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US 7,780,152 B2Granted
Direct combustion steam generator
AssigneeHydroflame Technologies, LLC
InventorDandina N. Rao
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for generating steam by heating water with a flame is provided. The water is introduced into a vortex sustaining container and flows through the container in a spiraling manner creating a liquid vortex with an open axial core. The flame effects heat transfer and is the product of the ignition of fuel mixed with a tangentially swirling oxygen containing gas.
Claims35
An apparatus for direct contact combustion steam generation comprising:
- a swirl-flow diffusion burner in a combustion zone within a chamber, said burner comprising at least one fuel inlet and at least one oxygen-containing fluid inlet, and wherein at least one of said inlets is adapted to create a vortex recirculation zone within an aerodynamically stable flame deployed along an axial core of said combustion zone within said chamber, and wherein said flame is of sufficient intensity to produce latent heat of vaporization of water corresponding to the pressure of operation;
- and
- wherein said chamber is defined by a wall comprising an inlet adapted to introduce an axial rotating flow of water along an interior surface of said wall, said flow of water defining said combustion zone and insulating said wall from said flame.
A process for direct contact combustion steam generation comprising:
- establishing an axially rotating water-wall having a liquid free aircore defining a combustion zone at one end of a chamber;
- converting water from said water-wall to steam by deploying an aerodynamically stable diffusion flame within said combustion zone, said flame and its combustion products in direct contact with an interior surface of said water-wall and of sufficient intensity to produce latent heat of vaporization of water corresponding to the pressure of operation;
- and
- directing steam through an outlet at another end of said chamber.
1 more element
A process for direct contact combustion steam generation comprising:
- injecting water through inlets in a wall defining a substantially cylindrical chamber to establish a continuous axially rotating water-wall along an interior surface of said wall, said water-wall having a liquid free aircore defining a combustion zone at one end of the chamber;
- deploying a flame axially aligned with said combustion zone from a diffusion burner wherein an inlet introduces fuel or oxygen-containing gas tangential to said flame, wherein said flame is of sufficient intensity to produce latent heat of vaporization of water corresponding to the pressure of operation;
- creating steam by contacting the flame and combustion products with said rotating water-wall and directing combustion products and said water through a heat transfer zone having a converging section and a diverging section;
- and
- directing the steam and combustion products through an outlet of said chamber downstream from said heat transfer zone.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.