Self-contained high-energy-density computing system and method of use

Abstract

A self-contained blockchain mining and high energy density computing system comprises a cryogenic heat engine (LTHE) with a working fluid loop extending between a heat source and a heat sink; a blockchain mining device connected to receive electricity generated from the LTHE; and a coolant loop extending between the blockchain mining device and the working fluid loop (heat exchanger). A self-contained high energy density computing data center (HEDC) is disclosed, comprising: an LTHE with a working fluid loop extending between a heat source and a heat sink; an HEDC device connected to receive electricity generated from the LTHE; a heat exchanger in the shape of a working fluid loop; and a coolant loop extending between the HEDC device and the working fluid loop (heat exchanger). A method is also disclosed, comprising: generating electricity using a cryogenic heat engine (LTHE); using the electricity generated by the LTHE to operate the HEDC device and execute a computer process; and cooling the HEDC device by heat exchange with the working fluid of the LTHE.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification relates to a self - contained high - energy - density computing system, a blockchain mining system, and related methods of use.

Background Art

[0002] The following paragraphs do not admit that what is discussed therein is prior art or part of the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0003] Traditional data centers typically prioritize reliability, flexibility, scalability, availability, ease of use, and security, focusing on providing scalable computing resources, storage, and networking services to support a variety of general-purpose multi-tenant applications and workloads. High energy density computing (HEDC) data centers are specialized and optimized for computationally intensive tasks such as blockchain mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large-scale language model (LLM) training, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), neural networks, and global climate modeling. HEDC systems prioritize pure computing power by utilizing dedicated hardware configurations such as high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), central processing units (CPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) optimized to accelerate HEDC's unique computing tasks, which are disadvantageous for general-purpose computing. HEDC systems require enormous amounts of energy and cooling technology to operate properly. In many HEDC applications, such as blockchain mining, the system's operation is uneconomical because the cost of electricity is close to or greater than the potential revenue derived from the computing activity. Bitcoin is the most famous blockchain system in existence, an example of a decentralized digital currency that operates independently of a central bank and uses cryptography (authenticated through the mining process) to protect and verify transactions on a public ledger called the blockchain. Bitcoin requires a great deal of energy to operate because its mining process involves solving complex mathematical problems that require enormous computing power. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a renewable energy technology that generates electricity by utilizing the temperature difference between seawater and ocean. OTEC has the potential to provide a clean, sustainable, and important source of power. However, conventional OTEC projects have not been able to provide scalable, reliable, and cost-effective power solutions, and have therefore not become widespread globally. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A self-contained high-energy-density computing data center (HEDC) system is disclosed, comprising: a cryogenic heat engine (LTHE) with a working fluid loop extending between a heat source and a heat sink; an HEDC device connected to receive electricity generated from the LTHE; a heat exchanger on the working fluid loop; and a coolant loop extending between the HEDC device and the working fluid loop (heat exchanger).

[0006] Methods are also disclosed that include: generating electricity using a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE); using the electricity generated by the LTHE to operate an HEDC device and perform computer processing; and cooling the HEDC device by heat exchange with the working fluid of the LTHE.

[0007] A self-contained high-energy-density computing system is also disclosed, comprising: a cryogenic heat engine (LTHE) with a working fluid loop extending between a heat source and a heat sink; a data center connected to receive electricity generated from the LTHE; a heat exchanger on the working fluid loop; and a coolant loop extending between the data center and the heat exchanger.

[0008] Methods are also disclosed, including: generating electricity using a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE); using the electricity generated by the LTHE to power a high-energy-density computing (HEDC) device and perform data center processing; and cooling the HEDC device by heat exchange with the working fluid of the LTHE.

[0009] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to the fields of energy conversion and computing, and more specifically to cryogenic heat engines and high energy density computing. More specifically, some embodiments relate to systems that improve the efficiency of cryogenic heat engines by reintegrating heat generated from high energy density computing powered by the heat engine. In some cases, this disclosure combines the two technologies of cryogenic heat engines and high energy density computing to create a synergistic system that maximizes energy efficiency and reduces waste. The system can use the waste heat generated by high energy density computing as a heat source in the cryogenic heat engine, creating a single closed-loop system that improves the overall efficiency of both technologies. This disclosure provides a solution to the challenge of effectively utilizing waste heat from high energy density computing in cryogenic heat engines, and contributes to the field of energy conversion by creating a more sustainable and efficient energy system.

[0010] In some cases, a method is disclosed for using a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE) to extract power from a low-initial-temperature heat source and power a high-energy-density computing data center (HEDC), where the waste heat generated by the HEDC subsystem is returned to the LTHE subsystem using a heat transfer medium and a heat exchange power plant. The use of a coupled HEDC-LTHE as described can provide an efficient and cost-effective cooling solution for HEDC systems compared to conventional cooling methods, increasing efficiency while reducing the cost of the LTHE.

[0011] In some cases, the disclosed embodiments provide one or more of the following: a single system of a fully integrated design; a computing device that is part of a heat engine; an improved cryogenic heat engine device; a ship-based HEDC system; a method of navigating a ship while towing (i.e., moving) in bodies of water such as the ocean; ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) processes; power generation and data processing systems that are not always connected to land, or do not require land connection; low-latency / low-bandwidth data connectivity; satellite operating systems; modular designs; containerized HEDC systems; immersion cooling technology for HEDC systems; equatorial centralized OTEC systems; the ability to modify used or existing ships to perform the above processes; remotely operated systems; deep-sea systems; systems that perform internal computing rather than cloud computing; Bitcoin mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large-scale language models (LLM) Decarbonization methods for Bitcoin, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and / or neural network-specific hardware, high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), central processing units (CPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) information technology (IT) equipment optimized to accelerate specific computational tasks of HEDC; Bitcoin mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large-scale language model (LLM) training, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and / or neural network and OTEC technologies; and Bitcoin, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large-scale language model (LLM) training, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and / or neural networks.

