MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION SYSTEM

Abstract

Electrical/mechanical power is derived from oxycombustion of hydrocarbons, preferably LNG, in a first of two nested cycles each operating on a Brayton cycle to provide a source of power, without mixing of working fluids between the two cycles. Each cycle employs CO.sub.2 as a working fluid, the first cycle operating under low pressure conditions in which CO.sub.2 is sub-critical, and the other cycle operating under higher pressure conditions in which CO.sub.2 is supercritical. The first cycle serves as a source of heat for the second cycle by gas/gas heat exchange which cools the products of combustion and circulating working fluid in the first cycle and heats working fluid in the second cycle.

Claims

1. A method of providing electrical/mechanical power derived from oxycombustion of hydrocarbons, preferably LNG, in a first of two nested cycles each operating on a Brayton cycle to provide a source of power, without mixing of working fluids between the two cycles; each cycle employing CO.sub.2 as a working fluid; the first cycle operating under low pressure conditions in which CO.sub.2 is sub-critical, and the other cycle operating under higher pressure conditions in which CO.sub.2 is supercritical; and the first cycle serving as a source of heat for the second cycle by gas/gas heat exchange which cools the products of combustion and circulating working fluid in the first cycle and heats working fluid in the second cycle.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said step of cooling of the products of combustion and working fluid in said first cycle occurs prior to an expansion step in the Brayton cycle of the first cycle.

3. A power plant operatively providing mechanical/electrical power, the power plant comprising first apparatus coupled in a first Brayton cycle using CO.sub.2 under low pressure conditions in which CO.sub.2 is sub-critical as working fluid, and second apparatus coupled in a second Brayton cycle using CO.sub.2 in high pressure conditions in which CO.sub.2 is super-critical as working fluid; the first apparatus being nested with the second apparatus without any mixing of working fluid between the cycles; the first apparatus including a combustion chamber, serving as the sole source of energy to the power plant, the combustion chamber being adapted to burn hydrocarbons, preferably LNG, in oxygen under low pressure conditions; and the power plant further comprising a heat exchanger in which the products of combustion and circulating working fluid in the first cycle are cooled and circulating working fluid in the second cycle is heated, whereby the first cycle serves as a source of power for the second cycle.

4. A marine vessel provided with a self-contained power plant according to claim 3, wherein one of the first apparatus and the second apparatus is adapted to provide mechanical drive to propel the vessel and the other is adapted to provide electricity for the vessel, the first apparatus optionally further comprising separation and treatment apparatus for water in the products of combustion in the first apparatus to provide a source of potable water for the vessel.

5. An oil or gas well drilling facility comprising a drill and a self-contained power plant according to claim 3 for the facility, wherein one of the first apparatus and the second apparatus is adapted to provide mechanical drive to propel the drill and the other is adapted to provide electricity for the facility, the first apparatus optionally further comprising separation and treatment apparatus for treating water in the products of combustion to provide a source of potable water for the facility.

6. A facility according to claim 5, wherein the first apparatus further comprises removal and injection means adapted to remove excess CO.sub.2 from the first cycle and to inject it into the ground for enhanced oil or gas recovery or for CO.sub.2 sequestration.

7. A chemical or petrochemical plant or refinery, provided with an integrated self-contained power system comprising a power plant according to claim 3, wherein excess CO.sub.2 is removed from the first apparatus to serves as a CO.sub.2 source for process use or for sequestration, water is separated from the first apparatus to serve as a water source for process use or for treatment to provide a source of potable water for the plant or refinery, and excess heat from the first and or second apparatus serves as a source of heat for process use.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, in which:

[0013] FIGS. 1 and 2 are the aforesaid annotated version of Figures taken from the Allam paper;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a generally schematic circuit diagram of a self-contained power generation system in accordance with the present teachings;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a table in two parts showing a power balance calculation with computed values derived from a computer simulation of the system of FIG. 3, FIG. 4a showing the calculated values for the high pressure second cycle, and FIG. 4b showing similar values for the low pressure first cycle; and

[0016] FIG. 5 shows calculated variation in net efficiency with inlet temperature to the second turbine in the high pressure second cycle.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Power generation systems of the kind schematically illustrated in FIG. 3 are designed for a variety of self-contained applications where prime movers are needed, providing between 30 MW and 80 MW with thermal efficiencies in the range of 30-40%. Typical such applications may include, but are not limited to: oil and gas separation, production and export; well-head compression of gas and condensate, and export; gas injection into oil and gas reservoirs to maintain and increase oil recovery; gas pipelines; petro-chemical plants and refineries; LNG production systems that require 200-300 MW of power, but currently use multiple smaller units of 40-50 MW steam/gas turbines to substitute for such smaller units; marine use, particularly in ship power/propulsion systems fuelled by LNG; and in mining activities that require 50-250 MW generation of power.

