Gas separation: processes – Degasification of liquid – And subsequent handling of evolved gas – stripping gas – or...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-30
2001-07-03
Smith, Duane S. (Department: 1724)
Gas separation: processes
Degasification of liquid
And subsequent handling of evolved gas, stripping gas, or...
C095S266000, C096S193000, C261S077000, C261S093000, C261SDIG007
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254667
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for the treatment, for global environmental protection, of a carbon dioxide-containing gas discharged in a large quantity from, for example, thermoelectric power plants and iron mills and, more specifically, to a method for dissolving carbon dioxide in seawater and discharging the carbon dioxide-dissolved seawater to a deep sea level. The present invention is also directed to an apparatus for carrying out the above method.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,837 (Saito et al) discloses method and apparatus for dissolving carbon dioxide gas discharged from, for example, thermoelectric power plants into seawater and isolating it at a deep sea level. The apparatus includes an inverted J-shaped gas lift having a shorter pipe and a longer pipe connected with each other at a top of the J-shaped gas lift. The shorter pipe is held at a shallow sea level, while the longer pipe is opened at a deep sea level. When carbon dioxide gas is injected into the lower end of the shorter pipe, the seawater is introduced into the shorter pipe by gas lift action of the carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide fed is completely dissolved into the seawater before it reaches the upper end of the shorter pipe. Because of an increased density of the seawater due to dissolution of carbon dioxide, because of a higher pressure within the upper end than an outside pressure and because of the force of inertia, the seawater is then moved down through the longer pipe and discharged from its lower end located at a deep sea level.
The above technique which does not require liquefaction of CO
2
gas and which ensures environmental protection is promising. However, the known method has a problem because the CO
2
, gas to be treated should have a high purity and should not contain gases, such as N
2
and O
2
, which are hardly soluble in seawater. Thus, such insoluble gases will be discharged from the end of the long pipe together with the CO
2
-dissolved seawater to form a large amount of bubbles. Thus, prior to the treatment with the above apparatus, the CO
2
gas must be pretreated to obtain a high purity CO
2
gas at a large cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to overcome the above problem of the known technique.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating a carbon dioxide-containing gas, comprising:
providing a J-shaped pipe including a shorter pipe having a first open end, a longer pipe having a second open end, and a connecting portion by which said shorter and longer pipes are connected with each other, such that said first and second open ends represent opposite ends of said J-shaped pipe;
positioning said J-shaped pipe under the sea such that said shorter and longer pipes extend downward from said connecting portion;
injecting the carbon dioxide-containing gas into a portion of said shorter pipe adjacent to said first open end into said shorter pipe so that seawater is forced to enter said first open end, to flow upward together with the carbon dioxide-containing gas through said shorter pipe, to flow downward through said longer pipe and to be discharged from said second open end, with the carbon dioxide being dissolved in the seawater during the passage of the carbon dioxide-containing gas through said shorter pipe; and
extracting an insoluble gas, which remains undissolved in the seawater during the passage of the carbon dioxide-containing gas through said shorter pipe, from the seawater in said connecting portion, so that the seawater discharged from said second open end contains carbon dioxide dissolved therein.
In another aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for treating a carbon dioxide-containing gas, comprising:
an inverted J-shaped pipe disposed under the sea and including a shorter pipe having a first open end, a longer pipe having a second open end, and a connecting portion by which said shorter and longer pipes are connected with each other such that said shorter and longer pipes extend downward from said connecting portion with said first and second open ends representing opposite ends of said inverted J-shaped pipe;
injection means for injecting the carbon dioxide-containing gas into a portion of said short pipe adjacent to said first open end into said shorter pipe; and
accumulation means in fluid communication with said connecting portion of said J-shaped pipe for collecting an insoluble gas, which remains undissolved in the seawater during the passage of the carbon dioxide-containing gas through said shorter pipe, from the seawater in said connecting portion,
whereby, as a result of the injection of the carbon dioxide-containing gas by said injection means, the seawater is forced to enter said first open end, to flow upward together with the carbon dioxide-containing gas through said shorter pipe, to flow downward through said longer pipe and to be discharged from said second open end, with the carbon dioxide being dissolved in the seawater during the passage of the carbon dioxide-containing gas through said shorter pipe, so that the seawater discharged from said second open end contains carbon dioxide dissolved therein.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3794303 (1974-02-01), Hirshon
patent: 4045336 (1977-08-01), Isteri
patent: 4180980 (1980-01-01), Marks et al.
patent: 4239150 (1980-12-01), Hays et al.
patent: 4293506 (1981-10-01), Lipert
patent: 4724086 (1988-02-01), Kortmann
patent: 5662837 (1997-09-01), Saito et al.
patent: 5741443 (1998-04-01), Gemza
Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 1996, No. 3.
Kajishima Takeo
Saito Takayuki
Tsuchiya Katsumi
Director--General of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology
Lorusso & Loud
Smith Duane S.
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