EXPANDED GAS TURBINE PROCESS WITH NATURAL GAS REGASIFICATION

Abstract

A power plant with a multi-stage intercooled compressor, a combustion chamber, a turbine which is arranged downstream of the combustion chamber, a compressor air line which connects the compressor to the combustion chamber, and a first heat exchanger which is connected into the compressor air line and into an exhaust gas line branching off from the turbine. A first compressor air expander is arranged in the compressor air line between the first heat exchanger and the combustion chamber, and the power plant includes a device for regasifying liquid natural gas, having a natural gas line, wherein a heat exchanger device is connected into the natural gas line between two compressor stages of the compressor.

Claims

1.-14. (canceled)

15. A power station plant comprising: a multistage compressor with intermediate cooling, a combustion chamber, a turbine located downstream of the combustion chamber, a compressor air conduit which connects the compressor to the combustion chamber and a first heat exchanger installed in the compressor air conduit and in an exhaust gas conduit branching off from the turbine, wherein the power station plant comprises a device for regasifying liquid natural gas having a natural gas conduit, wherein a heat transfer device is installed between two compressor stages of the compressor and in the natural gas conduit, wherein a first compressor air expander is arranged in the compressor air conduit between the first heat exchanger and the combustion chamber.

16. The power station plant as claimed in claim 15, wherein the heat transfer device comprises a second heat exchanger which is installed between two compressor stages and in the natural gas conduit.

17. The power station plant as claimed in claim 15, wherein the heat transfer device comprises a nitrogen circuit having a nitrogen conduit in which a third heat exchanger and a fourth heat exchanger are installed, where the third heat exchanger is installed in the natural gas conduit between two compressor stages and the fourth heat exchanger.

18. The power station plant as claimed in claim 17, wherein the nitrogen circuit comprises a fifth heat exchanger which is firstly installed in the nitrogen conduit downstream, in the directional flow of the nitrogen, of the third heat exchanger and upstream of the fourth heat exchanger and is secondly installed in the exhaust gas conduit.

19. The power station plant as claimed in claim 15, wherein a natural gas expander is installed in the natural gas conduit downstream, in the flow direction of the natural gas, of the heat transfer device.

20. The power station plant as claimed in claim 19, wherein a sixth heat exchanger is arranged in the natural gas conduit upstream of the natural gas expander and a seventh heat exchanger is arranged in the natural gas conduit downstream of the natural gas expander in order to heat natural gas before and after expansion.

21. The power station plant as claimed in claim 19, wherein a twelfth heat exchanger is installed in the natural gas conduit between the heat transfer device and the natural gas expander and in the exhaust gas conduit.

22. The power station plant as claimed in claim 15, further comprising: a water-glycol circuit having an eighth heat exchanger in a compressor intake air conduit for cooling and drying the compressor intake air or a ninth heat exchanger between two compressor stages for cooling and drying the compressor air, and having a tenth heat exchanger which is installed in the compressor air conduit downstream of the compressor for heating the compressor air, an eleventh heat exchanger for further heating of the regasified natural gas and a twelfth heat exchanger for heating a water-glycol mixture in the water-glycol circuit.

23. The power station plant as claimed in claim 15, wherein a second compressor air expander is arranged downstream of the first compressor air expander and is connected on the inlet side to the compressor air conduit at a position downstream of the first compressor air expander and at the outlet side opens into the exhaust gas conduit.

24. A method for operating a power station plant comprising a multistage compressor with intermediate cooling, a combustion chamber and a turbine, the method comprising: regasifying liquid natural gas using heat arising in the compression of air, selecting an exit pressure of the compressor so as to be higher than a required turbine entry pressure and in which the compressor air is expanded before combustion.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the heat is transferred from the compressor air to the natural gas via a nitrogen circuit located in between.

26. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein liquid natural gas is brought to pressure, regasified and subsequently expanded to produce energy.

27. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein regasified natural gas is heated by means of a further heat source before and after expansion.

28. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein compressor intake air is cooled and dried by means of a water-glycol circuit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention will be illustrated in more detail by way of example with the aid of the drawings. The drawings show, schematically and not true to scale:

[0024] FIG. 1 a power station plant with nitrogen circuit,

[0025] FIG. 2 a power station plant with natural gas expander,

[0026] FIG. 3 a power station plant without nitrogen circuit and without natural gas expander,

[0027] FIG. 4 a power station plant without nitrogen circuit and with natural gas expander,

[0028] FIG. 5 a power station plant without nitrogen circuit and without water-glycol circuit but with natural gas expander,

[0029] FIG. 6 a power station plant with two air expanders and a natural gas expander and

