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EP-4402403-B1 - SYSTEM WITH A CRYOGENIC CONTAINER AND A SINGLE-PIECE ECONOMIZER

EP4402403B1EP 4402403 B1EP4402403 B1EP 4402403B1EP-4402403-B1

Inventors

  • REBERNIK, MATTHIAS

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20220915

Claims (15)

  1. A system comprising a cryogenic container (1), in particular an LNG container or a hydrogen container, with a first removal line (9) for removing cryogenic fluid in the gas phase and a second removal line (10) for removing cryogenic fluid in the liquid phase being routed into the cryogenic container (1), the system comprises a single-piece economizer valve block (11) having at least a first inlet port (13), a second inlet port (14) and an outlet port (15), the two inlet ports (13, 14) and the outlet port (15) being connected inside the single-piece economizer valve block (11) by a connection passage having a connecting portion on the gas phase side (16), a connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17) and a connecting portion on the end side (18), which converge at a node (19), wherein the first removal line (9) is connected to the first inlet port (13) and the second removal line (10) is connected to the second inlet port (14), characterized in that the single-piece economizer valve block (11) has a first and a second valve recess (22, 23) open towards the outside, the first valve recess (22) starting at the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16) and the second valve recess (23) starting at the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17), with a first valve being inserted into the first valve recess (22) and a second valve being inserted into the second valve recess (23), the first and second valves each being proportional valves or valves with discrete switching states
  2. A system according to claim 1, wherein a further valve recess (20) starts at the node (19) of the connection passage, and a further valve (21) is designed as a multi-way valve between the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16), the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17) and the connecting portion on the end side (18).
  3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the further valve (21) allows only three switching states, wherein, in the first switching state, only the connection to the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16) is completely closed, in the second switching state, only the connection to the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17) is completely closed and, in the third switching state, both the connection to the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16) and that to the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17) are completely closed, or wherein the further valve (21) is designed for selectively throttling the connection to the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16) and the connection to the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17).
  4. A system according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the single-piece economizer valve block (11) has a further valve recess (24) open towards the outside and starting preferably at the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16), with a pressure relief valve (25) being connected to the further valve recess (24).
  5. A system according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the single-piece economizer valve block (11) has a connection recess (26) for a drain connection (27), the connection recess being open towards the outside and starting preferably at the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17), the drain connection (27) preferably being designed as a shut-off valve inserted directly into the connection recess (26).
  6. A system according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connecting portion on the end side (18) has a recess for an overflow valve (28) which is designed for limiting the maximum flow through the connecting portion on the end side (18).
  7. A system according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the single-piece economizer valve block (11) comprises a further inlet port (29, 66) and a further outlet port (30, 67), which are connected by a further connection passage (31, 68), the further connection passage (31) not communicating with the first-mentioned connection passage, wherein the single-piece economizer valve block (11) preferably has two further connection passages (31, 66) that communicate neither with each other nor with the first-mentioned connection passage, with one of the further connection passages (31) being connected to a pressure management system and the other one of the connection passages (66) being connected to an input line for heat exchange medium.
  8. A system according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the single-piece economizer valve block (11) has one or several sensor recesses (32) for a sensor (33), the sensor recesses being open towards the outside and starting at the connecting portion on the gas phase side (16), at the connecting portion on the liquid phase side (17), at the connecting portion on the end side (18) and/or at the further connection passage (31).
  9. A system according to any of claims 1 to 8, furthermore comprising a heat exchanger (4), the outlet port (15) of the single-piece economizer valve block (11) being connected directly to an inlet of the heat exchanger (4), without any intermediate line.
  10. A system according to claim 8 in combination with claim 9, wherein both the outlet port (15) and the further outlet port (30) are connected to the heat exchanger (4).
  11. A system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the heat exchanger (4) has a rod-shaped design with a generated surface (57) and two lateral surfaces (58), with the economizer valve block (11) being arranged in an extension of the heat exchanger (4) next to one of the lateral surfaces (58).
  12. A system according to any of claims 1 to 8, comprising a rod-shaped heat exchanger (60) with a jacket (57), the economizer valve block (11) forming one of the lateral surfaces of the heat exchanger (60) and a first end of the jacket (57) being connected to the economizer valve block (11) in a fluid-tight manner.
  13. A system according to any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the cryogenic container (1) has a cryogenic container jacket (2) and two end caps (3), wherein the heat exchanger (4, 60) is arranged essentially in parallel to the cryogenic container jacket (2) and both the heat exchanger (4, 60) and the economizer valve block (11) next to the cryogenic container jacket (2) lie at least partially between the end caps (3), wherein the heat exchanger (4, 60) and/or the economizer valve block (11) preferably protrude(s) beyond one of the end caps (3), with at least one, preferably all, of the inlet ports and/or outlet ports being arranged in the direction of the vehicle frame.
  14. A system according to any of claims 1 to 13, furthermore comprising a control unit (S) which is connected to at least one valve (21), preferably to all valves (21), of the economizer valve block (11), the control unit (S) being designed for adjusting the removal ratio of gas phase to liquid phase of the cryogenic fluid from the cryogenic container (1).
  15. A system according to claim 14, furthermore comprising at least one sensor which is preferably inserted into a sensor recess of the economizer valve block (11) or of a pressure management valve block (12), the control unit (S) being designed for controlling the valve or valves (21) depending on a measured value supplied by the sensor.

