Computation equipment and control method for differential pressure power generation.

Abstract

This system allows for greater flexibility in the installation location of the differential pressure power generation cooling unit, and the electricity and cooling generated during differential pressure power generation can be used for computational processing in data centers and other facilities where high demand is expected in the future, thereby contributing to energy conservation and decarbonization. [Solution] The control device S performs a cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates the calculation amount to a plurality of calculation processing devices CS1 and CS2 in such a manner that the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period, which is generated by calculations performed by the calculation processing devices CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2, is matched to the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period, which is generated by the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2, through cooling quantity prediction control.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a main gas pipe through which gas supplied from an upstream side can flow, and a first bypass pipe through which gas can flow in a form of bypassing the main gas pipe when an abnormality occurs in the main gas pipe, and relates to a differential pressure power generation combined type arithmetic facility and a control method in which the first bypass pipe is configured to be able to accumulate the pressure of the gas flowing through the main gas pipe.

Background Art

[0002] <环 Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, in a configuration in which a first bypass pipe through which gas can flow in a form of bypassing the main gas pipe when an abnormality occurs in the main gas pipe is provided in a main gas pipe through which gas supplied from an upstream side can flow, the first bypass pipe is configured to be able to accumulate gas, and power is discharged in a form of driving a generator by rotating an expansion turbine with the air accumulated in the first bypass pipe. A technique related to so-called differential pressure power generation is known (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In this differential pressure power generation, when the gas expands in the expansion turbine, the temperature drops below the freezing point. Therefore, it was necessary to heat the gas with the exhaust heat of a factory or the like on the upstream side of the expansion turbine. For this reason, although the facilities related to differential pressure power generation have been introduced in the vicinity of factories, power plants, etc. where exhaust heat can be secured, depending on the location where the gas pipe is installed, there is no factory or the like where exhaust heat is generated, and the gas cannot be appropriately heated on the upstream side of the expansion turbine, and there is a problem that the technology related to differential pressure power generation cannot be installed. Furthermore, when heating the upstream side of the expansion turbine is carried out by burning fossil fuels, the ratio of thermal energy consumed for heating to the electrical energy obtained from the rotation of the expansion turbine becomes large, which poses problems from the standpoint of energy conservation and decarbonization.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a differential pressure power generation-integrated computing facility and control method that can improve the flexibility of installation location for differential pressure power generation facilities, and that can contribute to energy conservation and decarbonization by using the electricity and cooling generated during differential pressure power generation for computing processing in data centers and the like, where high demand is expected in the future. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the differential pressure power generation-integrated computing facility is: The present invention relates to a differential pressure power generation type computing facility comprising a main gas pipeline capable of carrying gas supplied from the upstream side, and a first bypass pipeline capable of carrying gas through the main gas pipeline in the event of an abnormality in the main gas pipeline, wherein the first bypass pipeline is configured to store the pressure of the gas flowing through the main gas pipeline, and its characteristic configuration is as follows: Multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling units are provided, distributed within the laying area of ​​the main gas piping, each unit having a first bypass pipe, an expansion turbine that expands by passing the gas stored in the first bypass pipe through it, a generator that generates electricity using the shaft output of the expansion turbine, and a cooling recovery heat exchanger capable of recovering the cooling energy of the gas expanded at the outlet of the expansion turbine in the first bypass pipe. Each of the multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling generation units is equipped with a separate arithmetic processing unit that is supplied with power generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit, and also with cooling generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit. The system includes a control device that performs, before each predetermined forecast period, a gas demand forecast control that forecasts the gas demand downstream of each differential pressure power generation cooling unit, and a cooling amount forecast control that forecasts the amount of cooling to be generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit based on the gas demand forecast. The control device performs a cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates the calculation amount to a plurality of calculation processing units in such a manner that the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units corresponds to the amount of heat generated per unit time during the prediction period, which is calculated by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit, through the cooling quantity prediction control.

[0007] The control method using a differential pressure power generation-integrated computing facility to achieve the above objective is as follows: The invention relates to a main gas pipe through which gas supplied from the upstream side can flow, and a first bypass pipe through which gas can flow in a manner that bypasses the main gas pipe in the event of an abnormality in the main gas pipe, wherein the first bypass pipe is configured to store the pressure of the gas flowing through the main gas pipe. Multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling units are provided, distributed within the laying area of ​​the main gas piping, each unit having a first bypass pipe, an expansion turbine that expands by passing the gas stored in the first bypass pipe through it, a generator that generates electricity using the shaft output of the expansion turbine, and a cooling recovery heat exchanger capable of recovering the cooling energy of the gas expanded at the outlet of the expansion turbine in the first bypass pipe. A control method for a differential pressure power generation integrated computing facility, comprising a separate computing processing unit for each of the multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling generation units, which is supplied with power generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit, and which is supplied with cooling generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit, wherein the characteristic configuration is as follows: Along with gas demand forecasting control that forecasts the gas demand downstream of each differential pressure power generation cooling unit for each predetermined forecast period, cooling amount forecasting control that forecasts the amount of cooling generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit based on the gas demand forecast is performed before the forecast period. The key feature is the execution of a cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates the calculation amount to multiple calculation processing units in such a way that the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units corresponds to the amount of heat generated per unit time during the prediction period, calculated by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit.

