GB2051030A

GB2051030A - Process and installation for disposing of combustion gases

Info

Publication number: GB2051030A
Application number: GB7921415A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: RECH FONDAMENTALE RIVIEREN SPR
Current assignee: RECH FONDAMENTALE RIVIEREN SPR
Priority date: 1979-06-20
Filing date: 1979-06-20
Publication date: 1981-01-14

Abstract

Gases and water issued from a combustion equipment are passed into soil for absorption in fertilisation and irrigation. The gases may be sent, preferably after cooling in at least a gas exchanger, into a multiplicity of under ground pipes, preferably arranged as an array of parallel pipes, said pipes comprising each a series of holes for releasing the gases with water into a layer of ground to be irrigated and fertilized.

Description

SPECIFICATION Process and installation for disposing of combustion gases The present invention relates to a process for disposing of combustion gases and making them useful, particularly exhaust gases of fixed equipments provided with DlESEL-motors, gas turbines or other plants producing water containing toxic gases, and to an installation for carrying out said process.

It is the purpose of the present invention to remove water, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and other toxic gases, from the volume of gases leaving a combustion equipment, particularly a DIESELmotor, by filtering said volume of gases through a layer of sand of at least about 1 meter in thickness, preferably of about 1 to 2 meters in thickness.

More particularly the process according to this invention intends to remove water (H20), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen(ic) oxide (N20) and nitrogen peroxide (NO2) from said combustion gases.

The process according to this invention makes it also possible to irrigate and fertilize a surface infertile gas-permeable ground such as sand, thus allowing the growth of plants such as certain species of wheat, sunflower and palm trees.

In this respect the nitrogen compounds present in the combustion gases contribute considerably to the fertilization of the ground.

The invention further relates to an installation by which it is possible to carry out the process of the invention in a very convenient and economical manner. Said installation comprises one or more heat exchangers to recuperate the calories present in the combustion gases, a turbine device to ensure a sufficienttotal pressure, a main conduct leading the combustion gases to the field to be treated and a system of parallel running distribution pipes burried under said field, said pipes being provided with a number of holes to liberate the water and gases.

According to a preferred embodiment, the installation of the invention comprises at least one hot gassteam counter-current exchanger. This preferred installaton may further comprise a hot gas-water counter current exchanger producing warm water which may be used for any desired purpose.

According to another feature of the invention, the turbine device of the installation may be placed underground in orderto avoid an undesirably high noise level.

The parallel pipes of the distribution pipe system of the installation according to the invention may be of considerable length, preferably of at least 300 meters; the distribution pipe system may be provided with a number of visiting chambers placed on the path of the pipes. The parallel distribution pipes are preferably equipped with lateral branch pipes.

The internal diameterofthe pipes is selected in accordance with the flow rate of gases and the pipes are preferably spaced from each other by a distance of about 5 meters.

The velocity of the gases in the main conduct is preferably of the order of 50 m/sec.

The invention will now be explained more in detail in the following explicit example, thereby referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: - figure 1 is a diagrammatic top view of a preferred embodiment of the installation according to the invention, and -figure 2 is a sectional side view of the installation offigure 1.

EXAMPLE The exhaust gases of a DIESEL equipment, emerging therefrom at a temperature of about 300"C, are introduced in the installation through line 1, into a hot gas-steam counter-current exchanger 2. Cold water is provided to exchanger 2 through line 4. Hot steam is obtained from the exchanger 2 through line 5. The hot gases leaving exchanger 2 are led into a hot gas-hot water counter-current exchanger 3, to which cold water is provided through line 4, and from which hot water is obtained through line 6.

Emerging from exchanger 3 the gases are introduced into a fan 7 which delivers the compressed gases at a sufficiently high pressure through a main pipe 8, having a length of about 300 m. The gas velocity in this main pipe is about 40 to 50 m/sec. Reaching the field to be treated the main pipe divides into a system of parallel pipes 9 of lower diameter, lying about 5 meters apart under a layer of sand 10 which may be loose sand. These pipes 9, in which the gases flow at a velocity of about 15 to 20 m/sec, are covered on their inside surface with TEFLON in order to avoid corrosion, and on their outside surface with special tar for Saharian pipe-lines. The pipes 9 are further perforated with holes provided with strainers at the lower part to allow the liberation of the water and the gases into the sand layer 10.

The layer of sand 10 may be provided on top of a layer of hard sand 11, a layer of clay 12 and a rocky layer 13.

A number of visiting chambers (not shown on the drawings) is provided along the length of the pipes 10, in view of their maintenance. The exit tempera- ture of the various components is entirely acceptable owing to the important heat losses along the length of the system.

The process and installation according to this invention use rather simple techniques and allow a great flexibility in their application. They make it possible to remove components from combustion gases which are polluting for the atmosphere and unbearable for the human being, and also to cultivate the soil of surfaces which were formerly waste lands and where the climatic conditions are not favourable.

The process is also of interest for areas where the underground water level is very deep, thus necessitating important technical investments.

