EP-3894517-B1 - SYSTEM FOR REMOVAL OF WATER FROM OIL

EP3894517B1EP 3894517 B1EP3894517 B1EP 3894517B1EP-3894517-B1

Inventors

FICH, Jens Christian
LEM, Svend Erik Kristiansen

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20191211

Claims (13)

System for removing water from oil from an oil supply, where the system comprises - a housing comprising an inner opening, - an oil inlet tube connecting the oil supply and an oil inlet of the housing, where the oil inlet tube comprises an inlet pump adapted to provide a flow of oil in a direction from said oil supply to said oil inlet, - an oil outlet tube connecting an oil outlet of the housing and the oil supply, where the oil outlet tube comprises an outlet pump adapted to provide a flow of oil in a direction from said oil outlet to said oil supply, - an air inlet tube providing a gas connection between an air supply unit and an air inlet of the housing, and - an air outlet tube providing a gas connection between an air outlet of the housing and the air supply unit, characterised in that - said outlet pump is adapted to provide a flow at a higher pumping flow rate than the pumping flow rate provided by said inlet pump, and in that - said oil outlet is arranged at a vertically higher location than said oil inlet.
System according to claim 1, characterised in that the air outlet is arranged vertically above said oil outlet.
System according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that a first part of the inner opening of said housing is arranged downstream of said oil inlet and upstream of said oil outlet.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the system further comprises a heating element arranged upstream of said oil outlet.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that the air inlet of the housing is arranged downstream of said oil inlet.
System according to any of the preceding claims 2-4, characterised in that the housing further comprises a porous material arranged in said first part of said inner opening.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said porous material is arranged at least partly downstream of said air inlet.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said air outlet is arranged at a second part of the inner opening of said housing, said second part being arranged vertically above said oil outlet.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that said system further comprises an oil filter arranged in the oil outlet tube.
System according to claim 8, characterised in that said oil filter is arranged downstream of the outlet pump.
System according to any of the preceding claims 8-9, characterised in that said system further comprises an air vent tube which connects the oil filter and the housing.
Method of removing water from oil from an oil supply, where the method comprises the steps of - providing a housing comprising an inner opening, - introducing the oil from the oil supply via an oil inlet tube to the housing, where the oil inlet tube comprises an inlet pump providing a flow of oil in a direction from said oil supply to said oil inlet, - releasing the oil and foam formed on the surface of the oil from the housing once the fluid level has risen to the level of an oil outlet being located vertically higher than said oil inlet, the oil is released via said oil outlet to an oil outlet tube leading to said oil supply, said oil outlet where the oil outlet tube comprises an outlet pump providing a flow of oil in a direction from said oil outlet to said oil supply, - introducing a flow of air from an air supply unit into the housing, via an air inlet tube, and - removing a flow of air from the housing via an air outlet tube, characterised in that - said outlet pump is providing a flow at a higher pumping flow rate than the pumping flow rate provided by said inlet pump.
Method according to claim 12 characterised in that the flow of air is removed vertically above the oil outlet

Description

The invention is defined in the appended claims. Oil is used as a lubricant and cooling agent in a vast number of different types of machinery and engines. During operation of the machinery or engine, the oil is slowly contaminated inter alia with solid particles arising from wear of the machinery and with water which may have been introduced into the oil through leaks in the joints of the tubing and machinery. It is important to keep the oil as clean as possible not only from particles, but also from water. Water will not only change the viscosity of the oil thereby leading to a change of the ability of the oil to be used as a lubrication, but may also facilitate the existence of microorganisms which will degrade the oil, complicate filtering the oil and lead to formation of rust. All of these factors will lead to an increased degradation of the oil and therefore to a reduced lifetime of both the oil and of the elements of the machinery or engine. Therefore, it is important to remove water from the oil. It is known to remove water from the oil by one of a number of different techniques, such as by: heating the oil,centrifuging the oil,exposing the oil to a water-absorbing material,filtering the oil in a vacuum chamber, orsettling. However, common to these techniques are that they either require a lot of space or can be quite expensive. Thus, in situations where both the available space for manoeuvring and mounting a water removal system into place is very limited, such as aboard ships, and where the user is very cost-sensitive, there is a need for a water removal system that provides a compact and simple solution. CJC Desorber Clean Oil -Bright Ideas (https://cooperfluidsystems.com.au/downloads/ productbrouchers/Stauff/cjc-desorber-brochure.pdf) discloses an apparatus and method for removing water from oil supply. By providing a system which has a housing in which both oil and air are introduced, it is possible to make use of the chemical separation process, stripping, which is also referred to as desorption for removing the water from the oil. In the desorption process, one component of a liquid stream, i.e. water, moves by mass transfer into a vapour phase, i.e. steam, through the liquid-vapour interface. Desorption is an effective and simple (and thereby a low-cost) way of removing water from oil. By providing both an inlet pump and an outlet pump for leading the flow of oil through the housing, it is ensured that the flow of oil can be controlled according to required needs, such as the amount of oil in the oil supply and the amount of water in the oil, e.g. where the flow of oil through the system is lowered if the amount of water in the oil increases. When using a system for removing water from oil by way of desorption, the oil and the air is combined. This combination results in formation of foam (a mass of small air bubbles) on the surface of the oil. If not minimised, the foam may potentially spread to the other elements of the system, such as to the outlet pump, the air tubing or air supply unit, which may lead to these elements being damaged or at best having to be cleaned to function properly again. Thus, it is an advantage that said outlet pump is adapted to provide a flow at a higher pumping flow rate than the pumping flow rate provided by said inlet pump. Thereby, it is ensured that foam and oil are removed from said housing at a higher pumping flow rate than the oil is introduced, which means that any foam created will be removed as quickly as it is formed. The risk of other elements of the system being damaged by the oil and foam is thereby eliminated. Further, it is ensured that the oil is removed from said housing immediately after reaching the oil outlet of said housing so that there is no risk of the oil overflowing said housing. The manufacturing of said system is also made more simple as e.g. sensors for detecting if oil is overflowing said housing may be spared. Thus, a simple and safe system is provided, where the requirement for unwanted service due to oil contamination is eliminated. In an embodiment, a first part of the inner opening of said housing can be arranged downstream of said oil inlet and upstream of said oil outlet. By providing that a first part of said inner opening is arranged downstream of said oil inlet and upstream of said oil outlet, it is ensured that the oil is only present in a part/section of said inner opening and therefore does not fill up said inner opening completely, but only partly. The result is that a volume/part/section of said inner opening is not filled with oil (e.g. a second part) which has the advantage that oil or foam accidentally bypassing the oil outlet does not have immediate access to the other elements of the system, but instead stays in the housing until being removed via the oil outlet. Further, the air in the housing may be accumulated in the volume/part/section of said inner opening not filled with oil before being removed via said a