Method for the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy based on an anticlockwise thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration, and the application of same

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy based on an anticlockwise thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration, and to the application of same, which can be used primarily in the energy industry. Demand for energy is growing world-wide and is increasing the anthropogenic stresses on climate and the environment, because it is principally fossil energy sources that are burnt for mobility and power generation according to the prior art. This generation is exclusively based on clockwise thermal power cycles. The secondary effects are waste heat and exhaust gases. The problem addressed by the invention is that of reducing the anthropogenic stresses on climate and the environment with a new basic method. Although anticlockwise refrigeration cycles require compression work for the propulsion unit, they can regenerate thermally, since the cooling required for condensation takes place at a higher temperature and pressure level than evaporation. If the volume increase in the phase change is also used to increase the fluid speed over the flow cross section (thermal acceleration), more removable flow energy is available in the process for the generation of power than is required for internal circulation. An anticlockwise thermal power process.

Description

[0001] Method for converting heat energy into electrical energy based on a left-hand thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration and its application

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a “method for converting heat energy into electrical energy based on a left-hand thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration and its application”, which is primarily applicable in the energy sector.

[0004] The globally increasing energy demand increases the anthropogenic burden on the climate and environment, since the thermal cycles used for mobility and electricity generation, according to the state of the art, mainly burn fossil energy sources, which additionally influence the air mixture of the atmosphere through exhaust gases.

[0005] In a thermal cycle, a working fluid undergoes a series of process steps with various changes in pressure, volume, and temperature until it cyclically returns to its initial state. Systemically, this involves heating, cooling, compression, and expansion to return to the initial state. If compression occurs in a smaller volume-related state of the working fluid than expansion, the process is essentially a clockwise heat-power cycle, used, for example, in gas turbines, steam or combined cycle power plants, and diesel or spark-ignition engines. The compression work and heat energy supplied for heating increase the pressure and temperature of the working fluid, thereby increasing its specific volume. With the removal of the expansion force (mechanical energy) and the heat energy for cooling, the pressure, temperature, and specific volume return to their initial states, after which a new cycle begins.

[0006] The ratio of output (expansion force minus compression work) to input (heat energy supplied) describes the efficiency of heat-power processes. According to the zeroth law of thermodynamics, heat transfer occurs from warmer to colder, meaning that the heat energy to be dissipated for cooling can only be released into the environment. In addition to the target quantity, force or mechanical energy, the supplied heat energy also produces waste heat, which cannot be utilized within the cycle. This is mathematically reflected in the Carnot coefficient.It depends solely on the absolute values ​​of the process limit temperatures and represents the unattainable theoretical efficiency maximum for thermal clockwise power processes based on the fundamental process of small-volume compression, heating, large-volume expansion, and cooling, regardless of internal configuration variations such as exhaust gas recuperation, intercooling, feedwater preheating, reheating, turbocharging, etc. To achieve high efficiencies, these processes require high temperatures, primarily generated through combustion, usually high pressures, and a low ambient temperature for the waste heat, thus creating anthropogenic burdens on the climate and environment.

[0007] According to the state of the art, there is another thermal cycle that, by means of work input, raises the temperature level of the supplied heat energy during the process for useful purposes. Depending on the target quantity, this is known as a counter-clockwise refrigeration or heat pump process, or more generally as a work-heat cycle. The basic process is based on heating, large-volume compression, cooling, and small-volume expansion, and corresponds to the heat-power cycle, but in reverse. Depending on the target quantity, the ratio of benefit to input yields a coefficient of performance (COP) that is several times the amount of work supplied during compression. This COP cannot be increased arbitrarily, because the mathematical derivation of the theoretical maximum via the absolute values ​​of the process limit temperatures yields the Camot factor with (T ). max / (T max -T mjnThe smaller the temperature difference between heat energy input and output, the higher the coefficient of performance and the lower the work input for compression.

[0008] In a clockwise heat-power cycle, after expansion, the waste heat ensures that the working fluid reaches its initial state, but is then missing in the subsequent cycle, thus increasing the heat energy input. This is an inherent, unavoidable necessity in the context of clockwise power processes and the cause of the heat-power conversion deficit named after Camot.

