JP2008279377A - Voc cooling/recovery device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a VOC cooling/recovery device which can perform the secure separation of moisture generated by defrosting from VOC. <P>SOLUTION: This VOC cooling/recovery device is provided with: a precooler 60 arranged in the high-temperature side circuit 33 of a two-element freezer 32; a main cooler 62 arranged in a low-temperature side circuit 34; a drain recovery pipe 76 connected with the drain port 72 of the precooler 60; a drain recovery pipe 77 connected with the drain port 74 of the main cooler 62; a first drain control valve 81 which opens/closes the drain recovery pipe 76; a second drain control valve 83 which opens/closes the drain recovery pipe 77; a recovery tank 78 which is connected with the drain recovery pipe 76 and the drain recovery pipe 77 and stores the recovered VOC; and a control part 58 which controls in such a way that the timing of opening a second drain control valve 83 is delayed compared with the timing of opening a first drain control valve 81 when a defrosting operation is executed by introducing defrosting air into the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling and recovery device for liquefying and recovering this VOC gas when a volatile organic compound (VOC) is a gas.

VOC is an organic compound that is volatile and is gaseous in the atmosphere, and includes various substances such as toluene, xylene, ethyl acetate, and decane.
VOC gas containing gaseous VOC is discharged in various facilities such as paint-related facilities, adhesive drying facilities, printing-related facilities, chemical product manufacturing facilities, and industrial cleaning facilities. However, VOC is a cause of suspended particulate matter (SPM) and photochemical oxidant, and in recent years, its emission is required to be suppressed from the viewpoint of preventing air pollution.

Therefore, in order to recover the discharged VOC gas, a gas recovery device for cooling the VOC gas to condense and liquefy it is conventionally known (for example, see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
Hereinafter, based on FIG. 3, the structure of the gas collection | recovery apparatus as shown by patent document 1 and patent document 2 is demonstrated.
The gas recovery device 10 includes a cooling device 11 configured as an airtight container and a refrigerator 12. The gas to be collected flows through the flow pipe 13 and is introduced into the cooling device 11. Two coils of a first coil 14 and a second coil 15 are arranged in the cooling device 11.

The refrigerator 12 is provided with a compressor 16 and a condenser 18 in a refrigerant flow pipe 17 through which the refrigerant flows. In addition, an expander 19 is provided between the condenser 18 and the first coil 14, and the refrigerant flow pipe 17 extending from the condenser 18 branches off before the expander 19 and branches off. 21 is connected, and the branch pipe 21 is provided with an expander 20 and a second coil 15.
The branch pipe 21 on the downstream side of the second coil 15 is connected to the suction portion of the ejector 22, and the second coil 15 becomes negative pressure by the ejector 22, and becomes lower temperature than the first coil 14.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-29603 (FIG. 2 etc.) JP-A-7-260345 (FIG. 2 etc.)

In the conventional gas recovery apparatus as described above, defrost (removal of frost) is not particularly disclosed. That is, when the gas is cooled and recovered, frost adheres to the cooling device as long as the gas contains moisture. If this frost is not removed, the cooling efficiency is extremely deteriorated, and therefore it is necessary to perform defrosting after operating for a predetermined time.
In addition, when frost is melted by defrost, since the melted water contains VOC, it is necessary to collect the water generated at the time of defrost in the VOC collection tank. However, when the recovered VOC is reused, there is a problem that it takes time to separate the water again because the water generated during the defrosting is mixed.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a VOC recovery apparatus that can reliably separate the water generated by defrost and VOC.

That is, according to the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus according to the present invention, the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus recovers by liquefying and recovering VOC from VOC gas containing VOC that is in the form of gas, and is a high temperature cooled by the first refrigerant. A binary refrigerator in which a side circuit and a low temperature side circuit cooled by a second refrigerant are thermally connected via a cascade condenser, and an evaporator of the high temperature side circuit disposed in a first sealed container A precooler for precooling the VOC gas to be introduced, a main cooler for cooling the precooled VOC gas, wherein the evaporator of the low-temperature circuit is disposed in a second sealed container, A gas introduction pipe for introducing VOC gas into the precooler, a defrost air introduction pipe for introducing defrost air into the precooler, and precooled and discharged in the precooler. A gas distribution pipe for introducing the VOC gas into the main cooler, a gas discharge pipe for discharging the remaining gas from which the VOC has been recovered by the main cooler from the main cooler, and a first pipe provided at a lower portion of the precooler. A drain port, a second drain port provided at a lower portion of the main cooler, a first drain recovery pipe connected to the first drain port of the precooler, and a second drain port of the main cooler A second drain recovery pipe connected to the first drain control valve; a first drain control valve for opening and closing the first drain recovery pipe; a second drain control valve for opening and closing the second drain recovery pipe; Connected to the first drain recovery pipe and the second drain recovery pipe, the defrost air is introduced from the recovery tank for storing the recovered VOC and the defrost air introduction pipe. When defrosting is performed, the control unit is configured to control so that the timing for opening the second drain control valve is delayed from the timing for opening the first drain control valve.
By adopting this configuration, at the time of defrosting, the drain recovery pipe of the precooler is first opened, and then the drain recovery pipe of the main cooler is opened. Therefore, first, a drain having a high water content is recovered from the precooler in the recovery tank, and thereafter, a drain having a low water content and a high VOC component is recovered from the main cooler. For this reason, the efficiency of two-layer separation of VOC and moisture can be increased in the recovery tank.

