Gas compression system

A gas compression system includes at least one first compressor provided with at least one first cylinder and one second cylinder that are combined together such that a gas to be compressed, which is taken into the first cylinder at an intake pressure, is compressed by the intake of an engine gas to the second cylinder. The system further includes a pressure checking device to check the pressure of the engine gas during the feeding thereof into the second cylinder. The pressure checking device includes a pressure detector for measuring the pressure of the gas to be compressed during the intake thereof to the first cylinder; and a regulator for adjusting the flow rate of the engine gas in the second cylinder such that the pressure of the gas to be compressed is constant during the intake thereof to the first cylinder.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is the U.S. National Stage of PCT/EP2011/068996, filed Oct. 28, 2011, which in turn claims priority to French Patent Application No. 1059173, filed Nov. 5, 2010, the entire contents of all applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The invention relates to a regulator for a gas compression system as well as a method of using such a system.

Different methods of compressing a gas are known, in particular with the aid of compression energy supplied by an electrical supply, by combustion of a fossil fuel or by a second gas called engine gas.

In this latter case, the principle of compression can be described with the aid of a compressor100(FIG. 1) which admits gas102to be compressed in a cylinder104, a piston106sliding in this cylinder104in such a way as to reduce its volume and thus increase the pressure of admitted gas102.

In order to control the sliding motions of piston106, an engine gas108is admitted into a second cylinder110, inside which piston106can also slide, thereby offering engine gas108a larger contact surface S108than contact surface S102offered to gas102to be compressed in compartment104.

As a result, piston106is displaced between two cylinders104and110in order to maintain an equilibrium such that, for a pressure P108in cylinder110, it gives rise to a pressure P102in cylinder104such that:
P108*S108=P102*S102.

During the compression phase of the gas to be compressed, it is thus possible to obtain a force applied on S108that is much greater than that of the back-pressure at S102and to perform the function of compressing gas102at very high pressures from a much smaller actuating pressure P108.

During the admission phase of the gas to be compressed, the reverse phenomenon is produced. Engine gas108is relieved of pressure, generally to atmospheric pressure, and gas to be compressed102is introduced into cylinder104. The force applied on S102is much greater than that of the back-pressure at S108and makes it possible to perform the function of admitting gas to be compressed102and evacuating engine gas108.

The linking of the admission and compression phases displaces piston106in an alternating back-and-forth movement.

By reference toFIG. 2, it is known to use the previously described principle of compression by engine gas in a system200comprising a source201of gas102to be compressed combined with a buffer tank202making it possible to regulate the supply of compressor100with gas102to be compressed.

In effect, source of gas201to be compressed can deliver said gas102at a variable flow rate depending on the production capacity of the generator of gas to be compressed, such as for example a generator of hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis of water or by reforming. Source204of engine gas108employs a pressure corresponding to the pressure of gas108in the distribution network to which compressor100is connected.

A pressure switch103measures the pressure of gas102present in buffer tank202in such a way as to trigger compressor100as soon as said pressure102reaches a threshold value. As soon as compressor100is triggered, the pressure of gas102present in buffer tank202diminishes, because production flow rate201is less than the output rate of the compressor. In this case, compressor100is stopped at a lower threshold in such a way as to increase said pressure of gas102by the admission at202of new gas. In other words, booster100operates jerkily. The displacement speed of its piston is high and requires a high engine gas consumption.

Moreover, the high displacement speed of the piston necessarily has an impact on the useful life of the compressor and the consumption of engine gas.

After its passage into compressor100, compressed gas102is stored in a tank208at high pressure, this high pressure increasing at the same time as the compression of gas102in said tank208.

In this context, the invention aims to solve the aforementioned problems encountered with the gas compression systems of the prior art. More particularly, the invention aims to propose a compression system, the energy efficiency whereof, i.e. the engine gas consumption whereof, is optimised and the useful life whereof is increased. For this purpose, the present invention relates to a gas compression system comprising a compressor provided with at least one first cylinder and one second cylinder combined together in such a way that a gas to be compressed admitted at an admission pressure into the first cylinder is compressed by the admission of an engine gas into the second cylinder, said system comprising means of checking the pressure of the engine gas during its introduction into the second cylinder, characterised in that the checking means comprise:a pressure detector for measuring the pressure of the gas to be compressed during its admission into the first cylinder, anda regulator for adjusting the flow rate of the engine gas into the second cylinder in such a way that the pressure of the gas to be compressed is kept at a constant pressure during its admission into the first cylinder.

