Water treatment system of coupling heat pump with multi-effect evaporation and operating method thereof

This application is a 371 of international application of PCT application serial no. PCT/CN2022/131371, filed on Nov. 11, 2022, which claims the priority benefit of China application no. 202111347433.0, filed on Nov. 15, 2021. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

The present disclosure relates to the field of industrial water treatment and heat recovery, in particular to a water treatment system of coupling heat pump heat recovery with multi-effect evaporation and an operating method thereof.

In the chemical, petroleum, pharmaceutical and other industries, most of them use evaporation technology to evaporate, concentrate, crystallize, dry, and sterilize. However, the evaporation technology is a unit operation with high energy consumption, which has always been a giant energy consumer of chemical production process or wastewater treatment. The evaporation process is mainly used to recover the high-concentration concentrated wastewater solution. In simple terms, evaporation and concentration refers to the process of heating the solution to volatilize part of the water and increase the solute concentration. In the process of evaporation and concentration, it is necessary to continuously supply heat energy. In industry, the water vapor is usually adopted as the heat source, whereas, most of the evaporated and concentrated materials are aqueous solutions. During this operation, more secondary vapor will be generated. If the secondary vapor is directly discharged, it will not only waste the latent heat of the vapor, but also flow out of the evaporation system along with part of materials, which causes certain pollution to the environment.

The energy consumption and waste heat of the evaporation system are still serious in traditional industries. In the traditional concentration method of single-effect distillation, the secondary vapor cannot be reused, and most of them only recycle and recover approximately 30% of the waste heat and residual heat. Therefore, the recycling of waste heat and recovery of residual heat is one of the important links in energy conservation and emission reduction, and is also a necessary measure for enterprises to reduce costs, protect the environment and increase efficiency.

Mechanical vapor recompression is currently the most frequently used method for recovering the residual heat of the low-temperature secondary vapor. However, when the wastewater temperature is too low, the secondary vapor pressure and temperature are low, the vapor specific volume is large, and the flow and the pressure ratio of the compressor are large. Currently, the technology of vapor compressors with large flow rate and pressure ratio is still immature, the compressor failure rate is high, and the system stability is poor. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method that can replace the mechanical vapor compressor and can be used to recover the heat of the secondary vapor of the multi-effect evaporation system to implement heat recovery and concentration treatment of wastewater. It is best to eliminate the dependence of the multi-effect evaporation system on heat source vapor.

The objectives of the present disclosure are to provide a water treatment system of coupling a heat pump with multi-effect evaporation in view of the problems and deficiencies exist in the above-mentioned prior art.

In order to realize the objectives of the present disclosure, the technical solutions adopted in the present disclosure are as follows.

Provided is a water treatment system of coupling a heat pump with multi-effect evaporation. The system comprises a multi-effect evaporation circulation system, a lithium bromide absorption-type heat pump circulation system and a compression-type heat pump circulation system. The multi-effect evaporation circulation system includes a first centrifugal pump 1 , a pre-heater 2 , a first-effect evaporator 3 , a first pressure reducing valve 4 and a second-effect evaporator 5 . The water to be treated is connected to an inlet of the first centrifugal pump 1 through a pipeline. An outlet of the first centrifugal pump 1 is connected to an inlet a 1 of the pre-heater 2 through a pipeline. An outlet a 2 of the pre-heater 2 is connected to a solution inlet b 1 of the first-effect evaporator 3 through a pipeline. A solution outlet b 2 of the first-effect evaporator 3 is connected to a solution inlet c 1 of the second-effect evaporator 5 through the first pressure reducing valve 4 and is discharged from a concentrated solution outlet c 2 . A vapor outlet b 5 of the first-effect evaporator 3 is connected to a vapor inlet c 3 of the second-effect evaporator 5 through a pipeline. A condensed water outlet c 4 of the second-effect evaporator 5 is connected to a condensed water inlet a 3 of the pre-heater 2 through a pipeline and is discharged from an outlet a 4 .