[0012] In various embodiments, one or more of the following features may be included: The HEDC comprises a task-specific configuration of processors including one or more of the following: high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) arranged and interconnected to optimize performance for specific computing tasks. The HEDC includes a blockchain mining device. The HEDC is configured to perform one or more of the following operations: artificial intelligence, machine learning, large-scale language models, generative AI, neural networks, and supercomputing. The LTHE comprises turbomachinery connected to generate electricity for the HEDC device. The heat exchanger is located on a working fluid loop upstream of the turbomachinery. The turbomachinery comprises multiple turbomachinery units. The multiple turbomachinery units include: a first turbomachinery unit downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger; a second turbomachinery unit downstream of the heat exchanger but upstream of the heat sink. A heat source heat exchanger is located between the heat source and the working fluid loop; the working fluid loop is configured to circulate the working fluid in series from the heat source heat exchanger to the first turbomachinery, back to the heat source heat exchanger, and to the second turbomachinery. The system has a gas-liquid separator on the working fluid loop downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachinery, configured to separate the working fluid into: a vaporized flow supplied to the turbomachinery; and a liquefied flow supplied to the heat exchanger and then to the turbomachinery. The heat exchanger and coolant loop are configured to superheat the working fluid in the working fluid loop. The controller is configured to operate the LTHE and coolant loop to maintain the processor of the HEDC device within a safe operating temperature range. The working fluid contains ammonia. One or more circulation pumps are located on the coolant loop or the working fluid loop. A heat source heat exchanger is located between the heat source and the working fluid loop; a heat sink heat exchanger is located between the heat sink and the working fluid loop. The heat exchanger is connected downstream of the heat source heat exchanger. The LTHE will execute the ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process. The system will form a facility where the HEDC device and the LTHE are placed side by side.The facility forms a boat. The HEDC device includes multiple processors connected to a network interface; the network interface is connected to send and receive data over the internet. The HEDC includes a blockchain mining device; the network interface is connected to a peer-to-peer network which stores, or has access to, a blockchain database, which is a distributed database stored on multiple nodes in the peer-to-peer network and stores transaction information for digital currency; the processors are also connected to the network interface and are adapted to mine transactions associated with the blockchain database and to communicate with the blockchain database. The HEDC device is powered using electricity generated from the LTHE. Power generation includes circulating working fluid around the working fluid loop of the LTHE between a heat source and a turbomachinery and a heat sink. Cooling includes circulating coolant around a coolant loop between the HEDC device and a heat exchanger located on the working fluid loop upstream of the turbomachinery. The turbomachinery includes a first turbomachinery and a second turbomachinery; the working fluid is circulated between: the first turbomachinery, which is downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger; and the second turbomachinery, which is downstream of the heat exchanger but upstream of the heat sink. The working fluid loop circulates in series, entering the first turbomachinery from the heat source heat exchanger, returning to the heat source heat exchanger, and entering the second turbomachinery. Circulating the working fluid includes: circulating the working fluid. The process involves circulating the working fluid from a heat source to a gas-liquid separator on a working fluid loop downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachinery, and separating the working fluid using the gas-liquid separator into: a vaporized flow supplied to the turbomachinery and a liquefied flow supplied to a heat exchanger and then to the turbomachinery. Heat exchange with the working fluid superheats the working fluid in the working fluid loop. Cooling includes the process of maintaining the HEDC device processor within a safe operating temperature range. LTHE performs the ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process. This method is carried out on a boat floating in the ocean. The working fluid loop contains a working fluid selected to alternate between liquid and gas phases during the loop cycle. The working fluid loop is configured to circulate the working fluid in series from the heat source heat exchanger to the first turbomachinery and to the heat exchanger. The safe operating temperature range is above the boiling point of the working fluid. The heat source contains relatively cold seawater, and the heat sink contains relatively warm seawater. The OTEC plant is configured to operate to generate electricity while moving along the surface of the ocean. The input power of the HEDC device is adjusted to balance other loads powered by the LTHE.

[0013] The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize any or all of the potential embodiments of the subject matter of this disclosure. These and other embodiments of the apparatus and methods are described in the claims.

[0014] Embodiments are described illustratively with reference to the drawings, and similar reference numerals refer to similar components. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] These are perspective views of both onshore ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and high-energy-density computing (HEDC) facilities, as well as offshore OTEC and HEDC facilities. [Figure 2] This is a side view of the ocean OTEC and HEDC facilities, with a graph of ocean depth overlaid on the figure for reference. [Figure 3]This schematic diagram shows a system equipped with a Low Temperature Heat Engine (LTHE), in which a single turbine system, powered by heat exchange and also supplying power for HEDC operation, uses waste heat transferred from cooling for High Energy Density Computing (HEDC) data center operation to superheat a single or double flow of working fluid. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing a modified version of the system in Figure 1, where the heat transfer medium used by the HEDC data center allows for the elimination of the coolant pump in Figure 1. [Figure 5] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system equipped with LTHE, in which a single or double flow of working fluid is reheated by waste heat transferred from HEDC data center operation by a dual turbine system that supplies power to the heat exchange power plant and HEDC data center operation. [Figure 6] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing a modified version of the system, in which a single or double flow of working fluid is reheated by a dual-flow heat exchanger in a regenerative Rankine cycle and then superheated by waste heat transferred from: HEDC operation by the heat exchanger and a dual turbine system that powers the HEDC operation. [Figure 7] An embodiment of a system with LTHE is shown, in which a single or double flow of working fluid is preheated by waste heat transmitted by a single turbine system that powers the HEDC data center operation and the HEDC data center operation by a heat exchange power plant. [Figure 8] An embodiment of a system with LTHE is shown, in which a single or double flow of dynamic fluid is partially evaporated, the gaseous and liquid components are separated by a gas-liquid separator, and the liquid flow is completely evaporated by HEDC operation by a heat exchanger and waste heat transferred from a single turbine system that powers the HEDC operation. [Figure 9] This is a perspective view of a blockchain mining processor, an example of a HEDC device, which is an exemplary form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) processor for Bitcoin mining. [Figure 10]Schematic diagram of a coolant loop, a heat exchanger, and a HEDC device connected for heat exchange with the working fluid loop of LTHE.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Without departing from what is encompassed by the claims, modifications that are not essential to the embodiments described herein can be made.

[0017] In thermodynamics and engineering, a heat engine is a system that can convert heat into useful energy, particularly mechanical energy, and then use it to do mechanical work. The concept of a heat engine was originally considered in the context of mechanical energy, but has been applied to various other types of energy, particularly electrical energy, since at least the second half of the 19th century. A heat engine does this by transferring a working fluid from a high-temperature state to a lower-temperature state, and in some cases by causing the fluid to undergo a phase transition. The heat source generates thermal energy and brings the working substance to a high-temperature state. The working substance generates work in the engine's actuator while transferring heat to a cooler sink until it reaches a low-temperature state. During this process, a portion of the thermal energy is converted into work by exploiting the properties of the working substance. The working substance can be any system with a non-zero heat capacity, but is usually a gas or a liquid. During this process, typically some of the heat is lost to the surroundings and not converted into work. Also, some energy is unusable due to friction and drag.

[0018] Generally speaking, an engine is any machine that converts energy into mechanical work, and a heat engine is no exception. Heat engines are distinguished from other types of engines by the fact that their efficiency is essentially limited by Carnot's theorem. While this limitation of efficiency can be a drawback, the advantage of a heat engine is that most forms of energy can be readily converted into heat through processes such as exothermic reactions (combustion, etc.), nuclear fission, absorption of light or energy particles, friction, dissipation, and resistance. Thus, since the heat source that supplies thermal energy to an engine can be powered by virtually any kind of energy, heat engines cover a wide range of applications. Heat engines are often confused with the cycles they attempt to perform. Typically, the term "engine" is used for the "cycles" of physical devices and models.

[0019] A heat engine may implement a Rankine cycle, an idealized thermodynamic cycle that describes the process by which certain heat engines, such as steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines, allow mechanical work to be extracted from a fluid as it moves between a heat source and a heat sink. Thermal energy is often supplied to the system via a boiler, and the working fluid (typically water) is converted into a high-pressure gaseous state (such as steam) to rotate the turbine. After passing through the turbine, the fluid condenses back into a liquid state, completing the cycle, as waste heat energy is removed before it is returned to the boiler. Friction losses throughout the system are often ignored for the sake of simplifying calculations, as such losses are usually far less significant than thermodynamic losses, especially in large systems.

