Electricity-producing heating apparatus utilizing a turbine generator in a semi-closed brayton cycle

A method for providing both heat and electrical power by combusting a fuel and an oxygen-containing material comprising the steps of:

• providing a fuel-burning electricity-producing apparatus comprising an essentially closed enclosure further comprising enclosure walls, and suitably configured for combusting a fuel and an oxygen-containing material to produce a flue gas, the enclosure further comprising means for admitting fuel;
• a first oxygen-containing material duct means for admitting cool oxygen-containing material further comprising a conduit configured and disposed to admit oxygen-containing material at one end and deliver oxygen-containing material to a turbine-generator means at the other end;
• turbine-generator means further comprising a gas turbine means, a generator means further comprising means to electrically connect said generator means to an electrical load, and a gas compressor means, said turbine means, said generator means, and said gas compressor means being mechanically linked together to operate concurrently, and being configured and disposed to accept cool oxygen-containing material from said first oxygen-containing material duct means, pass the cool oxygen-containing material through said gas compressor, and discharge the cool, compressed oxygen-containing material from said gas compressor;
• heat exchanger means further comprising a first conduit and a second conduit suitably arranged for heat transfer therebetween, said first conduit for the oxygen-containing material stream configured and disposed to accept cool oxygen-containing material from the compressor discharge of said turbine generator means, pass the oxygen-containing material therethrough to heat the oxygen-containing material, and a second conduit having a surface exposed to flue gas, to accept flue gas from the combustion of the fuel and oxygen-containing material, pass the flue gas therethrough, thus transferring heat from the flue gas stream to the oxygen-containing material stream to produce heated oxygen-containing material;
• a second oxygen-containing material duct means for conducting heated oxygen-containing material further comprising a conduit configured and disposed to accept heated oxygen-containing material from said heat exchanger and pass the heated oxygen-containing material therethrough and into said enclosure for combustion with the fuel material;
• and flue gas discharge duct means for receiving flue gas from the discharge of said second conduit of said heat transfer means, conducting the flue gas therethrough, and discharging the flue gas from said enclosure;
• the entire arrangement being configured so that oxygen-containing material is brought from outside said enclosure, into said enclosure for combustion, and the flue gas is brought from inside said enclosure where combustion occurs, and out of said enclosure for discharge from said enclosure.
• admitting fuel into said combustion area;
• admitting oxygen-containing material into and through said first oxygen-containing duct means, through said compressor means for compression, through said first conduit of said heat exchanger for heating, through said turbine means, and through said second oxygen-containing duct means to said combustion area, the heated oxygen-containing material providing energy input into said turbine means to rotate said compressor means and said generator means;
• combusting the fuel with the oxygen-containing material within said combustion area to produce flue gas and heat energy;
• conducting the flue gas through said second conduit of said heat exchanger to heat cool oxygen-containing material to provide heated oxygen-containing material and further conducting the flue gas from said heat exchanger through said flue gas discharge means and from said enclosure;
• and
• operating said generator means to produce electrical energy.