# US 12,007,177 B2 · Intertwined coil heat exchanger > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,007,177 B2 - Document ID: US12007177B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/414,052 - Filed: 2019-12-17 - Published: 2022-02-03 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2018-12-17 - Assignees: Aquarden Technologies ApS - Applicants: Aquarden Technologies ApS - Inventors: Zhuoyan Cai; Jens Bækgaard - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12007177B2 ## CPC - F28D 7/024: {the conduits of only one medium being helically coiled tubes, the coils having a cylindrical configuration} - B01J 3/008: {Processes carried out under supercritical conditions} - B01J 19/2415: {Tubular reactors} - F28D 7/0083: {with units having particular arrangement relative to a supplementary heat exchange medium, e.g. with interleaved units or with adjacent units arranged in common flow of supplementary heat exchange medium} - B01J 2219/00083: Coils - F28D 7/022: {the conduits of two or more media in heat-exchange relationship being helically coiled, the coils having a cylindrical configuration} - Y02P 20/54: using solvents, e.g. supercritical solvents or ionic liquids - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract The present invention relates to the field of heat exchangers, especially those having a plurality of tubular fluid channels formed as intertwined coils, with each of the centre paths of the coils forming a helix, and to a reactor for supercritical water oxidation comprising such a heat exchanger. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of tubular fluid channels each having: an external tubular diameter or equivalent diameter; two openings into the interior of the tubular fluid channel, said openings being arranged at distant end positions of the fluid channel; wherein each of the plurality of tubular fluid channels are formed as a helical coil, over at least a part of their lengths, each coil being provided as a plurality of windings, each of said coils evolving with a centre path; the coils of the plurality of tubular fluid channels are intertwined around one another with the centre path of each coil being distant from the centre path of the other coils, and each of the centre paths forms an intertwined helix, and; in a transverse cross section of the heat exchanger, a planar representation of a winding of a first of said coils overlaps a planar representation of a winding of each of the other said coils of said plurality of tubular fluid channels; wherein the distance between the centre paths of said coils is selected to provide a substantially tubular, central space extending through-out the inside of all of the coils; and further including at least one non-coiled tubular fluid connection arranged in said substantially tubular, central space, and wherein said coils of the plurality of the fluid channels twist around said at least one non-coiled tubular fluid connection. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the planar representation of the winding of each of said coils of the tubular fluid channels is circular. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein in, each and every of, said transverse cross sections of the heat exchanger, a centremost axis of the heat exchanger is encompassed by the planar representation of the winding of each, and every, of said coils of said plurality of tubular fluid channels. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein all the planar representations of the coils have a common intersection, whereby a centre point of each planar representation being fully within the common intersection, and with a centremost axis of the heat exchanger being within the common intersection. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein said planar representation of the winding of the first of said coils encompasses the centre path of each of the other coils. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein an amount of overlap of said planar representation of the winding of the first of said coils with each said planar representation of the winding of each of the other said coils is essentially equal. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The heat exchanger according to claim 6, wherein said amount of overlap of said planar representation of the winding of the first of said coils with each said planar representation of the winding of each of the other said coils is at least 30% of a total area of the planar representation of the winding of the first of said coils and less than 90%. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the centre path of at least one of said coils is helical and completes at least one full revolution, traversing at least 360 degrees as the centre path proceeds longitudinally through the windings of each of said at least one coil. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein an amount of overlapping of the planar representations of the windings of the coils is substantially the same along the length of the coils. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the number of said plurality of windings of each coil is larger than 10 and less than 200. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein the planar representations of said coils include centre points that form a symmetrical shape or a straight line. ### Claim 12 (depends on 2) The heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein said each of said centre paths that form the helix has essentially identical curvature. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The heat exchanger according to claim 11, wherein said symmetrical shape is either an equilateral triangle or a regular polygon. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of tubular fluid channels is two, three, four, five or six. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the tubular fluid channels are formed as coils over at least sixty percent of their lengths. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein said each of said tubular fluid channels have the external tubular diameter between 3 mm and 15.0 mm. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein an encompassing diameter of each coil of the plurality of tubular fluid channels is between 20.0 mm and 200.0 mm. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the number of said plurality of windings of each coil is larger than 30 and smaller than 200. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein each coil of said tubular fluid channels is substantially identical to the other coils. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of tubular fluid channels is made from metal. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein said at least one non-coiled tubular fluid connection extends beyond the coils of the plurality of tubular fluid channels intertwined around one another. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the coils of the plurality of tubular fluid channels intertwined around one another extend beyond said at least one non-coiled tubular fluid connection. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of tubular fluid channels each having the external tubular diameter, and wherein the plurality of windings of each coil have a pitch being larger than its said external tubular diameter. ### Claim 24 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein adjacent winding of the coils overlap at least along a part of the coils. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of tubular fluid channels each having the external tubular diameter, and wherein the plurality of windings of each coil have a pitch being less than twice its said external tubular diameter. ### Claim 26 (depends on 1) The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein adjacent winding of the coils do not overlap at least along a part of the coils. ### Claim 27 A reactor for supercritical water oxidation, said reactor comprising: a reactor wall forming a reactor enclosure, said reactor wall configured to withstand pressure and temperature in the supercritical region of water, and a heat exchanger enclosed in the interior of said reactor enclosure, the heat exchanger including: a plurality of tubular fluid channels each having: an external tubular diameter or equivalent diameter; two openings into the interior of the tubular fluid channel, said openings being arranged at distant end positions of the fluid channel; wherein each of the plurality of tubular fluid channels are formed as a helical coil over at least a part of their lengths, each coil being provided as a plurality of windings, each of said coils evolving with a centre path; the coils of the plurality of tubular fluid channels are intertwined around one another with the centre path of each coil being distant from the centre path of the other coils, and each of the centre paths forms a helix, and in a transverse cross section of the heat exchanger, a planar representation of a winding of a first of said coils overlaps a planar representation of a winding of each of the other said coils of said plurality of tubular fluid channels. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The reactor according to claim 27, wherein said reactor further comprises at least one reactor fluid connection extending into the reactor enclosure for introducing fluid into, or extracting fluid from, said reactor enclosure. ### Claim 29 (depends on 28) The reactor according to claim 28, wherein at least one of said reactor fluid connections is fluidly connected to said plurality of tubular fluid channels. ### Claim 30 (depends on 27) The reactor according to claim 27, wherein said reactor further comprises a plurality of heating and cooling elements on said reactor wall for controlling the level of the supercritical point of said fluid in reference to the height of the heat exchanger. ### Claim 31 (depends on 27) The reactor according to claim 27, further comprising a loose liner in said reactor enclosure. ### Claim 32 (depends on 31) The reactor according to claim 31, wherein a space (gap) (Δ1, Δ2) between said loose liner and said reactor wall is in fluid connection with at least one of said reactor fluid connections. ### Claim 33 (depends on 31) The reactor according to claim 31, wherein a space (gap) (Δ1, Δ2) between said loose liner and said reactor wall is in fluid connection with at least one of said tubular fluid channels. ### Claim 34 (depends on 31) The reactor according to claim 31, wherein the loose liner completely encloses the reactor enclosure. ### Claim 35 (depends on 28) The reactor according to claim 28, further comprising at least one reactor fluid outlet connection extending into the reactor enclosure for extracting fluid from said reactor enclosure. ### Claim 36 (depends on 27) The reactor according to claim 27, wherein said reactor further comprises an upper oxidation chamber within said reactor enclosure that is in fluid connection with said plurality of tubular fluid channels, said heat exchanger being located beneath said upper oxidation chamber. ### Claim 37 (depends on 36) The reactor according to claim 36, wherein said upper oxidation chamber occupies at least seventy percent of the volume of said reactor enclosure above said heat exchanger. ### Claim 38 (depends on 27) The reactor for supercritical water oxidation according to claim 27 comprising two or more of the heat exchangers.