JPH0814713A - Oil separator for recovering fluorocarbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the quantity of a fluorocarbon remaining in recovered oil as much as possible by forming an oil recovery vessel of a pressure resistant vessel, coupling the resistant vessel to the suction port of a fluorocarbon recovering apparatus body to always evacuate in negative pressure in the recovery vessel, and exposing the fluorocarbon remaining in the recovered oil within a negative pressure environment during the recovering operation. CONSTITUTION:Oil O separated from a fluorocarbon gas by a fluorocarbon recovering oil separator 100 is transferred to an oil recovery vessel 400 by opening a cock 402. Then, the cock 402 is closed, a cock 405 is opened, and fluorocarbon recovering operation is conducted. Thus, the interior of the vessel 400 is held in a negative pressure by the suction force of a fluorocarbon recovering apparatus body 200 during the recovering operation. Accordingly, the fluorocarbon tends to be easily released from the oil O by the negative pressure, and the quantity of the fluorocarbon remaining in the oil can be reduced. Further, the vessel 400 is heated to further increase the quantity of the fluorocarbon to be released from the oil.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flon recovery oil separator used when recovering freon and oil mixed therein from a device using freon as a refrigerant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention has filed on March 28, 1994 (199
March 28, 4) with an oil separator for CFC recovery “Jitsuhei Hei 6-2866” proposed. The previously proposed CFC recovery oil separator is characterized in that a CFC suction port of a CFC recovery device composed of a suction compressor is provided with an oil separator composed of a pressure resistant container.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structure thereof. Reference numeral 11 in the figure denotes a CFC recovery device such as a refrigerator and a cooler. The CFC recovery assembly 12 is connected to the CFC flow passage of the CFC recovery device 11, and the suction hose 1 is provided between the CFC recovery assembly 12 and the CFC recovery oil separator 100.
01, and the suction hose 102 is connected between the CFC recovery oil separator 100 and the suction port 201 of the CFC recovery apparatus main body 200, and the CFC recovery apparatus by the suction force of the compressor 4 provided in the CFC recovery apparatus main body 200. Fluorocarbon gas is sucked from 11, and fluorocarbon recovery device main body 20
It is liquefied at 0, and the operation of collecting the liquefied CFC in the CFC recovery container 300 is performed. Here, the compressor 4 uses a compressor of an automobile cooler, and the compressor 4 is driven by an engine. Therefore, the CFC recovery device body 200 and the CFC recovery oil separator 10
0, the chlorofluorocarbon recovery container 300 is mounted on the vehicle, and has the characteristic that it can be moved anywhere to perform fluorocarbon recovery work.

The CFC recovery oil separator 100 separates and recovers the oil contained in the CFC gas. The CFC recovery oil separator 100 includes a pressure container 103 such as a gas cylinder, communication pipes 104 and 105 provided in the pressure container 103, and a siphon pipe 106 that extends from the top surface of the pressure container 103 to the bottom surface of the pressure container 103.
Liquid level detection means 107 for detecting that the amount of oil accumulated in the pressure vessel 103 has reached a specified value, and a high pressure gas supply port 108
Composed of and.

A suction hose 101 extending from the fluorocarbon recovery assembly 12 is connected to a communication pipe 104 provided in the pressure resistant container 103, and the pressure regulating valve 1 is connected to the other communication pipe 105.
Fluorocarbon recovery device body 2 through 09 and suction hose 102
00 to the suction port 201. By inserting the pressure resistant container 103 in the CFC recovery passage in this way, the CFC gas F sucked from the CFC recovery device 11 and the oil O in the oil O are accumulated in the pressure resistant container 103, and only the CFC gas F is recovered. It is sucked into the recovery device main body 200.
When the oil O is accumulated up to a predetermined level in the pressure vessel 103, the liquid level detection means 107 sends a detection signal and gives the detection signal to the CFC recovery device body 200 to stop the engine,
Stop the recovery work. At the same time, the operator operates the push-button switch 111 and operates the solenoid valve 112, so that the high-pressure chlorofluorocarbon gas generated in the chlorofluorocarbon recovery container 300 (as the work of recovering the liquefied chlorofluorocarbon into the fluorocarbon recovery container 300 progresses). A high-pressure CFC gas is generated in the CFC recovery container 300) is applied to the pressure-resistant container 103. By supplying high-pressure CFC gas to the pressure vessel 103,
The oil O is taken out from the pressure resistant container 103 through the siphon pipe 106 and the oil outlet 113, and the oil recovery container 40
Collect the oil to 0.

