JP4564340B2 - Gas-liquid separator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas-liquid separation device that separates a liquid contained in a gas, and more particularly, to a gas-liquid separation device having a high separation performance even in a small volume.

  5A and 5B show a conventional gas-liquid separation device, in which FIG. 5A is a top view, FIG. 5B is a vertical cross-sectional view of bb, and FIG. 5C is a perspective view of a partition plate as a component. In the conventional gas-liquid separation device 100, the cylindrical portion 110a, the top plate portion 110b, and the bottom portion 110c have an inlet pipe 111 for introducing a gas containing liquid, and the introduced gas circulates in the cylindrical portion 110a in a circulating manner. , An outlet pipe 112 for leading to the outside, a drain pipe 113 for discharging a liquid substance formed by separating the contained liquid from the gas and accumulating in the lower part, and this accumulated liquid substance being re-vaporized by being absorbed in the air flow. And a partition plate 114 for preventing this.

  And the gas containing the liquid introduced from the inlet pipe 111 grows while the contained droplet collides with the inner wall surface by centrifugal force while rotating on the inner wall surface of the cylindrical portion 110a in the circumferential direction. Further, when the grown droplet reaches a predetermined size or more, it drops in the vertical direction due to gravity, passes through the notch 114a, and is accumulated in the bottom 110c. Or the gas which collided with the inner wall surface is cooled below the dew point by the cylindrical part 110a, and the vapor | steam contained may adhere to this inner wall surface by dew condensation.

In this way, the gas introduced into the gas-liquid separation device 100 is separated from the liquid while flowing in the circumferential direction along the trajectory indicated by the arrow B in the figure, and finally, the gas is separated from the outlet pipe 112 to the outside. Will be derived. The separated liquid flows in the direction of arrow A in the figure and accumulates in the bottom 110c, and is then discharged from the drain pipe 113 to the outside (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-1033 (paragraphs 0011 to 0016, FIG. 1)

  However, in the conventional gas-liquid separator 100, since the flow path is not defined inside the cylindrical portion 110a, the gas may go straight to the outlet pipe 112 by the shortest route immediately after the introduction (referred to as a shortcut). The liquid contained in the liquid was insufficiently separated from the outlet pipe 112 with insufficient efficiency. In such a conventional gas-liquid separator 100, in order to improve the separation of the liquid contained in the gas, it is necessary to increase the internal volume.

By the way, for example, in a fuel cell vehicle that obtains power generation by electrochemically reacting fuel gas (hydrogen) and oxygen (air), the fuel gas (hydrogen) supplied with water in the electrochemical reaction is circulated. The power generation characteristics become unstable by entering into the circulation path. For this reason, it is necessary to attach an apparatus for separating and discharging water from the fuel gas (hydrogen) circulation path to the circulation path.
However, when the above-described conventional gas-liquid separation device 100 is attached to obtain a desired separation efficiency, it is inevitable that the volume is increased, and the layout of element parts in a limited vehicle interior space is restricted, which causes a problem.
Therefore, the present invention has an object to solve such a problem, and provides a gas-liquid separation device capable of separating and discharging a liquid such as moisture contained in a gas with high efficiency even in a small volume.

