KR20210037207A - Nitrogen Producer Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a nitrogen generator. According to the present invention, the air flux and flow rate in an air feed line linked to an adsorption tower are controlled constantly, and the air pressure supplied into the adsorption tower is checked. In this manner, a change in load of an air compressor is reduced, air is supplied constantly to an adsorption vessel without any variation caused by a change in load to improve nitrogen production, nitrogen production from the nitrogen generator is maintained constantly even under a low pressure, and power consumption is saved by reducing undesired compressed air consumption. In addition, it is possible to supplement a disadvantage of adjusting a nitrogen generator processing time every time depending on the specification of the air compressor due to different preset pressure values of different air compressor types and models, and to increase the life of the air compressor.

Description

Nitrogen Generator {Nitrogen Producer Apparatus}

The present invention relates to a nitrogen generator, and more particularly, to a nitrogen generator that reduces the supply air of the nitrogen generator and improves the adsorption performance to increase the nitrogen production efficiency.

In general, nitrogen gas is an inert gas that does not cause chemical and physical reactions with heat treatment of various metals and chemical plants, piping, tanks, equipment or containers. It is widely used in the manufacturing process.

In particular, high-purity nitrogen is used in various chemical processes, steel making, smelting, and other industrial applications, and various technologies are known for producing nitrogen by separating air. It is economical to use the pressure vibration adsorption (PSA) method.

In the normal pressure vibration adsorption (PSA) process for gas separation, nitrogen or oxygen is selectively adsorbed by passing an adsorption bed composed of components that can easily adsorb the supplied air at a high adsorption pressure, and then the adsorption bed is lowered. By depressurizing by desorption pressure, nitrogen or oxygen is desorbed from the adsorption bed to remove it, and air is supplied again so that adsorption and desorption processes in the adsorption bed are repeatedly performed.

And, in order to produce nitrogen having a purity of 99.5% or more, a carbon molecular sieve (CMS) having selectivity in speed is used as an adsorbent during a rapid circulation process in the pressure vibration adsorption process, and this carbon molecular sieve (CMS) is As a component that can be easily adsorbed, oxygen is selectively adsorbed to produce nitrogen having a relatively low dew point at the adsorption pressure.

That is, when the pressure vibration adsorption (PSA) type nitrogen generator operates two adsorption towers alternately, one first adsorption tower operates in the order of pressurization → adsorption → equalization (equilibrium with the second adsorption tower) → depressurization → -regeneration. The second adsorption tower, which is the other, can be operated in the order of depressurization → regeneration → pressure equalization (equilibrium with the first adsorption tower) → pressurization → adsorption.

At this time, since air in the atmosphere is supplied to the adsorption tower filled with the adsorbent using an air compressor, when compressed air is blown into the adsorption tower filled with the adsorbent, oxygen is preferentially adsorbed to the adsorbent in a short time, and at high pressure. Adsorption is carried out, followed by releasing the adsorbed material at low pressure, and it operates in a cycle of adsorption and regeneration, which can be automatically regenerated while one bed is operating.

Removing oxygen from the air while alternately using two adsorption towers in the same manner as described above is referred to as a pressure swing adsorption process.

Here, the raw material air is compressed by a compressor at a rate of 7.0-9.5 (bar) and supplied to the adsorption tower, and oxygen with a high adsorption rate is adsorbed and removed by the adsorbent in the adsorption tower, and the concentrated nitrogen is moved from the top of the adsorption tower to the nitrogen storage tank. It is used by controlling the proper pressure and flow rate.

However, since conventional nitrogen generators have a very fast crossing time of adsorption towers and consume a lot of air at the moment when adsorption towers cross (in the pressurization process), it is always necessary to generate nitrogen in the air receiver tank for smooth air supply. Since air must be supplied and stored above the required pressure, compressed air is supplied through the air storage tank, and the pressure in the air storage tank is lowered in the pressurization process that consumes a lot of air, and the compressed air exceeds the amount of air required by the nitrogen generator in the adsorption stage. There was a problem in that it was necessary to maintain the pressure of the air storage tank by supplying it.

In addition, the conventional nitrogen generator has a problem in that the pressure supplied to the nitrogen generator is very high at 7.0-9.5 bar, and the air supply amount varies greatly for each process, so that the life of the compressor is shortened.

In addition, the air compressor applied to the conventional nitrogen generator is unloaded when it reaches a certain pressure or more, and is loaded when it is less than a certain pressure to produce compressed air by repeating loading and unloading. The more frequent it is repeated, the more severe the load fluctuations, so the life of the air compressor has to be shortened.

