System and method for heating make-up working fluid of a steam system with engine fluid waste heat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10024195-B2
Application number	US-201514626856-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 19, 2015
Priority date	Feb 19, 2015
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

A system including an engine and a heat exchanger coupled to the engine is provided. The engine includes an engine fluid and at least one of a compressor section configured to compress a gas, a lubricant path configured to circulate a lubricant, or a coolant path configured to circulate a coolant. The engine fluid comprises at least one of the gas, the lubricant, or the coolant, and the engine fluid is a source of heat derived from one or more operations of the engine. The heat exchanger is configured to receive the engine fluid from the engine and exchange heat between the engine fluid and a working fluid to produce a heated working fluid and a cooled engine fluid, and the heat exchanger is configured to export the heated working fluid to a steam system.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a combustion engine comprising an engine fluid and at least one of a compressor section configured to compress a gas, a lubricant path configured to circulate a lubricant, or a coolant path configured to circulate a coolant, wherein the engine fluid comprises at least one of the gas, the lubricant, or the coolant, and wherein the engine fluid is a source of heat derived from one or more operations of the combustion engine;
a heat exchanger coupled to the combustion engine, wherein the heat exchanger is configured to receive the engine fluid from the combustion engine along an engine fluid path and exchange heat between the engine fluid and a working fluid along a working fluid path to produce a heated working fluid and a cooled engine fluid, the system is configured to split the heated working fluid produced by the heat exchanger into first and second flow paths upstream from a deaerator of a steam system, the first flow path is configured to direct a first portion of the heated working fluid to the deaerator and the steam system, the second flow path is configured to return a second portion of the heating working fluid to the working fluid path that passes through the heat exchanger, and the steam system is configured to receive the heated working fluid from the heat exchanger as a make-up water supply of working fluid to replace working fluid lost within a process of the steam system; and
a controller configured to selectively regulate a first flow of the first portion of the heated working fluid and a second flow of the second portion of the heated working fluid simultaneously and based on sensor feedback, wherein the first flow replaces at least 80 percent of a turbine extraction steam to facilitate deaeration in the deaerator.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the deaerator is configured to receive the first portion of the heated working fluid from the heat exchanger and remove at least one of one or more corrosive substances and/or dissolved gases from the first portion of the heated working fluid to produce a deaerated heated working fluid.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the steam system comprises:
a boiler configured to receive the deaerated heated working fluid from the deaerator to generate a steam; and
a steam turbine coupled to the boiler, wherein the steam turbine is configured to drive a load using at least the steam.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the combustion engine comprises a gas turbine engine.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the combustion engine comprises the compressor section configured to compress the gas, and the engine fluid comprises the gas.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the gas comprises an oxidant.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the combustion engine comprises the lubricant path configured to circulate the lubricant, and the engine fluid comprises the lubricant.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the combustion engine comprises the coolant path configured to circulate the coolant, and the engine fluid comprises the coolant.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to direct all of the deaerated heated working fluid to a boiler of the steam system.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to regulate the temperature of the heated working fluid to be at least approximately 90 degrees Celsius.

11. A system, comprising:
a deaerator of a steam system, wherein the deaerator is configured to receive a heated working fluid exported from a heat exchanger coupled to at least one of a compressor section, a lubricant path, or a coolant path of a combustion engine, wherein the deaerator is configured to remove one or more corrosive substances and/or dissolved gases from the heated working fluid to produce a deaerated heated working fluid prior to steam generation in the steam system, wherein the system is configured to direct all of the deaerated heated working fluid produced by the deaerator to a boiler of the steam system, and wherein the received heated working fluid from the heat exchanger is a make-up water supply of working fluid to replace working fluid lost within a process of the steam system, wherein the deaerator is configured to receive the heated working fluid;
wherein the system is configured to split the heated working fluid produced by the heat exchanger into first and second flow paths upstream from the deaerator of the steam system, the first flow path is configured to direct a first portion of the heated working fluid to the deaerator and the steam system, and the second flow path is configured to return a second portion of the heating working fluid to a working fluid path that passes through the heat exchanger; and
a controller configured to selectively regulate a first flow of the first portion of the heated working fluid and a second flow of the second portion of the heated working fluid simultaneously and based on sensor feedback, wherein the first flow replaces at least 80 percent of a turbine extraction steam to facilitate deaeration in the deaerator.

12. The system of claim 11 , comprising the heat exchanger coupled to the deaerator.

13. The system of claim 11 , comprising:
the boiler configured to receive all of the deaerated heated working fluid from the deaerator, wherein the boiler generates a steam based on heat exchange between the deaerated heated working fluid and an exhaust gas from the combustion engine; and
a steam turbine coupled to the boiler, wherein the steam turbine is configured to drive a load with the steam.

14. The system of claim 11 , comprising the combustion engine, wherein the combustion engine comprises a gas turbine engine having the heat exchanger coupled to a first compressor section and a second compressor section of the gas turbine engine, and the heat exchanger is configured to cool a compressed gas between the first and second compressor sections.

15. A method, comprising:
flowing a working fluid along a working fluid path through a heat exchanger;
exchanging heat between the working fluid and an engine fluid from at least one of a compressor section, a lubricant path, or a coolant path of a combustion engine to generate a heated working fluid and a cooled engine fluid;
splitting the heated working fluid generated by the heat exchanger into first and second flow paths upstream from a deaerator of a steam system, wherein the first flow path directs a first portion of the heated working fluid to the deaerator and the steam system, the second flow path returns a second portion of the heating working fluid to the working fluid path that passes through the heat exchanger, and the steam system is configured to receive the heated working fluid from the heat exchanger as a make-up water supply of working fluid to replace working fluid lost within a process of the steam system;
regulating, via a controller, a first flow of the first portion of the heated working fluid along the first flow path from the heat exchanger to the steam system and a second flow of the second portion of the heated working fluid along the second flow path back to the working fluid path with one or more flow control devices simultaneously and based on sensor feedback, wherein the sensor feedback is received from one or more sensors coupled to the combustion engine, the heat exchanger, one or more fluid flow paths, or the steam system, wherein the one or more flow devices are coupled to the combustion engine, the heat exchanger, one or more fluid flow paths, or the steam system, and wherein the first flow replaces at least 80 percent of a turbine extraction steam to

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Watkins Richard Michael

Classifications

• F02C6/18 Primary

  using the waste heat of gas-turbine plants outside the plants themselves, e.g. gas-turbine power heat plants (using waste heat as source of energy for refrigeration plants F25B27/02; using the waste heat of a gasturbine for steam generation or in a steam cycle see F01K23/10) · CPC title

• F05D2220/72

  a steam turbine · CPC title

• F01K23/10 Primary

  with exhaust fluid of one cycle heating the fluid in another cycle (F01K17/025 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F05D2260/213

  by the provision of a heat exchanger within the cooling circuit · CPC title

• F05D2260/61

  Removal of CO2 · CPC title