Compressed air storage and power generation device and compressed air storage and power generation method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10352310-B2
Application number	US-201515323755-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 28, 2015
Priority date	Jul 31, 2014
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

A compressed air storage and power generation device (1) is provided with motors (3a-3c), compressors (4a-4c), compressed air storage tanks (5a-5c), injection-side valves (6a-6e), expanders (7a-7c), discharge-side valves (8a-8e), generators (9a-9c), an output sensor (10), pressure sensors (11a-11c), and a control device (12). The control device (12) uses a tank (5c) with a relatively large capacity for long-period variable power and uses tanks (5a, 5b) with relatively low capacities for short-period variable power, all such power having been generated using natural energy, and thereby performs control by which both the long-period and short-period variable power are leveled out and power is output according to the power demand. The compressed air storage power generation device (1) levels out both the long-period and short-period variable power and outputs the power according to the power demand.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A compressed air energy storage power generation device, comprising:
a plurality of motors driven by power generated using natural energy, the motors being connected electrically in parallel to each other;
a plurality of compressors for compressing air, mechanically connected to the motors;
at least two tanks of different capacities for storing the air compressed by the compressors;
a plurality of expanders driven by the compressed air supplied from the tanks;
a plurality of generators mechanically connected to the expanders, the generators being connected electrically in parallel to each other;
an injection-side valve for switching the tanks to be supplied with the compressed air from the compressor;
a discharge-side valve for switching the expanders to be supplied with the compressed air from the tank; and
a control means performing control for leveling out both a long-period and short-period power variations caused in power generated by the natural energy by using the tank having a relatively large capacity to cope with the long-period power variation and using the tank having a relatively small capacity to cope with the short-period power variation by opening and closing the injection-side valve and the discharge-side valve, thereby outputting power according to power demand.

2. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the tank having a relatively small capacity, of the at least two tanks of different capacities, has a capacity to generate power continuously for less than an hour and the tank having a relatively large capacity, of the at least two tanks of different capacities, has a capacity to generate power continuously for one hour or more.

3. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control means performs control for leveling out the long-period and short-period power variations based on a long-period demand curve and a short-period standard curve, respectively, thereby outputting power according to power demand.

4. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1
wherein at least one of the plurality of compressors which is connected to the tank having a relatively small capacity is a screw type and at least one of the plurality of expanders which is connected to the tank having a relatively small capacity is a screw type.

5. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 4 ,
wherein at least one of the plurality of compressors which is connected to the tank having a relatively large capacity is a screw type and at least one of the plurality of expanders which is connected to the tank having a relatively large capacity is a screw type.

6. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of the compressor and the expander, connected to the tank having a relatively large capacity, is a turbo type and both the compressor and the expander, connected to the tank having a relatively small capacity, are the screw type.

7. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of the plurality of compressors has a relatively small capacity and at least other one of the plurality of compressors has a relatively large capacity and at least one of the plurality of expanders has a relatively small capacity and at least other one of the plurality of expanders has a relatively large capacity, and
said compressor having a relatively small capacity and said expander having a relatively small capacity are used for coping with the short-period power variation and said compressor having a relatively large capacity and said expander having a relatively large capacity are used for coping with the long-period power variation.

8. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 , comprising:
an inlet-side heat exchanger at an inlet of the tank for heat-exchanging between air whose temperature is raised by compression in the compressor and a heating medium;
a heat storage portion for storing the heating medium heat-exchanged in the inlet-side heat exchanger; and
an outlet-side heat exchanger at an outlet of the tank for heat-exchanging between the air discharged from the tank and the heating medium discharged from the heat storage portion, thereby heating the air.

9. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 , further comprising an external generator separately from the plurality of generators of the device at an output portion of the plurality of generators of the device for generating power when the power generated using the natural energy is extremely unstable or too low.

10. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein a tunnel of mines or an underground cavity is used as the tank having a relatively large capacity.

11. The compressed air energy storage power generation device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control means comprises:
the injection-side valve for switching the tanks to be supplied with the compressed air from the compressor;
the discharge-side valve for switching the expanders to be supplied with the compressed air from the tank;
an output sensor for measuring power generation output of the natural energy;
a pressure sensor for measuring a pressure inside the tank; and
a control device for opening and closing the injection-side valve and the discharge-side valve based on measurement values of the output sensor and the pressure sensor.

12. A compressed air energy storage power generation method of a compressed air energy storage power generation device, the device comprising:
a plurality of motors driven by power generated using natural energy, the motors being connected electrically in parallel to each other;
a plurality of compressors for compressing air, mechanically connected to the motors;
at least two tanks of different capacities for storing the air compressed by the compressors;
a plurality of expanders driven by the compressed air supplied from the tanks;
a plurality of generators mechanically connected to the expanders, the generators being connected electrically in parallel to each other,
an injection-side valve for switching the tanks to be supplied with the compressed air from the compressor; and
a discharge-side valve for switching the expanders to be supplied with the compressed air from the tank;
the method performing control for leveling out both a long-period and short-period power variations caused in power generated by the natural energy by using the tank having a relatively large capacity to cope with the long-period power variation and using the tank having a relatively small capacity to cope with the short-period power variation by opening and closing the injection-side valve and the discharge-side valve, thereby outputting power according to power demand.

Assignees

• Kobe Steel Ltd

Inventors

• Sakamoto Kanami
• Saruta Hiroki
• Matsukuma Masaki

Classifications

• H02J15/20 Primary

  using storage of pneumatic energy, e.g. compressed air energy storage [CAES] · CPC title

• H02J15/006

  Electricity · mapped topic

• F04B23/02 Primary

  having reservoirs · CPC title

• Y02E60/15

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G06F19/00

  Physics · mapped topic