KR20200090087A - Tow stage air dryer system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a two-stage air dryer system and, more specifically, to a two-stage air dryer system which removes humidity with a deliquescence dehumidification means using a deliquescence agent to reduce energy usage, and secondarily removes humidity in the deliquescence dehumidification means after cooling air and primarily removing humidity by a cooling deliquescence means to reduce dehumidification load of the deliquescence agent in the deliquescence dehumidification means, such that the usage of the deliquescence agent is reduced and dehumidification sufficient to prevent fogging at ordinary temperature, at which the compressed air is used, is realized even if a deliquescence agent with a low absorption ratio is used to reduce operating costs. According to the present invention, the two-stage air dryer system comprises: a cooling dehumidification means cooling inflow compressed air to condensate and remove moisture included in the compressed air and discharge the dehumidified compressed air; and the deliquescence dehumidification means allowing the compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidification means to come in contact with the deliquescence agent to remove the humidity included in the compressed air through deliquescence and discharge the dehumidified air.

Description

Two-stage air dryer system {TOW STAGE AIR DRYER SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a two-stage air dryer system, and more specifically, by removing moisture by a dehumidifying dehumidifying means using a deliquescent agent, energy consumption can be reduced, and cooling and dehumidifying means are used to cool the air while simultaneously removing moisture. It is configured to remove moisture primarily from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means after being removed first, so that the dehumidifying load of the dehumidifying agent can be reduced in the dehumidifying dehumidifying means to reduce the amount of dehumidifying agent. It relates to a two-stage air dryer system that can sufficiently dehumidify to the extent that condensation does not occur at a normal temperature in which it is used, thereby reducing operating expenses.

Typically, compressed air is used in almost all industries, such as the semiconductor manufacturing, electronics, mechanical, and chemical industries. The compressed air is produced from a compressor using air in the atmosphere, but the compressed air produced in this way basically contains moisture and foreign matter in the air, so in particular, in a precise industrial field requiring a clean environment, foreign matter and moisture Compressed air is removed.

In various industrial sites that use compressed air, compressed air is obtained by using an air compressor, and in the process of compressing air using such an air compressor, the oil component contained in various mechanical parts such as compressed piston is contained in the compressed air. In addition, dust and moisture in the atmosphere are also included.

In particular, moisture is naturally generated as air is compressed and changes in its saturation state. When using compressed air containing moisture or oil, it may be used as it is, but it may contain moisture or oil in precision industrial sites such as food processing, chemical treatment, or semiconductor production lines. Air can cause very fatal damage. Accordingly, an air dryer system has been applied to various precision industrial sites to remove moisture contained in the air.

In the related art, a cooling method of cooling and dehumidifying air below a dew point temperature using a refrigerator is mainly used, such as Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1081821 (2011.11.03, energy-saving refrigeration type air dryer dehumidifying device) with such an air dryer system. . However, the cooling air dryer system has a problem in that excessive energy is consumed because it is constantly operated for cooling compressed air.

Due to these problems, recently, dehumidification efficiency is high and dehumidification can be performed even at very low dew points. Therefore, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0109256 (2018.10.08, adsorption air dryer) or Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1687360 (2016.12.12 , As in the regeneration air supply device of the adsorption dryer), the adsorption air dryer system is mainstream.

However, even in the case of an adsorption-type air dryer system, there is a problem in that the dehumidifying function is deteriorated when the cost of regenerating the adsorbent is excessive and oil is adsorbed on the adsorbent.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1081821 (2011.11.03): energy-saving refrigeration air dryer dehumidifying device Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2018-0109256 (2018.10.08): adsorption air dryer Republic of Korea Registered Patent No. 10-1687360 (2016.12.12): Regeneration air supply device of adsorption dryer

The present invention was devised by recognizing the above points, and the object of the present invention is to reduce energy consumption by removing moisture with a dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means using a deliquescent agent, and simultaneously cooling air using a cooling dehumidifying means. It is configured to remove moisture firstly and then remove moisture secondarily from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means, so that the dehumidifying load of the dehumidifying agent can be reduced in the dehumidifying dehumidifying means to reduce the amount of the dehumidifying agent. The present invention is to provide a two-stage air dryer system capable of sufficiently dehumidifying to the extent that condensation does not occur at a normal temperature where compressed air is used, thereby reducing operating expenses.

