Flameless glycol heater

Abstract

A fluid heating process which does not utilize an open flame, heat is created by a rotating prime mover(s) driving a hydraulic heat generator. Heat is also collected from the prime mover cooling system, and any exhaust heat generated by the prime mover. The heat energy is collected from all these sources, and transmitted through heat exchangers to generate a hot fluid, which can be used to heat other fluids and used for any application where heat is required.

Claims

1. A method for flamelessly heating a material, the method comprising: pumping a fluid in a closed circulation path using at least one pump; transferring heat from a heating fluid circulating in a second closed circulation path to the fluid by a first heat exchanger; transferring heat from output of a prime mover to the fluid by at least one second heat exchanger; and transferring heat from the fluid to the material by a third heat exchanger arranged in the closed circulation path, wherein a dynamic heat generator configured to generate heat to heat the heating fluid is arranged in the second closed circulation path, and the first heat exchanger is arranged in both the closed circulation path and the second closed circulation path.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one pump is a pump configured to pump the fluid from a reservoir in the closed circulation path to the first heat exchanger.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one pump comprises a pump configured to circulate the heating fluid in the dynamic heat generator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluid comprises glycol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the heating fluid comprises oil.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the material is water.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the output of the prime mover comprises at least heated engine coolant and exhaust.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second heat exchanger comprises a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from heated engine coolant from the prime mover to the fluid.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second heat exchanger comprises a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from exhaust of the prime mover to the fluid.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second heat exchanger is an air to fluid heat exchanger that comprises a series of pipes configured to transfer the fluid through the second closed circulation path, and exhaust gas of the prime mover is configured to flow across the series of pipes to thereby increase the temperature of the fluid and decrease a temperature of the exhaust output emitted from said flameless fluid heater system.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the series of pipes are arranged and sized such that the temperature of the exhaust output emitted from said flameless fluid heater system is 20-25 degrees Celsius.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) The following drawing illustrates an example of various components of the invention disclosed herein, and is for illustrative purposes only.

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic of one embodiment of a flameless glycol heater.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, a number of illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and/or illustrated herein.

(4) Reference will now be made to FIG. 1, a more detailed description of the flameless heat generation process. Each component will be described in detail, followed by an overview of the heat generation process.

(5) The largest component of the flameless process, for example, is prime mover 10. The prime mover 10 can be any type of engine, fueled by a variety of fuels such as diesel, propane or natural gas. It can be electrical in certain applications. The fuel driven engines, for example, are typically set up like a marine engine, which will have a liquid cooled intercooler to cool and increase the density of the air travelling from the compressor side of the turbocharger to the engine intake. It will also have a liquid/engine coolant heat exchanger to keep the engine running within its ideal temperature range. For the purpose of this application the liquid used is glycol.

(6) Attached to the prime mover 10 are heat generator 20 and hydraulic pump 30. Oil is pumped by the hydraulic pump 30 through the heat generator 20. In the heat generator 20 the oil is sheared under high pressure and volume by pumping it through orifices of different sizes. As stated previously, this hydraulic heat generator can be a combined unit or separate components. Between the engine 10 and hydraulic heat generator, for example, is a torsional vibration dampener (not shown), which is used to smooth out vibrations created by the prime mover 10. The use of the torsional vibration dampener, for example, extends the life of the output shaft and the hydraulic heat generator.

(7) Centrifugal pump 40 (e.g., glycol pump) is configured to pump glycol to the various components within the flameless heater and to wherever the hot glycol is needed. This is a closed loop system, where the glycol is continually circulated within the system.

(8) Exhaust heat exchanger 50, in communication with the prime mover 10, is constructed, for example, of stainless steel or similar non corrosive material. In this example, the exhaust of the prime mover 10 enters the bottom of the heat exchanger 50, where it is directed upward to heat tube bundles containing glycol. Typically the exhaust gases enter the exhaust heat exchanger 50 at temperatures of up to 700 F (400 C) and exit the exhaust heat exchanger 50 at 70 F (25 C).

(9) In this example, glycol is pumped through engine coolant/glycol heat exchanger 60 in order to keep the engine coolant within the appropriate operating range of the engine. This heat exchanger 60 is constructed, for example, of marine grade material.

(10) In this example, heat exchanger 70 is configured to transfer heat from the oil to the glycol. Heat exchanger 70 is constructed, for example, of marine grade material.

(11) In this example, reservoir tank 80 (e.g., oil reservoir) is configured to hold the oil. Reservoir tank 80 is typically 50 gallons (200 litres) in size and has an attached filter for filtering the oil. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would utilize varying sizes that are appropriate.

(12) In this example, reservoir tank 100 (e.g., glycol reservoir) is configured to hold the glycol. Reservoir tank 100 is typically 50 gallons (200 Litres) in size and has an attached filter for filtering the glycol. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would utilize varying sizes that are appropriate.

(13) In this example, hose 110 and hose 120 are configured to transfer the glycol. Each of hoses 110 and 120 can be of various lengths and may be connected to other hoses with, for example, quick connect couplers.

(14) In one example, the heating process consists of collecting heat from four different components and transferring it to the glycol. For example, the four heat source components are the hydraulic heat generator 20, engine coolant heat exchanger 60, engine intercooler 90 and the exhaust heat exchanger 50. The sequence of glycol flow can be in any order, for example, mostly depending on ease of piping within the flameless heater.

(15) In this example, the heating process begins by starting the prime mover 10. Once the prime mover 10 has warmed up, the prime mover 10 is throttled up to maximum power and rpm. At this time the hydraulic heat generator begins to generate heat and the heat is transferred to the oil, which is pumped from the reservoir 80, through the hydraulic pump 30, through the heat generator 20, and through the heat exchanger 70. It is at the heat exchanger 70, for example, that heat is transferred from the oil to the glycol.

(16) Once the fluid has passed through the heat exchanger 70, it is returned to the reservoir 80, where it is stored and filtered until it is pumped back through the cycle. The oil is in a closed system that continually follows this route. This is one source of heat.

(17) From the outlet of the centrifugal pump 40, the glycol is pumped to the oil/glycol heat exchanger 70. In this example, the glycol is then pumped to intercooler 90. The purpose of the intercooler 90, for example, is to cool the air coming from the compressor side of the turbocharger. As the air is compressed by the turbocharger it is heated. By passing through the intercooler 90, this air is cooled by the glycol. This results in the air being cooled as well as the glycol being heated at the same time. This is the second source of heat.

(18) The glycol continues from the intercooler 90 to the engine coolant heat exchanger 60. The heat exchanger 60 allows the heat from the hot coolant to be transferred to the glycol. Sufficient volume of glycol is pumped to keep the engine operating within its specified temperature range. This is the third source of heat.

(19) After exiting the engine heat exchanger 60, the glycol is pumped to the exhaust heat exchanger 50. In this exchanger 50, the hot exhaust from the engine which can be at 700 F (400 C) is allowed to flow across a series of pipes that the glycol flows through. This exchanger 60 is sized so that the exhaust output temperature is at approximately 70 F (20-25 C). From the outlet of this heat exchanger 60 the glycol is pumped to the water tank 130 where the heat from the hot glycol is transferred to the water. From there it is returned to the glycol reservoir 100 until it is pumped through the system 1 again.

(20) Although an embodiment of the instant invention has been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in order to be more clearly understood, the above description is made by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the instant invention. It is contemplated that various modifications apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art could be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is to be determined by the following claims.