In addition, a plurality of VOC recovery units each including the gas introduction pipe, the precooler, the gas circulation pipe, the main cooler, and the gas discharge pipe are provided. Thus, the VOC gas recovery operation and the defrost operation may be switched and executed.
By adopting this configuration, the operation of this configuration is as follows.
That is, as a defrosting method, there is a method in which the operation is stopped and the frost is melted at room temperature, but during that time, it becomes impossible to treat the VOC gas, so it is not preferable to stop the operation, even if the operation is stopped. There is a request to make the as short as possible. In order to shorten the stop time, there are methods such as heater defrosting and hot gas defrosting, but these methods are difficult to adopt because of the danger of explosion. Therefore, by adopting the above-described configuration, any one of the VOC recovery units can be used for VOC recovery, and the other VOC recovery units can be defrosted. That is, by providing a plurality of precoolers and main coolers, VOC gas recovery and defrosting can be executed alternately, so that defrosting can be performed without stopping the operation of the apparatus at all.

An outlet that closes the exhaust outlet of the gas exhaust pipe so that the defrost air is purged into the recovery tank through the drain ports and the drain recovery pipes of the precooler and the main cooler at the time of defrosting. A closing valve is provided, and the recovery tank is provided with an exhaust port for exhausting the air in the recovery tank. The exhaust port purifies VOC contained in the purged defrost air and exhausts the exhaust port. A catalyst may be provided so that the exhaust gas can be exhausted from the exhaust gas.
The effect | action by employ | adopting this structure is as follows.
VOC is contained in the frost adhering to the precooler and the precooler and the main cooler after recovery of the VOC gas. Therefore, if the VOC is mixed into the defrost gas that has passed through the precooler and the main cooler during defrosting, and the defrost air is exhausted as it is, the purpose of suppressing the discharge of VOC cannot be achieved. Therefore, since all the defrost air is recovered in the recovery tank and the VOC component is removed by the catalyst and then discharged, the VOC discharge can be suppressed.

Further, the defrost air introduction pipe may be provided also as the gas introduction pipe.
In this way, only one pipe line to be introduced into the precooler is provided, so that the VOC gas can be circulated when the VOC gas is introduced and the defrost air can be circulated when the defrost is made. be able to.

  According to the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the separation efficiency between VOC and moisture recovered during defrosting.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of this embodiment.
The VOC cooling / recovery device 30 of the present embodiment uses a binary refrigerator 32, and after the VOC gas is precooled by the high temperature side circuit 33 of the binary refrigerator 32, it is further cooled by the low temperature side circuit 34. The VOC can be efficiently liquefied.

First, the configuration of the binary refrigerator 32 will be described.
The binary refrigerator 32 is configured by thermally connecting a high temperature side circuit 33 and a low temperature side circuit 34 by a cascade capacitor 36.
The high temperature side circuit 33 includes a high temperature side compressor (compressor) 38, a high temperature side condenser 40, a high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43, and a first high temperature side evaporator 44 constituting a cascade condenser. These devices are connected in series by a refrigerant flow pipe 45 through which the high-temperature side refrigerant flows.

A refrigerant dryer 50 is provided on the downstream side of the high-temperature side condenser 40 in the high-temperature side circuit 33 to remove moisture in the refrigerant.
A control valve 37 for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow pipe 45 is provided between the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43 and the first high temperature side evaporator 44.

Further, the high temperature side circuit 33 is provided with a second high temperature side evaporator 46 in parallel with the first high temperature side evaporator 44. The first high temperature side evaporator 44 and the second high temperature side evaporator 46 use the high temperature side compressor 38 and the high temperature side condenser 40 in common, and the second high temperature side evaporator 46 is a refrigerant. It is provided in the branch pipe 49 which branches between the site | part connected to the high temperature side compressor 38 of the flow pipe 45, and the site | part connected to the high temperature side condenser 40 of the refrigerant | coolant flow pipe 45.
The branch pipe 49 is provided with a second high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43. A control valve 39 for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the branch pipe 49 is provided between the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43 of the branch pipe 49 and the second high temperature side evaporator 46.