[0020] Low-temperature heat engines (LTHEs) are gaining increasing attention as a promising technology for utilizing low-grade heat sources and converting them into usable energy. LTHEs include those that operate below 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point of water). In the context of OTEC, LTHEs can operate below 30 degrees Celsius. They are designed to operate at significantly lower temperatures than conventional heat engines, making them more efficient and cost-effective when utilizing low-grade heat sources such as renewable energy and waste heat.

[0021] Despite the advantages of low-temperature heat engines, their efficiency is often limited by the low temperature of the heat source and the low conversion efficiency of the heat engines themselves. A low temperature of the heat source means that less energy is available to be converted into useful work, and thus the conversion efficiency is lower. Furthermore, low-temperature heat engines can also face technical challenges such as corrosion, scaling, and material degradation, which can further reduce their efficiency. To overcome these challenges and improve the efficiency of low-temperature heat engines, a system that can effectively utilize low-grade heat sources and convert them into useful energy is needed. An additional factor that leads to a further decrease in the overall thermodynamic efficiency of low-temperature heat engines is the loss associated with providing the control necessary for the turbine for the precise frequency regulation required to deliver power to the power grid. This results in pressure losses in the turbine cycle and further limits the work that can be extracted from the system.

[0022] On the other hand, high energy density computing requires a considerable amount of energy to power the computer, generating heat as a byproduct. This waste heat is typically treated as a burden due to the cost of the cooling system required to remove it from the computer system to prevent overheating. However, this waste heat can also be beneficial if utilized effectively. HEDC systems can be referred to as a type of data center, which is an example of a computing system typically housed in a building, a dedicated space within a building, a group of buildings, or a modular container. Conventional data centers may be used to house computer systems and related components, such as telecommunications systems and storage systems, and are typically focused on providing scalable general-purpose computing resources, storage, and networking services to support a variety of general-purpose multi-tenant applications and workloads where reliability, flexibility, scalability, availability, ease of use, and security are prioritized. HEDC data centers, on the other hand, are specifically built and optimized for computationally intensive tasks such as blockchain mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large-scale language model (LLM) training, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), neural networks, and global climate modeling. HEDC systems prioritize raw computing power by utilizing dedicated hardware configurations of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), central processing units (CPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) optimized to accelerate specific computing tasks of the HEDC at the expense of general-purpose computing. Because information technology (IT) operations are critical to business continuity, data centers generally include redundant or backup components and infrastructure for power, data communication connectivity, environmental control (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression), and various security devices. Large-scale data centers are industrial-scale operations using as much electricity as a small city.

[0023] The HEDC system may be designed to operate with a heat transfer medium and system that transfers waste heat generated by an LTHE subsystem-powered HEDC subsystem to a working fluid used in the thermodynamic cycle of the LTHE subsystem, in a heat exchange power plant that constitutes a composite single closed-loop system that does not require external electrical connections. The heat transfer medium used in the HEDC subsystem of this disclosure may be a gas, liquid, or a two-phase system of a single-component or multi-component composition, depending on the optimal temperature and pressure for the HEDC application. The working fluid of the LTHE used in this disclosure may be a single-component flow or a multi-component flow of multiple different compositions. This disclosure relates, in some cases, to a system for a low initial temperature heat source in small to large power plants, which combines an LTHE subsystem, which includes at least one turbine adapted to convert a portion of the thermal energy contained in at least one partially or completely vaporized flow into work, with an HEDC subsystem, which includes a heat transfer medium and a transfer system, which is powered by the LTHE subsystem and adapted to transfer waste heat generated by electrical devices used in the HEDC subsystem to the LTHE subsystem.

[0024] HEDC systems can be used to run blockchain database system processes such as cryptocurrency mining. Cryptocurrency (or cryptocurrency) is a digital asset designed to function as a medium of exchange using strong cryptography to ensure the security of financial transactions, control the generation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrency uses decentralized control, in contrast to centralized digital currency and centralized banking systems. The decentralized control of each cryptocurrency operates through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain that functions as a public financial transaction database.

[0025] A blockchain is a form of database that can be stored as a distributed ledger within a network of nodes that maintain a continuously growing list of records called blocks. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to the previous block. The data within a block cannot be retrospectively altered without enormous computational effort and consensus by majority vote of the network. Through the use of a peer-to-peer network and distributed timestamp servers, the blockchain database is managed autonomously. While the management of Bitcoin currency is currently the primary use of blockchain technology, there are other use cases for blockchain technology to maintain accurate and tamper-proof databases. Examples include maintaining land deeds and records of historical events. Although the potential of blockchain technology is great, Bitcoin remains the most widely used today.

[0026] By design, blockchain is inherently resistant to data tampering (and is effectively impermeable) – once recorded, data within a block cannot be retroactively altered without network consensus. Blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties in an efficient, verifiable, and persistent manner. The ledger itself can also be programmed to automatically trigger transactions. Blockchain is an example of a distributed computing system that is secure by design and possesses high Byzantine fault tolerance. Therefore, distributed consensus can be achieved using blockchain. This makes the blockchain model suitable for recording events, medical records, and other record-keeping activities, identity management, transaction processing, and proof of origin. This offers the potential for eliminating large-scale intermediaries and broader impacts on how international trade is conducted.

[0027] Blockchain facilitates secure online transactions. A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that globally records transactions across numerous computers, preventing retroactive alteration of registered transactions. This allows participants to verify and audit transactions in an inexpensive way. Transactions are authenticated by mass cooperation driven by collective self-dialogue. The result is a robust workflow with minimal participant uncertainty regarding data security. The use of blockchain removes the infinite repeatability characteristic from digital assets. This ensures that each unit of digital currency is consumed only once, solving the long-standing problem of double-spending. Blockchain is described as a value exchange protocol. This value exchange can be completed more quickly, securely, and cheaply using blockchain. Because blockchain provides a record that enforces offerings and acceptances, ownership can be assigned. From a technical standpoint, a blockchain is a hash chain within another hash chain.

[0028] A blockchain database may contain two types of records: transactions and blocks. A block can hold a batch of valid transactions that have been hashed and encoded in a Merkle tree. Each block may contain the hash of a preceding block in the blockchain, linking the two. This form of mutation has been used previously in Git, for example, and may not be sufficient on its own to be recognized as a blockchain. Linked blocks form a chain. This iterative process checks the integrity of previous blocks until it traces back to the original originating block. Some blockchains create new blocks at a frequency of less than 5 seconds. As a blockchain ages, it is said to grow in height. Blocks are divided and structured into layers.

[0029] Separate blocks may be validated simultaneously, which can generate temporary forks. In addition to a secure hash-based history, each blockchain has a specific algorithm for scoring different versions of the history, and as a result, those with higher scores may be selected over others. Blocks that are not selected for inclusion in the chain are called orphan blocks. Peers supporting a database do not always have exactly the same version of history, but rather hold the highest-scoring version of the database they currently know of. When a peer receives a higher-scoring version (usually an older version with a single new block added), the peer expands or overwrites its own database and sends the improvement back to the peer. There is never an absolute guarantee that any particular entry will always remain in the best-selling version of the history, but because blockchains are typically built to add the score of new blocks to older blocks, and there is an incentive to only expand with new blocks rather than overwrite older blocks, the probability of an entry being overflowing decreases exponentially as more blocks are built on top of it, eventually becoming very low. For example, in a blockchain using a proof-of-work system, the chain with the most cumulative proof-of-work is always considered a valid chain by the network. In practice, there are many ways to demonstrate a sufficient level of computation. Within a blockchain, computations are performed redundantly, rather than in the traditional isolated parallel manner.