The lithium bromide absorption-type heat pump circulation system includes a generator 6 , a condenser 7 , a second centrifugal pump 8 , a first evaporator 9 , an absorber 10 , a solution heat exchanger 11 , a third centrifugal pump 12 and a second pressure reducing valve 13 . A vapor inlet d 1 of the generator 6 is connected to a vapor outlet c 5 of the second-effect evaporator through a pipeline. Condensed water of the generator 6 is discharged from an outlet d 2 . An upper vapor outlet d 6 of the generator 6 is connected to a vapor inlet e 1 of the condenser 7 . An outlet e 2 of the condenser 7 is connected to a water inlet f 1 of the first evaporator 9 through pipelines via the second centrifugal pump 8 . A vapor outlet f 2 of the first evaporator 9 is connected to a top vapor inlet g 1 of the absorber 10 . A bottom concentrated solution outlet d 7 of the generator 6 is connected to an inlet h 3 of the solution heat exchanger 11 via the third centrifugal pump 12 . An outlet h 4 of the solution heat exchanger 11 is connected to a solution inlet g 2 of the absorber 10 . A solution inlet h 1 of the solution heat exchanger 11 is connected to a solution outlet b 4 of the first-effect evaporator 3 through a pipeline. A solution outlet h 2 of the solution heat exchanger 11 is connected to a solution inlet d 5 of the generator 6 via the second pressure reducing valve 13 , and a dilute solution outlet g 3 of the absorber 10 is connected to an inlet b 3 of the first-effect evaporator 3 .

The compression-type heat pump circulation system includes a compressor 14 , a fourth centrifugal pump 15 , a second evaporator 16 , a third evaporator 17 , a first throttle valve 18 , a second throttle valve 19 and an evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 . An outlet of the compressor 14 is connected to a refrigerant inlet d 4 of the generator 6 and a refrigerant inlet f 3 of the first evaporator 9 respectively. A refrigerant outlet d 3 of the generator 6 and a refrigerant outlet f 4 of the first evaporator 9 are converged by pipelines, then connected to an inlet of a first cut-off valve 23 and an inlet of the first throttle valve 18 respectively. An outlet of the first throttle valve 18 is connected to a solution inlet i 1 of the second evaporator 16 . A solution outlet i 2 of the second evaporator 16 is connected to an inlet of the evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 . An outlet of the first cut-off valve 23 is connected to an inlet of the second throttle valve 19 through a pipeline. An outlet of the second throttle valve 19 is connected to an inlet of the third evaporator 17 . An outlet of the third evaporator 17 and an outlet of the evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 are jointly connected to the inlet of the compressor 14 through pipelines. An outlet of the fourth centrifugal pump 15 is connected to an inlet e 3 of the condenser 7 . An outlet e 4 of the condenser 7 is connected to an inlet i 4 of the second evaporator 16 and an outlet i 3 of the second evaporator 16 is connected to an inlet of the fourth centrifugal pump 15 .

Further, a first temperature controller 21 is disposed on a pipeline at the outlet i 3 of the second evaporator 16 . A control signal of the first temperature controller 21 is connected to the first throttle valve 18 through a wire. A second temperature controller 22 is disposed at the inlet of the compressor 14 , and a control signal of the second temperature controller 22 is connected to the second throttle valve 19 through a wire.

Further, the outlet of the compressor 14 is further connected to the inlet of the third evaporator 17 through a second cut-off valve 24 .

Further, a heat pump circulation working medium in the heat pump circulation system is the working medium capable of implementing a condensation temperature from 55° C. to 75° C. and an evaporation temperature from −5° C. to 35° C.

Further, the third evaporator 17 is an air source evaporator.

Further, the first throttle valve 18 and the second throttle valve 19 are externally balanced type thermal expansion valves or electronic expansion valves. When the first throttle valve 18 and the second throttle valve 19 are externally balanced type thermal expansion valves, the first temperature controller 21 and the second temperature controller 22 are temperature sensing bulbs of the thermal expansion valves correspondingly.