5 to 7 show a specific structure of the pressure resistant container 103 which constitutes the CFC recovery oil separator 100. A recess 106A is provided on the bottom surface of the pressure container 103, and the tip of the siphon tube 106 is inserted into the recess 106A so that the oil O can be sucked up to the last one drop. A pair of communication pipes 104 and 105 are provided on the top surface of the pressure resistant container 103. Cocks 114 and 115 are attached to the communication pipes 104 and 105. These cocks 114 and 115 are controlled to be in a closed state when the high-pressure CFC gas is supplied to the pressure-resistant container 103 so that the high-pressure CFC gas does not leak to the CFC recovery device 11 and CFC recovery device main body 200. An oil outlet 113 and a manual valve 117 for opening and closing the oil outlet 113 are provided on the upper end side of the siphon pipe 106. That is, a hose is connected to the oil outlet 113 and the hose is connected to the oil recovery container 400, and the oil O collected in the pressure resistant container 103 is transferred to the oil recovery container 400 through the siphon pipe 106 by opening the oil outlet 113 with the manual valve 117. Can be transferred.

In FIG. 5, the high pressure CFC gas supply port 10 is shown.
8 is omitted. On the other hand, an outer container 118 is provided outside the pressure resistant container 103. This outer container 118 and pressure resistant container 1
03 is sealed with a sealing plate 119, and the sealed vacant chamber 1
21 is formed. A pair of connection pipes 122 and 123 are made to communicate with the empty chamber 121, and the connection pipes 122 and 1 are connected to each other.
The hot water generated by the engine is passed through 23, and the vacant room 12
Hot water is introduced into 1 to heat the pressure resistant container 103. still,
The connection pipe 122 is on the inflow side of the hot water, and the cock 124 is provided so that the flow of the hot water can be arbitrarily stopped. In addition, a thermometer 125 is provided in front of the cock 124.
Is provided, and when the indication of the thermometer 125 exceeds a predetermined temperature,
The cock 124 can be configured to close.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the liquid level detecting means 107.
The liquid level detecting means 107 includes a non-magnetic metal tube 127 made of, for example, stainless steel, which is vertically lowered from the top surface of the pressure vessel 103, and a stopper 128 provided at the lower end of the metal tube 127.
And a float 129 supported by being engaged with the metal tube 127 so as to be movable up and down, and having a built-in permanent magnet, for example.
A first proximity switch 131 provided near the stopper 128 and responsive to a permanent magnet built in the float 129;
A second proximity switch 132 mounted on the upper side of the metal pipe 127 and detecting a state in which the liquid level of the oil O reaches a predetermined position.
And a signal outlet 133 that is provided at the upper end of the metal tube 127 and takes out a contact signal of the first proximity switch 131 and the second proximity switch 132.

FIG. 7 shows a high pressure gas supply port 108 and a solenoid valve 1.
2 is a plan view of the CFC recovery oil separator 100 including 12 viewed from the upper surface side. FIG. Incidentally, in FIG. 7, the connection pipes 122 and 123 constituting the heating means are omitted.

