The cold loss of air separation equipment refers to the phenomenon of cold loss caused by heat exchange between low-temperature equipment and environment, which directly affects the energy consumption and operation efficiency of equipment and is mainly related to the following factors.
The first is the insulation performance of the equipment, which is the most important influence factor. The thermal conductivity, thickness and construction quality of the thermal insulation material are very important. If the thermal insulation layer is damaged, aged or has gaps, it will cause a large amount of external heat to permeate, significantly increasing the loss of cold running, and a good thermal insulation layer can effectively block the heat exchange.
The second is the temperature difference between the equipment surface temperature and the environment. The air separation equipment is at a very low temperature (below - 170 ℃). The higher the ambient temperature is, the greater the temperature difference is, the faster the heat exchange rate is, and the loss of cold running increases accordingly. The loss of cold running in summer is usually higher than that in winter.
Equipment structure and sealing performance. If the connection of equipment pipeline, valve and flange is not sealed tightly, it will cause low-temperature gas leakage, and at the same time, the external air will permeate, which will not only cause the loss of cooling capacity, but also aggravate the loss of cold running; The larger the surface area of the equipment is, the more fully it contacts the environment, and the cooling loss will also increase.
Finally, the level of operation and maintenance. Frequent switching of equipment and improper opening and closing of valves will damage the low-temperature environment inside the equipment and accelerate the loss of cooling capacity; Improper daily maintenance, such as damaged insulation layer not repaired in time, aged sealing parts not replaced, will increase the cold running loss for a long time. Reasonable operation and regular maintenance can effectively reduce the loss of cold running and ensure the efficient operation of equipment.
