JPS6217119B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ocean temperature difference power generation method and apparatus for generating power using the temperature difference between the surface of seawater and the deep sea.

Generally, the temperature of warm water on the ocean surface is 25-30℃,
In addition, since the temperature of cold water in the deep sea is 5 to 10 degrees Celsius, this temperature difference power generation system utilizes this temperature difference to circulate steam or gas as a working fluid, thereby rotating a turbine and generating electricity. is being developed. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional temperature difference power generation device of this kind. This will be explained based on the figure. A turbine 2 is directly connected to a generator 1, and this turbine 2 and an evaporator 3 , the condenser 4 and the pump 5 form a circulation path for the working fluid. Furthermore, high-temperature seawater pumped up by a high-temperature seawater pump 6 is fed into the evaporator 3, and low-temperature seawater pump 7 is fed into the condenser 4.
The low-temperature seawater pumped up by the
The working fluid, for example, liquefied propane gas, is heated and vaporized by high-temperature seawater in the evaporator 3, and cooled and liquefied by low-temperature seawater in the condenser 4, thereby generating a gas pressure gradient, that is, a gas flow. This causes the turbine 2 to rotate and generate electricity.

However, this temperature difference power generation utilizes a small temperature difference of 15 to 20 degrees Celsius, so its power generation efficiency is low, and in order to obtain a certain amount of power generation, large amounts of high-temperature seawater and low-temperature seawater are required. It also requires large and efficient evaporators and condensers. On the other hand, the conventional equipment described above uses a pump to pump up seawater, so a large-capacity pump is required, and heat exchangers such as evaporators and condensers have single-phase flow on the seawater side. Therefore, the heat transfer rate was low and the heat transfer area was huge.

The present invention was made in view of the above points, and by pumping up high temperature seawater and low temperature seawater as two-phase flows by boiling the air and refrigerant injected into the feeding path, By reducing the pumping power and reducing the heat transfer area between the evaporator and condenser of the working fluid, and by configuring a refrigeration cycle that separates and condenses the refrigerant and passes it through the low-temperature seawater, low-temperature seawater can be used as a refrigerant. An object of the present invention is to provide an ocean temperature difference power generation method and an apparatus for the same, which improve power generation efficiency by cooling with latent heat during boiling.

Hereinafter, its configuration and the like will be explained in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ocean temperature difference power generation device according to the present invention. In the figure, the ocean temperature difference power generation device is equipped with a working fluid condenser 11, and a pumping pipe 12 connected to the lower end thereof is suspended into the sea, and the lower end is connected to a low-temperature sea area in the deep sea. reached and opened. Moreover, a gas-liquid separator 13 is provided above the condenser 11 and communicates with the condenser 11, and its drain port 14 is opened to the outside.
Further, the other end of the air supply pipe 15 connected to the upper end opening of the gas-liquid separator 13 is connected to a refrigerant compressor 16, and an air supply pipe 17 connected to the exhaust side of the refrigerant compressor 16.
is guided to the pumping pipe 12, and a refrigerant condenser 18 is provided in the air path of the air pipe 17, located in the low-temperature seawater area of the deep sea. Furthermore, an injection nozzle 19 is attached to the tip of the air supply pipe 17 that opens into the pumping pipe 12 .

In the refrigeration cycle 20 configured as described above, a liquid refrigerant such as ethane or ethylene is injected from the injection nozzle 19 into the low-temperature seawater 21 in the pumping pipe 12 by the refrigerant compressor 16. Bring to a boil. Due to this boiling, low temperature seawater 2
1 and the refrigerant are continuously pumped into the condenser 11 as a two-phase flow. The pumped up seawater 21 and refrigerant exchange heat in the condenser 11, which will be described later, and then are sent to the gas-liquid separator 13 where they are separated into the gaseous refrigerant and seawater. Separated seawater is drained into drain pipe 14
The refrigerant is sent to a refrigerant compressor and compressed. When the compressed refrigerant passes through the refrigerant condenser 18, it is cooled and condensed by external low-temperature seawater, and is injected into the pumping pipe 12 from the injection nozzle 19 as a liquid. after this,
The refrigeration cycle 20 repeats the above operation to circulate the refrigerant.

On the other hand, an evaporator 22 is provided on the high-temperature seawater side, and a pumping pipe 23 is connected to the lower end of the evaporator 22, the lower end of which is opened to the high-temperature seawater near the sea surface. Further, the drain port of the evaporator 22 is opened to the outside. An air compressor 24 is attached to the evaporator 22, and an injection nozzle 26 is opened at the tip of the air pipe 25 that opens into the pumping pipe 23.