[0030] Maintaining the blockchain database is called mining, which refers to a decentralized computational review process performed for each block of data within the blockchain. This enables the achievement of consensus in an environment where no party recognizes or trusts each other. People engaged in Bitcoin mining are rewarded for their efforts with newly issued Bitcoins and transaction fees, which can be transferred to the user's digital wallet upon completion of designated tasks. Bitcoin miners can exist anywhere in the world and can be operated by anyone. Mining hardware is connected to the blockchain network via an internet connection. Therefore, the infrastructure required to operate and contribute to the system is minimal. All that is needed to become a Bitcoin miner is suitable computer hardware, an internet connection, and low-cost electricity. The cheaper the electricity, the more rewards the miner will receive compared to other competing miners.

[0031] Mining involves the process of adding transaction records to Bitcoin's public ledger of past transactions. This ledger of past transactions is essentially a chain of blocks and is therefore called a blockchain. The blockchain serves to confirm to other networks that a transaction has occurred. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to distinguish legitimate Bitcoin transactions from attempts to resell coins that have already been consumed elsewhere. Mining may be intentionally designed to be resource-intensive and difficult, so that the number of blocks found by miners each day is maintained at a stable level. Individual blocks may be required to contain proof-of-work that must be considered valid. This proof-of-work is verified by other Bitcoin nodes each time they receive a block. Currently, Bitcoin uses a hashcash proof-of-work function.

[0032] One purpose of mining is to enable Bitcoin nodes to reach a secure and tamper-proof consensus. Mining can also be the mechanism used to introduce Bitcoin into the system: miners are paid a commission on any transactions as well as a subsidy for newly issued coins. This serves both the purpose of distributing and circulating the new coins and the purpose of incentivizing people to provide security to the system. Bitcoin mining is called that because it is similar to mining other commodities: it requires effort, and the new currency is supplied slowly at a rate similar to how commodities like gold are mined from the earth.

[0033] Mining requires computational resources in the form of CPU cycles (CPU = Central Processing Unit or Central Processor) to execute cryptographic hash algorithms associated with a particular blockchain protocol. For a given mining processor, the computational load can be modified by changing the processor's core voltage or clock speed. This allows the power consumed by the mining processor to be increased or decreased, and in some embodiments herein, such modifications are described as changing the mining activity or hash rate.

[0034] As the total network computing power (or hash rate) on the blockchain increases over time, the probability of an individual miner finding a block and receiving a reward decreases. Today, the Bitcoin network is so large that most individuals engaged in Bitcoin mining typically mine in a pool using protocols such as the Stratum Mining Protocol. Pooling resources allows individual miners to increase their reward frequency, with the trade-off being that they share the block reward with the rest of the pool. Miners who perform pool mining do not need the associated equipment required to run a mining node, as they only need to compute and submit the proof-of-workshare issued by the mining pool.

[0035] The energy cost of operating blockchain mining or other HEDC equipment is a major operating cost, leading to a growing trend towards mining using low-cost hydropower. This trend is accelerating the centralization of blockchain miners in certain countries with abundant hydropower, as miners without access to cheap hydropower cannot mine profitably due to competition with those who do have access. The centralization of Bitcoin mining is occurring where low-cost hydropower is abundant. Centralization in blockchain mining is undesirable because the premise behind blockchain innovation does not require the trust of third parties and does not need to have inherent reliability and security through a decentralized network. Therefore, Bitcoin and other blockchain mining need to be further decentralized through more decentralized, low-cost power sources.

[0036] Mining is a record-keeping service primarily performed through the use of computer processing power. Miners repeatedly group newly sent transactions into blocks, which are then sent to the network and verified by receiving nodes, thus keeping the blockchain consistent, complete, and immutable. Currently, each block contains the SHA-256 cryptographic hash of the previous block, thus linking it to the previous block and giving the blockchain its name. To be accepted by the rest of the network, a new block must contain Proof of Work (PoW). PoW requires miners to find a number called a nonce (a number used only once), and as a result, when the block content is hashed with the nonce, the result must be numerically less than the network's difficulty target. This PoW is easy for any node in the network to verify, but it takes a very long time to generate. Miners must try many different nonce values ​​(usually the order of the tested values ​​is a natural number in ascending order: 0, 1, 2, 3, ...) before the result happens to be less than the difficulty target. The difficulty target is extremely small compared to a typical SHA-256 hash, so the block hash has many leading zeros, as seen in this exemplary block hash: 0000000000000000000590fc0f3ebal93a278534220b2b37e9849ela770ca959. By adjusting this difficulty target, the amount of work required to generate a block can be changed. Every 2,016 blocks (currently about 14 days, given approximately 10 minutes per block), the node determinsistically adjusts the difficulty target based on the recent block generation rate, aiming to maintain an average time of 10 minutes between new blocks. In this way, the system automatically adapts to the total amount of mining power on the network. As of April 2022, attempts to generate a block hash smaller than the difficulty target require an average of 122 quintillion (122 quadrillion) units of computation. Calculations of this magnitude are extremely costly and require specialized hardware.

[0037] The proof-of-work system, along with the chain of blocks, makes it extremely difficult to tamper with the blockchain because if an attacker alters one block, they must alter all subsequent blocks to accept it. As new blocks are continuously generated, the difficulty of altering older blocks increases over time, as the number of subsequent blocks (also called confirmations of a given block) increases.

[0038] The majority of mining power is grouped into mining pools, reducing the volatility of miners' income. Independent miners may have to work for years to mine a single block of a transaction and receive a reward. In a mining pool, all participating miners receive a reward each time any participant generates a block. This reward is proportional to the amount of work each individual miner contributes to the pool.

[0039] Decentralized cryptocurrencies are generated collectively by the entire cryptocurrency system at a rate defined and publicly known when the system is created. In centralized banking and economic systems, such as the US Federal Insurance System, a corporate committee or government controls the supply of currency. In the case of decentralized cryptocurrencies, a corporation or government cannot generate new units and, to date, has not provided backing for other companies, banks, or legal entities that hold the asset value measured within them. The underlying technology system for decentralized cryptocurrencies was created by a group or individual known as Satoshi Nakamoto. As of May 2018, there were over 1,800 cryptocurrency specifications. Within proof-of-work (PoS) cryptocurrency systems such as Bitcoin, the security, integrity, and balance of the ledger are maintained by a community of mutually untrustworthy parties called miners: miners use their computers to help verify and timestamp transactions and add them to the ledger according to a specific timestamping scheme. In proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, transactions are verified by holders of the associated cryptocurrencies and are sometimes grouped together within a stake pool. Most cryptocurrencies are designed to gradually reduce the production of their currency and impose a cap on the total amount of currency in circulation.

[44] Compared to conventional currencies held by financial institutions or held as cash on hand, cryptocurrencies may be more difficult for law enforcement to seize.

