Other

Liquid Carbonic Corporation

Chicago Bridge & Iron Technical Services Company

Cbi Research Corporation

Lewis Tyree, Jr

George D Rhoades

Gary Dee Lang

Harry C Fischer

Martin M Reynolds

Roger F Gyger

James R Missig

John S Andrepont

Don H Coers

Richard J Kooy

John T Crawford

A reciprocating cryogenic pump, suitable for medium and high pressures having very low net positive suction head (NPSH) requirements. The pump comprises a cylinder having both liquid inlets and vapor outlets, and two interacting pistons, each piston reciprocably movable within the cylinder, and each piston having flow conduits there through generally co-axial with the piston and with the cylinder. The conduit of one piston preferentially connects to the liquid inlets and the conduit of the other piston preferentially connects to the vapor outlets, which are at a higher elevation than the liquid inlets. Both conduits are selectively and mechanically opened to the pumping chamber by the reciprocating motion, and the pump is oriented to allow liquid flowing into the pumping chamber by the natural tendency of liquid to flow downwards and residual vapor to leave the pumping chamber by the natural tendency of vapor to flow upwards, an act that in encouraged by the conduit connecting to the vapor outlets being opened before the conduit connecting to the liquid inlets. One use of this pump is for any on-board, mobile (truck, rail or ship), LNG fuel systems for Diesel engines.

Very low NPSH cryogenic pump and mobile LNG station

The cargo area of a refrigerated railroad car is cooled by convectors positioned along the upper side and walls of the cargo side and end walls of the cargo compartment of the car. The convectors are cooled by a supply of carbon dioxide snow in a bunker above the cargo compartment. Alternately, vents between the bunker and the cargo compartment and along the upper side and end walls of the cargo compartment enhance and direct carbon dioxide vapor circulation between the cargo area and the bunker. The convectors and the vents can be used independently or in combination.

Dry ice rail car cooling system

A liquid CO.sub.2 storage vessel system for user sites, which receives warm CO.sub.2 and then cools the liquid CO.sub.2 to temperatures below -25.degree. F. before further use. The cooled liquid CO.sub.2 can be at temperatures and pressures of near equilibrium conditions or at sub-cooled conditions. Cooling of the liquid CO.sub.2 is conducted by CO.sub.2 vapor removal from liquid CO.sub.2 ; and is independent from the CO.sub.2 use, so cooling can be conducted during both normal and off hours. The storage vessel can be safely filled from most existing delivery vehicles, and the previously cooled liquid CO.sub.2 in the bottom of the storage vessel can be prevented from mixing with the warmer being-delivered liquid CO.sub.2, so the temperature of the liquid CO.sub.2 immediately going to use is little effected by the delivery being conducted.

Versatile low temperature liquid CO.sub.2 ground support system

The cargo area of a refrigerated box car is cooled by convectors positioned along the upper side and end walls of the cargo compartment of the car. The convectors are cooled by a supply of carbon dioxide snow in a bunker above the cargo compartment.

Carbon dioxide railroad car refrigeration system

Filling units for supplying small tanks or the like with gasoline, kerosene, or other flowable materials which attach to an inlet to such a tank. When the filling unit is in a fill position, a displacer section occupies a substantial volume within the tank and allows the person filling the tank to supply the liquid until the tank will accept no more and the liquid reaches a predetermined level in a funnel portion of the filler. Thereafter, manipulation of the displacer section, as for example by withdrawing a section of the overall unit upward opening a valve or movement within the tank itself, causes all the liquid remaining in the funnel up to such predetermined level to be accommodated within the tank by occupying the volume previously occupied by the displacer section and thereby completing the filling of the tank to a full condition without any spillage. The overall unit may be such that it is intended to be removed from the tank after each filling operation (and preferably stored in an optional, integral storage compartment), or it may be designed to fit permanently within a tank inlet and to be movable downward to a storage orientation, which allows the replacing of the protective screw cap that normally closes the tank.

