A rotary liquid piston compressor and a power generation system including a first fluid loop. The first fluid loop includes a pump that circulates a liquid. A second fluid loop that generates power by circulating a supercritical fluid. The second fluid loop includes a turbine that rotates and powers a generator as the supercritical fluid flows through the turbine. A rotary liquid piston compressor fluidly coupled to the first fluid loop and the second fluid loop. The rotary liquid piston compressor exchanges pressure between the liquid circulating in the first fluid loop and the supercritical fluid circulating in the second fluid loop.

A system includes a rotary liquid piston compressor configured to exchange pressure between a liquid and a supercritical fluid. The rotary liquid piston compressor includes a rotor configured to exchange pressure between the liquid and the supercritical fluid as the rotor rotates. The rotor defines channels that extend through the rotor. The rotary liquid piston compressor further includes barriers configured to block mixing between the liquid and the supercritical fluid. The barriers rest within the rotor. Each channel of the channels is configured to receive a barrier of the barriers.

An apparatus (2) includes an internal combustion engine (4) and an inverted Brayton cycle heat engine (6). Hot exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine (4) contains water. The hot exhaust gas drives the inverted Brayton cycle heat engine. A condenser (22) in a fluid path of the exhaust gas between an inverted-Brayton-cycle turbine and an inverted-Brayton-cycle compressor condenses at least some of the water from the exhaust gas to form condensed water. This condensed water follows a recirculation path (30) so as to be re-introduced as a working fluid into one or more of the heat engines described above, or further heat engines, e.g. the condensed water is heated by the exhaust gas using a steam-generating heat exchanger (20) to generate steam which drives a steam turbine (32).

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for implementing the method so as to alleviate the disadvantages of a reciprocating combustion engine and gas turbine when generating power. The invention is based on the idea of arranging a combustion chamber (10) outside a turbine (22) and providing compressed air from serially connected compressors to an air chamber in which the air is heated and then exhausted to the combustion chamber in order to carry out a combustion process supplemented with high pressure steam pulses.

A method and system using at least two different working fluids to be supplied to an expander to cause it to do mechanical work. The expander is started by providing a compressed gaseous working fluid at a sufficient pressure to the expander. At the same time the compressed gaseous working fluid is provided to the expander, a second working fluid that is liquid at ambient temperatures is provided to a heater to be heated. The second working fluid is heated to its boiling point and converted to pressurized gas Once the pressure is increased to a sufficient level, the second working fluid is injected into the expander to generate power, and the supply of the first working fluid may be stopped. After expansion in the expander, the working fluids are is exhausted from the expander, and the second working fluid may be condensed for separation from the first working fluid. Control circuitry controls the admission of the first and second working fluids responsive to monitoring the load on the expander. Waste heat in the exhaust from the expander can be used to heat or alternatively to dry an element in a device that can be operated as a desiccator to dry air when operated in a summer mode, or to heat air when operated in a winter mode. The air having been dried or alternatively heated is then ducted to an evaporative cooler which cools the dried air in summer mode and humidifies the heated air in winter mode.

A method and system using at least two different working fluids to be supplied to an expander to cause it to do mechanical work. The expander is started by providing a compressed gaseous working fluid at a sufficient pressure to the expander. At the same time the compressed gaseous working fluid is provided to the expander, a second working fluid that is liquid at ambient temperatures is provided to a heater to be heated. The second working fluid is heated to its boiling point and converted to pressurized gas Once the pressure is increased to a sufficient level, the second working fluid is injected into the expander to generate power, and the supply of the first working fluid may be stopped. After expansion in the expander, the working fluids are is exhausted from the expander, and the second working fluid may be condensed for separation from the first working fluid. Control circuitry controls the admission of the first and second working fluids responsive to monitoring the load on the expander.

Waste heat in the exhaust from the expander can be used to heat or alternatively to dry an element in a device that can be operated as a desiccator to dry air when operated in a summer mode, or to heat air when operated in a winter mode. The air having been dried or alternatively heated is then ducted to an evaporative cooler which cools the dried air in summer mode and humidifies the heated air in winter mode.

A system for an engine (101) comprises a heat recovery system and a gaseous fuel supply system. The heat recovery system comprises a first reservoir (104) for fluid, at least one evaporator (121) for transferring heat from an engine to the fluid, a vapour expander (129) for converting fluid vapour energy into motive power, and a condenser (134). The gaseous fuel supply system comprises a second reservoir (90) for liquefied gaseous fuel and a fuel evaporator (91) for expanding liquefied gaseous fuel into gaseous fuel for the engine. The condenser (134) is in thermal contact with the fuel evaporator (91).