The high-temperature side condenser 40 in the present embodiment is provided with a fan 35 so that the refrigerant is cooled and condensed by the outside air introduced by the fan.
In the high temperature side circuit 33 having such a configuration, a refrigerant having excellent characteristics at high temperatures is used.

Next, the configuration of the low temperature side circuit 34 will be described.
The low temperature side circuit 34 includes a low temperature side compressor (compressor) 51, a low temperature side condenser 52 constituting a cascade condenser 36, a low temperature side pressure reducing valve 54, and a low temperature side evaporator 56. The devices are connected by a refrigerant flow pipe 55 through which the low-temperature side refrigerant flows. Further, a refrigerant dryer 57 is provided on the downstream side of the low-temperature side condenser 52 in the low-temperature side circuit 34 so as to remove moisture in the refrigerant.
An oil separator 59 is provided between the low temperature side compressor 51 and the low temperature side condenser 52. The oil separator 59 separates the oil and returns it to the low temperature side compressor 51 so that the oil generated from the low temperature side compressor 51 does not flow into other devices.

A temperature sensor 53 for detecting the temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 is provided in the cascade capacitor 36.
A controller 58 is connected to the temperature sensor 53. The control unit 58 is provided so as to be able to control the operations of the high temperature side compressor 38 and the low temperature side compressor 51 so that the detected temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 becomes a predetermined temperature set in advance. Control. Specifically, the temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 is controlled to be about −10 ° C.

Next, the distribution route of the VOC gas will be described.
First, the 1st high temperature side evaporator 46 of the high temperature side circuit 33 comprises the precooler 60 which is arrange | positioned in an airtight container and precools VOC gas. By pre-cooling the VOC gas, the moisture contained in the VOC gas can be attached as frost to remove the moisture.
The low temperature side evaporator 56 of the low temperature side circuit 34 is also arranged in the sealed container, and constitutes a main cooler 62 that liquefies VOC.

  The VOC to be recovered is provided so as to flow through the gas introduction pipe 64 connected to a VOC generation source (not shown) and be introduced into the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus 30. A blower 66 and a control valve 68 are provided in the gas introduction pipe 64, and the VOC gas is sent into the gas introduction pipe 64 by the blower 66. The VOC gas sent into the gas introduction pipe 64 is introduced into the precooler 60 and precooled.

A gas circulation pipe 67 is disposed between the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62, and the VOC gas precooled by the precooler 60 is introduced into the main cooler 62 through the gas circulation pipe 67.
The main cooler 62 is provided with a gas discharge pipe 71 for discharging the remaining gas from which the VOC has been separated. In this way, the VOC gas passes through both the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62 and is cooled in two stages, after which the VOC is removed and exhausted from the gas exhaust pipe 71. An exhaust outlet 65 is provided at the end of the gas exhaust pipe 71.
Further, the gas discharge pipe 71 is provided with an outlet closing valve 70 for closing the exhaust outlet 65.

A heat insulating member 91 is provided around the gas circulation pipe 67 so as to maintain a low temperature state of the VOC gas flowing while blocking the ambient temperature. For example, the heat insulating member 91 may be configured by winding a heat insulating material around the gas circulation pipe 67.
In the present embodiment, a heat insulating member 91 is also provided in a part of the gas introduction pipe 64 and a part of the gas discharge pipe 71 to further improve the cooling efficiency.

Drain ports 72 and 74 are provided at the lower portions of the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62, respectively.
The drain port 72 is connected to a drain recovery pipe 76 provided with a drain control valve 81, and the drain recovery pipe 76 is connected to a recovery tank 78. The drain port 74 is connected to a drain recovery pipe 77 provided with a drain control valve 83, and the drain recovery pipe 77 is connected to a recovery tank 78.
Further, the control unit 58 can control the opening and closing of the drain control valves 81 and 83 by outputting a control signal. When collecting VOC, both drain control valves 81 and 83 are controlled to be open, and VOC is always collected as drain.

  As described above, when the VOC is condensed and liquefied by the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62, the liquefied VOC is stored in the recovery tank 78 via the drain recovery pipe 76 and the drain recovery pipe 77. The recovery tank 78 is provided with an exhaust pipe 79 that exhausts the air in the recovery tank 78, and an exhaust filter 80 is attached to the exhaust pipe 79. The exhaust filter 80 uses a catalyst or the like that decomposes VOC.

It is preferable to introduce defrosting air into the gas introduction pipe 64 at the time of defrosting. As the defrost air in the present embodiment, normal outside air is employed.
That is, a branch pipe 82 for introducing outside air is provided on the upstream side of the precooler 60 in the gas introduction pipe 64, a control valve 84 for opening and closing the branch pipe 82, and a blower for feeding outside air to the branch pipe 82. 86 is provided.