[0008] According to the above characteristic configuration, the control device, through cold energy tracking calculation allocation control, allocates calculation amounts to multiple calculation processing units in such a way that the predicted amount of cold energy per unit time during the prediction period at each differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit corresponds to the amount of heat generated per unit time during the prediction period, which is calculated by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit. Therefore, it is possible to allocate calculation amounts that generate heat corresponding to the predicted amount of cold energy to be generated at the corresponding differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit to calculation processing units installed in locations where gas demand exists and cold energy can be supplied from the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit. In other words, each processing unit performs calculations only for the amount of heat corresponding to the amount of cold energy that is expected to be supplied, so the heat generated by the calculations can be appropriately cooled by the cold energy generated in conjunction with the gas demand. Based on the above, it is possible to improve the flexibility of the installation location of differential pressure power generation equipment, and to realize differential pressure power generation equipment and differential pressure power generation methods that can contribute to energy conservation and decarbonization by using the electricity and cooling generated during differential pressure power generation for computational processing in data centers and other facilities where high demand is expected in the future.

[0009] Further features of the differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment are: The control device, in the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, allocates the calculation amount to a plurality of calculation processing units such that the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time in the prediction period at each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units is less than or equal to the absolute value of the heating quantity per unit time in the prediction period generated by the calculations processed by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit.

[0010] According to the above characteristic configuration, in the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, the control device allocates calculation amounts to multiple calculation processing units such that the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each differential pressure power generation cooling unit is less than or equal to the absolute value of the heating quantity per unit time during the prediction period generated by the calculations performed by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit. Therefore, at least all of the cooling generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit can be processed by the heating generated by the calculation processing unit. This allows at least all of the cold generated by differential pressure power generation to be properly processed without the need to supply energy from other sources such as electricity or waste heat. Therefore, even in locations where there are no nearby factories or other facilities that generate waste heat, a differential pressure power generation cold generation unit can be installed in locations with gas demand, thereby achieving energy savings by eliminating the need to process the cold.

[0011] Further features of the differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment are: One of the aforementioned arithmetic processing units is provided in a configuration in which an arithmetic processing unit for performing calculations is installed inside a housing, and inside the housing there is a partition that separates a cold energy receiving space that receives cold energy supplied from the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit and guides it to the arithmetic processing unit, and a heat exhaust space through which waste heat from the arithmetic processing unit is discharged. The partition section is configured to allow adjustment of the degree of opening between the cold heat receiving space and the heat exhaust space. The control device, in the cooling and heat quantity tracking calculation allocation control, executes an opening degree adjustment control to control the opening degree of the partition to the open side if the absolute value of the predicted cooling amount per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units, as determined by the cooling and heat quantity prediction control, exceeds the absolute value of the maximum heating amount corresponding to the maximum calculation amount that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit.

[0012] As described above, controlling the opening of the partition to the open side reduces the heat exchange efficiency between cold and hot energy, resulting in an increase in the amount of cold energy that can be processed. As described above, with regard to the characteristic configuration, if the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy per unit time during the prediction period at each differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit exceeds the absolute value of the maximum amount of heat corresponding to the maximum amount of calculation that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit, in other words, if the amount of heat generated by the calculation processing unit is insufficient to process the predicted amount of cold energy, the opening of the partition can be controlled to the open side, allowing the amount of cold energy to be processed with a relatively small amount of heat. Therefore, a highly energy-saving differential pressure power generation integrated calculation facility can be realized that does not consume additional power to process the amount of cold energy. In this specification, the case in which the absolute value of the amount of heat generated when the calculation is performed by the processing unit is equal to the absolute value of the amount of cold generated by the differential pressure power generation cold generation unit means that they are equal when the partition is in a fully closed state (opening degree is zero).

[0013] Further features of the differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment are: The control device, in the opening degree adjustment control, controls the opening degree of the partition to be larger the larger the amount of heat obtained by subtracting the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the heat, which is the amount of heat that can be processed by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold generation unit, when the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cold generation units exceeds the absolute value of the maximum amount of heat that can be processed by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold generation unit, in the case of the cold degree prediction control, the larger the amount of heat obtained by subtracting the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold.

[0014] As described above, in the opening degree adjustment control, the control device controls the opening degree of the partition to be larger the larger the amount of heat obtained by subtracting the absolute value of the maximum heat amount from the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold heat, thereby appropriately compensating for the amount of heat that is insufficient to process the amount of cold heat by adjusting the opening degree of the partition.

[0015] Further features of the differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment are: The control device executes power generation power prediction control for predicting the power generation power generated by the differential pressure power generation and cooling / heating generation unit based on the prediction of the gas demand for each predetermined prediction period before the prediction period, and In the cooling / heating quantity tracking calculation allocation control, when the power generation power per unit time of the prediction period in one differential pressure power generation and cooling / heating generation unit exceeds the power consumption when the calculation is processed per unit time in the prediction period by the arithmetic processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation and cooling / heating generation unit, the control device executes power selling control for guiding the power generation power exceeding the power consumption to the commercial power system for power selling, or executes power cooling control for using it as cooling power for cooling the waste heat generated by the arithmetic processing unit.

[0016] According to the above characteristic configuration, in the cooling / heating quantity tracking calculation allocation control, when the power generation power per unit time of the prediction period in one differential pressure power generation and cooling / heating generation unit exceeds the power consumption when the calculation is processed per unit time in the prediction period by the arithmetic processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation and cooling / heating generation unit, the control device executes power selling control for guiding the power generation power exceeding the power consumption to the commercial power system for power selling, or executes power cooling control for using it as cooling power for cooling the waste heat generated by the arithmetic processing unit, so that when surplus power is generated in the differential pressure power generation and cooling / heating generation unit, the surplus power can be effectively utilized.

