LIQUID AIR METHOD AND APPARATUS
First Claim
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1. A liquid air storage and energy recovery method comprising:
- during an energy recovery phase, recovering energy from liquid air stored in a storage tank by pumping a stream of the liquid air to produce a pumped air stream, passing the pumped air stream through a regenerator such that refrigeration contained in the pumped air stream is stored within the regenerator and the pumped air stream warms within the regenerator to produce a pressurized air stream and expanding the pressurized air stream to produce power;
during a liquid air storage phase, liquefying air to produce a liquid air stream and introducing the liquid air stream into the storage tank to produce the liquid air stored in the storage tank; and
providing part of a refrigeration requirement for liquefying the air with the refrigeration stored in the regenerator, and providing another part of refrigeration by means of a liquefier.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus in which air is liquefied and stored for later energy recovery during which the liquid air is pumped to high pressure, heated and then expanded to recover the energy. During the recovery of energy, the pumped liquid air is heated within a regenerator that stores the refrigeration within the liquid air. During the liquefaction of the air, part of the refrigeration required is obtained from the refrigeration stored in the regenerator.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A liquid air storage and energy recovery method comprising:
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during an energy recovery phase, recovering energy from liquid air stored in a storage tank by pumping a stream of the liquid air to produce a pumped air stream, passing the pumped air stream through a regenerator such that refrigeration contained in the pumped air stream is stored within the regenerator and the pumped air stream warms within the regenerator to produce a pressurized air stream and expanding the pressurized air stream to produce power; during a liquid air storage phase, liquefying air to produce a liquid air stream and introducing the liquid air stream into the storage tank to produce the liquid air stored in the storage tank; and providing part of a refrigeration requirement for liquefying the air with the refrigeration stored in the regenerator, and providing another part of refrigeration by means of a liquefier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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- 13. A regenerator comprising two or more pipe bundles, said bundles connected to each other through one or more conduits with a higher thermal resistance than the thermal resistance of each bundle as a whole so that heat will not be conducted through the one or more conduits between bundles, the pipe bundles being located within a thermal storage medium.
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17. A liquid air storage and energy recovery apparatus comprising:
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a storage tank for storing liquid air; a pump connected to the storage tank to pump a stream of the liquid air during an energy recovery phase of operation, thereby to produce a pumped liquid air stream; a regenerator connected to the pump, the regenerator configured such that refrigeration contained in the pumped liquid air stream is stored within the regenerator and the pumped liquid air stream vaporizes within the regenerator to produce a pressurized air stream; at least one expansion device connected to the regenerator configured to expand the pressurized air stream and thereby to produce power; a liquefier integrated with the regenerator such that during a liquid air storage phase, an air stream is liquefied to produce a liquid air stream through the refrigeration stored in the regenerator during the energy recovery phase and additional refrigeration produced by the liquefier; and the storage tank in flow communication with the liquefier and the regenerator such that the liquid air stream is introduced into the storage tank to produce the liquid air stored in the storage tank. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification