US 6,282,497 B1 · Method for analyzing the chemical composition of liquid effluent from a direct contact condenser

Abstract

A computational modeling method for predicting the chemical, physical, and thermodynamic performance of a condenser using calculations based on equations of physics for heat, momentum and mass transfer and equations of equilibrium thermodynamics to determine steady state profiles of parameters throughout the condenser. The method includes providing a set of input values relating to a condenser including liquid loading, vapor loading, and geometric characteristics of the contact medium in the condenser. The geometric and packing characteristics of the contact medium include the dimensions and orientation of a channel in the contact medium. The method further includes simulating performance of the condenser using the set of input values to determine a related set of output values such as outlet liquid temperature, outlet flow rates, pressures, and the concentration(s) of one or more dissolved noncondensable gas species in the outlet liquid. The method may also include iteratively performing the above computation steps using a plurality of sets of input values and then determining whether each of the resulting output values and performance profiles satisfies acceptance criteria.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A method of using a computer processor to analyze the chemical composition of a liquid effluent from a direct contact condenser, comprising the steps of:

providing a set of input values representative of the condenser and of inlet fluid streams to the condenser, wherein said input values include a chemical property of an inlet cooling liquid to the condenser, a chemical property of an inlet vapor stream to the condenser, and physical properties of a contact medium in the condenser;
performing a calculation to determine a concentration of a chemical component in the liquid effluent from the condenser;
and
using the computer processor to compare said calculated concentration to a predetermined concentration.

1 more element

A method for enhancing and predicting chemical and physical performance of a direct contact condenser having a vapor inlet for receiving a vapor stream, a cooling liquid inlet for providing a cooling liquid into the condenser, a contact medium comprising a plurality of sheets for facilitating contact and direct heat exchange between the received vapor stream and the cooling liquid, a condensate well with a liquid outlet for collecting and discharging condensate and any contaminants dissolved in the condensate, and a noncondensable gas outlet for discharging noncondensed gases, the method implemented on a computer having a memory and comprising the steps of:

inputting condenser data including flow direction of vapor stream through the contact medium, power level of the condenser, contact medium height measured along a vertical axis, contact medium cross-sectional area in a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis, total condenser area, and percentage of unavailable contact medium area;
inputting an inclination angle for the contact medium measured between a surface of the sheet and a horizontal axis;
determining geometric parameters of the contact medium based on the condenser data and the inclination height;
inputting thermodynamic properties of the vapor stream and of the cooling liquid and concentrations of each of a plurality noncondensable gases in the vapor stream;
beginning at one end of the condenser, computing a steady state parameter profile, including physical property data for the cooling liquid, the vapor stream, the condensate, and the contact medium, for a cross-sectional volume of the contact medium having a selectable thickness;
and
repeating the computing step for each slice of the contact medium extending along a vertical axis of the condenser away from the one end until the combined thicknesses of the slices are about the height of the contact medium.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method for analyzing the chemical composition of liquid effluent from a direct contact condenser

Life of this patent

Method for analyzing the chemical composition of liquid effluent from a direct contact condenser

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22