The steps of an operating method for the water treatment system of coupling the heat pump with the multi-effect evaporation in the present disclosure areas follows. When an aqueous solution to be treated exists, a first pressure reducing valve 4 , a second pressure reducing valve 13 , and a first cut-off valve 23 are opened. The aqueous solution to be treated enters a first centrifugal pump 1 for pressurization, then enters a first-effect evaporator 3 from a solution inlet b 1 after preheating by a pre-heater 2 . Vapor generated by heating the aqueous solution to be treated in the first-effect evaporator 3 flows into a second-effect evaporator 5 from a top outlet b 5 of the first-effect evaporator 3 through a vapor inlet c 3 . The unevaporated water flows out of an outlet b 2 of the first-effect evaporator 3 and depressurized by the first pressure reducing valve 4 , then continuously enters the second-effect evaporator 5 for exchanging heat with the vapor flowing from the first-effect evaporator 3 and vapor generated by the evaporation is concentrated into a concentrated solution simultaneously and flows out from an outlet c 2 of the second-effect evaporator 5 . Condensed water obtained by heat-releasing and condensing the vapor flows into the pre-heater 2 for heat exchange from an outlet c 4 of the second-effect evaporator 5 . Secondary vapor generated in the second-effect evaporator 5 is introduced into a vapor inlet d 1 of a generator 6 from a top outlet c 5 for condensation, and released heat is used to evaporate dilute lithium bromide solution in the generator 6 .

The dilute lithium bromide solution in the generator 6 simultaneously absorbs condensation heat of the secondary vapor generated from the second-effect evaporator 5 and refrigerant gas that is compressed by a compressor 14 flowing in from an inlet d 4 . Generated vapor enters a condenser 7 for condensation. Condensate water is pressurized by a second centrifugal pump 8 and then enters a first evaporator 9 for evaporating into water vapor, and then enters an absorber 10 . The lithium bromide solution in the generator 6 is pumped into a solution heat exchanger 11 by a third centrifugal pump 12 for heat-absorption and temperature-rise, then sprayed into the absorber 10 for absorbing water vapor to obtain a high-temperature lithium bromide solution. The lithium bromide solution in the absorber 10 enters a heat exchange tube of the first-effect evaporator 3 to heat and evaporate the water or solution outside the pipeline, and continuously enters the solution heat exchanger 11 for exchanging heat with the lithium bromide solution after cooling, and enters the generator 6 via the second pressure reducing valve 13 for a subsequent circulation after temperature is reduced.

One path of the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 14 in a compressor heat pump circulation enters the generator 6 for heating and condensing to provide heat required for a regeneration of a dilute solution. Another path of the refrigerant gas enters the first evaporator 9 to provide heat required for a water evaporation. Condensed refrigerant liquid is converged and then divided into two paths again, one path of the refrigerant liquid enters the second evaporator 16 for evaporation after throttling and depressurizing by a first throttle valve 18 , and another path of the refrigerant liquid enters a third evaporator 17 through the first cut-off valve 23 and a second throttle valve 19 for evaporation. The refrigerant gas flowing out of the second evaporator 16 is converged with the refrigerant gas flowing out of the third evaporator 17 after regulating by an evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 , then enters a subsequent circulation after being compressed by the compressor 14 .

Because the third evaporator 17 is an air source evaporator in winter, when a surface of the air source evaporator is frosted and requires to be defrosted, the second shut-off valve 24 is opened, and one part of the refrigerant gas generated by the compressor 14 enters the third evaporator 17 through the pipeline for hot-gas bypass defrosting.

Further, the first throttle valve 18 is controlled by a temperature of the first temperature controller 21 , and an opening degree of the first throttle valve 18 is adjusted in direct proportion to a water temperature at the outlet i 3 of the second evaporator 16 .

Further, the second throttle valve 19 is controlled by a temperature of the second temperature controller 22 , and an opening degree of the second throttle valve 19 is adjusted in direct proportion to a temperature at an inlet of the compressor 14 .

