Patent ID: 8418466

Claim:
A process for generating motive work, comprising the steps of: heating a first fluid stream in a first heat exchanger, said first heat exchanger producing a second fluid stream that has a higher temperature than the first fluid stream, said first heat exchanger receiving heat from a first external heat source generated from a low-grade heat recovered from geothermal energy, providing said second fluid stream to a vortex tube where the second fluid is segregated into a hot second fluid stream and a cool second fluid stream, providing said cool second fluid stream to the first heat exchanger, said first heat exchanger producing a third fluid stream that has a higher temperature than the cool second fluid stream, combining the third fluid stream with the hot second fluid stream into a fourth fluid stream, providing the fourth fluid stream to a turbine to produce a motive work force, said turbine producing a fifth fluid stream that has a lower temperature and pressure than the fourth fluid stream, providing the fifth fluid stream to the first heat exchanger for re-heating of the fifth fluid stream as said first fluid stream.