JPH01312370A - Refrigerant separation equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a refrigerant separation device that separates only a refrigerant from a mixed gas of refrigerant and air.

Conventional techniques Known methods for separating mixtures include cryogenic separation, adsorption, and membrane force methods.

Furthermore, as a refrigerant recovery device, an adsorption type is generally used, such as Ohita Giken Kogyo's "F ni-1001".

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Although the above-mentioned adsorption method is commonly used as a refrigerant separation device, it has problems such as a complicated structure and an increase in the size of the device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems.1. The objective is to simplify, downsize, and speed up separation of a device that separates a mixture of refrigerant and air.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a separator body having a functional membrane therein that partitions into a high pressure side space and a low pressure side space, and a separator body connected to the high pressure side space of the separator body. an inlet pipe through which a single refrigerant or a mixture of a mixture of refrigerants and air flows in; and a permeation outlet pipe connected to the low-pressure side space of the separator body through which a specific refrigerant in the refrigerant flows out. and an outlet pipe that is connected to the high-pressure side space of the separator body and allows air and other refrigerant to flow out.

Function The present invention can simplify and downsize the device and increase the speed of separation by the above-described configuration.

EXAMPLE First, the results of an experiment in which a functional membrane was used to allow R-22, oxygen, and nitrogen to permeate will be described.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a refrigerant separator (hereinafter referred to as a separator) using a functional membrane.

In the same figure, the separator main body 102 is held in a mesh-like holder 104.
Partition between high pressure side space and low pressure side space, holding tool 104
A functional membrane 103 is installed on the high pressure side.

Further, the separator main body 102 is provided with an inlet pipe 105, an outlet pipe 106, and a permeate outlet pipe 107.

In the separator configured as above, the outlet pipe 106 was closed, and a composite membrane in which an ultra-thin film of dimethyl silicone was transferred to a nonwoven fabric was used as the functional membrane, and single gases of R-22, O2, and N2 were permeated. Explain the results. .

FIG. 2 shows the differential pressure between the pressure in the high-pressure side space a and the pressure in the low-pressure side space a, and the permeation flow rate of each gas.

As is clear from the figure, the amount of permeation of R-22 was much larger than that of 02 and N2.

Therefore, it was found that air is mainly composed of 02 and N2, and that the refrigerant R-22 and air can be separated.

The following is an example of a refrigerant separation device using the above-mentioned functional membrane.1. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

In this figure, parts that are the same as those in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof will be omitted. A permeate outlet pipe 107 of the separator 101 is connected to a reservoir 111 via a pump 108. Also,
The pump 108 and the connecting pipe 109 of the reservoir 111 are connected to the cooler 110 for heat exchange. On the other hand, outlet piping 1
A blower fan 112 is connected to 06.

The operation of the separation device configured as described above will be explained below.

First, a gas mixture of air and R-22 is supplied from the inlet pipe 105 of the separator 1o1 and permeates through the functional membrane 103.R-22 passes through the functional membrane 103 due to the pressure difference between the high pressure side space a and the low pressure side space The permeate passes through the permeate outlet pipe 1071 and the pump 108, and is cooled by the cooler 110 and stored in the reservoir 11.
It can be stored in 1. On the other hand, air (N2°02), which is relatively difficult to permeate through the functional membrane 103, flows out from the outlet pipe 106 of the separator 101 by the blower fan 112. Therefore, the R-22 is stored in the reservoir 111, the air is released to the atmosphere, and only the refrigerant can be recovered.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to simplify the apparatus, downsize it, and speed up the separation compared to a separation method such as an adsorption type.

In the above embodiment, the pressure in the low-pressure side space a of the separator 101 was made lower than atmospheric pressure by the pump 108 to obtain a differential pressure, but the high-pressure side space a was made higher than atmospheric pressure to obtain a differential pressure. The same effect can be obtained.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described in L, the functional membrane of the present invention has better storage properties than adsorption-type adsorbents, so it is possible to downsize and simplify the device. Furthermore, whereas the adsorption method is a discontinuous process of adsorption and desorption, the membrane separation method allows for continuous processing, so it is possible to speed up the separation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a refrigerant separation device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing experimental results using a separator using a functional membrane, and Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the separator. . 101... Separator, 103... Functional membrane. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person10
/-Vini Separation Gu103--Ichiki Shukan l103-Ichigo ＾Noh'' Return Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A separator body that has a functional membrane inside that partitions into a high-pressure side space and a low-pressure side space, and a separator body that is connected to the high-pressure side space of the separator body and that is connected to a single refrigerant or a mixed refrigerant consisting of multiple types and air. a permeation outlet pipe that is connected to the low-pressure side space of the separator body and that mainly allows a specific refrigerant in the refrigerant to flow out, and a permeation outlet pipe that is connected to the high-pressure side space of the separator body that allows air, etc. A refrigerant separation device having an outlet pipe for discharging the refrigerant. (2) The refrigerant separation device according to claim 1, further comprising a net-like holder provided on the low-pressure space side of the functional membrane. (3) The refrigerant separation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a pump and a reservoir are connected to the permeation outlet piping, and a cooler is provided for cooling the piping between the pump and the reservoir.