Compared with the prior art, the technical solutions of the present disclosure have the following beneficial technical effects.

The vapor in the tail-end evaporator of the multi-effect evaporation circulation is introduced into the generator in the absorption-type heat pump to release heat and condense. The dilute solution in an absorber of the absorption-type heat pump is introduced into the first-effect evaporator to be evaporated by the treated water. The lithium bromide absorption-type heat pump is capable of outputting the heat source above 100° C. and providing the heat for the multi-effect evaporation system. The compressor heat pump with stable performance recovers the condensation heat of the vapor in the absorption-type heat pump and utilizes the air source evaporator to absorb heat from the ambient air, and supplies the heat for the generator by the heat pump condenser, so that the evaporation treatment of sewage or wastewater can be implemented without requiring additional heat source. The joint use of the multi-effect evaporation circulation, lithium bromide absorption-type heat pump circulation and compression-type heat pump circulation can not only combine the advantages of vapor compression circulation and lithium bromide absorption heat pump circulation to obtain a larger temperature rise and a higher thermal performance, but also implement multiple evaporation and condensation by means that the multi-effect evaporation circulation utilizes the pressure differences of the evaporator to recover the latent heat of the vapor of its own system, which combines with the lithium bromide absorption heat pump circulation to heat and reuse for the secondary vapor generated by the final-stage evaporator of the multi-effect evaporation circulation, so that the energy consumption of the evaporation process can be reduced significantly, and the energy efficiency of the system is improved.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a water treatment system in the present disclosure.

In order to enable the above objectives, features and advantages of the present disclosure to be more visible and understandable, the present disclosure is further described below in combination with the accompanying drawings and the embodiments.

Provided is a water treatment system of coupling a heat pump with multi-effect evaporation. The system comprises a multi-effect evaporation circulation system, a lithium bromide absorption-type heat pump circulation system and a compression-type heat pump circulation system. The multi-effect evaporation circulation system includes a first centrifugal pump 1 , a pre-heater 2 , a first-effect evaporator 3 , a first pressure reducing valve 4 and a second-effect evaporator 5 . The water to be treated is connected to an inlet of the first centrifugal pump 1 through a pipeline. An outlet of the first centrifugal pump 1 is connected to an inlet a 1 of the pre-heater 2 through a pipeline. An outlet a 2 of the pre-heater 2 is connected to a solution inlet b 1 of the first-effect evaporator 3 through a pipeline. A solution outlet b 2 of the first-effect evaporator 3 is connected to a solution inlet c 1 of the second-effect evaporator 5 through the first pressure reducing valve 4 and is discharged from a concentrated solution outlet c 2 . A vapor outlet b 5 of the first-effect evaporator 3 is connected to a vapor inlet c 3 of the second-effect evaporator 5 through a pipeline. A condensed water outlet c 4 of the second-effect evaporator 5 is connected to a condensed water inlet a 3 of the pre-heater 2 through a pipeline and is discharged from an outlet a 4 .

The lithium bromide absorption-type heat pump circulation system includes a generator 6 , a condenser 7 , a second centrifugal pump 8 , a first evaporator 9 , an absorber 10 , a solution heat exchanger 11 , a third centrifugal pump 12 and a second pressure reducing valve 13 . A vapor inlet d 1 of the generator 6 is connected to a vapor outlet c 5 of the second-effect evaporator 5 through a pipeline. Condensed water of the generator 6 is discharged from an outlet d 2 . An upper vapor outlet d 6 of the generator 6 is connected to a vapor inlet e 1 of the condenser 7 . An outlet e 2 of the condenser 7 is connected to a water inlet f 1 of the first evaporator 9 through pipelines via the second centrifugal pump 8 . A vapor outlet f 2 of the first evaporator 9 is connected to a top vapor inlet g 1 of the absorber 10 . A bottom concentrated solution outlet d 7 of the generator 6 is connected to an inlet h 3 of the solution heat exchanger 11 via the third centrifugal pump 12 . An outlet h 4 of the solution heat exchanger 11 is connected to a solution inlet g 2 of the absorber 10 . A solution inlet h 1 of the solution heat exchanger 11 is connected to a solution outlet b 4 of the first-effect evaporator 3 through a pipeline. A solution outlet h 2 of the solution heat exchanger 11 is connected to a solution inlet d 5 of the generator 6 via the second pressure reducing valve 13 , and a dilute solution outlet g 3 of the absorber 10 is connected to an inlet b 3 of the first-effect evaporator 3 .

