Integrated turbomachine plant
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsAshok Kumar Anand, John Edward Sholes, Veerapan Muthaiah
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An integrated turbomachine plant is provided and includes a combustor a turbomachine operably connected to the combustor and including a compressor and a turbine expander, a pathway to flow compressed air from the compressor through the turbine expander to heat the compressed air, an additional pathway by which high temperature fluids output from the turbomachine are employed to heat the compressed air and an air separation unit operably connected to the pathway and configured to separate the heated compressed air into oxygen and oxygen-depleted air.
Claims18
An integrated turbomachine plant, comprising:
- a combustor;
- a turbomachine operably connected to the combustor and including a compressor and a turbine expander;
- a main pathway to flow compressed air from the compressor through the turbine expander to heat the compressed air;
- an additional pathway and a heater disposed along the additional pathway by which high temperature fluids output from the turbomachine are heated by the heater and subsequently employed to heat the compressed air;
- and
- an air separation unit operably connected to the main pathway and configured to separate the heated compressed air into oxygen and oxygen-depleted air.
An integrated turbomachine plant, comprising:
- a combustor;
- a turbomachine operably connected to the combustor and including a compressor and a turbine expander;
- first and second pathways to flow compressed air from the compressor through the turbine expander to heat the compressed air;
- a third pathway to flow compressed air from the first pathway;
- additional pathways to split high temperature fluids output from an outlet of the turbine expander into first and second portions thereof;
- a heater disposed along the additional pathways,
- the heater of the additional pathways being configured to heat at least the second portion and the additional pathways being configured to subsequently flow the at least the heated second portion to one of a combination of the first, second and third pathways or to the third pathway to heat the compressed air thereof in turn;
- and
- an air separation unit operably connected to the first, second and third pathways and configured to separate the heated compressed air into oxygen and oxygen-depleted air.
A method of operating an integrated turbomachine oxygen plant, the method comprising:
- flowing compressed air along a pathway from a compressor through a turbine expander to heat the compressed air;
- flowing high temperature fluids along an additional pathway from an outlet of the turbine expander and heating the high temperature fluids at a heater disposed along the additional pathway;
- using the high temperature fluids as heated by the heater of the additional pathway to heat the compressed air subsequent to the compressed air flowing through the turbine expander;
- and
- separating the heated compressed air into oxygen and oxygen-depleted air.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.