[0017] A further characteristic configuration of the differential pressure power generation combined arithmetic equipment is In the power selling control, when the power selling profit is not less than the cooling operation profit in the power cooling control, the control device executes the power selling control, In the power selling control, when the power selling profit is less than the cooling operation profit in the power cooling control, the control device executes the power cooling control.

[0018] As described in the above characteristic configuration, when the power selling profit in the power selling control is greater than or equal to the cooling operation profit in the power cooling control, the control device executes the power selling control. When the power selling profit in the power selling control is less than the cooling operation profit in the power cooling control, the control device executes the power cooling control, so that the surplus power can be appropriately utilized in a form that maximizes the economic benefit.

[0019] A further characteristic configuration of the differential pressure power generation combined type computing equipment is The control device is configured to be able to acquire the outside air temperature for each unit time in the prediction period, and in the predicted cooling capacity control, executes a predicted cooling capacity correction control for correcting in a form that the absolute value of the predicted cooling capacity for each unit time in the prediction period becomes smaller as the outside air temperature is higher.

[0020] The cooling capacity generated by the expansion turbine will be reduced in a form of heat exchange with the outside air as the outside air temperature is higher. However, according to the above-described predicted cooling capacity correction control, the control device is configured to be able to acquire the outside air temperature for each unit time in the prediction period, and in the predicted cooling capacity control, corrects the predicted cooling capacity for each unit time in the prediction period in a form that it becomes lower as the outside air temperature is higher. Therefore, the predicted cooling capacity can be predicted in a state that more appropriately reflects the surrounding environment of the differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0021] [Figure 1] It is a schematic configuration diagram of the differential pressure power generation combined type computing equipment according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing a gas flow state when the differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit according to an embodiment is in a normal gas supply state. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing a gas flow state when the differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit according to an embodiment is executing the accumulator pressure non-power generation control. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing a gas flow state when the differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit according to an embodiment is executing the pressure release power generation control. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing (a) a case where the partition part of the arithmetic processing unit is in a closed state and (b) a case where the partition part of the arithmetic processing unit is in an open state. [Figure 6] This is a control flow diagram for a control method of a differential pressure power generation and integrated computing equipment.

[0022] The differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment and control method according to this embodiment can improve the flexibility of the installation location of the differential pressure power generation cooling unit, and can contribute to energy conservation and decarbonization by using the electricity and cooling generated during differential pressure power generation for computing processing in data centers and the like, where high demand is expected in the future. The differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment and control method according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0023] The differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment 100 according to this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 or Figures 2 to 4, comprises a main gas pipe H1 through which gas supplied from an upstream side such as a gas supply facility (not shown) can pass, and a first bypass pipe H2 through which gas can pass in a manner that bypasses the main gas pipe H1 in the event of an abnormality in the main gas pipe H1, wherein the first bypass pipe H2 is configured to store the pressure of the gas passing through the main gas pipe H1, and comprises the first bypass pipe H2, an expansion turbine ET that expands by passing the gas stored in the first bypass pipe H2 through it, a generator E that generates electricity using the shaft output of the expansion turbine ET, and a cold energy recovery heat exchanger capable of recovering the cold energy of the expanded gas at the outlet of the expansion turbine ET in the first bypass pipe H2. Multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling units SEC1 and SEC2, each having EX1, are provided distributed in the laying area of ​​the main gas piping H1. Each of the multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 is supplied with power generated by the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling units SEC1 and SEC2, as well as cooling generated by the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling units SEC1 and SEC2. A control device S is provided that performs gas demand forecasting control to forecast the gas demand downstream of each differential pressure power generation and cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2 at predetermined forecast periods, and cooling amount forecasting control to forecast the amount of cooling to be generated by the differential pressure power generation and cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 based on the forecasted gas demand, before the forecast period.

[0024] The differential pressure power generation and cooling unit SEC1 (and its corresponding processing unit CS1) described above will be explained in detail using Figures 2 to 4. Note that the differential pressure power generation and cooling unit SEC2 (and its corresponding processing unit CS2) has the same configuration as the differential pressure power generation and cooling unit SEC1 (and its corresponding processing unit CS1), so a detailed explanation of it will be omitted here. The differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 includes a first switching valve K1 that can switch the distribution state between a main distribution state (distribution state shown in Figure 2) in which the gas supplied from the upstream side is distributed to the main gas pipe H1 and the first bypass pipe H2, and a bypass distribution state (distribution state shown in Figures 3 and 4) in which the gas is distributed to the first bypass pipe H2. The system includes a first on-off valve V1 that can switch between a first closed-off state, where 2 is a closed-side opening including a fully closed state, and a first open-side opening state, where 2 is an open-side opening including a fully open state; an expansion turbine ET that causes pressurized gas to flow through and expand in a first bypass pipe H2; a generator E that generates electricity using the shaft output of the expansion turbine ET; and a compressor C located downstream of the first switching valve K1 in the first bypass pipe H2 and upstream of the expansion turbine ET, which pressurizes the gas led to the first bypass pipe H2. The control device S controls the distribution state of the first switching valve K1, the opening state of the first on-off valve V1, and the drive state of the compressor C.

[0025] The control device S is constructed from hardware including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), and ROM (Read Only Memory), as well as software implemented therein. The control device S may be installed near the first bypass pipe H2 where the gas is stored and directly connected to various devices by wire or wireless connection, or it may be installed at a location away from the first bypass pipe H2 and configured to be electrically able to communicate with the aforementioned devices via a network line N such as the Internet.