[0009] According to the current state of the art, thermal counterclockwise heat processes cannot be used for power generation, since only in a reversible scenario does the amount of compression energy required equal the amount of expansion energy required in the reverse process. Under real-world conditions, raising the temperature required for power generation would require more drive energy than could be supplied by the subsequent power generation.

[0010] The invention is based on the objective of reducing anthropogenic burdens on the climate and environment using a new basic process.

[0011] The object of the invention is essentially achieved by the characterizing features of claims 1 to 13. According to the prior art, there is a fundamental division of tasks: counterclockwise – heat transfer by means of pressure increase through work input, or clockwise – power plus waste heat from heat energy input. Counterclockwise cold steam processes do require compression work for their operation, but could, in principle, be thermally regenerated, since the necessary cooling for the condensation of the working fluid occurs at a higher pressure and temperature level than the heating required for evaporation. Such a circuit variant has not previously made sense, as only the heat of compression generated during compression would have to be dissipated – a complex confirmation of the mechanical heat equivalent known since 1842, namely an electrically operated heating element.

[0012] During the phase change from liquid to gas, water, for example, expands its volume 1,624-fold at a pressure of 1 bar and a temperature of 99.6 °C, corresponding to a volume change work of 169.24 kJ / kg. This amount of energy must be supplied thermally when, during evaporation in a specially designed heat exchanger, the fluid velocity accelerates with increasing volume flow across the flow cross-section. Here, thermal energy is converted into kinetic energy of the flow, which on the one hand provides the compression work for the regenerated link process and on the other hand drives a downstream constant-pressure turbine for electricity generation.

[0013] Combined with the thermally regenerated counterclockwise cold steam process at low differential pressure between condensation and evaporation, a new basic heat-power process is created, since more usable volume change work can be converted via thermal acceleration during the heating step of evaporation than is required for compression work to maintain internal circulation. The remaining kinetic flow energy, which can be extracted via an impulse turbine, corresponds exactly to the amount of energy to be thermally supplied. The counterclockwise heat transfer work process thus becomes the new counterclockwise heat-power process, in that the heat energy circulates internally cyclically without waste heat. The new basic heat-power process is characterized by the fact that the heat energy to be removed from the cooling heat exchanger (2) is completely transferred to the heating heat exchanger (4).that the large-volume compression (1) and small-volume expansion (3) only need to maintain the pressure and temperature difference required for heat transfer from the heat exchanger (cooling, 2) to the heat exchanger (heating, 4); that in addition to the evaporation process in the heat exchanger (heating, 4), the increase in volume between inlet and outlet is also used to increase the flow energy, for thermal acceleration; that the thermal heat energy input (7) occurs with the heat exchanger (thermal acceleration, 5); that the heat exchanger (thermal acceleration, 5) takes over the heat transfer to the flowing working fluid; that the large-volume compression (1) utilizes portions of the flow energy; that the turbine (6) drives the generator (8) with the main portion of the flow energy; that the electrical energy output from the process occurs with the current discharge (9).that the working fluid cyclically undergoes the principal process steps: condensation by heat transfer to evaporation (10), first heating for thermal acceleration and then expansion or reverse order (11), evaporation by regenerated heat transfer from condensation combined with thermal acceleration (12), first velocity reduction in the turbine and then compression or reverse order (13).

[0014] Thus, the problem is solved. The most significant advantage of the invention lies in the elimination of heat dissipation to the environment, which not only improves efficiency but also removes the limitation imposed by the ambient temperature. Depending on the specific material properties of the working fluids used, the condensation and evaporation processes occur in isolation even at lower temperatures, whereby the temperature level of the heat energy supplied also decreases. For example, propane evaporates at -42.4 °C at a pressure of 1 bar. The required inlet temperature at the heat exchanger thermal acceleration (5) t E The operating temperature is then approximately -24 °C in order to fully utilize the energy from the volume change. Other working fluids operate at the same internal pressure of 1 bar as ethane (t E = -70 °C), Xenon (t E = -82 °C), Krypton (t E= -134 °C) etc. even lower in temperature level, which means that both natural energy sources such as the ambient air or the water of the world's oceans and technologically induced waste heat sources from process cooling or air conditioning are, in principle, suitable for generating electricity without combustion.

