MX2008008307A - Thermodynamic power conversion cycle and methods of use - Google Patents

Abstract

A high efficiency thermodynamic power conversion cycle is disclosed using thermal storage, atmospheric heat exchangers, and wind channeling in a synergistic method. Using the preferred configuration with ground source water, solar collectors, and heat pump including the further preferred utilization of ionic liquids or electride solutions as the working fluid in the system, achieves optimal total energy efficiency and enables otherwise insufficient thermal differentials to effectively generate power.

Description

THERMODYNAMIC ENERGY CONVERSION CYCLE AND METHODS OF USE REFERENCE TO RELATED REQUESTS This application claims the priority of US Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60 / 766,013, filed on December 29, 2005, for "Energy Conversion Cycle" Thermodynamics and Methods of Use ". This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11 / 309,025, filed June 12, 2006, for "Nano-Ionic Liquid and Methods of Use," which claims the priority of the Application for US Provisional Patent Serial No. 60 / 595,167, filed June 13, 2005. This application is also a continuation in part of US Patent Application Serial No. 11 / 306,911 for "Absorption Heat Pump. of High Efficiency and Methods of Use ", filed on January 16, 2006, which claims the priority of the US Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60 / 593,485, filed on January 18, 2005. FIELD OF THE INVENTION invention is generally directed to energy generation cycles based on thermodynamic cycles, and more specifically to means and methods for increasing the effective thermal differential between the source and sink of heat and means and methods to increase the pressure differential through the energy extraction device. BACKGROUND Geothermal heat pumps are well known in the industry as a means to provide cooling or. heating through thermal transport outside / inside respectively of ground source water. Geothermal thermodynamic energy generation cycles are also well known in the art as a means of generating steam which in turn drives an energy extraction device, such as a turbine. Both geothermal applications would benefit from means to increase the temperature differential between the source and the heat sink. U.S. Patent No. 6,681,593 for "Thermal Energy Storage System" to Gundlach discloses a thermal energy storage system that includes a shallow ice-water well used to store and extract thermal energy cyclically, thawing the ice and freezing water intra-seasonally. The '593 Patent fails to perform the cyclical use of day-night-day temperature variations and a means to increase the efficiency of the system on a semi-continuous basis. U.S. Patent No. 6,151,896 for "Installation of heating based on a Stirling system" to Veringa et al, describes a heating installation with a Stirling engine and Stirling-type heat pump integrated into a single pressure vessel. Two hot chambers and two cold chambers, as well as a working chamber in which a piston is mounted so that it freely oscillates, are placed inside the pressure vessel. The cameras are in fluid communication with each other. The '896 patent incorporates a hot water thermal storage system only as a means to utilize the thermal energy not converted to hot water rather than dissipating the unconverted thermal energy into the atmosphere. Ambient Energy Systems Ltd. of the United Kingdom describes the use of two thermal storage systems in conjunction with a traditional vapor compression heat pump as a means to use environmental conditions (aka atmospheric) either to gather solar energy or to dissipate energy thermal to the atmosphere, but fails to achieve power generation capabilities at the same time either with the production alone of cooling with domestic hot water or heating. The Ambient system uses high surface area (heat exchangers atmospheres "which are fixed systems that have traditional low-pressure thermal transfer work fluids, thus requiring an excessive amount of pump energy to overcome fluid friction losses., Ambient is limited to a thermodynamic cycle that is the conventional thermal pump cycle. A less sophisticated system was also developed by Kajima Corporation, which uses a single thermal storage and environmental heat exchangers, as a means again to increase the traditional heat pump thermodynamic cycle. No system anticipates, nor is it capable of, generating power while at the same time realizing additional gains of increased system operating coefficient. The Inventor is unaware of any additional patent or literature references that describe the use of thermal storage as a means to increase the temperature differential, or the use of atmospheric heat exchangers with or without wind pipe devices, or the use of fluids of novel work including ionic liquid or electrode / alkaline solutions as a means to increase the pressure differential to differential ratio of temperature. There remains a need for a cost effective, high efficiency means to convert thermal energy into mechanical / electrical energy for small temperature differentials (approximately 15 degrees Kelvin) or the means to efficiently increase the temperature differential. COMPENDIUM A modified thermodynamic cycle is provided that achieves superior energy conversion efficiency by maximizing the temperature and pressure differentials between the source and the heat sink. A fundamental benefit resulting from the inventive design is a significant reduction in thermal losses and the ability to extract energy at relatively low temperature differentials. An object of the invention is to increase the temperature differential between a source and a heat sink. Another object of the invention is to integrate an absorption heat pump with integral energy extraction capabilities to a conventional vapor compression heat pump as a means to increase the total energy conversion and cooling performance coefficient A further object of the invention is to use day-to-night temperature differentials as a means to increase the temperature differential between the source and the heat sink. A still further object of the invention is to utilize solar energy collected by either the solar collector or concentrator as a means to increase the temperature differential between a source and a heat sink. Another object of the invention is to use a dynamically switchable thermal bus as a means to reconfigure heat transport between fluid communication lines. Still another object of the invention is to extract thermal energy from the atmosphere during a relatively