Refrigeration – Processes – Defrosting or frost inhibiting
Patent
1997-03-24
1999-02-02
Doerrler, William
Refrigeration
Processes
Defrosting or frost inhibiting
62 93, 62278, F25B 4100, F25B 4700
Patent
active
058650334
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a method and a device for compressing gases and, more particularly, to methods and devices for cooling compressed gases by circulating a refrigerant through heat exchangers over which the gases flow.
A method and a device for compressing gases is already known--according to DE-A1-36 37 071--, in which the gas drawn in through the compressor is previously cooled by a refrigerating drier in a cooling section to below 0.degree. C. The air drawn in by the compressor is in this case suctioned alternatively by one of two parallel connected refrigerating driers. Whilst the suctioned gas is cooled by one of them, the condensate in the form of ice which is produced on cooling the suctioned gas is removed by the other. For this instead of an overcooled refrigerant hot, gaseous refrigerant is supplied to the refrigerating drier to be defrosted, which flows through the heat exchanger arranged in the said refrigerating drier and heats it, so that the ice adhering to the heat exchanger and refrigerating drier defrosts. If the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger is established to be of a temperature in the region of more than +0.degree. C., the supply of hot refrigerant to the heat exchanger is interrupted and expanded, cold refrigerant flows through the heat exchanger again, which leads to a pre-cooling of the heat exchanger. If a desired minimum operating temperature of the heat exchanger is reached, for example -10.degree. C., the air required by the compressor can be suctioned through the pre-cooled heat exchanger again, whereupon the other heat exchanger is defrosted. By means of the alternate cooling and defrosting of the two heat exchangers a continual drawing in of overcooled gas for the compressor is possible, and also by means of pre-cooling any damage that might be caused by ice particles drawn in with the suctioned air can be avoided in the compressor. The cooled refrigerant exiting from the outlet of the heat exchanger on defrosting is guided through lines to a liquid gas tank arranged directly downstream of the condenser arranged after the refrigerant compressor, and is mixed there with the previously cooled refrigerant. By means of the return of the refrigerant exiting from the heat exchanger to be defrosted into the liquid gas tank the effectiveness of such methods and devices is not always satisfactory.
The objective of the present invention is to improve the overall effectiveness of a method and a device for producing dried compressed air.
The problem of the invention is solved by passing liquid refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger being defrosted into the pressure line or connection line of the refrigerant circuit. The advantage of this solution is that the refrigerant exiting the heat exchanger of the refrigerating drier to be defrosted is fed into the refrigerant line directly before the heat exchanger of the other refrigerating drier overcooling the suctioned air, so that heat is drawn from the environment by means of the gasification of the refrigerant exiting the heat exchanger to be defrosted in liquid form, determined by the fall in pressure and the energy required to convert the refrigerant from the liquid to the gaseous state, so that the refrigerant used previously to defrost the heat exchanger to be defrosted can now be used at least partly to cool the gas drawn in by the compressor. The exact regulation of the suction temperature of the gas drawn in though the compressor can be controlled by the expansion valve arranged upstream of the heat exchanger used to overcool the gas, whereby in a surprising manner the pressure and temperature conditions in the refrigerant, which change during the cooling process in the heat exchanger, can be balanced out by the already available control.
This problem of the invention can however also be solved independently hereof by feeding the liquid refrigerant emerging from the heat exchanger being defrosted into the supply line between the expansion valve and the heat exchanger being used to cool the gas. The advanta
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