Cascade power system
First Claim
1. A cascade power system comprising an energy extraction subsystem, a separation subsystem, a heat exchange subsystem, a heat recovery vapor generator (HRVG) subsystem and a condensation thermal compression (CTCSS) subsystem, where the system is designed to establish two interacting working fluid cycles, one cycle utilizes a rich multi-component working fluid stream having a higher concentration of a low boiling component and the other cycle utilizes a lean working multi-component working fluid stream having a lower concentration of the low boiling component, where each stream is derived from a fully condensed incoming multi-component stream, where the separation subsystem is designed to produce the lean and rich working fluid streams, where the heat exchange subsystem and the heat recovery vapor generator subsystem are designed to vaporize the lean working fluid stream and the rich working fluid stream from heat derived directly and/or indirectly from an external flue gas stream, where the energy extraction subsystem is designed to extract energy from the lean working fluid stream and the rich working fluid stream in separate turbine or turbine stages, and where the CTCSS subsystem is designed to condense a spent rich stream to form the fully condensed incoming multi-component stream and where the flue gas flow rate is the same throughout the entire HRVG and where an initial hot flue gas stream is cooled by a re-circulated portion of a spent flue gas stream exiting the HRVG.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cascade power system and a method are disclosed for using a high temperature flue gas stream to directly or indirectly vaporize a lean and rich stream derived from an incoming, multi-component, working fluid stream, extract energy from these streams, condensing a spent stream and repeating the vaporization, extraction and condensation cycle.
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Citations
29 Claims
- 1. A cascade power system comprising an energy extraction subsystem, a separation subsystem, a heat exchange subsystem, a heat recovery vapor generator (HRVG) subsystem and a condensation thermal compression (CTCSS) subsystem, where the system is designed to establish two interacting working fluid cycles, one cycle utilizes a rich multi-component working fluid stream having a higher concentration of a low boiling component and the other cycle utilizes a lean working multi-component working fluid stream having a lower concentration of the low boiling component, where each stream is derived from a fully condensed incoming multi-component stream, where the separation subsystem is designed to produce the lean and rich working fluid streams, where the heat exchange subsystem and the heat recovery vapor generator subsystem are designed to vaporize the lean working fluid stream and the rich working fluid stream from heat derived directly and/or indirectly from an external flue gas stream, where the energy extraction subsystem is designed to extract energy from the lean working fluid stream and the rich working fluid stream in separate turbine or turbine stages, and where the CTCSS subsystem is designed to condense a spent rich stream to form the fully condensed incoming multi-component stream and where the flue gas flow rate is the same throughout the entire HRVG and where an initial hot flue gas stream is cooled by a re-circulated portion of a spent flue gas stream exiting the HRVG.
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11. A cascade power system comprising:
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a separation subsystem adapted to produce a lean working fluid stream and a rich working fluid stream form an incoming multi-component fluid stream comprising a low boiling component and a high boiling component, where the lean working fluid stream comprises a lower concentration of a low boiling component and the rich stream has a higher concentration of the low boiling component, a heat exchange subsystem is adapted to heat and vaporize the rich working fluid stream and to heat the lean working fluid stream indirectly from heat derived from a hot flue gas stream, a heat recovery vapor generator (HRVG) subsystem is adapted to vaporize the lean and rich working fluid streams directly from heat derived from a cooled flue gas stream comprising the hot flue gas stream and a re-circulated portion of a spent flue gas stream exiting the HRVG subsystem, an energy extraction subsystem is adapted to convert a portion of the thermal energy in the rich working fluid stream and the lean working fluid stream to a usable form of energy, and a condensation thermal compression (CTCSS) subsystem adapted to fully condensing the spent rich stream to form the fully condensed incoming working fluid stream, where the system establishes two interacting working fluid cycles, a lean stream cycle and a rich stream cycle designed to improve the efficiency of energy conversion of thermal energy from the external flue gas stream. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method comprising:
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mixing a fully condensed incoming work fluid stream comprising a low boiling point component and a high boiling component with a pressurized cooled mixed stream to form a rich working fluid stream, where the incoming stream and the rich working fluid stream have the same or substantially the same composition;
bringing the rich working fluid stream into a heat exchange relationship with a mixed stream to form a cooled mixed stream and a heated rich working fluid stream;
bringing the heated rich working fluid stream into a heat exchange relationship with a first portion of a cooled spent lean working fluid stream to form a hotter rich working fluid stream and a cooled first portion of cooled spent lean working fluid stream;
bringing the hotter rich working fluid stream into a heat exchange relationship with a spent lean working fluid stream to form a fully vaporized rich working fluid stream;
adjusting a pressure of the fully vaporized rich working fluid stream to a pressure of a rich working fluid stream turbine;
converting a portion of thermal energy in the fully vaporized rich working fluid stream into a first amount of a usable form of energy;
bringing the lean working fluid stream into a heat exchange relationship with a cooled external flue gas stream to form a heated lean working fluid stream;
bringing the heated lean working fluid stream into a heat exchange relationship in a heat recovery vapor generator subsystem comprising a heat recovery vapor generator and a recirculating fan with a cooled flue gas stream to form a fully vaporized lean working fluid stream, where the cooled heat transfer fluid comprises a hot flue gas stream and a portion of a cool flue gas stream taken from an intermediate point of the heat recovery vapor generator;
adjusting a pressure of the fully vaporized lean stream to a pressure adjusted to a pressure of the lean working fluid stream turbine;
converting a portion of thermal energy in the fully vaporized lean working fluid stream into a second amount of the useable from of energy;
scrubbing a second portion of the cooled lean working fluid stream and a pressure adjusted first portion of a separator lean liquid stream to form a liquid lean working fluid stream and a rich scrubber stream;
pressurizing the liquid lean working fluid stream to a desired higher pressure to form the lean working fluid stream;
mixing the rich scrubber stream and the cooled second portion of the cooled spent lean working fluid stream to form a pre-separator feed stream;
separating the pre-separator feed stream to form a separator lean liquid stream and a separator rich liquid stream;
mixing a second portion of the separator lean liquid stream with the separator rich liquid stream to form the mixed stream; and
condensing a spent rich working fluid stream to form the fully condensed incoming working fluid stream. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for efficient extraction of energy from a hot flue gas stream comprising the steps of:
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establishing two interacting vaporization and energy extraction cycles, where one cycle utilizes a multi-component fluid stream having a higher concentration of a low boiling component of the multi-component fluid, a rich working fluid stream, and the other cycle utilizes a multi-component fluid stream having a higher concentration of a high boiling component of the multi-component fluid, a lean working fluid stream, each stream being derived from a fully condensed incoming multi-component working fluid stream;
vaporizing the lean and rich working fluid streams utilized in the two interacting cycles from heat derived directly and/or indirectly form a hot flue gas stream, where the direct heat transfer occurs between a cooled flue gas stream comprising a hot flue gas stream and a portion of a cool flue gas stream and the lean and rich working fluid streams;
converting a portion of thermal energy associated with the lean working fluid stream and the rich working fluid stream to a usable form of energy to form a spent rich working fluid stream and a spent lean working fluid stream, separating a portion of the spent lean working fluid stream to form the lean working fluid stream and a make-up stream, where the make-up stream has a composition the same or substantially the same as the incoming multi-component working fluid stream; and
condensing the spent rich working fluid stream to form the fully condensed incoming multi-component working fluid stream The spent rich stream is forwarded to a condensation unit, where it is fully condensed to form the incoming stream. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification