Structured Body Resistance Heating for High-Temperature Gas Preheating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas heat exchangers are limited by their design temperature and pressure, making it difficult to achieve high-temperature gas preheating efficiently, and they often require complex designs and high energy consumption, which can lead to increased carbon emissions.
Innovation Solution
A structured body with a three-dimensional network structure made of electrically conductive metallic material, arranged in a compact configuration within a pressure shell, where electrical current is used to heat the gas through resistance heating, allowing for efficient high-temperature gas preheating while minimizing energy consumption and emissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If conventional tube and shell heat exchangers are used for gas heating, then heat exchange function is provided, but the maximum operating temperature is limited due to pressure bearing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The heating system is divided into two functionally separate components: a pressure shell that maintains pressure containment at lower temperatures, and a structured body that handles high-temperature heating. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function, enabling the system to achieve both high operating temperatures and reliable pressure containment.
Solution Approach 2:
The structured body acts as an intermediary between the electrical power source and the feed gas. It converts electrical energy to thermal energy through resistance heating and transfers this heat to the gas flowing through its network structure, enabling high-temperature heating without directly exposing the pressure shell to extreme temperatures.
2Temperature
If conventional heat exchangers are used for high-temperature gas preheating, then heating function is achieved, but the design requires complex structure and high energy consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional mechanical heat exchange system (tube and shell heat exchanger requiring hot gas to physically contact or closely approach the cold gas) with an electrical heating system. Electrical energy is converted to heat within the structured body, which then heats the feed gas through its network structure, eliminating the need for complex heat exchange surfaces and reducing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the heating mechanism from thermal conduction through heat exchange surfaces to resistive heating within a three-dimensional network structure. This parameter change in the heating approach allows for more direct and efficient heat transfer to the gas, reducing the structural complexity required for achieving high preheating temperatures.
3Productivity
If conventional heat exchangers operate at high temperatures, then gas preheating efficiency is improved, but carbon dioxide and other emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces fossil fuel-based combustion heating with electrical resistance heating. The structured body converts electrical energy directly to thermal energy, eliminating the need for combustion processes that produce carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions. This substitution maintains high preheating efficiency while significantly reducing the environmental footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating method changes from chemical combustion to electrical resistance heating, fundamentally altering the energy conversion process. This parameter change eliminates the production of carbon dioxide and other combustion-related emissions while maintaining the ability to achieve high gas preheating temperatures efficiently.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables efficient heating of gases to very high temperatures in a compact and simple design, reducing carbon emissions by utilizing renewable energy sources and maintaining a lower temperature in the pressure shell, thus extending the operational limits of gas heat exchangers.
Implementation Method 1
supplying electrical power via electrical conductors connecting an electrical power supply placed outside said pressure shell to said structured body, allowing an electrical current to run through said electrically conductive material, thereby heating at least part of the structured body
Data Source
AI summary
A structured body for heating system for carrying out heating of a pressurized feed gas is provided, where the heat is provided by resistance heating by means of electrical power.