hot day time. as a means of increasing the temperature of the heat source and during the relatively cold night time as a means of decreasing the temperature of the heat sink, both using thermal storage capacities. A further object of the invention is to reduce power consumption of auxiliary support equipment by decreasing the pump and fan energy, including the means of utilizing impulse pump configurations driven by heat, heat pipes, and the like, and using wind pipeline through an atmospheric heat exchanger, respectively. The figures illustrated within the specification of the invention provide example configurations of the most important components of the energy conversion system. A detailed description of the figures is provided in the following paragraphs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1A is a block diagram illustrating fluid communication lines for conditions where the air temperature is greater than the geothermal water temperature. Figure IB is a block diagram view illustrating fluid communication lines for conditions where the air temperature is lower than the temperature of the geothermal water. Figure 2 is a block diagram view illustrating fluid communication lines for pump-driven. Figure 3 is a block diagram view illustrating fluid communication lines for conventional energy extraction through thermodynamic cycle.

Figure 4 is a block diagram view illustrating fluid communication lines for heat transport using a heat pipe between evaporator and condenser. Figure 5 is a block diagram view illustrating the fluid communication lines for thermal transport between any two thermal storage tanks. Figure 6 is a block diagram view illustrating thermal transport through the thermal bus with switching capacity between any two thermal storage tanks. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the integral wind pipe capabilities in the atmospheric heat exchanger. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES The invention is generally directed to energy generation cycles based on thermodynamic cycles, and more specifically to means and methods for increasing the effective thermal differential between the source and heat sink, and means and methods for increasing the pressure differential through the energy extraction device. A modified thermodynamic cycle is provided that achieves superior efficiency of energy conversion maximizing the temperature and pressure differentials between the source and the heat sink. A fundamental benefit resulting from the inventive design is a significant reduction in thermal losses and the ability to extract energy at relatively low temperature differentials. The term "tor motor" is defined as an external means for ting a component fixed to a ting device. The term "thermal bus" is defined as a means to transport thermal energy is a way directed from one location to another location. The term "atmospheric" is defined as produced by, dependent on, or coming from the atmosphere. The term "wind channeling" is defined as a means to direct or guide the wind along a desired course, preferably having a concentrated or amplified impact and superior velocity. The term "heat driven impulse pump" is defined as a means for generating pumping action by exploiting periodic (driven) heating and vaporization alternating with cooling and condensation of the fluid to be pumped.

The term "thermodynamic cycle" is defined as a process in which a working fluid undergoes a series of changes of state and finally returns to its initial state. The term "solar energy" is defined as energy derived from the sun, which most often refers to the direct conversion of radiated photons to electrons or phonons through a wide range of media. Solar energy is also indirectly converted into forms of additional energy such as the heating of ground water (a.k.a. geothermal water). The term "geothermal" is defined as or related to the internal heat of the earth, which is impacted by absorbed solar energy. The term "ionic liquids" is defined as liquids that are non-coordinating, highly solvating media in which a variety of organic and inorganic solutes are capable of dissolving. They are effective solvents for a variety of compounds, and their lack of a vapor pressure capable of being measured makes them a desirable substitute for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Ionic liquids are attractive solvents and are non-volatile, non-flammable, have a high thermal stability, and are relatively inexpensive to produce. A key point about ionic liquids is that they are soluble salts, which means that they consist of a salt that exists in the liquid phase and have to be manufactured; they are not simply salts dissolved in liquid. Usually one or both of the ions is particularly large and the cation has a low degree of symmetry, these factors result in ionic liquids having a reduced network energy and thus lower boiling points. The term "electrido" is defined as being like alkalines except that it is assumed that the anion may simply be an electron that is located in a region of the crystal between the cations made complex. The term "alkaline" is defined as a class of ionic compounds in which the Anions are elements of the Type I (Alkali) group Na, K, Rb, C (not known "Litido" exists). The cation is an alkaline cation made complex by a large organic complex former. The resulting chemical form is A + [Complex former] B-, where the complex former is a Criptand, Crown Ether, or Corona-Aza. The term "nanofluid" is defined as a fluid containing nanoscale powders, which are powders that have a diameter of less than 1 micron and preferably less than 100 nanometers. The term "supercritical" is defined as the point at which fluids have been exploited above their critical temperatures and pressures. The term "heat pump" is defined as the transport of thermal energy extracted from a heat source to a heat sink by means including steam compression, absorption and adsorption. A thermodynamic energy conversion device according to an embodiment of the inventive pressure is explained below with reference to the drawings. Figures 1A and IB are block diagrams of the fluid communication lines between the main components of the energy conversion device. The thermodynamic energy conversion device is a "geothermal hybrid" thermodynamic cycle, even when significantly lower ground source operating temperatures are expected in addition to the traditional operating temperatures, coupled with at least one additional thermodynamic cycle selected from the group consisting of absorption, adsorption and vapor compression heat pump.