In addition, when the nitrogen generator process is set to time and operated, the pressure of the raw material air supplied from the air compressor to the adsorption tower during the pressurized adsorption process was not constant.

That is, when the air compressor is unloaded, it is supplied to the absorption tower at a low pressure, and when it is supplied in a loaded state, it is supplied at a high pressure. In this case, the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the adsorption tank is not constant, and the flow rate changes according to the pressure. There was a problem that the conditions for concentrating nitrogen in the adsorption tank were changed every moment.

Registered Patent Publication No. 10-0824025 (announcement date 2008.04.21.) Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1528328 (announcement date 2015.06.12.)

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce fluctuations in the load of the air compressor by configuring to check the pressure of air supplied in the adsorption tower as well as constantly adjusting the flow rate and flow rate of air in the air supply line connected to the adsorption tower. , To provide a nitrogen generator that improves nitrogen production while always supplying constant air to the adsorption tank without change due to load fluctuations, maintains a constant nitrogen production amount by the nitrogen generator even at low pressure, and reduces unnecessary compressed air consumption. will be.

The nitrogen generator, which is a means of solving the problems of the present invention, is controlled by a control unit, comprising: an air compressor providing compressed air for nitrogen production; An air storage tank connected to the air compressor and storing compressed air provided by the air compressor; An air filter connected to the air storage tank and separating impurities contained in compressed air; First and second adsorption towers controlled by the control unit, receiving compressed air from which impurities have been separated by the air filter, and adsorbing oxygen contained in the supplied compressed air to generate only concentrated nitrogen; A nitrogen storage tank in which concentrated nitrogen generated in the first and second adsorption towers is stored; A compressed air supply line that connects the air filter and the first and second adsorption towers in common; an air regulator controlled by a control unit to control a supply pressure of the compressed air from which impurities have been removed; And a valve body controlling a supply flow rate and a supply flow rate of the compressed air, which is controlled by the control unit, and the supply pressure is controlled by the air regulator.

In addition, the valve body is a globe valve or a flow control valve.

In addition, when the compressed air is supplied by the compressed air supply line, a pressure sensor is formed in the first and second adsorption towers, respectively, to measure the pressure of the supplied compressed air and provide it to the control unit.

In addition, when the pressure of the compressed air in the first and second adsorption towers by the pressure sensor reaches a set pressure, a control program for switching the processes of the first and second adsorption towers is mounted.

In addition, the process conversion of the first adsorption tower is a conversion from pressurization to an adsorption process, the process conversion of the second adsorption tower is a conversion from a reduced pressure to a regeneration process, and the process conversion of the first and second adsorption towers is the pressure sensor. It is controlled by the control program of the control unit when the measured pressure of compressed air measured by is within the range of 6 bar to 7 bar, which is the set pressure.

In addition, the process conversion of the first adsorption tower is a conversion from reduced pressure to a regeneration process, the process conversion of the second adsorption tower is a conversion from pressurization to an adsorption process, and the process conversion of the first and second adsorption towers is the pressure sensor. It is controlled by the control program of the control unit when the measured pressure of compressed air measured by is within the range of 6 bar to 7 bar, which is the set pressure.

In addition, the process conversion of the first adsorption tower is a conversion from adsorption to a pressure equalization process, the process conversion of the second adsorption tower is a conversion from regeneration to a pressure equalization process, and the process conversion of the first and second adsorption towers is the pressure sensor. When the measured pressure of compressed air measured by is within the range of 2 bar to 3 bar, which is the set pressure, it is controlled by the control program of the control unit.

As described above, the nitrogen generator of the present invention is configured to constantly adjust the flow rate and flow rate of air to the air supply line connected to the adsorption tower, as well as to check the pressure of air supplied in the adsorption tower, through which the load fluctuation of the air compressor It reduces the amount of nitrogen and improves nitrogen production by always supplying constant air to the adsorption tank without change due to load fluctuations, maintaining a constant nitrogen production amount by the nitrogen generator even at low pressures, and reducing unnecessary compressed air consumption while saving power. , As the set pressure is different depending on the type or model of the air compressor, the disadvantage of using the nitrogen generator process time every time according to the air compressor specification is compensated, and the effect of prolonging the life of the air compressor can be expected.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a block diagram of a nitrogen generator in an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a block diagram of a nitrogen generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a nitrogen generator according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 10, an air compressor 20, an air storage tank 30, an air filter 40, and the first and second adsorption towers ( 50, 50'), a nitrogen storage tank 60, an air regulator 70, a valve body 80, and a pressure sensor 90, 90'.

