US2522787A - Method of and apparatus for liquefying gases - Google Patents

Method of and apparatus for liquefying gases Download PDF

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US2522787A
US2522787A US32493A US3249348A US2522787A US 2522787 A US2522787 A US 2522787A US 32493 A US32493 A US 32493A US 3249348 A US3249348 A US 3249348A US 2522787 A US2522787 A US 2522787A
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gases
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stage
gas
compressor
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Darrel W Hughes
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Phillips Petroleum Co
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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0243—Start-up or control of the process; Details of the apparatus used; Details of the refrigerant compression system used
    • F25J1/0257—Construction and layout of liquefaction equipments, e.g. valves, machines
    • F25J1/0262—Details of the cold heat exchange system
    • F25J1/0264—Arrangement of heat exchanger cores in parallel with different functions, e.g. different cooling streams
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/003—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the kind of cold generation within the liquefaction unit for compensating heat leaks and liquid production
    • F25J1/0032—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the kind of cold generation within the liquefaction unit for compensating heat leaks and liquid production using the feed stream itself or separated fractions from it, i.e. "internal refrigeration"
    • F25J1/004—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the kind of cold generation within the liquefaction unit for compensating heat leaks and liquid production using the feed stream itself or separated fractions from it, i.e. "internal refrigeration" by flash gas recovery
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0201—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using only internal refrigeration means, i.e. without external refrigeration
    • F25J1/0202—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using only internal refrigeration means, i.e. without external refrigeration in a quasi-closed internal refrigeration loop
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0203—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using a single-component refrigerant [SCR] fluid in a closed vapor compression cycle
    • F25J1/0208—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using a single-component refrigerant [SCR] fluid in a closed vapor compression cycle in combination with an internal quasi-closed refrigeration loop, e.g. with deep flash recycle loop
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    • F25B9/00—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point
    • F25B9/02—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point using Joule-Thompson effect; using vortex effect
    • F25B9/04—Compression machines, plants or systems, in which the refrigerant is air or other gas of low boiling point using Joule-Thompson effect; using vortex effect using vortex effect
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2205/00—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means
    • F25J2205/10—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means using combined expansion and separation, e.g. in a vortex tube, "Ranque tube" or a "cyclonic fluid separator", i.e. combination of an isentropic nozzle and a cyclonic separator; Centrifugal separation
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2210/00—Processes characterised by the type or other details of the feed stream
    • F25J2210/06—Splitting of the feed stream, e.g. for treating or cooling in different ways
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2270/00—Refrigeration techniques used
    • F25J2270/90—External refrigeration, e.g. conventional closed-loop mechanical refrigeration unit using Freon or NH3, unspecified external refrigeration
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S62/00—Refrigeration
    • Y10S62/902—Apparatus
    • Y10S62/91—Expander

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for liquefying gases.
  • the liquefaction of gases having an extremely low melting point has been ac-' compiished by compressing the gases to be liquefied, and passing the compressed gases through an expansion valve where some of the gases are liquefied due to the Joule-Thomson efiect.
  • all of the gases are passed through the expansion valve and the gases leave the expansion chamber at atmospheric pressure. Accordingly, a considerable amount of power is required for driving the compressor to force the entire volume of gas through the expansion chamber.
  • the figure is a schematic flow diagram 0 my novel gas liquefaction apparatus.
  • the gas liquefaction apparatus includes a multistage compressor, the successive stages of which are indicated by reierence characters II), ll, 12, and [3.
  • the gas to be liquefied is fed through a conduit II to the low pressure stage I 0 and this gas emerges at high pressure from stage l3 from which it passes through a conduit I5 to a multi-stage heat exchanger comprising units l8, I1 and 18.
  • the compressed gases are progressively cooled to lower and lower temperatures and the cooled compressed gases then pass through a line H! into a vortex tube 20.
  • the vortex tube 20 is similar to that shown in U. S. Patent 1,952,281 to G. J. Ranque and its function is to separate the incoming gas into a high temperature stream which emerges through a conduit 2
  • the vortex tube may include a chamber having the shape of a surface of revolution, such as a cylinder, this chamber having an inlet pipe for introducing the gas to be treated tangentially into a central region of the chamber.