In the present invention, the following configuration is provided as means for solving the above-described problems. That is,
According to one aspect of the present invention, the gas body flows, and gas-liquid separation chamber in which liquid is separated contained in the gas, and is accumulated liquid storage chamber wherein the liquid separation, the liquid reservoir and the gas-liquid separation chamber in gas-liquid separation device comprising a partition member, the partitioning and the chamber, wherein the gas-liquid separating chamber, the flow path a plurality of curved paths for the gas-liquid separator leading from inlet portion of the gas outlet portion of said gas The flow path is formed by a partition provided in the gas- liquid separation chamber , and the partition member includes a portion located on the downstream side of the curved path and the gas-liquid separation chamber. A liquid drop hole that communicates with the liquid reservoir chamber and leads the separated liquid to the liquid reservoir chamber is formed, and the pressure is narrower in cross section than the liquid drop hole so that the liquid does not pass under normal pressure A hole is formed, and the partition member is on the side facing the gas-liquid separation chamber. Has a slope becomes downhill toward the liquid drop hole, the liquid drop hole is characterized by being arranged disproportionately at distant portions from at least one of said inlet portion and said outlet portion .
With such a configuration, the gas flows through the flow path formed by the partition walls, and the distance between the introduction part and the lead-out part can be set long even in the gas- liquid separation chamber in the same space.
Further, in the partition member, a liquid drop hole is formed in a portion located on the downstream side of the curved path so as to communicate with the gas-liquid separation chamber and the liquid storage chamber and guide the separated liquid to the liquid storage chamber. The separated liquid can be quickly removed, and the gas-liquid separation chamber is prevented from being blocked by the liquid.
In addition, since the liquid dropping hole is arranged in a position away from at least one of the introduction part and the lead-out part, the liquid is partitioned when the entire system is inclined toward the lead-in part or the lead-out part. Since it is blocked by the member, it does not flow out to the outside through the introduction part or the lead-out part, and the gas flow path is not blocked.
In addition, since the partition member has a slope that slopes downward toward the liquid drop hole on the side facing the gas-liquid separation chamber, the separated liquid is more quickly guided to the liquid storage chamber.
Furthermore, a pressure adjusting hole having a narrower cross section than the liquid dropping hole is formed so as not to allow liquid to pass under normal pressure, so that the pressure adjusting hole suppresses the pressure difference between the gas-liquid separation chamber and the liquid reservoir chamber. Therefore, the liquid is prevented from returning from the liquid drop hole for discharging the liquid separated by the negative pressure.

Incidentally, the flow path is preferably formed by a partition wall provided in the specification Setsu member.
According to such a constitution, as it can integrally formed with the partition wall in the partition member, together with reducing the number of parts, ease of manufacture.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the gas-liquid separating apparatus according to claim 1, in the derivation of the gas, characterized in that the barb is formed.
With such a configuration, the liquid is prevented from being blocked by the return portion and flowing out to the outside through the introducing portion or the leading portion, thereby closing the gas flow path.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the gas-liquid separator according to the first or second aspect , the flow path is sealed by a packing portion.
With such a configuration, in the gas- liquid separation chamber , the gas is prevented from passing through the flow path separated by the partition wall as a shortcut.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if the volume is small, the gas-liquid separation apparatus which can introduce | transduce the gas containing a liquid, and can isolate | separate and remove this liquid with high efficiency is provided. Moreover, if such a gas-liquid separator is installed in the fuel gas (hydrogen) circulation path of a fuel cell vehicle, the stability of power generation characteristics is improved and the layout of the component parts in the vehicle is restricted. Is alleviated.

Hereinafter, a gas-liquid separator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a gas-liquid separator according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2A is a top sectional view of the gas-liquid separation device according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2B is an XX longitudinal sectional view.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing details of the guide member.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a fuel gas supply system for a fuel cell vehicle showing an application example of the gas-liquid separator according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the gas-liquid separation device 11 of the present embodiment, an outer surface is formed by the upper surface member 20, the first side frame member 30 </ b> A, the partition member 50, the second side frame member 30 </ b> B, and the bottom surface member 40. . Furthermore, the internal space 33 which shows airtightness is formed of these members. The internal space 33 is partitioned into two spaces by a partition member 50. Among these, a room on the upper side in the vertical direction in which gas flows is referred to as a gas-liquid separation chamber 33A, and the liquid is stored on the lower side. The room will be referred to as a liquid reservoir 33B.
The gas-liquid separation chamber 33A is provided with a lead-out portion 26 and an introduction portion 32, and the liquid reservoir chamber 33B is provided with a discharge portion 41, which communicates with the outside so that the airtight state of these spaces can be released. Yes. Further, the gas-liquid separation chamber 33A is provided with a first partition wall 21, a second partition wall 22, a third partition wall 23, a side-by-side partition wall 24, and a guide partition wall 25. Flows, the contained liquid is separated, and this liquid is collected and accumulated in the liquid reservoir 33B.

