KR101498643B1 - Air dryer system for power saving and lower dew point - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air dryer system with an energy saving function and a lower dew point. The air dryer system according to the present invention comprises a first adhesive tower and a second adhesive tower filled with adsorbents therein, and used by being converted into a regenerative adhesive tower or a dehumidification adhesive tower in turn; a compressor for compressing wet air introduced from the outside to supply for dehumidification or regeneration; a converting point for cooling the air for dehumidification supplied from the compressor and removing moisture therefrom to be converted into the air for dehumidification or regeneration; a merging point for merging the air for regeneration having passed through the regenerative adhesive tower, and the air for dehumidification converted into the air for the dehumidification at the converting point; and a diversion point for dividing the dry air dried and discharged from the dehumidification adhesive tower into dry air for use and dry air for stripping.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an air dryer system and a low dew point air dryer system,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an ultra-low power and ultra low dew point air dryer system, and more particularly, to an air dryer system capable of preventing dew point hunting and maintaining a very low dew point,

Generally, an air dryer system for removing moisture contained in air is widely used in various automation equipment requiring dry air, a production line of a chemical process that causes a chemical reaction in a semiconductor manufacturing process and a moisture contact.

Such an air dryer system includes a freeze-type air dryer system that lowers the temperature of compressed air by using a refrigeration compressor, condenses the moisture contained in the compressed air to dehumidify, and the air dryer system that includes the desiccant (or dehumidifier, And a desiccant type air dryer system for desorbing and dehumidifying air.

The general structure and function of the adsorption type air dryer system related to the present invention will be described as follows.

The adsorption type air dryer system includes a pair of adsorption towers in which an adsorbent is incorporated, a direction switching valve that changes the direction of the compressed air so that the dehumidification and the regeneration processes are alternately performed in the pair of adsorption towers, And a control section including a solenoid valve for controlling operation and a timer.

In general, the adsorption type air dryer system having the above-described structure is composed of a heat adsorption type air dryer system for regenerating an adsorbent using a predetermined heat source in accordance with a regeneration method of an adsorbent and a non-heat adsorption type air dryer system .

The heat adsorption type air dryer system is a circulation heat adsorption type air dryer system (hereinafter, referred to as a non-purge type air dryer system) for regenerating an adsorbent by circulating compressed air in a compressor in accordance with reuse of the regeneration air ), A non-circulating heat adsorption type air dryer system (hereinafter, referred to as purge type air dryer system) for regenerating an adsorbent with air dried by compressed air and discharging used air to the outside. ).

In the non-purge air dryer system according to the present invention, dew point hunting occurs when the adsorption tower is converted, and thus the dew point temperature rises and the dehumidification and regeneration efficiency deteriorate.

In particular, dew point hunting occurs frequently at the upper side of the adsorption tower for regeneration, which is caused by the lack of cooling of the adsorption tower used for regeneration at the time of adsorption tower conversion, It is understood that it happens.

This is because incomplete regeneration can not be considered to be caused because the dew point hunting is instantly generated from the upper side when the adsorption tower used for regeneration is switched to the dehumidification, This is because, in the purging method of cooling from the upper part to the lower part, the dew point hunting does not occur.

Accordingly, there has been an effort to prevent or minimize the dew point hunting which occurs momentarily on the upper side of the adsorption tower which is used for regeneration when the adsorption tower is switched.

Korean Patent No. 10-0825391 (Apr. 21, 2008)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultra-low power and ultra-low dew point air dryer system capable of overcoming the above-mentioned conventional problems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultra-low and ultra-low dew point air dryer system capable of preventing or minimizing dew point hunting which occurs instantaneously on the upper side of an adsorption column used for regeneration in the adsorption tower conversion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an air dryer system according to the present invention includes an adsorber that is filled in the interior of the air dryer system and is alternately used as an adsorption tower for regeneration or an adsorption tower for dehumidification, 1 adsorption tower and a second adsorption tower; A compressor for compressing humid air introduced from outside and supplying the compressed air for dehumidification or regeneration; A switching point at which the dehumidifying air supplied from the compressor is cooled and the water is removed to be converted into dehumidification or regeneration; A summation point at which the regeneration air passing through the adsorption tower for regeneration and the dehumidification air converted into the dehumidification at the turning point are merged and the dry air which is dried and discharged from the adsorption tower for dehumidification, the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air having passed through the combined point are passed through from the lower part to the upper part of the adsorption tower for dehumidification, The regeneration air supplied from the compressor is heated to regenerate the adsorbent while passing through the regeneration adsorption tower in the downward direction from the top, the regeneration air passing through the regeneration adsorption tower is cooled, the water is removed, , And the regeneration air converted into the regeneration at the changeover point is supplied to the regeneration adsorption tower The regeneration air having passed through the regeneration adsorption tower is cooled and the water is removed from the regeneration air to flow into the mixing point, and the stripping dry air, which is branched at the branching point, The adsorption column for adsorption is passed from the upper side to the lower side to cool the adsorption tower for regeneration and is discharged to the outside.

