WO2023033748A1

WO2023033748A1 - Conceptual design for new method of power generation plant using pressurized gaseous nitrogen

Info

Publication number: WO2023033748A1
Application number: PCT/TH2021/000050
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wenich VATTANAPURIPAKORN
Original assignee: Vattanapuripakorn Wenich
Priority date: 2021-09-06
Filing date: 2021-09-06
Publication date: 2023-03-09

Abstract

78% of nitrogen obtains from the air; nitrogen gas with 95-99% purity is provided by a nitrogen generator (1). After that, the obtained gas will be stored in a storage tank(3) by a nitrogen booster (2). Then, high pressurized gaseous nitrogen will be used to drive the turbines (4) which are installed with a 1-6MW capacity generator (6). Moreover, centrifuge system of a shaft (5) must be replaced by a magnetic bearing system to increase centrifuge speed up to 8, 000 rpm/min. The remaining low pressure gas will flow out from centrifugal turbine (4), and it will be transferred to gas filter system (7) which will clean the gas. After the gas is cleaned, a low pressure pump (8) will feed the gas to a circulation system in a mixer room (9). Some generated electrical power will be used to generate gaseous, and the remaining will be for commercial use and industries.

Description

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR NEW METHOD OF POWER GENERATION PLANT

USING PRESSURIZED GASEOUS NITROGEN.

Branch of Science Associated with the Invention

The present invention relates to main idea and conceptual design systems for new method of power generation plant from a new turbine using energy compressed of the gas nitrogen.

Background of related art or science

This invention offers theoretical contributions to several research streams. First, our findings make a great contribution to theories pertaining to steam turbines and condensing steam turbines. The first steam turbine used for power generation was invented in 1884 It has been 137 years that we have now depended on the Rankine cycle theory which describes the thermodynamic cycle. However, this theory has a weakness which is that it causes pollution. The Rankine cycle needs to bum natural resources such as fossil fuel causing high temperature reactions with water in order to create high pressure steam. After the steam is generated, it is used to drive the turbine and the turbine will then drive the steam turbine engine. The steam turbine engine is assembled with the generator to produce mechanical power which is transformed to electrical power. Then, electrical power is transferred to the transformer system and it becomes electrical power which people use nowadays. In order to solve the pollution problems, technologies and innovative engines have been developed. These helps save natural resources used to generate electrical power such as solar cells which depend mainly on solar power, wind turbines which use wind power, hydropower which uses water as a source to generate power, yet these three technologies have limitations in power generation as they cannot operate for 24 hours continuously. Also, they have both direct and indirect impacts on the environment. As mentioned previously, condensing steam turbines were invented to resolve those drawbacks. The condensing steam turbines save water used to heat up fossil fuel in order to generate high pressure steam, which is used to drive the turbines. The system is designed to push the remaining low-pressure steam into the condenser and the steam can be reused in the system by a condenser pump. This will save energy on the steam consumption rate of up to 20%. Therefore, the authors see opportunities to develop conventional electrical power generation to be a better technology. In the authors' point of view, the conventional condensing steam turbines should be improved by being combined with a nitrogen generator. The nitrogen generator will generate gaseous nitrogen from the air that exists in nature. The nitrogen generator will separate nitrogen from air, then 78% of gaseous nitrogen will be used to drive the turbine and the condensing steam turbine instead of using steam. This applied technology is based on the original technology, but it is advanced by using the cooling power of gaseous nitrogen to drive the turbine in the input process instead of using the heat power of steam as it has been used for decades. Additionally, the original theory is applied by the second law of thermodynamics which describes the refrigerating cycle and heat pump cycle. It explains how the system suctions air from outside to transform heat from low temperature to high temperature; this is called the refrigerating cycle and heat pump cycle. Both the refrigerating cycle and heat pump cycle are similar to a reversed Rankine cycle. However, the primary difference among these three theories is flow direction. The refrigerating cycle and heat pump cycle need a compression stroke. The compression stroke is divided into 2 systems which are the compressor vapor compression refrigeration cycle and the absorption refrigeration cycle. The compression stroke changes steam pressure caused by density of the changing temperature Moreover, the engine needs to be redesigned, and this will be a revolution of electrical power generation which is similar to vertical rocket landing and electric vehicles. Vertical rocket landing and electric vehicles preserve the environment and limit the overuse of natural resources. Numerous pieces of research have been conducted to find possibilities of applying gaseous nitrogen to generate electrical power. It was found that an American inventor succeeded to patent his work in 2015 in the United State by using liquid nitrogen to drive the turbine and condensing steam turbine of thermal power plants. By applying liquid nitrogen, the water in the cooling system saved energy by up to 30%. Furthermore, inventors patented their European Patent in Brazil in 2007 by using liquid nitrogen to pressurize power generation systems to generate and merchandise electrical power in off grid areas. These 2 patents used and applied liquid nitrogen. In 1982, David G. Elliott used gaseous nitrogen to pressurize the turbines and the result was compared to hydro pressure, which was published in (Theory and Tests of Two- Phase Turbines) and this become a part in Nasa’s work (NASA Task Order RD 152, Amendment 266). Hence, the authors have carefully considered that the potential of gaseous nitrogen to revolutionize energy production is extremely high as it possesses most of the similar properties to steam, but it has more advantages. First, gaseous gas is generated more easily than steam. Second, the system that generates gaseous nitrogen does not require a complicated process of installation and it can be installed and moved easily. Third, it does not need a burning process, so it does not cause pollution and does no harm to humans’ health. It is also crucial to apply magnetic bearing to the centrifugal axle shaft system and turbines as this will not cause pollutants. Magnetic bearings do not require lubrication nor do they touch the centrifugal axle shaft (zero touch). A firm in Japan and the United States suggested that the installation of magnetic bearings to compressor technology of centrifugal chillers can save cost up to 42.3-50%/year. Reviews of technologies that use a magnetic bearing with a compressor motor to avoid the touch between the axis and the other metal surfaces were conducted. The energy consumption rate in the system was measured and it was found to be practical when adopted in industries. Besides magnetic bearings, artificial intelligence (Al) and (CFD) programs should be applied to the system as well. They are used with this system to analyze and control nitrogen gas flow in the system to provide a more precise evaluation and change materials resulting in a more efficient technology. They also support the hypothesis of the original theory that the turbine was designed to be high heat proof and corrosion proof that can be caused by steam. Nevertheless, the modified technology uses 40°C gaseous nitrogen and there are possibilities to design turbine and axle shafts that can withstand 40°C temperature and they can be altered to be lightweight to fit nitrogen pressure. By modifying these fairly simple components, a truly green technology can be attainable.

