Gas turbine systems and methods employing a vaporizable liquid delivery device

Abstract

Systems and methods utilizing turbines, including a compressor turbine with a vaporizable liquid delivery device, are presented. A compressor turbine uses the evaporation of a vaporizable liquid at or near thermal equilibrium from the vaporizable liquid delivery device during the compression. The vapor created thereby typically carries the thermal energy discharged after the gas turbine cycle. The amount of liquid vaporized during compression, the length of time vaporization takes, the proximity to thermal equilibrium at which vaporization occurs, the amount of thermal energy recovered by recuperation, and the temperature at the inlet of the combustion chamber are generally interrelated parameters that can be controlled to increase efficiency.

1 . An open-cycle gas turbine system for producing power and optionally heat, the system comprising:
 a compressor for receiving a working gas and compressing the working gas to produce a compressed working gas;   a vaporizable liquid delivery device associated with the compressor for delivering a vaporizable liquid to the working gas;   a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the compressor for receiving the compressed working gas and cooling the compressed working gas to produce a cooled, compressed working gas;   a recuperator for receiving the cooled, compressed working gas from the heat exchanger and adding thermal energy to produce a heated, compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the heated, compressed working gas from the recuperator and combusting the heated, compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas;   an expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and expanding the exhaust gas to develop power and to produce an expanded exhaust gas; and   wherein the recuperator is fluidly coupled to the expansion turbine for receiving the expanded exhaust gas.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out between 0% and 100% of a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas to form a condensed liquid; and
 further comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger for removing condensed liquid.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a coolant delivery conduit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger for delivering a coolant; and   a coolant controller for controlling an amount of coolant delivered to the heat exchanger.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a coolant delivery conduit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger for delivering a coolant;   a coolant controller for controlling an amount of coolant delivered to the heat exchanger; and   wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out between 0% and 100% of a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas in response to the amount of coolant delivered by the coolant controller.   
     
     
         8 . An open-cycle gas turbine system for producing power and optionally heat, the system comprising:
 a compressor for receiving a working gas and compressing the working gas to produce a compressed working gas;   a vaporizable liquid delivery device associated with the compressor for delivering a vaporizable liquid to the working gas;   a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the compressor for receiving the compressed working gas and cooling the compressed working gas to produce a cooled, compressed working gas;   a recuperator for receiving the cooled, compressed working gas from the heat exchanger and adding thermal energy to produce a heated, compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the heated, compressed working gas from the recuperator and combusting the heated, compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas;   an expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and expanding the exhaust gas to develop power and to produce an expanded exhaust gas; and   wherein the recuperator is fluidly coupled to the expansion turbine for receiving the expanded exhaust gas.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out between 0% and 100% of a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas to form a condensed liquid; and
 further comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger for removing condensed liquid.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8  further comprising:
 a coolant delivery conduit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger for delivering a coolant; and   a coolant controller for controlling an amount of coolant delivered to the heat exchanger.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8  further comprising:
 a coolant delivery conduit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger for delivering a coolant;   a coolant controller for controlling an amount of coolant delivered to the heat exchanger; and   wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out between 0% and 100% of a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas in response to the amount of coolant delivered by the coolant controller.   
     
     
         15 . A method of producing power with an open-cycle gas turbine, the method comprising the steps of:
 compressing a working gas to produce a compressed working gas;   wherein the step of compressing a working gas comprises delivering a vaporizable liquid to the working gas;   cooling the compressed working gas in a heat exchanger to produce a cooled, compressed working gas;   adding thermal energy in a recuperator to the cooled, compressed working gas to produce a heated, compressed working gas;   combusting the heated, compressed working gas in a combustion chamber o produce an exhaust gas;   expanding the exhaust gas in an expansion turbine to develop power and to produce an expanded exhaust gas; and   supplying thermal energy to the recuperator from the expanded exhaust gas.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the step of compressing a working gas further comprises substantially saturating the working gas. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15  further comprising:
 delivering a coolant to the heat exchanger; and   controlling an amount of coolant delivered to the heat exchanger.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15  further comprising:
 delivering a coolant to the heat exchanger;   controlling an amount of coolant delivered to the heat exchanger; and   wherein the heat exchanger is operable to condense out between 0% and 100% of a condensable liquid from the compressed working gas in response to the amount of coolant delivered by the coolant controller.   
     