A first direction switching valve installed at a lower portion of the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower for switching a transfer direction of air introduced into the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower or discharged from the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower; And a second direction switching valve provided on the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower for switching the direction of air flowing into the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower or discharged from the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower Wherein the first direction switching valve comprises a first on-off valve and a second on-off valve for respectively introducing dehumidification air to the dehumidifying adsorption tower, and a third on / off valve for circulating air regenerated from the regeneration adsorption tower, Closing valve for discharging the air dehumidified by the adsorption tower for dehumidification to the outside, and a fifth opening / closing valve for opening / And a seventh opening / closing valve and an eighth opening / closing valve for injecting air into the adsorption tower for adsorption, respectively.

The stripping dry air branched at the branch point may correspond to 1 to 10% of dry air that is dried and discharged from the adsorption tower for dehumidification.

According to an embodiment of the present invention to achieve some of the above-mentioned technical problems, there is provided a method of recovering a first adsorption tower and a second adsorption tower, which are filled with an adsorbent in accordance with the present invention, A first step of performing a dehumidification process in the first adsorption tower and a regeneration process in the second adsorption tower; A second step of passing a part of the dry air dehumidified and discharged from the first adsorption tower during the dehumidification process to the second adsorption tower during the regeneration process to cool the second adsorption tower; And a third step of performing a regeneration process in the first adsorption tower through the adsorption tower conversion and a dehumidification process in the second adsorption tower.

In the second step, a part of the dry air dehumidified and discharged from the first adsorption tower may pass through the second adsorption tower from the upper side to the lower side to cool the second adsorption tower.

In the second step, the drying air for cooling the second adsorption tower may be 1 to 10% of the dry air that is dried and discharged in the first adsorption tower.

The regeneration process of the first stage may be divided into a heating regeneration process and a cooling regeneration process, and the stripping process may be performed using dry air generated during the cooling regeneration process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention to achieve some of the above-described technical problems, there is provided a system for purifying exhaust gases, comprising a first adsorption tower and a second adsorption tower, each of which is filled with an adsorbent and alternately used for regeneration or dehumidification The air dryer system is configured such that a portion of the dry air dehumidified and discharged from the first adsorption tower or the second adsorption tower used for dehumidification during the conversion of the adsorption tower is passed through a second adsorption tower or a first adsorption tower used for regeneration, And the second adsorption tower or the first adsorption tower used for the adsorption is cooled.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the dew point hunting due to the change of the dew point temperature when the adsorption column is switched, maintain the ultra-low dew point (about -110 DEG C), and maximize the energy efficiency. In addition, it is possible to prevent the dew point hunting momentarily generated due to insufficient cooling of the adsorption tower at the time of switching the adsorption tower.

1 is a schematic view showing the construction of a non-purge adsorption type air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the dehumidification process of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the heating and regenerating process of FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the cooling regeneration process of FIG. 1,
5 is a schematic view showing the stripping process of FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings without intending to intend to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Hereinafter, a detailed description of known configurations and functions of the constituent elements of the present invention will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the present invention may be blurred. It is to be noted that, among the constituent elements shown in the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are shown in different drawings.

1 is a schematic view showing the construction of a non-purge adsorption type air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a non-purge adsorption type air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention is an air dryer system using waste heat, and includes a pair of adsorption columns 110, a compressor 120, a switching point 170, A merge point 250, a branch point 310, and the like. In addition, essential components well known to those skilled in the art may be additionally provided.

The pair of adsorption towers 110 are provided for the first adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114 having the same shape and structure to produce air by adsorbing moisture contained in humid air.

Each of the first adsorption tower 110 and the second adsorption tower 114 is formed into a closed cylindrical shape having a predetermined length and is filled with an adsorbent therein. An inlet and an outlet are respectively installed. In order to prevent the loss of the adsorbent, a screen mesh (Mesh) made of stainless steel and a mesh mesh (not shown) for dispersing the flow of air (dehumidifying and regenerating air) are appropriately dispersed in upper and lower portions of the adsorption towers 112 and 114 An air distributor is provided.

