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CN-122003544-A - Fuel tank arrangement, ship and method for cooling fuel comprising ammonia

CN122003544ACN 122003544 ACN122003544 ACN 122003544ACN-122003544-A

Abstract

A fuel tank arrangement (1) for a marine vessel (2) comprises a fuel tank (3) comprising a housing (4) and a tank connection space (6) connected to the fuel tank (3), the housing defining a fuel space (5) for storing fuel within the housing (4). The tank connection space (6) comprises an airtight compartment containing a tank penetration and a tank valve (7) for fuel, the inlet of the tank connection space (6) being provided by a first space (26), the first space (26) comprising an airtight compartment isolated from the tank connection space (6), and a first fuel outlet (8) provided in the housing (4) of the fuel tank (3), within the tank connection space (6) and connected to the first fuel line (9). The tank connection space (6) further comprises a first fuel inlet (10) connected to the second fuel line (11) and a first heat exchanger (14) arranged downstream of the first fuel line (9) and upstream of the second fuel line (11). The first fuel outlet (8) is arranged in the region of the lowest 30% of the fuel space (5) of the fuel tank (3) for connecting the fuel tank (3) to the first fuel line (9), the second fuel line (11) and the first heat exchanger (14) forming at least part of a supercooling circuit (28) for the fuel, wherein the first heat exchanger (14) is configured to cool the fuel arranged in the supercooling circuit, and the supercooling circuit (28) is arranged within the tank connection space (6).

Inventors

  • E. Delso
  • R. Ensbo
  • R. Wahlberg
  • P. Saxony
  • K. Gast Givars
  • M. Sandvik

Assignees

  • 瓦锡兰芬兰有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20231019

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A fuel tank arrangement for a marine vessel, wherein the fuel tank arrangement comprises A fuel tank including a housing defining a fuel space for storing fuel therein, and a tank connection space connected to the fuel tank, wherein the tank connection space includes An airtight compartment comprising a tank penetration and a tank valve for fuel, an inlet of the tank connection space being provided by a first space comprising an airtight compartment isolated from the tank connection space, and A first fuel outlet provided in the housing of the fuel tank, located in the tank connection space, and connected to a first fuel line, characterized in that, The tank connecting space further comprises A first fuel inlet provided in the housing, located within the tank connection space, and connected to a second fuel line, and A first heat exchanger disposed downstream of the first fuel line and upstream of the second fuel line, wherein The first fuel outlet is provided in the region of the lowest 30% of the fuel space of the fuel tank for connecting the fuel tank to the first fuel line, The first fuel line, the second fuel line, and the first heat exchanger form at least a portion of a subcooling circuit for the fuel, wherein the first heat exchanger is configured to cool fuel disposed in the subcooling circuit, and The supercooling circuit is disposed in the tank connecting space.
  2. 2. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supercooling circuit further includes a first pump for circulating the fuel in the supercooling circuit.
  3. 3. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first heat exchanger is provided downstream of the first pump.
  4. 4. A fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sub-cooling circuit forms part of a cooling system of the fuel, wherein the cooling system further comprises a cooling unit.
  5. 5. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the cooling unit is provided in a second space outside the tank connection space.
  6. 6. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the cooling unit includes a heat pump.
  7. 7. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the tank connection space further includes: A third fuel line configured to supply fuel to one or more consumers.
  8. 8. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, The subcooling circuit and a fuel supply to the one or more consumers share the first fuel outlet, the first fuel line and the first pump, Thus, the same pump is configured to circulate fuel in the subcooling circuit and deliver fuel to the consumer.
  9. 9. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the tank connection space further includes a second fuel outlet provided in the housing, located within the tank connection space, and connected to the third fuel line.
  10. 10. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a device for heating fuel to be supplied to the one or more consumers is provided in the third fuel line upstream of the consumers.
  11. 11. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the device for heating fuel to be supplied to the one or more consumption devices is provided outside the tank connection space.
  12. 12. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 11, wherein the first fuel line between the first fuel outlet and the first pump does not include any device for heating the fuel received from the fuel tank, whereby, in the supercooling circuit, the temperature of the fuel is affected only by cooling the fuel.
  13. 13. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the tank connection space further includes a return line for receiving excess fuel from one or more consumers, the return line being connected to the fuel tank via the second fuel line or to the fuel tank via a second fuel inlet provided in the housing and located within the tank connection space.
  14. 14. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 13, wherein at least one of the consumption devices includes an engine.
  15. 15. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the supercooling circuit further includes a recirculation line that connects the second fuel line downstream of the first heat exchanger to the first fuel line upstream of the first pump.
  16. 16. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the tank connection space further includes an auxiliary fuel tank provided downstream of the first heat exchanger and upstream of the first fuel inlet.
  17. 17. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the first fuel outlet is provided in a region of a lowest 20% of the fuel space.
  18. 18. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first fuel outlet is provided in a region of a lowest 10% of the fuel space.
  19. 19. The fuel tank apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the first fuel outlet is provided at a bottom of the fuel space.
  20. 20. The fuel tank apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the tank connection space is provided with a first ventilation device, and the first space is provided with a second ventilation device, whereby the first space and the tank connection space are ventilated separately from each other.