     
         19 . An open-cycle gas turbine system, the system comprising:
 a compressor for receiving a working gas and compressing the working gas to produce a compressed working gas;   a vaporizable liquid delivery device associated with the compressor for delivering liquid droplets to the working gas;   a recuperator fluidly coupled to the compressor for receiving the compressed working gas from the compressor and delivering thermal energy to the compressed working gas to produce a heated, compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the recuperator for combusting the heated, compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas;   an expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and removing energy from the heat exhaust gas to produce an expanded exhaust gas;   a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the expansion turbine for receiving the expanded exhaust gas and removing thermal energy from the expanded exhaust gas to produce a cooled, expanded exhaust gas; and   a conduit associated with the heat exchanger for receiving the cooled, expanded exhaust gas and delivering the cooled, expanded exhaust to the recuperator.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 19  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         22 . An open-cycle gas turbine system, the system comprising:
 a first compressor having a vaporizable liquid delivery device, the first compressor for receiving a working gas and compressing the working gas to form a compressed working gas;   a recuperator fluidly coupled to the compressor, the recuperator for receiving the compressed working gas and providing thermal energy to the compressed working gas to produce a heated, compressed working gas;   a first expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the heated, compressed working gas and operable to expand the heated, compressed working gas to produce energy and a once-expanded working gas;   a conduit for delivering the once-expanded working gas from the first expansion turbine to the recuperator; and   a second expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the once-expanded working gas and operable to expand the once-expanded working gas to produce energy and to produce a twice-expanded working gas.   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22  further comprising a heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the recuperator and fluidly coupled to the first expansion turbine, the heat exchanger operable to receive the heated, compressed working gas from the recuperator and further heat the heated, compressed working gas. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22  further comprising a cooler-condenser fluidly coupled to the second expansion turbine for receiving the twice-expanded working gas and condensing out a vaporizable liquid from the twice-expanded working gas. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25  wherein the cooler-condenser is fluidly coupled to the vaporizable liquid delivery device. 
     
     
         27 . An open-cycle gas turbine system, the system comprising:
 a compressor having a vaporizable liquid delivery device, and wherein the compressor is operable to receive a working gas and compress the working gas to produce a compressed working gas;   a recuperator fluidly coupled to the compressor for receiving the working gas and adding thermal energy to produce a once-heated, compressed working gas;   a second compressor fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the once-heated, compressed working gas and further compressing the once-heated, compressed working gas to produce a twice-compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the second compressor for receiving the twice-compressed working gas and combusting the twice-compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas;   a expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and expanding the exhaust gas to produce an expanded exhaust gas; and   a conduit fluidly coupled between the recuperator and the expansion turbine for delivering the expanded working gas from the expansion turbine to the recuperator wherein the expanded working gas provides thermal energy.   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 27  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to fully saturate the compressed working gas. 
     
