A method and to an apparatus for providing additional control power of a power plant process. The power plant process includes a steam turbine connected into a water vapor circuit, having at least one high-pressure part and a medium-pressure and/or no-pressure part, which are connected to one another via a cold intermediate superheating line, a steam generator and a condenser. A steam reservoir is provided, which is formed as a Ruths reservoir and in which an encapsulated PCM reservoir is integrated. To charge the steam reservoir, hot steam is taken from the cold intermediate superheating line, between the high-pressure and the medium-pressure and/or low-pressure part of the steam turbine, and for charging, and thus for providing additional control power, steam is taken from the steam reservoir and fed back into the water vapor circuit between the steam generator and the condenser.

The present invention is a device and method for controlling a closed loop (10) working on a Rankine cycle comprising a compression and circulation pump (12) for the liquid fluid, a heat exchanger (20) swept by a hot source (C) for evaporation of the fluid, expansion device (32) for the fluid in vapor form, a cooling exchange (44) swept by a cold source (F) for condensing the working fluid, a working fluid receiving tank (50) and working fluid circulation lines (60, 62, 64, 66, 68). The tank (50) is connected to a pressure regulating system (52, 54).

There are various source of heat energy. Amongst the various sources Solar energy, waste heat form garbage, waste heat from transformers, waste heat from chemical reactions, waste heat from plant and machinery, heat from geo-thermal or the vast heat energy lying in the seas and oceans are some of the major ones which are free and unused. Apart from these, we can also produce heat energy from fuels like fossil fuels, hydrogen gas, forest products etc. A lot of heat energy is being wasted and though converted to mechanical or electric energy it is not that efficient. However, using the evaporation or sublimation and condensation process brought about through difference in temperature and the use of buoyancy factor to increase the efficiency of the energy production, the heat energy can be converted to mechanical or electrical energy in excess of hundred percent. Moreover, heat energy obtained from hydrolysis of some chemicals like salts or hydroxides and their dehydration for reuse or the heat stored as latent heat on melting of salts can be utilized for huge storage of energy for some months or more and use it through this invention method. The energy lying in the water under the oceans during winter can be easily utilized for production of huge energy when there are very low (freezing) temperatures on the surface of the earth.

High temperature thermal energy exchange system with horizontal heat exchange chamber and method for exchanging thermal energy by using the high temperature thermal energy exchange system A high temperature thermal energy exchange (heat) exchange system is provided. The high temperature thermal energy exchange system comprises at least one horizontal heat exchange chamber with chamber boundaries which surround at least one heat exchange chamber interior of the heat exchange chamber, wherein the chamber boundaries comprise at least one inlet opening for guiding in an inflow of at least one heat transfer fluid into the heat exchange chamber interior and at least one outlet opening for guiding out an outflow of the heat transfer fluid out of the heat exchange chamber interior, at least one heat storage material is arranged in the heat exchange chamber interior such that a heat exchange flow of the heat transfer fluid through the heat exchange chamber interior causes a heat exchange between the heat storage material and the heat transfer fluid and the heat high temperature thermal energy exchange system is developed such that horizontal heat exchange flows of the heat transfer fluid through the heat exchange chamber interior differ from each other in vertical direction. The horizontal heat exchange flows are different in vertical direction of the heat exchange chamber. The heat transfer fluid is led into heat exchange channels via the inlet openings and is led out of the heat exchange channels via the outlet openings. Preferably, the heat transfer fluid is air with ambient pressure. An operating temperature of the high temperature thermal energy exchange system is more than 600 C.

An energy storage device having: a high-temperature regenerator containing a solid, particularly porous storage material (S); a working gas (A) as the heat transfer medium to transfer heat between the storage material (S) and the working gas (A) flowing through; and a charging circuit and a discharging circuit for the working gas (A). The charging circuit is designed such that starting from a pre-heating unit at least one first heat transfer duct of a recuperator, a first compressor (HO), the high-temperature regenerator, a second heat transfer duct of the recuperator and then a first expander are interconnected, thus forming a circuit, so as to conduct fluid. The first compressor is coupled with the first expander, and the first compressor forms part of a first piston machine (K1) and the first expander forms part of a second piston machine (K2), the piston machines (K1, K2) being operable either as a compressor or as an expander such that the first compressor of the charging circuit forms a second expander in the discharging circuit and that the first expander of the charging circuit forms a second compressor in the discharging circuit. The high-temperature regenerator can be connected to either the charging circuit or the discharging circuit to conduct fluid and can be controlled such that the high-temperature regenerator, the compressor and the expander form either part of the charging circuit or part of the discharging circuit. The charging circuit, the discharging circuit and the high-temperature regenerator have the same working gas (A) so that the working gas (A) comes into direct contact with the storage material of the high-temperature regenerator both in the charging circuit and in the discharging circuit.

A heat storage mechanism, of a heat exchanger, which does not shorten the service life of the heat exchanger even when a facility using the heat exchanger is intermittently operated and which suppresses a decrease in efficiency at the time of restart of the facility, is provided. The heat storage mechanism for storing heat of a heat exchanger during stop of operation of a facility provided with the heat exchanger includes an outflow prevention unit configured to prevent outflow of an exhaust gas to the outside, which is a heating medium of the heat exchanger, during stop of operation of the facility is provided in an exhaust passage through which the exhaust gas is discharged to the outside.

A heat storage mechanism, of a heat exchanger, which does not shorten the service life of the heat exchanger even when a facility using the heat exchanger is intermittently operated and which suppresses a decrease in efficiency at the time of restart of the facility, is provided. The heat storage mechanism for storing heat of a heat exchanger during stop of operation of a facility provided with the heat exchanger includes an outflow prevention unit configured to prevent outflow of an exhaust gas to the outside, which is a heating medium of the heat exchanger, during stop of operation of the facility is provided in an exhaust passage through which the exhaust gas is discharged to the outside.

A method, system, and apparatus for the thermal storage of nuclear reactor generated energy including diverting a selected portion of energy from a portion of a nuclear reactor system to an auxiliary thermal reservoir and, responsive to a shutdown event, supplying a portion of the diverted selected portion of energy to an energy conversion system of the nuclear reactor system.

A method, system, and apparatus for the thermal storage of nuclear reactor generated energy including diverting a selected portion of energy from a portion of a nuclear reactor system to an auxiliary thermal reservoir and, responsive to a shutdown event, supplying a portion of the diverted selected portion of energy to an energy conversion system of the nuclear reactor system.

A method including: (i) operating a pumped-heat energy storage system (PHES system) in a charge mode to convert electricity into stored thermal energy in a hot thermal storage medium (HTS medium) by transferring heat from a working fluid to a warm HTS medium, resulting in a hot HTS medium, wherein the PHES system is further operable in a generation mode to convert at least a portion of the stored thermal energy into electricity; and (ii) heating the hot HTS medium with an electric heater above a temperature achievable by transferring heat from the working fluid to the warm HTS medium.