Hereinafter, the operation of the VOC cooling recovery apparatus 30 in the present embodiment will be described.
First, before the operation of the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus 30, the control valve 68 of the gas introduction pipe 64 and the control valve 84 of the branch pipe 82 are closed so that neither VOC gas nor defrost air flows into the gas introduction pipe 64. Keep it.
Then, before the operation of the VOC cooling / recovery device 30, the control valve 37 is also closed so that the precooler 60 is not initially operated.

First, the high temperature side compressor 38 is turned on.
When the high temperature side compressor 38 is operated, the refrigerant in the high temperature side circuit 33 is compressed and sent to the high temperature side condenser 40, and the high temperature side condenser 40 cools and liquefies the refrigerant at a constant pressure. The liquefied refrigerant is expanded by the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43 to lower the boiling point, and the first high temperature side evaporator 44 in the cascade condenser 36 takes the heat of the low temperature side condenser 52 of the low temperature side circuit 34. Evaporate.

Next, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the high temperature side compressor 38 was turned on, the low temperature side compressor 51 is turned on in the low temperature side circuit 34.
Then, the refrigerant in the low-temperature side circuit 34 is compressed and sent to the low-temperature side condenser 52, and heat is exchanged with the high-temperature side evaporator 44 so that the refrigerant is cooled and liquefied at a constant pressure.
The liquefied refrigerant is expanded by the low temperature side pressure reducing valve 54 to lower the boiling point. In the low temperature side evaporator 56, the refrigerant takes the heat in the main cooler 62 and evaporates. Then, the evaporated and vaporized refrigerant flows into the low temperature side compressor 51.

  When the control unit 58 detects that the temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 has reached −10 ° C., the control unit 58 opens the control valve 37 and causes the refrigerant to flow through the branch pipe 49 on the precooler 60 side. The liquefied refrigerant is expanded by the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43 of the branch pipe 49 to lower the boiling point, and in the second high temperature side evaporator 46, the heat in the precooler 60 is taken away and evaporated.

  At the same time, the controller 58 adjusts the opening degree of the control valve 39 so that the amount of refrigerant flowing to the precooler 60 side and the amount of refrigerant flowing to the cascade capacitor 36 are adjusted so that the temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 becomes constant. To distribute.

Next, by opening the control valve 68 and starting the operation of the blower 66, the VOC gas flows into the precooler 60 through the gas introduction pipe 64.
When the VOC gas flows into the precooler 60, in the second high temperature side evaporator 46 in the precooler 60, the refrigerant that has been expanded by the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43 to lower the boiling point is introduced from the gas introduction pipe 64. VOC gas takes heat and evaporates. At this time, moisture contained in the VOC gas becomes frost and adheres to the precooler 60. For this reason, the VOC gas that has been preliminarily cooled after the removal of moisture is introduced into the next main cooler 62.
At this time, the temperature in the precooler 60 is about −10 ° C.

The VOC gas precooled by the precooler 60 is introduced into the main cooler 62 through the gas distribution pipe 67.
When the VOC gas flows into the main cooler 62, in the low temperature side evaporator 56 in the main cooler 62, the refrigerant that has been expanded by the low temperature side pressure reducing valve 54 to lower its boiling point is introduced from the gas circulation pipe 67. Takes away the heat and evaporates.
At this time, the temperature in the main cooler 62 is about −55 to −65 ° C.

  In this way, the VOC gas is cooled in the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62, and condensed and liquefied. The liquefied VOC accumulates in the lower part inside the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62. Since drain ports 72 and 74 are provided below the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62, the liquefied VOC flows out from the drain ports 72 and 74 through the drain recovery pipes 76 and 77 into the recovery tank 78, Collected.

In addition, when the VOC cooling and recovery operation is continuously performed, it is necessary to perform defrosting for removing frost attached to the precooler 60 in particular. In order to increase the cooling efficiency, it is necessary to defrost approximately every 8 hours.
At the time of defrosting, the high temperature side compressor 38 and the low temperature side compressor 51 are turned off to stop the refrigeration cycle. Then, the control valve 68 is closed to prevent VOC gas from flowing into the VOC gas introduction pipe 64, and the control valve 84 is opened to allow outside air as defrost air to flow into the gas introduction pipe 64. Further, the outlet closing valve 70 of the exhaust outlet 65 at the tip of the gas discharge pipe 71 is closed.
In addition, the control unit 58 outputs a control signal so that the drain control valve 81 on the precooler 60 side is kept open and the drain control valve 83 on the main cooler 62 side is closed.

