WO2004092307A1 - Device and method for collecting vapor gasoline - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of collecting vapor gasoline, comprising the steps of sucking vapor gasoline in the gasoline tank of a car into a container (11) inside the circulating unit of a vapor gasoline collecting device, and operating a circulation pump (10) to circulate the vapor gasoline in a circulation circuit having the circulation pump (10), the container (11), the vapor gasoline collecting device (12), and a second open/close valve (14) sequentially connected to each other, cooling a part of the vapor gasoline by a gasoline condenser (9) as a cooling medium in the gasoline collecting device (12) to condense and liquefy the vapor gasoline and accumulate the liquefied gasoline on the underside, feeding non-liquefied vapor gasoline again to the gasoline collecting device (12) through the circulation pump (10) for re-cooling, and repeating these steps for a specified time, whereby almost all vapor gasoline can be liquefied, and the liquefied gasoline can be discharged to a gasoline collecting tank.

Description

 Description Vapor gasoline recovery device and recovery method

 The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for recovering vaporized gasoline (hereinafter, referred to as vapor gasoline). Background art

 When a small amount of gasoline is used inside a car's gasoline tank, gasoline is present in the lower part and vaporized gasoline is present in the upper part in a saturated state. Therefore, when refueling gasoline at a gas station, almost the same volume of vapor gasoline as the gasoline tank is expelled and released into the atmosphere.

 However, releasing vapor gasoline from the car's gasoline tank to the atmosphere as it is is considered to be the main cause of photochemical smog and has the problem of adversely affecting the human body.

As a countermeasure against this, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-34209 discloses that at least one kind of hydrocarbon gas having 1 to 4 carbon atoms is mixed with vapor gasoline and then the mixed gas is mixed with 4 kgf / kg. There is disclosed a method of compressing to a cm ² by a compressor, and then recovering by cooling with a cooler.

In the gasoline recovery apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 51-34209, hydrocarbon gas is mixed with vapor gasoline from the viewpoint of ensuring safety. However, the hydrocarbon gas itself is also flammable, and it was necessary to take safety measures against the hydrocarbon gas. In addition, the recovered gasoline contains hydrocarbons, so the quality of the gasoline has deteriorated. And it was difficult. Furthermore, to pressurize pagazolin to 4 kgf / cm ² , a large compressor is required, leading to an increase in cost. Disclosure of the invention

 The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is an inexpensive device that can collect gasoline safely and efficiently with a small and simple device, and that can reuse the collected gasoline. It aims to provide a method.

 The vapor gasoline recovery device according to the present invention includes a circulation circuit that sucks the vapor gasoline staying in the gasoline tank of the car and circulates the vapor gasoline, and the circulation circuit cools the vapor gasoline. It was formed using at least a gasoline condensing container having a cooling medium and piping. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing the gasoline recovery method.

 FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the gasoline recovery device according to the first embodiment.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between brine temperature and gasoline recovery rate. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another configuration of the vapor gasoline condensing container.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the gasoline recovery device according to the second embodiment.

 FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the pressure in the circulation unit and the gasoline recovery amount.

 FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a gasoline recovery device according to Embodiment 3.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between operating time and gasoline recovery. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the operation time and the pressure in the circulation unit. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a gasoline recovery method according to the third embodiment.

 FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a gasoline recovery method according to the fourth embodiment.

 FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a gasoline recovery device according to Embodiment 4.

 FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a gasoline recovery device according to the fifth embodiment. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1

 In the gasoline recovery of the present invention, gasoline is recovered in three main steps. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the process.

In Fig. 1, first, when filling a car with gasoline at a gas station, there is liquid gasoline in the lower part of the gasoline tank and saturated vapor gasoline in the upper part. Vapor gasoline is suctioned at the same time as gasoline is supplied, sent into the gasoline recovery device, and the pressure in the recovery device is increased to perform a suction process that creates a state in which vapor gasoline is easily condensed (Step (hereinafter referred to as “step”). , "S") 1) _c Next, the vapor gasoline drawn into the gasoline recovery unit is circulated and liquefied in the recovery unit. Specifically, the cooling medium in the gasoline recovery unit and the vapor gasoline The gasoline is cooled by exchanging heat with the gasoline to separate the condensed and liquefied gasoline from the gaseous vapor gasoline. Then, a cooling process is performed by exchanging heat with the cooling medium again to perform a condensation process of converting the recovered vapor gasoline into liquid gasoline (S 2).

