KR20220004878A - Ammonia fuel power generating unit - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, provided is an ammonia fuel power generation apparatus. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the ammonia fuel power generation apparatus can comprise: a fuel tank storing liquid ammonia inside; a fuel supply unit receiving the liquid ammonia from the fuel tank, and pressurizing and heating the liquid ammonia, and supplying the ammonia as fuel; a combustion engine burning the liquid ammonia received from the fuel supply unit and generating power; a selective catalytic reduction reactor connected to an exhaust pipe discharging the exhaust gas generated in the combustion engine, and reducing nitrogen oxide included in the exhaust gas; an ammonia supply pipe providing the selective catalytic reduction reactor with the gaseous ammonia generated by natural vaporization from the fuel tank; and a scrubber connected to the exhaust pipe on a rear end of the selective catalytic reduction reactor, and making the exhaust gas come in contact with cleaning water, and removing the ammonia included in the exhaust gas. The vaporizing unit receives the liquid ammonia from the fuel supply unit, and forcibly vaporizes the liquid ammonia, and provides the ammonia supply pipe with the gaseous ammonia. The present invention aims to provide an ammonia fuel power generation apparatus which is capable of minimizing the emission of ammonia into the atmosphere.

Description

Ammonia fuel power generating unit

The present invention relates to an ammonia fuel power generator, and more particularly, to generate power by burning liquid ammonia, so it is possible to prevent the generation of carbon dioxide, and to minimize the emission of ammonia to the atmosphere, thereby facilitating the strengthened regulation of the International Maritime Organization. It relates to an ammonia fuel power generator that can satisfy you.

In general, various engines installed in ships generate power by burning fossil fuels, and exhaust gas generated during the combustion of fuels includes nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon dioxide, and the like. As air pollution increases, regulations on various harmful substances included in exhaust gas are becoming stricter, and not only nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, but also carbon dioxide are subject to emission regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations oxidation agency. are receiving In fact, the International Maritime Organization limits the sulfur content of fuel to 0.5% in the global area as well as in the Emission Control Area (ECA) from 2020, and reduces the carbon dioxide emission from 2008 to 2030. It is in the process of reducing it by 40% and reducing it by 70% by 2050. Accordingly, development of an eco-friendly ship that generates power using a low-carbon or decarbonized fuel is required, and liquid ammonia, which does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion, is emerging as one of the next-generation eco-friendly fuels.

On the other hand, the exhaust gas generated during combustion of liquid ammonia contains nitrogen oxides, unburned ammonia, and the like. Nitrogen oxides can be reduced through selective catalytic reduction (SCR), but unburned ammonia is not reduced in the selective catalytic reduction reactor. Therefore, in the related art, there is a problem in that the exhaust gas is discharged into the atmosphere while containing unburned ammonia, so that there is a high risk of explosion due to ammonia.

Accordingly, there is a need for a power generator capable of minimizing the emission of ammonia to the atmosphere while preventing the generation of carbon dioxide.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0089454 (2011. 08. 08.)

The technical task of the present invention is to generate power by burning liquid ammonia, so it is possible to prevent the generation of carbon dioxide, and ammonia fuel that can easily satisfy the strengthened International Maritime Organization regulations by minimizing the emission of ammonia to the atmosphere to provide a power generator.

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

Ammonia fuel power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, a fuel tank for storing liquid ammonia therein, receiving the liquid ammonia from the fuel tank, pressurizing and heating to supply as fuel A fuel supply unit, a combustion engine for generating power by burning the liquid ammonia supplied from the fuel supply unit, and nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas connected to an exhaust pipe for discharging exhaust gas generated from the combustion engine It is connected to a selective catalytic reduction reactor that reduces It includes a scrubber for removing ammonia contained in the exhaust gas by gas-liquid contact with the washing water.

The washing water may be ballast water supplied from the ballast water tank.

The ammonia fuel power generator includes a washing water supply pipe connecting the ballast water tank and the scrubber to supply the washing water to the scrubber, and the washing water discharged from the scrubber by connecting the scrubber and the ballast water tank. It may further include a washing water recovery pipe for recovering to the ballast water tank.