Description and Purpose of the Invention

The application of newly developed technologies leads to new innovations, and it is possible to install nitrogen generators which pressurize nitrogen gas driving the turbine of condensing steam turbines generating electrical power such as the case of the conceptual model of an injection nitrogen turbine engine (INTE) as shown in Figure l.The study also recognizes: energy is neither created nor destroyed but can be converted into forms (the First Law of Thermodynamics ; 2) energy comes from the physical environment and ultimately returns there (the law of conservation of energy). The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for efficiently generating power in a new turbine using gas nitrogen. The study compared the properties, pressure, temperature, volume and density of gaseous nitrogen generated by a 5,000 (Nm³/h) nitrogen generator to that of the steam generated by a conventional steam turbine. After that, the results were analyzed and used to drive a turbine of 6,000 (kWh) injection nitrogen turbine engine. The nitrogen booster was added to increase high pressure in the system resulting in more efficient mechanical energy power before it is transformed to electricity. The 19-inch Wall-mounted Cabinet for Computer and Indoor Communication Network Devices with Side Covers in this invention was designed to solve problems from difficulty in storing side covers when having no place for storage after opening while making assembly fast and suitable for current uses.

Full Disclosure of Invention

Figure 1 Shown a flow diagram of one embodiment of an integrated system according to a disclosed embodiment The invention of this project relates to methods and systems for generating power from a steam turbine using compressed nitrogen. By using the data of the machines to analyze the data from the actual manufacturers in each country as detailed below.

Nitrogen Generators (1) operate on the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) principle to produce a continuous stream of nitrogen gas from compressed air. Two towers are filled with carbon molecular sieves (CMS). Pretreated compressed air enters the bottom of the on-line tower and follows up through the CMS. Oxygen and other trace gasses are preferentially adsorbed by the CMS, allowing nitrogen to pass through. After a pre-set time, the on-line tower automatically switches to regenerative mode, venting contaminants from the CMS. A carbon molecular sieve differs from ordinary activated carbons in that it has a much narrower range of pore openings. This allows small molecules such as oxygen to penetrate the pores and be separated from nitrogen molecules which are too large to enter the CMS. The larger molecules of nitrogen by-pass the CMS and emerge as the product gas. A typical PSA nitrogen generator flow diagram is shown in Figure 1. The fundamental technology involves the separation of nitrogen from oxygen by passing air through a bed of adsorbent, typically a carbon molecular sieve (CMS). Under pressure, the CMS material preferentially adsorbs oxygen and system operation moisture while passing nitrogen through the vessel. During generator operation, the CMS becomes saturated with oxygen. The CMS shall be systematically regenerated by desorbing the oxygen and moisture at low pressure. The air compressor in the nitrogen generator suctions air into the system. The air that was suctioned flows through an air dryer and the air dryer will dry the air at the dew point of 3 U. Then, dried air will be filtered by 1- and 0.01 -micron filter and carbon filter, respectively. Quality air must be oil free, and it will extend the cycle life of the CMS (Carbon Molecular Sieve). Normally, a CMS can be used for 8-10 years. After that, compressed dried air is compressed into a storage tank before it is used to generate gaseous nitrogen. The nitrogen generator consists of 2 tanks of CMS where the first tank absorbs oxygen and the second tank separates nitrogen. These tanks switch functions with each other. 10% of gaseous nitrogen, which still contains oxygen, will be transferred to another CMS tank to separate oxygen again until the required amount is obtained and stored in another storage tank (3). The 95-99% purity and temperature used 40°C of nitrogen will be detected by a nitrogen analyzer before use as shown in figure 1.