[0040] Referring to Figure 3, an example of a self-contained high energy density computing system, such as a self-contained HEDC system 10, is shown. System 10 may comprise a cryogenic heat engine (LTHE) 12, a heat exchanger 16, and a high energy density computing (HEDC) device 22, such as a blockchain mining device. For example, one or both of a coolant loop 24 and a working fluid loop 26 may be present, formed by piping. The LTHE 12 may have a working fluid loop 26 extending between a heat source, such as a heat source heat exchanger 27 and a heat sink heat exchanger 28, and a heat sink. The heat exchanger 16 may be on the working fluid loop 26. The HEDC device 22 may be connected to receive electricity generated from the LTHE 12, for example, via a power cable 40. The coolant loop 24 may extend between the HEDC device 22 and the working fluid loop 26, for example, between the device 22 and the heat exchanger 16. During use, the cryogenic heat engine (LTHE) 12 can be used to generate electricity. The HEDC device 22 may operate using electricity generated from LTHE 12, for example, to perform a blockchain mining process. The HEDC device may also be cooled simultaneously, for example, by heat exchange with the working fluid of LTHE 12.

[0041] Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a relatively obscure example of a power generation process incorporating LTHE. OTEC uses the ocean temperature gradient between colder deep-sea water and warmer shallow or surface water to power a heat engine, typically producing useful work in the form of electricity. OTEC can operate at very high capacity rates and therefore can operate in base-load mode. A denser mass of cold water, formed by the interaction of ocean surface water with cold air in very specific regions of the North Atlantic and South Ocean, sinks into a deep-sea tank and spreads throughout the deep ocean by thermohaline circulation. The rise of cold water from the deep ocean is replenished by the descending of cold surface water. Among ocean energy sources, OTEC is one of the continuously available renewable energy resources that can contribute to base-load power supply. The resource potential of OTEC is considered to be far greater than that of other forms of ocean energy. Some experts believe that up to 88,000 TWh / year of electricity could be generated from OTEC without affecting the ocean's thermal structure. OTEC systems can be either closed-cycle or open-cycle. Closed-cycle OTECs can use working fluids that are typically considered refrigerants such as ammonia or R-134a. These fluids have low boiling points and are therefore suitable for powering the system's generators to produce electricity. The most commonly used thermal cycle for OTECs to date is the Rankine cycle, which uses a low-pressure turbine. Open-cycle engines use steam from seawater itself as the working fluid.

[0042] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the LTHE12 can perform appropriate energy conversion processes, such as the ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process. Figure 1 shows two types of OTEC power plant facilities, namely, onshore facilities 46 and offshore facilities 48. The HEDC system 22 may form part of facilities 46 or 48 for jointly locating the HEDC device 22 and the LTHE12. Joint locating may be achieved by installing the device 22, e.g., a containerized blockchain mining rig, adjacent to or near the LTHE12, for example, within 0 to 500 meters of each other, although distances greater than 500 meters may be used. In the illustrated example, the onshore facilities 46 may include a power plant 49 and an HEDC building 56 located adjacent to a body of water such as the ocean. In the offshore example, facilities 48 may form a boat 47, e.g., the illustrated barge, supporting the power plant 49 and the HEDC, e.g., building 56. The building 56 can house the HEDC device 22, which can be connected via appropriate connections 58, such as cables or pipes, to exchange heat and / or receive power from the power plant 49. In both land and sea examples, the OTEC power plant 49 can receive chilled water from chilled water pipes 50, the intake of which may be located below the surface 76 of the sea or other body of water where the OTEC process is performed, for example, on or near the seabed 74. Similarly, the OTEC power plant 49 can receive hot water from hot water pipes 52, the intake of which may be located on or near the surface 76 of the ocean. Mixed temperature pipes 54 may also be used as inlets or outlets for such water.

[0043] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, as described above, an offshore example of the OTEC facility 48 may include the use of a boat 47. One or both of the HEDC device 22 (represented by building 56) and the OTEC power plant 49 may be located on a boat 47, which may be one or more boats. In some cases, the power plant 49 and the device 22 may be on separate boats, or one or the other may be located on land. The offshore embodiment of the system 10 may be used to carry out the disclosed method while the boat 47 is floating in the sea. In one example referred to as “glazing”, the method can be carried out while the boat 47 is moving. The ability to relocate the facility 48 may be beneficial in helping the user select the optimal or appropriate location in the water for performing power generation and HEDC operations. In the illustrated example, various techniques may be used to assist the operation of the system 10, for example, piping such as pipe 52 or 54 may be suspended directly from the boat 47. Pipe 50 may also be suspended from the boat 47, but various components may be incorporated to stabilize and support the pipe 50. The transfer pipe 60 may be supported by both the boat 47 and the pipe pendant 62, which may be connected to a float 78 on the ocean surface 76. The use of the float 78 system may be used to help target the piping 50. The piping 50 can be secured to the seabed 74, if desired, using various weights such as weights 66 and 72, as well as cables or other mooring lines 68, 72 and 80.

[0044] Referring to Figure 3, an example of a self-contained HEDC system 10 is disclosed. One or more circulating pumps 38 and 18 may be located on the coolant loop or the working fluid loop, respectively, to drive the fluid around each loop. The illustrated example includes a closed-loop coolant and working fluid circuit. In the working fluid loop 26 of LTHE12, a working fluid such as ammonia circulates between the high-temperature and low-temperature regions of the loop.

[0045] Referring to Figure 3, LTHE12 may be equipped with turbomachinery such as a turbine 14 connected to generate electricity for the HEDC device 22. In mechanical engineering, turbomachinery can describe machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including both turbines and compressors. A turbine is a rotating mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work generated can be used to produce electricity when combined with a generator. A turbine is a turbomachinery that has at least one moving part called a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum to which blades are attached. A moving fluid acts on the blades, causing the blades to move and impart rotational energy to the rotor.

[0046] Referring to Figure 3, the operation of LTHE12 may proceed as follows in the illustrated example. A relatively cold working fluid, such as a liquefied working fluid, can enter the heat source heat exchanger 27 via piping 26E. In the exchanger 27, the working fluid may be heated, for example, vaporized, using heat from hot water entering the exchanger 27 via piping 30, and the hot water then exits the exchanger 27 via piping 32. The warm working fluid can then move via piping 26A to a heat exchanger 16 connected downstream of the heat source heat exchanger 27 and upstream of the turbomachinery 14. The working fluid is heated again in the heat exchanger 16 and then passed through piping 26B to the turbine 14, where the working fluid performs work to generate electricity. After leaving the turbine 14, the working fluid may move via piping 26C to a heat sink heat exchanger 28, where the working fluid is cooled by heat exchange with relatively cold water from piping 34 and possibly liquefied (it may then exit the heat exchanger 28 via piping 36). The cooled working fluid can move through piping 28D and be transported at any point in the process via the circulation pump 18. The cooled working fluid returns to the exchanger 27 via piping 28E, allowing the power generation process to be repeated.