The ammonia fuel power generator further includes a sensor unit installed in the exhaust pipe in front of the scrubber to measure the concentration of ammonia included in the exhaust gas, wherein the washing water supply pipe has a concentration of ammonia measured by the sensor unit. If it exceeds the standard value, it can be opened.

The fuel supply unit is connected to a fuel supply pipe connecting the fuel tank and the combustion engine to increase the supply pressure of the liquid ammonia, and the liquid ammonia is connected to the fuel supply pipe and supplied to the combustion engine. It may include a heat exchanger to increase the temperature.

According to the present invention, since liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank is supplied to the combustion engine and used as fuel, carbon dioxide is not generated during combustion of the combustion engine, thereby satisfying the carbon dioxide emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization.

In addition, since a selective catalytic reduction reactor for reducing nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas is installed on the exhaust pipe through which the exhaust gas is discharged, it is possible to satisfy the nitrogen oxide emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization.

In addition, since a scrubber for reducing unburned ammonia contained in the exhaust gas is installed in the exhaust pipe at the rear end of the selective catalytic reduction reactor, ammonia emission to the atmosphere is minimized, which can satisfy the ammonia emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization. It can also reduce the risk of explosion.

1 is a view showing an ammonia fuel power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 and 3 are operational diagrams for explaining the operation of the ammonia fuel power generator.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains It is provided to fully inform those who have the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, an ammonia fuel power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

The ammonia fuel power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention satisfies the International Maritime Organization's carbon dioxide emission regulations because liquid ammonia stored in a fuel tank is supplied to a combustion engine and used as fuel, so that carbon dioxide is not generated during combustion of the combustion engine. can do it In addition, since a selective catalytic reduction reactor for reducing nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas is installed on the exhaust pipe through which the exhaust gas is discharged, it is possible to satisfy the nitrogen oxide emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization. In addition, since a scrubber for reducing unburned ammonia contained in the exhaust gas is installed in the exhaust pipe at the rear end of the selective catalytic reduction reactor, ammonia emission to the atmosphere is minimized, which can satisfy the ammonia emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization. It also has features that can reduce the risk of explosion.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, the ammonia fuel power generator 1 will be described in detail.

1 is a view showing an ammonia fuel power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Ammonia fuel power generator (1) according to the present invention includes a fuel tank (10), a fuel supply unit (20), a combustion engine (30), a selective catalytic reduction reactor (40), an ammonia supply pipe (50), and a scrubber 60 .

The fuel tank 10 is a tank that stores liquid ammonia by maintaining a constant pressure inside, and is formed as a membrane-type atmospheric tank with an internal pressure of 1 barg or less, or a C-type pressurized tank with an internal pressure exceeding 1 barg but less than 10 barg. can be formed. When the fuel tank 10 is a membrane-type atmospheric tank, the temperature of the liquid ammonia stored therein may be -18.3° C. or less, and when the fuel tank 10 is a C-type pressurized tank, the temperature of the liquid ammonia stored therein may be greater than -18.3°C but less than 28°C. By forming the fuel tank 10 as an atmospheric tank of 1 barg or less or as a pressurized tank of less than 10 barg, the tank design cost can be reduced compared to the conventional case using a high-pressure tank, and the tank weight can be reduced, thereby reducing the operating cost of the vessel There are advantages to reducing it. The liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank 10 is supplied to the combustion engine 30 by the fuel supply unit 20 .

The fuel supply unit 20 receives liquid ammonia from the fuel tank 10 and supplies it as fuel by pressurizing and heating it, and includes a fuel supply pipe 21 , a boosting pump 22 , and a heat exchanger 23 . .

