Flow work exchanger

Abstract

Abstract In a high‐pressure process, feed streams are continually pressurized and product streams are continually depressurized. A flow work exchanger offers an efficient and economical scheme for simultaneously pressurizing a fluid stream and depressurizing a substantially equivalent volume of another fluid stream. Its applicability is however limited to fluids under condensed state. A flow work exchanger uses a displacement vessel to form a closed loop with a processing system. The displacement vessel is alternately filled by a low‐pressure feed and a high‐pressure product, both pressurized and depressurized, respectively, by substantially nonflow processes. The pressurized feed is pushed into the processing system by the high‐pressure product stream and the depressurized product stream is pushed out of the displacement vessel by the low‐pressure feed stream. The application of a flow work exchanger is illustrated by means of several high‐pressure processes and the direct and indirect advantages obtainable are described.