Next, a discharge process is performed in which the circulation of vapor gasoline in the gasoline recovery device is stopped and the liquefied gasoline is discharged to the gasoline recovery tank (S 3).

 Next, the configuration of the gasoline recovery device according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

 In Fig. 2, the gasoline recovery system mainly consists of a heat source unit 1 and a circulation unit 2. The heat source unit 1 includes a pressure unit 3 and a condenser 4.

 Re

A first closed circuit in which the expansion device 5 and the evaporator 6 are connected by piping, a second closed circuit in which the tank 7 containing the evaporator 6, the pump 8, and the gasoline condenser 9 are connected by piping. Circuit. Refrigerant flows in the first closed circuit, and the refrigerant may be a non-flammable HFC refrigerant (for example, R404A, R410A, R407C, etc.) or the like. natural refrigerant (for example C_〇 _2, etc.) are needed use is. Antifreeze (eg, brine (ethylene glycol)) is circulating in the second closed circuit. When vapor gasoline is condensed at 0 or more, water may be used.

 The circulation unit 2 has a circulation circuit in which a circulation pump 10, a vessel 11, a vapor gasoline condensation vessel 12 containing a gasoline condenser 9, and a second on-off valve 14 are connected by piping. In addition, a first on-off valve 13 provided in a pipe connecting the circulation circuit with a gasoline recovery hose that is inserted into the gasoline tank and sucks gasoline gasoline, and the lower part of the gasoline gas condensing container 12 And a third on-off valve 15 provided in a pipe for connecting to a gasoline recovery tank disposed under the gas station or the like. The operation of the circulation pump 10 and the opening and closing operations of the first on-off valve 13, the second on-off valve 14, and the third on-off valve 15 are controlled by the control device 16.

Next, the operation of the heat source unit 1 will be described. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 3 emits heat in the condenser 4 to be in a liquid state. The refrigerant in a liquid state is decompressed by the expansion device 5, becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant, and flows into the evaporator 6. In the evaporator 6, the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant The heat is absorbed from the brine in the tank 7, becomes a gas refrigerant, and is sucked into the compressor 3. In addition, 17 shows the flow of the refrigerant.

 The brine in the tank 7 is cooled by supplying heat to the refrigerant in the evaporator 6, and the cooled brine is conveyed to the gasoline condenser 9 by the pump 8. Then, the brine in the gasoline condenser 9 exchanges heat with the vapor gasoline present in the vapor gasoline condensing vessel 12, and the temperature rises by absorbing heat from the gasoline. Thereafter, the brine is sent again to the tank 7 by the pump 8 and cooled. In addition, 18 shows the flow of brine.

 Next, the operation in the circulation unit 2 will be described.

 First, the first on-off valve 13 is opened, and vapor gasoline is sucked from the upstream side to which the vapor gasoline collection hose is connected and stored in the container 11 .At this time, the third on-off valve 15 is closed. The second on-off valve 14 is closed. Next, when the vapor gasoline suction is completed, the controller 16 closes the first on-off valve 13, opens the second on-off valve 14, closes the third on-off valve 15, and then closes the circulation pump 1. 0 is operated to circulate vapor gasoline in circulation unit 2. 19 shows the flow of vapor gasoline. In this circulation, the vapor gasoline exiting the circulation pump 10 passes through the vessel 11 and is sent to the vapor gasoline condensing vessel 12, where it is connected to the brine in the gasoline condenser 9. Cooled by heat exchange and partially liquefied <The liquefied gasoline will accumulate at the bottom of the vapor gasoline condensing container 12. On the other hand, the vapor gasoline that has not been condensed passes through the second on-off valve 14 and is sucked into the circulation pump 10 and then sent again to the vapor gasoline condensing container 12 to be cooled. This circulation reduces the concentration of vapor gasoline over time.

Thereafter, the controller 16 starts the operation of the circulation pump 10 after a predetermined time has elapsed. Stop and open the third on-off valve 15. Then, the gasoline is liquefied from the vapor gasoline condensing container 12 and the gasoline accumulated in the lower part is discharged to the gasoline recovery tank using the liquid head.

 In this way, vapor gasoline can be liquefied and recovered as gasoline.

 Next, the reason why the vapor gasoline is circulated in the closed circuit by the circulation pump 10 will be described. When vapor gasoline is circulated, the contact time with the gasoline condenser 9 in the vapor gasoline condensing vessel 1 and 2 becomes longer, and a certain gas flow rate is secured. As a result, the heat transfer coefficient can be remarkably improved, the recovery time can be reduced, and the efficiency can be greatly improved.

