Claims
- 1) An engine comprising:
a) a hot gas stream; b) an expander that receives said hot gas stream, expands the gas to a pressure below atmospheric to produce a low-pressure gas stream, and extracts work from the expanding gas; c) means for reducing the temperature of said low-pressure gas stream to produce a cooled, low-pressure gas stream; and d) a compressor that receives said cooled, low-pressure gas stream and pressurizes it to create a compressed-gas stream.
- 2) The engine of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of said compressed-gas stream is exhausted to the atmosphere.
- 3) The engine of claim 2 wherein said means for reducing the temperature of said low-pressure gas stream comprises an evaporative cooler.
- 4) The engine of claim 3 wherein said evaporative cooler comprises means for injecting a mist of water into said low-pressure gas stream.
- 5) The engine of claim 4 wherein the amount of water injected is more than that necessary to saturate the compressed-gas stream exiting the compressor.
- 6) The engine of claim 5 further compressing a mist eliminator in said compressed-gas stream.
- 7) The engine of claim 3 wherein said evaporative cooler is an indirect evaporative cooler.
- 8) The engine of claim 2 further comprising wherein said means for reducing the temperature of said low-pressure gas stream comprises a heat exchanger that cools the gas stream with a fluid.
- 9) The engine of claim 8 further comprises a combustor that supplies said hot gas stream to said turbine wherein said heat exchanger warms air supplied to said combustor.
- 10) The engine of claim 2 further comprising a combustion turbine whose exhaust forms said hot gas stream.
- 11) The engine of claim 2 further comprising a second compressor and a combustor.
- 12) The engine of claim 1 further comprising:
a) a combustion chamber for burning a solid fuel, b) a high-temperature heat exchanger that transfers heat from hot gases from said combustion chamber to a stream of air so that hot air leaving said heat exchanger forms said hot gas stream, c) boiler tubes for a steam cycle that serves as said means for cooling said low-pressure gas stream, d) a flow path from said compressor so that said compressed gas stream provides combustion air to said combustion chamber.
- 13) The engine of claim 12 further comprising a preheater that transfers heat between the stream of air before it enters said high-temperature heat exchanger and said low-pressure gas stream after it exits said boiler tubes.
- 14) A method for extracting work from a hot gas stream comprising:
a) expanding said hot gas stream through a turbine to a pressure below atmospheric to produce a low-pressure gas, b) cooling said low-pressure gas stream to produce a cooled low-pressure gas stream, and c) compressing said cooled, low-pressure gas stream to produce a compressed-gas stream.
- 15) The method of claim 14 further comprising exhausting at least a portion of said compressed-gas stream to the atmosphere.
- 16) The method of claim 14 wherein said cooling comprises injecting a mist of water into said low-pressure gas stream so as to cool the gas through evaporation.
- 17) A method for extracting work from a volume of hot gas comprising:
a) extracting work from expanding a volume of hot gas to produce a low-pressure gas, b) reducing the temperature of said low-pressure gas by evaporation of a volatile liquid to produce cooled low-pressure gas, and c) compressing said cooled low-pressure gas to produce pressurized gas.
- 18) The method of claim 17 further comprising exhausting said pressurized gas to the atmosphere.
- 19) The method of claim 18 wherein said volatile liquid is water.
- 20) The method of claim 19 further comprising injecting said water in the form of a mist into said low-pressure gas.
Parent Case Info
[0001] The applicant claims benefit of U.S. provisional application number 60/241,350, entitled “Subatmospheric gas-turbine engine,” filed on Oct. 19, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60241350 |
Oct 2000 |
US |