[0018] Typical figures for temperature and pressure given below are derived from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and validated using process modelling and computer simulations.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 3, LNG, essentially methane, CH.sub.4, and oxygen, suitably derived by evaporation in an air liquefaction and evaporation separation plant, are supplied at respective inlets 8, 9 to low pressure combustion chamber 10 in a first cycle, to which chamber recirculating CO.sub.2 gas is also supplied at inlet 11, for oxy-combustion

CH.sub.4+2 O.sub.2═CO.sub.2+2 H.sub.2O

The use of oxygen, rather than air, and the use of LNG as fuel provide clean and complete combustion to CO.sub.2 and water with minimal production of undesirable NO.sub.x and SO.sub.x pollutants. The combustion requires the significant quantities of CO.sub.2 provided by recirculation of the working fluid in the first cycle to cool the flame temperature so that combustion is conducted within the conventional bounds of existing materials and technology. Such use of CO.sub.2 in sub-critical low pressure combustion, typically at 20-30 bar, means that commercially available combustion chambers using generally available materials may be employed. The working fluid and products of combustion typically exit the combustion chamber at 20-30 bar and 800-1200° C. This high temperature low pressure gas passes in the first cycle to a gas/gas heat exchanger 12 which is also included in a second high pressure cycle discussed below. It should be noted that there is no mixing between working fluid in the two cycles.

[0020] Approximately 70% of the heat content of the combustion gases is transferred to high pressure working fluid in the second cycle through heat exchanger 12. Low pressure working fluid in the first cycle exiting the heat exchanger 12 passes to a low pressure expander in the form of first turbine 13 and is still at a relatively high temperature of 500-900° C. (more preferably 500-750° C.) with sufficient energy to allow the first turbine 13 to extract a useful quantity of power.

[0021] Alternatively, the turbine 13 could be positioned before the heat exchanger 12, or there may be a plurality of first turbines 13 which may operate in parallel, or serially, and at least one of which may be positioned before the heat exchanger 12. Arrangements in which the or a turbine 13 is positioned upstream of the heat exchanger 12 are less preferred, as such turbine would need to be specially constructed from alloys capable of withstanding the high temperatures of gases directly from the combustion chamber and/or would require blade cooling.

[0022] In the illustrated embodiment, fluid from the first turbine is first cooled by a first recuperator 14 which transfers heat to recirculating CO.sub.2 passing back to the combustion chamber 10, and then by a cooler 15, typically to a temperature of 20-60° C. so that water condenses into liquid water which is separated in separator 16, from which separator produced water is removed by water pump 17 to provide a treatable source for a potable water supply. The remaining CO.sub.2 gas, typically at 10 bar and 20-60° C., passes to first compressor 18 where it is compressed to 20-30 bar and 110-130° C., passes through an after cooler 19 where it is cooled to 20-60° C. before being reheated, firstly to 120-140° C. in a second stage 20 of a two-stage recuperator 21 included in the high pressure second cycle and discussed below, and then in first recuperator 14 as mentioned above, from which it emerges at 20-30 bar and 400-600° C. before passing in recirculation to combustion chamber 10. Excess CO.sub.2 is withdrawn from the first cycle at 22 downstream of the first compressor 18 and after cooler 19.

[0023] Practical embodiments of first turbine 13 and first compressor 18 may be relatively compact and lightweight as compared with typical gas or steam turbines or large diesel engines. For example a range of turbomachinery rotors are available from equipment manufacturers that currently supply high pressure gas compressors which can attain the pressures from 10-30 bar to 400 bar envisaged in practical embodiments of the present process and also mechanical drive steam turbines that are built to withstand 150 bar and 600° C. Suitable such equipment is listed in Compression Technology Sourcing Supplement, published March 2017 by Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications, Waukesha, Wis. 53186-1873, United States of America. Conventional industrial heavy duty gas turbines are designed and manufactured to higher temperatures than envisaged in the present process but the pressures are limited to 30 bar, namely pressures of the order of the maximum pressures envisaged in the first low pressure cycle in practical embodiments of the present process.