The introduction part 32 is provided on the side surface of the side frame member 30 so that the internal space 33 and the outside communicate with each other, and introduces a gas containing a liquid.
The lead-out portion 26 is provided on the upper surface member 20 so that the internal space 33 communicates with the outside. The gas introduced from the introduction section 32 is a gas-liquid separation channel, that is, the input channel R, the first corner channel S, the second corner channel T, and the third corner shown in FIG. The flow path U, the fourth corner flow path V, the output flow path W (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “flow path”. Also, when limited to the corner flow paths S, T, U, V, “curved path”. It is derived after flowing in the order of). As described above, the gas-liquid separation channel includes a plurality of curved paths. As shown in FIG. 2A, these curved paths include a portion having a wide cross-sectional area on the downstream side with respect to the upstream side.

The lead-out portion 26 opens in the direction opposite to the gravity, and a return portion 26a (see FIG. 1) protruding toward the internal space 33 is provided around the opening.
The return portion 26 a blocks the liquid that has been scooped up through the upper surface member 20 (the liquid that is about to scoop up) so that it is not led out from the lead-out portion 26.
The discharge part 41 is provided in the liquid storage chamber 33B, separates from the gas flowing in the flow path, and discharges the liquid accumulated in the liquid storage chamber 33B to the outside.

The partition member 50 partitions the gas-liquid separation chamber 33A and the liquid reservoir chamber 33B, and has a plurality of liquid drop holes (holes) 51, 51... Communicating the gas-liquid separation chamber 33A and the liquid reservoir chamber 33B. ing. It should be noted that the function of the liquid drop hole 51 is demonstrated if at least one of the liquid drop holes 51 is present. A first partition wall 21, a second partition wall 22, a third partition wall 23, a side-by-side partition wall 24, and a guide partition wall 25 (these may be simply referred to as “partition walls” hereinafter) are integrated on the upper surface of the partition member 50. As a result, the gas-liquid separation chamber 33A is separated by these, thereby forming a flow path as shown in FIG.
By the way, the part in which these partition walls are formed is not limited to the upper surface of such a partition member 50, but other inner side surfaces 31 (for example, the upper surface member 20 and the first side frame member 30A of the internal space 33). It may be formed on the inner surface 31).

  The packing portion 52 is provided at the tip of the first partition wall 21, the second partition wall 22, the third partition wall 23, and the side-by-side partition wall 24 opposite to the side formed integrally with the partition member 50. By these packing portions 52, there is no gap between the partition wall and the upper surface member 20, and the gas does not flow between the adjacent flow paths through this gap. For this reason, the introduced gas flows in a predetermined regular flow path, and the separation efficiency of the liquid contained in the gas is improved. Note that the packing unit 52 may not be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first partition wall 21 extends from the inner surface 31 (the inner surface of the upper surface member 20 and the side frame member 30) of the internal space 33 sandwiched between the introduction portion 32 and the lead-out portion 26. . The first distal end (distal end) 21a, which is the opposite end of the base end 21b with which the first partition wall 21 is in contact with the side frame member 30, is located on the inner side surface 31 (the inner side surface of the side frame member 30) of the opposed internal space 33. On the other hand, there is a gap. Due to this gap, a fourth corner channel V shown in FIG. 2A is formed. The first partition wall 21 causes the internal space 33 to be connected to the output flow path W and other spaces (first, second, third, fourth corner flow paths S, T, U, V, and input flow path R) communicating with the lead-out portion 26. ).

  The fourth corner channel V is formed by the first tip 21 a, the inner side surface 31 of the side frame member 30, and the third partition wall 23. The gas that has entered the fourth corner flow path V is guided to the output flow path W by reversing its path to an acute angle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the second partition wall 22 branches and extends from the middle of the first partition wall 21, and the inner side surface 31 (inside the side frame member 30) of the internal space 33 facing the second tip (tip) 22 a. Side) and a gap. Due to this gap, a second corner channel T shown in FIG. 2A is formed. Further, the second partition wall 22 includes a space other than the output channel W separated by the first partition wall 21, an input channel R communicating with the introduction portion 32, and first, second, third corner channels S, T, Separated into a space containing U.
The juxtaposed partition walls 24 are provided in the flow path having the curvature of the first corner flow path S along the gas flow direction.

