U.S. patent application number 12/573619 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-15 for combustion powered hydroelectric sequential turbines.
Invention is credited to Steven Merrill Harrington.
Application Number | 20100089058 12/573619 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42097645 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100089058 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Harrington; Steven Merrill |
April 15, 2010 |
Combustion Powered Hydroelectric Sequential Turbines
Abstract
This invention is a method to extract energy from a pressurized
gas in the case that the gas may be unsuitable for use in a gas
turbine. The system is a gas powered liquid pump. The system
expands the gas against a liquid such as water and the water then
flows through a series of liquid turbines to generate power. As the
gas expands the pressure decreases. The water is initially directed
to a turbine designed to work efficiently with high-pressure water,
and then the water is redirected to another turbine which is
designed to work efficiently with lower pressure water. As the
pressure of the gas and the water decreases, the turbine which most
efficient for extracting the energy at a given pressure is used to
extract the energy from the stream of pressurized water
Inventors: |
Harrington; Steven Merrill;
(Cardiff, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Steven Merrill Harrington
1293 Blue Sky Drive
Cardiff
CA
92007
US
|
Family ID: |
42097645 |
Appl. No.: |
12/573619 |
Filed: |
October 5, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61195269 |
Oct 6, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
60/645 ;
60/327 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01K 27/005
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
60/645 ;
60/327 |
International
Class: |
F01K 13/00 20060101
F01K013/00; F01K 21/00 20060101 F01K021/00 |
Claims
1. A method for extracting energy from a supply of pressurized gas
including the steps of: i Expanding a gas in a chamber containing a
liquid and a gas at a high pressure ii Flowing said liquid through
a valve to a liquid turbine designed to operate efficiently at said
high-pressure. iii At a predetermined lower pressure closing said
valve to said high-pressure turbine and opening a valve to a
turbine designed to operate efficiently at a lower pressure than
said high pressure.
2. A method for extracting energy as in claim 1, wherein said high
pressure is greater than 3 atmospheres.
3. A method for extracting energy as in claim 1, further including
the step of firing a rocket engine to ignite a chamber full of
particulate fuel and compressed air in order to generate
pressurized gas.
4. A method for extracting energy as in claim 1 further including
the step of flushing a hot air valve seal with flowing water.
5. A method for extracting energy as in claim 1 further including
the step of periodically cleaning the inside of the pump chamber by
filling it with an alternative gas.
6. A method for extracting energy as in claim 1 further including
the step of continuously pumping and filtering the fluid in the
chamber in a loop.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/195,269 filed on Oct. 6, 2006
and entitled "Combustion Powered Hydroelectric Sequential
Turbines". This application is hereby incorporated by reference as
if set forth in full in this document.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The disclosure relates to systems which generate power from
a heated gas by using the heated gas to pressurize water, which is
then used to generate power in a water turbine.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0003] This invention applies pressurized gas to water in a chamber
and the pressurized water is then used to make power. The gas may
be geothermal steam, or it may be air and combustion products which
are created by burning fuel in the air. In particular this
invention is designed to work with heated pressurized gas which
contains abrasive or corrosive material that may not be suitable
for use in a turbine or in a steam boiler. In general an electric
generating system which extracts energy from a pressurized gas uses
a benign fuel such as kerosene or natural gas which does not create
corrosive or abrasive combustion products. These systems expand the
gas through a series of gas turbines at lower and lower pressures.
However if the fuel is waste biomass, or the gas is geothermal sour
steam, wear or corrosion on the turbines may be excessive. Biomass
to energy plants are well known, but they generally use waste wood
products and are not compatible with yard waste or crop waste.
These non-woody biomass materials contain chlorine, excess ash, tar
or another contaminants which make them unsuitable for use in
standard steam boiler power plants.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0004] Currently the use of coal to generate power is known to add
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, thereby reducing the heat
radiation from the Earth and causing the planet to warm up.
Therefore the use of coal, which has high energy density and is
inexpensive, is being reduced. Coal is generally used to boil water
to make steam to generate electricity in a well-known process.
Natural gas can be burned with air and the resulting combustion
gases may be expanded in a gas turbine. Other energy sources, such
a biomass are becoming more attractive. However, biomass in general
does cause problems. Burning non-wood biomass in a coal style plant
causes the heat exchanger tubes to require excessive maintenance,
due to fouling or corrosion. To avoid the problem of fouling heat
exchangers, fuel can be burned in air above a water surface. The
fuel/air combustion will increase the pressure above the water
surface, thus pressurizing the water. The pressurized water may be
used to generate power or do work. In this way the corrosive gases
can be diluted, and if the inside of the combustion/pump chamber
becomes covered with a layer of tar or ash, there will be no
reduction in performance. Furthermore, the water becomes a
protective barrier between the corrosive or abrasive gases and the
hydro-turbine blades. Some have proposed liquid piston engines
wherein combustion occurs in a sealed vessel and thereby propels a
slug of liquid. These engines generally run on gaseous fuel. A
liquid piston engine based on this concept, the Humphrey pump, has
been used to pump water in Australia. Also hydropower systems which
use gas pressure to move water through a turbine have been
described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,310,712 by Rector, U.S. Pat. No.
