Patent Application
20110132819
BACKGROUND
Gas turbines, steam turbines and other related hydraulic systems often employ phosphate ester fluid lubricants as the primary lubricating material. Other lubricants that may be used include isopropylphenyl phosphate ester (IPPP) and tertiary-butylphenyl phosphate (TBPP). Phosphate ester fluid is vulnerable to thermal degradation, which results in the generation of acid contaminants in the form of phosphorus and phosphoric acids, along with a variety of metal salts from acidic corrosion of internal gas turbine metals. Various materials and methods have been developed to cleanse phosphate ester lubricant contaminated with metal material and acids. One conventional method uses anionic resin to remove the metal compounds and the acids to provide a contaminant-free, reusable lubricating fluid.
Surface and depth media filters are designed to capture particles at an engineered size range. The performance of the filters can be altered by the use of various media selections and design characteristics. However, these filters are generally not able to effectively remove oil degradation products from lubricating and hydraulic oils. This is due to the fact that oil degradation products (including both degraded additive components and basestocks) are often in solution when the fluid is at the operating temperature. When the fluid cools and the degradation products precipitate out of the fluid, they are often less than about one micron in size, which is smaller than the currently utilized surface and depth media filtration technologies.
A recent invention involving a specially-designed adsorptive resin media with acrylamide functionality is, described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/169,964 in the names of Wooton et al., the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. This resin media has been successfully demonstrated to remove degradation products from lubricating and hydraulic fluids. This resin media can remove products while they are both in suspension and in solution, and has exhibited the ability to significantly extend the life of fluids and solve issues such as the formation of sludge and varnish deposits. Other types of resin media have been used for similar purposes of removing contaminants from lubricating and hydraulic fluids, as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0001023 in the names of Dufresne et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,895, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,117, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In light of the problems discussed above, there is a need in the marketplace to improve upon the delivery of these types of resins and other absorbent materials that overcomes the disposal and waste issues associated with the current state of the art of providing these resins and other absorbent materials.
Some embodiments of the invention provide a delivery system for removing contaminants from lubricating and hydraulic fluids. The delivery system can include a reusable sleeve and a first end cap and a second end cap coupled to the reusable sleeve. The delivery system can also include a disposable absorbent cartridge containing absorbent material capable of removing contaminants from lubricating and hydraulic fluids. The disposable absorbent cartridge can be removeably positioned inside the reusable sleeve between the first end cap and the second end cap. In some embodiments, the disposable absorbent cartridge can be constructed of one or more of a needle-punched polymeric felt, a polymeric screen, and a non-woven and calendared polymeric media. In some embodiments, the disposable absorbent cartridge can be manufactured in a cylindrical shape, with or without a handle, or in a conical shape.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to, physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use embodiments of the invention. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from embodiments of the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown, but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the invention. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of embodiments of the invention.
Some embodiments of the invention provide a delivery system that can offer a more environmentally-friendly and cost effective method of utilizing resin or other absorbent material technology compared to conventional delivery vehicles. As shown in
In some embodiments, the disposable absorbent cartridge 28 can reused and refilled a number of times before being disposed of. The absorbent cartridge 28 can be removed from the sleeve 22 and a top portion 29 can be opened. As shown in
In some embodiments, the first flap 31 and the second flap 33 can be joined by a closure device 35, such as hook and loop fastener, clips, brackets, etc. The closure device 35 can be opened in order to dispose of the spent absorbent material and to refill the disposable absorbent cartridge 28 with new absorbent material. For example, the spent resin can be poured out of the top portion 29 and new resin can be added back into the absorbent cartridge 28. The top portion 29 can then be closed again using the closure device 35, and the absorbent cartridge 28 can be positioned back inside the reusable sleeve 22. The disposable absorbent cartridge 28 can be refilled in the field, which can result in less waste and handling of spent cartridges.
In general, the types of resins or other adsorbent materials suitable for use in conjunction with embodiments of the invention include, but are not limited to, ion exchange resins based on polyacrylamide, polyacrylate or polystyrene polymers, generally cross-linked to improve performance; fuller's earth, diatomeaceous earth, bentonite and other types of clays; activated alumina; silica gel; alumino-silicate; activated carbon and modified activated carbon; and magnesium silicates.
In some embodiments, the entire disposable absorbent cartridge 28 can be constructed of a material permeable to lubricating and hydraulic fluids. In other embodiments, only a portion of the disposable absorbent cartridge 28 is permeable, such as the end portions of the cartridge, with the side walls being constructed of a non-porous material. Porous filtration media 32 that is suitable to be used can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: needle punched polymeric felts, polymeric screens, and non-woven and calendared polymeric media. The properties of the porous filtration media 32 can be strong enough to support the weight of the resin, porous enough to allow for the passage of the fluid being treated yet retain the resin, and made of materials whose chemical and temperature compatibility are consistent with the chemistry of the fluids being treated and conventional operating temperatures. A method for seaming the porous filtration media 32 can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: sewing, sonic welding, vibration welding, heat seaming, and gluing with adhesives.
As shown in
As shown in
Fluid from the reservoir 60 can flow through the oil inlet hose 62 and the first valve 63 to the gear pump 64. The gear pump 64 can deliver fluid through the pump hose 66 to the filter housing 68. The fluid can enter the resin bed 56 and can flow downward past the non-permeable upper section 50 until it reaches the permeable lower section 52 of the filter element 48. The fluid can exit the permeable lower section 52 and flow through the perforated element support cage 40 to an interior portion 82 of the filter housing 68. The filtered fluid can then flow out of the filter housing 68 through an outlet port 84. The filtered fluid can flow to the outlet filter 70, which can be used to capture any resin that may escape or carryover from the resin bed 56. The outlet filter 70 can include a discharge screen and/or a filter cartridge. If the pressure in the outlet filter 70 exceeds a threshold, the back-pressure switch 72 can generate a signal and shutdown the system, if necessary.
The system 58 can be used to continuously filter the lubricating or hydraulic fluid used in a turbine or hydraulic system. The fluid can be continuously treated to reduce the likelihood that the turbine or hydraulic system becomes damaged due to the use of a contaminated lubricating fluid. Alternatively, the fluid may be recirculated for one or more periodic treatments.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while the invention has been described above in connection with particular embodiments and examples, the invention is not necessarily so limited, and that numerous other embodiments, examples, uses, modifications and departures from the embodiments, examples and uses are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto. The entire disclosure of each patent and publication cited herein is incorporated by reference, as if each such patent or publication were individually incorporated by reference herein.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/242,357 filed on Sept. 14, 2009, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61242357 | Sep 2009 | US |