The second corner channel T is formed by the second tip 22 a, the inner side surface 31 of the side frame member 30, and the third partition wall 23. Then, the gas that has entered the second corner channel T is led to the third corner channel U by reversing the path to an acute angle.
The third partition wall 23 extends from the inner side surface 31 in the internal space 33 sandwiched between the first tip 21 a and the second tip 22 a, and forms a third corner flow path U between the second partition wall 22. . Then, the gas that has entered the third corner flow path U is guided to the fourth corner flow path V by reversing the path to an acute angle.

The liquid dropping holes 51, 51... Are arranged in a portion away from the introduction portion 32 with respect to an arbitrary straight line Y intersecting the first partition 21, the second partition 22, and the third partition 23. The first corner channel S and the output channel W are inclined with respect to the surface formed by the plurality of liquid drop holes 51 so as to descend toward the liquid drop hole 51 (see FIG. 1). )have. By forming such an inclined surface 50a, the liquid that has fallen onto these flow paths is guided to the liquid dropping holes 51, 51...
Since the downstream side of the second, third, and fourth corner channels T, U, and V is a portion where the gas flow velocity is reduced, a liquid drop hole 51 is provided in this portion, so that liquid due to negative pressure is provided. Suppression of the water is suppressed.

  2A, the guide member 54 is provided in the liquid drop hole 51 provided on the most downstream side of the flowing gas among the plurality of liquid drop holes 51, 51. And the guide member 54 has the opening surface 53 which cross | intersects the direction where gas flows, as FIG. 3 shows. Due to the presence of such a guide member 54, the liquid accumulated on the surface of the flow path is surely captured even if it is pushed by the wind pressure of the flowing gas and blown away. Further, since the opening surface 53 of the guide member 54 receives a large wind pressure, the liquid once entering the liquid storage chamber 33B flows backward and rises up from the liquid drop hole 51 located on the most downstream side. To prevent.

(Description of operation)
Next, with reference to FIG. 2, operation | movement description of the gas-liquid separation apparatus concerning this embodiment is performed.
First, a gas containing a liquid is introduced from the introduction portion 32 to the input flow path R and flows along the first corner flow path S. When the flowing gas flows through the portion having the curvature of the first corner channel S, the droplets contained in the gas are subjected to centrifugal force, and some of them are arranged in parallel with the partition wall 24 and the guide partition wall 25. It will be struck by and attached to and separated from the gas.

  The gas that has passed through the first corner channel S then enters the second corner channel T. In the second corner channel T, the gas is bent in an acute direction and many of the liquid droplets contained in the gas adhere to the wall surface, so that the liquid is separated from the gas.

  The gas that has passed through the second corner channel T then enters the third corner channel U. Also in the third corner flow path U, the gas is bent at an acute angle in the bent portion 22b, and the liquid is further separated from the gas by the same mechanism as described above.

The gas that has passed through the third corner flow path U then enters the fourth corner flow path V. Also in the fourth corner channel V, the gas is bent in an acute direction and the liquid is further separated from the gas by the same mechanism as described above.
The gas that has passed through the fourth corner flow path V then enters the output flow path W, proceeds straight, and is led out from the lead-out portion 26.