Thanks to the invention, the pressure in the buffer tank containing the gas to be compressed is kept constant during its admission into the first cylinder in such a way that the flow rate of the gas impelled by the compressor is equal to the flow rate of the gas produced at the source. Consequently, the displacements of the pressure transmission piston are constant at a minimal frequency.

More particularly, a minimal displacement frequency of the compressor piston confers on the compressor an increased useful life and minimal engine gas consumption, since the piston is displaced more slowly.

The system according to the invention can also have one or more of the following features, considered individually or in any technically possible combinations.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the system comprises a source of gas to be compressed located upstream of the first cylinder, the checking means comprising means for keeping the constant pressure of the gas to be compressed, upon entering the first cylinder, at a pressure equal to the production pressure of the source of the gas to be compressed.

A maximum input pressure of the first cylinder (i.e. equal to the pressure of the source of gas to be compressed) is particularly advantageous, because it appears that the quantity of engine gas required to compress a gas diminishes when the pressure of the gas to be compressed increases, as represented inFIG. 3, which illustrates the pressure variation (axis of abscissas300, in bars) of a compressed gas exiting from a compressor as a function of the flow rate (axis of the ordinates302, in nl/min) of gas to be compressed upon entering the compressor—for one and the same pressure of the engine gas (6.2 bars) and for different pressures of the gas to be compressed, namely: 6 bars (curve304), 9 bars (curve306), 12 bars (curve308) and 15.9 bars (curve310).

Considering, for example, a flow rate of 42 nl/min of compressed gas, the consumption of the engine gas—represented in squares in Nm3/min—is almost increased by 50% between a supply of gas to be compressed at 9 bars (1.5 Nm3/min) and a supply of gas to be compressed at 12 bars (1.15 Nm3/min).

It appears that the reduction in the consumption of engine gas improves the energy efficiency of the compressor, measured by a representative compression ratio of the energy transmitted by the engine gas to the gas to be compressed.

Typically, this compression efficiency can be defined in a compression cycle as the ratio between, on the one hand, the energy supplied to the gas to be compressed by the compressor and, on the other hand, the energy supplied to the compressor by the engine gas.

Moreover, when the gas to be compressed is kept, upon entering the compressor, at a constant pressure equal to the production pressure, the displacements of the pressure transmission piston are fewer in frequency. Thus, the useful life of the compressor is increased and the consumption of engine gas is minimal.

According to an embodiment, the checking means comprise a buffer tank of gas to be compressed, located downstream of the source of the gas to be compressed and upstream of the first cylinder, the pressure of the gas to be compressed being constant in said buffer tank. In order to maintain a constant pressure of the gas to be compressed in the buffer tank, the pressure of the engine gas is adjusted.

In an embodiment, the buffer tank is formed by distribution conduits for the gas to be compressed, the pressure of the gas to be compressed being constant in a section of said distribution conduits.

According to an embodiment, the pressure detector is combined with a probe located in the buffer tank.

In an embodiment, the system comprises means for maintaining a pressure of the gas to be compressed, upon entering the first cylinder, preferably between 5 and 30 bars.

According to an embodiment, the source of the gas to be compressed comprises a gas generator.

The invention also relates to a gas compression method employing a system according to any one of the preceding embodiments, this system comprising one first cylinder and one second cylinder combined together in such a way that a gas to be compressed admitted at an admission pressure into the first cylinder is compressed by the admission of an engine gas into the second cylinder, said system comprising means of checking the pressure of the engine gas during its introduction into the second cylinder, characterised in that it comprises the following steps:the step for a pressure detector to measure the pressure of the gas to be compressed during its admission into the first cylinder, andthe step for a regulator to adjust the flow rate of engine gas in the second cylinder in such a way that the pressure of the gas to be compressed is constant during its admission into the first cylinder.

Making reference toFIG. 4, this represents a gas compression system400according to the invention, i.e. provided with a compressor402comprising one first cylinder and one second cylinder combined together in such a way that a gas (404) to be compressed admitted at an admission pressure into the first cylinder is compressed by the admission of an engine gas (406) into the second cylinder, said system (400) comprising means (408) for checking the pressure of engine gas (406) during its introduction into the second cylinder.

Checking means408comprise:a pressure detector410for measuring the pressure of gas404to be compressed during its admission into the first cylinder, anda regulator412for adjusting the flow rate of engine gas406in the second cylinder in such a way that the pressure of gas404to be compressed is kept at a constant pressure during its admission into compressor402.