The fuel supply pipe 21 is a pipe for supplying liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank 10 to the combustion engine 30 , and both ends are connected to the fuel tank 10 and the combustion engine 30 , respectively. It connects between the combustion engines 30 . The combustion engine 30 is a device for generating power by burning liquid ammonia supplied from the fuel supply unit 20 , and may be, for example, an ammonia engine. One end of the fuel supply pipe 21 passes through the fuel tank 10 and is connected to the low pressure pump 11 installed inside the fuel tank 10 , and the other end extends to the outside of the fuel tank 10 and is connected to the combustion engine 30 . can be connected As one end of the fuel supply pipe 21 is connected to the low-pressure pump 11 , the liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank 10 is pumped by the low-pressure pump 11 to flow through the fuel supply pipe 21 . . A boost pump 22 and a heat exchanger 23 are connected on the fuel supply pipe 21 . The boosting pump 22 increases the supply pressure of the liquid ammonia supplied from the fuel tank 10 , and at least one of the booster pumps 22 may be connected to the fuel supply pipe 21 . The boosting pump 22 pressurizes the liquid ammonia above the pressure required by the combustion engine 30 , and the pressurized liquid ammonia may move to the heat exchanger 23 through the fuel supply pipe 21 . The heat exchanger 23 increases the temperature of liquid ammonia supplied to the combustion engine 30 , and heat exchanges with fresh water or glycol water to increase the temperature of liquid ammonia. That is, the liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank 10 sequentially passes through the booster pump 22 and the heat exchanger 23, is pressurized and heated, and then is supplied to the combustion engine 30 through the fuel supply pipe 21 to be used as fuel. do. Since the combustion engine 30 generates power by burning liquid ammonia, carbon dioxide is not generated, so it is possible to satisfy the carbon dioxide emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization. Although the figure shows that the heat exchanger 23 is installed on the fuel supply pipe 21 at the rear end of the booster pump 22, the present invention is not limited thereto. It may be installed on the fuel supply pipe 21 .

Meanwhile, the exhaust gas generated from the combustion engine 30 is discharged through the exhaust pipe 31 , and the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 and the scrubber 60 may be sequentially connected on the exhaust pipe 31 .

The selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 reduces nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas by contacting ammonia with the exhaust gas, and may receive ammonia through the ammonia supply pipe 50 . The ammonia supply pipe 50 is a pipe that provides gaseous ammonia generated by natural vaporization from the fuel tank 10 to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40, and one end is connected to the upper end of the fuel tank 10 and the other end is selective catalytic reduction. connected to the reactor 40 . As described above, the fuel tank 10 is formed as an atmospheric tank of 1 barg or less or a pressurized tank of less than 10 barg, which has the advantage of reducing tank design cost and tank weight. can be Alternatively, liquid ammonia may be naturally vaporized due to causes such as sloshing. Ammonia generated by natural vaporization of liquid ammonia causes various problems, such as accelerating vaporization of liquid ammonia by increasing the pressure inside the tank. It can be supplied to the reactor (40). By supplying the gaseous ammonia generated by natural vaporization in the fuel tank 10 to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40, it is possible to reduce the tank internal pressure, as well as produce ammonia in the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 Since there is no need to pyrolyze the urea water for this purpose, the cost can be reduced and the device configuration can be simplified. The selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 uses gaseous ammonia as a reducing agent, but gaseous ammonia has disadvantages in that it is difficult to store and use because of its high explosive risk and corrosiveness. Therefore, conventionally, urea water capable of generating ammonia is stored in a tank, and when necessary, urea water is thermally decomposed in a selective catalytic reduction reactor to convert it into gaseous ammonia and used. However, in the present invention, since the gaseous ammonia produced by natural vaporization of liquid ammonia in the fuel tank 10 is directly supplied to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 and used, a tank for storing urea water and urea water are pyrolyzed Since a separate heat source is not required for heating, the device can be configured simply. The ammonia supplied to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 passes through the catalyst layer installed inside the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 together with the exhaust gas to reduce nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas to nitrogen and water. The exhaust gas with reduced nitrogen oxide moves to the scrubber 60 along the exhaust pipe 31 .

