KR102150499B1 - Winterization system based on waste heat recovery and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system and a method of operating the same. Waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system, the expansion tank in which the heat medium is stored; A first pump circulating the heat medium along a first circulation flow path to heat the heat medium through heat exchange with the waste heat generator; And in order to transfer heat to a plurality of target facilities provided in a piping network formed as a part of the second circulation flow path to perform freezing prevention treatment, the heat medium heated by circulation along the first circulation flow path and stored in the expansion tank And a second pump circulating along the second circulation passage.

Description

Waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system and its operation method TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system and a method of operating the same.

Guard rails, handrails, walls, doors, stairs, etc. which are usually provided on offshore structures such as platforms installed in the North Sea (around the UK) Due to local characteristics, winterization is required.

As disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-0055086 for freezing prevention treatment, it is generally carried out by generating electric heat using a device such as an electric heater, which requires a separate electric heater facility, There is a problem that the price is expensive because it uses electricity.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2013-0055086

The present invention recovers waste heat generated from offshore structures in an offshore floating body such as a flare system or a hydrocarbon blanket system, stores it in a tank, and utilizes the stored heat to prevent freezing when necessary, enabling long-term operation. And it is to provide an economical waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system and its operation method than when using an electric heater.

The present invention is configured as a closed loop system to provide a waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system with relatively little heating medium loss and a method of operating the same.

In the present invention, the heat medium heated by the waste heat recovery technique is circulated through a mesh-shaped pipe network, and priority is given to a high-priority target facility among a number of target facilities requiring freezing prevention treatment through valve control installed in the pipe network. Thus, by allowing the heat medium to be transferred, it is intended to provide a waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system capable of efficient use of heat energy and a method of operation thereof.

Objects other than the present invention will be easily understood through the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an expansion tank in which a heating medium is stored; A first pump circulating the heat medium along a first circulation flow path to heat the heat medium through heat exchange with the waste heat generator; And in order to transfer heat to a plurality of target facilities provided in a piping network formed as a part of the second circulation flow path to perform freezing prevention treatment, the thermal medium heated by circulation along the first circulation flow path and stored in the expansion tank A waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system including a second pump circulating along a second circulation flow path is provided.

The pipe network is a mesh-shaped connection body of pipes to allow the heat medium to be transferred to the plurality of target facilities, and each pipe constituting the pipe network to reconfigure the heat medium transport path in the pipe network A pipe network valve that is operated to be opened or closed by a control unit may be installed in the control unit.

The control unit determines the priority for each target facility using temperature sensing values received from target facility temperature sensors installed corresponding to each target facility and setting information for freezing prevention processing previously stored in the storage unit, and the Opening or closing control of a pipe network valve installed in the pipe network may be performed so that a heat medium transfer path corresponding to the determined priority is formed.

The waste heat generator may include at least one of a flare system and a hydrocarbon blanket system.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of operating a waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system, wherein (a) the control unit heats the heat medium stored in the expansion tank through heat exchange with the waste heat generator, Circulating along the first circulation passage; (b) determining, by the control unit, priorities for freezing prevention processing for a plurality of target facilities; (c) The control unit opens or closes the pipe network valve installed in each pipe of the pipe network, which is a mesh-shaped connection of pipes for transferring the heat medium to the plurality of target facilities, and transfers the thermal medium meeting the priority. Forming a path; And (d) circulating, by the control unit, a thermal medium stored in the expansion tank along a second circulation passage having the pipe network as a part of the pipe network.

The step (b) includes: collecting temperature sensing values from target facility temperature sensors installed in correspondence with each target facility by the control unit; And determining a priority for each target facility by using the collected temperature sensing value and setting information for pre-stored freezing prevention processing.

The step (a) may be repeated until the temperature of the heat medium, which has undergone heat exchange with the waste heat generator, reaches a predetermined target temperature value or higher.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when high-temperature exhaust gas is discharged from the flare system, waste heat is recovered and stored in a tank, and the stored heat is used for freezing prevention when necessary, thereby enabling long-term operation and using an electric heater. It is more economical than the case.

In addition, since it is composed of a closed loop system, there is an effect of relatively little loss of heat medium.