1. A process for disposing of combustion gases and making them useful, in which the gases issued from combustion means are filtered through a layer

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Process and installation for disposing of combustion gases The present invention relates to a process for disposing of combustion gases and making them useful, particularly exhaust gases of fixed equipments provided with DlESEL-motors, gas turbines or other plants producing water containing toxic gases, and to an installation for carrying out said process. It is the purpose of the present invention to remove water, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides and other toxic gases, from the volume of gases leaving a combustion equipment, particularly a DIESELmotor, by filtering said volume of gases through a layer of sand of at least about 1 meter in thickness, preferably of about 1 to 2 meters in thickness. More particularly the process according to this invention intends to remove water (H20), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen(ic) oxide (N20) and nitrogen peroxide (NO2) from said combustion gases. The process according to this invention makes it also possible to irrigate and fertilize a surface infertile gas-permeable ground such as sand, thus allowing the growth of plants such as certain species of wheat, sunflower and palm trees. In this respect the nitrogen compounds present in the combustion gases contribute considerably to the fertilization of the ground. The invention further relates to an installation by which it is possible to carry out the process of the invention in a very convenient and economical manner. Said installation comprises one or more heat exchangers to recuperate the calories present in the combustion gases, a turbine device to ensure a sufficienttotal pressure, a main conduct leading the combustion gases to the field to be treated and a system of parallel running distribution pipes burried under said field, said pipes being provided with a number of holes to liberate the water and gases. According to a preferred embodiment, the installation of the invention comprises at least one hot gassteam counter-current exchanger. This preferred installaton may further comprise a hot gas-water counter current exchanger producing warm water which may be used for any desired purpose. According to another feature of the invention, the turbine device of the installation may be placed underground in orderto avoid an undesirably high noise level. The parallel pipes of the distribution pipe system of the installation according to the invention may be of considerable length, preferably of at least 300 meters; the distribution pipe system may be provided with a number of visiting chambers placed on the path of the pipes. The parallel distribution pipes are preferably equipped with lateral branch pipes. The internal diameterofthe pipes is selected in accordance with the flow rate of gases and the pipes are preferably spaced from each other by a distance of about 5 meters. The velocity of the gases in the main conduct is preferably of the order of 50 m/sec. The invention will now be explained more in detail in the following explicit example, thereby referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: - figure 1 is a diagrammatic top view of a preferred embodiment of the installation according to the invention, and -figure 2 is a sectional side view of the installation offigure 1. EXAMPLE The exhaust gases of a DIESEL equipment, emerging therefrom at a temperature of about 300"C, are introduced in the installation through line 1, into a hot gas-steam counter-current exchanger 2. Cold water is provided to exchanger 2 through line 4. Hot steam is obtained from the exchanger 2 through line 5. The hot gases leaving exchanger 2 are led into a hot gas-hot water counter-current exchanger 3, to which cold water is provided through line 4, and from which hot water is obtained through line 6. Emerging from exchanger 3 the gases are introduced into a fan 7 which delivers the compressed gases at a sufficiently high pressure through a main pipe 8, having a length of about 300 m. The gas velocity in this main pipe is about 40 to 50 m/sec. Reaching the field to be treated the main pipe divides into a system of parallel pipes 9 of lower diameter, lying about 5 meters apart under a layer of sand 10 which may be loose sand. These pipes 9, in which the gases flow at a velocity of about 15 to 20 m/sec, are covered on their inside surface with TEFLON in order to avoid corrosion, and on their outside surface with special tar for Saharian pipe-lines. The pipes 9 are further perforated with holes provided with strainers at the lower part to allow the liberation of the water and the gases into the sand layer 10. The layer of sand 10 may be provided on top of a layer of hard sand 11, a layer of clay 12 and a rocky layer 13. A number of visiting chambers (not shown on the drawings) is provided along the length of the pipes 10, in view of their maintenance. The exit tempera- ture of the various components is entirely acceptable owing to the important heat losses along the length of the system. The process and installation according to this invention use rather simple techniques and allow a great flexibility in their application. They make it possible to remove components from combustion gases which are polluting for the atmosphere and unbearable for the human being, and also to cultivate the soil of surfaces which were formerly waste lands and where the climatic conditions are not favourable. The process is also of interest for areas where the underground water level is very deep, thus necessitating important technical investments. CLAIMS

1. A process for disposing of combustion gases and making them useful, in which the gases issued from combustion means are filtered through a layer of infertile gas permeable soil, so as to irrigate and/or fertilize the surface of the ground.

2. A process according to claim 1, in which the combustion gases are distributed in a multiplicity of places in a layer of infertile gas-permeable soil.

3. A process according to claims 1 and 2, in which the combustion gases are cooled prior to theirfiltration through a layer of infertile gas-permeable soil.

4. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the layer of infertile gas-permeable soil has a free surface of several hundreds square meters.

5. A process according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the infertile gas-permeable soil is a sandy soil.

6. Installation for carrying out the process according to any one of the preceding claims, which comprises combustion means, a device for compressing the combustion gases produced by said combustion means, a main conduct for leading the combustion gases and water to a field in which the gases have to be distributed and a multiplicity of underground distribution pipes with holes for releasing the gases and the waterthrough a layer of infertile gas-permeable soil, so as to fertilize and irrigate said layer.

7. Installation according to claim 6, comprising also at least one heat-exchanger for cooling the gases before they enter into the main conduct.

8. Installation according to claim 6, in which the heat-exchanger is a counter-current exchanger using water as cooling agent.

9. Installation according to claim 8, comprising a collector for the warm water used in said exchanger.

10. Installation according to any one of claims 6 to 9, in which the multiplicity of gas and water distribution pipes form an array of parallel pipes extending under a soil surface to be fertilized and irrigated.

11. A process for disposing of combustion gases, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. Installation for carrying out the process according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.