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US 2006/0142401 A1Published application
Partial boiling in mini and micro-channels
AssigneeVelocys, Inc.
InventorsAnna Tonkovich, David Hesse, Sean Fitzgerald, Bin Yang, Ravi Arora, Laura Silva, G. Chadwell, Kai Jarosch, Dongming Qiu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides methods, apparatus and systems in which there is partial boiling of a liquid in a mini-channel or microchannel. The partial boiling removes heat from an exothermic process.
Claims18
A process of removing heat from an exothermic process, comprising:
- conducting an exothermic process in a process channel;
- removing heat from the exothermic process in the process channel to an adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel;
- passing a coolant fluid through the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel that undergoes partial boiling for a length of at least 15 cm as it passes through the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel;
- wherein the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel comprises an interior wall surface that is a surface on a channel wall that separates the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel from the process channel;
- and
- wherein the average shear stress of the fluid at the wall in the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel for a length of at least 1 cm, either measured or calculated, is at least 1 Pascals (Pa).
3 more elements
A process of cooling an exothermic process, comprising:
- conducting an exothermic process in a process channel;
- providing cooling to the exothermic process in the process channel by transferring heat to an adjacent microchannel having a channel length of at least 25 cm;
- passing a coolant fluid at a flow velocity of at least 0.1 m/s through the adjacent microchannel that undergoes partial boiling as it passes through the adjacent microchannel;
- wherein the adjacent microchannel comprises an interior wall surface that is a surface on a channel wall that separates the adjacent microchannel from the process channel;
- and wherein the surface's temperature during the process is no more than 5° C. above the coolant fluid's boiling temperature at conditions present within the microchannel.
2 more elements
A process of removing heat from an exothermic process, comprising:
- conducting an exothermic process in a process channel;
- removing heat from the exothermic process in the process channel to an adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel;
- passing a coolant fluid through the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel that undergoes partial boiling for a length of at least 15 cm as it passes through the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel;
- wherein a channel wall that separates the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel from the process channel;
- and
- where the overage temperature (Tw-Ts) is equal to or less than the following function:
- 56353×Bo+1.4315
- from Bo=1.0·10−6 to 1.0·10−4, for 3 or more adjacent minichannels or adjacent microchannels wherein each channel's length is greater than 15 cm.
5 more elements
A process of removing heat from an exothermic process, comprising:
- conducting an exothermic process in a process channel;
- removing heat from the exothermic process in the process channel to an adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel;
- passing a coolant fluid through the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel that undergoes partial boiling for a length of at least 15 cm as it passes through the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel;
- wherein a channel wall that separates the adjacent minichannel or adjacent microchannel from the process channel;
- and
- wherein at least 50% of the length of the adjacent microchannel, wherein boiling is occurring, is disposed horizontally with respect to gravity.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.