Other

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Gas Research Institute

Donald C Erickson

Gopalakrishnan Anand

Shailesh V Potnis

Anthony A Cassano

Pradip Rao

Brian R Dunbobbin

William R Brown

A hybrid absorber is disclosed for a closed absorption cycle apparatus. The hybrid absorber is comprised of a non-adiabatic section plus an adiabatic spray section in that order, with absorbent solution and vapor supplied sequentially to them. The spray section preferably also includes a non-adiabatic spray cooler. Coolant is supplied to the non-adiabatic absorber and the cooler either in parallel or in series, countercurrently to the absorbent.

Hybrid spray absorber

A thermally activated air conditioning system is disclosed that both dries and chills the air being conditioned. Drying is by a liquid desiccant subsystem, and chilling is by an absorption chilling subsystem. A very high COP (1.25) is obtainable owing to the use of reject heat from the absorption subsystem to power the desiccant subsystem. The overall system (or cycle) is powered by relatively low temperature input heat (e.g. 245&#xb0; F.). That heat can be obtained from flat plate or evacuated tube solar collectors, or other sources. The low driving temperature is made possible by the disclosed integration between the two subcycles.

Liquid desiccant chiller

An addition to the air compressor of a combustion turbine system is disclosed, which chills the inlet air on warm days. The same equipment with minimal modification is used to prevent inlet air icing conditions on cold days. Referring to FIG., inlet air conditioner heat exchangersupplies conditioned (chilled or heated) air to the combustion turbine, and heat recovery unitsupplies turbine exhaust heat to ammonia absorption refrigeration unit. Control valves, andselectively supply either chilling refrigerant liquid or heating vapor from AARUto conditioning heat exchanger coil

Thermally powered turbine inlet air chiller heater

An integrated steam-ammonia power cycle is disclosed which achieves a close match to a glide heat source such as exhaust from a gas turbine, and which also eliminates sub-atmospheric pressure operation. With reference to FIG., the exhaust heats in sequence steam superheater; steam boiler; feedwater preheaterplus ammonia superheater; and ammonia preheater. Steam is expanded to at least 17 psia in turbine, then condensed to boil ammonia in boiler. Superheated ammonia is expanded in turbine, and condensed in condenser. Feed ammonia is preheated in at least two parallel preheaters.

Steam ammonia power cycle

An improvement to an energy conversion engine in which fuel is combusted with compressed air is disclosed. Referring to FIG. , the inlet air to compressor ( ) is chilled in chiller ( ) sufficiently to condense moisture. The moisture is pressurized and routed to at least one of chilled inlet fogger ( ) and compressed air sprayer ( ). Engine exhaust heats an absorption refrigeration unit once-through generator ( ), which supplies the refrigeration to chiller ( ).

Combustion engine improvement

Apparatus and process for distilling a fluid mixture using low temperature glide heat are disclosed. A substantial portion of the glide heat is at a temperature lower than the peak distillation temperature. The disclosure achieves a maximal amount of distillative effect from a given heat source. Applications include absorption refrigeration and absorption power cycles. Referring to FIG. column and desorber distill fluid in conduit using low temperature glide heat. Divider proportions fluid between them.

Fluid mixture separation by low temperature glide heat

A sorber comprised of at least three concentric coils of tubing contained in a shell with a flow path for liquid sorbent in one direction, a flow path for heat transfer fluid which is in counter-current heat exchange relationship with sorbent flow, a sorbate vapor port in communication with at least one of sorbent inlet or exit ports, wherein each coil is coiled in opposite direction to those coils adjoining it, whereby the opposed slant tube configuration is achieved, with structure for flow modification in the core space inside the innermost coil.

Opposed slant tube diabatic sorber

A vapor-liquid contactor includes a plurality of vertically stacked trays ( ) within a containment column, the central downcomer ( ) provides a liquid supply and removal area at the same location on each tray ( ), so that the horizontal liquid flow pattern is the same on each tray ( ). The contactor also includes vertical partitions ( ) positioned transverse to the liquid flow within the vapor space of each tray ( ) to minimize vapor mixing. The trays ( ) may also include an indirect heat exchanger in the form of tubing arrays ( ).