As for the additional installation of the auxiliary machine, the High-pressure Nitrogen Generators for Using Nitrogen Booster Pumps (2) are used due to its favorable physical and chemical properties as gaseous nitrogen is currently used in various industrial blanketing, pinging, and flushing operations. As a result, the demand for high-pressure nitrogen generators (1) has surged. The nitrogen booster (2) works according to the principle of a pressure relay valve, where compressed air is used as the driving force. Low pressure is applied to a large surface, which in turns applies high pressure to a small surface.

The Injection nitrogen turbine (4) is able to use the total energy of the inlet nitrogen flow to a maximum extent. Therefore, this type of turbine is used for power utilities that want to supply as much electricity as possible to consumers. The economics of Nitrogen Turbine (4) applications depend primarily upon two factors - choosing the right type and size of machine (back pressure or nitrogen turbine (4)) and correctly integrating it with the thermal demand process in accordance with the Appropriate Placement Principle of Pinch Analysis as shown in figure 1. Injection nitrogen turbines (4) have an efficiency in the range ηe = 50 to 80%. From this it follows that only a small portion of heat released in the process of gas nitrogen is transformed into effective work. Turbine units for power and nitrogen generator (1) have higher overall efficiency and Applications Nitrogen turbines (4) are well suited to medium and large-scale industrial and house (14).

In Addition to the installation of the auxiliary machine, a generator (6) is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) into electrical power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include nitrogen turbines, gas turbines, water turbines, internal combustion engines, wind turbines and even hand cranks. Generators (6) provide nearly all of the power for electric power grids (12), (13). The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by Main distribution boards (10), (11) are used to distribute and control the power supply in laige buildings such as shopping malls, hospitals, universities, and hotels. The main distribution boards (10), (11) are generally installed after the main power source (eg. transformers or generators) and used to divide the power feed into subsidiary outgoing feeders, an electric motor, and motors and generators (6) have many similarities. Many motors can be mechanically driven to generate electricity.

The magnetic bearing positions the rotor using four electromagnets, each composed of a stator component and a rotor component. Opposite electromagnets are adjusted to pull against one another. When an external force causes the rotor to change position, the movement is identified by position sensors. The electronic control system responds by adjusting the current flowing through the respective electromagnets - returning the rotor to its original position. The axial magnetic bearing positions a rotor axially using electromagnetic forces pulling in opposition on the collar as is shown in Figure 1. The outcomes of this study’s analysis will aid in the change of materials of this technology as well as aid in the implementation to a wide range of the nitrogen turbine engine (4) and generator (6) and other mechanical systems. Magnetic bearings and systems are ideal for applications demanding high speeds and low vibration. With no physical contact, there is no need for lubrication, repair or bearing changes. Low energy consumption, active management, repositioning and built-in vibration management are also benefits of magnetic bearings and systems. Magnetic bearings do not require lubrication nor do they touch the centrifugal axle shaft (5).

Filter (7) and absorption are an expensive method and the effluent of the dryer is a very aggressive liquid which needs to be treated as chemical waste. The absorption material needs to be continuously replaced with new material; this makes this system very expensive. The potential dew point suppression which can be achieved with this type of dryers is limited to 20-40 °C. Cooling as drying method is very often used. Sometimes a heat exchanger with chilled cooling water is used to cool down the compressed air. At this low temperature, moisture is condensed into droplets of free water, which are collected and removed. This system is limited to the cooling water temperature and requires a water chiller to reduce the cooling water temperature. A more commonly used way of drying by cooling can be done by refrigerant dryers. In refrigerant dryers, a Freon circuit cools the compressed air. The limitation of a refrigerated dryer is the freezing point of water. If the temperature in those dryers gets lower than 0°C, the free water droplets will freeze and will block the compressed air stream. Adsorption dryers are mainly used when the required pressure dew point needs to be below 0°C. Most of those applications require dew points down to -40°C or even -70°C.

