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AssigneeEnergy Integration, Inc.
InventorsLynn Allen Crawford, William Bryan Schafer, III
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This disclosure provides systems and methods that utilize integrated mechanical vapor or thermal vapor compression to upgrade process vapors and condense them to recover the heat of condensation across multiple processes, wherein the total process energy is reduced. Existing processes that are unable to recover the heat of condensation in vapors are integrated with mechanical or thermal compressors that raise vapor pressures and temperatures sufficient to permit reuse. Integrating multiple processes permits vapor upgrading that can selectively optimize energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, process economics, or a prioritized blend of such goals. Mechanical or thermal vapor compression also alters the type of energy required in industrial processes, favoring electro-mechanical energy which can be supplied from low-carbon, renewable sources rather than combustion of carbonaceous fuels.
A method for electrifying, decarbonizing, and reducing energy requirements in a refinery, wherein said method comprises introducing multiple vapor compression sub-systems within said refinery, wherein said multiple vapor compression sub-systems comprise multiple mechanical compressors, thermal compressors, and/or vapor jets, and wherein said refinery comprises multiple vapor-processing units that are energy-integrated with said multiple vapor compression sub-systems such that (a) a first vapor stream from a first vapor-processing unit is compressed using a first vapor compression sub-system to generate a compressed first vapor stream;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.