On the high-temperature seawater side configured in this manner, air from the air compressor 24 is ejected from the injection nozzle 26 to the high-temperature seawater 27 in the pumping pipe 23 to boil it, and the boiling causes the high-temperature seawater 27 to rise to a high temperature. Seawater and air are continuously pumped into the evaporator 22 as a two-phase flow. The pumped up seawater undergoes heat exchange, which will be described later, in the evaporator 22, and then flows to the drain port 2.
It is discharged from 3.

Pipes 28 and 29 for heat exchange are provided inside the condenser 11 and evaporator 22, respectively, and a pump is installed in the middle of an air supply pipe 30 that connects one end of these pipes 28 and 29. 31 are provided. Further, a turbine 33 is provided in the middle of an air supply pipe 32 that connects the pipes 28 and 29, and a generator 34 is directly connected to this turbine 33. The condenser 11, evaporator 22, pump 31, and turbine 33 constitute a working fluid circulation path 35.

In the working fluid circulation path 35 configured in this way, the liquefied propane as the working fluid sent to the evaporator 22 by the pump 31 is transferred to the evaporator 22.
By exchanging heat with the two-phase flow of high-temperature seawater and air passing through, the water is heated and vaporized and sent to the turbine 33. The propane gas that has passed through the turbine 33 is sent to the condenser 11, where it is cooled and liquefied by exchanging heat with the two-phase flow of low-temperature seawater and refrigerant passing through the condenser 11, and then sent to the pump 31. Thereafter, due to the gas pressure gradient created in the circulation path 35, propane gas continuously flows from the evaporator 22 to the turbine 33 and towards the condenser 11, causing the turbine 33 to rotate. , power is generated by a generator 34 directly connected to this.

In this embodiment, propane gas, which has a small rate of volume change and has relatively high pressure and density at low temperature, was used as the working fluid, but other gases or water vapor may also be used. In addition, as a refrigerant,
Although ethane or ethylene, which boils under seabed pressure and at low seabed temperature and whose critical pressure is higher than seabed pressure, was used, other refrigerants may also be used.

As is clear from the above explanation, the ocean temperature difference power generation method and its device are capable of producing high-temperature seawater and low-temperature seawater into a two-phase flow state by boiling the air and refrigerant injected into the feed path. By configuring the system to pump up the water, a large-capacity pump becomes unnecessary and can be replaced with a small-capacity compressor that requires less power, resulting in significant savings in power and equipment costs. At the same time, the heat transfer area of the evaporator and condenser that exchange heat between the working fluid can be reduced. Furthermore, by configuring a refrigeration cycle in which the refrigerant is separated and condensed and passed through the low-temperature seawater, the low-temperature seawater can be cooled by the latent heat generated when the refrigerant boils, thereby improving power generation efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional ocean temperature difference power generation device, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an ocean temperature difference power generation device according to the present invention. 11... working fluid condenser, 12... pumping pump, 13... gas-liquid separator, 16... refrigerant compressor,
18... Refrigerant condenser, 19... Injection nozzle, 21
... Low temperature seawater, 22 ... Evaporator, 23 ... Lifting pump, 24 ... Air compressor, 26 ... Injection nozzle, 27 ... High temperature seawater, 33 ... Turbine, 34
... Generator, 35 ... Working fluid circulation path.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Low-temperature seawater and refrigerant blown into its feed path by a refrigerant compressor are passed through a working fluid condenser in a two-phase flow state, and then the refrigerant is separated in a separator; The refrigerant is cooled and condensed in a refrigerant condenser installed in a low-temperature seawater area, and then blown into the low-temperature seawater feed path by the compressor to circulate the refrigerant, while the high-temperature seawater is blown into the high-temperature seawater and its feed path by an air compressor. At the same time, the working fluid is circulated through repetition of heating vaporization by high-temperature seawater passing through the evaporator and cooling condensation by low-temperature seawater passing through the working fluid condenser. An ocean temperature difference power generation method characterized by generating electricity by rotating a turbine provided in a circulation path. 2. An evaporator through which high-temperature seawater passes, an air compressor equipped with an injection nozzle that opens into the high-temperature seawater feed path to this evaporator, a working fluid condenser through which low-temperature seawater passes, and a refrigerant compressor equipped with an injection nozzle that opens into the low-temperature seawater supply path;
A gas-liquid separator interposed between the refrigerant compressor and the working fluid condenser, and a working fluid circulation path that includes the evaporator and the refrigerant condenser, and is rotated by the circulating working fluid. An ocean temperature difference power generation device characterized by being provided with a turbine.