3,611,723 by Theis, U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,131 by Johnson or U.S. Pat.
No. 6,182,615 by Kershaw. In general these systems admit
high-pressure gas into a chamber filled with water and propel the
water through a Pelton Wheel. A Pelton Wheel is generally
efficient, with efficiencies above 90% for water pressure over 3
atmospheres. However, these systems suffer from low efficiency, as
the gas which is released under pressure when the pump chamber has
been emptied of liquid represents lost energy. A better system
would allow the gas in the chamber to decrease in pressure and
temperature as the water is emptied from the chamber, thereby
extracting more energy from the gas.
[0005] The proposed system is a method to extract more energy from
the complete expansion of the gas, much like a multistage turbine
does, but the stages are separate in time instead of space. A
typical cycle might include a fuel load and ash removal phase,
where a grate containing ash is removed from a combustion chamber
using a pick-and-place mechanism or robot, and fuel is loaded into
the combustion chamber on a similar grate. Next compressed air is
fed into the fuel area, either via an air compressor or by filling
the combustion chamber with water under pressure. Then the fuel is
ignited, and the hot gas generated forces the water out of the
chamber, initially at high pressure and later at lower pressure as
expansion occurs. During each phase of the expansion, the water is
delivered to a turbine which is optimized for the given pressure.
Once the chamber is empty, it is refilled with water and the cycle
repeats. In the two embodiments the system runs a cycle similar to
the Otto cycle or the Brayton cycle. In both these cycles, the gas
is pressurized, energy is added and the gas is expanded. The
invention pertains to optimizing the gas expansion and how the
energy is captured
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0006] The object of this invention is to convert the available
energy in hot pressurized gas into mechanical energy in a more
efficient manner.
[0007] Another object of this invention is to provide a device that
can operate reliably with fuel or hot gas that is corrosive or
abrasive.
[0008] This invention relates to systems which expands hot
pressurized gas against a column of water and extracts energy in an
efficient manner as the gas pressure decreases. It does this by
utilizing different water turbines for different portions of the
gas expansion cycle in order to maximize the efficient extraction
of energy from the pressurized gas. The invention relates primarily
to the method of energy recovery during expansion. Methods to
compress gas and combust fuel are well known.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Various embodiments of the invention will now be described
in greater detail with reference to the preferred embodiments
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like elements
bear like reference numerals, and wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1. Is a Schematic diagram of the Combustion Powered
Hydroelectric Sequential Turbines system in accordance with the
current inventions wherein the combustion occurs in a high pressure
furnace;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an alternative embodiment where the combustion
occurs inside a combustion/pump chamber;
[0012] FIG. 3. Is a detailed view of the preferred self cleaning
valve design for controlling the flow of hot gas into the pump
chamber;
[0013] FIG. 4. Is a diagram of the preferred fuel handling system
for the current invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0014] In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the source
of high pressure heated gas may be a furnace 13 burning biomass
under pressure, with the air for the furnace being supplied from a
high pressure, high efficiency compressor 17. The valve 19 and 19A
provide the pump/combustion chamber 15 with high-pressure hot gas.
The chamber may run at 4 atmospheres for example, thereby providing
an initial head of over 40 m of water, which is sufficient for a
high-pressure turbine 24 such as a Pelton Wheel to be used for the
initial expansion. As the pressure falls, for example to below 20 m
of head, the water would be redirected by a valve 22 or 22A to a
lower pressure turbine 23, such as a Francis turbine. The Francis
Turbine is efficient alt lower pressure, having an efficiency of
above 90% at pressures less than 3 atmospheres. The fuel for the
furnace is loaded, and the ash taken away, by a mobile grate as
shown in FIG. 4 which is inserted through a sealed hatch by a
robotic mechanism 129. The high-pressure air may be introduced into
the pressurized furnace chamber through nozzles 123 located under
the grate, providing for complete and efficient combustion of the
fuel. The heated combustion gas is then supplied through an inlet
valve 19 or 19A to a chamber which is filled with water. The valve
may have a seal that is regularly flushed with water to keep it
clean. Such a seal is shown in FIG. 3 in a poppet valve with an
inlet 44 and an outlet 42. The seal, 45 is supplied with water
through duct 46 so that when the poppet 43, comes down under the
control of the linear actuator 41, the water is forced out and
cleans off the sealing surface. If any residue forms on the sealing
surface, it will be soaked with water, which will turn to steam on
the next cycle, helping to clean the surface. Then the water from
the chamber is supplied through an outlet check valve 21 or 21A to
whichever turbine is appropriate for the pressure at the moment.
