WO2024052461A1

WO2024052461A1 - Trace chemical capture system and method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2024052461A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/074584
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aaron BOYLAN
Original assignee: Boylan Aaron
Priority date: 2022-09-08
Filing date: 2023-09-07
Publication date: 2024-03-14
Also published as: IE20220147A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade. The trace chemical capture system comprises a trace chemical capture material, a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material, a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material, and a trace chemical extraction means. A first section of the trace chemical capture material is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, a second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the extraction means, and the drive mechanism interchanges the positions of the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material at a determined interval. The present invention also relates to a turbine blade comprising one or more trace chemical capture systems, a method and a computer program product.

Description

Trace Chemical Capture System

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a trace chemical capture system and, in particular, to an integrated trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade.

Background

Since the industrial revolution, it has become an increasingly important challenge to improve environmental fluid quality, wherein environmental fluid quality encompasses air quality and water quality, as human activities have caused the environmental fluid quality to decrease as chemicals, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, and volatile organic compounds, as well as atmospheric aerosols and particulate matter, are released into the environment which lead to many environmental and health-related issues. Considering carbon dioxide in air, anthropogenic emissions total approximately 35 billion tonnes each year which leads to various adverse environmental effects including global warming and ocean acidification and ultimately causes often aggressive and hard to predict shifts in the Earth’s climate. These changes in climate stand to increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, strain global food supplies, leave certain regions of the planet uninhabitable, and threaten wide ranges of biodiversity.

Conventionally, systems have been developed for removing the chemical carbon dioxide from the air which includes one or more large fans to direct the air over an adsorbent material, wherein the adsorbent material adsorbs a portion of the carbon dioxide from the air. However, such conventional systems have significant drawbacks, such as requiring a large volume of air to be fanned over the adsorbent material in order to adsorb relatively low volumes of carbon dioxide and a significant amount of energy is required by the system in order to operate the fans in so as to sufficiently fan the large volume of air required. Thus, the conventional systems are typically uneconomical, unscalable and therefore unsuitable for capturing a significant proportion of the more than 35 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide released each year. Furthermore, these conventional systems are largely incompatible for the removal of chemicals, such as carbon dioxide, which are present in water bodies, such as the oceans and seas. The present invention seeks to address, at least in part, any or all of the drawbacks and disadvantages described above.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade comprising: a trace chemical capture material; a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material; a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material; and a trace chemical extraction means; wherein a first section of the trace chemical capture material is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, a second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the extraction means, and the drive mechanism interchanges the positions of the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material at a determined interval.

The trace chemical capture material may form a belt and wherein the first section of the trace chemical capture material of the belt may form an outer surface of the turbine blade.

The trace chemical capture material may form a tile and wherein the first section of the trace chemical capture material of the tile may form an outer surface of the turbine blade.

The trace chemical capture system may further comprise a tile arrangement wherein the tile arrangement comprises two tiles; and wherein the first tile is the first section and the second tile is the second section.

The tile may further comprise a heating layer.

The trace chemical capture material may extend in a spanwise direction of the turbine blade by 10% to 95% of the turbine blade’s spanwise length; and may extend in a chordwise direction of the turbine blade by 10% to 95% of the blade’s chordwise length.

The turbine blade may comprise two or more trace chemical capture systems.

The trace chemical capture material may be located on either, or both, of the upper surface or lower surface of the turbine blade.

The drive mechanism may comprise: at least one pulley in contact with the trace chemical capture material belt; and at least one drive shaft operatively coupled to the at least one pulley to move the at least one pulley. The drive mechanism may comprise: at least one linkage in contact with the trace chemical capture material tile; and at least one drive shaft operatively coupled to the at least one linkage to rotate the trace chemical capture material tile around a central axis member.

The trace chemical capture system may further comprise a motor, wherein the motor may drive the at least one drive shaft.

The support structure may comprise: a first support structure to support the first section of the trace chemical capture material; and a second support structure to support the second section of the trace chemical capture material.

The first support structure and the second support structure may be disposed at opposing ends of the trace chemical capture material.

The first support structure and/or the second support structure may include a plurality of additional support structures positioned at one or more locations along a first direction of the trace chemical capture material. The trace chemical capture system may further comprise one or more additional support structures positioned at one or more locations along a first direction of the trace chemical capture material.

The trace chemical extraction means may comprise: an autoclave-type system, wherein the autoclave-type system may comprise: one or more control means to control one or more environmental conditions within the autoclave-type system; and one or more removal means to remove extracted trace chemical from the trace chemical capture system.

