Patent Application
20210310696
The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of heating and electricity systems of existing art and more specifically relates to an all-in-one system for providing heating, cooling, air conditioning and electricity.
Generally, most homes are powered, heated and cooled via gas and electricity provided by energy utility companies. Traditionally, electricity is generated in centralized plants via burning fossil fuel(s) like coal, and the energy collected is then transported through an electrical grid to residential buildings and commercial facilities for use in powering the buildings and facilities, and HVAC systems. Further, HVAC systems and water heaters may also utilize natural gas provided by natural gas companies. As is anticipated, the gas and electricity supplied by energy companies costs the end user money.
Due to the cost of utilizing gas and electricity provided by energy companies, there has been attempts to make these buildings, particularly residential buildings, at least partially self-sufficient so that individuals don't have to rely so heavily on the energy companies. This would save the individuals money and allow for some security in situations where there is a power outage or a gas leak. Further, the environmental impact of the burning of fossil fuels is well known, and as such, greener methods of producing electricity are highly sought after.
To these ends, cogeneration plants have been developed to try to reduce the reliance on electrical grids and natural gas suppliers, and to help the environment by reducing the amount of fossil fuels needing to be burned. However, these attempts have not been satisfactory. As such, the reliance on energy companies and the environmental impacts are still a problem. Thus, a suitable solution is desired.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known heating and electricity generation art, the present disclosure provides a novel cogeneration system. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide an all-in-one system that provides at least heating and electricity to an area, such as a building or outdoor area, utilizing biomass material as a fuel source.
A cogeneration system is disclosed herein. The cogeneration system includes a biomass-burner assembly; a water-heater assembly; a heating-assembly; a compression-tank assembly; and an electricity-generator assembly. The biomass-burner assembly may include a hopper configured to store biomass material and routinely expel a portion of the biomass material. A firebox may be connected to a hopper-bottom of the hopper; the firebox configured to receive the portion of the biomass material. An air-intake means may be connected to the firebox and configured to introduce atmospheric air into the firebox, and an ignition-means may be in communication with the firebox. The ignition-means may be configured to initiate burning of the portion of the biomass material, the burning generating hot combustion matter comprising combustible gas, smoke and ash.
A vertical-stack may be located above the firebox and may be configured to concentrate the combustible gas and smoke therethrough. Further, a box-outlet may be connected to a box-bottom of the firebox and may be configured to selectively expel ash from the firebox as needed. The water-heater assembly may include a water-intake means, a water tank configured to hold an amount of water supplied by the water-intake means, and a water-outlet. The water tank may be located about the vertical-stack such that the amount of water is heated via the combustible gas and smoke, and the water-outlet may be configured to selectively output a portion of heated water.
The heating-assembly may include a heater-inlet configured to intake the combustible gas and smoke; a radiator configured to circulate the smoke therearound such that the radiator is heated via the combustible gas and heat energy from the smoke, the heating of the radiator heating ambient air; and a heater-outlet configured to selectively allow expulsion of heated ambient air.
The compression-tank assembly may be in communication with the bio-mass burner assembly. The compression-tank assembly may include a compression-tank being configured to receive, compress and store the combustible gas as compressed combustible gas. The electricity-generator assembly may include a gas-feed attached to the compression tank; a carburetor configured to receive a portion of compressed combustible gas from the gas-feed; at least one engine configured to receive a mixture of said compressed combustible gas and the atmospheric air, the at least one engine including a combustion chamber for combusting said mixture of the compressed combustible gas and the atmospheric air; at least one generator powered by the at least one engine, the at least one generator configured to generate electricity; and at least one power-store connected to the at least one generator, the at least one power-store configured to receive and store the electricity for use.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, a cogeneration system, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a heat and electricity generator system and more particularly to an all-in-one heating and cooling electric power plant. The all-in-one heating and cooling electric power plant generally may include a rocket stove wood furnace assembly; a water tank; a water hose inlet; a water outlet; a wood feed assembly; an air compressor assembly; at least one centrifugal air blower/at least one cyclone filter; a radiator; at least one air filter; an air conditioning CO2 compressor assembly; a restrictor/expansion valve; and a generator. The heat and electricity generator system may provide an area, such as a building or outdoor area with heating, cooling, air conditioning and electricity.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
The cogeneration system 100 may provide at least heating and electricity to an area (volume of space). In some embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may provide heating, cooling and electricity to an area such as a building. In use in the building, the cogeneration system 100 may replace an existing heating and/or cooling cogeneration system or may integrate therewith. As such, the cogeneration system 100 may further comprise controllers, thermostats, etc. (not illustrated). In other embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may provide at least heating and electricity to an outdoor area, such as off-the-grid areas. As shown in