[0010]

The previously proposed oil separator for recovering CFC separates the oil O in the pressure vessel 103 due to the difference between the liquid and the gas, and the pressure vessel 1
03 was loosened, and the device was devised to gasify and separate CFC from the oil O accumulated in the pressure resistant container 103. However, in reality, it has been found that the oil O recovered in the oil recovery container 400 still contains freon, which causes a problem that freon is discharged for a long period of time. CFC collection container 400
For example, when a container formed of a resin material such as polyethylene is used and oil is collected, the lid is closed and the container is left for a few days, a phenomenon in which the container largely swells is observed. This phenomenon is considered to be due to gasification and release of freon from the recovered oil.

An object of the present invention is to provide an chlorofluorocarbon recovery oil separator capable of further reducing the amount of chlorofluorocarbon remaining in the recovered oil.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the oil recovery container is a pressure resistant container, and the pressure recovery container is connected to the suction port of the fluorocarbon recovery device main body so that the inside of the oil recovery container is always under negative pressure and the recovered oil is recovered. Is exposed to a negative pressure environment during recovery work, and is further heated if necessary.

With this structure, the oil recovered in the oil recovery container is exposed to negative pressure in the recovery container, so that the CFCs dissolved in the oil are easily released from the oil. Further, by heating the oil recovery container by the heating means, it becomes easier to release CFCs, and the amount of CFCs remaining can be reduced as much as possible.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. Portions corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the present invention, the oil outlet 11 of the CFC recovery oil separator 100
Oil recovery container 40 for recovering the oil O extracted from No. 3
0 is a pressure container such as a gas cylinder. The pressure-resistant container used as the oil recovery container 400 is also provided with a siphon tube. The oil O is injected through this siphon tube, and when it is transferred to another container, the oil is sucked out through the siphon tube. A cock 402 and a transparent tube 406 are provided at a connection port 401 of a hose communicating with the siphon tube. This cock 40
2 is kept closed during the fluorocarbon recovery work,
When the amount of oil O reaches the specified value in the CFC recovery oil separator 100, the CFC recovery operation is interrupted and the oil O
To open only when transferring to the oil recovery container 400,
The oil O pushed out from the CFC recovery oil separator 100 in the open state is transferred to the oil recovery container 400. The transparent tube 406 is provided to monitor whether or not the oil O is flowing during this transfer. Further, a transparent pipe 407 which is vertically connected to the peripheral surface of the oil recovery container 400 is attached so that the amount of oil in the oil recovery container 400 can be monitored.

A communication pipe 4 is provided on the top surface of the oil recovery container 400.
03 is provided, and the communication pipe 403 is connected to the suction port 201 of the fluorocarbon recovery device main body 200 through the one-way valve 404 and the cock 405. Although omitted in FIG. 1, the oil recovery container 400 is the outer container 1 shown in FIG.
18 and the sealing plate 119 and the connecting pipes 122 and 123 may be provided to constitute a heating means and heat the oil O collected in the oil collecting container 400. For this purpose, the pressure-resistant container 103 and the oil recovery container 400 that form the CFC recovery oil separator 100 are housed in the same outer container, and the CFC recovery oil separator 100 and the oil recovery container 400 are heated by the same heating means. Can be configured as.

Further, as another method, the oil recovery container 4
The heating means may be provided only at 00. Oil recovery container 4
Since 00 has a smaller amount of CFCs than the CFC recovery oil separator 100, it is safe to heat it to a high temperature. Therefore, the CFC recovery oil separator 100 can be heated to a temperature higher than the temperature at which the CFC recovery oil separator 100 is heated, thereby increasing the amount of CFC release. The energy source of the heating means is not limited to the hot water generated by the engine, but may be the electric heater, the heat of the exhaust gas of the engine, or the heat generated from the condenser for liquefying the fluorocarbon gas.