The one or more environmental conditions may include one or more of pressure, temperature, humidity, light, and pH; and wherein the one or more control means may include includes one or more of heaters, nozzles, or illumination means to control the addition and/or removal of one or more of air, steam, chemical species, heat, light, and other environmental conditions within the autoclave type system.

The one or more removal means may comprise: one or more outlet channels; and a pump; wherein the pump may force the extracted trace chemical from the trace chemical capture system via the one or more outlet channels.

The autoclave-type system may be located in a cavity between adjacent second support structures. The autoclave system may be located in a cavity of the turbine blade. The trace chemical capture material may include two or more sealant members to form a seal with a frame of the autoclave type system, and/or the frame of the autoclave type system may include two or more sealant members to form a seal with the trace chemical capture material.

The trace chemical capture material may be a material impregnated with a trace chemical capture chemical.

The first section of the trace chemical capture material may be located on a high pressure side of the turbine blade and/or towards the leading edge of the turbine blade.

The trace chemical capture system may further comprise: a controller; wherein the controller is configured to activate the drive mechanism at the determined interval.

The trace chemical capture system may further comprise: one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors may output a signal indicative of the amount of trace chemical captured by the first section of the trace chemical capture material; wherein the controller may be configured to: receive the signals indicative of an amount of trace chemical captured by the trace chemical capture material; and determine the interval based on the received signals.

The controller may be configured to: receive one or more operational signals indicative of an operation of the turbine; receive one or more environmental signals indicative of environmental fluid conditions during the operation of the turbine; and determine, based on the received operational signals and environmental signals, the interval.

The determined interval may be a predetermined time period.

The trace chemical may be one or more of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds, atmospheric aerosols, and particulate matter.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a turbine comprising one or more trace chemical capture systems of any one of the features of the first aspect.

The turbine may further comprise: one or more structural members and/or one or more guard members.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade, wherein the trace chemical capture system comprises: a trace chemical capture material; a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material; a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material; and a trace chemical extraction means; wherein a first section of the trace chemical capture material is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, and a second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the extraction means; the method comprising: determining an interval at which to interchange the positions of the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material; and operating the drive mechanism at the determined interval to interchange the positions of the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material.

The trace chemical capture system may further comprise an autoclave-type system, and the method may further comprise: controlling one or more environmental conditions within the autoclave-type system to extract a trace chemical from the second section of the trace chemical capture material.

The trace chemical capture system may further comprise one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors may output a signal indicative of the amount of trace chemical captured by the first section of the trace chemical capture material, and the method may further comprise: receiving the signals indicative of an amount of trace chemical captured by the trace chemical capture material; and determining the interval based on the received signals.

The method may further comprise: receiving one or more operational signals indicative of an operation of the turbine; receiving one or more environmental signals indicative of environmental fluid conditions during the operation of the turbine; and determining, based on the received operational signals and environmental signals, the interval.

The method may further comprise: determining the interval as a predetermined time period.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product comprising computer readable executable code for implementing a method according to any one of the features of the third aspect. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade comprising: a trace chemical capture material, wherein the trace chemical capture material forms a belt; a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material belt; a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material; and a trace chemical extraction means; wherein a first section of the trace chemical capture material belt is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, a second section of the trace chemical capture material belt faces the extraction means, and the drive mechanism interchanges the positions of the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material belt at a determined interval.

The first section of the trace chemical capture material belt may form an outer surface of the turbine blade.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade, wherein the trace chemical capture system comprises: a trace chemical capture material, wherein the trace chemical capture material forms a belt; a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material; a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material; and a trace chemical extraction means; wherein a first section of the trace chemical capture material belt is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, and a second section of the trace chemical capture material belt faces the extraction means; the method comprising: determining an interval at which to interchange the positions of the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material; and operating the drive mechanism at the determined interval to interchange the positions of the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material.