The scrubber 60 removes unburned ammonia contained in the exhaust gas by bringing the washing water into gas-liquid contact with the exhaust gas. In this case, the washing water may be ballast water supplied from the ballast water tank 70 . That is, the scrubber 60 removes unburned ammonia contained in the exhaust gas by bringing the exhaust gas supplied through the exhaust pipe 31 into gas-liquid contact with the ballast water supplied from the ballast water tank 70 . Since gaseous ammonia is well soluble in water, when the exhaust gas and ballast water are in gas-liquid contact, ammonia is dissolved in the ballast water and can be removed from the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas from which nitrogen oxides and unburned ammonia have been removed while passing through the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 and the scrubber 60 in turn satisfies the nitrogen oxide emission regulations and ammonia emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization, so it is atmospheric through the exhaust pipe 31 can be released during

A washing water supply pipe 71 and a washing water return pipe 72 may be connected to the scrubber 60 .

The washing water supply pipe 71 is a pipe for supplying washing water to the scrubber 60 by connecting the ballast water tank 70 and the scrubber 60, and has one end of a pump installed in the ballast water tank 70 (reference numeral not shown). ) and the other end passes through the top of the scrubber 60 and extends into the scrubber 60 . A plurality of spray nozzles (not shown) are installed at the other end of the cleaning water supply pipe 71 extending into the scrubber 60 to spray the cleaning water in the form of fine particles. As the washing water is sprayed in the form of fine particles, the gas-liquid contact area between the exhaust gas and the washing water increases, thereby increasing the ammonia removal effect. The washing water supply pipe 71 is connected to the sensor unit 32 to control opening and closing, and the sensor unit 32 is installed in the exhaust pipe 31 in front of the scrubber 60 to measure the ammonia concentration contained in the exhaust gas. have. For example, when the concentration of ammonia measured by the sensor unit 32 is a reference value, for example, 20 ppm or more, which is an allowable concentration of air emission, the washing water supply pipe 71 is opened and installed on the washing water supply pipe 71 at the same time. A pump (not shown) may operate to supply washing water to the scrubber 60 . Conversely, when the concentration of ammonia measured by the sensor unit 32 is less than the reference value, the washing water supply pipe 71 may be closed and the operation of the pump may be stopped.

The washing water recovery pipe 72 connects the scrubber 60 and the ballast water tank 70 to recover the washing water discharged from the scrubber 60 to the ballast water tank 70, and has one end of the scrubber 60. It is connected to the lower end and the other end is connected to the ballast water tank (70). If necessary, a separate water treatment unit (not shown) may be installed in the washing water return pipe 72 to adjust the ammonia concentration of the washing water recovered to the ballast water tank 70 .

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the operation of the ammonia fuel power generator 1 will be described in more detail.

2 and 3 are operational diagrams for explaining the operation of the ammonia fuel power generator.

In the ammonia fuel power generator 1 according to the present invention, since liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank 10 is supplied to the combustion engine 30 and used as fuel, carbon dioxide is not generated during combustion of the combustion engine 30, so It can satisfy the CO2 emission regulations of the Maritime Organization. In addition, since the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 for reducing nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas is installed on the exhaust pipe 31 through which the exhaust gas is discharged, it is possible to satisfy the nitrogen oxide emission regulations of the International Maritime Organization. In addition, since the scrubber 60 for reducing unburned ammonia contained in the exhaust gas is installed in the exhaust pipe 31 at the rear end of the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40, ammonia emission to the atmosphere is minimized, thereby complying with the International Maritime Organization's ammonia emission regulation. It can be satisfied as well as reduce the risk of explosion caused by ammonia.

2 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the ammonia fuel power generator when the ammonia concentration of the exhaust gas measured by the sensor unit is less than a reference value.