[0026] In this embodiment, the main gas piping H1 is provided with a pressure regulating device RV downstream of the downstream connection G2 described above, which regulates the secondary pressure of the main gas piping H1 to a set pressure. The pressure regulating device RV can suitably utilize a commonly known pilot governor type pressure regulating device.

[0027] Furthermore, a second pressure gauge P2 for measuring gas pressure is provided at the inlet of the upstream connection section G1, which is the upstream connection point between the main gas pipe H1 and the first bypass pipe H2, where the first switching valve K1 is installed. In addition, a first pressure gauge P1 for measuring gas pressure is provided downstream of the downstream connection section G2 and upstream of the pressure regulating device RV. The control device S is configured to receive the pressure measured by the first pressure gauge P1 and the second pressure gauge P2 via wired or wireless connection. Incidentally, the gas piping such as the main gas piping H1 and the first bypass piping H2 described herein is made of steel, and for example, those designed to have a design allowable pressure of about 7.0 MPa are preferably used. Incidentally, gas at a primary pressure (for example, a pressure of about 2 MPa to 4 MPa) below the above design allowable pressure (for example, a pressure of about 7 MPa or less) usually flows through the main gas piping H1 and the first bypass piping H2.

[0028] The compressor C is located downstream of the first switching valve K1 in the first bypass piping H2 and upstream of the expansion turbine ET, and is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor M powered by a commercial power grid (not shown). The control device S controls the drive of the motor M, and can raise the pressure of the gas after compression by the compressor C to, for example, the design allowable pressure of the first bypass piping H2. From the viewpoint of improving the amount of accumulated pressure, which will be described later, it is preferable to install the compressor C at the outlet of the first switching valve K1 in the first bypass piping H2. In this specification, the outlet of a device means the vicinity of the connection point between the device and the piping downstream of it, and the inlet of a device means the vicinity of the connection point between the device and the piping upstream of it.

[0029] The expansion turbine ET is installed between the first on-off valve V1 and the downstream connection G2 of the first bypass piping H2. Although cold heat is generated when the gas is expanded in the expansion turbine ET, the expansion turbine ET according to this embodiment employs a shaft levitation type in which the rotating shaft is levitated by magnetic force, so that it can be used for gas expansion even when the temperature drops to, for example, several tens of degrees Celsius. Incidentally, a cold energy recovery heat exchanger EX1 is provided at the outlet of the expansion turbine ET, which is capable of recovering the cold energy contained in the gas expanded by the expansion turbine ET.

[0030] The generator E, which is rotationally driven by the shaft output of the expansion turbine ET, is configured to include an inverter capable of adjusting the generated power to a desired frequency and voltage. The power generated by the generator E can be supplied via the first power line D1 to a computing device CS1, such as a supercomputer capable of performing predetermined calculations. The computing device CS1 is also supplied with power from the commercial power grid via the second power line D2. Furthermore, the power generated by the generator E can also be supplied via the third power line D3 to a chiller T for cooling the computing device CS1, which will be described later. Furthermore, the electricity generated by generator E can be supplied to the processing unit CS1 mentioned above, and can also be suitably used as charging power for commercial EVs, etc.

[0031] Now, the aforementioned arithmetic processing unit CS1 generates heat as it performs various calculations, including calculations related to AI and cryptocurrency mining. Therefore, in this embodiment, a first heat medium circulation path H5 is provided that guides the cold energy of the gas recovered by the cold energy recovery heat exchanger EX1 to the first cooler EX2 provided in the computing processing unit CS1, and also guides the heat energy of the computing processing unit CS1 to the cold energy recovery heat exchanger EX1. The heat medium is circulated in the first heat medium circulation path H5 by a pump (not shown). This makes it possible to appropriately process the cold energy generated by the expansion of the gas by the expansion turbine ET without incurring additional costs. Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy expected to be generated by the expansion of gas by the expansion turbine ET exceeds the absolute value of the amount of heat generated by the computing processing unit CS1, a chiller T driven by electricity generated by the generator E is provided to cool the computing processing unit CS1. A second heat medium circulation path H6 is provided that guides the cold energy generated by the chiller T to a second cooler EX3 provided in the computing processing unit CS1 and guides the heat from the computing processing unit CS1 to the chiller T. The heat medium is circulated in the second heat medium circulation path H6 by a pump (not shown).

[0032] Now, the differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment 100 according to this embodiment performs the following control in order to appropriately generate electricity and cooling / heating. Specifically, the control device S performs a storage / discharge switching control that switches between a pressure storage / discharge switching control, which sets the first switching valve K1 to a bypass distribution state and the first on / off valve V1 to a first closed open state, thereby accumulating pressure in the first bypass pipe H2 and keeping the expansion turbine ET in a non-rotating state, and a pressure release / discharge power generation control, which releases the gas pressure accumulated in the first bypass pipe H2 and keeps the expansion turbine ET in a rotating state.

[0033] Furthermore, while the first closed-open state basically means the fully closed state, from the perspective of maintaining rotation at the lowest rotational speed without stopping the rotation of the expansion turbine ET even in the first closed-open state, it also includes maintaining a predetermined closed-side opening (for example, an opening of a few percent). The first open position basically means the fully open position, but from the perspective of the processing capacity of the expansion turbine ET, it also includes maintaining an open position that is closer to the closed position than the fully open position. Here, it is preferable that the accumulator non-power generation control and the release pressure power generation control be performed, for example, during nighttime hours when the amount of gas used on the secondary side of the pressure regulating device RV is relatively low.