It will be appreciated that any features described herein as being suitable for incorporation into one or more aspects or embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be generalisable across any and all aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure. Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and the drawings of the present disclosure. The foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the claims. Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of a turbine blade according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a schematic of a trace chemical capture process according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3a shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of the trace chemical capture system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3b shows a schematic of a drive mechanism according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 4 shows a schematic of a plurality of trace chemical capture systems in a turbine blade according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 5 shows a schematic of additional structural members in a turbine blade according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 6 shows a schematic of support structures of the trace chemical capture system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 7 shows a schematic of an extraction means according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 8 shows a schematic of guard members according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 9 shows a schematic of the trace chemical capture system on the suction side of a turbine blade according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 10 shows a block diagram of a control arrangement according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure I la shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of the trace chemical capture system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Figure 1 lb shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view of the trace chemical capture system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 12 shows a schematic of a structure of a tile according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 13a shows a schematic of a drive mechanism according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 13b shows a schematic of a drive mechanism according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 14 shows a central axis member according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention takes advantage of a turbine’s ability to intersect large crosssections of the environmental fluid flow in which the turbine is placed. For example, a wind turbine can intersect a substantial flow of air across the wind turbine blades and a hydro turbine can intersect a substantial flow of water across the hydro turbine blades. This is advantageous as man-made means of directing the environmental fluid flow over a chemical capture system, which requires a substantial amount of power and be of a sufficiently large size, is not required.

One or more of the blades of the turbine include one or more of a trace chemical capture system which is able to capture one or more chemicals in the environmental fluid depending on the given arrangement or configuration of the trace chemical capture system. As the turbine blades intersect a large cross-section, and therefore volume, of the environmental fluid, the trace chemical capture system can therefore capture a significant amount of the one or more chemicals that the capture system is configured to capture from the environmental fluid.

In the following embodiments and examples, the trace chemical capture system of the present invention will primarily be described in relation to capturing carbon dioxide (the trace chemical) by adsorption from the air (the environmental fluid) by at least one blade of a wind turbine. However, as will be appreciated, the trace chemical capture system can equally be applied to other turbines, such as a hydro turbine, to other chemicals, such as nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds, atmospheric aerosols, particulate matter, and so on, and to other means of capturing the trace chemicals, e.g. by absorption.

With reference to Figure 1, there is shown a simplified schematic of a cross-sectional view in the spanwise direction of a wind turbine blade 101 showing only the outer structure of the wind turbine blade. As will be appreciated, the wind turbine blade may also comprise a number of supports, along with any number of other components, such as electrical systems, lightning systems, and so on, which are not shown in Figure 1 for ease of illustration. A section of a trace chemical capture material 103 forms, or is integrated in, at least a part of the wind turbine blade outer shell structure. The trace chemical capture material 103 may include, for example, an adsorbent material, wherein the trace chemical capture material is predetermined to capture (e.g. adsorb) the required trace chemical, e.g. carbon dioxide. The trace chemical capture material 103 forms part of a trace chemical capture system (not shown in Figure 1 but will be described in more detail hereinbelow). The trace chemical capture material 103 includes a first section 105 (or first surface) which is in fluid contact with the environmental fluid (e.g. air in respect of a wind turbine blade) and a second section 106 (or second surface) which faces a trace chemical extraction means (not shown in Figure 1 but will be described in more detail hereinbelow). In these embodiments and examples, the first section 105 effectively forms an outer surface of the wind turbine blade such that the first section 105 is in fluid contact with the air. The first section 105 may be located in a region of the wind turbine blade that is on the pressure side of the wind turbine blade and towards the leading edge of the wind turbine blade. This location of the first section 105 in the wind turbine blade is advantageous as the air flow in this region induces a higher pressure and a lower temperature than that experienced in other regions of the wind turbine blade which improves the capture of the trace chemical by the first section 105 of the trace chemical capture material 103, as will be described in more detail hereinbelow.

However, as will be appreciated, the first section of the chemical capture material, which is in fluid connection with the air, may be located at any region of the wind turbine blade, e.g. on the pressure side, as shown in at least Figures 1, 3a, and 11, on the suction side as shown in at least Figure 9, towards the leading edge or towards the trailing edge, of the wind turbine blade. There may also be two or more trace chemical capture systems located in any one blade at similar or different locations (e.g. on one side of the wind turbine blade or on both sides of the wind turbine blade). The turbine blade may include a single trace chemical capture system that extends along a defined length of a middle section of a turbine blade, wherein the middle section of the turbine blade is between a root section (which connects to a hub of the turbine) and a tip section of the turbine blade. For example, the trace chemical capture system may extend between 10% and 95% of the middle section of the turbine blade in both a spanwise and chordwise direction of the turbine blade. The trace chemical capture system may be located at particular regions of the turbine blade that provide the maximum or optimal capture of the trace chemicals. The particular regions may be identified using fluid flow analysis in order to identify those regions which maximise the capture of the trace chemicals.

There may be two or more trace chemical capture systems provided in a turbine blade, for example, at different sections of the turbine blade such as that shown in at least Figures 4 and 11, which will be described hereinbelow.