The biomass-burner assembly 110 may include a hopper 111 configured to store biomass material and routinely expel a portion of the biomass material. Preferably, the biomass material may be a wood material. The hopper 111 may include a hopper-housing 211 including a hopper-top 311 and a hopper-bottom 411 and a hopper-inner 511 where the biomass material is stored. The hopper-top 311 may include a lid. The lid may be removable or may include an openable-section such as a door to allow for easy loading of the biomass material into the hopper-inner 511. The hopper-inner 511 may further include a wood-feed means 611. The wood-feed means 611 may be configured to routinely expel the portion of the biomass material. The wood-feed means 611 may include a motorized wood feeder in some embodiments, as shown in
A firebox 112 may be connected to the hopper-bottom 411 of the hopper 111 and may be configured to receive the portion of the biomass material. The firebox 112 may include a box-housing 212 including a box-top 312, a box-bottom 412 and a box-inner 512 (where the portion of the biomass material is burned). The box-top 312 may include a grate. An air-intake means 113 may be connected to the firebox 112 and may be configured to introduce atmospheric air in the firebox 112 (the atmospheric air including oxygen). The air intake-means 113, as shown in
A vertical-stack 115 (or flue) may be located above the firebox 112 and configured to concentrate the combustible gas and smoke therethrough. A box-outlet 116 may be connected to the box-bottom 412 of the firebox 112 and may be configured to selectively expel the ash from the firebox 112. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may be configured to burn the biomass material at approximately between 500-600 degrees Fahrenheit/234-284 degrees Celsius. In some embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may be configured to burn approximately 1 lb of biomass material (preferably wood material) every 5-6 minutes. In some embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may be configured to burn the biomass material and generate fire, in other embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may be configured to combust the biomass material without generating fire. This may be accomplished via control of atmospheric air introduced by the air-intake means 113. In this embodiment, the combustion of the biomass material may generate combustible gas and ash, with minimal smoke, or without smoke. The combustible gas generated may be a biomass gas, or particularly a wood gas. The wood gas may consist of approximately 50% Nitrogen; 20% Carbon Monoxide; 17% Hydrogen; 10% Carbon Dioxide; and 3% Methane. The cogeneration system 100 may generate approximately 2 Cubic Meters of wood gas per hour.
The water-heater assembly 120 may include a water-intake means 121, a water tank 122 and a water-outlet 123. The water-intake means 121 may be configured to supply water to the water tank 122. In some embodiments, as shown in
The water tank 122 may be configured to hold an amount of water supplied by the water-intake means 121. For example, in some embodiments, the amount of water may be 60 liters (as such, the water tank 122 may have a water capacity of 60 liters). It should be appreciated that the amount of water, and/or the water capacity is not limited to 60 liters. The water tank 122 may be located about the vertical-stack 115 such that the amount of water is heated via the combustible gas and smoke (via convection). In some embodiments, the water may be heated at 50-70 degrees Celsius. In some examples, 60 liters of water may be heated every 5-10 minutes at 40-60,000 British Thermal Units (BTU). As shown in
The water-outlet 123 may be configured to selectively output a portion of heated water. For example, to supply kitchens, bathrooms, etc. of the building. In some embodiments, particularly the embodiment including the water-basin 126 that is configured primarily for use off-the-grid, such as in campground locations, the water-outlet 123 may be a faucet 223 attached to an outer-surface of the water tank 122, as shown in
The heating-assembly 130 may include a heater-inlet 131, a radiator 132 and a heater-outlet 133. In some embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may comprise a first fan-means 191 located about the heating-assembly 130 and configured to suction the combustible gas and the smoke. In some embodiments, the first fan-means 191 may include a centrifugal air blower. For example, the centrifugal air blower may be a 1/18 horsepower (HP) blower. The centrifugal air blower may suction the combustible gas and smoke at 265 Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM). Further, the cogeneration system 100 may comprise a filter-means 192 connected to the first fan-means 191 and configured to receive the combustible gas and the smoke from the first fan-means 191 and filter the combustible gas and smoke. The filter-means 192 may be connected to the heater-inlet 131 such that the combustible gas and smoke taken in by the heater-inlet 131 is filtered. In some embodiments, as shown in
The radiator 132 may be configured to receive the (filtered, in some embodiments) combustible gas and smoke and further configured to circulate the combustible gas and smoke therearound such that the radiator 132 is heated via the combustible gas and smoke. To aid in heating of the radiator 132, the radiator 132 may be made from a heat-conductive material such as cast iron, aluminum, or the like. In some examples, the radiator 132 may heat up to 20-25 degrees Celsius. Heating of the radiator 132 may then heat ambient air (via convection) and the heater-outlet 133 may be configured to selectively allow expulsion of heated ambient air. The heater-outlet 133 may simply consist of an opening that lets the heated ambient air therethrough. In embodiments where the cogeneration system 100 is used in the building, the heater-outlet 133 may be connected to ductwork of a building, as shown in
In some embodiments, the cogeneration system 100 may further comprise a cooling-assembly 160. The cooling-assembly 160 may include a cooler-inlet 161, an air-filter 162, an air conditioning compressor 163, a restrictor valve 164, a plurality of cooling coils 165 and a cooler-outlet 166. Particularly, the cooler-inlet 161 may be configured to receive the combustible gas and smoke. The air-filter 162 may be connected to the cooler-inlet 161 and configured to receive the combustible gas and smoke. Once the combustible gas and smoke has passed through the air-filter 162, it may pass through the air conditioning compressor 163 connected to the air-filter 162. The air conditioning compressor 163 may be configured to compress the combustible gas and smoke (thereby creating compressed combustible gas and smoke). The compressed combustible gas and smoke may then be sprayed through the restrictor valve 164. The restrictor valve 164 may be configured to lower a pressure and temperature of the compressed combustible gas and smoke.
