Every year in Russia, during operation of gas stations, thousands tons of oil product vapour are discharged into the atmosphere. This circumstance negatively affects the environment. Therefore, reducing hydrocarbon emissions is the most important task of modern engineering.
The present article has proposed and reviewed a technological solution to reduce evaporative losses (tank breathing) at gas station tanks using gasoline vapour capture and recovery, based on in-built vapour cooling devices directly in the breathing lines. The steam-air mixture leaving when filling the tank is cooled in the breathing lines of the tanks by means of a vortex air refrigerating machine. A vortex tube acts as a cooler in this system. The advantage of using a vortex tube is the ease of maintenance and safety. Unlike existing vapour capture and recovery systems, the proposed installation does not require large expenses and operating costs. To test the vortex tube operability, a model of mixture particles motion inside the respiratory line has been created. The process of drop enlargement is considered, as a result drops fix on the walls of the channel and return in the form of films under the influence of gravity to the reservoir. Sufficiently small drops can be carried into the atmosphere by a mixture flow. The installation diagram is considered, the layout of the equipment is given. The installation consists of machines and apparatuses performing functions of cooling the flow of saturated vapour-air mixture, separating liquid fuel from this mixture and returning liquid fuel to the reservoir.
Experience in the operation of the system for capture and recovery fuel vapour at 40 gas stations shows the effectiveness of using this installation.
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