A single trace chemical capture system may be more suited to a short length turbine blade whilst two or more trace chemical capture systems may be more suited to a longer length turbine blade. The number of trace chemical capture systems to implement in a turbine blade may be dependent on the structural strength of the given turbine blade and/or the support structure that may be required for a trace chemical capture system. The support structure for the trace chemical capture system will be described further below.

Returning to Figure 1, the trace chemical capture material 103 may comprise a fabric material which is impregnated with one or more capture chemicals such as activated carbon, zeolites (e.g. zeolite 13X, CHA zeolite, or others), amines (e.g. 2-aminoethanol, MCM-41- PEI-50, or others), metal organic frameworks (e.g. SIFSIX-3-M, M-MOF-74, or others), or any other chemical species deemed suitable for the required capture of the trace chemical. For water-based trace chemical capture systems, capture can be achieved using carbonation of chemicals like calcium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, or others.

With reference to Figure 2, the capture process is shown schematically in relation to the adsorption of carbon dioxide present in air. The carbon dioxide particles 201, i.e. the adsorbate, are present in the air which is in fluid contact with the fabric material 202, i.e. the adsorbent. The fabric material 202 may be impregnated with the capture chemical, forming active sites 203 on a boundary surface 204 of the fabric material 202. These active sites 203 are the locations at which the adsorbate particles 201 can be adsorbed. If the air is still, the carbon dioxide particles 201 would begin to attach to various active sites 203 on the boundary surface 204 of the fabric material 202 at random. The carbon dioxide particles 201 may attach to the active sites 203 due to an attraction between the active sites 203 (i.e. the adsorbent) and the carbon dioxide particles 201 (i.e. the adsorbate), wherein the attraction may be caused by electrostatic forces such as Van Der Walls forces or by the formation of chemical bonds between the adsorbate and adsorbent.

The attraction between a given carbon dioxide particle 201 and a given active site 203 has a characteristic adsorption energy. A given carbon dioxide particle 201 may become detached from its active site 203 and return to the air should the characteristic adsorption energy be delivered to the adsorbed carbon dioxide particle 201. This energy input may be provided naturally by, for example, ambient heat. Once the attractive bond is broken, the carbon dioxide particle 201 is detached and released back into the air.

Over time, an equilibrium would be reached where the same number of carbon dioxide particles are attaching as detaching.

The embodiments advantageously improve this equilibrium process in order to encourage a more rapid adsorption (i.e. attachment) and discourage desorption (i.e. detachment). This can be achieved as the wind turbine blade is rotating through an incoming wind, and in particular if the adsorbent material is located in a high pressure region of the wind turbine blade, as the high pressure region induced by the flow of the wind results in an increase in the number of carbon dioxide particles striking the adsorbent material boundary surface per unit time, thereby increasing the number of attachments of carbon dioxide particles. Furthermore, the wind passing over the fabric material removes a proportion of the heat released by the adsorption process, helping to maintain a low temperature around the fabric which reduces the ambient energy available for desorption, and thus, reduces the number of detachments of carbon dioxide per unit time. Returning now to Figure 1, the trace chemical capture material 103 can be operatively controlled at determined intervals in order to interchange the first section 105 and the second section 106, such that the first section which was in fluid contact with the environmental fluid will then face the trace chemical extraction means and, vice versa, the second section which was facing the trace chemical extraction means will then be in fluid contact with the environmental fluid. As mentioned hereinabove, the first section 105 of the trace chemical capture material 103 effectively forms an outer surface of the turbine blade, e.g. the wind turbine blade. The trace chemical capture system may be implemented to interchange the first and second section of the trace chemical capture system by one of a number of mechanisms. For example, the trace chemical capture material may be formed as a substantially flexible belt or may be formed as a substantially rigid tile. Both mechanisms operate in a similar manner, which is to interchange a first section (in fluid contact with the environmental fluid) and a second section (facing an extraction means located within the blade).

The implementation of the trace chemical capture material as a substantially flexible belt will be described below with reference to Figures 3 to 9, and the implementation of the trace chemical capture material as a substantially rigid tile will be described below with reference to Figures 11 to 13.

With reference to Figure 3a, there is shown a schematic of a cross-sectional view in the spanwise direction of the trace chemical capture system 302 within a wind turbine blade 301. The trace chemical capture system 302 includes a trace chemical capture material 303 that is formed as a substantially flexible belt to enable the belt to rotate in a chordwise direction via a drive mechanism 304.

