System for utilizing a thermomechanical cycle to drive a compressor

A non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable code that when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

• receive feedback from one or more sensors of a plurality of sensors disposed within a gas compression site or a combustible gas production site and monitoring a plurality of parameters related to a fugitive gas and/or an internal combustion engine;
• provide one or more control signals to adjust an amount of mechanical power provided to a vapor recovery unit to compress the fugitive gas from the gas compression site or the combustible gas production site, wherein the mechanical power is provided from a thermomechanical cycle of the internal combustion engine that converts excess heat from the internal combustion engine to mechanical power to drive the vapor recovery unit;
• and
• provide the one or more control signals to actuate a plurality of valves to regulate which respective heat exchangers to utilize to power the vapor recovery unit, wherein each respective thermomechanical cycle of a plurality of internal combustion engines comprises a respective heat exchanger to interface with a source of the excess heat, and the plurality of valves fluidly couple the respective heat exchangers to an expander coupled to the vapor recovery unit via a shaft.

A method for operating a vapor recovery unit, comprising:

• receiving, at a controller, feedback from one or more sensors of a plurality of sensors disposed within a gas compression site or a combustible gas production site and monitoring a plurality of parameters related to a fugitive gas and/or an internal combustion engine;
• providing, via the controller, one or more control signals to adjust an amount of mechanical power provided to the vapor recovery unit to compress the fugitive gas from the gas compression site or the combustible gas production site, wherein the mechanical power is provided from a thermomechanical cycle of the internal combustion engine that converts excess heat from the internal combustion engine to mechanical power to drive the vapor recovery unit;
• monitoring, via the controller, a status of the thermomechanical cycle to generate mechanical power for the vapor recovery unit;
• and
• when the vapor recovery unit is initially being powered by an alternative power source and the thermomechanical cycle is generating sufficient mechanical power to drive the vapor recovery unit, switching, via the controller, the vapor recovery unit from being powered by the alternative power source to being powered by the thermomechanical cycle to drive the vapor recovery unit.

A method for operating a vapor recovery unit, comprising:

• receiving, at a controller, feedback from one or more sensors of a plurality of sensors disposed within a gas compression site or a combustible gas production site and monitoring a plurality of parameters related to a fugitive gas and/or an internal combustion engine;
• providing, via the controller, one or more control signals to adjust an amount of mechanical power provided to the vapor recovery unit to compress the fugitive gas from the gas compression site or the combustible gas production site, wherein the mechanical power is provided from a thermomechanical cycle of the internal combustion engine that converts excess heat from the internal combustion engine to mechanical power to drive the vapor recovery unit;
• and
• providing, via the controller, the one or more control signals to actuate a plurality of valves to regulate which respective heat exchangers to utilize to power the vapor recovery unit, wherein each respective thermomechanical cycle of a plurality of internal combustion engines comprises a respective heat exchanger to interface with a source of the excess heat, and the plurality of valves fluidly couple the respective heat exchangers to an expander coupled to the vapor recovery unit via a shaft.