Figure 1A specifically illustrates the thermodynamic energy conversion device, hereinafter referred to as "TPC". Figure 1A shows the configuration when the ambient / atmospheric air temperature is higher than the temperature of the ground source / geothermal water. Referring to Figure 1A, the thermal energy of ground source water is transported towards the thermodynamic cycle through the geothermal condenser 70 which is more precisely server than an evaporator. The working fluid is in fluid communication with the high pressure displacement pump 10, which may alternatively be a heat activated pulse pump, or gerrotor, or additional means for achieving high efficiency pumping. The working fluid is further in fluid communication optionally with atmospheric air to liquid heat exchanger ("HX" 20 as a first stage means for increasing the working fluid temperature.) A second optional stage means, even if preferred, is further increasing the working fluid temperatures is performed by the thermal source aided by solar.These thermal sources aided by solar include solar thermal collectors (ie, flat panel, evacuated tubes) .An additional third stage is preference a solar concentrator. The configuration of the three subsequent heating stages minimizes capital costs and thermal losses. The additional thermal sources, which would be integrated at any point at which the working fluid is less than the temperature of the thermal source even when preferably at the higher temperature lower than the thermal source, are integrated into the inventive TPC. These include waste heat sources and combustion of fuel sources including low quality biomass sources. The working fluid, which is now at the highest temperature and pressure within the thermodynamic cycle. The working fluid is in direct fluid communication with a pressure expansion mechanism such as the detailed expansion turbine 40. The pressure expansion mechanism can alternatively drive a compressor, heat pump, or electric generator. A secondary product of the expansion process is cooling capabilities, spatially realized by the optional absorption / expansion cooling device 60. Additional components such as desuperheaters, pre-chillers / subcoolers are expected as means to increase pressure differentials and / or cooling capacities. These additional components are noticed or especially when the working fluid is a super-spiritual fluid. Fiber IB illustrates the TPC when the ambient air temperature is lower than the water temperature of the ground source. The main difference being the placement within the fluid communication line of the geothermal condenser 70 which serves as the first stage of heating the working fluid. The atmospheric heat exchanger 20 now serves as an evaporator in order to reduce the working fluid temperature, thus being a thermal sink. Figure 2 illustrates a broad concept of a heat driven impulse pump within the TPC. Specifically, a series of parallel sequence input valves 100 obtains the working fluid as an output from the geothermal condenser 70 at virtually any point before the expansion turbine 40. The inlet valves are in fluid communication with the boosted HX chamber or chambers 90 where the working fluid is heated as a means to increase the working fluid pressure. The resulting heated working fluid creates a pumping action using the pressure differential to displace lower pressure working fluid, which is controlled by a series of parallel output valves 80. Figure 3 illustrates a simplified thermodynamic cycle representation in which the working fluid uses a pressure differential performed by a temperature differential to drive an expansion turbine 40. The working fluid is then in fluid communication with a thermal sink represented by the HX evaporator 42 which is also optimally the secondary heat pump condenser even when acting as an evaporator within the thermodynamic cycle. A displacement pump, preferably a high pressure displacement pump 10 controls the flow of the working fluid so that the working fluid is displaced towards the heat source represented by the HX 22 condenser again optimally is the secondary heat pump evaporator even when it acts as a condenser within the thermodynamic cycle. Figure 4 illustrates a simplified heat pipe circuit, which is also expected to be any means of transporting thermal energy over relatively significant distances at minimum pressure losses. This thermal transport essentially occurs between any heat source, represented by 22 as the HX capacitor, and any thermal sink, represented by 42 as an HX evaporator. Figure 5 illustrates a simplified circuit for which the atmospheric thermal intercooler 20 is controllable to be in fluid communication with either a relatively cooler thermal storage tank 300 and a relatively hotter thermal storage 310. Figure 6 illustrates a simplified thermal bus circuit using medium high thermal conductivity and low thermal resistance means of a terminal bus as effective means for transporting thermal energy between virtually any source and heat sink. The thermal bus 140 is switchable between virtually any two components shown herein as being represented by a relatively cooler thermal storage tank 300 and a relatively hotter thermal storage tank 310. The switching means includes thermal diodes or additional methods known in the field of controlling thermal transport between desired states of high thermal conductivity with low thermal resistance, and low thermal conductivity with high thermal resistance. Figure 7 illustrates the integration of pipeline of wind towards the atmospheric heat exchanger. The atmospheric heat exchanger 200 is an air flow that is directed towards the heat exchanger at an accelerated rate, as a means to reduce the