The drive mechanism 304 may be any suitable drive mechanism for moving, e.g. rotating, conveying, and so on, the trace chemical capture material such that the first section and the second section can be interchanged. With reference to Figure 3b, which shows the drive mechanism 304 without the trace chemical capture material, the drive mechanism 304 may include, for example, one or more drive shafts 309 which are operatively connected to one or more pulleys 310. The drive shafts 309 may be operable to drive the one or more pulleys 310 wherein the pulleys 310 are in contact with the trace chemical capture material such that once operated, the pulleys move the trace chemical capture material. The drive mechanism 304 may further include one or more motors operatively connected to the one or more drive shafts 309. In the examples shown in Figures 3a and 3b, the drive mechanism includes two drive shafts disposed at opposing sides, e.g. the left hand side and the right hand side, of the trace chemical capture system with pulleys disposed thereon to move the trace chemical capture material in a direction perpendicular to the drive shafts. However, as will be appreciated, the drive shafts may be disposed at the opposing top and bottom sides of the trace chemical capture system with pulleys disposed thereon to move the trace chemical capture material in a direction perpendicular to the drive shafts. As will be further appreciated, other drive mechanisms may be used such as a conveyor type drive mechanism disposed at opposing sides of the trace chemical capture system to move the trace chemical capture material in a direction parallel to the conveyor type drive mechanism.

In Figure 3, the trace chemical capture system is shown where the trace chemical capture material is moved in a chordwise direction of a turbine blade (i.e. about an axis along the spanwise length of the blade). However, as will be appreciated the trace chemical capture system may be configured, with the appropriate drive mechanism, to move the trace chemical capture material in a spanwise direction (i.e. about an axis along the chordwise length of the blade).

The trace chemical capture system may further include one or more support structures. An inner support 311 may provide support to at least a portion of the second section 306 of the trace chemical capture material 303.

With reference to Figure 3b which shows the inner support 311, the inner support may be disposed at two or more locations relative to the trace chemical capture system. For example, the inner supports 311 may be located at opposing ends of the trace chemical capture system, e.g. at the top end and at the bottom end of the trace chemical capture system. Depending on the length of the trace chemical capture system, additional inner supports may be provided at one or more locations along the trace chemical capture system in a first direction, e.g. a spanwise direction of the turbine blade. The need for any additional supports may depend on the load the inner support and/or the outer support can carry with a safety factor margin added to maintain the structural integrity of the trace chemical capture system. The width of the inner support 311, which is in contact with or facing the trace chemical capture material, may be any suitable width for providing support to the trace chemical capture material. The width of the inner support 311 will be the minimum width required to support the trace chemical capture material as the section of the trace chemical capture material facing the inner support 311 will not face the extraction means. The width of the inner support may be equivalent to one or two times a width of a pulley disposed on the drive shaft or any other suitable width that provides an optimal minimum width to increase the area of the trace chemical capture material facing the extraction means and provides sufficient support to the trace chemical capture material. The surface of the inner support 311 facing or in contact with the second section of the trace chemical capture material may be curved such that the dimension of the second section of the trace chemical capture material (e.g. width) facing the extraction means is substantially the same as the corresponding dimension of the first section of the trace chemical capture material facing the environmental fluid (e.g. air), and to minimise the corresponding dimension of the extraction means which may be advantageous to ensure the extraction means can be disposed within a cavity of the turbine blade, for example, if the turbine blade tapers towards a tip section of the turbine blade. The dimensions of the curved surface may be dependent on the dimensions of the extraction means that the second section of the trace chemical capture material faces.

Alternatively, the surface of the inner support 311 facing or in contact with the second section of the trace chemical capture material may be substantially straight or flat and the extraction means dimensioned such that the extraction means matches the corresponding dimension of the first section of the trace chemical capture material.

In either example, the surface of the inner support may additionally be arranged around the drive mechanism.

As the inner support 311 is disposed at opposing ends of the trace chemical capture system then the extraction means may be located between two adjacent inner supports 311, such that the second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the extraction means.

Returning to Figure 3, an outer support 312 may provide support to the first section 305 of the trace chemical capture material 303. With reference to Figure 6, the outer support 312 may be coupled to the inner support 311 by a joining member 601. The trace chemical capture material may move through a recess 602 formed by the inner support 311, the outer support 312 and the joining member 601. The joining member 601 may be disposed at a location between an outer edge of the inner support 311 and substantially the middle of the inner support 311. In the case that two or more trace chemical capture systems are implemented then the adjacent trace chemical capture systems overlap the inner support 311 and the outer support 312. Alternatively, the outer support may be coupled to a turbine blade structure at one or both of the opposing ends of the outer support, for example, using a cantilever connection at one end, or a structural connection at both ends.