  • a gyratory motion is imparted to the fluid as it enters the chamber, and means are provided to divide the gas into two concentric sheets moving along each other so that the outer sheet is compressed by the inner sheet and by the action of centrifugal force.
  • the work thus produced causes a substantial rise in temperature in the outer sheet and a corresponding drop in the temperature of the inner sheet.
  • the stream of low temperature gas passes through conduit 22 and an expansion valve 23 into a liquid accumulator tank 24.
  • the sudden drop in pressure produced by expansion valve 23 causes a portion of the gas stream to be liquefied, due to the Joule- Thomson efiect.
  • the resulting liquid accumulates in tank 24, and may be removed through a conduit 25 which is controlled by a valve 26.
  • pass through a line 21 through coils 28, and in the respective stages of the heat exchanger unit whereby heat exchange occurs between the relatively cold uncondensed gases passing through line 21 and the compressed relatively hot gases passing through conduit l5 from the high pressure compressor stage l3. After passing through the heat exchange coils, the uncondensed gases fiow through a conduit 3
  • the high temperature stream passes through conduit 21 and is controlled by a valve 32 which regulates the proportion of gas passing through the respective conduits 2
  • the high temperature stream from the vortex tube is at a sufliciently high pressure that it may be recycled to the high pressure stage [3 of the compressor rather than to the low pressure stage III.
  • This produces a substantial power saving 3 and thereby reduces the cost of operating the compressor unit.
  • This economy cannot be real-- ized where the entire output of the compressor is passed through the expansion valve.
  • a supplementary refrigeration unit 40 which is provided with inlet 4
  • This unit may advantageously be provided with conduits 43 and N which communicate, respectively, with the output conduit II of the compressor and the conduit connecting heat exchange stages It and II, a valve 45 being provided to regulate the proportion of gases flowing through the supplementary refrigeration unit.
  • Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising. in combination, a gas compressor unit having a low pressure stage and a high pressure stage, a vortex tube for dividing high pressure gas from said compressor into a high temperature stream and a low temperature stream, means for liqueiying a portion of the gas in said low temperature stream, and means for recycling said high temperature stream to the high pressure stage of said compressor.
  • Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a gas compressor unit having a low pressure stage and a high pressure stage, a vortex tube for dividing high pressure gas from said compressor into a high temperature stream and a low temperature stream, means for liquefying a portion of the gas in said low temperature stream, means for recycling said high temperature stream to the high pressure stage of said compressor, and means for effecting heat exchange between the high pressure gas from said compressor, the high temperature gas from said vortex tube, and the uncondensed gases from said liquefying means.
  • Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a multi-stage gas compressor unit, a multi-stage heat exchanger for cooling compressed gases from said unit, a vortex tube for dividing the cooled compressed gases into a stream of relatively high temperature gases and a stream of relatively low temperature gases, an expansion valve for condensing a portion of said stream of low temperature gases, means for conveying the uncondensed gases through each stage of said heat exchanger to the first stage of said compressor, and means for conveying said stream of high temperature gases through the first stages of said heat exchanger to a high pressure stage of said compressor.
  • Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a multi-stage gas compressor unit, a multi-stage heat exchanger, means for feeding a portion of the compressed gases from said unit to the first stage of said heat exchanger, a supplementary cooling unit, means for feeding the rest of said compressed gases through said supplementary cooling unit to a subsequent stage of said heat exchanger, a vortex tube for dividing the cooled compressed gases from the last stage of said heat exchanger into a stream of relatively high temperature gases and a stream of relatively low temperature gases, an expansion valve for condensing a portion of said stream of low temperature gases, means for conveying the uncondensed gases through each stage of said heat exchanger to the first stage of said compressor, and means for conveying said stream of high temperature gases through the first stages of said heat exchanger to a high pressure stage of said compressor.
  • Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a. multi-stage gas compressor unit, a multi-stage heat exchanger, means for feeding a portion of the compressed gases from said unit to the first stage of said heat exchanger,
  • a supplementary cooling unit means for feeding the rest of said compressed gases through said supplementary cooling unit to a subsequent stage of said heat exchanger, a vortex tube for dividing the cooled compressed gases from said heat exchanger into a stream of relatively high temperature gases and a stream of relatively low temperature gases, a valve controlling the high temperature stream thereby to regulate the relative proportions of gases in said streams, an expansion valve for condensing a portion of said stream of low temperature gases, means for conveying the uncondensed gases through each stage of said heat exchanger to the first stage of said compressor, and means for conveying said stream of high temperature gases through the first stages of said heat exchanger to a high pressure stage of said compressor.
  • the steps which consist in compressing the gas to be liquefied, causing the compressed gases to fiow with a gyratory helical motion along a surface of revolution, dividing said gas into two coaxial sheets moving along each other, thereby to provide an outer stream of high temperature gas and an inner stream of low temperature gas, rapidly expanding said low temperature stream to liquefy a portion of the gases including therein, effecting heat exchange between said high temperature stream, the uncondensed gases .in the low temperature stream, and said compressed gases, and recycling the high temperature stream and the uncondensed portion of the low temperature stream.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Separation By Low-Temperature Treatments (AREA)

Description

p 9, 1950 D. w. HUGHES 2,522,787
METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUEFYING GASES Filed June 11, 1948 aoiv'mwnsov N 8 olnol-l 9 Q INVENTOR.
D.W.HUGHE3 BY 2 Z 2 ATTORNEYS GAS INLET Patented Sept. 19, 1950 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR LIQUEFYING GASES Darrel W. Hughes, Bartles ville, kla., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Application June 11, 1948, Serial No. 32,493
7'Claims. 1 This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for liquefying gases.
Heretofore, the liquefaction of gases having an extremely low melting point has been ac-' compiished by compressing the gases to be liquefied, and passing the compressed gases through an expansion valve where some of the gases are liquefied due to the Joule-Thomson efiect. In this process, all of the gases are passed through the expansion valve and the gases leave the expansion chamber at atmospheric pressure. Accordingly, a considerable amount of power is required for driving the compressor to force the entire volume of gas through the expansion chamber.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method of and apparatus for the liquefaction of gases without passing the entire stream through an expansion valve.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus wherein about one-half the stream is returned to the compressor at a high pressure without passing through the expansion valve.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide gas liquefaction apparatus which is simple in construction, reliable in operation, and which contains a minimum of moving parts.
Various other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:
The figure is a schematic flow diagram 0 my novel gas liquefaction apparatus.
Referring now to the drawing in detail, the gas liquefaction apparatus includes a multistage compressor, the successive stages of which are indicated by reierence characters II), ll, 12, and [3. The gas to be liquefied is fed through a conduit II to the low pressure stage I 0 and this gas emerges at high pressure from stage l3 from which it passes through a conduit I5 to a multi-stage heat exchanger comprising units l8, I1 and 18. In the heat exchanger, the compressed gases are progressively cooled to lower and lower temperatures and the cooled compressed gases then pass through a line H! into a vortex tube 20.
The vortex tube 20 is similar to that shown in U. S. Patent 1,952,281 to G. J. Ranque and its function is to separate the incoming gas into a high temperature stream which emerges through a conduit 2| and a low temperature stream which passes through a conduit 22, the pressure being reduced by about .ill per cent as the gas passes through the tube. As set forth in the aforementioned patent, the vortex tube may include a chamber having the shape of a surface of revolution, such as a cylinder, this chamber having an inlet pipe for introducing the gas to be treated tangentially into a central region of the chamber. A gyratory motion is imparted to the fluid as it enters the chamber, and means are provided to divide the gas into two concentric sheets moving along each other so that the outer sheet is compressed by the inner sheet and by the action of centrifugal force. The work thus produced causes a substantial rise in temperature in the outer sheet and a corresponding drop in the temperature of the inner sheet. v
From the vortex tube 20, the stream of low temperature gas passes through conduit 22 and an expansion valve 23 into a liquid accumulator tank 24. The sudden drop in pressure produced by expansion valve 23 causes a portion of the gas stream to be liquefied, due to the Joule- Thomson efiect. The resulting liquid accumulates in tank 24, and may be removed through a conduit 25 which is controlled by a valve 26. The uncondensed gases from the chamber 2| pass through a line 21 through coils 28, and in the respective stages of the heat exchanger unit whereby heat exchange occurs between the relatively cold uncondensed gases passing through line 21 and the compressed relatively hot gases passing through conduit l5 from the high pressure compressor stage l3. After passing through the heat exchange coils, the uncondensed gases fiow through a conduit 3| for recycling to the first or low pressure stage I0 of the compressor.
