This application claims priority to Austrian Patent Application No. A 50882/2022 filed Nov. 22, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosed subject matter relates to a transportable filling station for pressurized fluids, in particular hydrogen or liquefied natural gas.
Filling stations for hydrogen or liquefied natural gas (LNG) need to meet strict safety requirements for fire and explosion protection. For example, the European Union has enacted the ATEX Product and Operational Directives 2014/34/EU and 1999/92/EG, which must be complied with when operating such filling stations. This is particularly difficult when a filling station needs to be set up quickly on site, for example for the temporary supply of emergency vehicles in disaster relief, construction vehicles on building sites or in mining, or for refuelling means of public transport or in the military sector.
The aim of the disclosed subject matter is to provide a transportable filling station for pressurized fluids, which can be set up quickly on site and put into operation and which meets the strict safety requirements that apply to the handling of flammable gas mixtures.
This aim is achieved by a transportable filling station for pressurized fluids, which according to the disclosed subject matter is characterized by
The disclosed subject matter provides a containerized module for the rapid on-site construction of a filling station, which includes all of the fluid circuit components required for operating the filling station in a fire-protected and explosion-protected arrangement. The fluid circuit components face the central passage of the container. Any pressurized fluid vapours escaping from the fluid circuit components due to a defect or leaks during operation are diluted and vented to a non-hazardous, non-ignitable mixture by the ambient air flow in the passage. At the same time, the fluid circuit components in the passage are well protected but still easily accessible for maintenance and repair.
It is particularly advantageous when each lateral side has an opening which occupies the entire internal width of the passage opening out there, in order to maximize the ventilation of the passage and thus the safety of the filling station. Optionally, the openings are provided with barrier grilles to prevent unauthorized persons accessing the fluid circuit during operation.
In an optional embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, the first support structure is set back relative to the rear side into the interior of the container in order to form a first bay accessible from the rear for accommodating the electric control. In this way, the electric control is separated from the passage with the fluid circuit components, so that the risk of spark ignition is minimized, even in the event of a simultaneous failure in the electric control and leaks in the fluid circuit components.
Optionally, the first bay is closed to the first support structure by a separating wall, in order to create a mechanical barrier for vapours from the passage to the receiving bay for the electric circuit.
In a further optional embodiment of the disclosed subject matter, the second support structure is set back relative to the front side into the interior of the container to form a second bay accessible from the front side for accommodating the dispenser. With appropriate dimensioning, it can thus be achieved that the dispenser does not protrude over the front side of the container, so that it is well protected during the transport of the filling station.
Optionally, the second support structure can support, facing away from the passage, an electric control panel for operating the electric control and can support, facing the passage, auxiliary-fluid circuit components for the dispenser. The auxiliary-fluid circuit components are thus also exposed to the ambient air flow in the passage, so that any vapours escaping from them are diluted to a non-critical, non-ignitable level. The electrical control panel can be operated by the user directly next to the dispenser and, if the second support structure forms a receiving bay for the dispenser, is well protected in the bay as is the dispenser.
In a further aspect, the filling station according to the disclosed subject matter comprises an external pressurized fluid supply connected to the fluid circuit components in fluid communication, the external pressurized fluid supply comprising a storage module for pressurized fluid and a compressor module for compressing the pressurized fluid, wherein the compressor module is controlled by the electric control of the first container. The filling station thus consists of three modules which can be easily transported individually and assembled on site, namely the storage module, the compressor module, and the described first container as the particular module which combines all the electric and fluid circuit components for operating the filling station in a fireproof and explosion-proof manner.
To facilitate the transport the compressor module can be arranged in a second container which can be placed on the ground and/or the storage module can be arranged in a third container which can be placed on the ground or on a tank wagon.
The disclosed subject matter will now be explained in more detail in the following with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
The dispenser module 4 is configured in the form of a (“first”) container 7 which can be placed on the ground, which will be explained in more detail below with reference to
According to
On the front side 11, more precisely in a bay 17 of the front side 11, the dispenser 5 is arranged in the form of a dispensing gun 18 with supply hose 19 and holder 20. The bottom (“bay bottom”) of the bay 17 is formed by a wall-like support structure 21, which extends approximately parallel to the front side 11 and is set back into the interior of the container with respect to the front side 11 of the container 7. The support structure 21 supports, on the one hand, the dispenser 5 and, on the other hand, an electrical control panel 22 for the user to operate the dispenser module 4.
The rear side 12 of the container 7 has a further bay 23 for accommodating an electrical control 24 for the dispenser module 4 and optionally also for the compressor module 3 and/or the storage module 2. The bay bottom of the bay 23 is formed here by a separating wall 25 set back into the interior of the container with respect to the rear side 12.
All fluid circuit components 26 for the operation of the filling station 1 are accommodated in the interior of the container 7. The fluid circuit components 26 comprise all of the components which—beyond the pure connecting lines—are acted upon by pressurized fluid, such as stopcocks, controllable valves, pumps, thermometers, pressure gauges etc. The fluid circuit components 26 are mounted on a wall-like support structure 27, which runs parallel to the rear side 12 and is set back into the interior of the container with respect to the rear side 12 and (seen from the exterior) behind the separating wall 25.
Between the support structure 27 for the fluid circuit components 26 and the support structure 21 for the dispenser 5 a passage 28 is provided which can be entered by persons and which passes through the container 7 and thus opens to the open air on each lateral side 13, 14 via an opening 29, 30.
The openings 29, 30 can be formed by a plurality of apertures or, as in the shown example, by one large central aperture in the lateral sides 13, 14. In particular, each opening 29, 30 can occupy the entire internal width of the passage 28 opening out on the respective lateral side 13, 14, so that the passage 28 can be flowed through entirely freely by ambient air. Each opening 29, 30 can be provided with a barrier grille (not shown), to prevent unauthorized access to the passage 28.
The fluid circuit components 26 mounted on the support structure 27 facing the passage 28 are freely exposed to the ambient air convection flowing through the passage 28. The second support structure 21 can optionally support auxiliary-fluid circuit components 31 for the dispenser 5 on its side facing the passage 28 so that these are also freely exposed to the air convection in the passage 28.
Corresponding connecting lines 32, 33 can run in the container 7 between the fluid circuit components 26 and the auxiliary-fluid circuit components 31. Corresponding electrical connections between the control panel 22, the electric control 24 and the pressurized fluid supply 6 are not shown for simplicity.
In an exemplary embodiment, the container 7 is a standardized 20-foot container. The width of the passage 28, i.e., the distance between the facing sides of the support structures 27, 21 (without mounted fluid circuit components 26 and auxiliary-fluid circuit components 31) is, e.g., 60-100 cm, the width of the openings 29, 30 is, e.g., 60-150 cm, and the depth of the bays 17, 23 is, e.g., 40-60 cm. It is understood that these dimensions are only given by way of example and can be modified according to the requirements.
The disclosed subject matter is not limited to the embodiments shown but includes all variants, modifications and combinations thereof that fall within the scope of the accompanying claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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A 50882/2022 | Nov 2022 | AT | national |