 FIG. 3 is a graph showing a simulation result of gasoline recovery performance by the gasoline recovery device shown in FIG. In Fig. 3, the horizontal axis represents the brine temperature, and the vertical axis represents the gasoline recovery rate (liquefied gasoline amount (g) Z recovered gasoline amount (g)). As can be seen from Fig. 3, the lower the temperature of the brine, the higher the gasoline recovery rate. This is because lowering the brine temperature lowers the gasoline's vapor partial pressure.For example, by setting the brine temperature to about 110, the gasoline released to the atmosphere is reduced More than 90% can be recovered.

 By circulating the vapor gasoline with the circulation pump 10 and liquefying it in the gasoline condenser 9 in this way, the recovery time can be greatly reduced.

 In addition, by using a vapor compression refrigeration cycle device as a heat source unit, a temperature zone of about 11 ° can be obtained efficiently and easily, and the load fluctuation can be followed well.

Furthermore, since non-flammable HFC refrigerant—natural refrigerant is used as the refrigerant for the heat source unit 1, the burden on the environment can be reduced, and 200

Safety at strictly prohibited gas stations can also be secured.

 In FIG. 2, the flow direction of the vapor gasoline is from the bottom to the top of the gasoline condensing container 12, but it may be allowed to flow upward or downward as shown in FIG. By doing so, the condensed and liquefied gasoline flows smoothly downward, and the efficiency of vapor gasoline condensation is improved, and the gas-liquid separation efficiency of the gasoline condensing container 12 is also increased.

Embodiment 2

 FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a gasoline recovery device according to the second embodiment. The gasoline recovery unit 12 and the third on-off valve 15 of the circulation unit 2 of the gasoline recovery device shown in FIG. The pressure detecting means 20 is provided between the two. In FIG. 5, the same components as those in FIG. 2 or the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the result of simulating the relationship between the pressure in the circulation unit 2 and the gasoline recovery rate. In Fig. 6, the horizontal axis shows the pressure in the circulation unit, and the vertical axis shows the gasoline recovery rate (liquefied gasoline amount (g) / recovered gasoline amount (g)). The pressure in the circulation unit 2 is changed by changing the volume in the circulation unit 2. In Fig. 6, for example, if pagasoline 70 (U) at atmospheric pressure (about lkgfm ² abs) is enclosed in a circulation unit 2 with a volume of 35 (K), the inside of the circulation unit The pressure of ² becomes 2 (kgf m ² abs) because the volume is halved.

 From FIG. 6, it can be seen that the gasoline recovery rate tends to increase as the pressure of the circulation unit 2 increases. Therefore, if vapor gasoline is fed into the circulation unit by the circulation pump 10 so that the pressure in the circulation unit 2 becomes as high as possible, the recovery rate of gasoline is improved.

However, when gasoline is pressurized, its ignition temperature decreases, The pressure is regulated by the Fire Service Law to 0.2 MPa or less. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the pressure detecting means 20 is provided, and control is performed to suppress the pressure to 0.2 MPa.

 Specifically, first, the first opening / closing valve 13 is opened, the second opening / closing valve 14 is closed, the third opening / closing valve 15 is closed, and the circulation unit 10 is operated by the circulation pump 10. The gasoline is fed into 2 and the pressure in the circulation unit gradually increases until it reaches the first predetermined pressure (0.2 MPa or less). When the control device 16 recognizes that the value detected by the pressure detection means 20 exceeds the first predetermined value, the control device 16 opens and closes the first on-off valve 13 and opens the second on-off valve 14 from the closed state. Leave the third open / close valve 15 in the open state, leave the third open / close valve 15 closed, and operate the circulation pump 10 to circulate vapor gasoline in the circulation unit 2. By controlling the on-off valve in this way, it becomes possible to circulate vapor gasoline at a predetermined pressure or less and to perform recovery.

Embodiment 3.

 FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating a gasoline recovery device according to Embodiment 3. The pressure is detected by a circulation unit 2 of the gasoline recovery device shown in FIG. 5 based on the pressure detected by the pressure detection means 20. A computing device 21 for determining saturate is provided. Note that, in FIG. 7, the same components as those in FIG.

Next, a method of determining completion of gasoline recovery will be described. FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the operation time and the gasoline recovery amount, and FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the operation time and the pressure in the circulation unit 2. In Fig. 8, the gasoline recovery amount saturates when driven for about 3 minutes, and in Fig. 9, the pressure in the circulation unit 2 is saturated when driven for about 3 minutes. It can be seen that there is a correlation between pressure and gasoline recovery. Therefore, the pressure in the circulation unit 2 is detected by the pressure detection means 20 and the pressure If no change is found, it can be determined that the collection is completed.