fan energy and increase the heat transfer. The air flow is guided by a series of wind tunneling devices 210 as is known in the industry, preferably aerodynamically optimized to minimize skin friction losses. The illustration is accurate as both / either viewed in cross section or top view respectively. A preferred orientation is the use of the solar collector 220 which are dynamically relocated to serve the secondary function of wind pipeline over example structures such as a roof structure. Alternatively, the wind pipe device as exemplified by 230 is illustrated as a solar collector which is a flexible substrate that is capable of being wound. The preferred solar collector is also capable of being raised and extended to meet the specific optimization requirements that vary from maximizing solar harvesting, maximizing wind energy conversion, minimizing susceptibility to wind damage during periods of excess of winds. Finally, the means for maximizing the air flow is carried out by the complete atmospheric heat exchanger 200 which is rotated by methods known in the art for movement control is achieved by the example giratiro motor 240. Numerous additional features of the inventive energy conversion device are detailed as follows. The thermodynamic energy conversion device is dynamically switchable between at least two modes of operation, where the first mode is the thermal sink is a geothermal source when the temperature of the geothermal source is lower than either the ambient temperature or thermal storage or the second mode is the heat source is a geothermal source when the temperature of the geothermal source is higher than either the ambient temperature or the thermal storage temperature. The preferred thermal storage device is comprised of at least two thermal storage tanks having a temperature differential between storage tanks of at least 15 degrees Kelvin. The auxiliary / dependent energy requirements are minimized by the additional inclusion of at least one of the group consisting of a heat-activated impulse pump, thermal tube, thermal loop tube, capillary thermal tube, thermal bus, and heat pump. The most preferred thermal storage tank has an increasing / higher temperature by preheating the working fluid of the heat source during the daytime through thermal transfer in an atmospheric heat exchanger. The specifically preferred thermal storage tank has an increasing / higher temperature by infusing solar energy from a solar energy collection device. The infused solar energy increases the thermal source temperature in real time by a solar collector as a means to increase the efficiency of energy conversion. It is also expected that a first stage solar collector will be comprised of traditional flat panel solar collectors and evacuated by solar thermal tubes. It is also expected that a second stage solar collector will be comprised of concentrated solar energy. The second stage that results from the solar concentrator allows a superior heat source with minimal thermal losses and maximum energy efficiency. The output of the solar collector is in fluid communication with the device that has selected upper temperatures of geothermal working fluids or thermal storage. It is also expected that the waste heat of the processes in close proximity may be in indirect fluid communications, so that the waste process heat is infused to the highest thermodynamic cycle temperature without exceeding the process heat temperature. real waste. The atmospheric heat exchanger is either in direct or indirect fluid communication, or through the terminal bus as a means to transport thermal energy to the selected upper temperature device of geothermal working fluids or thermal storage when the heat exchanger temperature Atmospheric is greater than any of the geothermal work fluids or thermal storage. Alternatively, the atmospheric heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the selected lower temperature device of the geothermal or thermal storage fluids when the temperature of the atmospheric heat exchanger is lower than either the geothermal or thermal storage fluids. A preferred atmospheric heat exchanger it is further comprised of at least one device selected from the group consisting of vienus channeling device as a means of improving thermal transfer, a rotary motor as a means to maximize air flow, and sun protection device as a means to control the solar thermal gain. The wind channeling device, which includes devices such as Wind Roof or other methods known in the field for wind concentration, wind amplification and wind channeling. The principle purpose, independent of the method is to increase the wind speed. The most preferred atmospheric heat exchanger with an integral wind pipe device is further comprised of a wind energy converter, such as a wind turbine. The specifically preferred wind energy converter is mounted horizontally so that the wind pipe does not interfere with the solar collectors / concentrators. A particularly preferred atmospheric heat exchanger is capable of dynamically switching between evaporator or condenser modes. One of these modes of operation is the daytime operation where the atmospheric heat exchanger extracts thermal energy from the atmosphere. Another of these modes of operation is the night time operation where the atmospheric heat exchanger radiates thermal energy. The optimal switching mode reflects a series of parameters that include real-time conditions such as weather (eg, temperature), wind speed, humidity, etc. The ability to incorporate multivariate guest operating conditions that integrate the operation history with predictions of time to determine a dynamic configuration that includes programming of times in which