[0030] FIG. 7 a power station plant with two air expanders but no natural gas expander.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0031] FIG. 1 shows, schematically and by way of example, a power station plant 1 comprising a multistage compressor 2 with intermediate cooling, a combustion chamber 3 and a turbine 4 located downstream of the combustion chamber 3. A compressor air conduit 5 connects the compressor 2 to the combustion chamber 3 and an exhaust conduit 6 branches off from the turbine 4. A first heat exchanger 7 is installed in the compressor air conduit 5 and in the exhaust gas conduit 6. It can, as shown in FIG. 1, also be made up of heat exchanger modules 30. This is useful when, as indicated in FIG. 1 but not shown in more detail, a further heat exchanger or another apparatus is, for example, to be arranged at this position in the exhaust gas path. Furthermore, a first compressor air expander 8 is arranged in the compressor air conduit 5 between the first heat exchanger 7 and the combustion chamber 3. FIG. 1 additionally shows the inventive feature according to which the power station plant 1 comprises a device 9 for regasification of liquid natural gas having a natural gas conduit 10, where a heat transfer device 11 is installed between two compressor stages 12 of the compressor 2 and in the natural gas conduit 10.

[0032] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the heat transfer device 11 comprises a nitrogen circuit 14 having a nitrogen conduit 15. A third heat exchanger 16 and a fourth heat exchanger 17 are installed in the nitrogen conduit 15, with the third heat exchanger 16 being installed in the natural gas conduit 10 between two compressor stages 12 and the fourth heat exchanger 17. These two heat exchangers 16 and 17 enable the nitrogen circuit 14 to perform its function of cooling the compressed air and regasifying the liquid natural gas. The total efficiency of the power station plant 1 can, however, be improved when the nitrogen circuit 14 also comprises a fifth heat exchanger 18 which is installed firstly in the nitrogen conduit 15 downstream, in the flow direction of the nitrogen, of the third heat exchanger 16 and upstream of the fourth heat exchanger 17 and secondly in the exhaust gas conduit 6 where waste heat from the gas turbine process can be utilized for further heating of the nitrogen.

[0033] The embodiment of FIG. 1 further comprises a water-glycol circuit 22 having an eighth heat exchanger 23 in a compressor intake air conduit 24 for cooling and drying the compressor intake air and a ninth heat exchanger 25 between two compressor stages 12 for cooling and drying the compressor air, and having a tenth heat exchanger 26 which is installed in the compressor air conduit 5 downstream of the compressor 2 for heating the compressor air, an eleventh heat exchanger 27 which is installed in the nitrogen conduit 15 of the nitrogen circuit 14 for indirect heating of the regasified natural gas and a twelfth heat exchanger 28 for heating a water-glycol mixture in the water-glycol circuit 22 before this transfers heat to the natural gas.

[0034] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment which, in addition to the embodiment of FIG. 1, comprises a natural gas expander 19 which is installed in the natural gas conduit 10 and which is installed in the natural gas conduit 10 downstream, in the flow direction of the natural gas, of the heat transfer device 11. Although this measure increases the capital costs, the efficiency of the total plant is improved significantly.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the power station plant 1 which differs from that shown in FIG. 1 in that the nitrogen circuit 14 is omitted and the power station plant 1 is thus much more compact and its efficiency increases since there are no losses occurring via the nitrogen circuit 14. FIG. 3 therefore shows a second heat exchanger 13 which is installed between two compressor stages 12 and in the natural gas conduit 10. Furthermore, the embodiment of FIG. 3 differs from those shown above in that the eleventh heat exchanger 27 is now installed directly in the natural gas conduit 10 and no longer, as in the preceding working examples, in the nitrogen conduit 15.

[0036] Analogously, FIG. 4 shows an embodiment which differs from that shown in FIG. 2 essentially in that the nitrogen circuit 14 is omitted. As in FIG. 2, it comprises a natural gas expander 19. Furthermore, in FIG. 4, a sixth heat exchanger 20 is arranged in the natural gas conduit 10 upstream of the natural gas expander 19 and a seventh heat exchanger 21 is arranged downstream of the natural gas expander 19, in order to additionally heat natural gas before and after expansion. The sixth heat exchanger 20 provides further heating of the natural gas before expansion, so that the utility of expansion is increased. The seventh heat exchanger 21 heats the natural gas which has been cooled during expansion and brings it to a temperature suitable for the network.

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a power station plant 1 without nitrogen circuit 14 and without water-glycol circuit 22 but with a natural gas expander 19. The capital costs are comparatively low. There are no efficiency losses occurring via a nitrogen circuit 14. The plant efficiency is high because, inter alia, of the natural gas expander 19. A twelfth heat exchanger 31, which is installed both in the natural gas conduit 10 and also in the exhaust gas conduit 6, makes it possible for exhaust gas heat which is still available to be employed usefully via the natural gas expander 19.

[0038] A further increase in the utilization of available heat is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The two embodiments comprise, in addition to that shown previously, a second compressor air expander 29 which additionally expands the part of the air which is not fed to the combustion to produce electric energy, with the expanded air being released into the exhaust gas conduit 6. The embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7 differ merely in that in FIG. 6 the natural gas expander 19 is still provided in the natural gas conduit 10 and in FIG. 7 it is omitted, so that the embodiment of FIG. 7 can be seen as a variant of the invention which has been optimized in terms of reduced plant complexity, without intermediate circuits and without additional rotating components in conduits which convey fuel gas.