Activated alumina, silica gel, alumina silica gel, molecular sieves, and the like can be used as the adsorbent to be charged in each of the adsorption towers 112 and 114.

Each of the first adsorption tower 110 and the second adsorption tower 114 is alternately used as an adsorption tower for regeneration and a desorption tower for dehumidification. Hereinafter, when the first adsorption tower 110 or the second adsorption tower 114 is used for regeneration, it is referred to as an adsorption tower for regeneration, and when it is used for dehumidification, it is referred to as an adsorption tower for dehumidification. For example, when the first adsorption tower 112 is used for dehumidification and the second adsorption tower 114 is used for regeneration, the first adsorption tower 112 becomes the adsorption tower for dehumidification and the second adsorption tower 114 becomes the adsorption tower for dehumidification, Adsorption tower. When the first adsorption tower 112 is used for regeneration and the second adsorption tower 114 is used for dehumidification, the first adsorption tower 112 serves as an adsorption tower for regeneration and the second adsorption tower 114 serves as a reuse tower do.

The compressor 120 is disposed at the extreme end of the adsorption type air dryer system according to an embodiment of the present invention to compress the humid air introduced from the outside to a predetermined pressure (about 7.0 kg / cm 2) Type compressor or a turbo-type compressor may be used.

Compressed heat of about 150 ° C is generated in the compressor of the screw type, and compressed heat of about 120 ° C is generated in the compressor of the turbo type. Humid air compressed through the compressor 120 reaches about 120 to 150 Lt; 0 > C.

The compressor 120 supplies the compressed humid air to the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air. The compressor 120 may divide the compressed humid air into the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air, and the regenerating air may be supplied to about 30 to 40% of the total air (moist air). have.

The first cooler 140 provided on the piping through which the dehumidifying air supplied from the compressor 120 is fed is for cooling the dehumidifying air. The dehumidifying air in the high temperature and high pressure state is cooled .

The first separator 150 provided at the discharge port side of the first cooler 140 is for separating moisture contained in the dehumidifying air cooled by the first cooler 140 and may be a conventional cyclone type, Or a demister type separator may be used.

A pretreatment filter 160 is provided between the first separator 150 and the switching point 170. The pretreatment filter 160 removes foreign matter (moisture, oil and dust) that has not been removed from the first separator 150, Is removed once again, and the removed foreign matter is discharged to the outside.

In addition, the pretreatment filter 160 automatically opens the bypass valve to prevent a pressure drop at the outlet due to excessive differential pressure in the adsorption tower 110 and malfunction of various valves, .

The switching point 170 is a point where dehumidification air from which foreign matter including moisture is removed from the first separator 150 and the preprocessing filter 160 is converted into dehumidifying air or regeneration air. The switching point 170 may switch the entire dehumidification air from which the debris is removed from the pre-processing filter 160 to dehumidification air or regeneration air, part of which is supplied as dehumidification air, It is possible to supply it as air for use.

At this time, the switching or branching to the dehumidifying air or the regeneration air is performed by opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve 182 provided on the pipe to which the dehumidifying air is fed and the opening / closing valve 196 provided on the pipe through which the regeneration air is fed It is possible.

A flow rate control valve (not shown) is connected to the switching point 170 to regulate the ratio of the air for regeneration and the air for regeneration, And the air piping may be connected to the air piping.

For example, the flow rate control valve may be installed on one side of the switching point 170, that is, on a pipe through which the dehumidifying air is conveyed, and the dehumidifying air And the air for regeneration. As the inlet pressure of the flow control valve increases, the amount of regeneration air decreases. When the inlet pressure decreases, the amount of regeneration air increases.

The regeneration air branching at this point may be about 30 to 40% of the dehumidifying air from which the foreign substance is removed from the pre-treatment filter 160.

When the flow rate control valve is provided, the ratio of the regeneration air and the dehumidifying air can be adjusted. Therefore, the entire air can be switched to the regeneration air or the dehumidifying air. Therefore, the open / close valve 182 And the on-off valve 196 provided on the piping through which the regeneration air is fed may be omitted.

If there is no flow control valve, the dehumidifying air from which the debris is removed is switched to the air for regeneration or the air for dehumidification by using the open / close valves 182 and 196, or the air is partially dehumidified and the remainder is diverted to the regeneration air When a flow rate control valve is provided, it is possible to switch or divert the air for dehumidification using a flow rate control valve.

