out by the liquid drawing mechanism to vaporize it,
A steam to be tested is provided, which is capable of accommodating the test piece and is provided with a test chamber for introducing the steam generated by the heating mechanism and applying the steam to the test piece for testing. The test equipment that was there. The test apparatus using steam according to claim 11, wherein the heating mechanism is provided with a gas flow mechanism that allows a gas to flow along with the liquid. The test apparatus using steam according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a measuring circuit for measuring an electrical state of the test object in the test chamber. The inside of the test chamber is separated into two spaces with the test piece in between, the steam generated by the heating mechanism is introduced into one space, and a gas different from the steam is introduced into the other space. The steam-based test apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the test apparatus is configured to introduce the above.

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