[0047] Referring to Figure 3, the HEDC device 22 can operate synergistically with the LTHE 12 process and be cooled. As described above, the operation of the turbine 14 can generate electricity that can be supplied to power the device 22 via the cable 40. The operation of the device 22 can generate heat, especially when an energy-intensive HEDC process is being performed by the device 22. A coolant loop 24 can transport a coolant, such as water, into the circuit to cool the device 22. In the illustrated example, a closed loop 24 is shown, but in other cases, an open-loop coolant system for the device 22 may be incorporated. In the illustrated example, heated coolant can exit the device 22 via piping 24A and be transported by a circulation pump 38 at any suitable point in the loop 24. The coolant moves into a heat exchanger 16 via piping 24B, where heat is exchanged from the coolant and supplied to the working fluid moving through the loop 26. Heat is lost in the exchanger 16 due to heat transfer to the working fluid, and after the temperature drops, the relatively cool coolant then returns to the device 22 via the piping 24C, where it receives heat through heat exchange with the device 22, its temperature rises, and it then cools the device 22.

[0048] Referring to Figure 3, in some cases, the coolant is used to superheat the working fluid through heat exchange. For example, the working fluid moving through piping 26A may be moving at a temperature below its boiling point. Such fluid may enter the exchanger 16 and be superheated by heat exchange with the coolant. In thermodynamics, superheating (also called delayed boiling) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature above its boiling point without boiling. This is a so-called metastable or meta state, in which boiling can occur at any time, induced by external or internal effects. Therefore, the heat exchanger and coolant loop may be configured to superheat the working fluid in the working fluid loop. Superheating of the working fluid can enhance the operation of the downstream turbine 14, as it allows the turbine to perform work generating electricity by enabling the rapid expansion of the working fluid.

[0049] Referring to Figures 9 and 10, the HEDC device 22 may incorporate various suitable components and connections. Referring to Figure 10, the HEDC device 22 may comprise multiple processors 100 connected to a network interface 124, such as other components suitable for connecting to a satellite unit or a remote network. The network interface 124 may be connected, for example, via the internet, to send and receive data to and from a peer-to-peer network that stores or has access to the blockchain database. The blockchain database is a decentralized database stored on multiple nodes in a peer-to-peer network that stores digital currency transaction information. The blockchain database is understood to be operated by a third party, typically a node or mining pool, and during operation, the user performing the method uses the interface 124 to connect to the database, nodes, or mining pool, receive instructions, and / or send proof-of-work. The processors 100 may be connected to the network interface 124 and adapted to mine transactions related to the blockchain database and communicate with the blockchain database.

[0050] Referring to Figure 9, for example, an HEDC device 22 specialized for Bitcoin mining, machine learning, or supercomputing may incorporate one or more processors 100 having application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) graphics processing units (GPUs), or tensor processing units (TPUs). An ASIC can be an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a specific application rather than a general-purpose one. For example, a chip designed to operate in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficiency Bitcoin miner is an ASIC. Application-specific standard product (ASSP) chips can be somewhere between an ASIC and an industry-standard integrated circuit such as the 7400 series or 4000 series. ASIC chips can typically be manufactured using metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology as MOS integrated circuit chips. As feature sizes have decreased and design tools have improved over the years, the maximum complexity (and therefore functionality) possible in an ASIC has increased from 5,000 logic gates to over 100 million. Modern ASICs often consist of an entire microprocessor, a memory block including ROM, RAM, EEPROM, and flash memory, and other large building blocks. Such ASICs are often called SoCs (System on Chip). Designers of digital ASICs often use hardware description languages ​​(HDLs) such as Verilog or VHDL to describe the functionality of the ASIC. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are a modern technology for building breadboards or prototypes from standard components; programmable logic blocks and programmable interconnects allow the same FPGA to be used in many different applications. For smaller designs or lower production volumes, FPGAs can be more cost-effective than ASIC designs, even at the mass production stage. The non-repetitive engineering (NRE) cost of an ASIC can reach millions of dollars.Therefore, device manufacturers typically prefer FPGAs for prototyping and low-volume devices, and ASICs for very high-volume devices where NRE costs can be amortized over many devices. One or more ASIC chips may be included in each processor, for example, in a single or multiple array or group within one or more hash boards. Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) are AI accelerator chips specifically designed for machine learning workloads. They are application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) built from the ground up to efficiently run machine learning models, particularly for inference in applications such as image recognition, speech recognition, and language understanding. TPUs excel at performing tensor computations fundamental to deep neural networks. Their architecture is optimized for the low-precision arithmetic operations used in deep learning, enabling very high computation throughput while being more power and space-efficient than general-purpose processors like CPUs or GPUs for these workloads. Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are dedicated processors originally designed for rendering graphics and image processing. However, their highly parallelized architectures have made them ideal for a variety of computationally intensive workloads such as machine learning, deep learning, scientific simulations, financial modeling, and computational biology. In contrast to CPUs, which have fewer but more powerful cores, GPUs contain a large number of smaller, more efficient cores designed to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. This parallel processing capability allows GPUs to accelerate applications that can be parallelized across many of the GPU's cores. GPUs require specialized programming models, such as CUDA or OpenCL, to effectively leverage their parallel architectures.

[0051] Referring to Figure 9, each processor 100 can have appropriate characteristics. The illustrated example shows an S9i® rig manufactured and sold by BITMAIN® under the ANTMINER® brand for the purpose of mining Bitcoin transactions. The processor 100 may incorporate one or more controllers 108. The control board (controller 108) of the Antminer® S9i® uses a high-speed Dual ARM® Cortex®-A9 microprocessor with CoreSight®. The S9i control board may use a Xilinx® Zynq®-7000 series FPGA with a Dual ARM® Cortex®-A9 microprocessor. The processor 100 may include a network connector 110 (for Ethernet cable) that supports Gigabit Ethernet® to ensure that mined blocks are submitted immediately. Each processor board 112 may be mounted on the main body 102 of the processor 100 and includes one or more application-specific integrated circuit chips. Each Antminer® S9i® uses multiple ASICs, for example 189 such chips, to deliver a higher hash rate and efficiency than any Bitcoin miner ever made. The processor 100 may include a suitable body 102 on which components are mounted. In the illustrated example, the body 102 is a high-grade aluminum case.

[0052] Referring to Figure 9, the processor 100 may include one or more cooling mechanisms. The body 102 may include one or more heat sinks. One or more fans may be connected to direct a fluid, such as air, through a cooling fluid (coolant) passage through the body 102 and across the ASIC processor 100, to maintain the ASIC processor 100 within its respective operating temperature range during use. One or more temperature sensors (not shown) can be used to monitor the temperature and adjust the fan and / or computational operation. The fans may include an intake fan 104 at the intake end of the body 102. The fans may include an exhaust fan 106 at the exhaust end of the body 102. By using two computer-controlled high-speed fans 104 and 106 at both ends of the tubular body 102, the hot fluid is rapidly replaced with a cooler fluid at the required pace. By using two computer-controlled fans to keep the processor 100 cool, the processor 100 maintains an efficient and powerful state. Processor 100 uses a combination of conduction and convection cooling to ensure the miner functions optimally without overheating compared to other terahash Bitcoin miners. In some cases, each chip in Processor 100 may be fitted with a custom heatsink, for example, made from a high-grade aluminum alloy.