Filler for small tanks or the like

Filling units for supplying small tanks or the like with gasoline, kerosene, or other flowable materials which attach to an inlet to such a tank. When the filling unit is in a fill position, a displacer section occupies a substantial volume within the tank. It allows the person filling the tank to supply the liquid until the tank will accept no more and the liquid reaches a predetermined level in a funnel portion of the filler. Thereafter, manipulation of the displacer section vertically within the tank, as for example by sliding a section of the overall unit upward, accommodates all the liquid remaining in the funnel up to such predetermined level within the tank by occupying the volume previously occupied by the displacer section and thereby completing the filling of the tank to a full condition without any spillage. The overall unit may be such that it is intended to be removed from the tank after each filling operation, or it may be designed to fit permanently within a wide-mouth tank inlet and to be movable downward to a storage orientation which allows the unit to remain mounted in the tank inlet and covered by the protective cap that normally screws onto the inlet opening to close it.

Filling units for filling small tanks or the like with gasoline, kerosene, or other flowable materials which attach an inlet to such a tank. When the filling unit is in a fill position, a displacer section occupies a substantial volume within the tank. It allows the person filling the tank to supply the liquid until the tank will accept no more and the liquid reaches a predetermined level in a funnel portion of the filler. Thereafter, removal of the displacer section from the tank, as by sliding a section of the overall unit upward, allows the liquid in the funnel to enter the tank and fill the volume evacuated by the displacer section to complete the filling without any spillage. The overall unit may be removed from the tank each filling operation, or it may be designed to include a protective cap that fits over the upward-protruding portion of the unit, allowing the unit to remain mounted on the tank.

LNG is pumped to high pressure, vaporized, further heated and then expanded to create rotary power that is used to generate electrical power. A reservoir of carbon dioxide at about its triple point is created in an insulated vessel to store energy in the form of refrigeration recovered from the evaporated LNG. During peak electrical power periods, liquid carbon dioxide is withdrawn therefrom, pumped to a high pressure, vaporized, further heated, and expanded to create rotary power which generates additional electrical power. The exhaust from a fuel-fired combustion turbine, connected to an electrical power generator, heats the high pressure carbon dioxide vapor. The discharge stream from the CO.sub.2 expander is cooled and at least partially returned to the vessel where vapor condenses by melting stored solid carbon dioxide. During off-peak periods, CO.sub.2 vapor is withdrawn from the reservoir and condensed to liquid by vaporizing LNG, so that use is always efficiently made of the available refrigeration from the vaporizing LNG, and valuable peak electrical power is available when needed by using the stored energy in the CO.sub.2 reservoir.

Power generation from LNG

A method and system for delivering high pressure, subcooled liquid carbon dioxide. An insulated tank having a height greater than its internal diameter holds liquid CO.sub.2 to a depth of at least about 6 feet, and high pressure, subcooled liquid CO.sub.2 is delivered from a lower outlet of the tank. CO.sub.2 vapor is condensed in the upper region to maintain a desired high pressure, e.g., about 290-310 psi., at the top of the tank. By withdrawing liquid CO.sub.2 from an upper region in the tank, subcooling it by heat exchange and returning subcooled liquid CO.sub.2 to a lower region, a thermocline region is created at least 2 feet below the surface, and above which equilibrium high pressure liquid CO.sub.2 exists. Heat exchange is efficiently carried out during off hours using liquid carbon dioxide to chill the condensed refrigerant from an existing auxiliary mechanical refrigeration unit.

Two phase CO.sub.2 storage tank

A chiller has an insulated enclosure for maintaining the low ambient temperatures therewithin. A conveyor belt carries food products throughout the enclosure, passing through an entrance and an exit in the enclosure. The conveyor belt includes a straight-line path section and a helical path section, and is driven by a suitable drive, such as an internal rotating drum or an endless drive belt contacting a bottom tier of the conveyor helical path section. The belt includes inner and outer links interconnected by transverse rods. Upon entering a helical path section from a straight-line path section, the conveyor belt undergoes expansion only, with the inner ends of the rods undergoing only slight relative angular movement, while the outer ends of the rods are permitted an amount of relative longitudinal movement so as to allow the conveyor belt to assume a curved configuration having the desired radius of curvature for the helical path.