In addition, the heat medium heated by the waste heat recovery technique is circulated through a mesh-shaped pipe network, and the valve control installed in the pipe network prioritizes the target equipment with high priority among a number of target equipment requiring freeze prevention treatment. There is also an effect that efficient use of heat energy is possible by allowing the heat medium to be transferred.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a piping network for sequentially supplying a thermal medium to a plurality of target facilities according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a target facility in which a tube for a thermal medium according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed therein,
4 is a view showing an interlocking structure of the control unit of the freeze prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flow chart of a method of operating a waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present invention, various modifications may be made and various embodiments may be provided, and specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in the middle.

The terms used in the present specification are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present specification, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features. It is to be understood that the presence or addition of elements or numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof, does not preclude in advance.

Terms such as first, second, a, and b may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component.

In addition, terms such as "... unit" and "... unit" described in the specification mean units that process at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software.

In addition, components of the embodiments described with reference to each drawing are not limited to the corresponding embodiments, and may be implemented to be included in other embodiments within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention. Even if the description is omitted, it is natural that a plurality of embodiments may be implemented again as a unified embodiment.

In addition, in the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or related reference numerals are assigned to the same components regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of related known technologies may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a waste heat recovery-type freeze prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a heat medium according to an embodiment of the present invention to be sequentially supplied to a plurality of target facilities. It is a view schematically showing the configuration of a piping network for. 3 is a diagram illustrating a target facility in which a tube for a thermal medium according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed inside, and FIG. 4 is a view showing an interlocking structure of a control unit of a freeze prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention to be.

The waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system according to the present embodiment is a marine floating body (for example, ship, FPSO, etc.) that generates waste heat such as a flare system or a hydrocarbon blanket system. It is characterized by recovering and storing waste heat generated from offshore structures in the interior, and circulating the stored heat to target facilities to perform freezing prevention treatment. At this time, the transfer direction of the heat medium in the piping network is controlled so that the heating medium that retains heat supplies heat with priority to the target equipment with higher priority.

Referring to FIG. 1, the waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system 1 includes a first circulation passage 10, a second circulation passage 20, an expansion tank 110, a first pump 112, and circulation. It may include a flow path switching valve 131, a second pump 132, a heat medium temperature sensor 115, and a pipe network 140.

The expansion tank 110 is a space for storing a fluid-type thermal medium that circulates at least one of the first circulation passage 10 and the second circulation passage 20 as described later. The expansion tank 110 is heated by heat exchange with the waste heat generator 120 or the heat is taken away from the target facilities (200-1, 200-2, ..., 200-n, see FIG. 2). When the fluid temperature increases or decreases, the volume of the entire system expands or contracts to absorb the amount that changes and prevent overflow or intrusion of other external fluids.

Here, the thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 may be a fluid that may contain heat, such as water or oil.

First, a first circulation flow path 10 is described as follows.

The thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 is circulated in a predetermined direction along the first circulation flow path 10 by the pumping operation of the first pump 112. In FIG. 1, it is shown that the circulation direction of the thermal medium along the first circulation passage 10 is counterclockwise, but this is only an exemplary embodiment, and it goes without saying that it may circulate in a clockwise direction according to the exemplary embodiment.

The thermal medium circulating along the first circulation passage 10 is heated by a heat exchange method with the waste heat generator 120, and the heated thermal medium is introduced into the expansion tank 110.

The waste heat generator 120 shown in FIG. 1 refers to an offshore structure itself or a component of a corresponding offshore structure that generates waste heat to be recovered by a heat medium.

In this specification, a flare system and a hydrocarbon blanket system are described as examples of the waste heat generator 120, but all structures that generate waste heat so as to heat a thermal medium are used as examples of the waste heat generation unit 120. It is obvious that it may correspond to the generator 120. In addition, one waste heat generating unit 120 is not necessarily used to heat the heat medium in the first circulation passage 10, and two or more waste heat generating units 120 are used to jointly heat the heat medium. It is natural that it could be.