The liquid ammonia stored in the fuel tank 10 is supplied to the fuel supply pipe 21 , passes through the booster pump 22 and the heat exchanger 23 in sequence, and is pressurized and heated to the pressure and temperature required by the combustion engine 30 . The pressurized and heated liquid ammonia is supplied to the combustion engine 30 through the fuel supply pipe 21 , and the combustion engine 30 burns the liquid ammonia to generate power. In the combustion engine 30 , exhaust gas according to the combustion of liquid ammonia is generated, and the generated exhaust gas is discharged through the exhaust pipe 31 and supplied to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 . At this time, gaseous ammonia generated by natural vaporization of liquid ammonia in the fuel tank 10 is supplied to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 through the ammonia supply pipe 50 . The exhaust gas and ammonia supplied to the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 pass through the catalyst layer together, and thereby, nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas can be reduced to nitrogen and water. The exhaust gas from which nitrogen oxides have been removed moves to the scrubber 60 along the exhaust pipe 31 . The sensor unit 32 measures the ammonia concentration contained in the exhaust gas moving to the scrubber 60, and when the ammonia concentration measured by the sensor unit 32 is less than the reference value, the washing water supply pipe 71 is closed. maintain. Accordingly, the exhaust gas is discharged into the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe 31 after passing through the scrubber 60 as it is.

3 is a view showing the operation of the ammonia fuel power generator when the ammonia concentration of the exhaust gas measured by the sensor unit is equal to or greater than a reference value.

The exhaust gas from which nitrogen oxides are removed in the selective catalytic reduction reactor 40 moves to the scrubber 60 along the exhaust pipe 31, and at this time, the sensor unit 32 measures the concentration of ammonia contained in the exhaust gas. . When the ammonia concentration measured by the sensor unit 32 is equal to or greater than the reference value, the washing water supply pipe 71 is opened and a pump installed on the washing water supply pipe 71 operates to supply washing water to the scrubber 60 . As the washing water is supplied to the scrubber 60, ammonia contained in the exhaust gas may be dissolved and removed from the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas from which ammonia has been removed is discharged into the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe 31 . The washing water contaminated by dissolving ammonia is recovered to the ballast water tank 70 through the washing water return pipe 72 .

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can realize that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without changing its technical spirit or essential features. you will be able to understand Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

1: Ammonia fuel power generator
10: fuel tank 11: low pressure pump
20: fuel supply unit 21: fuel supply pipe
22: booster pump 23: heat exchanger
30: combustion engine 31: exhaust pipe
32: sensor unit 40: selective catalytic reduction reactor
50: ammonia supply pipe 60: scrubber
70: ballast water tank 71: washing water supply pipe
72: washing water recovery pipe

Claims (5)

a fuel tank for storing liquid ammonia therein;
a fuel supply unit that receives the liquid ammonia from the fuel tank, pressurizes and heats it, and supplies it as fuel;
a combustion engine for generating power by burning the liquid ammonia supplied from the fuel supply unit;
a selective catalytic reduction reactor connected to an exhaust pipe for discharging exhaust gas generated from the combustion engine to reduce nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas;
An ammonia supply pipe for providing gaseous ammonia generated by natural vaporization from the fuel tank to the selective catalytic reduction reactor, and
and a scrubber connected to the exhaust pipe at the rear end of the selective catalytic reduction reactor and removing ammonia contained in the exhaust gas by bringing washing water into gas-liquid contact with the exhaust gas. According to claim 1,
The washing water is an ammonia fuel power generator that is ballast water supplied from a ballast water tank. 3. The method of claim 2,
a washing water supply pipe connecting the ballast water tank and the scrubber to supply the washing water to the scrubber;
and a washing water recovery pipe connecting the scrubber and the ballast water tank to recover the washing water discharged from the scrubber to the ballast water tank. 4. The method of claim 3,
Further comprising a sensor unit installed in the exhaust pipe in front of the scrubber to measure the concentration of ammonia contained in the exhaust gas,
The washing water supply pipe is opened when the concentration of ammonia measured by the sensor unit is greater than or equal to a reference value. According to claim 1, wherein the fuel supply unit,
a boosting pump connected to a fuel supply pipe connecting the fuel tank and the combustion engine to increase the supply pressure of the liquid ammonia;
Ammonia fuel power generator including a heat exchanger connected to the fuel supply pipe to increase the temperature of the liquid ammonia supplied to the combustion engine.

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