SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- VORTEX TUBE GAS CLEANUP
- Notice Date
- 1/15/2004
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Idaho Nat'l Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (DOE Contractor), Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory, 2525 Fremont P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-3920
- ZIP Code
- 83415-3920
- Solicitation Number
- S-04-02
- Response Due
- 3/14/2004
- Archive Date
- 3/29/2004
- Point of Contact
- Steve Paschke, Senior Business Specialist, Phone 208-526-1113, Fax 208-526-0876,
- E-Mail Address
-
sdp@inel.gov
- Description
- In practice it is desirable to remove unwanted components from gas streams. For example many natural gas processes require the removal of carbon dioxide and/or hydrogen sulfide. The technology utilizes a basic two-step process design; first, multi-tray gas-liquid scrubbers affect unwanted gas removal via absorption to a liquid phase or solvent; and second, heating, pressure reduction or both regenerate liquid absorbent. Capture efficiency is predicated largely on liquid circulation rate and gas residence time. Under the best of conditions, conventional towers operate at 80% of the equilibrium absorbent loading capacity. This means that at least 20% of the absorbent is needlessly regenerated at a significant cost. Approximately 90% of the process energy requirement is associated with solvent regeneration. Additionally, conventional towers cannot be operated below 60% of their design capacity. This limits their utility for power generation applications in which peak and minimum demands may exceed this operating range. In the context of dilute waste gas removal from large volume gas flows, very large conventional scrubbers and regenerators are required. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has developed a new approach for use in situ gas separations. Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube technology has been used for many years for small cooling applications. The operating principle of a standard tube involves the tangential injection of compressed gas into a tube with exits at either end. The gas undergoes expansion (Joule-Thomson) through the tangential nozzle and a high velocity cyclonic flow is formed. As the gas progresses down the tube, two distinct temperature zones arise ? a hot zone near the tube periphery and a cold zone near the tube axis. Due to isenthalpic expansion, the total gas flow is cooled; but, because of the unique temperature separation within the tube, the cold stream exits the tube at a far lower temperature than the corresponding expansion temperature. It is this aspect that has caused vortex tubes to be utilized for cooling. In the nozzle and the exit chamber, the vortex tube can achieve high centrifugal forces, i.e., on the order of 100,000 g. These forces can be used to separate components of a gas and/or liquid. INEEL researchers have developed utilized a modified vortex tube to enhance unwanted gas removal. The system achieves separation efficiencies >96%, with overall removal efficiencies of .5 moles of CO2/mole of DEA. The device is physically small, inexpensive, and easy to maintain due to its near lack of moving parts. These characteristics are particular advantageous when compared to other novel gas-liquid contactors, such as ?structured packing? and ?micro channel reactors?, which are operationally limited by plugging, low throughputs, and high costs. The modified vortex tube system manifest significant improvements, as compared to conventional systems, for dilute CO2 mixture separations including: 1) Lower capital costs; 2) Comparable CO2 capture efficiencies; 3) Lower maintenance expenses; 4) High process turn-down and scale-up capability when operated in parallel; 5) Reduced absorbent and absorbent regeneration requirements; and 6) Lower solution losses. INEEL is soliciting qualified industrial firms to provide funding and development support to optimize the capture and removal efficiencies, test the removal of other undesirable gases (i.e. Hydrogen Sulfide, H2S) and to design and test a full-scale system with vortex tube array. Upon successful completion of the development program the industrial firm(s) may seek up to an exclusive field of use license for the intellectual property. This solicitation will close sixty (60) days from the Date of Notice. Technical Contact: Michael G. McKellar PO Box 1625 Idaho Falls, ID, 83415 Telephone: 208-526-1346 E-Mail: mgq@inel.gov Business Contact: David R. Anderson PO Box 1625 Idaho Falls, ID 83415 Telephone: 208-526-0837 E-Mail: andedr2@inel.gov Michael G. McKellar P.O. Box 1625, MS 3710 Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3710 Phone: (208) 526-1346
- Record
- SN00504476-W 20040117/040115211740 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
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