[0034] When the control device S performs non-power generation control for pressure accumulation, for example, the gas flow state shown in Figure 3 is achieved, and the gas pressurized by the compressor C is pumped between the compressor C and the first on-off valve V1 in the first bypass piping H2, thereby accumulating pressure. That is, the piping between the compressor C and the first on-off valve V1 in the first bypass piping H2 functions as a pressure accumulation piping H2a (piping within the range of L1 in the drawing) where pressure is accumulated. On the other hand, when the control device S performs pressure release power generation control, for example, the gas flow state shown in Figure 4 is achieved, and the gas stored in the pressure accumulating pipe H2a is released by expanding through the expansion turbine ET, generating electricity in the generator E and generating cold energy in the cold energy recovery heat exchanger EX1. In this embodiment, since the expansion turbine ET is located at the outlet of the first on-off valve V1 of the first bypass piping H2, in the pressure release power generation control, the control device S sets the first on-off valve V1 to a first open state to release the gas pressure accumulated in the first bypass piping H2 and put the expansion turbine ET into a power generation state.

[0035] Incidentally, in the gas flow state shown in Figure 4, gas is guided to compressor C and compressor C is driven, and gas is stored in the accumulating pipe H2a. However, in the discharge power generation control, compressor C does not need to be driven. Furthermore, in the discharge power generation control, when an abnormality is detected in the main gas pipe H1, the pressure in the accumulating pipe H2a is controlled to reach the lower limit pressure value for discharge power generation (for example, a pressure of 3.0 MPa or higher) in order to quickly supply gas to the downstream side (secondary side) using the first bypass pipe H2. With the above control, the first bypass pipe H2 (pressure accumulating pipe H2a) will function as a battery, and it is assumed that it can achieve a storage capacity of 10 MWh or more, for example, based on the capacity of the first bypass pipe H2 currently in operation in Japan. The differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment 100 also functions well as a backup battery during disasters.

[0036] Now, when the control device S is switched to accumulator non-power generation control, it can control the compressor C to be driven only if the pressure on its primary side (the pressure upstream of the upstream connection G1 between the main gas pipe H1 and the first bypass pipe H2) falls below a predetermined pressure. For example, when the control device S is switched to non-power generation control for accumulating gas, if the pressure upstream of the upstream connection G1 between the main gas pipe H1 and the first bypass pipe H2 falls below the first pressure boosting threshold (for example, a pressure of about 1 MPa to 4 MPa) which is less than the above-mentioned design allowable pressure of the first bypass pipe H2, the control device S drives the compressor C to boost the gas in the first bypass pipe H2 and performs pressure boosting control. This allows for energy storage when the primary pressure is relatively low, by boosting it to a pressure suitable for storage above the first boost threshold and storing it in the first bypass pipe H2 (storage pipe H2a). On the other hand, when the primary pressure is high, above the first boost threshold, the gas at the primary pressure is stored directly in the first bypass pipe H2 (storage pipe H2a) without driving the compressor C, thus achieving energy-efficient storage that does not require external power supply.

[0037] Furthermore, the differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment 100 according to this embodiment is equipped with a pressure regulating device RV to maintain the secondary pressure at a set pressure. However, the pressure regulating device RV cannot control the secondary pressure to the desired pressure (set pressure) unless the secondary pressure is equal to or greater than the set pressure. Therefore, the control device S performs accumulator non-power generation control and discharge power generation control so that the pressure regulating device RV maintains the primary side pressure at or above the set pressure. To elaborate, when the control device S is performing non-power generation control for accumulating pressure, in other words, when the first switching valve K1 is in the bypass distribution state and the first on-off valve V1 is in the first closed-open state, and gas is not supplied to the upstream side (primary side) of the pressure regulating device RV, and the pressure measured by the first pressure gauge P1 is less than the set pressure, the control device S performs either a first switching control to switch the first switching valve K1 from the bypass distribution state to the main distribution state, or a second switching control to switch the first on-off valve V1 from the first closed-open state to the first open-open state. In this case, the control device S may perform both the first and second switching controls.

[0038] Furthermore, the differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment 100 according to this embodiment can improve the flexibility of the installation location of the differential pressure power generation cooling and heat generation units SEC1 and SEC2 (and the corresponding computing processing units CS1 and CS2), and is configured as follows to contribute to energy conservation and decarbonization by using the electricity and cooling generated during differential pressure power generation for computing processing of the computing processing units CS1 and CS2 of data centers and the like, where high demand is expected in the future.

[0039] The control device S performs gas demand forecasting control, which forecasts the gas demand downstream of each differential pressure power generation cooling unit, and cooling amount forecasting control, which forecasts the predicted amount of cooling generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit based on the gas demand forecast, before the forecast period. In addition, it performs cooling amount tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates the calculation amount to multiple calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 in a manner that associates the predicted amount of cooling per unit time during the forecast period, which is generated by calculations performed in calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2, with the predicted amount of cooling per unit time during the forecast period, which is generated by the calculations performed in the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2, by the cooling amount forecasting control. More specifically, in the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, the control device S allocates calculation amounts to multiple calculation processing units such that the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 is equal to the absolute value of the heating quantity per unit time during the prediction period generated by the calculations performed in each of the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2. In this specification, for example, the case in which the absolute value of the amount of heat generated when calculations are performed in the arithmetic processing unit CS1 is equal to the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy generated in the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit SEC1 means that they are equal when the partition unit CS1c of the arithmetic processing unit CS1, described later, is in a fully closed state (opening degree is zero).

