Natural gas storage and delivery system for a refrigerated cargo vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11319903-B2
Application number	US-202017113250-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2020
Priority date	Apr 20, 2020
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

A fuel storage and delivery system for a refrigerated cargo vehicle. The system includes a first fuel tank for storing natural gas and a second fuel tank for storing natural gas, at least the first fuel tank is for storing the natural gas as liquefied natural gas (LNG); a vehicle fuel supply line fluidly connected to the first fuel tank for supplying fuel from the first fuel tank to a vehicle engine; and a refrigeration unit fuel supply line fluidly connected to the second fuel tank for supplying fuel from the second fuel tank to a transport refrigeration unit engine.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fuel storage and delivery system for a refrigerated cargo vehicle, the system comprising:
a first fuel tank for storing natural gas and a second fuel tank for storing natural gas, wherein at least the first fuel tank is for storing the natural gas as liquefied natural gas (LNG);
a vehicle fuel supply line fluidly connected to the first fuel tank for supplying fuel from the first fuel tank to a vehicle engine;
a refrigeration unit fuel supply line fluidly connected to the second fuel tank for supplying fuel from the second fuel tank to a transport refrigeration unit engine; and
a controllable fuel recycling system arranged to selectively allow gas to flow from the first fuel tank to the refrigeration unit fuel supply line,
wherein the controllable fuel recycling system is configured to selectively switch between a first configuration in which gas is prevented from passing from the first fuel tank to the refrigeration unit fuel supply line via the fuel recycling system, and a second configuration in which gas is able to pass from the first fuel tank to the refrigeration unit fuel supply line via the fuel recycling system.

2. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controllable fuel recycling system comprises a controllable valve for facilitating switching between the first and second configurations, optionally wherein the controllable valve is a three port control valve.

3. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a controller configured to control operation of the fuel recycling system, wherein the controller is arranged in communication with the fuel recycling system such that the fuel recycling system can receive commands from the controller.

4. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the controllable fuel recycling system is biased towards the first configuration.

5. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a boil-off vent line fluidly connected to the first fuel tank for venting boil-off gas from the first tank to the external environment.

6. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the boil-off vent line is coupled to the first fuel tank via a pressure relief valve for relieving pressure within first fuel tank, the pressure relief valve being configured to allow gas to flow from the first storage tank to the boil-off vent line when a pressure within the first fuel tank exceeds a threshold pressure.

7. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the threshold pressure is a pressure between 15 bar and 20 bar (1.5 MPa-2 MPa).

8. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the controllable fuel recycling system is arranged between the boil-off vent line and the refrigeration unit fuel supply line in order to supply gas from the boil-off vent line to the refrigeration unit fuel supply line.

9. A fuel storage and delivery system as claimed in claim 8 , wherein, in the second configuration, the controllable fuel recycling system is configured to prevent gas from passing through the boil-off vent line and direct all gas flowing through the boil-off vent line to the refrigeration unit fuel supply line.

10. A refrigerated cargo vehicle comprising:
a vehicle engine for providing drive to the vehicle, the vehicle engine being an internal combustion engine configured to use natural gas as a fuel;
a transport refrigeration unit for controlling environmental conditions within a cargo compartment, the transport refrigeration unit having an transport refrigeration unit engine that is an internal combustion engine configured to use natural gas as a fuel; and
a fuel delivery system as claimed in claim 1 ,
wherein the vehicle fuel supply line is fluidly connected to the vehicle engine for supplying fuel to the vehicle engine from the first fuel tank, and
wherein the refrigeration unit fuel supply line is fluidly connected to the transport refrigeration unit engine for supplying fuel to the transport refrigeration unit engine from the second fuel tank.

11. A refrigerated cargo vehicle as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the refrigerated cargo vehicle is a truck, optionally wherein the truck includes a tractor unit and a refrigerated trailer.

12. A method of recycling boil-off gas in a fuel storage and delivery system, the method comprising:
storing natural gas as LNG in first fuel tank;
operating an internal combustion engine by supplying natural gas from a second fuel tank to the internal combustion engine;
accumulating boil-off gas in the first fuel tank;
relieving pressure within the first fuel tank by venting at least a portion of the accumulated boil-off gas from the first fuel tank when the pressure within the first fuel tank exceeds a threshold pressure; and
supplying at least a portion of the vented boil-off gas to the internal combustion engine to at least partially fuel the internal combustion engine.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the threshold pressure is a pressure between 15 bar and 20 bar (1.5 MPa-2 MPa).

14. A method as claimed in claim 12 , comprising supplying natural gas from the first fuel tank to a second internal combustion engine.

15. A method of retrofitting a fuel recycling system to an existing fuel storage and delivery system to provide a fuel storage and delivery system of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Carrier Corp

Inventors

• Renault Loic

Classifications

• B60H1/3232

  particularly adapted for load transporting vehicles (B60H1/3226 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F02M21/0287

  characterised by the transition from liquid to gaseous phase (F02M21/06 takes precedence); Injection in liquid phase; Cooling and low temperature storage · CPC title

• F17C7/04

  with change of state, e.g. vaporisation · CPC title

• F02M21/0215

  Mixtures of gaseous fuels; Natural gas; Biogas; Mine gas; Landfill gas · CPC title

• F17C2270/0134

  placed above the ground · CPC title