Energy recovery apparatus for a gas compressor plant
AssigneeKawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHiroshi Ishii
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Abstract
This disclosure relates to apparatus for increasing the efficiency of a gas compressor plant by converting a portion of heat that is normally wasted into mechanical energy. The gas, when compressed, is heated due to the compression. The compressed and heated gas is passed through a cooler or heat exchanger where a portion of the heat of compression is transferred to a coolant. The heated coolant in turn is passed to a mechanical device where the heat energy is converted to useful mechanical energy.
Claims9
In a gas compression plant including a gas compressor driven by a main drive, the compressor including a gas intake and a compressed gas outlet, the improvement comprising a refrigerant circuit connected to said gas outlet, said refrigerant system including a heat exchanger connected to receive said compressed gas, a turbine, a condenser, and a pump for circulating said refrigerant through said circuit, said refrigerant being heated and vaporized in said heat exchanger by a quantity of heat received from said compressed gas, and said vaporized refrigerant expanding in and driving said turbine and being liquefied in said condenser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.