Compressed gas energy storage system
AssigneeLightSail Energy, Inc.
InventorsDanielle A. FONG, Stephen E. CRANE, Edwin P. BERLIN, JR., AmirHossein POURMOUSA ABKENAR
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention use compressed air to store and deliver electrical, mechanical, and/or thermal power with high round-trip efficiency. Various embodiments may be scalable for use in a variety of environments—from wind farms to power plants to motor vehicles. An energy storage system according to the present invention can operate as a stand-alone storage system that connects electrically to the grid, it can be tightly integrated with a wind turbine, and/or it can be co-located with a thermal power generation facility and operate with even higher efficiency by scavenging low-grade waste heat.
Claims20
An apparatus comprising:
- an expander comprising an inlet valve configured to receive a pressurized gas, the expander further comprising an element configured to introduce liquid to effect gas-liquid heat exchange with gas being expanded;
- a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller configured to adjust a timing of the inlet valve to close when a percentage of the expander filled is a quotient of downstream and upstream pressures;
- a gas-liquid separator configured to separate the liquid from a gas-liquid mixture received from the expander;
- and
- an insulated thermal storage unit in thermal communication with the separated liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.