Apparatus and method for the conversion of thermal energy sources including solar energy

Abstract

Systems and methods to efficiently utilize thermal energy such as solar energy, geothermal energy, waste-heat energy, bio-mass combustion energy, or other equivalent forms of energy, convert the thermal energy to another useful form of energy, such as electricity or mechanical work using a thermodynamic cycle in which a working fluid medium may be expanded in a constant pressure environment to move a storage medium comprising another fluid, slurry or mass to a higher potential energy level, from which the storage medium may be released through a generator or the like to produce another form of energy.

1 . A method of converting thermal energy, comprising: 
 supplying thermal energy to a working medium to cause expansion of at least a portion of the working medium at substantially constant pressure;    imparting energy to a storage medium using said expansion of the working medium to change the energy state of the storage medium from a low potential energy to a higher potential energy; and    removing thermal energy from the working medium to return said working medium to a non-expanded state while maintaining said substantially constant pressure.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said supplying comprises supplying solar energy to said working medium, and said removing comprising transferring heat from said working medium to an energy sink.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein said supplying comprises passing said working medium through a solar collector during daylight hours, and said removing comprises cooling the working medium in a condenser during nighttime hours.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said working medium comprises a working fluid, and said supplying comprises expanding said working fluid to a gas in a container having a changing volume so as to maintain the gas at said substantially constant pressure.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said supplying comprises supplying additional thermal energy to the gas to increase the enthalpy of the gas.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said removing thermal energy from said working medium comprises using said removed thermal energy to preheat another working medium in another changing volume container of a pixelated system to promote expansion of said other working medium.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said working fluid is selected from the group consisting of acetone, alcohol, water, various water solutions, ammonia and water solutions, carbon dioxide, liquefied natural gas (LNG), chloro-fluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants R-410A, R-22, R-32, R-125, R-407C, R-134A, and HCFC refrigerants.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said removing thermal energy comprises cooling the expanded working fluid while reducing the volume of said container so as to maintain said substantially constant pressure within said container.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said imparting energy to said storage medium comprises applying energy to said storage medium using the changing volume of said container.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said converting comprising supplying at least a portion of the higher potential energy storage medium to a prime mover at a lower potential energy level to convert said higher potential energy to another form of energy using said prime mover.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said prime mover comprises a generator, and said other form of energy comprises electricity.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said prime mover comprises a compressor in a refrigeration system, and said other form of energy is used to produce a cryogenic fluid.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said imparting energy to said storage medium comprises displacing said storage medium to an elevated height.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said storage medium comprises a fluid, and said displacing comprises pumping said fluid to a reservoir at said elevated height.  
   
   
       15 . A method of converting thermal energy to another form, comprising: 
 supplying thermal energy to a working fluid in a plurality of container assemblies having changeable volumes so as to cause expansion to a gas at a substantially constant pressure of at least a portion of said working fluid in some of said plurality of container assemblies;    removing thermal energy from the gas in one or more of said container assemblies to condense said gas back to said working fluid while maintaining said substantially constant pressure;    supplying a portion of said removed thermal energy to working fluid in other ones of said container assemblies to preheat the working fluid in said other ones of said container assemblies to promote expansion of the working fluid therein to a gas; and    imparting energy to a storage medium using said expansion of working fluid to a gas to change the energy state of said storage medium to a high energy level.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said supplying thermal energy comprises supplying solar energy from a plurality of solar collectors, at least one solar collector being associated with one or more of said container assemblies; and said removing thermal energy from said gas comprises condensing said gas back to said working fluid using a plurality of condensers, at least one condenser being associated with one or more of said container assemblies.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said pluralities of solar collectors, container assemblies and condensers are dispersed over a landscape, and wherein said imparting energy to said storage medium comprises transporting said storage medium to a storage reservoir at an elevated level above said pluralities of solar collectors, container assemblies and condensers.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising supplying at least a portion of said storage medium from said reservoir to a prime mover at a lower level to convert a portion of the high energy of said storage medium to another form of energy from the prime mover.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising returning storage medium from said low level to said container assemblies to maintain said substantially constant pressure on said working fluid.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein said supplying solar energy comprises supplying heat to the working fluid during daylight hours, and said removing of thermal energy comprises condensing said gas during nighttime hours.  
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said storage medium is selected from the group comprising fluids, slurries, and solid masses.  
   
   
       22 . Apparatus for converting thermal energy, comprising: 
 a solar collector for supplying solar energy to an expansion medium circulating therethrough;    a containment assembly having first and second chambers with changeable volumes, said solar energy causing expansion to a gas at substantially constant pressure of said expansion medium from said solar collector within the first chamber, the second chamber of said containment assembly containing a storage medium, and said changing volumes imparting energy to the storage medium to move the storage medium to a high potential energy reservoir;    a condenser for removing heat energy from said gas from said first chamber, while maintaining said substantially constant pressure, to convert the gas back to said expansion medium; and    a prime mover for converting energy from said storage medium in said high potential energy reservoir to another form upon said storage medium moving to a low potential energy reservoir.    
   
   
       23 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein said containment assembly comprises a container having a moveable separator therein dividing the container into said first and second chambers, the volumes of said chambers changing in relation to the movement of said moveable separator.  
   
   
       24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein said expansion medium and said storage medium respectively comprise an expansion fluid and a storage fluid, and said moveable separator comprises a layer of non-miscible fluid that moves in response to pressure changes between the first and second chambers to change the volumes of said chambers.  
   
   
       25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the expansion of said expansion fluid to said gas in the first chamber increases the volume of the first chamber and decreases the volume of the second chamber and exert pressure on said storage fluid in the second chamber to displace said storage fluid to said high potential energy reservoir.  
   
   
       26 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein said solar collector comprises a fractal array of a plurality of solar collector units arranged in collector groups, and a transport system connecting said plurality of solar collector units for conveying expansion medium through said units.  
   
   
       27 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein there are pluralities of containment assemblies and condensers connected to said fractal array of solar collector units to form a pixelized energy conversion system, one or more of said containment assemblies, condensers and collector units being associated together to form corresponding pluralities of energy generator assemblies of said system.  
   
   
       28 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein said energy conversion units of said system are dispersed across a landscape, and said high potential energy and said low potential energy reservoirs comprise lakes.