The air compressor 20 is driven by a control program mounted on the controller 10 and provides compressed air for nitrogen production to the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50', respectively.

The air storage tank 30 is connected to the air compressor 20 and is configured to store compressed air provided by the air compressor 20.

The air filter 40 is connected to the air storage tank 30 and separates impurities contained in compressed air.

The first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50 ′ are controlled by the control unit 10 and receive compressed air from which impurities are separated by the air filter 40, and oxygen contained in the supplied compressed air. By adsorbing and generating only concentrated nitrogen, an adsorbent using a carbon molecular sieve (CMS) is formed inside the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50', and the adsorbent selectively adsorbs oxygen, Accordingly, the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50' can produce nitrogen having a relatively low dew point at an adsorption pressure.

The nitrogen storage tank 60 is configured to store concentrated nitrogen generated in the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50'.

The air regulator 70 is installed in a compressed air supply line L1 that connects the air filter 40 and the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50' in common. It is configured to adjust the supply pressure of the compressed air from which impurities have been removed while being controlled by.

The valve body 80 is a globe valve or a flow control valve, which is controlled by the control unit 10 and adjusts the supply flow rate and supply flow rate of the compressed air whose supply pressure is controlled by the air regulator 70. It is composed.

The pressure sensors (90, 90') are formed in the first and second adsorption towers (50, 50'), respectively, and the compressed air is supplied to the first and second adsorption towers by the compressed air supply line (L1). When supplied to (50, 50'), respectively, the pressure of the supplied compressed air is measured and then provided to the control unit 10.

Accordingly, the control program in the control unit 10, when the pressure of the compressed air in the first and second adsorption towers 50, 50' by the pressure sensors 90, 90' reaches a set pressure, The processes of the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50' can be switched, respectively.

That is, the process conversion of the first adsorption tower 50 is a conversion from pressurization to an adsorption process, and the process conversion of the second adsorption tower 50 ′ is a conversion from a reduced pressure to a regeneration process, and the first and second adsorption towers The process conversion of (50, 50') can be controlled by the control program of the control unit 10 when the measured pressure of compressed air measured by the pressure sensors 90, 90' is within the range of 6bar to 7bar, which is the set pressure. It can be.

In addition, the process conversion of the first adsorption tower 50 is a conversion from reduced pressure to a regeneration process, and the process conversion of the second adsorption tower 50 ′ is a conversion from pressurization to an adsorption process, and the first and second adsorption towers The process conversion of (50, 50') can be controlled by the control program of the control unit 10 when the measured pressure of compressed air measured by the pressure sensors 90, 90' is within the range of 6bar to 7bar, which is the set pressure. It can be.

Meanwhile, the process conversion of the first adsorption tower 50 is a conversion from adsorption to a pressure equalization process, and the process conversion of the second adsorption tower 50 ′ is a conversion from regeneration to a pressure equalization process, and the first and second adsorption towers The process conversion of (50, 50') can be controlled by the control program of the controller 10 when the measured pressure of the compressed air measured by the pressure sensors 90, 90' is within the range of 2 bar to 3 bar, which is the set pressure. It can be.

As described above, in the nitrogen generator according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, when the air compressor 20 is driven under the control of the controller 10, the air compressor 20 After compression, it is stored in the air storage tank 30, and the compressed air thus stored is transferred to the first adsorption tower 50 or the second adsorption tower 50' through the air filter 40 through the compressed air supply line L1. Each is supplied.

At this time, the air regulator 70 formed in the compressed air supply line L1 controls the pressure of the compressed air according to the control signal of the control unit 10, while a valve formed in the compressed air supply line L1 The sieve 80 adjusts the flow rate and flow rate of compressed air whose pressure is adjusted according to the control signal from the control unit 10, and the compressed air from which impurities are removed by the air filter 40 is pressure, flow rate, and flow rate. In this controlled state, it can be supplied to the first adsorption tower 50 or the second adsorption tower 50'.

Then, the pressure sensors 90 and 90 ′ formed in the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50 ′, respectively, have the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50 ′. After measuring the pressure in the second adsorption towers 50 and 50', the measured information is output to the controller 10.

