IP Library Granted Patent US 8,414,694
Granted Patent B2
US 8,414,694 · App. 12/645,591 · Granted Apr 9, 2013

CO

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,414,694
App. No.
12/645,591
Granted
Apr 9, 2013
Kind
B2
Abstract

Provided are a CO 2 absorber that reduces CO 2 contained in flue gas; a regenerator that reduces CO 2 contained in rich solvent absorbing CO 2 to regenerate the rich solvent, so that lean solvent having the CO 2 reduced in the regenerator is reused in the CO 2 absorber; a heat exchanger that allows the rich solvent to exchange heat with the lean solvent; and a controller that controls to extract rich solvent portion that is part of the rich solvent, to allow the rich solvent portion to by pass the heat exchanger, and to be supplied into the top of the regenerator without exchanging heat so as to minimize a sum of an enthalpy that is taken out of the regenerator as CO 2 gas accompanying steam and an enthalpy of the lean solvent after heat exchange with the rich solvent in the heat exchanger.

Claims (12)

1. A CO 2 recovery unit, which includes a CO 2 absorber that brings flue gas containing CO 2 into contact with a CO 2 absorbent to reduce the CO 2 contained in the flue gas, and a regenerator that reduces CO 2 contained in rich solvent absorbing CO 2 in the CO 2 absorber to regenerate the rich solvent, so that lean solvent from which the CO 2 is reduced in the regenerator is reused in the CO 2 absorber, comprising:

a heat exchanger that allows the rich solvent to exchange heat with the lean solvent; and

a controller that controls to extract part of the rich solvent to allow the part to bypass the heat exchanger, and to be supplied into an upper section of the regenerator without exchanging heat so as to minimize a sum of an enthalpy that is taken out of the regenerator as CO 2 gas accompanying steam and an enthalpy that is a result of subtracting an enthalpy of the rich solvent before heat exchange in the heat exchanger from an enthalpy of the lean solvent after the heat exchange,

wherein the controller includes:

a plurality of sensors for detecting at least temperatures provided on a rich solvent supplying line and a lean solvent supplying line respectively;

a flow meter provided on a split rich solvent supplying line; and

an adjusting valve provided on the split rich solvent supplying line downstream of the flow meter to thereby adjust the amount of the rich solvent to be split under an instruction of the controller by adjusting the adjusting valve based on the information obtained by the plurality of sensors and the flow meter so as to approximate a temperature difference between the rich solvent and the lean solvent at an entering side of the heat exchanger and a temperature difference between the rich solvent and the lean solvent at an exiting side of the heat exchanger.

2. The CO 2 recovery unit according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls so that the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger accounts for 3 to 15 percent by weight of the rich solvent.

3. The CO 2 recovery unit according to claim 1 , first heat exchanging unit that allows the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat the regenerator

wherein the split rich solvent supplying line is guided into an upper section of the regenerator and constitutes a first heat exchanging unit by which a rich solvent portion exchanges heat in an upper section of the regenerator, and

wherein the split rich solvent supplying line is once out of the generator and again guided into the upper section of the regenerator to release the rich solvent portion into the regenerator.

4. The CO 2 recovery unit according to claim 1 further comprising a second heat exchanging unit that allows the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger to exchange heat with the CO 2 gas accompanying steam extracted from the regenerator.

Assignments (4)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 14, 2023
From: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES ENGINEERING, LTD.
To: MHI ENGINEERING, LTD.
Reel/Frame 066014/0774 →
NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT Recorded Dec 14, 2023
From: MHI ENGINEERING, LTD.
To: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
Reel/Frame 066014/0870 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 12, 2018
From: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.
To: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES ENGINEERING, LTD.
Reel/Frame 047054/0898 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 30, 2009
From: IIJIMA, MASAKI; OGURA, KOUKI; TATSUMI, MASAHIKO; YAGI, YASUYUKI
To: MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.; THE KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER CO., INC.
Reel/Frame 023718/0645 →