Liquid air power and storage with carbon capture
OwnerWilliam M. Conloninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus, systems, and methods store energy by liquefying a gas such as air, for example, and then recover the energy by regasifying the cryogenic liquid and combusting or otherwise reacting the gas with a fuel to drive a heat engine. Carbon may be captured from the heat engine exhaust by using the cryogenic liquid to freeze carbon dioxide out of the exhaust. The process of liquefying the gas may be powered with electric power from the grid, for example, and the heat engine may be used to generate electricity. Hence, in effect these apparatus, systems, and methods may provide for storing electric power from the grid and then subsequently delivering it back to the grid.
Claims14
A method of storing and recovering energy, the method comprising:
- regasifying liquid air or liquid air components to produce gaseous air or gaseous air components;
- combusting at least a portion of the gaseous air or gaseous air components with a gaseous fuel to form a gaseous primary working fluid at an elevated temperature;
- expanding the primary working fluid through a first turbine;
- producing electricity with a generator driven by the first turbine;
- freezing carbon dioxide out of an exhaust gas stream from the first turbine to form frozen carbon dioxide by transferring heat from the first turbine exhaust gas stream to liquid air or liquid air components to cool the first turbine exhaust gas stream;
- and
- sublimating the frozen carbon dioxide to form carbon dioxide vapor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.