In this embodiment, the source of gas414to be compressed comprises a gas generator, for example a chemical reactor (not represented) which employs, for example, an electrolysis reaction producing hydrogen as described by Øystein Ulleberg, Torgeir Nakken and Arnaud Eté in the publication “The wind/hydrogen demonstration system at Utsira in Norway: Evaluation of system performance using operational data and updated hydrogen energy system modeling tools”, published on 15 Jan. 2010 in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, pages 1841-1852.

Moreover, checking means408keep the pressure of gas404to be compressed constant and equal to the production pressure of source414of gas to be compressed as it enters the first cylinder of compressor402.

For this purpose, checking means408comprise a buffer tank416of gas to be compressed, located downstream of source414of gas to be compressed and upstream of compressor402, the pressure of gas404to be compressed being constant in said buffer tank416.

In other variants not represented, buffer tank416can be formed by distribution conduits of the gas to be compressed, the pressure of the gas to be compressed being constant in a section of said distribution conduits connected to compressor402.

In all the cases, probe418, located in buffer tank416, is connected to pressure detector410, which allows the latter to determine the pressure of gas404upon entering the compressor and to inform controller412in order that the latter changes the flow rate of engine gas406, via a command420on its distribution network, such that the pressure of gas404to be compressed, upon entering compressor402, is kept constant and equal to the production pressure of source414of gas to be compressed.

Typically, system408makes it possible to maintain a minimal flow rate for engine gas consumption just necessary for the compression of the production flow rate supplied by source414.

As represented inFIG. 5, efficiency500of a gas compression system as a function of compression ratio502equal to the ratio between the output pressure of the compressed gas and the pressure of the gas to be compressed upon entering the employed compressor increases significantly with a gas compression system according to the invention—curve506—compared with a gas compression system according to the prior art—curve504.

In this example, efficiency ηcomp,H2of the system is defined as a function of input pressure Pe,H2and respectively output pressure Ps,H2of the gas to be compressed—of hydrogen (H2)—and its flow rate ńH2through the compressor.

Moreover, considering that the flow rate of the engine gas—of the air—ńairtakes place with an input pressure Pe,airand respectively an output pressure Ps,airequal to 1 atmosphere by default, the efficiency of the system ηcomp,H2is:

ηcomp,H⁢⁢2=n.H⁢⁢2((Pe,H⁢⁢2Ps,H⁢⁢2)γ-1γ-1)n.airρcompresseur,air⁢((Pe,airPs,air)γ-1γ-1)compresseur=compressor
where ρcompressor,airis the efficiency of the compressor having supplied the compressed air and γ represents the isentropic ratio of the gas (γ equals 1.4 for a diatomic gas: H2, O2, N2. . . ).

The present invention is capable of numerous variants, in particular relating to the use of different types of compressors—boosters, or any other equipment, provided with a variable number of cylinders making it possible to increase the pressure of a gas by transmission of energy from another compressed gas—the engine gas—typically nitrogen or air—and the compressed gas.

The present invention generally relates to all gas production systems, whereof the storage pressure at the exit from treatment is higher than the production pressure, typically the production of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) by the electrolysis of water with an intermittent energy source such as solar or wind energy.

In order that the system of the invention functions in the optimum manner, it is necessary that the pressure of the gas to be compressed, upon entering the first cylinder, is constant. Moreover, the higher this pressure, the more the consumption of engine gas by the compressor is reduced. Thus, thanks to the system of the invention, it is possible to keep a pressure of gas to be compressed, upon entering the first cylinder, constant and equal to (i.e. maximum) the production pressure of the source of gas to be compressed (i.e. the pressure of the gas generator of the source).

It should be noted that the maximum pressure upon entering into the compressor depends in particular on the employed type of source of gas to be compressed and more particularly on the employed type of generator of gas to be compressed (electrolyser HOGEN™ series S from the company “Proton Energy System” (14.8 bars), electrolyser HOGEN™ series H from the company “Proton Energy System” (30 bars), electrolyser HySTAT™-60 from the company Hydrogenics (10 bars), electrolyser GENHY 5000 from the company CETH (10 bars), electrolyser GENHY 100 from the company CETH (7 bars), . . . ).

A significant advantage of the invention is that it proposes a solution which minimises the energy consumption of the equipment used to compress the engine gas injected into the “booster” or compressor, i.e. that it improves the overall energy efficiency of the compression system, in particular at low compression ratios.

Moreover, this method makes it possible to optimise the useful life of the “booster” or compressor by imposing a minimum beating rate adjusted so as to react to the production rate of the source of gas to be compressed.

The gas compression system according to the invention finds particularly advantageous application in the area of the production of hydrogen and oxygen by the electrolysis of water.