the atmospheric heat exchanger operates as a thermal sink or source and through which thermal transport It is dynamically altered to sink or source to / from thermal storage tanks, solar collectors, solar concentrators, geothermal ground water source, heat pump evaporator or condenser. A significant source of energy is collected directly from solar energy through solar collectors / concentrators. The collection of solar energy is greatly influenced by numerous time parameters that include cloud cover, station capacity, daily variation between minimum and maximum temperatures (ie, day and night temperatures). Dice that the operating coefficient is greatly dictated by maximizing the temperature differential, it is optimal for the system to operate at times in which the maximum temperature differential is realized. Nevertheless, the demand for energy, heating / cooling, and domestic hot water is asynchronous with the power supply, heating / cooling and domestic hot water. In this way, the determination in real time to configure / reconfigure the transport of thermal energy is constantly changing between filling the demand for real time of the resource in higher demand or having the highest economic cost, or alternatively optimizing the total operating cost. for a fixed period of time (eg, daily, weekly, monthly). The complexity of the control scheme is best achieved by combining a distributed control system that has a direct real-time communication link to the network resources that determine and optimal displacement configuration schemes based on historical and forecast operation data in combination with historical and predicted time data. The particularly preferred atmospheric heat exchanger is a multifunctional device which integrates selected functions of the group consisting of structural support, architectural design element, or barrier wall. The atmospheric heat exchanger, especially large surface area systems, have means for example for leveraging a common structural support with solar collectors / concentrators. A large surface area solar collector also inherently serves as an inherent thermal bus, that is, metal structures have large thermal mass and low thermal resistance. In addition, a heat exchanger (specifically an air heat exchanger) 9 requires large amounts of air flow, large amounts of air flow are also required by wind energy converting systems (eg, wind turbines). Thus, the preferred configuration is such that the heat exchanger, which is ultimately a supercritical thin film microchannel heat exchanger, guides / directs the air flow that serves as a wind channeling device (aka wind turbines with ducts, amplifiers of wind, wind concentrators.) It is known in the industry that electrostatic fields have the capacity to improve thermal transfer, this way the atmospheric heat exchanger of large surface area will benefit greatly from said improvement. Another means for improving thermal diffusion is through the use of evaporative cooling, which includes methods known in the art for increasing evaporation rates (e.g., SwirlFlash * 111, atomizing means "explosive" electrostatic forces). An additional benefit of a change in air flow temperature includes the transmission by levers of the "chimney effect", which is the tendency of heated air or gas to rise in a duct or other vertical passage, such as in a chimney, enclosing small, or building, due to its lower density compared to the surrounding air or gas. In this way the atmospheric heat exchanger will actually increase the air flow, in this way the energy generated by the wind energy converter, during times when the atmospheric heat exchanger is operating as a condenser when the heat exchanger is located following the wind energy converter device. It is further expected that the means for rotating the atmospheric heat exchanger, or wind channeling device through said means as known in the art, and referred to herein as a rotary motor, will allow that the maximum amount of air flow passes through the atmospheric heat exchanger and the wind energy converter. This serves the multifunctional purpose of maximizing thermal transfer and power generation. An additional advantage of wind pipe is the reduction in auxiliary fan power consumption, which is an integral component to most thermal air exchangers. Alternatively, the wind pipe is achieved by the secondary function of the solar collector. The optimal solar energy production is achieved using solar tracking capabilities. Utilizing the same tracking capabilities allows the solar collectors / concentrators to be reconfigured, especially during the reduced solar production times, for production and consumption of optimal combined total netal energy. An important design consideration for solar collectors / concentrators is their ability to survive high wind conditions, in this way, the tracking means also provides the additional ability to minimize air forces in the solar collector beyond the limits designed. In other words, at wind speeds in excess of a limit By default, the solar collector placement is reconfigured to stay within the atmospheric heat exchanger and the solar collector airflow limits. During the times in which the atmospheric heat exchanger is operating in the evaporator mode, the wind pipe device can serve the secondary function of providing sun protection. It is recognized within the field that the solar gains decrease the operation effectiveness of the evaporators mounted abroad. The additional inclusion of a heat pump introduces at least one second thermodynamic cycle, which increases the total desired outputs including energy, domestic hot water, and cooling / heating capabilities. The heat pump provides a synergistic effect through the