Air conditioning system with vapor bypassing

Abstract

An air conditioning system that includes an evaporator stage, first and second sorption stages that transition between active states and regeneration states, a compressor stage that receives a portion of a refrigerant vapor from the first or second sorption stage in the active state, a condenser stage that receives the refrigerant vapors from the compressor and from the first or second sorption stage in the regeneration state in a manner that bypasses the compressor stage, and where condenser stage also condenses the received refrigerant vapors and directs the refrigerant condensate to the evaporator stage.

1 . An air conditioning system comprising:
 an evaporator stage configured to remove heat from a medium by evaporation of a refrigerant condensate, which produces a refrigerant vapor;   first and second sorption stages configured to interchangeably transition between active states and regeneration states, wherein the first and second sorption stage each comprises a sorption column configured to trap a first portion of the refrigerant vapor received while in the active state;   a compressor stage configured to receive a second portion of the refrigerant vapor from the first or second sorption stage in the active state;   a condenser stage configured to receive the refrigerant vapor from the compressor and to receive the refrigerant vapor from the first or second sorption stage in the regeneration state in a manner that bypasses the compressor stage, wherein the condenser stage is also configured to condense the received refrigerant vapors as a refrigerant condensate; and   a condensate line configured to direct a flow of the refrigerant condensate from the condenser stage to the evaporator stage.   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the evaporator stage comprises:
 a heat exchanger configured to circulate the medium; and   an evaporator configured to emit the refrigerant condensate into the evaporator stage.   
     
     
         3 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein each sorption column comprises a bed of a desiccant, wherein the desiccant comprises one or more zeolites selected from the group consisting of hydrated and/or anhydrous structures of aluminosilicate minerals, which may contain one or more of sodium (Na), potassium (K), cerium (Ce), calcium (Ca), barium (Ba), strontium (Sr), lithium (Li), and magnesium (Mg). 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the refrigerant vapor trapped by the sorption column of the first or second sorption stage in the active state ranges from about 75% to about 99.9% by weight of the refrigerant vapor, based on the weight of the refrigerant vapor exiting the evaporator stage. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioning system of  claim 4 , wherein the first portion of the refrigerant vapor trapped by the sorption column ranges from about 85% to about 99% by weight of the refrigerant vapor. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioning system of  claim 5 , wherein the first portion of the refrigerant vapor trapped by the sorption column ranges from about 90% to about 99% by weight of the refrigerant vapor. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the sorption column of the first or second sorption stage in the active state is configured to trap the first portion of the refrigerant vapor by adsorption, by absorption, or both. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , and further comprising a controller configured to command the first and second sorption stages to interchangeably transition between the active states and the regeneration states. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioning system of  claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant condensate consists essentially of water and optionally an anti-freeze agent. 
     
     
         10 . An air conditioning system comprising:
 an evaporator stage configured to produce a refrigerant vapor;   a first sorption stage having a first sorption column;   a second sorption stage having a second sorption column, wherein the first and second sorption stages are configured to be interchangeably used in an active state to trap a first portion of the refrigerant vapor received from the evaporator stage, and in a regeneration state to regenerate the first or second sorption column;   a compressor stage configured to receive a second portion of the refrigerant vapor from the first or second sorption stage that is the active state;   a condenser stage configured to receive the refrigerant vapor from the compressor, and to receive the refrigerant vapor from the first or second sorption stage in the regeneration state, wherein the condenser stage is also configured to condense the received refrigerant vapors as a refrigerant condensate; and   a condensate line configured to direct a flow of the refrigerant condensate from the condenser stage to the evaporator stage.   
     
     
         11 . The air conditioning system of  claim 10 , wherein while the first sorption stage is in the active state, the second sorption stage is in a regeneration state, and wherein while the second sorption stage is in the active state, the first sorption stage is in the regeneration state. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioning system of  claim 10 , and further comprising:
 a cold inlet line operably connected to the first and second sorption stages, wherein the cold inlet line is configured to circulate a cooling fluid through the first or second sorption column that is in the active state;   a hot inlet line operably connected to the first and second sorption stages; and   a hot outlet line operably connected to the first and second sorption stages, wherein the hot inlet line and the hot outlet line are configured to circulate a heating fluid through the first or second sorption column that is in the regeneration state.   
     
     
         13 . The air conditioning system of  claim 10 , and further comprising a controller configured to interchangeably transition the first and second sorption stages between the active state and the regeneration state. 
     
     
         14 . The air conditioning system of  claim 10 , wherein the refrigerant condensate consists essentially of water and optionally an anti-freeze agent. 
     
     
         15 . The air conditioning system of  claim 10 , wherein the first and second sorption columns are each configured to trap the first portion of the refrigerant vapor by adsorption, by absorption, or both. 
     
     
         16 . A method for conditioning air, the method comprising:
 evaporating a refrigerant condensate in an evaporator stage to remove heat from a cooling medium, wherein the evaporation produces a refrigerant vapor;   trapping a first portion of the refrigerant vapor in a first sorption column;   passing a second portion of the refrigerant vapor through the first sorption column to a compressor stage;   pressurizing the second portion of the refrigerant vapor in the compressor stage, and forcing the pressurized portion of the refrigerant vapor into a condenser stage;   driving additional refrigerant vapor from a second sorption column to the condenser stage in a manner that bypasses the compressor stage;   condensing the pressurized portion of the refrigerant vapor and the additional refrigerant vapor in the compressor stage to produce the refrigerant condensate; and   passing the refrigerant condensate from the compressor stage to the evaporator stage.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , and further comprising regenerating the second sorption column, which drives additional refrigerant vapor from the second sorption column to the condenser stage. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein regenerating the second sorption column comprises circulating a heating fluid through a heat exchanger retained in the second sorption column. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , trapping the first portion of the refrigerant vapor in the first sorption column comprises:
 circulating a cooling fluid through a heat exchanger retained in the first sorption column to cool a desiccant bed of the first sorption column; and   passing the refrigerant vapor from the evaporator stage through the cooled desiccant bed of the first sorption column.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the refrigerant condensate consists essentially of water and optionally an anti-freeze agent.