US 11,747,069 B2
Refrigeration plant
Thomas Vinard, Grenoble (FR); Sébastien Bur, Lans en Vercors (FR); and Jérôme Girard, Grenoble (FR)
Assigned to ALPINOV X, Grenoble (FR)
Appl. No. 16/634,825
Filed by ALPINOV X, Grenoble (FR)
PCT Filed Jul. 25, 2018, PCT No. PCT/FR2018/051907
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jan. 30, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/020940, PCT Pub. Date Jan. 31, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 1757207 (FR), filed on Jul. 28, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2021/0156603 A1, May 27, 2021
Int. Cl. F25C 3/04 (2006.01); F25C 1/16 (2006.01); F25B 23/00 (2006.01)
CPC F25C 3/04 (2013.01) [F25C 1/16 (2013.01); F25B 23/006 (2013.01); F25C 2303/044 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A refrigeration plant comprising:
a first enclosure containing water in the liquid state at a temperature lower than the temperature of the triple point of water, water in the gaseous state at a first pressure equal, to within 10%, to the saturated vapor pressure of the water in equilibrium with the pressure of the water in the liquid state in the first enclosure, and water in the solid state at a temperature lower than the temperature of the triple point of water, the first enclosure comprising at least one reservoir of water in the liquid state;
means for maintaining the water in the liquid state at the temperature lower than the temperature of the triple point of water in the first enclosure;
a second enclosure at a second pressure strictly higher than the first pressure by a factor of at least two;
a compression device connecting the first enclosure to the second enclosure adapted to provide a compression ratio greater than two;
a condensing device partly housed in the second enclosure and adapted to condense the water in the gaseous state in the second enclosure into water in the liquid state; and
a cold power extraction device for extracting cold power from the first enclosure;
wherein the compression device comprises two successive stages, each stage corresponding to a turbo-compressor, with a first compressor stage with a fixed compression ratio and a second compressor stage with a controllable compression ratio, the rotational speed of the turbo-compressor being controlled by a processing module,
wherein the means for maintaining the water in the liquid state at the temperature lower than the temperature of the triple point of water comprises at least one additive added to the water in the liquid state, and
wherein the refrigeration plant further comprises a system for regulating the pressure difference between the second enclosure and the first enclosure, comprising an expansion turbine configured to expand water in the gaseous state from the second enclosure and discharge a mixture containing water in the gaseous state and water in the liquid state in the first enclosure, said mixture being discharged into water in the liquid state contained in said reservoir.