Method and apparatus for implementing a thermodynamic cycle
First Claim
1. A method of implementing a thermodynamic cycle comprisingexpanding a heated gaseous working stream including a low boiling point component and a higher boiling point component to transform the energy of said stream into useable form and provide an expanded working stream,splitting said expanded working stream into a first expanded stream and a second expanded stream,expanding said first expanded stream to transform its energy into useable form and provide a spent stream,feeding said spent stream into a distillation/condensation subsystem and outputting therefrom a first lean stream that is lean with respect to said low boiling point component and a rich stream that is enriched with respect to said low boiling point component,combining said second expanded stream with said lean stream and said rich stream to provide said working stream, andadding heat to said working stream to provide said heated gaseous working stream.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for implementing a thermodynamic cycle. A heated gaseous working stream including a low boiling point component and a higher boiling point component is expanded to transform the energy of the stream into useable form and to provide an expanded working stream. The expanded working stream is then split into two streams, one of which is expanded further to obtain further energy, resulting in a spent stream, the other of which is extracted. The spent stream is fed into a distillation/condensation subsystem, which converts the spent stream into a lean stream that is lean with respect to the low boiling point component and a rich stream that is enriched with respect to the low boiling point component. The lean stream and the rich stream are then combined in a regenerating subsystem with the portion of the expanded stream that was extracted to provide the working stream, which is then efficiently heated in a heater to provide the heated gaseous working stream that is expanded.
93 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of implementing a thermodynamic cycle comprising
expanding a heated gaseous working stream including a low boiling point component and a higher boiling point component to transform the energy of said stream into useable form and provide an expanded working stream, splitting said expanded working stream into a first expanded stream and a second expanded stream, expanding said first expanded stream to transform its energy into useable form and provide a spent stream, feeding said spent stream into a distillation/condensation subsystem and outputting therefrom a first lean stream that is lean with respect to said low boiling point component and a rich stream that is enriched with respect to said low boiling point component, combining said second expanded stream with said lean stream and said rich stream to provide said working stream, and adding heat to said working stream to provide said heated gaseous working stream.
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23. Apparatus for implementing a thermodynamic cycle comprising
an first gas expander connected to receive a heated gaseous working stream including a low boiling point component and a higher boiling point component and to provide an expanded working stream, said first gas expander including a mechanical component that transforms the energy of said heated gaseous stream into useable form as it is expanded, a stream splitter connect to receive said expanded working stream and to split it into a first expanded stream and a second expanded stream, a second gas expander connected to receive said second expanded stream and to provide a spent stream, said second gas expander including a mechanical component that transforms the energy of said second expanded stream into useable form as it is expanded, a distillation/condensation subsystem that is connected to receive said spent stream and converts it to a first lean stream that is lean with respect to said low boiling point component and a rich stream that is enriched with respect to said low boiling point component, a regenerating subsystem that is connected to receive and combine said second expanded stream, said first lean stream, and said rich stream, and outputs said working stream, and a heater that is connected to receive said working stream and adds heat to said working stream to provide said heated gaseous working stream.
Specification