The high temperature stream passes through conduit 21 and is controlled by a valve 32 which regulates the proportion of gas passing through the respective conduits 2|, 22 and which thereby controls the respective temperatures of the high temperature stream and low temperature stream. From the valve 32, the high temperature stream passes through a conduit 34, to a coil 35 in heat exchanger stage ii, a coil 36 in heat exchanger stage I6, and a conduit 31 from which it is recycled to the high pressure stage l3 of the compressor.
It is a feature of the invention that the high temperature stream from the vortex tube is at a sufliciently high pressure that it may be recycled to the high pressure stage [3 of the compressor rather than to the low pressure stage III. This produces a substantial power saving 3 and thereby reduces the cost of operating the compressor unit. This economy cannot be real-- ized where the entire output of the compressor is passed through the expansion valve.
In some cases, it may be advantageous to provide a supplementary refrigeration unit 40 which is provided with inlet 4| and an outlet 42 for refrigerating fluid. This unit may advantageously be provided with conduits 43 and N which communicate, respectively, with the output conduit II of the compressor and the conduit connecting heat exchange stages It and II, a valve 45 being provided to regulate the proportion of gases flowing through the supplementary refrigeration unit. This substantially increases the output of the system without a proportionate increase in the cost of operation. It will be noted that the only moving parts required in the systemare located in the compressor unit and no moving parts are exposed to extremely low temperatures. This provides increased simplicity and reliability of operation for the liquefaction apparatus.
While the invention has been described in connection with a present, preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that this description is illustrative only and is not intended to limit'the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.
Having described this invention, I claim:
1. Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising. in combination, a gas compressor unit having a low pressure stage and a high pressure stage, a vortex tube for dividing high pressure gas from said compressor into a high temperature stream and a low temperature stream, means for liqueiying a portion of the gas in said low temperature stream, and means for recycling said high temperature stream to the high pressure stage of said compressor.
2. Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a gas compressor unit having a low pressure stage and a high pressure stage, a vortex tube for dividing high pressure gas from said compressor into a high temperature stream and a low temperature stream, means for liquefying a portion of the gas in said low temperature stream, means for recycling said high temperature stream to the high pressure stage of said compressor, and means for effecting heat exchange between the high pressure gas from said compressor, the high temperature gas from said vortex tube, and the uncondensed gases from said liquefying means.
3. Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a multi-stage gas compressor unit, a multi-stage heat exchanger for cooling compressed gases from said unit, a vortex tube for dividing the cooled compressed gases into a stream of relatively high temperature gases and a stream of relatively low temperature gases, an expansion valve for condensing a portion of said stream of low temperature gases, means for conveying the uncondensed gases through each stage of said heat exchanger to the first stage of said compressor, and means for conveying said stream of high temperature gases through the first stages of said heat exchanger to a high pressure stage of said compressor.
4. Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a multi-stage gas compressor unit, a multi-stage heat exchanger, means for feeding a portion of the compressed gases from said unit to the first stage of said heat exchanger, a supplementary cooling unit, means for feeding the rest of said compressed gases through said supplementary cooling unit to a subsequent stage of said heat exchanger, a vortex tube for dividing the cooled compressed gases from the last stage of said heat exchanger into a stream of relatively high temperature gases and a stream of relatively low temperature gases, an expansion valve for condensing a portion of said stream of low temperature gases, means for conveying the uncondensed gases through each stage of said heat exchanger to the first stage of said compressor, and means for conveying said stream of high temperature gases through the first stages of said heat exchanger to a high pressure stage of said compressor.
5. Apparatus for liquefying gases comprising, in combination, a. multi-stage gas compressor unit, a multi-stage heat exchanger, means for feeding a portion of the compressed gases from said unit to the first stage of said heat exchanger,
a supplementary cooling unit, means for feeding the rest of said compressed gases through said supplementary cooling unit to a subsequent stage of said heat exchanger, a vortex tube for dividing the cooled compressed gases from said heat exchanger into a stream of relatively high temperature gases and a stream of relatively low temperature gases, a valve controlling the high temperature stream thereby to regulate the relative proportions of gases in said streams, an expansion valve for condensing a portion of said stream of low temperature gases, means for conveying the uncondensed gases through each stage of said heat exchanger to the first stage of said compressor, and means for conveying said stream of high temperature gases through the first stages of said heat exchanger to a high pressure stage of said compressor.
6. In the art of liquefying gases, the steps which consist in compressing the gas to be liquefied, causing the compressed gases to fiow with a gyratory helical motion along a surface of revolution, dividing said gas into two coaxial sheets moving along each other, thereby to provide an outer stream of high temperature gas and an inner stream of low temperature gas, rapidly expanding said low temperature stream to liquefy a portion of the gases including therein, effecting heat exchange between said high temperature stream, the uncondensed gases .in the low temperature stream, and said compressed gases, and recycling the high temperature stream and the uncondensed portion of the low temperature stream.
7. The process of claim 6 wherein the high temperature stream is recycled to a high pressure region of the compression zone.
BARREL W. HUGHES.
REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:
UNgilTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,901,389 Hazard-Flamand Mar. 14, 1933 1,952,281 Ranque Mar. 27, 1934
US32493A 1948-06-11 1948-06-11 Method of and apparatus for liquefying gases Expired - Lifetime US2522787A (en)

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Cited By (35)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2581168A (en) * 1948-01-12 1952-01-01 Bramley Arthur Throttling process and device
US2669101A (en) * 1952-12-31 1954-02-16 James T Shields Device for heating and cooling vehicles
US2683972A (en) * 1951-10-30 1954-07-20 Phillips Petroleum Co Recovery of natural gas condensate
US2705406A (en) * 1951-11-30 1955-04-05 Union Stock Yards & Transit Co Apparatus and method for shipping and storing volatile hydrocarbons
US2741899A (en) * 1950-10-23 1956-04-17 Linde Robert Albert K Von Cooling of compressed gas
US2758914A (en) * 1950-08-10 1956-08-14 Garrett Corp Purge gas generator with vortex tube cooling
US2839898A (en) * 1950-06-29 1958-06-24 Garrett Corp Multiple vortex tube generator cooling unit
US2839901A (en) * 1950-05-26 1958-06-24 Garrett Corp Evaporative vortex tube refrigeration systems
US2893214A (en) * 1955-06-10 1959-07-07 Shell Dev Generation of cold by expansion of a gas in a vortex tube
US2894371A (en) * 1956-10-17 1959-07-14 Shell Dev Preventing condensation inside a vortex tube
US2929548A (en) * 1956-06-29 1960-03-22 Cooper Bessemer Corp Turbocompressor
US2932173A (en) * 1957-12-13 1960-04-12 Beech Aircraft Corp Method of liquefying helium
US2959020A (en) * 1958-01-29 1960-11-08 Conch Internat Mcthane Ltd Process for the liquefaction and reliquefaction of natural gas
US3116135A (en) * 1960-04-18 1963-12-31 Conch Int Methane Ltd Gas liquefaction process