In order to achieve the above object, the two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention, cooling dehumidifying means for cooling the introduced compressed air to condense and remove moisture contained in the compressed air, and discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means The dehumidifier dehumidifying means for contacting the compressed air with the dehumidifying agent to remove the moisture contained in the compressed air by being deliquescently removed and to remove the moisture is included, wherein the cooling and dehumidifying means, the refrigerant is frozen A refrigerating machine circulating in a cycle, a heat exchanger in which the compressed air is cooled while the refrigerant of the refrigerating machine absorbs heat from the compressed air and evaporates, and a gas-liquid separator in which condensed water passes through the heat exchanger is separated and discharged. It is characterized by.

In addition, the two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention, the dehumidifier dehumidifying means is composed of a compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means is provided with a dehumidifying tank flowing into the lower portion is discharged to the top, the dehumidifying tank is The inside is separated up and down by a perforated screen, a pressure distribution layer filled with particulate matter having a certain size or more is formed on the perforated screen, and a dehumidifying layer filled with a deliquescent agent is sequentially formed on the pressure distribution layer, and the compressed air Is characterized in that it is introduced from the bottom of the perforated screen and sequentially passes through the pressure distribution layer and the dehumidifying layer and is discharged.

In addition, the two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention is characterized in that the deliquescent agent is composed of calcium, potassium, and sodium.

In addition, in the two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention, compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means is cooled by heat exchange between compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means and compressed air discharged from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means. Compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means and discharged from the dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means is further provided with preheating means heated and discharged.

By the above-described configuration, the two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention can reduce energy consumption by removing moisture with a dehumidifying dehumidifying means using a dehumidifying agent, and simultaneously cool air by using a dehumidifying cooling means. It is configured to remove moisture primarily from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means after being removed first, so that the dehumidifying load of the dehumidifying agent can be reduced in the dehumidifying dehumidifying means to reduce the amount of dehumidifying agent. It is possible to sufficiently dehumidify to the extent that condensation does not occur at the normal temperature in which it has the advantage of reducing the operating cost.

1 is a block diagram showing a two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention
Figure 2 is a saturated water vapor graph showing the process of sufficient dehumidification through a two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention

Hereinafter, a two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings and examples.

1 is a block diagram showing a two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a saturation diagram showing a process in which sufficient dehumidification is achieved through a two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a water vapor graph.

The two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention primarily removes moisture by cooling using a phase change material in the cooling dehumidifying means 20, and dehumidifies and dehumidifies the compressed air from which the moisture is first removed. It is configured to maximize the dehumidifying effect by removing the moisture secondarily using a deliquescent agent in (30). In particular, the two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention, unlike the dehumidification method using an adsorbent by using a deliquescent agent, has no regeneration cost and is dehumidified without power, resulting in reduced energy consumption and maintenance cost. It is characterized by being configured to be.

In particular, the two-stage air dryer system according to the present invention is configured to cool the air using a cooling dehumidifying means and simultaneously remove moisture first and then remove the moisture secondarily from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means. The dehumidifying load of the dehumidifier can be reduced to reduce the amount of dehumidifier used. In addition, even if a dehumidifying agent having a low water absorption rate is used in the dehumidifying means, sufficient dehumidification is possible to the extent that condensation does not reach the dew point within the normal temperature range where compressed air is used, resulting in low absorption. Since an inexpensive deliquescent agent can be used, the operating cost of the air dryer can be reduced.

Referring to the drawings, the two-stage air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to include a preheating means 10, a cooling dehumidifying means 20 and a dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30 and control means.

The preheating means 10 is heat-exchanged between the compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means 20 and the compressed air discharged from the deliquescent dehumidifying means 30 and compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means 20. Compressed air that is cooled and introduced into the cooling dehumidifying means 20 and the moisture is removed and discharged from the deliquescent dehumidifying means 30 is heated and discharged.

That is, the preheating means 10 not only pre-cools the compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means 20 that cools the compressed air for dehumidification of the compressed air whose temperature is increased while being adiabatically compressed in the compressor. In order to heat the compressed air while passing through the cooling dehumidifying means 20 and the deliquescent dehumidifying means 30, the relative humidity is lowered and discharged. Particularly, the preheating means 10 is configured to exchange heat between the compressed air flowing in and the compressed air discharged to prevent waste of energy.

Referring to the drawings, the preheating means 10 heat exchanges compressed air having a high temperature flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means 20 and compressed air having a low temperature discharged from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30 to each other. For the heat exchanger 11 is provided is configured.

