Patent ID: 6668582
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: C03B,F25D

Abstract:
A method of cooling an object, the method comprising:a) contacting the object with a heat transfer fluid comprising a major component selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and helium, the object traversing through a heat exchange unit having an object inlet end and an object outlet end; b) preventing ingress of contaminants into the heat exchange unit inlet end and outlet end using a seal gas comprising a major component selected from the group consisting of argon, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, the seal gas exiting with the heat transfer fluid to form an exit gas (either mixed or not); c) compressing the exit gas to form a compressed recycle gas; and d) routing the compressed recycle gas to a condenser where the compressed recycle gas is cooled to form a cooled recycle composition, and routing the cooled recycle composition to a gas-liquid separator, thus forming an enriched gas that functions as the heat transfer fluid, and an enriched liquid.