Waste heat recovery system

Abstract

Waste heat in the form of the sensible heat of flue gases, sensible and latent heat of geothermal sources, etc., is converted to usable energy. When the energy source consists solely of sensible heat of a gas or a liquid which is not the working fluid, the liquid working fluid is heated by the energy source and then expanded in a hot liquid turbine wherein partial vaporization occurs with decrease in pressure. The working fluid is thereby accelerated as thermal energy is converted to kinetic energy and internal energy of the vapor. The hot liquid turbine can be a hot liquid impulse turbine wherein the expansion occurs in the inlet nozzles and the mixed phase working fluid then impinges on the moving buckets of the impulse turbine transferring the kinetic energy to shaft work. Within each impulse turbine casing the working fluid, at greatly reduced velocity, undergoes phase separation, the vapor going to a vapor turbine for expansion and the liquid going to a following stage of nozzle expansion in an impulse turbine to a final stage of condensation and liquid recycle. Each of a sequence of expansion stages includes a pairing of impulse turbine expansion and vapor turbine expansion both within the same limits of pressure. The first stage of the sequence need not include a vapor expander when the energy source includes only sensible heat. When the energy source is one which requires recovery over a temperature range such that multiple working fluids are used to advantage the latent heat in the combined vapors of the final stage expansion of one working fluid is utilized to evaporate an equivalent amount of the second working fluid. The vapor so generated is then expanded in a vapor turbine paired if need be with impulse turbine expansion in the first expansion stage of the second working fluid. Liquid for expansion in this stage is brought to saturation temperature by heat exchanged from the energy source. Water is a preferred working fluid within the temperature range of 66.degree. to 260.degree. C. and may be used from ambient to its critical temperature. A working fluid of lower volatility is preferred for stages at higher temperature and a more volatile working fluid for the stages at lower temperature. Vapor from the lowest temperature stage is condensed by exchange with a heat sink and all condensate from the final stage of each working fluid is recycled in heat exchange with the energy source. In energy recovery from a geothermal source the energy source may be the working fluid, as hot water, for expansion in the first stage impulse turbine or, as vapor, for the first stage vapor turbine. If the geothermal source is not suitable as a working fluid, the energy may be recovered from the hot liquid by heat exchange with pressurized liquid working fluid.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.