[0015] In contrast to the state of the art in clockwise heat-power processes, which are characterized by high temperatures and pressures during the process, the new method requires temperature differences of between 10 K and 50 K from the evaporation temperature and pressure differences in the millibar range. These parameters are more akin to meteorology. Wind arises from complex processes in the atmosphere, primarily driven by solar radiation. Density differences between various air masses, caused by differences in water content and temperature, create high- and low-pressure areas. As the upper layers cool, the moisture condenses as rain. The cold, denser air masses then flow back towards the low-pressure areas. Wind turbines (constant-pressure turbines) utilize this natural, fluctuating cycle of intensity and direction for CO2-free electricity generation.

[0016] A preferred embodiment of the invention and its application is shown in Fig. 2.

[0017] Here, the heat transfer, in accordance with the basic process shown in Fig. 1, from the cooling heat exchanger (2) to the heating heat exchanger (4), takes place via a coiled-tube heat exchanger (14) located in a container (15) along its entire length. The flowing working fluid cyclically condenses on the outer tube and drips to the bottom of the container (15). In the inner tube, the condensate injected at the inlet evaporates along the entire length of the coiled-tube heat exchanger (14) to the outlet, maintaining a constant flow cross-section. As evaporation increases, the fluid velocity accelerates. From volume change work (p * DR)

[0018] Ac becomes kinetic energy (— 2 The increase in volume is a consequence of the dissolving of the

[0019] Molecular bonds form in the liquid at constant pressure, requiring heat energy, and the temperature does not rise until all bonds are completely broken. During condensation, this process occurs in reverse. The heat energy required for the phase change circulates within the coiled-tube heat exchanger (14), thus determining its length. This heat exchanger design, with its constant changes in direction and secondary cross-flows, promotes the wetting of the inner tube surface through centrifugal separation of the heavier liquid droplets, intensifying heat transfer and limiting the required size. This is an important aspect in terms of construction effort, because for every kW of electrical energy generated by the process, approximately 10 to 16 kW of thermal energy must circulate internally, depending on the working fluid.

[0020] The additional pump (16) is not strictly necessary according to the basic procedure shown in Fig. 1, but improves the practical implementation at the expense of the target quantity, flow rate. It compensates for pressure losses that occur in the pipeline between the tank bottom and the swirl nozzle (17), as well as for thermal acceleration (5) in the heat exchanger during the pumping of the condensate, and provides pressure for swirl formation. The swirl nozzle (17) at the inlet of the coil heat exchanger (14) corresponds to the small-volume expansion process step (3) in Fig. 1. The flow conditions during internal heat transfer with respect to the differential pressure between condensation and evaporation, as well as the coordination with the constant-pressure turbine (21), are improved when a partial gaseous mass flow passes through a bypass (18) from the outlet of the diffuser (20) via the expansion nozzle (19) to the inlet of the coil heat exchanger (14).The partial mass flow that is also being accelerated reduces the fluid velocity, but proportionally increases the mass flow, thus preserving the kinetic energy of the flow in a more usable way.

[0021] To maintain consistent flow conditions in the process, a current control unit (22) is required to maintain a constant load on the impulse turbine (21) after the current is drawn (9) via the generator (8). This unit converts the current into usable power, prioritizes supplying it to the power grid, and gradually returns any excess power to the environment via electrical heating resistors. A circulation system (23) also provides thermal energy (7) to the heat exchanger for thermal acceleration (5), independent of the heat source input system (24), ensuring a constant temperature and mass flow rate. No intervention in the flow is necessary for load control, as the process is always operated at its maximum design state.For this purpose, a heat source input system (24) is required that combines the waste heat sources from cooling and air conditioning (25) and also uses the cooling of the outside air (26) to feed the amount for thermal heat energy input (7) constantly into the circulation system (23) without combustion.

[0022] The problem is thus solved, as the process autonomously converts electricity from environmental energy and covers all load cases up to the maximum load, for which, in principle, all working fluids can be used in the process. CO2-free electricity conversion is an important contribution to counteracting climate change.

[0023] Fig. 1 shows the basic process for converting heat energy into electrical energy based on a left-hand thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration.

[0024] Fig. 2 shows the block diagram of the preferred embodiment and its application according to Fig. 1.

