Externally fired combined cycle gas turbine system

Abstract

An externally fired gas turbine system has a compressor for compressing ambient air and producing compressed air, an indirect-contact air heat exchanger for heating the compressed air to produce heated compressed air, an air turbine for expanding the heated and compressed air to produce expanded air, and a generator connected to the turbine for generating electricity that is supplied to a load. The system also includes a source of energy including solar energy, oil shale, solid waste fuel, land fill gas, biomass, or combinations thereof, and/or solid, liquid, or gaseous hydrocarbon fuels, for adding heat to the compressed air in the air heat exchanger and producing heat depleted gases that exit the air heat exchanger. Also provided is a closed Rankine cycle power plant having a water heat exchanger for vaporizing water and producing steam using heat contained in the heat depleted gases, a steam turbine for expanding the steam and producing power for the load, and expanded steam, a steam condenser for condensing the expanded steam and producing condensate, and means for returning said condensate to the water heat exchanger.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.