Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02729820 2010-12-31
Leakage Self-Rescue Container for Stocking Dangerous Chemicals
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a container for stocking dangerous
chemicals, in particular, to a leakage self-rescue container for stocking
dangerous
chemicals.
BACKGROUND ART
Chemicals are indispensable to the industrial production and the people's
living. Moreover, most of the chemicals are dangerous chemicals, in which most
of
them are fluids including gasses and liquids, especially liquids with low
boiling
points. During the production, storage, transportation and use of dangerous
chemicals,
leakage problems sometimes occur due to the aging of a container, high
temperature
and accidents, which will lead to the harm to the environment and even result
in
disastrous consequences. Prompt and effective self-rescue will gain more
valuable
time for rescue and therefore it will be more possible to reduce the harm and
avoid
the disastrous consequences.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
When fluid dangerous chemicals leak, it is key on how to reduce the
pressure of the storage container and increase the viscosity of dangerous
products in
order to reduce the leakage rate, decrease the total amount of leakage
pollution,
reduce difficulty of rescue and gain more time for rescue.
The present invention relates to a leakage self-rescue container for
stocking dangerous chemicals comprising:
a first container for stocking dangerous chemicals; and
a second container installed and fixed in the first container, the second
container contains a substantially harmless liquefied gas and has an opening,
which
controllably communicates with the external environment.
Where the dangerous chemicals in the first container leak due to
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accidents or the first container is threatened by high temperature, the
temperature in
the first container decreases and thereby the pressure in the first container
reduces by
releasing the liquefied gas in the second container so as to avoid the leakage
or
explosion of the first container caused by overpressure, or to increase the
viscosity of
the dangerous chemicals to reduce the leakage rate when the leakage occurs so
that it
can obtain valuable time for more effective rescue.
The leakage self-rescue container of the present invention can be used for
stocking flammable, explosive, toxic, corrosive, radioactive or chemical
polluted
dangerous chemicals, in particular for stocking more dangerous gasses or
fluids,
especially dangerous chemicals such as fluids with low boiling points and the
like.
The dangerous chemicals include but are not limited to phosphorus oxychloride,
gasoline, bromine, liquid ammonia, liquid chlorine, liquid hydrogen sulfide,
hydrocyanic acid, methyl isocyanate, ethylene oxide, natural gas, liquefied
petroleum
gas, alcohol, chloroform, and the like.
The first container for stocking dangerous chemicals can be selected
based on the properties of chemical products stocked in the container. Various
conventional containers in the art for stocking dangerous chemicals can be
used. The
leakage self-rescue container of the present invention can be a separate
container, and
can be a container loaded by any vehicle.
A second container is installed in the first container. The second
container contains a substantially harmless liquefied gas. Where the dangerous
chemicals in the first container leak due to accidents or the first container
is
threatened by high temperature, the liquefied gas can be released in the form
of gas
from the second container by opening a vent valve on the second container. The
release of the liquefied gas absorbs the heat of the surrounding environment
(i.e. the
first container) so that the temperature of the container decreases and
thereby the
pressure in the first container reduces so as to avoid the leakage or
explosion caused
by overpressure, or to increase the viscosity of the dangerous chemicals to
reduce the
leakage rate when the leakage occurs and to obtain valuable time for more
effective
rescue.
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The second container can be fixed in the first container with a method
well-known to one skilled in the art. Preferably, the relative position of the
second
container to the first container is that the center of the second container is
closed to
the center of the first container while the second container does not directly
contact
with the first container so that the second container mainly exchanges the
heat with
the interior of the first container but does not exchanges the heat with the
external
environment through the walls of the first container.
The liquefied gas in the second container can be selected from a gas, of
which the critical temperature is above the ambient temperature and which is
substantially harmless to environment and human. The liquefied gas is a gas
under
the air pressure at the ambient temperature, but it is a liquid under pressure
at the
ambient temperature. Where the leakage self-rescue container is not used, the
second
container is under pressure and the gas is maintained as a liquid. However,
during
usage, the second container communicates with the outside and the liquefied
gas is
gasified and absorbs the environmental heat. Preferably, the liquefied gas is
liquid
carbon dioxide, which is readily available and inexpensive.