The cooling dehumidifying means 20 is configured to condense and remove moisture contained in compressed air while cooling the compressed air that has been cooled to a certain degree while passing through the preheating means 10 with a cooling device. The cooling device for cooling the compressed air in the cooling dehumidifying means 20 may be configured in various ways. For example, the cooling device may be configured to cool compressed air by exchanging heat between cold water and compressed air supplied from the outside. In addition, the cooling device may be configured by a refrigerator driven by a refrigeration cycle.

However, the drawing shows an example of a cooling device configured to cool compressed air sufficiently, and at the same time, to reduce the amount of energy consumption, the compressed air is cooled through heat exchange with a refrigerant, and the embodiment illustrated in the drawings will be described below. Mainly, the cooling dehumidifying means 20 will be described in detail.

Referring to the drawings, the cooling dehumidifying means 20 is configured to be provided with a heat exchanger 21, a refrigerator 22 and a gas-liquid separator 23.

The heat exchanger 21 is configured to allow heat exchange in which the refrigerant of the refrigerator 22 evaporates while absorbing heat of the compressed air and at the same time cools the compressed air. That is, the heat exchanger 21 is configured to cool compressed air by the refrigerator 22.

The refrigerator 22 is similar to a refrigeration machine composed of a conventional refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is composed of a compressor 221, a condenser 222, an expansion valve 223, and an evaporator, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The gas-liquid separator 23 is configured to separate the condensed moisture and gaseous compressed air contained in the compressed air while passing through the heat exchanger 21, and discharge the separated condensate W.

The dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means 30 is configured to undergo primary dehumidification while passing through the cooling dehumidifying means 20 so that the discharged compressed air flows in contact with the dehumidifying agent so that the moisture is dehydrated and removed by the dehumidifying agent.

Referring to the drawings, the compressed air discharged through the cooling dehumidifying means 20 passes through the pre-filter 31 to remove dust or oil and flows into the dehumidifying tank 32 equipped with a deliquescent agent.

The dehumidifying tank 32 is configured in a conventional tank shape, and the inside thereof is separated up and down by a perforated screen (S). In the upper portion of the perforated screen (S), a ceramic ball and a pressure dispersion layer 321 filled with particulate matter of a certain size or more, and a dehumidifying layer 322 filled with a deliquescent agent on the pressure dispersion layer 321 are sequentially layered. It is formed to have a structure.

The perforated screen (S) is configured to prevent the loss of the ceramic ball and the deliquescent agent filled in the dispersion layer 321 and the dehumidifying layer (322). Referring to the drawings, the perforated screen (S) is provided at a position higher than the inlet to the compressed air is introduced at a certain height from the bottom of the dehumidification tank (32). The perforated screen S is a plate material provided with a plurality of through holes through which compressed air passes (also serves as a flow path for condensed water to fall), and the through holes are made of a diameter smaller than the diameter of the ceramic ball.

Compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means 20 flows into the lower portion of the dehumidifying tank 32 and is discharged to the upper portion. That is, the compressed air is introduced from the lower portion of the perforated screen (S) and sequentially discharged through the pressure distribution layer 321 and the dehumidifying layer 322, and in the process, the moisture contained in the compressed air is a dehumidifying layer ( 322) is dissolved in the deliquescent agent filled, the moisture-dissolved solution is collected in the lower portion of the dehumidification tank 32 through the perforation hole of the perforated screen (S), that is, the moisture contained in the compressed air reacts with the deliquescent agent After being passed through the dehumidifying layer 322 accumulated inside the dehumidifying tank 32, the compressed air flows up to the top of the dehumidifying tank 32. It is discharged to the outside through a piping line.

The present invention has the advantage of not using any electricity while removing moisture from the dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means 30 and that there is no loss of compressed air, unlike the case of using an adsorbent that requires regeneration using compressed air.

The pressure dispersion layer 321 may be formed by stacking spherical ceramic balls, by dispersing the pressure of compressed air supplied at high pressure, that is, decelerating the flow of compressed air to flow to the dehumidifying layer 322. Protects the anti-release agent. To achieve this purpose, it is preferable that the ceramic ball has a smaller particle size than the deliquescent agent, and it can be replaced with another capable of pressure dispersion.

The dehumidifying layer 322 is formed by stacking various deliquescent agents on a pressure distribution layer 321 to a certain height, and removes moisture contained in compressed air rising through the pressure distribution layer 321.