A heater 210 is provided on the circulation line of the regeneration air supplied from the compressor 120. The heater 210 is for heating the regeneration air to be fed to the regeneration adsorption tower 112 or 114, A conventional electric heater is used.

At this time, the regeneration air to be transferred to the heater 210 is high temperature (about 120 to 150 ° C) regeneration air supplied from the compressor 120, so that much energy is not consumed for heating up to about 200 ° C. That is, even with a small amount of energy, it is possible to heat the regeneration air to a required temperature, thus consuming less energy. Therefore, the heater 210 used in the present invention may have a small capacity.

Here, the temperature of the regeneration air heated by the heater 210 varies depending on the kind of the adsorbent. For example, to regenerate activated alumina, about 185 to 205 ° C of regeneration air is required. To regenerate the silica gel, regeneration air at about 120 to 150 ° C is required, and the molecular sieve is heated and regenerated It is necessary to regenerate air at about 210 to 230 ° C.

On the other hand, a second cooler 220 is provided on an air pipe for transferring the regeneration air to the merging point 250 to cool the regeneration air that has passed through the regeneration adsorption tower 112 or 114. The second cooler 220 is used to cool the regeneration air that has passed through the regeneration adsorption tower 112 or 114. The regeneration air is heated to a temperature of about 40 ° C or lower .

A second separator 230 is provided on the side of the discharge port of the second cooler 220 and the second separator 230 separates moisture contained in the regeneration air cooled by the second cooler 220 A cyclone type or a demister type separator is used as the first separator 150.

The combining point 250 joins the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air at a point where the dehumidifying air passing through the switching point 170 and the regeneration air passing through the second separator 230 are merged. The dehumidifying air and the regeneration air passing through the merging point 250 are transferred to the adsorption tower 112 or 114 for dehumidification, dried and discharged as dry air.

When the first adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114 are alternately used as the adsorption tower for regeneration and the adsorption tower for dehumidification, the feeding direction of the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air is switched, A plurality of first directional control valves 260 and a plurality of second directional control valves 270 are provided for appropriately introducing and discharging the gas into and from the second adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114.

The first directional control valve 260 is connected to a circulation line of regeneration air located below the first adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114 and is connected to the first adsorption tower 112 and the second And the transfer direction of the dehumidifying and regenerating air introduced into the adsorption tower (114) or discharged from the first adsorption tower (112) and the second adsorption tower (114) is switched. The second direction switching valve 270 is connected to the circulation line of the regeneration air located above the first adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114, 2 adsorption tower 114 or the direction of the dehumidifying and regeneration air discharged from the first adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114 is switched.

The first directional control valve 260 and the second directional control valve 270 are each composed of four on-off valves 262, 264, 266, 268 and 272, 274, 276 and 278, It is possible to dehumidify and regenerate the first adsorption tower 112 and the second adsorption tower 114 alternately by selectively interrupting the transfer of the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air.

At this time, a total of four opening / closing valves constituting the first directional control valve 260 are referred to as a first open / close valve 262, a second open / close valve 264, a third open / close valve 266 and a fourth open / Closing valves 272, 274, 276, 276, 276, 276, 276, 276, 276, 276, 278, It will be referred to as an on-off valve 278.

The drying air dried through the adsorption tower 112 or 114 for dehumidification is controlled by the first directional control valve 260 and the second directional control valve 270 to flow into the branching point 310

The dry air introduced into the branch point 310 is discharged to various uses and a part of the dry air flows through the branch point 310 for a stripping process for cooling the regeneration adsorption tower 112 or 114, do.

The bifurcation point 310 is diverted into dry air for use in various places of use and dry air for stripping for a stripping process by drying air flowing through the adsorption tower 112 or 114 for dehumidification.

As in the case of the changeover point 170, it is possible to use the open / close valves 312 and 314 or the flow rate control valve to branch dry air at the branch point 310.

The stripping dry air branched at the branch point 310 may correspond to 1 to 10% of the dry air flowing in and dried in the adsorption tower for dehumidification, but preferably about 5% may be suitable.

The stripping process may be performed only when the adsorption column is switched, and may be suitably performed when necessary.

Dry air for use branched at the branching point 310 is removed by foreign substances (moisture, oil and dust) by the post-treatment filter 280 before being discharged to various uses, and various equipment using dry air Thereby preventing damage.