2 and 3, the pressure-resistant container 103 for the oil separator and the oil recovery container 400 are the same outer container 1.
An example stored in 18 is shown. In this embodiment, the pressure container 103 and the oil recovery container 400 are housed in the same outer container 118, and the electric heater H (see FIG. 3) is used to heat the pressure container 103 and the oil recovery container 400. Show. To this end, an electric heater H
The blower 140 is installed directly above the
The air from the electric heater is blown downward by the outer container 118
Pressure-resistant container 103 and oil recovery container 400
To heat. If necessary, a temperature sensor (not shown) is provided inside the outer container 118, and when the temperature inside the outer container 118 reaches a predetermined value of about 35 to 45 ° C., the energization of the heater H is stopped to maintain a constant temperature. Can be made. A hose 407 is connected via a cock 402 and a transparent pipe 406 to the oil outlet 113 of the pressure-resistant container 103 that constitutes the oil separator and the oil inlet 401 provided in the oil recovery container 400, and is taken out from the oil outlet 113. The oil is transferred to the oil recovery container 400 through the hose 407. Since other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the oil O separated from the CFC gas by the CFC recovery oil separator 100 is transferred to the oil recovery container 400, and then the cock 402 is closed and the cock 405 is opened to perform the CFC recovery operation. By performing the above, the inside of the oil recovery container 400 is maintained at a negative pressure by the suction force of the fluorocarbon recovery device main body 200 during the fluorocarbon recovery operation. Therefore, this negative pressure facilitates the release of freon from the oil, and the amount of freon remaining in the oil can be reduced.

Further, by heating the oil recovery container 400, the amount of CFC released from the oil can be further increased. Therefore, after the oil is recovered in the oil recovery container 400, the CFC recovery operation is subsequently performed, whereby the CFC can be released from the recovered oil in the CFC recovery container 400, and an oil with a small amount of CFC remaining can be obtained. You can Therefore, the amount of CFC released to the atmosphere can be reduced, and the deterioration of the environment can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a modified embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view for explaining the structure of a CFC recovery oil separator used in a conventional technique.

6 is a sectional view similar to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view similar to FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 CFC recovery oil separator 103 Pressure resistant container 104, 105 Communication pipe 106 Siphon pipe 107 Liquid level detection means 108 High pressure gas supply port 109 Pressure adjusting valve 111 Push button switch 112 Electromagnetic valve 113 Oil outlet 200 CFC recovery device body 300 CFC recovery container 400 oil recovery container

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A. First Embodiment A pair of communication pipes connected to the first pressure resistant container, and B. A siphon tube that penetrates the top surface of the first pressure-resistant container and has a tip reaching the bottom surface of the pressure-resistant container; An oil outlet provided in a portion of the siphon tube projecting from the pressure resistant container; A high-pressure gas supply port connected to the first pressure-resistant container and supplied with high-pressure gas from the outside; An electromagnetic valve that is inserted into the high-pressure gas supply path and controls whether or not high-pressure gas is supplied to the first pressure-resistant container as necessary; A second pressure-resistant container that receives oil taken out from the oil outlet while supplying high-pressure gas to the first pressure-resistant container; G. An oil separator for CFC recovery comprising: a suction pipe connected between the second pressure-resistant container and a suction port of a CFC recovery apparatus. 2. A. A pair of communication pipes connected to the first pressure resistant container, and B. A siphon tube that penetrates the top surface of the first pressure-resistant container and has a tip reaching the bottom surface of the pressure-resistant container; An oil outlet provided in a portion of the siphon tube projecting from the pressure resistant container; A high-pressure gas supply port connected to the first pressure-resistant container and supplied with high-pressure gas from the outside; An electromagnetic valve that is inserted into the high-pressure gas supply path and controls whether or not high-pressure gas is supplied to the first pressure-resistant container as necessary; A second pressure-resistant container that receives oil taken out from the oil outlet while supplying high-pressure gas to the first pressure-resistant container; G. A suction tube connected between the second pressure-resistant container and the suction port of the fluorocarbon recovery device; An oil separator for collecting CFCs, comprising: a heating unit that heats either or both of the first pressure resistant container and the second pressure resistant container.