US3116136A (en) * 1960-11-01 1963-12-31 American Mach & Foundry Gas drying and separation
US3161232A (en) * 1961-08-14 1964-12-15 Hydrocarbon Research Inc Refrigeration-heating circuit
US3197969A (en) * 1964-02-24 1965-08-03 Kinematics Ltd Heating and cooling of air for ventilating, warming and refrigerating purposes
US3296807A (en) * 1965-11-26 1967-01-10 Armco Steel Corp Process and device for the separation of gases
US3628339A (en) * 1970-01-27 1971-12-21 Beckman Instruments Inc Fluid sample stream conditioning
US3672179A (en) * 1969-08-06 1972-06-27 Struthers Energy Systems Inc Gas liquifaction
US3775988A (en) * 1969-05-23 1973-12-04 L Fekete Condensate withdrawal from vortex tube in gas liquification circuit
US3815375A (en) * 1973-07-06 1974-06-11 Vortec Corp Pressure regulating refrigerative air dryer system
US3858403A (en) * 1974-01-30 1975-01-07 Wilkerson Corp Method and apparatus for drying gases
US3889484A (en) * 1974-01-30 1975-06-17 Wilkerson Corp Gas drying method and apparatus
US3968659A (en) * 1974-09-09 1976-07-13 Pilcher David W Process for separating water and liquid hydrocarbons from a fluid flow medium
US4026120A (en) * 1976-04-19 1977-05-31 Halliburton Company Natural gas thermal extraction process and apparatus
DE19621908A1 (en) * 1996-05-31 1997-12-04 Filtan Gmbh Method and device for drying gas, especially natural gas
US6196004B1 (en) 1999-04-05 2001-03-06 W. Stan Lewis Method and apparatus for condensing both water and a plurality of hydrocarbons entrained in a pressurized gas stream
US20070248472A1 (en) * 2004-10-21 2007-10-25 Baumer Klaus Device for Generating Highly Compressed Gas
US20090241563A1 (en) * 2008-03-30 2009-10-01 Jack Lee Supply Method Without Cooling Medium for an Air Conditioner and a System Thereof
US20110056571A1 (en) * 2009-09-08 2011-03-10 Questar Gas Company Methods and systems for reducing pressure of natural gas and methods and systems of delivering natural gas
US20130167557A1 (en) * 2012-01-04 2013-07-04 General Electric Company Power plant
WO2016010505A1 (en) * 2014-07-16 2016-01-21 Tofaş Türk Otomobi̇l Fabri̇kasi A.Ş. A liquid cooling system
RU2587734C1 (en) * 2015-07-06 2016-06-20 Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования "Рыбинский государственный авиационный технический университет имени П.А. Соловьева" Natural gas liquefaction method
RU2772461C2 (en) * 2020-11-17 2022-05-20 Давид Давидович Гайдт Method for liquefying natural gas in a high-pressure circuit

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US1952281A (en) * 1931-12-12 1934-03-27 Giration Des Fluides Sarl Method and apparatus for obtaining from alpha fluid under pressure two currents of fluids at different temperatures

Cited By (40)

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US2581168A (en) * 1948-01-12 1952-01-01 Bramley Arthur Throttling process and device
US2839901A (en) * 1950-05-26 1958-06-24 Garrett Corp Evaporative vortex tube refrigeration systems
US2839898A (en) * 1950-06-29 1958-06-24 Garrett Corp Multiple vortex tube generator cooling unit
US2758914A (en) * 1950-08-10 1956-08-14 Garrett Corp Purge gas generator with vortex tube cooling
US2741899A (en) * 1950-10-23 1956-04-17 Linde Robert Albert K Von Cooling of compressed gas
US2683972A (en) * 1951-10-30 1954-07-20 Phillips Petroleum Co Recovery of natural gas condensate
US2705406A (en) * 1951-11-30 1955-04-05 Union Stock Yards & Transit Co Apparatus and method for shipping and storing volatile hydrocarbons
US2669101A (en) * 1952-12-31 1954-02-16 James T Shields Device for heating and cooling vehicles
US2893214A (en) * 1955-06-10 1959-07-07 Shell Dev Generation of cold by expansion of a gas in a vortex tube
US2929548A (en) * 1956-06-29 1960-03-22 Cooper Bessemer Corp Turbocompressor