[0053] Referring to Figures 3 and 10, the HEDC device 22 may exchange heat with the coolant loop 24 by preferred means. In the illustrated example, the device 22 can be cooled via an immersion cooling process, but other processes including an air cooling process or a process that exchanges heat between air and the liquid coolant loop can also be used. In the liquid immersion cooling example, the incoming cryogenic coolant enters the device 22 via piping 24C, absorbs heat from the processor 100, and is discharged from the device 22 via piping 24A. A pump 38 can transport the coolant to an exchanger 16 via piping 24B, where heat exchange takes place with the working fluid in the loop 26. The relatively cryogenic coolant returns to the device 22 via piping 26C, and the process is repeated.

[0054] Referring to Figure 10, system 10 may be configured to maintain the processor 100 of the HEDC device 22 within a safe operating temperature range, for example, room temperature or near room temperature. One or more controllers 120 may be configured to operate one or both of the LTHE 12 and the coolant loop 24 and / or device 22 in order to maintain a safe temperature operating range. Controller 120 may also be configured to ensure that the working fluid is discharged from the exchanger 16 at an optimal or appropriate temperature and pressure for operation in the turbine 14. Various systems can be incorporated to optimize operation by allowing adjustment of the discharge temperatures of the working fluid and coolant fluid. One or more temperature sensors and / or pressure sensors 122 may be used to monitor the fluid characteristics and adjust operation as needed.

[0055] Referring to Figure 4, an embodiment similar to the embodiment in Figure 3 is shown. The main difference is that the pump 38 is not provided in Figure 4. In the illustrated embodiment, the pump may be eliminated by the heat transfer medium employed by the HEDC application (device 22).

[0056] Referring to Figure 5, system 10 can operate using multiple turbomachines, for example, turbines 14A and 14B. The multiple turbomachines may include a first turbomachine (turbine 14A) located downstream of the heat source (exchanger 27) but upstream of the heat exchanger 16. The turbomachines may include a second turbomachine (turbine 14B) located downstream of the heat exchanger 16 but upstream of the heat sink (exchanger 28). In the illustrated example, LTHE12 incorporates single-flow or dual-flow configurations, which are reheated by waste heat transferred from HEDC (device 12) operation by a dual-turbine system that powers the heat exchanger and HEDC operation. The working fluid can be circulated between the first turbine 14A, located downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger 16, and the second turbine 14B, located downstream of the heat exchanger 16 but upstream of the heat sink. After the heated working fluid leaves the exchanger 27, it moves to the turbine 14A via piping 26A-1, where it works to generate electricity that can be supplied to the device 22 via power cable 40A. After the turbine 14A, the working fluid moves to the exchanger 16 via piping 26A-2, where it is heated again, but by a coolant in loop 24. The heated working fluid then moves to a second turbine 14B via piping 26B. The turbine 14B then generates electricity, which is supplied to the device 22 via cable 40B.

[0057] Referring to Figure 6, a modification of the embodiment in Figure 5 is shown, except that the turbine 14A recirculates the working fluid back to the exchanger 27. The working fluid loop 26 can be configured to circulate the working fluid in series from the heat source heat exchanger 27 to the first turbomachinery 14A, back to the heat source heat exchanger, and back to the second turbomachinery. The working fluid loop 26 may circulate in series from the heat source heat exchanger 27 to the first turbomachinery (turbine 14A), back to the heat source heat exchanger 27, and back to the second turbomachinery (turbine 14B). Thus, in the illustrated example, the heated working fluid leaves the exchanger 27 and flows into the turbine 14A via piping 26A-1. The turbine 14A then generates electricity, which is supplied to device 22 via cable 40A. The discharged working fluid then returns to the exchanger 27 via piping 26A-2, where the working fluid receives additional heat from the heat source. The heated working fluid then moves to the exchanger 16 via piping 26A-3. This embodiment shows single-flow or double-flow in a regenerative Rankine cycle, which is reheated by a dual-flow heat exchanger and then superheated by waste heat transferred from the HEDC operation by a dual-turbine system that powers the heat exchanger and HEDC operation.

[0058] Referring to Figure 7, an embodiment similar to the embodiment in Figure 3 is shown, except that the coolant heat exchanger 16 is located upstream of the heat source heat exchanger 27. In the illustrated embodiment, the coolant passing through the exchanger 16 heats the working fluid which flows in via piping 26E and flows out via piping 26F upstream of the heat source heat exchanger 27.

[0059] Referring to Figure 8, several embodiments of the system 10 can incorporate a gas-liquid separator 42. The gas-liquid separator 42 can be located on the working fluid loop 26, for example, downstream of the heat source (exchanger 27) and upstream of the turbomachinery (turbine 14). The separator 42 can be configured to separate the working fluid from piping 26A-1 as follows: for example, a vaporized flow supplied to the turbine 14 via piping 26A-2 and a liquefied flow supplied to the heat exchanger 16 via piping 26A-3 and then to the turbomachinery (turbine 14). The liquefied flow passing through piping 26A-3 can exchange coolant and heat via the exchanger 16 and then flow into a fluid mixer 44 that recombines the two working fluid flows from piping 26A-2 and 26B-1 into a single flow in piping 26B-2, which is then supplied to the turbine 14.

[0060] Efficiency and cost reduction In addition to any other embodiments not shown, in which waste heat from the HEDC computing application is transferred to the LTHE that powers it, the system of the present disclosure may provide individual advantages to both the HEDC and LTHE subsystems in terms of both cost and efficiency, as illustrated in any embodiment shown in Figures 1-10.

[0061] Efficiency of the simple Rankine cycle (η therm ) is defined by the following formula:

number

[0062] During the ceremony,

number

number

number

number

[0063] Generally speaking, the efficiency of a data center can be generalized to the following formula for Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE):

number

[0064] In the formula, IT Equipment Energy includes only the energy used to power computing devices, while Total Facility Energy also includes IT equipment in addition to the energy consumed by everything else in the data center (e.g., lighting, cooling, etc.). With the colocation and direct integration of HEDC data centers within LTHE-based power plants, all components of the data center except computing devices and cooling fall into the parasitic load category of the power plant rather than IT equipment. The cooling energy for IT equipment, which can consume a significant portion of the energy of IT equipment in a typical data center, can theoretically be reduced to zero through the selection of heat transfer media and the use of LTHE itself as a heat sink. While an ideal data center PUE of zero has been demonstrated in the past over limited durations, the disclosures presented herein can maintain it over longer periods.

[0065] The integrations presented in this disclosure can achieve cost reductions in both the LTHE and HEDC subsystems through several mechanisms. By combining HEDC heat removal equipment with the Rankine cycle through any of the preheating, reheating, regeneration, or superheating mechanisms, the required equipment is reduced, thereby reducing costs. In any embodiment of this disclosure, waste heat from the HEDC is used to improve the steam quality of the working fluid flowing into the LTHE turbine, thereby reducing damage to the turbine blades due to pitting corrosion and other effects caused by condensation during expansion. In this manner, the turbine life can be extended compared to an LTHE without the application of this disclosure, reducing costs over the lifecycle of the power plant and reducing downtime required for repairs.

