Patent ID: 8833077
Filing Date: 2014-09-16
Classification: F01K

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: partially vaporizing a fully condensed higher pressure rich solution stream using heat from a heat source stream and a spent rich solution stream to form a spent heat source stream, a cooled spent rich solution stream, and a further partially vaporized higher pressure rich solution stream, separating the further partially vaporized higher pressure rich solution stream in a first gravity separator (SP adjusting a liquid content of the first rich vapor stream by adding a portion of the first lean liquid stream into the first rich vapor stream to form a richer solution stream so that a quantity of the richer solution stream is increased improving an overall energy extraction efficiency of the method to an efficiency at least 40% higher than analogous Rankine cycle method and to lower a temperature of the further partially vaporized higher pressure rich solution stream, fully vaporizing and slightly superheating the richer solution stream in a sixth heat exchange unit (HE converting a portion of the heat associated with the vaporized and slightly superheated richer solution stream in a turbine (T combining a pressure adjusted remainder of the first lean liquid stream into a spent richer solution stream to form the spent rich solution stream, partially vaporizing a first pressurized intermediate solution substream with heat from an intermediate solution stream comprising the cooled spent rich solution stream and a second lean liquid stream in a seventh heat exchange unit (HE fully condensing the partially condensed intermediate solution stream using a pressurized coolant stream in an eighth heat exchange unit or condenser (HE fully condensing a rich solution stream using the pressurized coolant stream in a first heat exchange unit or condenser (HE increasing a pressure of the fully condensed rich solution stream using a first pump (P increasing a pressure of the fully condensed intermediate solution stream using a second pump (P separating the partially vaporized first pressurized intermediate solution substream in a first second gravity separator (SP combining the second rich vapor stream with a second pressurized intermediate solution substream to form the rich solution stream, where the second lean liquid stream adjusts a composition of the cooled spent rich solution stream to improve the full condensation of the intermediate solution stream and the rich solution stream.