Kobe Steel, Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho

Shirohiko Okamoto

Shigeto Adachi

Eiji Kanki

Yutaka Narukawa

Noboru Tsuboi

Kazuo Takahashi

Masayoshi Matsumura

A thermal energy recovery device includes: a circulation line having an evaporator, an expander, a condenser, and a pump; a power recovery machine; a first on-off valve; a thermal energy introduction line configured to introduce a gas phase working medium into a post-expansion space; a second on-off valve; and a control unit. Until an evaporation condition that a liquid phase working medium accumulated in the post-expansion space has reached an amount equal to or smaller than a reference amount is met, the control unit closes the first on-off valve and opens the second on-off valve, and drives the pump in a state where the expander is stopped, and when the evaporation condition is met, the control unit opens the first on-off valve and closes the second on-off valve, and drives the expander.

Thermal energy recovery device and operating method of the same

A thermal energy recovery device capable of suppressing a rapid increase of thermal stress generated in an evaporator when the operation is started and a start-up method thereof are provided. The thermal energy recovery device includes an evaporator, a preheater, an energy recovery unit, a circulating flow path, a pump, a heating medium flow path for supplying a heating medium to the evaporator and the preheater, a flow adjustment unit provided in a portion on the upstream side than the evaporator within the heating medium flow path, and a control unit. The control unit controls the flow adjustment unit so that the inflow amount of the heating medium in a gas-phase to the evaporator gradually increases, in a state that the pump is stopped, until the temperature of the evaporator becomes a specified value.

Thermal energy recovery device and start-up method thereof

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Shirohiko Okamoto