system. Numerous configurations are made by the inventive thermodynamic energy converter system. These configurations include the heat pump capacitor in indirect fluid communication with at least one selected from the group consisting of (a) a solar collector when operating in cooling mode and solar collector inlet temperature is less than the condenser temperature; (b) the collector solar when operating in the cooling mode and the outlet temperature of the solar collector is lower than the condenser temperature; (c) a high temperature thermal storage device wherein the elevated temperature is at least 15 degrees Kelvin greater than a low temperature thermal storage device when operating in cooling mode and the condenser temperature is greater than the storage device high temperature thermal; (d) energy conversion device when operating in cooling mode and high pressure side power conversion device wherein the high pressure side energy conversion device has a higher pressure than the energy conversion device side of low pressure and the temperature of the high-pressure side energy conversion device lower than the condenser temperature; (e) energy conversion device when operating in cooling mode and the energy conversion device of the low pressure side where the energy conversion device of the low pressure side has a lower pressure than the energy conversion device on the high-pressure side and the temperature of the low-sided energy conversion device lower than the condenser temperature; (f) a solar collector when operating in heating mode and the solar collector inlet temperature is lower than the evaporator temperature; (g) the solar collector when operating in heating mode and the outlet temperature of the solar collector is lower than the evaporator temperature; (h) a low temperature thermal storage device wherein the low temperature is at least 15 degrees Kelvin lower than the high temperature thermal storage device when operating in heating mode and the evaporator temperature is lower than the storage device low temperature thermal; (i) energy conversion device when operating in heating mode and the low pressure side energy conversion device wherein the low pressure side energy conversion device has a lower pressure than the energy conversion device on the high pressure side and the energy conversion device on the low pressure side has a temperature higher than the evaporator temperature; (j) the energy conversion device when operating in heating mode and the high pressure side power conversion device wherein the high pressure side power conversion device has a pressure greater than the energy conversion device of the low pressure side and the temperature of the energy conversion device of the high pressure side greater than the evaporator temperature; and (k) combinations thereof. The integration of the thermodynamic energy converter and heat pump cycle allows the low temperature differentials annotated by 15 degrees Kelvin to achieve increased power generation and coefficient of performance. One of the most important design considerations for effective power generation is the relationship between temperature differentials and pressure differentials. An important feature of the inventive energy converter cycle is the additional inclusion of superior thermal transfer fluids. Most notable are the inclusion of binary work fluids selected from at least one of the group of ionic liquid, poly (ionic) liquid polymer, eletrid, alkaline, and nanofluid solutions. Preferred working fluids further include supercritical gases, with the most preferred supercritical gas being carbon dioxide. Particularly preferred working fluids are selected from the group consisting of ionic liquids, a combination of ionic liquids and poly (ionic) liquid polymers. The working fluid Specifically preferred is comprised of a thermal transfer fluid comprised of at least one ionic liquid and when a polymer of poly (ionic) liquid is present. A specifically preferred system configuration is an improved geothermal system, in this way a ground water source is used in a dynamic switchable mode between the source and heat sink. A geothermal system comprises: (A) an energy conversion device; (B) a thermal storage system; and (C) a temperature detector / controller for monitoring the inlet temperatures of the thermal storage system and the geothermal system. The combined ability to generate energy at relatively low temperature differentials is a significant driver for the ability to store available energy, especially freely available energy (eg, waste energy, solar energy, atmospheric cooling including radiation energy to the sky) . The various outputs of the combined system (eg, energy, cooling / heating, domestic hot water) and the wide scale of integral components to also transport thermal energy (eg, solar collectors, ground source water, etc.). ) leads to an increasing demand for relatively low cost thermal storage tanks. The optimum thermal storage system is comprised of at least one low temperature thermal storage device and at least one thermal storage device wherein the temperature differential between low and high temperature is a minimum of 15 degrees Kelvin. Both the geothermal system and the thermodynamic energy converter cycle make additional gains in net energy production and operating coefficients incorporating additional selected devices from at least one of the group consisting of a heat-activated impulse pump, heat pipeline, loop heat, or capillary heat pipe, your thermal, and heat pump. Additional means to reduce pump and fan energy are instrumental in increasing the overall effectiveness of the system. A continuous optimization scheme is implemented by dynamically reconfiguring