The compression-type heat pump circulation system includes a compressor 14 , a fourth centrifugal pump 15 , a second evaporator 16 , a third evaporator 17 , a first throttle valve 18 , a second throttle valve 19 and an evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 . An outlet of the compressor 14 is connected to a refrigerant inlet d 4 of the generator 6 and a refrigerant inlet f 3 of the first evaporator 9 respectively. A refrigerant outlet d 3 of the generator 6 and a refrigerant outlet f 4 of the first evaporator 9 are converged by pipelines, then connected to an inlet of a first cut-off valve 23 and an inlet of the first throttle valve 18 respectively. An outlet of the first throttle valve 18 is connected to a solution inlet i 1 of the second evaporator 16 . A solution outlet i 2 of the second evaporator 16 is connected to an inlet of the evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 . An outlet of the first cut-off valve 23 is connected to an inlet of the second throttle valve 19 through a pipeline. An outlet of the second throttle valve 19 is connected to an inlet of the third evaporator 17 . An outlet of the third evaporator 17 and an outlet of the evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 are jointly connected to the compressor 14 through pipelines. An outlet of the fourth centrifugal pump 15 is connected to an outlet e 3 of the condenser 7 . An outlet e 4 of the condenser 7 is connected to an inlet i 4 of the second evaporator 16 and an outlet i 3 of the second evaporator 16 is connected to an inlet of the fourth centrifugal pump 15 .

A first temperature controller 21 is disposed on a pipeline at the outlet i 3 of the second evaporator 16 . A control signal of the first temperature controller 21 is connected to the first throttle valve 18 through a wire. A second temperature controller 22 is disposed at the inlet of the compressor 14 , and a control signal of the second temperature controller 22 is connected to the second throttle valve 19 through a wire.

The outlet of the compressor 14 is further connected to the inlet of the third evaporator 17 through a second cut-off valve 24 .

A heat pump circulation working medium in the heat pump circulation system is the working medium capable of implementing a condensation temperature from 55° C. to 75° C. and an evaporation temperature from −5° C. to 35° C.

The third evaporator 17 is an air source evaporator.

The first throttle valve 18 and the second throttle valve 19 are externally balanced type thermal expansion valves or electronic expansion valves. When the first throttle valve 18 and the second throttle valve 19 are externally balanced type thermal expansion valves, the first temperature controller 21 and the second temperature controller 22 are temperature sensing bulbs of the thermal expansion valves correspondingly.

Provided is an operating method for the water treatment system of coupling the heat pump with the multi-effect evaporation. When an aqueous solution to be treated exists, a first pressure reducing valve 4 , a second pressure reducing valve 13 , and a first cut-off valve 23 are opened. The aqueous solution to be treated enters a first centrifugal pump 1 for pressurization, then enters a first-effect evaporator 3 from a solution inlet b 1 after preheating by a pre-heater 2 . Vapor generated by heating the aqueous solution to be treated in the first-effect evaporator 3 flows into a second-effect evaporator 5 from a top outlet b 5 of the first-effect evaporator 3 through a vapor inlet c 3 . The unevaporated water flows out of an outlet b 2 of the first-effect evaporator 3 and depressurized by the first pressure reducing valve 4 , then continuously enters the second-effect evaporator 5 for exchanging heat with the vapor flowing from the first-effect evaporator 3 and vapor generated by the evaporation is concentrated into a concentrated solution simultaneously and flows out from an outlet c 2 of the second-effect evaporator 5 . Condensed water obtained by heat-releasing and condensing the vapor flows into the pre-heater 2 for heat exchange from an outlet c 4 of the second-effect evaporator 5 . Secondary vapor generated in the second-effect evaporator 5 is introduced into a vapor inlet d 1 of a generator 6 from a top outlet c 5 for condensation, and released heat is used to evaporate dilute lithium bromide solution in the generator 6 .