     
         30 . An open-cycle gas turbine system, the system comprising:
 a first compressor for receiving a working gas, the first compressor having a vaporizable liquid delivery device and operable to produce a compressed working gas;   a cooler-condenser fluidly coupled to the first compressor for receiving the compressed working gas and cooling the compressed working gas to produce a condensed liquid and a cooled, compressed working gas;   a conduit for delivering the condensed liquid from the cooler-condenser to the vaporizable liquid delivery device;   a second compressor fluidly coupled to the cooler-condenser for receiving the cooled compressed working gas and operable to produce a twice-compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the second compressor for receiving the twice-compressed working gas and combusting the twice-compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas; and   an expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and operable to expand the exhaust gas to develop energy and produce an expanded exhaust gas.   
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30  wherein the first compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 30  wherein the first compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to fully saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         33 . An open-cycle gas turbine system, the system comprising:
 a first compressor having a vaporizable liquid delivery device and operable to receive a working gas and to compress the working gas to produce a compressed working gas;   a recuperator fluidly coupled to the first compressor for receiving the compressed working gas and operable to provide thermal energy to the working gas to produce heated, compressed working gas;   a second compressor fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the heated, compressed working gas from the recuperator and compressing the heated, compressed working gas to produce a twice-compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the second compressor for receiving the twice-compressed working gas and combusting the twice-compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas;   a first expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and operable to produce a once-expanded exhaust gas;   a conduit fluidly coupled to the recuperator and the first expansion turbine, the conduit for delivering the once-expanded exhaust gas from the first expansion turbine to the recuperator;   wherein the recuperator is further operable to receive thermal energy from the once-expanded exhaust gas and to produce a cooled, once-expanded exhaust gas; and   a second expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the cooled, once-expanded exhaust gas and expanding the cooled, once-expanded exhaust gas to produced a twice-expanded exhaust gas and energy.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to substantially saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 33  wherein the compressor and vaporizable liquid delivery device are operable to fully saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         36 . An open-cycle gas turbine system for cooling, the system comprising:
 a compressor having a vaporizable liquid delivery device, the compressor operable to receive a working gas and produce a compressed working gas;   a recuperator fluidly coupled to the compressor for receiving the compressed working gas and providing thermal energy to the compressed working gas to produce heated, compressed working gas;   a combustion chamber fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the heated, compressed working gas and combusting the heated, compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas;   a first expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the combustion chamber for receiving the exhaust gas and expanding the exhaust gas to produce an expanded exhaust gas and energy;   wherein the recuperator is fluidly coupled to the first expansion turbine for receiving the expanded exhaust gas from the first expansion turbine and removing thermal energy to produce a cooled, expanded exhaust gas;   a cooler-condenser fluidly coupled to the recuperator for receiving the cooled, expanded exhaust gas and producing a dried working gas;   a second expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the cooler-condenser for receiving the dried working gas and producing a cold working gas; and   a low temperature heat exchanger fluidly coupled to the second expansion turbine for receiving the cold working gas and delivering thermal energy to the cold working gas.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 36  wherein the vaporizable liquid delivery device and the compressor fully saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 36  wherein the vaporizable liquid delivery device and the compressor substantially saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 36  wherein the low temperature heat exchanger is operable to receive a liquefiable gas and to produce a liquid from the liquefiable gas. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 36  wherein the cooler-condenser is operable to condense out a condensed liquid from the cooled, expanded exhaust gas and further comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to the cooler-condenser and fluidly coupled to the vaporizable liquid delivery device for delivering the condensed liquid to the vaporizable liquid delivery device. 
     
     
         41 . An open-cycle gas turbine system, the system comprising:
 a first compressor for receiving a working gas, the first compressor having a vaporizable liquid delivery device and operable to produce a compressed working gas;   a cooler-condenser fluidly coupled to the first compressor for receiving the compressed working gas and cooling the compressed working gas to produce a condensed liquid and a cooled, compressed working gas;   a conduit for delivering the condensed liquid from the cooler-condenser to the vaporizable liquid delivery device;   a second compressor fluidly coupled to the cooler-condenser for receiving the cooled compressed working gas and operable to produce a twice-compressed working gas;   a heating unit fluidly coupled to the second compressor for receiving the twice-compressed working gas and providing thermal energy to the twice-compressed working gas to produce an exhaust gas; and   an expansion turbine fluidly coupled to the heating unit for receiving the exhaust gas and operable to expand the exhaust gas to develop energy and produce an expanded exhaust gas.   
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the heating unit comprises a combustion chamber. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the heating unit comprises a high-temperature heat exchanger. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 41  further comprising a conduit fluidly coupled to the cooler-condenser for receiving the condensed liquid and fluidly coupled to the vaporizable liquid delivery device. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the vaporizable liquid delivery device and the compressor fully saturate the working gas. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 41  wherein the vaporizable liquid delivery device and the compressor substantially saturate the working gas.