the system configuration as a means to optimize the aggregate of atmospheric heat exchanger power consumption and auxiliary power generation. This includes setting up the geothermal system to operate as a heat sink when the temperature of the geothermal source is lower than either the environmental or thermal storage temperature or the heat source when the temperature of the geothermal source is higher than the environmental temperature or thermal storage. The inventive system is also expected to include additional auxiliary power generation equipment achieved through the direct integration of at least one device selected from the group consisting of wind turbines, solar collectors, and thermodynamic cycle pressure expanders. The incorporation of wind turbines allows the total system to generate at least part of the auxiliary energy requirements including the energy to control systems, pumps, and fans. The further inclusion of thermodynamic cycle pressure extenders, which include devices known in the art (eg, gerrotor, Ramgen ", Quasiturbine ™) all allow for higher energy efficiencies to be realized.Additional features and advantages of the present invention are describe and will be apparent from the detailed description of the currently preferred embodiments It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. in the bouquet These changes and modifications can be made without abandoning the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its inherent advantages. Therefore, it is intended that said changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

Claims (32)

1. CLAIMS 1. - A thermodynamic energy conversion device that operates with at least one thermal storage device capable of at least one of: a. increase the average temperature differential between a heat source and a heat sink; b. increase energy efficiency.
2. 2. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the thermodynamic energy conversion device is dynamically switchable between at least two modes of operation, wherein, in the first mode, the heat sink is a geothermal source when the temperature of the geothermal source is lower than any of the ambient temperature or thermal storage, and in the second mode, the heat source is a geothermal source when the temperature of the geothermal source is higher than either the room temperature or thermal storage.
3. 3. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one first thermal storage tank and at least one second thermal storage tank, wherein the at least one first Thermal storage tank and at least a second thermal storage tank have a temperature differential of at least 15 degrees Kelvin.
4. 4. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the thermodynamic energy conversion device is selected from the group consisting of a heat activated pulse pump, heat pipe, loop heat pipe. , capillary heat pipe, thermal bus, heat pump and combinations thereof.
5. 5. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 3, wherein the thermal storage tank having the upper temperature is infused with solar energy from a solar energy collection device.
6. 6. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the heat source of the thermodynamic energy conversion device is further heated in real time by a solar collector.
7. 7. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 6, wherein the solar collector is in fluid communication with the upper temperature device selected from geothermal or thermal storage work fluids.
8. 8. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 1, further comprising an atmospheric heat exchanger.
9. 9. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 8, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the selected upper temperature device of geothermal or thermal storage working fluids when the temperature of the heat exchanger Atmospheric is greater than any of the geothermal or thermal storage work fluids.
10. 10. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 8, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the lower temperature device selected from geothermal or thermal storage working fluids when the temperature of the heat exchanger atmospheric is lower than any of the geothermal or thermal storage work fluids.
11. 11. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 8, in where the heat exchanger is selected from the group consisting of wind channeling device as a means to improve heat transfer, a rotating motor as a means to maximize the air flow, sun protection device as a means to control solar thermal gain, and combinations thereof.
12. 12. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 8, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger is capable of dynamically switching between evaporator and condenser modes.
13. 13. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 8, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger is a multifunctional device having functionals selected from the group consisting of structural support, architectural design element, and barrier wall.
14. 14. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 8, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger is selected from the group consisting of a wind energy converter, evaporative cooling, an electrostatic heat transfer enhancement, and combinations thereof.
15. 15. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 14, wherein the wind energy converter is selected from the group consisting of wind channeling device, a rotary motor as a means to maximize the air flow, and combinations thereof.
16. 16. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 15, wherein the wind pipeline device is achieved by a secondary function of the solar collector.