 Based on this idea, the method of recovering gasoline, that is, the operation in the condensing step of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 10 <First, the first on-off valve 13 is closed, and the second With the on-off valve 14 open and the third on-off valve 15 closed, the circulation pump 10 is started (S10).

 Next, the pressure P (t) at the time t in the circulation unit 2 is detected by the pressure detecting means 20 and stored in the arithmetic unit 21 (S11). Next, waiting for a predetermined time: T seconds (S12), the pressure P (t + T) at time t + T in the circulation unit 2 is detected (S13), and the arithmetic unit 2 At 1, the operation of ΔP = P (t) -one P (t + T) is performed (S14). Next, the controller 16 determines whether this ΔP is smaller than a second predetermined value ε (S15). If it is determined in this step S15 that ΔΡ is smaller than ε, it can be determined that the pressure is saturated, and the controller 16 stops the operation of the circulation pump 10 (S16). ). If it is determined in S15 that it is not smaller, the process returns to S11.

 By performing such control, not only can gasoline be collected efficiently, but also safety can be sufficiently ensured.

Embodiment 4.

 Since the vapor gasoline in the gas tank is originally considered to be the property of the user, it is necessary to consider returning the same amount of gasoline as the collected gasoline or the amount corresponding to the collected gasoline. For this, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, a recovery amount measuring step (S4) for measuring the amount of gasoline recovered is required after S3.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a gasoline recovery device according to the fourth embodiment. In the gasoline recovery device shown in FIG. 7, in the direction of the outlet of the third on-off valve 15 (gasoline recovery tank side), Established flow meter 22 to measure gasoline recovery It is something.

 In this way, the flow rate of gasoline discharged from the vapor gasoline condensing container 1 to the gasoline recovery tank can be measured, and the rate corresponding to the recovered gasoline can be discounted or gasoline can be added. Monkey

 It should be noted that a weight scale may be provided instead of the flow meter 22 to measure the weight of the recovered gasoline.

 A computer may be connected to the flowmeter 22 to automatically calculate the refund based on the flow rate measured by the flowmeter 22. The gasoline corresponding to the set flow rate may be additionally supplied.

Embodiment 5

 FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gasoline recovery device according to the fifth embodiment. This gasoline recovery system uses a system in which vapor gasoline is directly cooled by a refrigerant, instead of cooling gasoline by brine.

In FIG. 13, the heat source unit 1 has a closed circuit in which a compressor 3, a condenser 4, a throttle device 5, and a gasoline condenser 9 are connected by pipes. 4 0 4 A, R 4 1 0 A, R 4 0 7 C , etc.) and natural refrigerants (e.g. C_〇 _2, etc.) is used. The circulation unit 2 includes a circulation pump 10, a container 11, a vapor gasoline condensing container 12, a first on-off valve 13, a second on-off valve 14, and a third on-off valve 15. Piping is connected. Further, the operation of the circulation pump 10 and the opening and closing operations of the first on-off valve 13, the second on-off valve 14, and the third on-off valve 15 are controlled by the control device 16.

The control and operation of the circulation unit 2 are the same as those described in FIG. In the heat source unit 1, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 3 releases heat in the condenser 4 and turns into a liquid state. becomes two-phase refrigerant, the _c gasoline condenser 9 flows into gasoline condenser 9 absorbs heat from the gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant base one Pagasorin condensation vessel 1 2 total Pagasorin, becomes the gas refrigerant, the compressor Aspirated to 3. Also, the vapor gasoline in the vapor gasoline condensing container 1 2 is deprived of heat, and condenses and liquefies.

 As described above, the refrigerant of the heat source unit 1 and the pergasoline of the circulation unit 2 may be directly heat-exchanged without passing through the brine, and thus the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

 It should be noted that the circulation unit 2 in FIG. 13 is also controlled by providing a pressure detecting means 20 as shown in FIG. 5, and is controlled by providing an arithmetic unit 21 as shown in FIG. As a matter of course, as shown in FIG. 12, it is also possible to measure the recovered amount of vapor gasoline with the flow meter 22. . Industrial Applicability

 INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the present invention is useful as a device that is installed at a gas station or the like and that recovers the gasoline from the gasoline tank of a car.