For example, the waste heat generator 120 may be a flare system, which is a kind of burner for burning unnecessary gas generated in the process of processing oil and gas at sea. In this case, the first circulation passage 10 may be provided with a tube bundle to surround the heat exchange part of the flare gas discharge system through which the hot exhaust gas passes into the air after combustion in the flare system, and the thermal medium in the tube bundle The high-temperature heat medium may flow into the expansion tank 110 by performing heat exchange with and.

As another example, the waste heat generation unit 120 may be a hydrocarbon blanket system, and the first circulation passage 10 is installed to surround a heat exchanger used to lower the temperature of the hydrocarbon blanket gas, and heat exchange in the heat exchanger By this, the high-temperature heat medium can be introduced into the expansion tank 110.

In order to measure the temperature of the heat medium heated through heat exchange with the waste heat generator 120, a heat medium temperature sensor 115 is provided in the first circulation passage 10, and temperature sensing measured by the heat medium temperature sensor 115 The value may be provided to the control unit 160. The heat medium temperature sensor 115 does not necessarily need to be installed on the pipe constituting the first circulation flow path 10, and may be installed in the expansion tank 110.

The temperature sensing value provided to the control unit 160 may be used to determine whether the thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 corresponds to a designated target temperature as a temperature suitable for supplying to a target facility requiring freezing prevention treatment. have. Here, the target temperature of the thermal medium may be a temperature capable of preventing freezing of the target facility in the second circulation passage 20 to be described later, and this may be determined by experimental and statistical methods.

Next, the second circulation passage 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The circulation channel switching valve 131 may be involved in switching from the first circulation channel 10 to the second circulation channel 20. When the circulation channel switching valve 131 is closed, it may be configured in advance so that the thermal medium circulates only through the first circulation channel 10, and the circulation channel switching valve 131 is open. In this case, it may be configured in advance so that the thermal medium can circulate through the second circulation flow path 20. Of course, a part of the thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 while the thermal medium circulates through the second circulation passage 20 may be continuously heated by being circulated through the first circulation passage 10.

As described above, a high-temperature thermal medium is stored in the expansion tank 110 through heat exchange with the waste heat generator 120.

For example, a plurality of target facilities such as platform and FPSO handrail, stairs, ladders, heli-deck, external installation type piping, fire protection facility, fire prevention water transfer piping, etc. -2, ..., 200-n, where n is an arbitrary natural number, and hereinafter, when separate classification is not required, it is collectively referred to as 200) is disposed on the second circulation flow path 20, and is treated to prevent freezing The second pump 132 performs a pumping operation under the control of the control unit 160 at a time when is required. Although only one second pump 132 is shown in FIG. 2, it is natural that the second pump 132 may be installed in various locations with a larger quantity.

That is, the thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 is circulated along the second circulation passage 20 by the pumping operation of one or more second pumps 142, and at least one target facility 200 in the circulation process By sequentially passing through, heat exchange is performed to prevent freezing of the target facility 200.

At this time, as described above, the waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system controls the transfer direction of the thermal medium passing through one or more target facilities 200 so that heat can be supplied in preference to target facilities with higher priority, through which It has a feature that enables efficient use of heat energy. This is because the temperature of the heat medium may be lowered due to heat exchange through each target facility, so that effective heat transfer may not be possible to the target facility that is passed later. This is to make it possible to use.

To this end, a part of the second circulation flow path 20 for circulating the thermal medium includes the thermal medium individually passing through one or more target facilities, or target facilities designated as priority information by the control of the control unit 160. It is formed of a pipe network 140 in the form of a mesh formed to pass through sequentially.

That is, the thermal medium is transferred along the second circulation flow path 20, but in the pipe network 140 section, the pipe network valves 220-1a, 220-1b, 220-2a, 220-2b, 220 of the control unit 160 -na, 220-nb, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240, 242) are transported along the path formed by the open/close operation for each. At this time, the heat medium performs heat exchange while sequentially passing through each of the target facilities arranged by the control unit 160 according to priority.

As shown in FIG. 2, the piping network 140 is an expansion tank along the second circulation flow path 20 after the thermal medium transferred along the second circulation flow path 20 only passes through any one target facility 200. Circulation pipes to be introduced into the 110 and conversion pipes constituting a path so that the thermal medium passing through any one of the target facilities does not return to the second circulation passage 20 but passes through other target facilities may be included. . Here, the circulation pipe and the conversion pipe may be, for example, a heat medium tube 300 (see FIG. 3) formed in consideration of the heat retention of the heat medium.