The post-treatment filter 280 also automatically opens the bypass valve to prevent a pressure drop at the outlet due to excessive differential pressure in the adsorption tower 110 and malfunction of various valves, as in the case of the preprocessing filter 160 Thereby maintaining the pressure of the outlet at a constant level.

In addition, the air dryer system has a plurality of open / close valves (186, 192, 198, 316, 313, 314, 318) provided on circulation pipes for regeneration air and on circulation pipes for the stripping process,

The open / close valves 186, 192, 198, 316, 314, 314, and 318 regenerate the adsorbent by circulating the regeneration air supplied to the compressor 120 and the regeneration air converted at the changeover point. Regenerated or cooled. The open / close valves 186, 192, 198, 316, 314, 314, and 318 prevent the regeneration air and the stripping dry air from being mixed or the regeneration air from flowing into the piping for the stripping process, and the stripping dry air flows into the circulation pipe .

The operation of the air dryer system having the above-described structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG.

Here, the dehumidification and regeneration process is performed simultaneously in the pair of adsorption towers 112 and 114. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the first adsorption tower 112 is dehumidified and the second adsorption tower 114 is regenerated , The adsorption tower for dehumidification is the first adsorption tower 112, and the adsorption tower for regeneration is the second adsorption tower 114.

In the following, the moving path of the dehumidifying air is indicated by a solid line arrow, the moving path of the regeneration air is indicated by a dotted arrow, and the moving path of the drying air for the stripping step is indicated by a double solid line arrow.

2 is a schematic view showing the dehumidification process of FIG. 1;

2, the humid air introduced from the outside is compressed to a high temperature (about 120 to 150 ° C.) and a high pressure (about 7.0 kg / cm 2) by the compressor 120, And then flows into the cooler 140.

The dehumidifying air is cooled to about 40 캜 through the first cooler 140, and moisture generated in the cooling process is removed through the first separator 150. Then, the foreign material that has not been removed from the first separator 150 is removed through the pre-processing filter 160.

The dehumidifying air from which moisture has been removed by the pre-processing filter 160 is branched or switched to the dehumidifying air and the regeneration air through the switching point 170. It is preferable that the air for regeneration is about 30 to 40% of the air for dehumidification in which foreign substances are removed from the pretreatment filter 160.

The dehumidifying air that is diverted or converted at the switching point 170 flows into the first adsorption tower 112, which is an adsorption tower for dehumidification. The first opening / closing valve 262 and the fourth opening / closing valve 268 of the first direction switching valve 260 are opened so that the dehumidifying air can be introduced into the first adsorption tower 112, The third open / close valves 264 and 266 must be closed.

The dehumidifying air passes from the lower part of the first adsorption tower 112 to the upper part.

The dehumidifying air flowing into the first adsorption tower 112 comes into contact with the adsorbent therein, and the moisture is completely removed and converted into dry dry air and discharged to the branch point 310. At this time, the fifth and eighth open / close valves 272 and 278 of the second direction switch valve 270 are opened so that the dehumidified dry air can be discharged to the branch point 310, and the sixth and seventh open / (274, 276) must be closed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the heating and regenerating process of FIG. 1;

The heating regeneration process may be performed at the same time as the dehumidification process or after the dehumidification process is performed.

3, the regeneration air supplied from the compressor 120 is heated to approximately 200 DEG C while passing through the heater 210 provided on the regeneration circulation pipe, And then flows into the second adsorption tower 114.

At this time, the fifth and eighth opening / closing valves 272 and 278 of the second direction switching valve 270 are opened so that the regeneration air does not flow into the first adsorption tower 112, and the sixth and seventh opening / closing valves 274, 276) must be closed.

The open / close valves (198, 196) provided on the circulation pipe for cooling regeneration and the open / close valves 314, 318 provided on the dry air transfer pipe for the stripping process are closed, The opening and closing valves 186 and 318 must be opened. This prevents the regeneration air from being directly transferred to the second cooler 220 without passing through the second adsorption tower 114 or the regeneration air passing through the second adsorption tower 114 being directly transferred to the changeover point 170, So that the regeneration air passing through the second adsorption tower 114 is discharged to the outside or transferred to the second radiator 220 without leaking to another place.

The regeneration air introduced into the second adsorption tower 114 desorbs the moisture of the adsorbent charged therein and is then conveyed to the second cooler 220 through the fourth opening and closing valve 268 and the opening and closing valve 186 do. The air for regeneration passes downward from the upper portion of the second adsorption tower 112.