When the defrost is performed in this manner, the frost in the precooler 60 is melted and the water is liquefied, and the liquefied water is recovered in the recovery tank 78 through the drain recovery pipe 76.
Then, the controller 58 opens the drain control valve 83 after a lapse of a certain time from the start of defrosting. Then, the liquid (including a large amount of VOC) in the main cooler 62 is recovered in the recovery tank 78 through the drain recovery pipe 77.
Therefore, in the state in the collection tank 78 at the time of defrosting, the water from the precooler 60 collected first is stored in the lower layer, and then the liquid containing a large amount of VOC from the main cooler 62 is stored in the upper layer. In this way, at the time of defrosting, the opening timing of the drain recovery pipe 77 from the main cooler 62 is delayed from the opening timing of the drain recovery pipe 76 from the precooler 60, so that the water in the recovery tank 78 and the VOC Are separated and stored, making it easy to reuse the VOC.

Further, since the exhaust outlet 65 is closed, the defrost air is not discharged from the exhaust outlet 65 but is recovered in the recovery tank 78 through the drain recovery pipes 76 and 77.
In the recovery tank 78, the recovered defrost air passes through the exhaust filter 80, and the VOC is recovered and exhausted to the outside.

  That is, at the time of defrosting, the VOC remaining in the precooler 60 and the main cooler 62 is discharged together with the defrosting gas, and is discharged from the exhaust outlet 65 at the tip of the gas discharge pipe 71. It can be recovered in the recovery tank 78.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In addition, about the same component as 1st Embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description may be abbreviate | omitted.
In the second embodiment of the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus, two pre-coolers and two main coolers are provided so that VOC recovery and defrosting can be executed alternately.

Three high temperature side evaporators are connected in parallel to the high temperature side circuit 33 in the VOC cooling and recovery device 90 of the second embodiment, and one of the high temperature side evaporators constitutes the cascade condenser 36. Device 44. The other two units are two second high temperature side evaporators 46a and 46b, which are arranged in a sealed container and constitute precoolers 60a and 60b.
The second high temperature side evaporators 46a and 46b are provided so as to be branched from the refrigerant flow pipe 45 by branch pipes 49a and 49b, respectively, and are provided so that they can be alternately operated. Are provided with control valves 37a and 37b for controlling the flow of the refrigerant in the branch pipes 49a and 49b.
Further, drain recovery pipes 76a and 76b communicating with the recovery tank 78 are connected to the drain ports 72a and 72b provided in the precoolers 60a and 60b, respectively. The drain recovery pipes 76a and 76b are provided with drain control valves 81a and 81b, respectively, so that the drain recovery pipes can be opened and closed.

Moreover, in the low temperature side circuit 34, the two low temperature side evaporators 56a and 56b are provided in parallel, and each is arrange | positioned in an airtight container and comprises the main coolers 62a and 62b.
Of the two low temperature side evaporators 56a and 56b, one of the low temperature side evaporators 56a is provided to be branched from the refrigerant flow pipe 55 by a branch pipe 94a, and provided so that each can be operated alternately. Yes. For this reason, the refrigerant flow pipe 55 and the branch pipe 94a are provided with control valves 96a and 96b for controlling the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigerant flow pipe 55 and the branch pipe 94a.
Further, drain recovery pipes 77a and 77b communicating with the recovery tank 78 are connected to the drain ports 74a and 74b provided in the main coolers 62a and 62b. Drain control valves 83a and 83b are provided in the drain recovery pipes 77a and 77b, respectively, so that the drain recovery pipes can be opened and closed.

  The drain collection pipes 76a, 76b, 77a, 77b are used for collecting the VOCs liquefied by the precoolers 60a, 60b and the main coolers 62a, 62b, and also have a role of circulating the defrost air to the collection tank 78 at the time of defrosting. is doing.

In the present embodiment, two systems of gas introduction pipes 110 for introducing the VOC gas into the precooler are provided. That is, one gas introduction pipe 110 connected to a VOC gas generation source is branched into two to constitute two systems of gas introduction pipes 110a and 110b.
One branched is a first gas introduction pipe 110a that introduces VOC gas into the precooler 60a, and the other branched is a second gas introduction pipe 110b that introduces VOC gas into the precooler 60b.
A check valve 98a and a control valve 99a for controlling the flow of VOC gas are provided upstream of the precooler 60a in the first gas introduction pipe 110a.
A check valve 98b and a control valve 99b for controlling the flow of VOC gas are provided upstream of the precooler 60b in the second gas introduction pipe 110b.