17. 17. - The thermodynamic energy conversion device according to claim 16, wherein the heat pump condenser is in indirect fluid communication with at least one selected from the group consisting of: (a) a solar collector when operating in cooling mode and the inlet temperature of the solar collector is lower than the condenser temperature; (b) solar collector when operating in cooling mode and the solar collector outlet temperature is lower than the condenser temperature; (c) a high temperature thermal storage device where the elevated temperature is at least 15 degrees Kelvin greater than a low thermal storage device temperature when operating in the cooling mode and the condenser temperature is higher than the high-temperature thermal storage device, (d) energy conversion device when operating in cooling mode and the high-side energy conversion device pressure wherein the high pressure side energy conversion device has a higher pressure than the low pressure energy conversion device and the temperature of the high pressure side conversion device is lower than the condenser temperature; (e) energy conversion device when operating in cooling mode and the low pressure side energy conversion device wherein the low pressure side energy conversion device has a lower pressure than e31 energy conversion device on the high pressure side and the temperature of the low pressure side energy conversion device lower than the condenser temperature; (f) a solar collector when operating in heating mode and the solar collector inlet temperature is lower than the evaporator temperature; (g) solar collector when operating in heating mode and the solar collector outlet temperature is lower than the evaporator temperature; (h) a thermal storage device of low temperature where the low temperature is at least 15 degrees Kelvin lower than a high temperature thermal storage device when operating in heating mode and the evaporator temperature is lower than the low temperature thermal storage device, (i) device of energy conversion when operating in heating mode and the low pressure side energy conversion device wherein the low pressure side energy conversion device has a lower pressure than the high side energy conversion device Pressure and temperature of low pressure side energy conversion device higher than evaporator temperature; (j) energy conversion device when operating in heating mode and the energy conversion device of the high pressure side where the energy conversion device of the high pressure side has a higher pressure than the energy conversion device from the low pressure side and the high pressure side energy conversion device temperature greater than the evaporator temperature; and (k) combinations thereof.
18. 18. A geothermal system comprising: (A) an energy conversion device; (B) a thermal storage system; and (C) a detector / controller temperature to monitor the inlet temperatures of the thermal storage system and geothermal system.
19. 19. - The geothermal system according to claim 18, wherein the thermal storage system is comprised of at least one low temperature thermal storage device and at least one thermal storage device wherein the temperature differential between low and high temperature is a minimum of 15 degrees Kelvin.
20. 20. - The geothermal system according to claim 18, wherein the geothermal system uses a supercritical pressure refrigerant fluid.
21. 21. - The geothermal system according to claim 18, wherein the geothermal system uses a binary working fluid.
22. 22. - The geothermal system according to claim 21, wherein the binary work fluid is selected from the group consisting of ionic liquid, poly (ionic liquid) polymer, electride, alkyd, nanofluid solutions, and combinations thereof .
23. 23. - The geothermal system according to claim 21, wherein the working fluid of geothermal system also comprises at least one working fluid which includes fluids selected from the group of ionic liquid, poly (liquid ionic) polymer, electride, alkaline, nanofluid solutions, a supercritical fluid, and combinations thereof.
24. 24. - The geothermal system according to claim 18, wherein the geothermal system is further comprised of at least one selected from the group consisting of a heat-activated impulse pump, heat pipe, loop heat pipe, pipeline of capillary heat, thermal bus, heat pump, and combinations thereof.
25. 25. - The geothermal system according to claim 18, wherein the geothermal system operates as a heat sink when the temperature of the geothermal source is lower than either the ambient temperature or thermal storage and operates as a heat source when the temperature of the geothermal source is higher than either the ambient temperature or the thermal storage temperature.
26. 26. - An atmospheric heat exchanger comprising an integral wind pipe device to increase energy efficiency and heat transfer.
27. 27. The atmospheric heat exchanger according to claim 26, wherein the wind channeling device is dynamically configurable to optimize the aggregate of atmospheric heat exchanger energy consumption and the generation of auxiliary energy.
28. 28. - The atmospheric heat exchanger according to claim 26, wherein the efficiency of the atmospheric heat exchanger is further improved by integrating at least one function selected from the group consisting of evaporative cooling, solar protection, and electrostatic heat transfer improvement.
29. 29. - The atmospheric heat exchanger according to claim 27, wherein the generation of auxiliary energy is achieved by the integration of at least one device selected from the group consisting of wind turbines, solar collectors, and cycle pressure expanders. thermodynamic
30. 30. - The atmospheric heat exchanger according to claim 26, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger reduces or eliminates the requirement for fan energy to perform air flow design to achieve heat transfer.
31. 31. - The atmospheric heat exchanger according to claim 26, wherein the atmospheric heat exchanger is further comprised of at least one selected from the group consisting of a heat-activated impulse pump, heat pipe, loop heat pipe, pipeline of capillary heat, thermal bus, a rotary motor, heat pump, and combinations thereof.
32. 32. - The geothermal system according to claim 31, wherein the geothermal system working fluid is further comprised of at least one ionic liquid and at least one poly (ionic liquid) polymer.