Claims

The scope of the claims  1. A vapor gasoline recovery device having a circulation circuit for sucking vapor gasoline in a car gasoline tank and circulating the vapor gasoline, wherein the circulation circuit has a cooling medium for cooling the vapor gasoline. A vapor gasoline recovery device characterized by being formed using at least a gasoline condensing container and piping.  2. A vapor gasoline recovery device comprising a circulation circuit for sucking vapor gasoline in a gasoline tank of a car and circulating the vapor gasoline, wherein the circulation circuit comprises: a pump for circulating the vapor gasoline; A vapor gasoline recovery device formed using at least a gasoline condensing container having a cooling medium for cooling vapor gasoline, and a pipe.  3. A first open / close valve installed in a pipe that connects the circulation circuit with the gasoline gas collection hose that is inserted into the gasoline tank of the car and sucks the gasoline in the gasoline tank, and detects the pressure in the circulation circuit. And a control device for controlling the opening and closing of the first on-off valve and controlling the operation of the pump. The control device, after opening the first on-off valve, comprises: 3. The vapor gasoline recovery device according to claim 2, wherein when the pressure detected in step (1) exceeds a first predetermined value, the first on-off valve is closed and the pump is started. .  4. The vapor gasoline recovery device according to claim 3, wherein the first predetermined value is 0.2 MPa or less. 5. After starting the pump, the control device determines a difference between the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means and the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means after a lapse of a predetermined time from the detection of the pressure. The vapor gasoline recovery according to claim 4, wherein the pump is stopped when the value falls below the value. 6. The vapor gasoline recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a measuring means for measuring the amount of liquefied gasoline.  7. A first device comprising: a compressor that compresses a refrigerant; a condenser that condenses the compressed refrigerant; a throttle device that decompresses the condensed refrigerant; and an evaporator that evaporates the depressurized refrigerant. 2. A closed circuit, comprising: a tank accommodating the evaporator; and a second closed circuit for circulating water or antifreeze by connecting a cooling medium with a pipe. 7. A vapor gasoline recovery device according to any one of paragraphs 6.  8. A first device comprising: a compressor that compresses a refrigerant; a condenser that condenses the compressed refrigerant; a throttling device that decompresses the condensed refrigerant; and an evaporator that evaporates the depressurized refrigerant. The vapor gasoline recovery device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a closed circuit, wherein a cooling medium is the evaporator.  9. The vapor gasoline recovery apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the refrigerant is a non-flammable HFC refrigerant or a natural cooling medium. 10. A vapor gasoline recovery device that sucks vapor gasoline in the car's gasoline tank and cools and liquefies the vapor gasoline, which compresses non-flammable HFC refrigerant or natural refrigerant. A condenser for condensing the compressed refrigerant, a throttle device for reducing the pressure of the condensed refrigerant, and an evaporator for evaporating the reduced pressure refrigerant, a first closed circuit comprising: A second closed circuit for circulating water or antifreeze by connecting a tank containing a heat exchanger and a cooling medium with a pipe, and sucking vapor gasoline in a gasoline tank of a car and cooling with the cooling medium. Paper A vapor gasoline recovery device comprising a circuit for liquefying gasoline.  1 1. A vapor gasoline recovery device that sucks vapor gasoline in the car's gasoline tank and cools and liquefies the vaporized gasoline, and a compressor that compresses non-flammable HFC refrigerant or natural refrigerant. A condenser for condensing the compressed refrigerant; a throttle device for decompressing the condensed refrigerant; an evaporator for evaporating the decompressed refrigerant; and a closed circuit in the gasoline tank of the vehicle. A vapor gasoline recovery apparatus, comprising: a circuit for sucking vapor gasoline, exchanging heat with the evaporator, and cooling the vapor gasoline to liquefy the vapor gasoline.  12. A gasoline condensing container having a cooling medium for cooling vapor gasoline, and a vapor gasoline recovery method for recovering vapor gasoline using a circulation circuit formed using at least piping. A suction step of sucking vapor gasoline in a car gas tank into the circulation circuit; A condensation step of circulating the vapor gasoline in the circulation circuit, and liquefying the vapor gasoline with the cooling medium; Discharging the liquefied gasoline from the circulation circuit.  13. The method for recovering vapor gasoline according to claim 12, further comprising a recovery amount measuring step for measuring the amount of liquefied gasoline. 14. The vapor gasoline recovery method according to claim 12, wherein in the suction step, vapor gasoline is sucked into the circulation circuit until the gasoline reaches a predetermined pressure.