The regeneration air having passed through the second adsorption tower 114 is cooled to about 40 DEG C by the second cooler 220. After the foreign material including moisture is removed from the second separator 230, The first adsorption tower 112 is connected to the dehumidifying air through the second adsorption tower 250 or is independently introduced into the first adsorption tower 112. Hereinafter, it is the same as the dehumidification process of FIG.

At this time, the second and third opening / closing valves 264 and 266 of the first direction switching valve 260 are closed and the first opening / closing valve 262 and the fourth opening / closing valve 268 are opened, The regeneration air regenerated by the second adsorption tower 114 does not directly flow into the first adsorption tower 112. Further, the regeneration air discharged from the merging point 250 does not flow into the second adsorption tower 114.

4 is a schematic view showing the cooling regeneration process of FIG.

The cooling regeneration process may be performed after the heat regeneration process is performed, and may be performed at the same time as the dehumidification process or after the dehumidification process is performed.

4, the regeneration air that has been switched or branched at the switching point 170 flows into the second adsorption tower 114 through the open / close valve 196 and the fourth open / close valve 268. [ At this time, the first and fourth opening / closing valves 262 and 268 of the first direction switching valve 260 are opened so that the regeneration air is not introduced into the first adsorption tower 112, and the second and third opening / (264, 266) must be closed.

The regeneration air may be sent to the second cooler 220 without passing through the second adsorption tower 114 or may be returned to the second adsorption tower 114 via the second adsorption tower 114. [ To prevent air from being transferred to the heater 210, and to maintain a predetermined cooling regeneration circulation path.

The air for regeneration passes through the lower part of the first adsorption tower 112 in the upper direction.

The regeneration air introduced into the second adsorption tower 114 desorbs moisture of the adsorbent charged therein and is discharged through the eighth open / close valve 278 and the on / off valve 198 to the second cooler 220 . Also, at this time, the regeneration air having passed through the second adsorption tower 114 is prevented from being discharged to the outside or introduced into the second adsorption tower 114 by closing the opening / closing valves 186 and 318.

The regeneration air having passed through the second adsorption tower 114 is cooled to about 40 캜 through the second cooler 220 and then foreign substances including moisture are removed from the second separator 230, The first adsorption tower 112 is connected to the dehumidifying air through the second adsorption tower 250 or is independently introduced into the first adsorption tower 112. Hereinafter, it is the same as the dehumidification process of FIG.

At this time, since the second and third open / close valves 264 and 266 of the first directional control valve 260 are closed, the regeneration air discharged from the second adsorption tower 114 directly flows into the first adsorption tower 112 Or more.

5 is a schematic view showing the stripping process of FIG.

The stripping process may be performed at the time of the adsorption tower switching, or may be performed when it is deemed necessary. In particular, the stripping process may be performed at the end of the cooling regeneration process or after the cooling regeneration process is completed using the dry air generated in the cooling regeneration process, when the adsorption tower conversion is scheduled.

The stripping process is performed in order to sufficiently perform cooling of the adsorption tower for regeneration when the first adsorption tower 112 or the second adsorption tower 114 used for regeneration is to be used as an adsorption tower for dehumidification through conversion of the adsorption tower, It is possible to prevent or minimize the dew point hunting momentarily generated at the time of switching to the adsorption tower for adsorption.

5, the stripping dry air branched at the branch point 310 flows through the heater 210 by opening and closing valves 312 and 314 provided on the circulating pipe for stripping process, And then flows into the second adsorption tower 114 through the on-off valve 192. [

At this time, the open / close valve 316 must be closed so that the stripping dry air does not flow into the compressor 120, and the fifth and the seventh of the second directional control valve 270 are not allowed to flow into the first adsorption tower 112. The eighth open / close valves 272 and 278 are opened, and the sixth and seventh open / close valves 274 and 276 are closed.

Also, the on-off valves (198, 196) provided on the circulation pipe for cooling regeneration and the on-off valve (186) provided on the circulation pipe for heating regeneration must be closed.

This is because the drying air for stripping is directly fed to the second cooler 220 without passing through the second adsorption tower 114 or the stripping dry air passing through the second adsorption tower 114 is directly fed to the changeover point 170 .

The stripping drying air introduced into the second adsorption tower 114 passes through the second adsorption tower from the top to the bottom, thereby cooling the second adsorption tower 114. The stripping dry air discharged from the second adsorption tower 114 is discharged to the outside through the fourth opening / closing valve 268 and the opening / closing valve 318.