The plurality of cooling coils 165 may be configured to further lower the temperature of the compressed combustible gas and smoke. Lowering of the temperature of the combustible gas and smoke may cool ambient air. For example, through convection-cooling. The plurality of cooling coils 165 may be made from copper. In some examples, the temperature of the combustible gas and smoke may be lowered to 0-5 degrees Celsius. The cooler-outlet 166 may then be configured to selectively allow expulsion of cooled ambient air. Similarly to the heater-outlet 133, the cooler-outlet 166 may simply consist of an opening that lets the cooled ambient air therethrough. Further, similar to the heating-assembly 130, the cooler-outlet 166 may be connected to the ductwork 5 of the building such that cooled ambient air is selectively able to be expelled through the ductwork 5 of the building (for example, when the user wishes to cool their building).
To aid in flow of the heated ambient air and the cooled ambient air, the cogeneration system 100 may further comprise a second fan-means 193. The second fan-means 193 may be configured to blow either the heated ambient and the cooled ambient air (depending on desire of the user, thermostat setting, etc.) into the ductwork 5 of the building. In some embodiments, the second fan-means 193 may be an industrial fan configured to suction and blow at a high CFM. In addition to this, the cogeneration system 100 may comprise a hot-air damper 194 and a cool-air damper 195. The hot-air damper 194 may be configured to control flow of the heated ambient air and the cool-air damper 195 may be configured to control flow of the could ambient air. Again, this may be based of desired temperature, thermostat settings, etc. For example, the user may manually set a thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit, which may cause the hot-air damper 194 to open and heated ambient air is then blown (via the second fan-means 193) through the ductwork 5.
As shown in
The plurality of cooling coils 165 may be attached about the vertical-stack 115. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cogeneration system 100 may further comprise a thermoelectric-generator assembly 170. The thermoelectric-generator assembly 170 may include a plurality of thermoelectric modules 171. At least a portion of the plurality of thermoelectric modules 171 (for example, slightly more than half of the plurality of thermoelectric modules 171) may be attached about the vertical-stack 115. For example, the at least a portion of the plurality of thermoelectric modules may be located between the vertical-stack 115 and the plurality of cooling coils 165 approximately 1.5 cm apart. Further, a remaining portion of the plurality of thermoelectric modules 171 may be attached about a top of the firebox 112. In this embodiment, the remaining portion of the plurality of thermoelectric modules 171 may be attached to a metal plate with aluminum heat sink to aid in transfer of heat. In some embodiments, there may be between 200-300 thermoelectric modules 171 included in the cogeneration system 100.
As above, the plurality of cooling coils 165 may be configured to lower the temperature of the compressed combustible gas and smoke. The plurality of thermoelectric modules 171 may be configured to convert a temperature difference between the (cool) plurality of cooling coils 165 and the (hot) vertical-stack 115, into (usable) electricity (converting thermal energy into electrical energy). For example, the vertical-stack 115 may be 250 degrees Celsius, and the plurality of cooling coils 165 may be 0 degrees Celsius, and as such, the temperature difference may be 250 degrees Celsius. A voltage of the electricity may be proportional to the temperature difference. The electricity may be used for powering electrical usage in the area the cogeneration system 100 is used. For example, in some embodiments, the plurality of thermoelectric modules 171 may generate 5-10 kilowatts of power per hour. Further, for a standard system size of 2 meters in height by 1 meter in width, 3 hours of use of the cogeneration system 100 in a day may generate 30-60 kW, which may be enough power to run an average household for 24 hours. Any remaining electricity may then be stored in batteries for later use. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the electricity may be fed into an electrical grid.