[0025] Method for converting heat energy into electrical energy based on a left-hand thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration and its application

[0026] Reference symbol list

[0027] 1 large-volume compression

[0028] 2 heat exchangers cooling

[0029] 3 small volume expansion

[0030] 4 Heat exchangers Heating

[0031] 5 Heat exchangers thermal acceleration

[0032] 6 Turbine

[0033] 7. Thermal heat energy input

[0034] 8 Generator

[0035] 9 Current conduction

[0036] 10 Condensation through heat transfer to evaporation

[0037] 11. First heating for thermal acceleration and then expansion, or vice versa.

[0038] 12 Evaporation through regenerated heat transfer from condensation combined with thermal acceleration

[0039] 13. First, velocity reduction in the turbine and then compression, or vice versa.

[0040] 14 coiled tube heat exchangers

[0041] 15 Containers Pump Swirl Nozzle Bypass Expansion Nozzle Diffuser Constant Pressure Turbine Flow Control Unit Circulation System Heat Sources Input System Waste Heat Sources from Cooling and Air Conditioning Outside Air

Claims

Method for converting heat energy into electrical energy based on a left-hand thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration and its application Patent claims 1. A method for converting heat energy into electrical energy based on a left-hand thermally regenerated cycle combined with thermal acceleration and its application, consisting of the known basic process steps of left-hand cold vapor processes, in which the working fluid cyclically passes through large-volume compression (1), heat exchanger cooling (2) with condensation, small-volume expansion (3) and heat exchanger heating (4) with evaporation, characterized in that a.) the heat energy to be removed from heat exchanger cooling (2) completely transferred to the heat exchanger (4), b.) that the large-volume compression (1) and small-volume expansion (3) only needs to maintain the pressure and temperature difference required for heat transfer from the heat exchanger (cooling, 2) to the heat exchanger (heating, 4), c.) that in addition to the evaporation process in the heat exchanger Heating (4) between inlet and outlet, the increase in volume is additionally used to increase the flow energy, for thermal acceleration, d.) that the thermal heat energy input (7) with the Thermal acceleration of the heat exchanger (5) takes place, e.) that the heat exchanger thermal acceleration (5) takes over the heat transfer to the flowing working fluid, f.) that the large-volume compression (1) utilizes portions of the flow energy, g.) that the turbine (6) uses the main portion of the flow energy to generator (8) drives, h.) that the electrical energy output from the current source (9) is achieved by means of the current discharge. The process is carried out, i.) that the working fluid cyclically undergoes the principal process steps: condensation by heat transfer to evaporation (10), first heating for thermal acceleration and then expansion or reverse order (11), evaporation by regenerated heat transfer from the condensation combined with thermal acceleration (12), first velocity reduction in the turbine and then compression or reverse order (13).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat transfer from the heat exchanger cooling (2) to the heat exchanger heating (4) takes place through a coiled tube heat exchanger (14) located in a container (15) over its entire length.

3. Method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the flowing working fluid condenses cyclically on the outer tube of the coiled heat exchanger (14) and drips to the bottom in the container (15).

4. Method according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the condensate injected at the inlet in the inner tube evaporates over the entire length of the coil heat exchanger (14) to the outlet with the same flow cross-section.

5. Method according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a pump (16) forces the condensate from the container (15) through the heat exchanger thermal acceleration (5) to the swirl nozzle (17).

6. Method according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a gaseous partial mass flow passes through a bypass (18) from the outlet of the diffuser (20) via the expansion nozzle (19) to the inlet of the tube coil heat exchanger (14), 7. Method according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a current control unit (22) after the current transfer (9) via the generator (8) applies a constant load to the impulse turbine (21).

8. Method according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the current control unit (22) converts the current into usable power, prioritizes the power grid and returns the excess current to the environment via electrical heating resistors.

9. Method according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a circulation system (23) takes over the thermal heat energy supply (7) to the heat exchanger thermal acceleration (5) independently of the heat source input system (24) with a constant temperature at the same mass throughput.

10. Method according to claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the method is always operated in the maximum design state.

11. Method according to claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a heat source input system (24) combines the waste heat sources from cooling and air conditioning (25) and also uses the cooling of the outside air (26) to feed the amount for thermal heat energy input (7) into the circulation system (23) without combustion.

12. Method according to claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the method autonomously converts electricity from environmental energy and covers all load cases up to the maximum load.

13. Method according to claims 1 to 12, characterized in that in principle all working fluids can be used in the method.