The deliquescent agent is prepared by mixing a number of metal ion compounds. Since the deliquescent agent is prepared by mixing a metal ion compound, the deliquescent agent has a deliquescent property. Therefore, when moisture is brought into contact with the deliquescent agent, the deliquescent agent reacts with water, so that the surface of the deliquescent agent melts and becomes condensed (Ws). ) To the bottom of the dehumidifying tank 32 in the form.

The condensed condensed water Ws dropped in this way is discharged to the outside by the operation of the drain valve 34 provided at the bottom of the dehumidifying tank 32.

The deliquescent agent having the above functions is 0.06 to 0.10% by weight of calcium (Ca), 9.5 to 10.4% by weight of potassium (K), 89.5 to 90.4% by weight of sodium (Na), 0.03 to 0.07% by weight of strontium (Sr), and magnesium (Mg) It may be composed of 0.01 to 0.02% by weight, 8 to 13% by weight of calcium (Ca), 50 to 55% by weight of potassium (K), 17 to 22% by weight of sodium (Na), 2 to strontium (Sr) 4% by weight, magnesium (Mg) 0.02 to 0.05% by weight, lithium (Li) 10 to 15% by weight, zinc (Zn) may be composed of 0.04 to 0.07% by weight, calcium (Ca) 13 to 20% by weight, potassium (K) 55 to 65% by weight, sodium (Na) 10 to 15% by weight, strontium (Sr) 2 to 5% by weight, magnesium (Mg) 0.3 to 0.7% by weight, lithium (Li) 5 to 7% by weight, zinc (Zn) It may be composed of 0.04 ~ 0.08% by weight.

Compressed air from which moisture is removed while passing through the dehumidification tank 32 passes through a post filter 33 and is discharged to the heat exchanger 11 of the preheating means 10, and compressed air is discharged from the preheating means 10. While passing through the heat exchanger 11, it is heated to dry air and discharged to the outside to be supplied to a place or device using compressed air.

The control means is configured to control the operation of the preheating means 10, the cooling dehumidifying means 20, and the dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30 or the operation of a valve installed on the pipe.

The operation of the dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30 is controlled by the control means. In particular, discharge of the deliquescent condensed water Ws collected under the dehumidifying tank 32 of the dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30 by the control means. The operation of the drain valve 34 for is controlled. That is, when the condensed water (Ws) is charged to the lower portion of the dehumidifying tank (32) to fill more than a certain level, the control means senses this and opens the drain valve (34) to dissipate the condensed water (Ws) to the outside. The discharge of the deliquescent condensed water Ws is performed in a state in which the inflow and outflow of the compressed air to the dehumidification tank 32 are blocked so that the pressure of the compressed air is not wasted.

On the other hand, the deliquescent condensed water (Ws) has a very high viscosity in the deliquescent state of the deliquescent agent, and thus, in the stagnant state, it is attached to the wall surface of the pipe for draining due to the formation of sediment, so that the pipe for draining may be blocked. Periodic washing is required to remove clogging of the pipe, and the present invention is configured such that such washing is periodically performed by the control means.

That is, the present invention is the control so that the drain valve 34 is periodically opened without blocking the supply of compressed air supplied to the dehumidification tank 32 for washing the piping through which condensed water Ws is discharged. It is controlled by means. Since compressed air is introduced into the dehumidification tank 32 for dehumidification, the inside of the dehumidification tank 32 is in a relatively high pressure state. In this state, when the drain valve 34 is opened, the drain is made into a pipe. The condensate condensed water (Ws) flows at a high speed by pressure, and accordingly, it is cleaned before the attachment is attached to the inside of the pipe. The present invention is configured such that the above-described washing is performed at regular time intervals by the control means to prevent clogging of the drain pipe.