[0024] The second cycle uses CO.sub.2 as working fluid in an essentially closed cycle at high pressure at which the CO.sub.2 is in a supercritical state. At the critical pressure of 73 bar and a temperature of 35° C. CO.sub.2 becomes super dense and behaves more like a liquid than a gas, and requires greatly reduced compression power. Supercritical CO.sub.2 above this temperature and pressure has a very high density and specific heat more like a liquid than a gas. As explained above, the combustion products in the first cycle serve as heat source for the second cycle at gas/gas heat exchanger 12 from which the supercritical CO.sub.2 emerges at 200-400 bar and 700-800° C., passing to second turbine 23. Because the second cycle operates under high pressure conditions in which the CO.sub.2 is supercritical, the bulk of the power produced in the system as a whole is generated by expansion in second turbine 23. The working fluid emerges from second turbine 23 at 80 bar and 500-600° C., and is cooled in two-stage recuperator 21 and a further cooler 24 before passing via a KO drum 25, to condense any liquid droplets that might be present, to second compressor 26. The two stage recuperator 21 includes a first stage 27 in which working fluid in the second cycle returning to the gas/gas heat exchanger 12 is heated, emerging at 200-400 bar and 500-600° C., having been heated by expanded working fluid from the second turbine 23. Working fluid from second turbine 23 emerges from the first stage 27 of the recuperator at 80 bar and 130-150° C. and is further cooled to 70-80° C. in the second stage 20 of the recuperator, where heat is transferred to low pressure working fluid in the first cycle passing from the first compressor 18 back towards the combustion chamber 10, as explained above. Cooler 24 further reduces the working fluid in the second cycle to a temperature of 40° C. at 80 bar.

[0025] The system described lends itself to variation for specific needs. For example, for ship propulsion systems, the high pressure gas flow from the gas/gas heat exchanger can be split into two streams passing to parallel expander turbines. One may be used to generate electrical power by running at constant speed. The other may be run at varying speeds to drive the ship propulsion system.

[0026] The proposed compressors are small and compact and may suitably be of the centrifugal type. In view of this, it will be seen that the respective compressors of FIG. 3 are fitted with anti-surge valves 28 and 29 both to protect against surges and to serve as bypass valves on start up.

[0027] Provision is made at 30 and 31 respectively to fill the first low pressure cycle and the second high pressure cycle with dry CO.sub.2 at start up.

[0028] As the maximum temperature of working fluid in the second cycle in the FIG. 3 arrangement is preferably kept below 800° C., the components in the system can be fabricated from conventional commercially available materials, including compressor and turbine components of the kind available from suppliers listed in the aforementioned Compression Technology Sourcing Supplement.

[0029] Embodiments of the nested first and second CO.sub.2 cycles described above can achieve net efficiencies of over 40%, which is higher than for conventional steam or gas turbine systems while being much lighter and occupying significantly less space than conventional steam or gas turbine power generation systems. Moreover, they can do so without needing to rely upon the extreme temperatures and pressures necessary for the Allam cycle to achieve its claimed efficiencies, as a result of which proven and readily available materials and readily available components can be employed.

[0030] FIG. 5 shows an example of how efficiency can be affected by changing other parameters. Raising or lowering the inlet temperature to the second turbine 23 which acts as expander in the second cycle affects efficiency, as shown in FIG. 5. The values shown are the results of computational simulations.

[0031] The small weight and space requirements for practical embodiments of our system that can produce 50 MW of power by clean combustion without emissions and at a net efficiency of around 40% make the system especially suitable for powering marine vessels or for use on isolated oil or gas platforms. The turbomachinery required for the high pressure cycle in a practical embodiment of 50 MW power system in accordance with the present teachings may be very compact by virtue of employing supercritical CO.sub.2 and so may have a bulk no greater than that of a conventional cargo container. That required for the low pressure cycle would be greater, but with suitable design and optimisation of equipment, considerable saving in weight and space overall may be achieved by practical embodiments of power system of the kind described herein, as compared with conventional steam turbines used to power container ships and bulk oil or LNG bulk carriers. Such savings may be utilised to increase the payload carried, making operation more profitable. On an isolated oil or gas platform, space is always at a premium.