The compression-tank assembly 140 may be in communication with the biomass-burner assembly 110. The compression-tank assembly 140 may include a compression-tank 141 configured to receive, compress and store the combustible gas (and smoke). In some embodiments, the compression-tank assembly 140 may include a vacuum pump air tank compressor. In other embodiments, the compression-tank assembly 140 may include a piston compressor tank. Further, as shown in
The carburetor 152 may be configured to receive a portion of compressed combustible gas from the gas-feed 151. The at least one engine 153 may be configured to receive a mixture of the compressed combustible gas and the atmospheric air. The at least one engine 153 may include a combustion chamber for combusting the mixture of the compressed combustible gas and atmospheric air. In some examples, the at least one engine 153 may be a 2-stroke diesel motor generator. In another example, the at least one engine 153 may be a diesel engine. For instance, the diesel engine may be an 80-120 HP engine. The at least one engine 153 may produce 60-100 kw/h of usage in some embodiments. The at least one generator 154 may be powered by the at least one engine 153 and may be configured to generate electricity (converting mechanical energy to electrical energy) and the at least one power-store 155 may be connected to the at least one generator 154 and configured to receive and store the electricity.
In some embodiments, the at least one generator 154 may be a dynamo generator and configured to generate Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Current (DC). In other embodiments, the at least one generator 154 may include a dynamo alternator configured to generate Alternating Current (AC). The at least one power-store 155 may be a battery bank. In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments wherein the at least one generator 154 includes the dynamo alternator, the at least one power-store 155 may be a 12-volt DC battery bank. This may be useful for the off-the-grid embodiments. In embodiments wherein the cogeneration system 100 is installed in the building, the at least one power-store 155 may be a 120-volt AC battery. In this embodiment, the cogeneration system 100 may further include an inverter in communication with the at least one power-store 155 and configured to convert DC current to AC current which may be used to power the building. In some embodiments, the at least one power-store 155 may also be configured to receive and store the electricity generated by the plurality of thermoelectric modules 171. The at least one generator 154 may run without a change in temperature-controlled space when the biomass material is burned, without adjustment to the thermostat to change the interior temperature. The dampers (194, 195) may remain closed and the second fan-means 193 may not run.
In some embodiments, as shown in
The secondary burner-assembly 180 may include a feed-line 181 (pipe) connected to the compression tank-assembly 140 at a tank-end 281 of the feed-line 181 and the firebox 112 at a box-end 381 of the feed-line 181 (thereby supplying the compressed combustible gas from the compression-tank assembly 140 to the firebox 112). A valve-switch 182 may be located about the feed-line 181 and configured selectively actuate flow of the compressed combustible gas from the compression-tank 141 to the firebox 112. Preferably, the valve-switch 182 may be a two-way switch. In this embodiment, the feed-line 181 may be the mechanism by which the compression-tank assembly 140 receives the combustible gas. As such, the two-way switch may be configured to actuate flow of the combustible gas from the firebox 112 to the compression-tank assembly 140 and may also be configured to actuate flow of the compressed combustible gas to the firebox 112 from the compression-tank assembly 140.
Further, an injection nozzle 183 may be in communication with the firebox 112. For example, the injection nozzle 183 may be attached to the box-end 381 of the feed-line 181 and configured to inject the compressed combustible gas into the firebox 112. In addition to this, the firebox 112 may include a spark plug 184. The spark plug 184 may be located at a rear of the firebox 112 near the injection nozzle 183 and configured to ignite the combustible gas if heat in the firebox 112 has dwindled and no flame is present.
It should be appreciated that any values given are given as examples and are not limiting. It should also be noted that, under appropriate circumstances, considering such issues as design preference, user preferences, marketing preferences, cost, structural requirements, available materials, technological advances, etc., other methods for providing heating, cooling, and electricity, or for using biomass material as fuel, are taught herein. Those with ordinary skill in the art will now appreciate that upon reading this specification and by their understanding the art of cogeneration systems, as described herein, methods of biomass gasification, heat energy transfer (such as via convection, radiation or other), electricity generation using diesel engines and thermoelectric generation, and the like, will be understood by those knowledgeable in such art.
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/005,533 filed Apr. 6, 2020, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63005533 | Apr 2020 | US |