Then an inlet valve 19 or 19A supplying said gas is shut and the
gas expands against the water as the water flows though the outlet
valve 22. As the pressure falls, the Pelton wheel may slow down in
order to maintain efficiency. The nozzle which supplies the Pelton
wheel may be adjusted to a larger aperture to provide a higher flow
in order to maintain a constant power level. These types of
adjustable nozzles are well known in the art. In addition the
generator 25 that the wheel is connected to may decrease the
rotational velocity of the wheel to maintain high efficiency. Once
the given wheel efficiency falls below a certain level, the flow
would be redirected to a different turbine, either a smaller Pelton
Wheel, or perhaps a Francis turbine. In this manner, nearly all of
the available energy in the heated gas may be utilized. In the next
step, the exhaust valve 16 or 16A is opened to the atmosphere and
the water which has been exhausted by the turbine and collected in
reservoir 26 refills the pump chamber, by flowing through the check
valve 20 or 20A. In parallel with the pump cycling the furnaces may
also cycle, so that ash may be removed and fuel renewed in once
furnace while the other provides hot gas flow so as to allow for a
constant supply of heated gas to the pump chambers. Multiple
chambers can be run in parallel offset in time so that an
uninterrupted supply of pressurized water is always being sent
through the turbines.
[0015] In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 2, fuel and air
may be admitted to a pump/combustion chamber 115, via a fuel
handler 112 and an intake valve 114. The fuel is placed in a
removable grate 117. Then a water inlet valve 20 opens and the air
is then compressed above the water and then the fuel and air are
ignited by igniter 101 and burned in the chamber. The ignitor may
be a rocket chamber designed to run at a higher pressure than the
pump/combustion chamber 115 so that it will agitate the fuel and
air. Compressed air and fuel rockets are known in the art. The fuel
may be finely divided biomass or fuel gas and in the event that the
fuel is a gas, the grate is not needed. The fuel may be kept from
falling into the water using a grate with louvered openings as
shown FIGS. 4 A and 4B. In the case of finely divided biomass, the
fuel may be ignited by a high-pressure rocket style igniter so that
the igniter provides heat, free radicals and agitation to the
fuel-air mixture. The cycle begins with the chamber empty of water
and fuel. The fuel is added and lays upon the grate. The fuel entry
valve or hatch is shut, and then water is admitted into the chamber
under pressure by opening valve 20. Once the chamber reaches
maximum pressure, the igniter 101 is activated, and it stirs and
mixes the biomass while igniting it. As the pressure reaches a
given setpoint, the valve 21 is opened. Then the combustion gas
expands and forces water through a high-pressure turbine 24 and
then a medium pressure turbine 23 as in the above description. Said
turbines may be located above the combustion chamber and/or in
pressurized containers so that gravity, air pressure and the
momentum of the water exhausted from the turbine can be used to
refill the pump/combustion chamber and compress the air and fuel
charge. This would allow the water to be reused in the cycle. Any
ash that ends up in the fluid stream may be filtered out before it
gets to the turbine. There may be at the outlet of the chamber, or
the water in the chamber may be continuously filtered by a pump and
filter as are used in swimming pool systems. The ash handler 212
picks up the grate and pulls it out, dumps out the ash and returns
the grate to the fuel handler. Ash remaining in the chamber may
also be ejected using a short blast of the ignitor. The ash and
fuel handlers may be high-speed pick and place robots which are
well known. A detailed design of a device to remove and replace a
fuel grate is shown in FIGS. 4 A and B. This device includes a
replaceable grate 117 with an air injection manifold 123 underneath
it to provide additional air and agitation if necessary to
completely burn the fuel. This device also includes a water flushed
seal 45 described earlier to keep the sealing surface free from
ashes and tar. The lid 127 can be rotated up and a robotic arm, 129
can reach in and remove the grate and replace it with one loaded
with fresh fuel. In this figure, the valves and ignitor are shown
attached to the lid, but they can be attached to the non-moving
portion of the pump/combustion chamber.
[0016] The ignitor/agitator may run on compressed air and alcohol
or wood gas in order to make a system that does not depend on
fossil fuel.
[0017] In either of the above systems the water maybe filtered to
remove abrasives, or chemically treated to neutralize corrosive
substances. The exhaust gases may be filtered to remove any toxic
gases.
[0018] Another method to remove particulate and ash would be to
have a conical mesh screen under the surface of the water in the
pump/combustion chamber, so that the tip of the come is pointing
downward in the direction of flow when the pump chamber is being
cycled during its power stroke. The conical screen insures that
contaminates cannot get by it. The apex of the cove would then be
attached to a pipe that exits the pump chamber. As the conical
screen accumulates particulate or ash it can periodically be
flushed via a valve in-line with this pipe.
[0019] In order to clean the pump/combustion chamber, it may be
occasionally filled with Oxygen, steam or other reactive gases to
burn off the accumulated tar and ash.
[0020] The maximum pressure that the system runs at has a direct
effect on the efficiency of the process. The maximum efficiency of
a heat engine is the Carnot efficiency. Based on a thermodynamic
analysis the proposed system should run at about 4 to 1 compression
ratio in order to maximize the efficiency while keeping the
pressures moderate. Higher compression ratios would result in
better efficiency and better combustion, at a cost of more
expensive valves and plumbing.
[0021] While the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has
been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in
the art that various modifications may be made in the embodiment
without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Such
modifications are all within the scope of the invention.
* * * * *