At this time, the second and third opening / closing valves 264 and 266 of the first direction switching valve 260 are closed and the first opening / closing valve 262 and the fourth opening / closing valve 268 are opened, The stripping dry air discharged from the second adsorption tower 114 does not directly flow into the first adsorption tower 112.

As described above, it is possible to prevent the dew point hunting at the time of the adsorption tower conversion by performing the stripping process at the time of the adsorption tower conversion or at normal times.

The heat regeneration process of the air dryer system is performed for about 2 hours and 20 minutes, the cooling regeneration process is performed for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, and the stripping process can be performed for about 10 minutes. In some cases, the stripping process time is adjustable. In the conventional case, the heat regeneration process is performed for about 2 hours 30 minutes without the stripping process, and the cooling regeneration process is performed for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, so that there is no difference in the regeneration time.

The control method of the air dryer system described above with reference to Fig. 1 will be described. At this time, in the control method of the air dryer system, the dehumidification and regeneration performed in the pair of adsorption towers 112 and 114 are performed alternately with a predetermined time, and the direction of the humid air introduced into each of the adsorption towers 112 and 114 To the adsorption tower.

When the second direction switching valve 270 and the opening and closing valves 186, 192, 198, 316, 314, 314 and 318 are opened at the same time when the adsorption tower is switched, hot humid air flowing through the opening / closing valve 192 flows into the first or second adsorption tower 112 The temperature of the dew point is changed (about 15 to 30 DEG C) when the humid air of high temperature is introduced as described above, resulting in a problem that the energy efficiency is lowered.

The control method of the air dryer system according to the present invention to prevent this is as follows.

First, when the adsorption tower switching signal is applied in a state where the dehumidification process is performed in the first adsorption tower 112 and the regeneration process is performed in the second adsorption tower 114, a stripping process as described with reference to FIG. 5 is performed, (114).

When the stripping process is completed, the opening and closing valves 312, 314, and 318 are closed.

Next, the third, fourth, seventh and eighth open / close valves 266, 268 and 276, 278 are closed to prevent hot humid air from flowing into the first adsorption column and the second adsorption column 112, 114 do.

Then, when the first predetermined time elapses, the first and fifth open / close valves 262 and 272 are closed and the second and sixth open / close valves 264 and 274 are opened to allow the outside air to flow into the second adsorption tower 114 side . When the second predetermined time elapses, the opening and closing valves 192, 196, 198 and 186 are opened and closed to allow the recycle air to circulate.

When the third predetermined time elapses, the third and seventh open / close valves 266 and 276 are opened and the fourth and eighth open / close valves 268 and 278 are closed, Side.

When the regeneration process is performed in the first adsorption tower 112 and the dehumidification process is performed in the second adsorption tower 114 through this process, the conversion of the adsorption tower is completed.

When the adsorption tower switching signal is applied in the above-described state, that is, the regeneration process is performed in the first adsorption tower 112 and the dehumidification process is performed in the second adsorption tower 114, the stripping process as described with reference to FIG. 5 is performed The first adsorption tower 112 is cooled. When the stripping process is completed, the opening and closing valves 312, 314, and 318 are closed.

Thereafter, the third, fourth, seventh, and eighth open / close valves 266, 268 and 276, 278 are closed to change the adsorption tower so that hot humid air flows into the first and second adsorption towers 112, ≪ / RTI >

Thereafter, when the first predetermined time elapses, the second and sixth open / close valves 264 and 274 are closed and the first and fifth open / close valves 262 and 272 are opened to allow external air to flow into the first adsorption tower 112 side . When the second predetermined time elapses, the opening and closing valves 192, 196, 198, and 186 are opened and closed to allow the recycle air to circulate.

Finally, when the third predetermined time elapses, the fourth and eighth open / close valves 268 and 278 are opened and the third and seventh open / close valves 266 and 276 are closed to allow the regeneration air to flow toward the second adsorption tower 112 side Lt; / RTI >

When the dehumidification process is performed in the first adsorption tower 112 and the regeneration process is performed in the second adsorption tower 114 through this process, the conversion of the adsorption tower is completed.

Here, the open / close valves 192, 196, 198, and 186 may be opened or closed depending on the regeneration method. This has been described with reference to FIGS.

Meanwhile, it is preferable that the first predetermined time is 2 to 4 seconds, the second predetermined time is 4 to 6 seconds, and the third predetermined time is 9 to 11 seconds. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be changed depending on the situation.