Tray contactor with same direction liquid flow

An absorption system powered by low temperature heat for producing at least one of refrigeration and power is disclosed, wherein a low-pressure drop heat reclaimer reclaims heat from the source into a heating agent, which in turn supplies heat to the absorption cycle desorber via internal coils The extra temperature differential normally present in closed cycle heating systems is avoided by using the absorption working fluid as the heating agent, in an integrated system.

Absorption cycle with integrated heating system

A vapor-liquid tray is provided which achieves markedly higher vapor loading and tray efficiency at all liquid loadings, and with little or no increase in pressure drop. Vapor loading is increased via a multiplicity of locally co-current liquid recirculating compartments, preferably with diagonal structure producing diagonal co-currency. Tray efficiency is increased by highly effective horizontal staging via a convergent-divergent liquid flowpath, preferably with structurally integrated tray downcomers. The advantageous features are also applicable individually. Referring to FIG. , symmetric tray partitions separate the active area of tray into a central section and two peripheral sections. The peripheral sections have tray downcomers and tray weirs . The central section tray weir is . Compartment partitions divide the liquid flowpaths into multiple compartments, each having compartment weir with liquid recirculation passages

Locally co current horizontally staged contact tray

The efficiency and capacity of an air compressor ( ) (FIG. ) are increased by pre-cooling the inlet air to below the dew point in air chiller ( ), and then injecting the resulting condensate into the chilled air in the form of fog-sized droplets in a fogger ( ). The advantages extend to combustion engines, and especially to regenerative combustion turbines.

Air compression improvement

An absorption power cycle is disclosed which achieves a closer match to heat source temperature glide, and also lower heat source exit temperatures, and hence higher conversion efficiencies, in practical equipment. Referring to FIG.,, two separate absorbers (,and,) are provided, each with a pumping path for a different concentration absorbent liquid to a different temperature location within counter-current high-pressure desorber,. Heat source,heats the high-pressure desorber,and superheater,in parallel, and subsequently heats intermediate-pressure desorber,. Dotted lines in the figures signify vapor.

Absorption power cycle with two pumped absorbers

A corrosion-inhibited working fluid for an aqueous ammonia absorption cycle apparatus is charged with an alkali metal base in the concentration range of 0.0003 to 0.0063 moles per liter of water. A process for controlling corrosion and hydrogen generation in the aqueous ammonia absorption cycle apparatus is also disclosed.

Aqueous ammonia corrosion inhibitor

LPG and gasoline are recovered from catalytic reformer plant treat gas and net gas by refrigeration-induced condensation and separation, using reformer plant waste heat to produce the refrigeration in an ammonia absorption refrigeration unit. Referring to FIG. 2, reformer waste heat from exchanger 21 powers absorption refrigeration unit 22, which supplies refrigeration to chiller 25. Net gas and treat gas is recuperatively cooled in recuperator 24, chilled in chiller 25, and separated in separator 26. Absorption refrigeration may also be supplied to cool FCC compressor inlet vapor to below ambient, either in conjunction with treat gas chilling or independently. Other waste heat streams may also be used.

LPG recovery from reformer treat gas

An intensified means of multicomponent fluid multistage vapor-liquid contact is disclosed. The contactor achieves the thermodynamic advantages of global countercurrency, the tray efficiency advantages of tray crosscurrency, and the point efficiency advantages of local cocurrency with liquid recirculation. Referring to FIG. 6, each tray has multiple compartments formed by compartment dividers 62, 63, and 64, and each compartment has a channel divider 69, 66, 67 which forms separate locally cocurrent riser channels and liquid downcomer channels.

Growing community of inventors

Annapolis, MD, United States of America

Donald C Erickson