[0066] Finally, cost reductions are achieved through power distribution. Exporting power from a power plant to the grid has many inherent inefficiencies and losses associated with controlling turbines for precise frequency regulation. By directly coupling LTHE with HEDC applications, turbine efficiency is improved by eliminating the need for expensive equipment required for grid tie-in and the need for frequency regulation. On the HEDC side, power distribution within a data center from grid tie-in to IT equipment requires numerous conversion steps and expensive infrastructure. By eliminating grid tie-in and having the flexibility to generate power in the way that best suits the specific IT equipment in use, power distribution equipment can be greatly simplified, eliminating expensive equipment and conversion losses.

[0067] In summary, integrating LTHE with HEDC as presented in this disclosure enables the construction of the most efficient data center and LTHE configuration.

[0068] In some embodiments, the HEDC device 22, for example, a blockchain mining device, may be provided within a portable building. The portable building may have walls, a base, a roof, and racking for the processor. An example of a suitable building is an intermodal shipping container, which is a large, standardized shipping container designed and built for intermodal cargo transport, meaning that these containers can be used across different modes of transport, from ships to rail to truck, without transshipment of cargo. Intermodal containers are primarily used for the efficient and reliable storage and transport of materials and products in the global containerized intermodal cargo transport system, although a small number are also used regionally. These containers are known by several names, including simply containers, cargo or freight containers, ISO containers, shipping containers, sea or ocean containers, sea bunks or (Connex) boxes, sea bunks, or C-bunks. Shipping containers can be transported between rail, truck, and ship at container terminals by container cranes. Outside container terminals, forklifts, reach stackers, straddle carriers, and cranes may be used for loading and unloading onto trucks or rail. Swap bodies, side lifters, tilt deck trucks, and hook trucks may enable transfer to and from trucks without additional equipment. While ISO standard containers can be handled and lifted in various ways by their corner fasteners, the structure and strength of 45-foot (Type E) containers, based on ISO 3874 (1997), limit the permissible range of side lifts and prevent handling by forklifts.

[0069] Blockchain can be used in connection with non-currency applications, such as in the case of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique and non-exchangeable units of data stored on a digital ledger (blockchain). NFTs can be associated with easily duplicateable items such as photographs, videos, audio, and other types of digital files as unique items (similar to certificates of authenticity). NFTs use blockchain technology to provide public proof of ownership. Copies of the original file are not limited to the NFT owner and can be copied and shared like any other file. The lack of compatibility (vulnerability) distinguishes NFTs from traditional blockchain cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Embodiments of this disclosure encompass blockchain-related systems, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other related technologies.

[0070] In the claims, the term “comprising” is used in its comprehensive sense and does not exclude the presence of other elements. The indefinite articles “a” and “an” preceding a feature of a claim do not exclude the presence of one or more features. Each of the individual features described herein may be used in one or more embodiments and should not be construed as essential to all embodiments defined by the claims simply by being described herein.

Claims

1. A self-contained high-energy-density computing data center system, A cryogenic heat engine (LTHE) having a working fluid loop extending between a heat source and a heat sink; A high-energy-density computing data center (HEDC) connected to receive electricity generated from the aforementioned LTHE; A heat exchanger on the working fluid loop; and Coolant loop extending between the HEDC and the heat exchanger A self-contained high-energy-density computing data center (HEDC) system equipped with [the following features].

2. The aforementioned HEDC is one or more of the following: High-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are arranged and interconnected to optimize performance for specific computing tasks. A self-contained HEDC system according to claim 1, characterized by having a task-specific configuration of a processor including the following.

3. The self-contained HEDC system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the HEDC includes a blockchain mining device.

4. The aforementioned HEDC performs one or more of the following operations: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, large-scale language models, generative A1, neural networks, and supercomputing A self-contained HEDC according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is configured to perform the following.

5. The LTHE comprises a turbomachinery connected to generate electricity for the HEDC device; The heat exchanger is located on the working fluid loop upstream of the turbomachinery. A self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that

6. The aforementioned turbo machine, A first turbomachinery located downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger; and A second turbomachine located downstream of the heat exchanger but upstream of the heat sink. A self-contained HEDC system according to claim 5, characterized by comprising the above.

7. A heat source heat exchanger is located between the heat source and the working fluid loop; The working fluid loop is configured to circulate the working fluid in series from the heat source heat exchanger to the first turbomachinery, back to the heat source heat exchanger, and to the second turbomachinery. A self-contained HEDC system according to claim 6, characterized in that...

8. Located downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachinery, on the working fluid loop, the working fluid is as follows: The vaporized flow supplied to the turbomachinery; and The liquefied flow supplied to the heat exchanger and then to the turbomachinery A self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a gas-liquid separator configured to separate into two components.

9. The self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the heat exchanger and the coolant loop are configured to overheat the working fluid in the working fluid loop.

10. A self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a controller configured to operate the LTHE and the coolant loop and to maintain the processor of the HEDC device within a safe operating temperature range.

11. A heat source heat exchanger between the heat source and the working fluid loop; and Heat sink heat exchanger between the heat sink and the working fluid loop A self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising the above.

12. The self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the LTHE performs an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process.

13. The self-contained HEDC system according to claim 11, characterized by forming an equipment for jointly arranging the HEDC device and the LTHE.

14. The self-contained HEDC system according to claim 13, characterized in that the equipment forms a boat.

15. The HEDC device comprises multiple processors connected to a network interface; The aforementioned network interface is connected to send and receive data over the internet. A self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that

16. The aforementioned HEDC is equipped with a blockchain mining device; The aforementioned network interface is connected to a peer-to-peer network, which stores or has access to a blockchain database, which is a distributed database stored on multiple nodes within the peer-to-peer network, and stores transaction information for digital currencies; The processor is connected to the network interface and is adapted to mine transactions associated with the blockchain database and to communicate with the blockchain database. A self-contained HEDC system according to claim 15, characterized in that

17. A method comprising the step of using electricity generated from the LTHE to operate the HEDC device of the self-contained HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. The process of generating electricity using a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE); A step of operating a HEDC device using the electricity generated by the aforementioned LTHE; and A step of cooling the HEDC device by heat exchange with the working fluid of the LTHE. A method characterized by including

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that the step of generating the electricity includes a step of circulating a working fluid in the working fluid loop of the LTHE between a heat source, a turbomachinery, and a heat sink.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the cooling step includes circulating a coolant in a coolant loop between the HEDC device and a heat exchanger located in the working fluid loop upstream of the turbomachinery.

21. The turbomachinery includes a first turbomachinery and a second turbomachinery; The working fluid is circulated between the following: The first turbomachinery located downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger; and The second turbomachinery is located downstream of the heat exchanger but upstream of the heat sink. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that

22. The process of circulating the working fluid is as follows: A step of circulating the working fluid from the heat source to a gas-liquid separator on the working fluid loop downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachinery; and The following steps are taken to separate the working fluid using the gas-liquid separator: The vaporized flow supplied to the turbomachinery; and The liquefied flow supplied to the heat exchanger and then to the turbomachinery The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized by including

23. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that the heat exchange with the working fluid overheats the working fluid in the working fluid loop.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that the cooling step includes a step of maintaining the processor of the HEDC device within a safe operating temperature range.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 24, characterized in that the LTHE performs an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that it is performed on a boat floating in the sea.

27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising the step of adjusting the input power of the HEDC device to balance other loads powered by the LTHE.

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