US2894371A (en) * 1956-10-17 1959-07-14 Shell Dev Preventing condensation inside a vortex tube
US2932173A (en) * 1957-12-13 1960-04-12 Beech Aircraft Corp Method of liquefying helium
US2959020A (en) * 1958-01-29 1960-11-08 Conch Internat Mcthane Ltd Process for the liquefaction and reliquefaction of natural gas
US3116135A (en) * 1960-04-18 1963-12-31 Conch Int Methane Ltd Gas liquefaction process
US3116136A (en) * 1960-11-01 1963-12-31 American Mach & Foundry Gas drying and separation
US3161232A (en) * 1961-08-14 1964-12-15 Hydrocarbon Research Inc Refrigeration-heating circuit
US3197969A (en) * 1964-02-24 1965-08-03 Kinematics Ltd Heating and cooling of air for ventilating, warming and refrigerating purposes
US3296807A (en) * 1965-11-26 1967-01-10 Armco Steel Corp Process and device for the separation of gases
US3775988A (en) * 1969-05-23 1973-12-04 L Fekete Condensate withdrawal from vortex tube in gas liquification circuit
US3672179A (en) * 1969-08-06 1972-06-27 Struthers Energy Systems Inc Gas liquifaction
US3628339A (en) * 1970-01-27 1971-12-21 Beckman Instruments Inc Fluid sample stream conditioning
US3815375A (en) * 1973-07-06 1974-06-11 Vortec Corp Pressure regulating refrigerative air dryer system
US3858403A (en) * 1974-01-30 1975-01-07 Wilkerson Corp Method and apparatus for drying gases
US3889484A (en) * 1974-01-30 1975-06-17 Wilkerson Corp Gas drying method and apparatus
US3968659A (en) * 1974-09-09 1976-07-13 Pilcher David W Process for separating water and liquid hydrocarbons from a fluid flow medium
US4026120A (en) * 1976-04-19 1977-05-31 Halliburton Company Natural gas thermal extraction process and apparatus
DE19621908A1 (en) * 1996-05-31 1997-12-04 Filtan Gmbh Method and device for drying gas, especially natural gas
US6196004B1 (en) 1999-04-05 2001-03-06 W. Stan Lewis Method and apparatus for condensing both water and a plurality of hydrocarbons entrained in a pressurized gas stream
US20070248472A1 (en) * 2004-10-21 2007-10-25 Baumer Klaus Device for Generating Highly Compressed Gas
US20090241563A1 (en) * 2008-03-30 2009-10-01 Jack Lee Supply Method Without Cooling Medium for an Air Conditioner and a System Thereof
US8156747B2 (en) * 2008-03-30 2012-04-17 Po-Huei Chen Supply method without cooling medium for an air conditioner and a system thereof
US20110056571A1 (en) * 2009-09-08 2011-03-10 Questar Gas Company Methods and systems for reducing pressure of natural gas and methods and systems of delivering natural gas
US8833088B2 (en) * 2009-09-08 2014-09-16 Questar Gas Company Methods and systems for reducing pressure of natural gas and methods and systems of delivering natural gas
US20150000757A1 (en) * 2009-09-08 2015-01-01 Questar Gas Company Methods and systems for reducing pressure of natural gas and methods and systems of delivering natural gas
US9625097B2 (en) * 2009-09-08 2017-04-18 Questar Gas Company Methods and systems for reducing pressure of natural gas and methods and systems of delivering natural gas
US20130167557A1 (en) * 2012-01-04 2013-07-04 General Electric Company Power plant
WO2016010505A1 (en) * 2014-07-16 2016-01-21 Tofaş Türk Otomobi̇l Fabri̇kasi A.Ş. A liquid cooling system
RU2587734C1 (en) * 2015-07-06 2016-06-20 Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования "Рыбинский государственный авиационный технический университет имени П.А. Соловьева" Natural gas liquefaction method
RU2772461C2 (en) * 2020-11-17 2022-05-20 Давид Давидович Гайдт Method for liquefying natural gas in a high-pressure circuit
RU2790214C2 (en) * 2022-11-24 2023-02-15 Мидхат Губайдуллович Хабибуллин Plant for partial liquefaction of natural gas located at the gds

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