  The defrost air in the present embodiment is provided so as to pass through independent pipes up to the precoolers 60a and 60b, not the gas introduction pipes 110a and 110b. That is, the blower 86 is provided in the pipe extending from the introduction port for the defrost air, and the pipe branches into two downstream of the blower 86. One of the two branches is a defrost air introduction pipe 100a that introduces defrost air into the precooler 60a, and the other of the two branches is a defrost air introduction pipe 100b that introduces defrost air into the precooler 60b. is there.

A check valve 102a and a control valve 104a for controlling the flow of the defrost air are provided upstream of the precooler 60a of the defrost air introduction pipe 100a.
Further, a check valve 102b and a control valve 104b for controlling the flow of the defrost air are provided upstream of the precooler 60b of the defrost air introduction pipe 100b.

Between the precooler 60a and the main cooler 62a, a gas circulation pipe 106a through which the VOC gas and the defrost air are circulated is provided.
Similarly, between the precooler 60b and the main cooler 62b, a gas circulation pipe 106b through which VOC gas and defrost air can be circulated in common is provided.

Connected to the main cooler 62a is a gas exhaust pipe 108a for exhausting the recovered gas that has passed through the main cooler 62a and recovered the VOC gas. The gas exhaust pipe 108a is provided with an outlet closing valve 70a capable of closing an exhaust outlet 65a formed at the tip of the gas exhaust pipe 108a.
Similarly, the main cooler 62b is also connected to a gas exhaust pipe 108b that exhausts the recovered gas that has passed through the main cooler 62b and recovered the VOC gas. The gas discharge pipe 108b is provided with an outlet closing valve 70b that can close the exhaust outlet 65b formed at the tip of the gas discharge pipe 108b.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, there are provided two VOC gas distribution paths of the gas recovery unit in which the precooler 60a and the main cooler 62a are connected and the gas recovery unit in which the precooler 60b and the main cooler 62b are connected. And VOC recovery and defrosting can be executed. By alternately executing VOC recovery and defrosting in each gas recovery unit, it is possible to always perform VOC recovery processing in 24-hour continuous operation without stopping the operation.

Next, the operation of the VOC cooling and recovery device 90 in the second embodiment will be described.
First, before the operation of the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus 90, the control valves 99a and 99b of the gas introduction pipes 110a and 110b are closed, and the control valves 104a and 104b of the defrost air introduction pipes 100a and 100b are also closed. Keep it.
Then, before the operation of the VOC cooling and recovery apparatus 30, the control valves 37a and 37b are also closed, and initially, the precoolers 60a and 60b are provided so as not to operate.
Further, one of the control valves 96a and 96b of the low temperature side circuit 34 is opened, and the other is closed. Here, the control valve 96a is opened so that only the main cooler 62a operates.

First, the high temperature side compressor 38 is turned on.
When the high temperature side compressor 38 is operated, the refrigerant in the high temperature side circuit 33 is compressed and sent to the high temperature side condenser 40, and the high temperature side condenser 40 cools and liquefies the refrigerant at a constant pressure. The liquefied refrigerant is expanded by the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43 to lower the boiling point, and the first high temperature side evaporator 44 in the cascade condenser 36 takes the heat of the low temperature side condenser 52 of the low temperature side circuit 34. Evaporate.

Next, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the high temperature side compressor 38 was turned on, the low temperature side compressor 51 is turned on in the low temperature side circuit 34.
Then, the refrigerant in the low-temperature side circuit 34 is compressed and sent to the low-temperature side condenser 52, and heat is exchanged with the high-temperature side evaporator 44 so that the refrigerant is cooled and liquefied at a constant pressure.
The liquefied refrigerant is expanded by the low temperature side pressure reducing valve 54 to lower the boiling point. Then, the refrigerant flows through the low temperature side evaporator 56a communicating with the open control valve 96a, and the heat in the main cooler 62 is taken away and evaporated. Then, the evaporated and vaporized refrigerant flows into the low temperature side compressor 51.

  When the control unit 58 detects that the temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 has become −10 ° C., the control unit 58 controls the control valve 37a of the precooler 60a connected to the operating main cooler 62a. Open and let the refrigerant flow through the branch pipe 49a on the precooler 60a side. The liquefied refrigerant is expanded by the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43a of the branch pipe 49a to lower the boiling point, and evaporates by taking the heat in the precooler 60a in the second high temperature side evaporator 46a.

  At the same time, the control unit 58 adjusts the opening degree of the control valve 39 to adjust the amount of refrigerant flowing to the precooler 60a side and the amount of refrigerant flowing to the cascade capacitor 36 so that the temperature in the cascade capacitor 36 becomes constant. To distribute.