The second container is a rigid and pressure-resistant container,
preferably a steel tank or cylinder. The second container can be pressure-
resistant in
any shape such as cylindrical, spherical, snakelike tube and the like.
The second container of the present invention has an opening, which
controllably communicates with the external environment. The second container
has
one or more openings. In one embodiment, the opening is a manual vent valve.
In
another embodiment, the opening is an automatic vent valve. In another
embodiment,
the second container has not only a manual vent valve but an automatic vent
valve.
In one embodiment, the first container also has a leak detection device.
Where the leak detection device detects the leakage of the dangerous
chemicals, the
leakage signal is delivered to a control system. The control system controls
to open
the automatic vent valve automatically and sends out an alarm signal.
In another embodiment, the first container also has a temperature sensor.
Where the temperature sensor detects that the ambient temperature is higher
than the
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predetermined temperature, the abnormal temperature signal is delivered to a
control
system. The control system controls to open the automatic vent valve
automatically
and sends out an alarm signal.
When the liquefied gas of the present invention is selected to be liquid
carbon dioxide, a person skilled in the art knows how to arrange the openings
of the
second container so as to prevent dry ice formed during the gasification of
liquid
carbon dioxide from blocking the openings.
The container of the present invention can be used as a storage container
for producing, stocking, transporting and using liquid dangerous chemicals. It
can
reduce the security risks for producing, stocking, transporting and using
liquid
dangerous chemicals including more dangerous gasses and fluids, especially
dangerous chemical fluids with low boiling points.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present
invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present
invention.
MODE OF CARRYING OUT INVENTION
The technical contents of the present invention are further illustrated by
the following preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to
the
drawings. It should be understood that the contents as shown in the drawings
are
merely used to illustrate the present invention rather than limiting the scope
of the
present invention.
In each figure, the same component has the same number. For example,
the number of the first container is 101 in Figure 1, the number of the first
container
is 201 in Figure 2, and so on.
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present
invention. A second container 103 is fixed in a first container 101 for
stocking
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dangerous chemicals 102 via supports 104. The second container 103 is
cylindrical.
The second container 103 contains a liquefied gas 105. A liquid-level
sensor (not shown) can be installed in the second container 103 to detect the
amount
of the liquefied gas 105 in the second container 103 at any time and to
complement
the liquefied gas 105 where needed.
The second container 103 has a vent valve 106, which controllably
communicates with the external environment. The second container 103 may have
one or more vent valves 106.
The liquefied gas 105 can be injected or complemented into the second
container 103 through the vent valve 106 or other feed inlets (not shown).
When the first container 101 leaks due to an accident or is threatened by
high temperature, the vent valve 106 is opened to release the liquefied gas
105 in the
second container 103. During the release, the liquefied gas 105 absorbs the
heat of the
surrounding environment (i.e. the first container 101) so that the temperature
of the
first container 101 decreases and thereby the pressure in the first container
101
reduces so as to avoid the leakage or explosion of the first container 101
caused by
overpressure, or to increase the viscosity of the dangerous chemicals 102 to
reduce
the leakage rate when the leakage occurs.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present
invention. A snakelike tubular second container 203 is fixed in a first
container 201
for stocking dangerous chemicals 202. The second container 203 contains a
liquefied
gas 205.
The second container 203 has a vent valve 206, which controllably
communicates with the external environment, and a feed inlet 207, through
which the
liquefied gas 205 are injected. The second container 203 may have one or more
vent
valves 206 and one or more feed inlets 207.
The first container 201 has a leak detection device or a temperature
sensor 208. When the leak detection device or the temperature sensor 208
detects that
the first container 201 leaks or is threatened by high temperature, the
detecting signal
is delivered to a control system 209. The control system 209 controls to open
or
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partly open the vent valve 206 to release the liquefied gas 205 in the second
container
203. During the release, the liquefied gas 205 absorbs the heat of the
surrounding
environment (i.e. the first container 201) so that the temperature of the
first container
201 decreases and thereby the pressure in the first container 201 reduces so
as to
avoid the leakage or explosion of the first container 201 caused by
overpressure, or to
increase the viscosity of the dangerous chemicals 202 to reduce the leakage
rate when
the leakage occurs.
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