Description

The invention relates to a system comprising a cryogenic container, in particular an LNG container or a hydrogen container, wherein a first extraction line for extracting cryofluid in gas phase and a second extraction line for extracting cryofluid in liquid phase are led into the cryogenic container. According to the state of the art, liquefied gases can be stored in containers ("cryogenic containers") for use as fuel, for example, in an engine. Liquefied gases are gases that exist in the liquid state at their boiling point, the boiling point of which is pressure-dependent. When such a cryogenic liquid is filled into a cryogenic container, a pressure corresponding to the boiling point is established, apart from thermal interactions with the cryogenic container itself. In the field of automotive engineering, cryogenic fluid can serve as fuel for a vehicle, for which purpose the cryogenic container is carried on the vehicle. Cryogenic containers are typically mounted on the side of the vehicle frame, where installation space is extremely limited. A frequently discussed problem in the prior art is therefore where to house the components of the cryogenic container's extraction and filling systems. The extraction system, in particular, comprises numerous components, such as a heat exchanger to heat the cryogenic fluid extracted from the container or to convert it into a gaseous state before supplying it to the vehicle's engine. Furthermore, it is known that an economizer is incorporated into the extraction system. The economizer's purpose is to allow both gaseous and liquid cryogenic fluid to be extracted from the container. The economizer controls – simply put – whether liquid cryofluid is withdrawn in normal operating mode or whether gaseous cryofluid is withdrawn in certain operating modes, if necessary for pressure reduction. The economizer comprises two valves for this purpose, one located in a withdrawal line for liquid cryofluid and the other in a withdrawal line for gaseous cryofluid. However, the size of the components is only one of the factors that limits the available installation space. Another relevant factor is the large number of lines that need to be routed between the components. For example, if you consider the... EP 3 376 013 A1 Looking at the revealed system, one can see that the The required cables and associated connectors occupy almost the entire available installation space at the end cap of the cryogenic container. However, the large amount of space occupied by the cables is not the only problem with systems like the one in the EP 3 376 013 A1 This is shown to be prevalent. Another problem, for example, is that each cable end must be sealed when connected to a component. It is evident that, due to the large number of connectors, errors or incompletely sealing connections can frequently occur. At the same time, the established pipe systems are highly valued by experts because they are easily replaceable and therefore simple to maintain. Furthermore, individual components such as the heat exchanger can be easily detached from the pipes, making the system highly modular. Another system with multiple distributed valves is located in the EP 3 236 132 A1 shown. Here, two valves are used, one located in a liquid phase extraction line and one in a gas phase extraction line. In the documents US 20050193990 A1 and DE 102008063563 A1 Valves for cryogenic containers are shown, each with two inlets, one for the gas phase and one for the liquid phase, and one outlet, with a valve located at each junction. However, the circuitry and design of this valve are quite complex in both cases. The purpose of the invention is to make the extraction system of a cryocontainer more compact and less prone to errors. This problem is solved by a system comprising a cryogenic container, in particular an LNG container or a hydrogen container, wherein a first extraction line for extracting cryofluid in the gas phase and a second extraction line for extracting cryofluid in the liquid phase are led into the cryogenic container, wherein the system comprises a one-piece economizer valve block with at least a first inlet port, a second inlet port and an outlet port, wherein the two inlet ports and the outlet port are connected inside the one-piece economizer valve block by a connecting passage having a gas-phase-side connecting section, a liquid-phase-side connecting section and an end-side connecting section, which are joined at a node meet, wherein the first extraction line is connected to the first inlet opening and the second extraction line is connected to the second inlet opening, wherein the one-piece economizer valve block has at least one externally open valve recess, wherein the valve recess is located at the gas-phase-side connection section, at the liquid-phase-side connection section or at the junction at the connection passage, and a valve is inserted into the valve recess of the one-piece economizer valve b