Next, by opening the control valve 99a and starting the operation of the blower (not shown), the VOC gas flows into the precooler 60a through the gas introduction pipe 110a.
When the VOC gas flows into the precooler 60a, in the second high temperature side evaporator 46a in the precooler 60a, the refrigerant having the boiling point lowered by being expanded by the high temperature side pressure reducing valve 43a is introduced from the gas introduction pipe 110a. VOC gas takes heat and evaporates. At this time, moisture contained in the VOC gas becomes frost and adheres to the precooler 60a. For this reason, the VOC gas from which moisture has been removed and precooled is introduced into the next main cooler 62a.
At this time, the temperature in the precooler 60a is about −10 ° C.

The VOC gas precooled by the precooler 60a is introduced into the main cooler 62a through the gas circulation pipe 106a.
When the VOC gas flows into the main cooler 62a, in the low-temperature side evaporator 56a in the main cooler 62a, the refrigerant that has been expanded by the low-temperature side pressure reducing valve 54 to lower its boiling point is introduced from the gas circulation pipe 106a. Takes away the heat and evaporates.
At this time, the temperature in the main cooler 62a is about −55 to −65 ° C.

  In this way, the VOC gas is cooled in the precooler 60a and the main cooler 62a, condensed and liquefied. The liquefied VOC accumulates in the lower part of the precooler 60a and the main cooler 62a. Since drain ports 72a and 74a are provided below the precooler 60a and the main cooler 62a, the liquefied VOC flows from the drain ports 72a and 74a through the drain recovery pipes 76a and 77a into the recovery tank 78, Collected.

In addition, when the VOC cooling and recovery operation is continuously performed, it is necessary to perform defrosting for removing frost attached to the precooler 60 in particular. In order to increase the cooling efficiency, it is necessary to defrost approximately every 8 hours.
Therefore, when the defrost execution time comes, the control valve 37a to the precooler 60a is closed and the control valve 37b to the precooler 60b is opened. At the same time, in order to switch the introduction of VOC, the control valve 99a of the gas introduction pipe 95a is closed and the control valve 99b of the gas introduction pipe 95b is opened. Then, the high-temperature side refrigerant flows to the precooler 60b without flowing to the precooler 60a, and the inside of the precooler 60b is cooled. At the same time, VOC gas is introduced into the precooler 60b and precooled.

Further, the low temperature side circuit 34 also switches the introduction of the VOC gas. That is, the control valve 96a is closed and the control valve 96b is opened. Then, the low temperature side refrigerant flows to the main cooler 62b without flowing to the main cooler 62a.
The VOC gas preliminarily cooled by the precooler 60b is introduced into the main cooler 62b through the gas circulation pipe 106b, and the VOC is separated and discharged from the gas discharge pipe 108b.

In addition, the control valve 104a of the defrost air introduction pipe 100a is opened and the blower 86 is operated, so that the defrost air is introduced into the precooler 60a that has been used for VOC recovery until now. Here, normal outside air is used as defrost air.
On the unit side where defrosting is performed, the control unit 58 outputs a control signal so that the drain control valve 81a on the precooler 60a side remains open and the drain control valve 83a on the main cooler 62a side is closed. To do.

When defrosting is performed in this manner, the frost in the precooler 60a is melted and the water is liquefied, and the liquefied water is recovered in the recovery tank 78 through the drain recovery pipe 76a.
Then, the controller 58 opens the drain control valve 83a after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of defrosting. Then, the liquid (including a large amount of VOC) in the main cooler 62a is recovered in the recovery tank 78 through the drain recovery pipe 77a.
Therefore, in the state in the recovery tank 78 at the time of defrosting, the water from the precooler 60a that is recovered first is stored in the lower layer, and then the liquid containing a large amount of VOC from the main cooler 62a is stored in the upper layer. In this way, at the time of defrosting, the opening timing of the drain recovery pipe 77a from the main cooler 62a is delayed from the opening timing of the drain recovery pipe 76a from the precooler 60a, so the water in the recovery tank 78 and the VOC Are separated and stored, making it easy to reuse the VOC.

When defrosting is performed, the outlet closing valve 70a of the gas discharge pipe 108a provided in the main cooler 62a is closed. For this reason, the defrost air is not discharged from the gas discharge pipe 108a, but is discharged from the drain port 74a of the main cooler 62a or the drain port 72a of the precooler 60a. In this way, the defrost air is introduced into the recovery tank 78 from the drain recovery pipes 76a and 77a.
In the recovery tank 78, the recovered defrost air passes through the exhaust filter 80, VOC is removed, and the air is exhausted to the outside.

When the defrosting of the VOC recovery unit is completed, the control valve 104a may be closed and the operation of the blower 86 may be stopped in order to stop the introduction of the defrosting air. During this time, the other VOC recovery units continue to execute the VOC recovery operation until a predetermined time elapses.
Then, after a predetermined time elapses, the operation of the VOC recovery unit that has been executing the VOC recovery is stopped, and the defrost air is sent to execute the defrost. Further, the VOC recovery unit that has been defrosted is caused to introduce a VOC gas and execute a VOC recovery operation.