Chiller with expanding spiral conveyor belt

A cryogenic freezer having a thermally insulated tunnel-like enclosure with an entrance and an exit and means for conveying products being frozen therethrough. Products are contacted with liquid cryogen at a region generally near the entrance and a blower located closer to the entrance than to the exit controls flow of cryogen vapor. Upstream and downstream baffles and dampers associated with blower are linked together for complementary movement to selectively regulate the upstream and downstream flow of vapor discharged from the blower. Additional blowers circulate the cold cryogenic vapor transverse to the direction of the conveying means. The temperature of vapor leaving the region of the entrance is monitored the orientation of the baffle and damper arrangement is adjusted in accordance with the temperature monitored. The food products can be contacted by liquid nitrogen in a reservoir facilitates cleaning and retards inefficient vaporization.

N.sub.2 tunnel freezer

A system for storing electrical energy in the form of triple-point CO.sub.2 and then using such stored energy plus heat to generate electrical power. A reservoir of carbon dioxide liquid at about the triple point is created in an insulated vessel. Liquid carbon dioxide is withdrawn and pumped to a high pressure, which high pressure carbon dioxide is heated and expanded to create rotary power which generates electrical power. The discharge stream from the expander is cooled and returned to the vessel where carbon dioxide vapor is condensed by melting solid carbon dioxide. A fuel-fired gas turbine connected to an electrical power generator can be used to heat the high pressure carbon dioxide, and an ambient air stream flowing toward the gas turbine can be cooled by giving up heat to the high pressure carbon dioxide stream. The returning expanded carbon dioxide stream can be returned to a separate auxiliary vessel, and liquid carbon dioxide pumped from such auxiliary vessel to a main vessel wherein solid carbon dioxide is formed and then transferred to the auxiliary vessel.

Power plant using CO.sub.2 as a working fluid

A cabinet freezer efficiently utilizes a liquid cryogen refrigerant in conjunction with a spiral conveyor which conveys a product load through a temperature gradient within the freezer. The freezer has a lower inlet and an upper outlet for the conveyor and food load thereon. The escape of cryogen vapors created in the freezer from the liquid cryogen is controlled such that at least about 80% of the vapors exit through the upper outlet which is at the warmest zone established as a part of the temperature gradient in the freezer.

Liquid cryogen freezer and method of operating same

Large quantities of CO.sub.2 snow are provided by a system and method which utilizes two reservoirs which maintain at least about 4500 pounds of CO.sub.2 at about its triple point, a substantial portion of which contains solid CO.sub.2. A first such reservoir subcools high pressure liquid CO.sub.2 flowing therethrough and permits efficient production of CO.sub.2 snow. A second such reservoir assists in cooling and condensing CO.sub.2 vapor recirculating through the system, as well as in efficiently obtaining CO.sub.2 being delivered to the system from an outside source.

Production of large quantities of CO.sub.2 snow

A plurality of work stations may be cooled and temperature-controlled with subcooled liquid CO.sub.2 without a plurality of mechanical units for cooling CO.sub.2 and high capital costs resulting therefrom. The system includes a plurality of spaced-apart enclosures to be cooled, each enclosure having an associated tank containing subcooled liquid CO.sub.2 to be directed into the enclosure for cooling it and then to exhaust. The associated tanks are connected to a source of high pressure CO.sub.2 such as a large storage vessel which supplies CO.sub.2 for the associated tanks and for cooling the associated tanks as by expanding liquid CO.sub.2 in the vicinity of the associated tank. After expansion, CO.sub.2 vapor is directed to a reservoir or directly back to the storage vessel via a compressor. The reservoir contains CO.sub.2 slush and collects vapor CO.sub.2 used in the cooling process of a multiplicity of duplicate associated tanks, thus serving as a sink for the collection of CO.sub.2 vapor to be ultimately returned to the storage vessel.

Growing community of inventors

Oak Brook, IL, United States of America

Lewis Tyree, Jr