Refrigerant dryers in mixer room (9) are the most common used type of compressed air dryers. They consist of an air-to-air heat exchanger and an air-to-Freon heat exchanger.

The compressed air from the compressor pump (8) first passes the air-to-air heat exchanger. In this phase the incoming air is pre-cooled by the outgoing air and the outgoing air is heated.

In the second phase the compressed air is by pump (8) passing the air- to-Freon heat exchanger, in this phase the compressed air is cooled further down to a temperature of around 3-20 °C. At his temperature the moisture is condensed, the free water droplets are collected and removed, at this point the relative humidity of the compressed air still is at 100%.

In the next step the compressed air is heated with the incoming air, the increase in temperature assures that the relative humidity of the outgoing air is dropping below 50%. Refrigerant dryers are used in compressed air pump (8) systems to avoid free water and corrosion in the system, a relative humidity of below 50% is enough to achieve this. Refrigerant dryers are available in a water cooled and an air-cooled variant.

Brief Description of Drawings

Figure 1 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of an integrated system according to a disclosed embodiment.

Best Invention Method

As stated in the Full Disclosure of Invention.

Claims

1 . A main idea and conceptual design method for efficiently generating nitrogen power plant from a New turbine using 95 -99% purity of nitrogen, comprising: providing a gas nitrogen unit includes purity air; This system starts from a 1 -5 ,000 (Nm³/h) nitrogen generator that generates gaseous nitrogen and then it is stored in the storage tank. After that, a nitrogen booster adjusts pressure until the required high pressure at 30-300 bar. is obtained. Pressurized gaseous nitrogen will be used to drive a turbine of the condensing steam engine. Pressure and volume of gaseous nitrogen is measured, and it has to be sufficient for consumption at a rate of 1000 - 6,000 (kWh) for the Injection condensing nitrogen turbine engine combined with a generator. After that, low pressure gaseous nitrogen will be filtered in the filter chamber. Then, a pump will suction clean gaseous nitrogen from the filter chamber and transfer the gas to a mixer room and start the circulating cycle. This process will preserve energy used in the system to produce power.

2 . A method as in claim 1 , further comprising storing the pressurized nitrogen comprised of gas nitrogen in a storage tanks and releasing the pressurized nitrogen from the storage tanks to generated electricity.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein after expanding the gas nitrogen in the turbine, the gas nitrogen is vented into clean gas filter systems.

4 . A method as in claim 1 , wherein the gas nitrogen is heated to a temperature in a range from about 20° C. to about 40° C.

5. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the concentration of purity in the gas nitrogen is 95-99% by weight.

6 . A method as in claim 1 , wherein Nitrogen booster that installed with a nitrogen generator generated significantly higher pressure of up to 30-300 bar. Booster pump to the gas nitrogen turbine from the storage tanks.

7 . A method as in claim 1 , wherein Filter and absorption room are an installations method and the effluent of the dryer is a very aggressive liquid which needs to be treated as chemical waste.

8. A method as in claim 7, wherein the absorption material needs to be continuously replaced with new material; The potential dew point suppression which can be achieved with this type of dryers is limited to 20-40°C.

9 . A method as in claim 1 , wherein Refrigerant dryers in Mixer room are the most common used type of compressed air dryers. They consist of an air-to-air heat exchanger and an air-to-Freon heat exchanger.

10. A method as in claim 9, wherein Compressed air from the compressor pump first passes the air-to-air heat exchanger. In this phase the incoming air is pre-cooled by the outgoing air and the outgoing air is heated.

1 1 . A method as in claim 9 , wherein the second phase the compressed air is pump passing the air- to-Freon heat exchanger, in this phase the compressed air is cooled further down to a temperature of around 3-20°C.

12 . A method as in claim 9 , In the next step the compressed air is heated with the incoming air, the increase in temperature assures that the relative humidity of the outgoing air is dropping below 50%. Refrigerant dryers are used in compressed air pump systems to avoid free water and corrosion in the system, a relative humidity of below 50%.

1 3 . A method as in claim 1 , wherein Installation magnetic bearings and artificial intelligence (Al) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) programs was be applied to all this process of the centrifuge system as well.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein Magnetic bearing system It was installed with the centrifuge system inside the injection nitrogen turbine engine system.

15. A method as in claim 13 , wherein Magnetic bearing system It was installed with the centrifuge system inside the generator engine system.