As described above, the present invention is configured to cool the air by using the cooling dehumidifying means 20 and at the same time to remove the moisture first and then remove the moisture secondarily from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30. In the dehumidifying agent, the dehumidifying load can be reduced to reduce the amount of dehumidifying agent. That is, since the compressed air flows into the dehumidifier dehumidifying means 30 while the moisture is primarily removed by the cooling dehumidifying means 20, consumption of the dehumidifying agent can be reduced absolutely.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that it is configured to be able to sufficiently dehumidify to the extent that condensation does not occur at a normal temperature in which compressed air is used even when a low-absorption agent is used. This operation will be described in detail with reference to the configuration of FIG. 2 and the graph of FIG. 2 showing the state of compressed air where dehumidification is performed by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, in general, compressed air is introduced into the preheating means 10 and cooled by a high temperature due to adiabatic compression of air. In the preheating means 10, compressed air may be cooled to a temperature at which condensation occurs, and condensation is generated while cooling in the cooling dehumidifying means 20 even if condensation does not occur, and thus moisture is primarily removed (FIG. 1 and S1 in FIG. 2). In the drawing, it is assumed that the compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means 20 is 0°C. Referring to the graph of FIG. 2, the compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means 20 to the S1 state of 0° C. is saturated and has a water vapor amount of 4.8 g/m 3. When the compressed air in S1 flows into the dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means 30, the moisture contained in the compressed air is absorbed and removed by the dehumidifying agent. For complete moisture absorption, a dehumidifier with a moisture absorption of 100% (RH 100) is used, but the dehumidifier with RH 100 is relatively expensive. However, according to the present invention, even if a relatively inexpensive RH 50 deliquescent agent is applied to the dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means 30 compared to the RH 100 deliquescent agent, moisture is removed by 50% while passing through the dehumidifying tank 32, and 2.4 g. It is discharged to the state S2, which is the amount of water vapor of /㎥ (half the amount of water vapor of 4.8g/㎥). As described above, since the compressed air having a water vapor amount of 2.4 g/m 3 reaches a saturated state (D in FIG. 2) in which dew condensation occurs at about 10° C. (-10° C.), the present invention uses a deliquescent agent of RH 50 as described above. Thus, even if the moisture is removed, it is possible to use it so that condensation does not occur under normal compressed air use conditions. This means that when the temperature of the conditions of use of compressed air is high, a sufficient dehumidifying effect can be obtained even by using a deliquescent agent having a water absorption rate lower than RH 50. Moreover, since the compressed air from which the moisture has been removed from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means 30 as described above is supplied to the outside in a heated state (state S3) while passing through the preheating means 10, the possibility that condensation occurs is saturated. It becomes very small.

As described above, in the present invention, even if a relatively low cost RH 50 or less deliquescent agent is used, the moisture is sufficiently removed so that the problem does not occur in the use of the compressed air, the cooling of the compressed air by the cooling dehumidifying means 20 At the same time as this is achieved, it is achieved by being primarily configured to remove moisture, and secondly to remove moisture from the dehumidifying dehumidifying means (30).

The two-stage air dryer system described above and illustrated in the drawings is only one embodiment for practicing the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the technical spirit of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is defined only by the matters described in the following claims, and the improved and modified embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention are apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It will be said that it belongs to the protection scope of the present invention.

10 Means of preheating
20 Cooling dehumidifying means
21 heat exchanger
22 cooler
23 gas-liquid separator
30 Dehumidifying means
32 dehumidification tank
321 pressure distribution layer
322 dehumidifying layer
34 drain valve

Claims (4)

Cooling dehumidifying means for cooling the introduced compressed air to condense and remove the moisture contained in the compressed air, and the moisture contained in the compressed air is brought into contact with the dehumidifying agent by contacting the compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means with a deliquescent agent. It consists of dehumidifying dehumidifying means to discharge the dehumidified and dehumidified air.
The cooling dehumidifying means includes a refrigerator in which a refrigerant circulates through a refrigeration cycle,
A heat exchanger in which the compressed air is cooled while the refrigerant of the refrigerator absorbs heat of the compressed air and evaporates,
A two-stage air dryer system comprising a gas-liquid separator through which condensed water is separated and discharged while passing through the heat exchanger. According to claim 1,
The dehumidifying dehumidifying means is configured by being provided with a dehumidifying tank discharged to the upper compressed air discharged from the cooling dehumidifying means to the bottom,
The dehumidification tank is separated up and down by a perforated screen inside,
A pressure dispersion layer filled with particulate matter of a certain size or more and a dehumidifying layer filled with a deliquescent agent are sequentially formed on the upper portion of the perforated screen,
The compressed air is introduced from the bottom of the perforated screen, a two-stage air dryer system characterized in that it is discharged through the pressure distribution layer and the dehumidifying layer sequentially. According to claim 2,
The deliquescent agent is a two-stage air dryer system comprising calcium, potassium, and sodium. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means is heat exchanged between the compressed air flowing into the cooling dehumidifying means and the compressed air discharged from the dehumidifying agent dehumidifying means to be cooled and introduced into the cooling dehumidifying means, and the deliquescent dehumidifying means Compressed air discharged from the two-stage air dryer system, characterized in that further comprises a preheating means to be discharged by heating.

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