At this time, the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50' are operated alternately by the control unit 10, that is, the first adsorption tower 50 is pressurized → adsorption → equalization (pressure equalized with the second adsorption tower) → depressurized →The second adsorption tower (50') is operated in the order of regeneration, and the second adsorption tower (50') is operated in the order of decompression → regeneration → equalization (equilibrium with the first adsorption tower) → pressurization → adsorption, and the pressure sensors (90, 90') When the measured pressure in the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50' measured by is within the range of 6 bar to 7 bar, which is a set pressure, the control unit 10 performs the process of the first adsorption tower 50 (pressurization → adsorption Alternatively, reduced pressure → regeneration) is switched, and the process (depressurization → regeneration or pressurization → adsorption) of the second adsorption tower 50' is switched.

In addition, when the measured pressure in the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50 ′ measured by the pressure sensors 90 and 90 ′ is within the range of 2 bar to 3 bar, which is a set pressure, the controller 10 1 By switching the process (adsorption → equalization) of the adsorption tower 50 and switching the process (regeneration → equalization) of the second adsorption tower 50', unnecessary compression while minimizing load fluctuations on the air compressor 20 The amount of nitrogen produced in the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50' can be reduced, as well as the amount of nitrogen produced in the first and second adsorption towers 50 and 50', because it is possible to reduce the amount of air consumption and always creates a constant condition for the adsorption towers 50 and 50' without change according to load fluctuations. In addition, it is possible to keep the nitrogen generation performance constant even at low pressures (eg 6bar to 7bar).

In the above, the technical idea of the nitrogen generator of the present invention has been described together with the accompanying drawings, but this is an exemplary description of the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, but does not limit the present invention.

Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and any person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims can perform various modifications. Of course, such changes are intended to be within the scope of the description of the claims.

10; Control unit 20; Air compressor
30; Air storage tank 40; Air filter
50; A first adsorption tower 50'; 2nd adsorption tower
60; Nitrogen storage tank 70; Air regulator
80; Valve body 90, 90'; Pressure sensor

Claims (7)

An air compressor that is controlled by a control unit and provides compressed air for nitrogen production; An air storage tank connected to the air compressor and storing compressed air provided by the air compressor; An air filter connected to the air storage tank and separating impurities contained in compressed air; First and second adsorption towers controlled by the control unit, receiving compressed air from which impurities are separated by the air filter, and adsorbing oxygen contained in the supplied compressed air to generate only concentrated nitrogen; A nitrogen storage tank in which the concentrated nitrogen generated in the first and second adsorption towers is stored; Including,
An air regulator controlling a supply pressure of the compressed air from which impurities have been removed as controlled by a control unit in a compressed air supply line connecting the air filter and the first and second adsorption towers in common; And a valve body controlling a supply flow rate and a supply flow rate of the compressed air controlled by the control unit, wherein the supply pressure is controlled by the air regulator. The method of claim 1,
The valve body is a nitrogen generator, characterized in that the globe valve or flow control valve. The method of claim 1,
The first and second adsorption towers, respectively, when the compressed air is supplied by the compressed air supply line, a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the supplied compressed air and provides it to the control unit. . The method of claim 3,
The control unit is a nitrogen generator, characterized in that when the pressure of the compressed air in the first and second adsorption towers by the pressure sensor reaches a set pressure, a control program for switching the processes of the first and second adsorption towers is mounted. . The method of claim 4,
The process conversion of the first adsorption tower is a conversion from pressurization to an adsorption process, the process conversion of the second adsorption tower is a conversion from a reduced pressure to a regeneration process, and the process conversion of the first and second adsorption towers is performed by the pressure sensor. Nitrogen generator, characterized in that it is controlled by a control program of the control unit when the measured pressure of the compressed air to be measured is within the range of 6 bar to 7 bar, which is a set pressure. The method of claim 4,
The process conversion of the first adsorption tower is a conversion from reduced pressure to a regeneration process, the process conversion of the second adsorption tower is a conversion from pressurization to an adsorption process, and the process conversion of the first and second adsorption towers is performed by the pressure sensor. Nitrogen generator, characterized in that it is controlled by a control program of the control unit when the measured pressure of the compressed air to be measured is within the range of 6 bar to 7 bar, which is a set pressure. The method of claim 4,
The process conversion of the first adsorption tower is a conversion from adsorption to a pressure equalization process, the process conversion of the second adsorption tower is a conversion from regeneration to a pressure equalization process, and the process conversion of the first and second adsorption towers is performed by the pressure sensor. Nitrogen generator, characterized in that it is controlled by a control program of the control unit when the measured pressure of the compressed air to be measured is within the range of 2 bar to 3 bar, which is a set pressure.

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