3 shows a guide rail installed on the upper part of the stairs as an example of the target facility 200, and a tube 300 for a thermal medium included in the second circulation flow path 20 may be embedded inside the guide rail. have. As the high-temperature thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 is circulated through the heat medium tube 300 installed as described above, it is possible to perform a freeze prevention treatment without using an electric heater as described above.

Referring back to FIG. 2, a pipe network valve is installed in each of the circulation pipes and each of the conversion pipes, and the transfer of the heat medium through the corresponding circulation pipe and the corresponding conversion pipe is regulated by the opening/closing operation of the pipe network valve. Through the pipe network 140, the path through which the heat medium is transferred is reconstructed.

For example, when the control unit 160 intends to allow the heat medium to pass through the first target facility 200-1 after the heat medium passes through the second target facility 200-2, the control unit 160 refers to the reference numeral 220 The pipe network valves marked -2a, 236 and 220-1b may be opened, but other pipe network valves may be controlled to be closed.

As another example, in the case where only the first target facility 200-1 and the second target facility 200-2 with the same priority are passed through at the same stage, the thermal media are each passed through the two circulation pipes. In order to be transferred, the control unit 160 may control the pipe network valves indicated by reference numerals 220-1a, 200-1b, 200-2a and 220-2b to open, but to close other pipe network valves.

As shown in FIG. 2, target facility temperature sensors 210-1, 210-2, ..., 210-n, hereinafter collectively referred to as 210 when distinction is not required so as to correspond to each target facility 200 ) Is installed, and the target facility temperature sensor 200 includes a temperature corresponding to the target facility 200 (for example, the surface temperature of the target facility 200 or/and the freezing prevention treatment of the target facility 200) A temperature sensing value obtained by sensing the temperature of the flowing heat medium) is provided to the control unit 160.

The control unit 160 refers to the temperature sensing value provided from the target facility temperature sensor 210, and whether the target facility 200 needs a freeze protection process, whether the freeze protection process is normally performed by the thermal medium, etc. Will be able to judge.

As described above, the freezing prevention system according to the present embodiment circulates the heat medium heated through the circulation in the first circulation passage 10 through the second circulation passage 20, thereby Perform cold protection treatment. At this time, the control unit 160 sets priorities for a plurality of target facilities requiring cold protection, and performs open or close control for each pipe network valve so that the heat medium can be transferred correspondingly, so that the heat medium is There is a feature that enables more effective use of retained thermal energy.

To this end, the control unit 160 receives a temperature sensing value from the heat medium temperature sensor 115 and each target facility temperature sensor 210 included in the temperature sensor group 410 as shown in FIG. Adjustment information is received from the control center 420 in the floating body on target facilities (eg, a helideck when a helicopter landing is scheduled after a while) among target facilities that require immediate freeze prevention treatment.

Thereafter, the control unit 160 uses the received temperature sensing value and adjustment information and the setting information for each target facility 200 stored in advance in the storage unit 430 to prioritize the cold protection for each target facility 200. The circulation channel switching valve 131 and each pipe network valve included in the valve group 450 in order to determine the priority and to allow the transfer path to be reconfigured according to the determined priority to transfer the thermal medium on the second circulation channel 20 Opening and closing control, and also controls the operation of the first and second pumps (112, 132).

Here, the setting information for each target facility 200 may include one or more of timing setting information, temperature setting information, and weight information.

The time setting information is information on the time when cold protection should be performed for the target facility 200, for example, if it is a fire protection facility, it may be set so that cold protection is always performed, and a guide installed at the top of the stairs In the case of rails, it may be set temporarily and differentially according to the time zone in which the stairs are used and the installed location. In addition, in the case of the helideck, after it is basically designated as a target facility that does not require cold protection, it may be updated by adjustment information received from the control center 420 (for example, information about a period in which the use of the helideck is required).

In addition, the temperature setting information may be information on a temperature threshold suitable for cold protection treatment for each target facility 200.

