Electricity production facility including heat storage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10989484-B2
Application number	US-201716471414-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2017
Priority date	Dec 19, 2016
Publication date	Apr 27, 2021
Grant date	Apr 27, 2021

Abstract

Disclosed is an installation for generating electricity from a heat source, for disconnecting the production of electricity from the source of heat. The main characteristic of such installation is that it includes a thermochemical storage device coupled to a power cycle, the storage device consisting of a reactor in which produces a reversible sorption process and an evaporator and a condenser, at least one of the components of the thermochemical device being coupled mass and/or thermal to at least one element of the power cycle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An installation for generating electricity from a driving external heat source having one or more of intermittent availability and variability in one or more of thermal power, temperature, economic value, the driving external heat source being a heat generating device to dissociate generation of electricity from use of said driving external heat source over time, the installation comprising:
a thermochemical storage device coupled to a power cycle chosen from a plurality of steam cycles, the thermochemical storage device comprising
a reactor in which a reversible sorption process takes place,
an evaporator, and
a condenser,
at least one of the reactor, the evaporator, and the condenser of the thermochemical storage device being coupled by mass as a vapor exchange, or mass as a vapor exchange and thermally as a heat transfer to at least one element of said power cycle,

wherein the thermochemical storage device and the power cycle operate with a same working fluid, the power cycle serving as a source or a sink of reactive gas for the thermochemical storage device.

2. The installation according to claim 1 , wherein the power cycle is a Rankine cycle and comprises a first heat exchanger accepting heat from an external source, a second heat exchanger discharging heat at a lower temperature, and an expansion member of steam.

3. A method of generating electricity in an installation according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
coupling the external heat source and at least one element of the installation to store heat in the thermochemical storage device; and
generating power by the power cycle.

4. The electricity generation method according to claim 3 , wherein the external heat source simultaneously feeds the power cycle and the thermochemical storage device, and
wherein a thermal coupling is achieved between desuperheating and condensation of vapor of the thermochemical storage device, and at least one of the elements of a preheater assembly, an evaporator, and a superheater of a working fluid of the power cycle.

5. The electricity generation method according to claim 3 , wherein the external heat source feeds the power cycle, and
wherein a thermal coupling is achieved between the reactor of the thermochemical storage device and expanded vapors from an expansion member of the power cycle.

6. The electricity generation method according to claim 3 , wherein the external heat source simultaneously feeds the power cycle and the thermochemical storage device, and
a mass coupling occurs between the reactor of the thermochemical storage device and an expansion stage of a turbine of the power cycle or an additional independent turbine.

7. The electricity generation method according to claim 3 , wherein the external heat source feeds only the thermochemical storage device, and
wherein thermal coupling is achieved between the condenser of the heating device, thermochemical storage, a preheater, and an evaporator and optionally a superheater of the power cycle.

8. The electricity generation method according to claim 3 , wherein the external heat source feeds only the thermochemical storage device, and
wherein a mass coupling occurs between the reactor of the heating device, thermochemical storage, and an expansion stage of a turbine of the power cycle.

9. The method of generating electricity according to claim 8 , further comprising operating an intermediate heat exchanger supplied by the external heat source to increase the temperature of the vapors desorbed by the thermochemical storage.

10. A method of generating electricity in the installation according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
thermal coupling the reactor of the thermochemical storage device and an assembly including a preheater, an evaporator, and a superheater belonging to the power cycle; and
destocking and generating electricity from the heat destocked by said reactor and transmitted to said assembly.

11. The method of generating electricity according to claim 10 , further comprising thermal coupling a condenser of the power cycle and the evaporator of the thermochemical storage device, to recover from the heat of said condenser to supply said evaporator of the thermochemical storage device.

12. The electricity generation method according to claim 10 , further comprising thermal coupling the evaporator of the thermochemical storage device and an expansion stage of a turbine of the power cycle, to recover heat, by an exchanger, on a vapor withdrawal at one or more intermediate stages of said turbine to supply said evaporator.

13. The electricity generation method according to claim 10 , further comprising mass coupling between the reactor of the thermochemical storage device and an outlet of a turbine of the power cycle, so that part of expanded vapors at the outlet of the turbine is absorbed by said reactor in the destocking.

14. A method of generating electricity in the installation according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
generating electricity by the power cycle simultaneously using the external heat source and removal of heat accumulated in the thermochemical storage device.

15. The method of generating electricity according to claim 14 , further comprising of thermal coupling a condenser of the power cycle and the evaporator of the thermochemical storage device, to recover from the heat of said condenser to supply said evaporator.

16. The electricity generation method according to claim 14 , further comprising:
thermal coupling an evaporator of the thermal storage device and an expansion stage of a turbine of the power cycle, to recover heat, by an exchanger, on a withdrawal at the stages of said turbine to supply said evaporator; and
thermal coupling the reactor of the thermal storage device and the withdrawal to superheat this steam, by a superheater to supply a following expansion stage of the turbine of the power cycle.

17. The electricity generation method according to claim 14 , further comprising mass coupling the reactor of the thermochemical coupling device and an outlet of a turbine of the power cycle, so that a part of expanded vapors at the turbine outlet is absorbed by said reactor destocking.

18. The installation of claim 1 , wherein the steam cycle is selected from the group consisting of organic or non-organic Rankine cycles, Hirn or Kalina.

19. The installation of claim 2 , wherein the expansion member of steam is a steam turbine.

20. A method of generating electricity in the installation according to claim 2 , the method comprising:
coupling the external heat source and at least one element of the installation to store heat in the thermochemical storage device; and
generating power by the power cycle.

Assignees

• Centre Nat Rech Scient
• Univ Nantes

Inventors

• Mazet Nathalie
• Mauran Sylvain
• Neveu Pierre
• Stitou Driss
• Luo Lingai
• Fan Yilin

Classifications

• F01K3/188

  using heat from a specified chemical reaction · CPC title

• F28D21/001

  for thermal power plants or industrial processes · CPC title

• F28D20/003 Primary

  using thermochemical reactions · CPC title

• Y02E60/14

  Thermal energy storage · CPC title

• F28D2021/0063

  Condensers · CPC title