WASTE HEAT RECOVERY AND CONVERSION
First Claim
1. A system (10) for recovering waste heat from an engine (40) and converting the recovered waste heat into useable energy, the system (10) comprising:
- a first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23) configured to transfer heat from the engine (40) to a working fluid (29);
a turbine expander (128) driven by the working fluid (29);
a power generator (127) coupled to the turbine expander (128);
a turbo-compressor turbine (122) coupled to the power generator (127) and configured to compress intake air;
a fluid reservoir (108) configured to contain the working fluid (29); and
a fluid pump (107) configured to pump the working fluid (29) from the fluid reservoir (108) to the first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23),wherein the first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23), the turbine expander (128), the fluid reservoir (108), and the fluid pump (107) comprise a thermodynamic loop that drives the power generator (127) and are controlled by a controller (114),wherein at least the turbine expander (128), the power generator (127), and the turbo-compressor turbine (122) constitute a power conversion unit (30) for converting the heat from the working fluid into useable energy, andwherein the power conversion unit (30) is substantially enclosed in a mounting enclosure (302) that is configured to be mounted to a housing structure or a component of the engine (40).
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide systems and methods for a waste heat recovery and conversion. The waste heat recovery and conversion system includes a housing non-invasively mountable onto an engine. The waste heat recovery and conversion system also includes a power conversion unit (PCU) entirely within the housing. The PCU includes heat exchangers, an expander, an electrical power generator, and a fluid pump. The heat exchangers, the expander, the fluid pump, and the fluid reservoir form a thermodynamic loop that drives the electrical power generator using thermal energy from waste heat. Under various configurations the waste heat recovery and conversion system offer pollutant reduction features all together with fuel savings.
-
Citations
47 Claims
-
1. A system (10) for recovering waste heat from an engine (40) and converting the recovered waste heat into useable energy, the system (10) comprising:
-
a first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23) configured to transfer heat from the engine (40) to a working fluid (29); a turbine expander (128) driven by the working fluid (29); a power generator (127) coupled to the turbine expander (128); a turbo-compressor turbine (122) coupled to the power generator (127) and configured to compress intake air; a fluid reservoir (108) configured to contain the working fluid (29); and a fluid pump (107) configured to pump the working fluid (29) from the fluid reservoir (108) to the first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23), wherein the first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23), the turbine expander (128), the fluid reservoir (108), and the fluid pump (107) comprise a thermodynamic loop that drives the power generator (127) and are controlled by a controller (114), wherein at least the turbine expander (128), the power generator (127), and the turbo-compressor turbine (122) constitute a power conversion unit (30) for converting the heat from the working fluid into useable energy, and wherein the power conversion unit (30) is substantially enclosed in a mounting enclosure (302) that is configured to be mounted to a housing structure or a component of the engine (40). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
8. The system (10) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the power conversion unit (30) comprises a power module heat exchanger (145) configured to transfer heat from one or more electronic components of the controller (114) to the working fluid (29).
-
9. The system (10) of any of the preceeding claims, further comprising an engine cooling heat exchanger (21) mounted to an intake manifold (104) of the engine (40) and configured to transfer heat from an engine cooling system to the working fluid (29).
- 10. The system (10) of any of the preceeding claims, further comprising a stack heat exchanger (22) mounted to an exhaust gas stack (102) of the engine (40) and configured to transfer heat from an exhaust gas (130) flowing through the exhaust gas stack (102) to the working fluid (29).
- 12. The system (10) of any of the preceeding claims, wherein the first heat exchanger (23) is a manifold heat exchanger (23) mounted to an exhaust gas manifold (106) of the engine (40) and configured to transfer heat from the exhaust gas (130) flowing through the exhaust gas manifold (106) to the working fluid (29).
-
26. A method of recovering waste heat from an engine (40) and converting the recovered waste heat into useable energy, the method (10) comprising:
-
transferring heat from the engine (40) to a working fluid (29) via a first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23); converting the transferred heat from the working fluid (29) into useable energy by controlling a thermodynamic loop that comprises; a turbine expander (128) driven by the working fluid (29); a power generator (127) coupled to the turbine expander (128); a turbo-compressor turbine (122) coupled to the power generator (127) and configured to compress intake air; a fluid reservoir (108) configured to contain the working fluid (29); and a fluid pump (107) configured to pump the working fluid (29) from the fluid reservoir (108) to the first heat exchanger (21, 22, or 23), wherein at least the turbine expander (128), the power generator (127), and the turbo-compressor turbine (122) constitute a power conversion unit (30) for converting the heat from the working fluid (29) into the useable energy, and wherein the power conversion unit (30) is substantially enclosed in a mounting enclosure (302); and mounting the mounting enclosure (302) to a housing structure or a component of the engine (40). - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
-
Specification