On the other hand, when the droplets adhering to the wall surface of the flow path merge and become large, they drop in the direction of gravity and reach the upper surface of the partition member 50 shown in FIG. Of these liquids that have reached the upper surface, the liquid that has reached the inclined surface 50a moves along the fall line. Furthermore, as the liquid is covered with the flowing gas and moves on the upper surface of the partition member 50, the liquid fits into the opening of one of the liquid dropping holes 51 and falls into the liquid reservoir 33B.
The liquid that has fallen in this manner and accumulated in the liquid storage chamber 33B is discharged to the outside under the pressure of the gas to be introduced by opening an open / close valve (not shown) provided in the discharge unit 41 at an appropriate time. Will be.
A pressure adjusting hole 55 is provided in the flow path portion of the partition member 50. The pressure adjusting hole 55 is formed to have a narrow cross section so as not to allow liquid to pass under normal pressure. This is because the passage of the liquid is prevented by the surface tension of the liquid by narrowing the flow path.
Furthermore, the flow rate can be improved on the upstream side where the cross-sectional area of the flow path is narrow by making the flow path curved and making the cross-sectional area of the flow path wider toward the downstream. As a result, the gas is vigorously applied to the partition wall, so that more liquid adheres to the partition wall according to the law of inertia, and the gas flows along the partition wall. Thus, gas-liquid separation is promoted. On the downstream side, it is possible to prevent the liquid droplet from being drawn back by the negative pressure of the gas and flowing backward from the liquid dropping hole due to the decrease in flow velocity.

As described above, in the gas-liquid separation device 11 according to the present embodiment, the internal space 33 is separated into the gas-liquid separation chamber 33A and the liquid reservoir chamber 33B by the partition member 50, and the gas is further formed thereon. By providing the flow path through which the fluid flows, the following effects are exhibited.
First, since the liquid separated from the gas and accumulated in the lower portion of the internal space 33 and the gas flowing in the flow path are completely separated by the partition member 50, the separated liquid Will not be re-vaporized by the flowing gas. Therefore, even if the liquid accumulated in the liquid storage chamber 33B is not frequently discharged, the amount of liquid contained in the gas derived from the deriving unit 26 does not increase.
Second, the introduced gas is not derived by shortcutting the flow path.

Third, a plurality of liquid drop holes 51, 51, and pressure adjusting holes 55, 55, ... are provided on the partition member 50 so as to be unevenly distributed on the opposite side of the lead-out portion 26 as described above. Even if the gas-liquid separation device 11 swings and the liquid accumulated in the liquid storage chamber 33B crawls up from the liquid drop hole 51, the distance to the outlet 26 is long, the guide member 54, the inclined surface 50a, the return The obstacle such as the portion 26a prevents the liquid from moving, so that it does not reach the outlet portion 26.
Fourth, since the cross-sectional area of the flow path through which the gas flows is configured to be wider on the downstream side than on the upstream side, the flow rate of the gas is reduced and the liquid droplets are liable to fall, thereby promoting liquid separation.

(Application example of gas-liquid separator)
With reference to FIG. 4, the application example of the gas-liquid separation apparatus 11 which concerns on 1st Embodiment is demonstrated.
The fuel gas supply system for the fuel cell vehicle shown in FIG. 4 includes a hydrogen tank 1, an ejector 2, a fuel cell 3, an air exhaust unit 7, a check valve 8, a compressor 9, and a gas-liquid separator 11. And the opening / closing valve 60.

The hydrogen tank 1 is filled with high-pressure hydrogen gas, and supplies hydrogen to the ejector 2.
The ejector 2 mixes a fuel off-gas sent from a check valve 8 to be described later and a hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen tank 1, and uses the mixed gas as a fuel gas for the fuel electrode (the left side of the fuel cell 3). : Pump not shown).
Part of the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell 3 is used for power generation, and the remainder is sent to the gas-liquid separator 11 as fuel off-gas. This fuel off-gas contains a large amount of heat and moisture generated by the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen during power generation (what is generated at the cathode electrode has moved through the electrolyte membrane), and is thus hot and humid. It has a state.

In the gas-liquid separator 11 into which such fuel off-gas has flowed, the contained liquid (droplets) is removed according to the above-described operation. The liquid thus removed is discharged to the outside when the opening / closing valve 60 operates in a timely manner.
The fuel off-gas dehumidified by the gas-liquid separator 11 is sent again to the ejector 2 via the check valve 8. The check valve 8 is a valve that allows gas to flow in the direction from the gas-liquid separator 11 to the ejector 2 but does not allow gas to flow in the opposite direction.

The compressor 9 takes in an appropriate amount of external air containing oxygen and supplies it to the air electrode of the fuel cell 3 (right side of the fuel cell 3: not shown).
The air exhaust part 7 is taken in from the outside by the compressor 9 and discharges air used in the fuel cell 3.

  As described above, in the fuel gas supply system for a fuel cell vehicle to which the present invention is applied, the moisture mixed in the circulating fuel off-gas in the process of power generation is removed by the gas-liquid separator 11 disposed in the middle of the circulation path. It is possible to discharge with high efficiency. Moreover, since the gas-liquid separator 11 has a small volume, it does not limit the degree of freedom of complicated design layout in the fuel cell vehicle. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to discharge the separated liquid frequently, the use of hydrogen as a fuel can be saved.

In the above description, the gas is a gas mainly composed of hydrogen gas when used in a fuel cell vehicle, but is not particularly limited and can be applied to air or the like. In addition, the liquid contained in the gas is mainly water when used in a fuel cell vehicle, but is not particularly limited and can be applied to an organic solvent or the like. Furthermore, the state of the liquid may be a droplet (mist) that is miniaturized and floats in the gas. In addition to the fuel cell vehicle, the present invention may be applied to ships and other moving objects. Further, in the present invention, the ejector 2 is installed to circulate hydrogen gas, but a pump may be used.
In the present invention, the flow path is formed by partition walls (first, second, and third partition walls 21, 22, and 23) provided in the partition member 50. It may be provided on a member (for example, the upper surface member 20, the first side frame member 30A, etc.). Further, the guide member 54 may be provided not only in the liquid drop hole on the most downstream side but also in other liquid drop holes.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the gas-liquid separator which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is a top sectional view of a gas-liquid separation device concerning this embodiment, and (b) is an XX longitudinal section. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of a guide member. 1 is a block diagram of a fuel gas supply system for a fuel cell vehicle, showing an application example of a gas-liquid separator according to the present embodiment. It is the conventional gas-liquid separator, (a) Top view, (b) bb longitudinal cross-sectional view, (c) The perspective view of the partition plate which is a component.

Explanation of symbols

11 Gas-liquid separator 21 First partition (partition)
22 Second partition (partition)
23 Third partition (partition)
24 Parallel partition walls
26 Lead-out part 26a Return part 32 Introduction part 33 Internal space 33A Gas-liquid separation chamber (a room through which gas flows)
33B Liquid reservoir (room where liquid is stored)
41 Discharge part 50 Partition member 50a Slope 51 Liquid drop hole (hole)
52 Packing part 53 Opening surface 54 Guide member 55 Pressure adjusting hole R Input flow path (flow path)
S 1st corner flow path (flow path, curved path)
T Second corner flow path (flow path, curved path)
U Third corner flow path (flow path, curved path)
V Fourth corner flow path (flow path, curved path)
W Output flow path (flow path)

Claims (3)

Pneumatic fluid flows, a gas-liquid separation chamber in which liquid is separated contained in the gas, a liquid reservoir chamber in which the liquid separated accumulates, and a partition member for partitioning said liquid reservoir chamber and the gas-liquid separation chamber In the gas-liquid separation device provided,
Wherein the gas-liquid separation chamber, and a flow path of the gas-liquid separator leading from inlet portion of the gas outlet portion of the gas is formed containing a plurality of curved road,
The flow path is formed by a partition provided in the gas- liquid separation chamber ,
The partition member is formed with a liquid drop hole communicating with the gas-liquid separation chamber and the liquid reservoir chamber and leading the separated liquid to the liquid reservoir chamber in a portion located on the downstream side of the curved path. And
A pressure adjusting hole having a narrower cross section than the liquid dropping hole is formed so that the liquid does not pass under normal pressure,
The partition member has, on the side facing the gas-liquid separation chamber, a slope that becomes a downward slope toward the liquid drop hole,
The gas-liquid separation device is characterized in that the liquid dropping hole is arranged to be biased to a part away from at least one of the introduction part and the lead-out part . The gas-liquid separator according to claim 1, wherein a return portion is formed in the gas outlet portion. The gas-liquid separation device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the flow path is sealed by a packing portion.

Images