Denis Clodic

Frost Growth Investigation and Temperature Glide Refrigerants in a Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

Biomethane is produced by removing undesirable components such as water vapor, carbon dioxide and other pollutants in a biogas upgrading process. Frosting the water vapor contained in the biogas is one of the dehydration processes used in a biogas upgrading process. In order to simulate a frost layer on a cold plate, many models have been developed. These models are valid for a limited temperature range. In this study, heat and mass transfer equations were used in a numerical approach to model the frost growth and its densification on the external side of a fin-and-tube heat exchanger. The model used in this study is valid for low temperatures from 0∘C to −40∘C and lower. The evaporation process of temperature glide refrigerants is also modeled from −50∘C to −20∘C. The results show a decreased heat transfer rate during frost mass growth on fins and rows. During its growth, frost layer thermal conductivity is relatively low leading to decrease the heat exchanger performance. On the other hand, frost layer thickness increases the external surface blockage, leading to higher pressure drop on the external side. This model has been validated by comparing numerical and experimental results for the biogas outlet temperature.

Fin-and-tube heat exchanger material and inlet velocity effect under frosting conditions

The frosting fin-and-tube heat exchanger used in this study is implemented in the dehydration process of a biogas upgrading pilot. Water is separated from the biogas by frosting it at very low temperatures on the cold surfaces of the fin-and-tube heat exchanger. Once frosted, a defrosting system is used to remove water from the process. The main interest of this study is the frosting system. The effects of the biogas velocity, fin material, tube material and frost layer thickness on the performance of the fin-and-tube heat exchanger are investigated. Increasing the biogas velocity tends to increase the frosting layer thickness and the external pressure drop. This will lead to decrease the heat exchanger performance and the frosting cycle duration. The thermal conductivity of the fins and tubes has a major effect on the performance of the heat exchanger. Higher thermal conductivity decreases the heat exchanged surface. A numerical model has been developed, then numerical and experimental results extracted ...

Material and fin pitch effect on frosting CO2 in a fin-and-tube heat exchanger

Cryo Pur technology uses cryogenic separation to remove water vapor and carbon dioxide from biogas, in order to obtain bio-methane. To cool down the biogas at a very low temperature, a fin-and-tube heat exchanger is designed. In order to improve the fin-and-tube heat exchanger performance, a model is developed to investigate the material and fin pitch on frosting carbon dioxide. This paper will study the effect of the tubes and the fins material, and the fin pitch effect. The purpose is to extend the duration of a frosting cycle.

Energy And Exergy Analysis For Low Temperature Refrigeration System For Biogas Upgrading

Low-temperature refrigeration system for biogas upgrading has been developed by the Cryo Pur company based on cooling biogas in three steps: removing most of the water content at -40°C, removing siloxanes and SVOCs at -85 °C and frosting CO2 at temperatures varying from -90 °C to -120°C. This process transforms biogas containing typically 60% methane, 35% CO2, 5% water vapor in methane containing 2.5% of CO2. This paper studies how a single low-temperature refrigeration system is able to cool biogas with an indirect system using low-temperature heat-transfer fluids. The exergy study defines the exergy losses and served as guidance for the energy/pinch analysis that is used for the design of the heat-exchanger series and the appropriate heat recovery. An optimal system could save up to 40% of the electric consumption of the refrigeration system.