Cold energy recovery facility and marine vessel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12460860-B2
Application number	US-202318107345-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 8, 2023
Priority date	Feb 9, 2022
Publication date	Nov 4, 2025
Grant date	Nov 4, 2025

Abstract

A cold energy recovery facility includes a liquid hydrogen tank configured to store liquid hydrogen a first circuit configured to circulate a first working medium, a second circuit configured to circulate a second working medium having a freezing point higher than the first working medium, a first turboexpander provided in the first circuit, the first turboexpander being configured to be driven by the first working medium in a gas state, a second turboexpander provided in the second circuit, the second turboexpander being configured to be driven by the second working medium in a gas state, a first heat exchanger configured to vaporize the liquid hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen tank by heat exchange with the first working medium, a second heat exchanger configured to vaporize the first working medium in a liquid state by heat exchange with the second working medium, and a third heat exchanger configured to vaporize the second working medium in a liquid state by heat exchange with a heat medium, wherein the first circuit and the first turboexpander form a part of a first thermodynamic cycle that uses the liquid hydrogen as a low-temperature heat source in the first heat exchanger, and the second circuit and the second turboexpander form a part of a second thermodynamic cycle that uses the first working medium as a low-temperature heat source in the second heat exchanger.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A cold energy recovery facility comprising:
a liquid hydrogen tank configured to store liquid hydrogen; a first circuit configured to circulate a first working medium; a second circuit configured to circulate a second working medium having a freezing point higher than the first working medium; a first turboexpander provided in the first circuit, the first turboexpander being configured to be driven by the first working medium in a gas state; a second turboexpander provided in the second circuit, the second turboexpander being configured to be driven by the second working medium in a gas state; a first heat exchanger configured to vaporize the liquid hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen tank by heat exchange with the first working medium; a second heat exchanger configured to vaporize the first working medium in a liquid state by heat exchange with the second working medium; and a third heat exchanger configured to vaporize the second working medium in a liquid state by heat exchange with a heat medium, wherein the first circuit and the first turboexpander form a part of a first thermodynamic cycle that uses the liquid hydrogen as a low-temperature heat source in the first heat exchanger, and the second circuit and the second turboexpander form a part of a second thermodynamic cycle that uses the first working medium as a low-temperature heat source in the second heat exchanger, wherein the cold energy recovery facility comprises: a hydrogen line configured to guide the hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen tank to a supply destination; a first hydrogen heater provided downstream of the first heat exchanger in the hydrogen line, the first hydrogen heater being configured to heat the hydrogen the hydrogen line by heat exchange with the heat medium; a second hydrogen heater provided downstream of the first heat exchanger and upstream of the first hydrogen heater in the hydrogen line, the second hydrogen heater being configured to heat the hydrogen in the hydrogen line by heat exchange with at least some of the second working medium discharged from the second turboexpander; and a bypass line that diverges from the second circuit on a side downstream of the second turboexpander and upstream of the second heat exchanger and merges into the second circuit on a side downstream of the second heat exchanger and upstream of the third heat exchanger, and wherein the second hydrogen heater is configured to beat the hydrogen by heat exchange with the at least some of the second working medium flowing through the bypass line.

2 . The cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , wherein the second hydrogen heater is configured to condense the at least some of the second working medium by heat exchange with the hydrogen.

3 . The cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , wherein the second hydrogen heater is provided downstream of the second turboexpander and upstream of the second heat exchanger in the second circuit.

4 . The cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an intermediate medium circulation line configured to circulate an intermediate medium; a third hydrogen heater provided downstream of the second hydrogen heater and upstream of the first hydrogen heater in the hydrogen line, the third hydrogen heater being configured to heat the hydrogen by heat exchange with the intermediate medium; and an intermediate medium cooler provided on the intermediate medium circulation line, the intermediate medium cooler being configured to heat the intermediate medium by heat exchange with the heat medium.

5 . The cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a working medium heater provided downstream of the second heat exchanger and upstream of the first turboexpander in the first circuit, the working medium heater being configured to heat the first working medium flowing through the first circuit.

6 . The cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first generator configured to be driven by the first turboexpander; and a second generator configured to be driven by the second turboexpander.

7 . The cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a heat medium line configured to supply the heat medium to the third heat exchanger, wherein the heat medium includes a cooling fluid that has cooled a high-temperature device.

8 . A marine vessel comprising:
a ship; the cold energy recovery facility according to claim 1 , the cold energy recovery facility being provided in the ship; and an engine or a fuel cell provided in the ship, the engine or the fuel cell using, as fuel, the hydrogen vaporized in the first heat exchanger.

9 . A cold energy recovery facility, comprising:
a liquid hydrogen tank configured to store liquid hydrogen; a first circuit configured to circulate a first working medium; a second circuit configured to circulate a second working medium having a freezing point higher than the first working medium; a first turboexpander provided in the first circuit, the first turboexpander being configured to be driven by the first working medium in a gas state, a second turboexpander provided e second circuit, the second turboexpander being configured to be driven by the second working medium in gas state; a first heat exchanger configurer to vaporize the liquid hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen tank by heat exchange with the first working medium; a second heat exchanger configured to vaporize the first working medium in a liquid state by heat exchange with the second working medium; and a third heat exchanger configured to vaporize the second working medium in a liquid state by heat exchange with a be medium, wherein the first circuit and the first turboexpander form a part of a first thermodynamic cycle that uses the liquid hydrogen as a low-temperature heat source in the first heat exchanger, and the second circuit and the second turboexpander form a part of a second thermodynamic cycle that uses the first working medium as a low temperature heat source in the second heat exchanger, wherein the cold energy recovery facility comprises: a first generator configured to be driven by the first turboexpander; a second generator configured to be driven by the second turboexpander, a third circuit forming a part of an air conditioning cycle, the third circuit being configured to circulate a third working medium; and a condenser forming a part of the air conditioning cycle, the condenser being configured to condense the third working medium flowing through the third circuit, and wherein the condenser is configured to condense the third working medium by heat exchange with the first working medium in a gas state upstream of the first turboexpander in the first circuit or the second working medium in a gas state upstream of the second turboexpander in the second circuit.

10 . A marine vessel comprising:
a ship; the cold energy recovery facility according to claim 9 , the cold energy recovery facility being provided in the ship; and an engine or a fuel cell provided in the ship, the engine or the fuel cell using, as fuel, the hydrogen vaporized in the first heat exchanger.

11 . A cold energy recovery facility, comprising:
a liquid hydrogen tank configured to store liquid hydrogen; a first circuit configured to circulate a first working medium, a second circuit configured to circulate a second working medium having a freezing point higher than the first working medium; a first turboexpander provided in the first circuit, the first turboexpander being configured to be driven

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Tanaka Toshimitsu
• TAKATA Ryo

Classifications

• F25J2290/70

  Processing device is mobile or transportable, e.g. by hand, car, ship, rocket engine etc. · CPC title

• F25J2270/16

  with mutliple gas expansion loops of the same refrigerant · CPC title

• F25J1/005

  by expansion of a gaseous refrigerant stream with extraction of work · CPC title

• B63B25/16

  heat-insulated (insulating panelling B63B3/68; heating or cooling B63J) · CPC title

• Y02T70/50

  Measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to the propulsion system · CPC title