JPH0138202B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a combustion system that utilizes thermionic power generation.

[Prior art]

The current generated by a thermionic generator installed in a high-temperature part such as a gas turbine combustion chamber or a boiler furnace is a low-voltage direct current, and it is necessary to convert it into a high-voltage direct current or alternating current. However, there was a problem that a lot of equipment was required and the cost was high.

By the way, the electric energy generated by the thermionic generator is the recovery of effective work energy (exergy) accompanying the combustion of fuel, and it is necessary to effectively recover this energy without degrading its quality.

Further, since the thermionic generator itself does not have an energy storage function, it is not suitable as an adjustment device for load fluctuations or the difference in supply and demand.

On the other hand, the present inventor obtained the following knowledge and completed the present invention.

In other words, the low-voltage direct current generated by a thermionic generator is an optimal voltage and current source for water electrolysis, and the oxygen and hydrogen gases obtained by electrolyzing water can be used in fossil fuel systems. Oxygen gas and hydrogen gas obtained by electrolysis have an energy storage function that can be temporarily stored in a tank; Hydrogen gas can only be used as a fuel. Instead, its use will expand as an auxiliary fuel for inferior fuels such as heavy oil fuel and low-calorie fuels.By adding oxygen gas to air for self-consumption, it will become so-called oxygen-enriched air, which will reduce the excess air ratio. This will contribute to reduction and improvement of specific output. Therefore, it not only increases the power generation efficiency of the power generation plant but also reduces the waste heat energy of the complex plant, which helps improve the overall plant efficiency. Oxygen gas and hydrogen gas produced by electrolysis using electric energy are The present invention was completed by focusing on the fact that exergy loss can be kept low because the high energy of fuel can be recovered as fuel with the same level of high exergy.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to effectively recover useful work energy (exergy) without degrading the quality of energy.

[Structure of the invention]

That is, in the combustion system using thermionic power generation of the present invention, a thermionic generator is installed in the combustor, and the water in the electrolyzer is electrolyzed with the direct current obtained by the thermionic generator to generate oxygen gas. The present invention is characterized in that the oxygen gas is added to the air for self-consumption of the combustor, and the hydrogen gas is added to the fuel for self-consumption of the combustor.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the case of a gas turbine power generation plant as an example. Power is generated by a so-called single-shaft gas turbine in which the compressor 1 and the turbine 2 are directly connected by the shaft 4, and the turbine 2 and the generator 3 are directly connected by the shaft 5. It is being said.

The air compressed by the compressor 1 is introduced into the combustor 6, and the combustion gas generated in the combustor 6 is supplied to the turbine 2.

7 is an air intake pipe communicating with the compressor 1; 8 is an exhaust gas pipe communicating with the turbine 2; and 9 is a fossil fuel supply pipe communicating with the combustor 6.

A thermionic generator 22 is installed in the combustor 6,
This thermionic generator 22 generates direct current. As shown in FIG. 2, this thermionic generator 22 includes an emitter 24 that is heated to a high temperature by a heat source and emits electrons, a collector 25 that collects the electrons emitted from the emitter 24, and a metal cesium 2
6, and an insulating material 28 such as ceramic between the emitter 24 and the collector 25 to extract the generated power.
air insulated by

In the basic structure of the thermionic generator shown in FIG. 2, a positive electrical lead wire 29A and a negative electrical lead wire 29B are connected to the load, but in the present invention, as shown in FIG. A positive electrical lead wire 29A is connected to an anode 12 of an electrolytic cell 10, which will be described later, and a negative electrical lead wire 29B is connected to a cathode 13 to electrolyze water in the electrolytic cell 10.

The collector 25 is cooled to about half the temperature of the emitter 24. In addition, the cesium reservoir 27 is
By changing the temperature, it works to supply the required cesium vapor into the generator.

On the other hand, the high-pressure electrolytic cell 10 is divided into two by a vertical partition wall 11 that does not reach the bottom, and one chamber 14 is divided into two by a vertical partition wall 11 that does not reach the bottom.
An anode 12 is installed inside the chamber, and a cathode 13 is installed inside the other chamber 15.

Oxygen gas in the chamber 14 generated by electrolysis is temporarily stored in the accumulator 17 through a pipe 16, and further supplied to the air suction pipe 7 through a pipe 18.

That is, by adding oxygen gas to self-consumption air, it becomes so-called oxygen-enriched air, which contributes to reducing the excess air ratio and improving specific output.

Further, hydrogen gas in the chamber 15 generated by electrolysis is temporarily stored in an accumulator 20 through a pipe 19, and further supplied to the combustor 6 through a pipe 21.

In this case, hydrogen gas is supplied not only as a simple fuel but also as an auxiliary fuel for inferior fuels such as heavy oil fuels and low-calorie fuels, and its uses will expand.

Water is supplied into the electrolytic cell 10 through a water supply pipe 23.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a combustion boiler plant, and the same members as in the example of a gas turbine power plant are given the same reference numerals.

This example is different in two points: a thermionic element 22 is installed in the furnace 32 of a boiler 31 having a steam drum 30, and a normal pressure electrolyzer 40 is used as the electrolyzer. Since it is the same as the example of the gas turbine power plant, the explanation will be omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention installs a thermionic generator in a combustor, and electrolyzes water in an electrolyzer using a direct current obtained by the thermionic generator to generate oxygen gas and hydrogen gas. , this oxygen gas is added to the air for self-consumption of the combustor, and the hydrogen gas is added to the fuel for self-consumption of the combustor, so effective work energy (exergy) can be increased without reducing the quality of energy. It has become possible to collect effectively.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic diagram of a thermionic generator, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Compressor, 2... Turbine, 3... Generator, 6... Combustor, 10, 40... Electrolyzer, 12
...anode, 13...cathode, 17,20...accumulator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermionic generator is installed in the combustor, and the water in the electrolyzer is electrolyzed with a direct current obtained by the thermionic generator to generate oxygen gas and hydrogen gas, and this oxygen gas is transferred to the combustor. A combustion system using thermionic power generation, characterized in that the hydrogen gas is added to the self-consumption air of the combustor, and the hydrogen gas is added to the self-consumption fuel of the combustor.