[0040] As will be explained in more detail later, if there is an upper limit to the amount of calculations that can be allocated, the control device S can also allocate calculations to multiple arithmetic processing units CS1 and CS2 in the cold energy tracking calculation allocation control such that the absolute value of the predicted cold energy per unit time during the prediction period, generated by the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation units SEC1 and SEC2 through cold energy prediction control, is smaller than the absolute value of the heat energy per unit time during the prediction period, generated by the calculations performed by the arithmetic processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation units SEC1 and SEC2.

[0041] Here, for example, the control device S stores gas in the pressure accumulator piping H2a in a manner that executes the above-mentioned pressure accumulator non-power generation control during periods of relatively low (or zero) gas demand, and generates electricity and cooling in the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 in a manner that executes the above-mentioned pressure release power generation control during periods of high gas demand.

[0042] Incidentally, the control device S can control the amount of cold energy generated in the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation units SEC1 and SEC2 by controlling the opening degree of the first on-off valve V1, for example, the flow rate of gas passing through the expansion turbine ET. Furthermore, in the differential pressure power generation cooling sections SEC1 and SEC2, the first bypass piping H2 may be composed of multiple branch pipes, and each branch pipe may be equipped with a first on-off valve V1 and an expansion turbine ET, and the control device S may control the open / closed state of the first on-off valve V1 for each branch pipe, thereby controlling the amount of cooling generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling sections SEC1 and SEC2.

[0043] Next, we will explain the arithmetic processing units CS1 and CS2 based on Figure 5. Since the arithmetic processing units CS1 and CS2 have essentially the same configuration, we will use the arithmetic processing unit CS1 as an example in the following explanation.

[0044] One arithmetic processing unit CS1 is provided in a configuration in which an arithmetic processing unit CS1d that performs calculations is installed inside the housing CS1e. Inside the housing CS1e, there is a partition CS1c that separates a cold energy receiving space CS1b that receives cold energy supplied from the differential pressure power generation cold energy generating unit SEC1 and guides it to the arithmetic processing unit CS1d, and a waste heat discharge space CS1a through which waste heat from the arithmetic processing unit CS1d is discharged. The partition CS1c is configured to be switchable between a closed state (as shown in Figure 5(a)) and an open state (as shown in Figure 5(b)) between the cold energy receiving space CS1b and the waste heat discharge space CS1a, and in the open state, the degree of opening (α in Figure 5(b)) is adjustable.

[0045] In the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, the control device S executes an opening degree adjustment control to control the opening degree of the partition section CS1c to the open side if the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2 exceeds the absolute value of the maximum heating quantity corresponding to the maximum calculation amount that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2, based on the cooling quantity prediction control. More specifically, in opening degree adjustment control, the control device S controls the opening degree of the partition section CS1c to a larger degree if, by predicting the amount of cold energy, the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy per unit time during the prediction period in each differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit SEC1 and SEC2 exceeds the absolute value of the maximum amount of heat corresponding to the maximum amount of calculation that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation units SEC1 and SEC2. The larger the amount of heat obtained by subtracting the absolute value of the maximum amount of heat from the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy, the larger the opening degree of the partition section CS1c. In this way, by increasing the opening of the partition section CS1c, the heat exchange efficiency between the heat generated by the processing unit CS1 and the cold heat introduced to the processing unit CS1 is reduced, allowing the cold heat to be processed appropriately without supplying external thermal energy, even when there is an excess of cold heat relative to the heat.

[0046] As explained above, the differential pressure power generation-integrated calculation equipment 100 according to this embodiment performs various controls based on the amount of cooling (predicted amount of cooling), but this amount of cooling (predicted amount of cooling) fluctuates under the influence of the outside temperature. Therefore, the differential pressure power generation-integrated calculation equipment 100 according to this embodiment performs the following controls. The control device S is configured to acquire the outside temperature for each unit time during the prediction period, and in the cooling energy prediction control, it performs predicted cooling energy correction control in which the absolute value of the predicted cooling energy for each unit time during the prediction period is corrected in such a way that the higher the outside temperature, the smaller the predicted cooling energy.

[0047] Next, an example of the control flow of the control method will be described based on Figure 6. First, the control device S performs gas demand forecasting control to predict the gas demand for each forecast period (#01), and then performs cold energy quantity forecasting control to predict the amount of cold energy to be generated in the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation units SEC1 and SEC2, respectively, based on the predicted gas demand (#02). Next, the control device S corrects the predicted amount of cooling energy based on the ambient temperature per unit time during the prediction period (#03). In this control flow, the predicted amount of cooling energy thereafter refers to the corrected predicted amount of cooling energy. Next, the control device S performs a cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates the calculation amount to the multiple calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 so that the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 is equal to the absolute value of the heating quantity per unit time during the prediction period generated by the calculations performed in each of the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 (#04).

[0048] Subsequently, in the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, if the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period for each differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2 exceeds the absolute value of the maximum heating quantity corresponding to the maximum calculation amount that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2 (Yes in #05), the control device S executes an opening degree adjustment control to control the opening degree of the partition unit CS1c to the open side (#06). On the other hand, in the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, the control device S does not perform opening degree adjustment control to control the opening degree of the partition section CS1c to the open side if the absolute value of the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2, determined by the cooling quantity prediction control, is less than or equal to the absolute value of the maximum heating quantity corresponding to the maximum calculation amount that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 and SEC2 (No in #05).

[0049] Subsequently, the control device S operates the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 so that the predicted amount of cooling is generated at each unit time during the prediction period, and the calculation amounts corresponding to the predicted amount of cooling are executed in the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 respectively (#07).