The weight information is information given to distinguish whether cold protection that satisfies the temperature threshold should be performed with what importance for each target facility. This is to perform effective cold protection treatment by using the limited thermal energy of the thermal medium. For example, fire protection equipment related to safety may be set to have a relatively higher importance than guide rails for the convenience of crew members.

The control unit 160 uses the timing setting information to specify the target facility that currently needs cold protection treatment, and then the control unit 160 uses the temperature setting information to the target facility 200 having a higher temperature threshold. After passing first, the heat medium transport path may be reconfigured to pass through the target facility 200 having a relatively low temperature threshold. At this time, the priority of each target facility (i.e., the order of target facilities through which the thermal medium is sequentially passed) is determined in the order of ensuring the temperature threshold of the target facility 200 having a relatively high weight by further considering the weight information. I will be able to.

5 is a flowchart of a method of operating a waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step 510, the control unit 160 collects temperature sensing values from the heat medium temperature sensor 115 and each target facility temperature sensor 210 included in the temperature sensor group 410. In step 510, the control unit 160 may check whether the thermal medium stored in the expansion tank 110 is heated to an appropriate temperature for freezing prevention treatment of the target facility 200.

In step 520, the control unit 160 uses the collected temperature sensing values, timing setting information and temperature setting information for target facilities previously stored in the storage unit 430 to perform cold protection among the target facilities 200. One or more required target facilities 200 are specified, and priority is determined for the order in which the specified target facilities should be heated on the second circulation flow path 20 by the heat medium.

In step 530, the control unit 160 performs open/close control for each pipe network valve so that the thermal medium passes through each target facility and circulates along the second circulation passage 20 according to the priority determined in step 520. .

At this time, in order to allow the thermal medium to circulate along the second circulation passage 20 including the path in the pipe network 140 reconstructed to an appropriate pressure, operation control for the one or more second pumps 132 may be further performed. May be.

In step 540, the control unit 160 determines whether or not adjustment information for priority adjustment is received from the control center 420. The adjustment information may be information for specifying a target facility for which immediate cold protection treatment is required, or for specifying a target facility to stop or resume cold protection treatment.

If adjustment information is not received, the flow proceeds to step 510.

However, if the adjustment information is received, in step 550, the control unit 160 adjusts the priority for each target facility in consideration of the target facility specified by the adjustment information, and the thermal medium along the path corresponding to the adjusted priority. In order to enable the transfer, after controlling the opening/closing control of the pipe network valve and/or the operation of the second pump 132, the process proceeds to step 510.

Although the above has been described with reference to embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art can variously modify the present invention within the scope not departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the following claims. And it will be appreciated that it can be changed.

1: Freeze protection system for waste heat recovery
10: first circulation passage 20: second circulation passage
112: first pump 115: heat medium temperature sensor
131: circulation oil channel switching valve 132: second pump
140: pipe network 160: control unit
200-1, 200-2, 200-n: target facilities
210-1, 210-2, 210-n: Temperature sensor of target facility
220-1a, 220-1b, 220-2a, 220-2b, 220-na, 220-nb, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240, 242: pipe network valve

Claims (4)

An expansion tank in which a heating medium is stored;
A first pump circulating the heat medium along a first circulation flow path to heat the heat medium through heat exchange with the waste heat generator; And
In order to transfer heat to a plurality of target facilities provided in a piping network formed as a part of the second circulation passage to perform freezing prevention treatment, the thermal medium heated by circulation along the first circulation passage and stored in the expansion tank 2 Waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system including a second pump circulating along the circulation passage. delete delete As a method of operating a waste heat recovery type freeze prevention system,
(a) the control unit circulating the heat medium along a first circulation passage so that the heat medium stored in the expansion tank is heated through heat exchange with the waste heat generator;
(b) determining, by the control unit, priorities for freezing prevention processing for a plurality of target facilities;
(c) The control unit opens or closes the pipe network valve installed in each pipe of the pipe network, which is a mesh-shaped connection of pipes for transferring the heat medium to the plurality of target facilities, and transfers the heat medium meeting the priority. Forming a path; And
(d) the control unit circulating the heat medium stored in the expansion tank along a second circulation passage having the pipe network as a part of the operation method of the waste heat recovery type freezing prevention system.

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