Description

Fuel tank arrangement, ship and method for cooling fuel comprising ammonia Technical Field The present disclosure relates to ships, and more particularly to a fuel tank arrangement and a method for cooling fuel containing ammonia. Background Fuels used in marine vessels, such as ammonia, may be harmful and/or explosive or result in the formation of harmful and/or explosive mixtures or compounds, such as with air. This must be considered when designing a structure for holding, transferring and handling such fuel. For example, tank penetrations, pipes, meters, manholes and similar structures associated with fuel tanks are considered potential risk areas for leaks. Disclosure of Invention It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a new fuel tank arrangement, a vessel and a method for cooling a fuel comprising ammonia. The object of the present disclosure is achieved by a method and an apparatus, which are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. Some embodiments of the disclosure are disclosed in the dependent claims. The present disclosure is based on an arrangement in which a supercooling circuit of fuel is provided in a gastight tank connection space of a fuel tank. An advantage of the method and apparatus of the present disclosure is that liquid fuel from a fuel tank may be cooled and returned to the fuel tank within an airtight space connected to the fuel tank. Thus, even a possible leak will be safely maintained in the tank connection space. Drawings Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in more detail by preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 to 11 schematically show different embodiments of the fuel tank arrangement, Figure 12 schematically illustrates a cooling system according to an embodiment, FIG. 13 schematically illustrates a vessel, an Fig. 14 schematically shows a method for cooling a fuel comprising ammonia. The figures are shown for illustrative purposes and are not to scale. Similar features in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. For purposes of clarity, not all features are provided with a reference numeral in all figures. Detailed Description The present disclosure relates to a fuel tank arrangement for a vessel, a vessel and a method for cooling a fuel comprising ammonia. Fig. 1 to 11 schematically show different embodiments of a fuel tank arrangement 1. According to one aspect, the fuel tank arrangement 1, more particularly the fuel tank arrangement 1 adapted for use in a vessel 2, comprises a fuel tank 3. The fuel tank 3 includes a housing 4. The housing 4 defines a fuel space 5 for storing fuel inside the housing 4. The fuel tank apparatus 1 further includes a tank connection space 6 connected to the fuel tank 3. The tank connection space 6 comprises an airtight compartment accommodating a tank penetration and a tank valve 7 for fuel, an inlet to the tank connection space 6 provided through the first space 26, a first fuel outlet 8 and a first fuel inlet 10. In other words, the tank penetration and the tank valve for fuel, preferably all tank penetrations and tank valves for fuel, may be arranged in the tank connection space 6. The tank penetration means a penetration provided in the housing 4 of the fuel tank 3 for transporting fuel into and out of the fuel space 5. The tank penetrations may include, for example, the fuel inlets and fuel outlets mentioned in this disclosure, such as the first fuel outlet 8, the first fuel inlet 9, the second fuel outlet 19, the second fuel inlet 24, etc. The tank valve 7 may comprise a tank related valve for fuel, such as those shown in the figures. The first space 26 comprises an airtight compartment isolated from the tank connection space 6. The first fuel outlet 8 is provided in the housing 4 of the fuel tank 3 within the tank connection space 6 and is connected to a first fuel line 9. The first fuel outlet 8 is arranged in the region of the lowest 30% of the fuel space 5 of the fuel tank 3 for connecting the fuel tank 3 to the first fuel line 9. According to an embodiment, the first fuel outlet 8 arranged in the region of the lowest 30% of the fuel space 5 enables liquid phase fuel to be received via the first fuel outlet 8 to the first fuel line 9. According to an embodiment, the first fuel outlet 8 may be arranged in the region of the lowest 20% of the fuel space 5, preferably in the region of the lowest 10% of the fuel space 5, and most preferably the first fuel outlet 8 may be arranged in the bottom 12 of the fuel space 5. A first fuel inlet 10 is provided in the housing 4, located in the tank connection space 6 and connected to a second fuel line 11. The tank connection space 6 further comprises a first heat exchanger 14 arranged downstream of the first fuel line 9 and upstream of the second fuel line 11. The first fuel line 9, the second fuel line 11 and the first heat exchanger 14 form at least part of a subcooling circuit 28 for