  It should be noted that the gas introduction pipe 110, the defrost air introduction pipe 100, the branch pipe 49 of the high temperature side circuit 33, the branch pipe 94 of the low temperature side circuit 34, and the refrigerant flow pipe associated with the VOC recovery and defrost switching as described above. The switching operation of each control valve provided in 55 may be performed manually, or the control unit 58 may automatically control the control valve by outputting a control signal to each control valve.

  While the present invention has been described above with reference to a preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. .

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of 1st Embodiment of the VOC cooling recovery apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of 2nd Embodiment of the VOC cooling recovery apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conventional gas collection | recovery apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 Cooling recovery apparatus 32 Dual refrigerator 33 High temperature side circuit 34 Low temperature side circuit 35 Fan 36 Cascade capacitor 37 Control valve 38 High temperature side compressor 39 Control valve 40 High temperature side condenser 43 High temperature side pressure reducing valve 44 High temperature side evaporator 45 Refrigerant Flow pipe 46 High temperature side evaporator 49 Branch pipe 50 Refrigerant dryer 51 Low temperature side compressor 52 Low temperature side condenser 53 Temperature sensor 54 Low temperature side pressure reducing valve 55 Refrigerant flow pipe 56 Low temperature side evaporator 57 Refrigerant dryer 58 Control unit 59 Oil separator 60 Precooler 62 Main cooler 64 Gas inlet pipe 65 Exhaust outlet 66 Blower 67 Gas distribution pipe 68 Control valve 70 Outlet closing valve 71 Gas exhaust pipe 72,74 Drain port 76,77 Drain recovery pipe 78 Recovery tank 79 Exhaust pipe 80 Exhaust filter 81 , 83 Drain control valve 82 Branch pipe 84 Control valve 86 Blower 90 Cooling recovery device 91 Heat insulation member 94 Branch pipe 95 Gas introduction pipe 96 Control valve 98 Check valve 99 Control valve 100 Air introduction pipe for defrost 102 Check valve 104 Control valve 106 Gas distribution pipe 108 Gas exhaust pipe 110 Gas introduction pipe

Claims (4)

A VOC cooling and recovery device that liquefies and recovers VOC from VOC gas containing VOC that is in the form of gas,
A binary refrigerator in which a high temperature side circuit cooled by a first refrigerant and a low temperature side circuit cooled by a second refrigerant are thermally connected via a cascade capacitor;
A precooler that preliminarily cools the VOC gas to be introduced, wherein the evaporator of the high-temperature circuit is disposed in the first sealed container;
A main cooler for cooling the pre-cooled VOC gas, wherein the evaporator of the low-temperature circuit is disposed in a second sealed container;
A gas introduction pipe for introducing VOC gas into the precooler;
A defrost air introduction pipe for introducing defrost air into the precooler;
A gas distribution pipe for introducing the VOC gas preliminarily cooled and discharged in the precooler into the main cooler;
A gas discharge pipe for discharging the remaining gas from which the VOC has been recovered by the main cooler from the main cooler;
A first drain port provided at a lower portion of the precooler;
A second drain port provided at a lower portion of the main cooler;
A first drain collection pipe connected to the first drain port of the precooler;
A second drain collection pipe connected to the second drain port of the main cooler;
A first drain control valve for opening and closing the first drain recovery pipe;
A second drain control valve for opening and closing the second drain recovery pipe;
A recovery tank connected to the first drain recovery pipe and the second drain recovery pipe and storing the recovered VOC;
When defrosting is performed by introducing defrosting air from the defrosting air introduction pipe, the timing for opening the second drain control valve is controlled to be delayed from the timing for opening the first drain control valve. A VOC cooling and recovery device. A plurality of VOC recovery units including the gas introduction pipe, the precooler, the gas circulation pipe, the main cooler, and the gas discharge pipe are provided,
2. The VOC cooling and recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the VOC recovery and recovery unit is provided so as to be able to switch between a VOC gas recovery operation and a defrost operation between the VOC recovery units. An outlet that closes the exhaust outlet of the gas exhaust pipe so that the defrost air is purged into the recovery tank through the drain ports and the drain recovery pipes of the precooler and the main cooler at the time of defrosting. A blocking valve is provided,
The recovery tank is provided with an exhaust port for exhausting air in the recovery tank,
3. The VOC cooling recovery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a catalyst is provided at the exhaust port so that the VOC contained in the purged defrost air can be purified and exhausted from the exhaust port. apparatus.   The VOC cooling and recovery apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the defrost air introduction pipe is provided also as the gas introduction pipe.

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