[0050] [Another embodiment] (1) In the above embodiment, if the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy exceeds the absolute value of the maximum amount of cold energy, which is a predetermined maximum amount of cold energy that can be processed by the equipment, the control device may perform control to adjust the absolute value of the predicted amount of cold energy to be equal to the absolute value of the maximum amount of cold energy. When this control is performed, the control device S adjusts the amount of cooling by opening and closing the first on-off valve V1 to adjust the amount of gas expanded by the expansion turbine ET. Furthermore, the amount of cooling may be adjusted by providing multiple first bypass pipes, each equipped with a differential pressure power generation cooling unit, and switching between an open and closed state of a first on-off valve provided in each first bypass pipe.

[0051] (2) In the above embodiment, a compressor C for pressurizing the gas supplied to the first bypass pipe H2 is provided on the upstream side of the first bypass pipe H2, but the compressor C does not necessarily have to be provided. In this case, the primary pressure gas is directly guided to the first bypass pipe H2 from the upstream side of the main gas pipe H1, thereby accumulating pressure in the first bypass pipe H2. In addition, when accumulating pressure in the first bypass pipe H2, the control device S may be configured to pre-increase the gas pressure supplied to the main gas pipe H1 in the gas supply equipment (not shown) that supplies gas upstream of the main gas pipe H1. Incidentally, in the configuration of the other embodiment (2), it is possible to achieve this without pre-increasing the pressure on the upstream side of the main gas piping H1 (the primary side of the first switching valve K1).

[0052] (3) In the above embodiment, a configuration including a chiller T was shown, but the chiller T is not necessarily required. For example, with respect to the configuration related to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1, if it is possible to control the absolute value of the predicted amount of cooling in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit SEC1 to be equal to the absolute value of the amount of heating generated by the calculation processing unit CS1 at each unit time of a predetermined prediction period, then a configuration without a chiller T can be adopted.

[0053] (4) In the above embodiment, the arithmetic processing unit CS1 is shown as having an internal space separated by a partition CS1c into a cold heat receiving space CS1b and a heat exhaust space CS1a. However, a configuration without the partition CS1c may also be adopted.

[0054] (5) The control device S may perform the following controls regarding the power generated by the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2, respectively. In other words, the control device S performs power generation prediction control before the prediction period, which predicts the power generated by the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 based on the gas demand forecast for each predetermined prediction period. In the cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, if the power generated per unit time during the prediction period by one of the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2 exceeds the power consumption when the calculation is performed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling units SEC1 and SEC2, the control device S may perform power sales control to guide the power generated exceeding the power consumption to the commercial power grid (not shown) and sell it, or it may perform power cooling control to use the amount of heat generated by the calculation processing units CS1 and CS2 as cooling power to cool it. The control device S should execute power sales control if the revenue from power sales in power sales control is greater than or equal to the revenue from cooling operations in power cooling control, and execute power cooling control if the revenue from power sales in power sales control is less than the revenue from cooling operations in power cooling control. Here, electricity sales revenue is defined as the "spot electricity sales price per kW of electricity sold" per unit time (e.g., 30 minutes), and cooling operation revenue is defined as the "cost incurred when performing power cooling control using purchased electricity (spot electricity purchase price per kW)" per unit time (e.g., 30 minutes).

[0055] (6) In the above embodiment, the first switching valve K1 is exemplified as being composed of one three-way switching valve. The first switching valve K1 may be composed of, for example, an on-off valve for opening and closing the main gas pipe H1 and an on-off valve for opening and closing the first bypass pipe H2. The same applies to the second switching valve K2; it may be composed of two switching valves instead of a single three-way switching valve.

[0056] (7) The equipment for energy storage consisting of a compressor C and a drive motor M, and the equipment for discharge consisting of an expansion turbine ET and a generator E, may each be configured to consist of multiple units.

[0057] (8) In the above embodiment, the first pressure gauge P1 and the second pressure gauge P2 do not necessarily have to be provided. In this case, the control device S does not perform control based on the pressure measured by the first pressure gauge P1 and the second pressure gauge P2.

[0058] (9) In the above embodiment, the differential pressure power generation combined calculation equipment 100 does not necessarily have to be equipped with a pressure regulating device RV.

[0059] (10) In the above embodiment, the cooling recovery heat exchanger EX1 is configured to exchange heat between the gas flowing through the first bypass pipe H2 and the heat medium flowing through the first heat medium passage H5. Alternatively, the cooling recovery heat exchanger EX1 may be configured to exchange heat between the gas flowing through the first bypass pipe H2 and the air in the cooling receiving space CS1b of the computing processing units CS1 and CS2.

[0060] Furthermore, the configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, provided that no inconsistencies arise. Moreover, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the object of the present invention. [Industrial applicability]

[0061] The differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment and control method according to the present invention can improve the flexibility of the installation location of the differential pressure power generation cooling / heating unit, and can be effectively utilized as a differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment and control method that can contribute to energy conservation and decarbonization by using the electricity and cooling / heat generated during differential pressure power generation for computing processing in data centers and the like, where high demand is expected in the future. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0062] 100: Differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment CS1, CS2: Arithmetic processing units CS1a: Heat dissipation space CS1b:Cold / heat receiving space CS1c: Partition section CS1d: Processing Unit CS1e: Enclosure E: Generator ET: Expansion Turbine EX1:Cold heat recovery heat exchanger H1: Main gas piping H2: First bypass piping S: Control device SEC1, SEC2: Differential pressure power generation and cooling / heat generation section

