Heat recovery
AssigneeGeoSol, Inc.
InventorDonnie W. Alexander
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A waste heat recovery system incorporates a contactor for counter current direct heat exchange between a non-condensible gas and a liquid, typically hot water. The water is from a heat source available at the site such as a solar source, a geothermal source, an industrial plant or the like. Hot mainly saturated gas exits from the contactor and drives a motor, typically a turbine. The turbine drive a work consuming device, normally an electric generator. A condenser/separator downstream from the turbine condenses the water vapor and separates the non-condensible gas from the liquid. The liquid from the condenser is preferably recycled or may be discarded.
Claims23
A heat recovery system comprising a source of hot liquid, a contactor for directly transferring heat from the hot liquid to a gas, piping for delivering the hot liquid from the source to the contactor, a conduit for delivering a non-condensible gas counterflow to the hot liquid in the contactor for delivering a hot gas, at least partially saturated with the liquid, from the contactor and a motor operated by the hot gas for driving an energy consuming device, and a vessel for condensing the liquid and separating the liquid from the gas, the vessel being downstream of the motor.
A heat recovery system comprising a source of hot liquid, a contactor for directly transferring heat from the hot liquid to a gas, piping for delivering the hot liquid from the source to the contactor, a conduit for delivering a non-condensible gas counterflow to the hot liquid in the contactor for delivering a hot gas, at least partially saturated with the liquid, from the contactor and a motor operated by the hot gas for driving an energy consuming device, the contactor comprising a vessel having a liquid inlet adjacent an upper end thereof, a liquid outlet adjacent a lower end thereof, a gas inlet adjacent a lower end thereof and a gas outlet adjacent an upper end thereof and gas-liquid contact promoters inside the vessel promoting contact between the gas and the liquid.
A method of recovering heat from a source comprising passing a liquid from the source through a contactor and passing a non-condensible gas in the contactor in direct heat exchange to the liquid and thereby directly transferring heat from the hot liquid to the gas and at least partially saturating the gas with the liquid, and then driving a motor with the hot saturated gas and wherein the gas in the contactor is moving upwardly and the liquid in the contactor is moving downwardly and the velocity of the gas adjacent an upper end of the contactor is greater than the velocity of the gas adjacent a lower end of the contactor.
A method of recovering heat from a source comprising passing a liquid from the source through a contactor and passing a non-condensible gas in the contactor in direct heat exchange to the liquid and thereby directly transferring heat from the hot liquid to the gas and at least partially saturating the gas with the liquid, and then driving a motor with the hot saturated gas wherein the non-condensible gas exiting from the contactor is at least 50% saturated with the liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.