The dilute lithium bromide solution in the generator 6 simultaneously absorbs condensation heat of the secondary vapor generated from the second-effect evaporator 5 and refrigerant gas that is compressed by a compressor 14 flowing in from an inlet d 4 . Generated vapor enters a condenser 7 for condensation. Condensate water is pressurized by a second centrifugal pump 8 and then enters a first evaporator 9 for evaporating into water vapor, and then enters an absorber 10 . The lithium bromide solution in the generator 6 is pumped into a solution heat exchanger 11 by a third centrifugal pump 12 for heat-absorption and temperature-rise, then sprayed into the absorber 10 for absorbing water vapor to obtain a high-temperature lithium bromide solution. The lithium bromide solution in the absorber 10 enters a heat exchange tube of the first-effect evaporator 3 to heat and evaporate the water or solution outside the pipeline, and continuously enters the solution heat exchanger 11 for exchanging heat with the lithium bromide solution after cooling, and enters the generator 6 via the second pressure reducing valve 13 for a subsequent circulation after temperature is reduced.

One path of the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 14 in a compressor heat pump circulation enters the generator 6 for heating and condensing to provide heat required for a regeneration of a dilute solution. Another path of the refrigerant gas enters the first evaporator 9 to provide heat required for a water evaporation. Condensed refrigerant liquid is converged and then divided into two paths again, one path of the refrigerant liquid enters the second evaporator 16 for evaporation after throttling and depressurizing by a first throttle valve 18 , and another path of the refrigerant liquid enters a third evaporator 17 through the first cut-off valve 23 and a second throttle valve 19 for evaporation. The refrigerant gas flowing out of the second evaporator 16 is converged with the refrigerant gas flowing out of the third evaporator 17 after regulating by an evaporation pressure regulating valve 20 , then enters a subsequent circulation after being compressed by the compressor 14 .

Because the third evaporator 17 is an air source evaporator in winter, when a surface of the air source evaporator is frosted and requires to be defrosted, the second shut-off valve 24 is opened, and one part of the refrigerant gas generated by the compressor 14 enters the third evaporator 17 through the pipeline for hot-gas bypass defrosting.

The first throttle valve 18 is controlled by a temperature of the first temperature controller 21 , and an opening degree of the first throttle valve 18 is adjusted in direct proportion to a water temperature at the outlet i 3 of the second evaporator 16 . The controlling of the water temperature is mainly aimed at ensuring the operating requirements of the condenser 7 and enabling the vapor in the condenser 7 to be completely liquefied. When the water temperature at the outlet i 3 of the seconder generator 16 is too high, which indicates that the cooling capacity of the second evaporator 16 is insufficient, at this time, the valve opening degree of the first throttle valve 18 is increased, and the flow rate of the refrigerant is increased.

The second throttle valve 19 is controlled by a temperature of the second temperature controller 22 , and an opening degree of the second throttle valve 19 is adjusted in direct proportion to a temperature at an inlet of the compressor 14 . The temperature is the suction temperature of the compressor, which is aimed at stabilizing the operation condition of the compressor. Since the temperature and the pressure of the refrigerant at the outlet of the second evaporator 16 are mainly controlled and regulated by the first temperature controller 21 , the suction temperature of the compressor 14 is mainly regulated by the third evaporator 17 . When the suction temperature of the compressor 14 is too high, the valve opening degree of the second throttle valve 19 can be increased, and the flow rate of the refrigerant is increased.

Although the present disclosure is disclosed as above, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be subject to the scope defined in the claims.