Claims

1. The differential pressure power generation and integrated computing equipment comprises a main gas pipe through which gas supplied from the upstream side can flow, and a first bypass pipe through which gas can flow in a manner that bypasses the main gas pipe in the event of an abnormality in the main gas pipe, wherein the first bypass pipe is configured to store the pressure of the gas flowing through the main gas pipe, Multiple differential pressure power generation and cold energy generation units are provided, distributed within the laying area of ​​the main gas piping, each unit having a first bypass pipe, an expansion turbine that expands by passing the gas stored in the first bypass pipe through it, a generator that generates electricity using the shaft output of the expansion turbine, and a cold energy recovery heat exchanger capable of recovering the cold energy of the gas expanded at the outlet of the expansion turbine in the first bypass pipe. Each of the multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling generation units is equipped with a separate arithmetic processing unit that is supplied with power generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit, and also with cooling generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit. The system includes a control device that performs, before each predetermined forecast period, a gas demand forecast control that forecasts the gas demand downstream of each differential pressure power generation cooling unit, and a cooling amount forecast control that forecasts the amount of cooling to be generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit based on the gas demand forecast. The control device is a differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment that performs a cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates calculation amounts to a plurality of computing devices in such a manner that the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units corresponds to the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit, based on the cooling quantity prediction control.

2. The differential pressure power generation integrated calculation equipment according to claim 1, wherein the control device, in the cold energy amount tracking calculation allocation control, allocates the calculation amount to a plurality of calculation processing units such that the absolute value of the predicted cold energy amount per unit time in the prediction period at each of the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation units is less than or equal to the absolute value of the heat energy amount per unit time in the prediction period generated by the calculations processed by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit.

3. One of the aforementioned arithmetic processing units is provided in a configuration in which an arithmetic processing unit for performing calculations is installed inside a housing, and inside the housing there is a partition that separates a cold energy receiving space that receives cold energy supplied from the differential pressure power generation cold energy generation unit and guides it to the arithmetic processing unit, and a heat exhaust space through which waste heat from the arithmetic processing unit is discharged. The partition section is configured to allow adjustment of the degree of opening between the cold heat receiving space and the heat exhaust space. The control device, in the cooling amount tracking calculation allocation control, executes an opening degree adjustment control to control the opening degree of the partition to the open side when the absolute value of the predicted cooling amount per unit time in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units during the prediction period exceeds the absolute value of the maximum heating amount corresponding to the maximum calculation amount that can be processed per unit time in the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit during the prediction period, as described in claim 1 or 2.

4. The control device, in the opening degree adjustment control, controls the opening degree of the partition to be larger the larger the amount of heat obtained by subtracting the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the heat from the absolute value of the heat from the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold generation unit, when the absolute value of the predicted cold amount per unit time during the prediction period exceeds the absolute value of the maximum amount of heat that can be processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cold generation unit.

5. The control device performs power generation prediction control before each predetermined prediction period to predict the power generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit based on the gas demand forecast, The control device, in the cooling and heat quantity tracking calculation allocation control, if the power generated per unit time during the prediction period in one of the differential pressure power generation cooling and heat generation units exceeds the power consumption when the calculation is processed per unit time during the prediction period by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling and heat generation unit, executes a power sales control to guide the power generated exceeding the power consumption to the commercial power grid and sell it, or executes a power cooling control to use the heat generated by the calculation processing unit as cooling power to cool it, as described in claim 1 or 2.

6. The control device executes the power sales control if the revenue from power sales in the power sales control is equal to or greater than the revenue from cooling operations in the power cooling control. The differential pressure power generation combined computing equipment according to claim 5, wherein the power sales revenue in the power sales control is less than the cooling operation revenue in the power cooling control, and the power cooling control is executed.

7. The differential pressure power generation-integrated computing equipment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device is configured to acquire the outside temperature for each unit time during the prediction period, and in the cold energy quantity prediction control, it performs a predicted cold energy quantity correction control that corrects the absolute value of the predicted cold energy quantity for each unit time during the prediction period in such a way that the higher the outside temperature, the smaller the predicted cold energy quantity.

8. The invention relates to a main gas pipe through which gas supplied from the upstream side can flow, and a first bypass pipe through which gas can flow in a manner that bypasses the main gas pipe in the event of an abnormality in the main gas pipe, wherein the first bypass pipe is configured to store the pressure of the gas flowing through the main gas pipe. Multiple differential pressure power generation and cold energy generation units are provided, distributed within the laying area of ​​the main gas piping, each unit having a first bypass pipe, an expansion turbine that expands by passing the gas stored in the first bypass pipe through it, a generator that generates electricity using the shaft output of the expansion turbine, and a cold energy recovery heat exchanger capable of recovering the cold energy of the gas expanded at the outlet of the expansion turbine in the first bypass pipe. A control method for a differential pressure power generation integrated computing equipment, comprising a separate computing processing unit for each of the multiple differential pressure power generation and cooling generation units, which is supplied with power generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit, and also supplied with cooling generated in the corresponding differential pressure power generation and cooling generation unit, Along with gas demand forecasting control that forecasts the gas demand downstream of each differential pressure power generation cooling unit for each predetermined forecast period, cooling amount forecasting control that forecasts the amount of cooling generated in the differential pressure power generation cooling unit based on the gas demand forecast is performed before the forecast period. A control method that performs a cooling quantity tracking calculation allocation control, which allocates calculation amounts to a plurality of calculation processing units in such a manner that the predicted cooling quantity per unit time during the prediction period in each of the differential pressure power generation cooling units corresponds to the heating quantity per unit time during the prediction period, generated by calculations performed by the calculation processing unit corresponding to the differential pressure power generation cooling unit, based on the cooling quantity prediction control.

Images