By switching the adsorption tower as described above, it is possible to prevent the humid air of high temperature from joining with the dry air, to prevent the dew point hunting due to the change of the dew point temperature and to maintain the ultra-low dew point (about -100 ° C.) Thereby maximizing the efficiency. In addition, it is possible to prevent the dew point hunting momentarily generated due to insufficient cooling of the adsorption tower at the time of switching the adsorption tower.

The foregoing description of the embodiments is merely illustrative of the present invention with reference to the drawings for a more thorough understanding of the present invention, and thus should not be construed as limiting the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the basic principles of the present invention.

110: adsorption tower 120: compressor
140: first cooler 150: first separator
160: preprocessing filter 170: turning point
210: heater 220: second cooler
230: second separator 250: starting point
260: first direction switching valve 270: second direction switching valve
280: post-processing filter 310: branch point

Claims (8)

A first adsorption tower and a second adsorption tower which are filled with an adsorbent and are alternately used as an adsorption tower for regeneration or an adsorption tower for dehumidification;
A compressor for compressing humid air introduced from outside and supplying the compressed air for dehumidification or regeneration;
A switching point at which the dehumidifying air supplied from the compressor is cooled and the water is removed to be converted into dehumidification or regeneration;
A summation point at which the regeneration air that has passed through the adsorption tower for regeneration and the dehumidification air that is converted into the dehumidification at the changeover point are merged,
And a diverging point for diverting dry air, which is dried and discharged from the adsorption tower for dehumidification, into dry air for use and dry air for stripping,
The dehumidifying air and the regeneration air merged through the merging point are dried while passing through the adsorption tower for dehumidification from the lower part to the upper part,
The regeneration air supplied from the compressor is heated to regenerate the adsorbent while passing through the regeneration adsorption tower in the downward direction from the upper side and the regeneration air having passed through the regeneration adsorption tower is cooled and the water is removed, And,
The regeneration air that has been converted into the regeneration stream at the transition point regenerates the adsorbent while passing the regeneration adsorption tower in the direction from the bottom to the top and the regeneration air that has passed through the regeneration adsorption tower is cooled and water is removed, ≪ / RTI >
Wherein the drying air for stripping which is branched at the branch point passes through the regeneration adsorption tower in a direction from the upper side to the lower side and cools the regeneration adsorption tower and is discharged to the outside. The air dryer system according to claim 1,
A first direction switching valve installed at a lower portion of the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower for switching a transfer direction of air introduced into the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower or discharged from the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower;
And a second direction switching valve installed on the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower for switching the direction of air flowing into the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower or air discharged from the first adsorption tower and the second adsorption tower However,
Wherein the first direction switching valve comprises a first on-off valve and a second on-off valve for respectively introducing dehumidification air to the dehumidifying adsorption tower, a third on-off valve for circulating air regenerated from the regeneration adsorption tower, A fourth on-off valve,
Wherein the second direction switching valve includes a fifth on-off valve and a sixth on-off valve for respectively discharging the air dehumidified by the dehumidifying adsorption tower to the outside, and a seventh open / close valve for injecting the regeneration air into the regeneration adsorption tower, Valve and an eighth open / close valve. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the stripping dry air branched at the branch point corresponds to 1 to 10% of dry air that is dried and discharged from the adsorption tower for dehumidification. A method for controlling an air dryer system comprising a first adsorption tower and a second adsorption tower, each of which is filled with an adsorbent and alternately switched to an adsorption tower for regeneration or an adsorption tower for dehumidification,
A first step of performing a dehumidification process in the first adsorption tower and a regeneration procedure in the second adsorption tower;
A second step of passing a part of the dry air dehumidified and discharged from the first adsorption tower during the dehumidification process to the second adsorption tower where the regeneration process was performed to cool the second adsorption tower to perform a stripping process;
And a third step of performing a regeneration process in the first adsorption column through the adsorption column conversion and a dehumidification process in the second adsorption column,
Wherein the regeneration process of the first stage is divided into a heating regeneration process and a cooling regeneration process, and the stripping process is performed using dry air generated in the cooling regeneration process. The method of claim 4,
Wherein a portion of the dry air dehumidified and discharged from the first adsorption tower passes through the second adsorption tower in a downward direction to cool the second adsorption tower. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the drying air for cooling the second adsorption column corresponds to 1 to 10% of the dry air that is dried and discharged in the first adsorption tower in the second step. delete delete

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