Heat conversion system

Abstract

Thermal energy contained in a flow of hot fluid is employed to produce a heat source liquid at a temperature higher than that of said hot fluid by transferring heat from said hot fluid to a liquid at a relatively low superatmospheric pressure, which liquid contains two chemical substances in combination pursuant to a reversible exothermic chemical reaction, causing said two substances to separate with one remaining in liquid state and the other, which is non-aqueous, volatilizing into gaseous state. The gaseous substance is then separately condensed at said low superatmospheric pressure and the condensate and the said remaining liquid substance are each pumped to a high pressure and then mixed together with the result that the two chemical substances recombine pursuant to said exothermic reaction causing the liquid mixture to heat to a relatively high temperature and thereby produce the said heat source liquid from which heat is transferred to a heat utilizing fluid, e.g. water which is vaporized to produce steam. An illustrative embodiment employs ammonia and water as the two chemical substances which combine to form ammonium hydroxide by a reversible exothermic reaction. Another embodiment operating at a materially higher temperature employs ammonia and molton zinc chloride monammoniacate which combine to form zinc chloride diammoniacate by a reversible exothermic reaction.