New Technologies for Low-grade Heat Power

Engineering

Novel technology for low-grade heat conversion into electricity

For thermal power plants: power capacity increase and co-generation by waste heat recycling

For geothermal power plants: Flexible deployment and better scalability of power capacity

For solar power stations: higher efficiency and lower BOM

Introduction: Heat Conversion Idea

We reverse the “roulette wheel” of the gas cycle in hydraulic accumulators. To gain some more fluid power in each conversion cycle instead of losing it in conventional recuperative cycles in accumulators

Core technology – Thermo-Pneumo-Hydraulic Conversion

(TPHC)

Novel heat engine based on hydraulic accumulators and heat exchangers:

Transformation of heat from any external source of energy directly into fluid power.

coldaccumulator

hotaccumulator

+dQ

-dQ

hydrosystem

Core technology (for fluid power people)

COLD HOT

+dQ

-dQ

Hydrosystem

COLD HOT

+dQ

-dQ

Hydrosystem

COLD HOT

+dQ

-dQ

Hydrosystem

COLD HOT

+dQ

-dQ

Hydrosystem

stage 1stage 2

stage 3 stage 4

oil flow

hot gas flow

cold gas flow

Heat exchanger

LiquidLiquid

Gas

COLD HOTC

ompr

essi

on

TPHC cycle put simple: Stroke 1

Total power in

Heat exchanger

LiquidLiquid

GasGas

COLD HOT

Gas flow Gas flow

dQ1heat in

Gas transfer

TPHC cycle put simple : Stroke 2

Total power outHeat in

Heat exchanger

Liquid

Liquid

Gas

COLD HOTE

xpansion

TPHC cycle put simple : Stroke 3

Total power out

Heat exchanger

LiquidLiquid

GasGas

COLD HOT

Gas flow Gas flow

dQ2Heat out

Gas transfer

TPHC cycle put simple : Stroke 4

Total power inHeat out

Competing technologies• Thermo-Electrical Conversion (TEC)• Evaporative cycle conversion:

– Water Rankine Cycle (WRC), – Water-Ammonia Rankine Cycle (Kalina cycle), – Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)

• Stirling Cycle Engines

None of competing technologies offer a combination of:

• High efficiency in wide temperature range• High power density• Low installation and operation costs

Key Competitive Advantages: Manufacturing and operation

• Simplicity of operation: one part always hot, another always cold (like external combustion engine)

• Simplicity of manufacturing: • Mostly standard and modified standard fluid

power components used• Low BOM: steel, nitrogen and oil are not in

deficiency, no need of scarce materials

Key Competitive Advantages: Efficiency

• Low operational temperature gradient: 80 degree temperature difference between hot and cold media enough for operation

• Wide temperature range: coolant temperature from - 50 to +100 C

• High power density • Low energy transformation losses: Directly from

gas expansion into Fluid Power

Competitive technologies comparison

advantages disadvantages

Water Rankene

high power capacity, reasonable efficiency

operable for T>450C, complexity of the system, bulky equipment, high cost

Water-Ammonia Rankene

higher efficiency (compare to WRC) higher complexity (compare to WRC)

Organic Rankene

higher efficiency (compare to WRC), operable for T<450C

each system is optimized for specific working temperatures, low power density

Thermo-Electric Conversion

compactness, direct conversion to electricity, very wide range of temperature differences for utilization, wide range of power capacity

low efficiency, high BOM, rare materials required

TPHC higher efficiency (compare to ORC), operable for 80C<T<350C, wide range of coolant temperatures, high power density, low BOM

unconventional technology, fluid power experience required for maintenance

Efficiency estimate

Technology Tmax(Tmin) C Pmax/Pmin ηGAS ηtotal

TPHC 100 (15) 2 20% 15 %

TPHC 300 (15) 3 40% 32 %

ORC 120 (20)   13% 10 %

ORC 300 (30)   25% 20 %

TEC 100 (15)     3 %

TEC 300 (15)     8 %

Expected total efficiency of TPHC (our system) is much higher than that of TEC and comparable to that

of ORC at the same temperature differences

ηGAS – efficiency of gas cycle ηtotal – total efficiency

ORC – Organic Rankine Cycle, TEC – thermoelectric conversion

Market estimate*

• Almost 250 quadrillion BTUs of low temperature energy is considered waste worldwide– Industrial sites (chemical, paper, food, etc – 76,000 sites)– Commercial buildings including schools and high rise –

200,000 sites– Other sites such as wastewater treatment plants (16,000)

• Geothermal recourses (only crustal heat) 7.5▪107 quad BTUs• Solar flux (reached the surface of the Earth ) about 105 TW

Potential market of waste heat conversion devices in the US only is a US$26Bln opportunity or over

US$75Bln worldwide.Adopted from http://www.smartstartvf.com/download.cfm/en_rotors.pdf?AssetID=260

Current status of the Project

• Proof of concept achieved by testing a lab bench prototype of the heat engine

• Key performance parameters verified experimentally

• 7 PCT applications pending, 2 US patents, 3 Utility models (Germany), 6 Russian patents

• Validation pending in USA, Canada, China, Korea, Taiwan, India, UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland

Proof of concept: lab bench engine assembly

cold accumulator

hot accumulator

hot heat exchanger

Pilot

Licensing

Pilot

Licensing

Pilot

Licensing

Pilot

Licensing

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Round 1

App

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Yet

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Waste heat

industrial

Waste heat

industrial

Waste heat

industrial

Waste heat

commercial estate

Waste heat

commercial estate

Waste heat

commer-cial estate

Solar

Geotherm

Round 2

Project Team

Leonid Sheshin - Project

Manager, 12 years of

experience in experimental

physics, 30 years – in electronic engineering, 7 years - in fluid

power

Dr. Igor Rozhdestvenskiy -

Business development

consultant, 20 years of experience in

theoretical physics, 6+ years experience in

tech startup consulting

Sergey Ryadnov - Chief System

Designer, 25 years of

experience in mechanical

engineering, 12 years - in fluid

power

Yurii Yavushkin - System

Tester, 40 years of experience in

mechanical engineering