With reference to Figure 4, there may be two or more trace chemical capture systems in the wind turbine blade. For example, a first trace chemical capture system 401 may be located in a region of the middle section of the turbine blade and towards the root of the turbine blade, a second trace chemical capture system 402 may be located in a region of the middle section of the turbine blade that is halfway between the root section and the tip section of the blade, and a third trace chemical capture system 403 may be located in a region of the middle section of the turbine blade and towards the tip of the turbine blade.

With reference to Figure I la, there is shown a schematic of a cross-sectional view in the spanwise direction of the trace chemical capture system within a wind turbine blade 1101. In general, the trace chemical capture system may include at least one tile that is formed as a substantially rigid tile and comprises a trace chemical capture material on the both of the outer surfaces of a single tile. The tile can be operated and controlled so as to enable the tile to be rotatable in a spanwise direction around a central axis member of the tile, via a drive mechanism, such that the two outer surfaces can be interchanged.

In Figure I la, there is shown a tile arrangement 1102 that includes two tiles 1103a and 1103b which are connected by a support structure (not shown in Figure I la) and the outer surface of each tile includes the trace chemical capture material. The tile arrangement 1102 can be operated and controlled so as to enable the tile arrangement to be rotatable in a spanwise direction around a central axis member of the tile arrangement, via a drive mechanism, such that the two outer surfaces of the two tiles, i.e. the first section and the second section, can be interchanged. In Figure I la, there is shown two tile arrangements 1102, 1107, however, as will be appreciated there will be any number of tile arrangements provided in the wind turbine blade 1101.

In Figure I la there is also shown three segments 1104a, 1104b and 1104c, each spanning a different section of the wind turbine blade. However, as will be appreciated, there may be any number of segments of the tile arrangements in a wind turbine blade depending on the size of the wind turbine blade and the structure, for example, depending on the location of webs, flanges, and so on.

The tiles are sized and dimensioned based on the location of the tile arrangement segment in the blade and to enable the tile sections, or outer surfaces, to be rotated and interchanged. The height and depth of the tile arrangement may vary depending on the particular blade, however, may typically each not be more than 20% of the maximum distance between the blade’s typical suction face and pressure face. The tile arrangements length may typically be maximised to replace as much of the given surface of the blade as possible while also providing sufficient space for the extraction means, e.g. an autoclave system. Figure I la shows the two tile arrangements in a closed position, that is with the first section of the trace chemical capture material 1105 forming part of the outer surface of the wind turbine blade, therefore being in fluid contact with an environmental fluid e.g. air, and the second section of the trace chemical capture material 1106 facing an extraction means (not shown in Figure I la) which is located internal to the blade structure. Figure 1 lb shows a schematic of a cross-sectional view in the spanwise direction of the trace chemical capture system within the wind turbine blade 1101, in which the tile arrangement segment 1104a is halfway through a rotation to interchange the first section of the trace chemical capture material 1105 and the second section of the trace chemical capture material 1106. The remaining two segments of the tile arrangements 1104b and 1104c are shown in the closed position as the different segments of the tile arrangements may be rotated at different predetermined intervals. However, as will be appreciated the different segments of the tile arrangements may be operated or controlled to be rotated at the same predetermined interval. The structure of each of the first section and the second section of the tile arrangement is shown in Figure 12. Each of the first section and the second section may be formed, for example, by a sandwich structure that comprises a first layer 1201, a second layer 1202, and a third layer 1203. The first layer 1201 may include a lightweight substantially rigid layer, for example, being formed of aluminium, Glass, Carbon Fibre, and so on, or any combination thereof. The second layer 1202 may include a heating element being formed in, for example, silicone, kapton, and so on. The third and outer layer of the tile arrangement includes the trace chemical capture material which may be formed as a substrate material impregnated with a trace chemical capture chemical. The second layer 1202 being the heating layer enhances the extraction of the trace chemical, e.g. carbon dioxide, by applying heat directly to the trace chemical capture material. However, as will be appreciated, the second layer is optional as the extraction means located within the blade structure may alternatively provide the necessary heat to enhance the extraction of the trace chemical from the trace chemical capture material.

The drive mechanism to rotate the tile arrangements is shown in Figure 13. Figure 13a is a schematic showing the drive mechanism 1301 connected to two tile arrangements whilst the tile arrangement is in a closed position, which is the outer surface of the first tile 1103a, i.e. the first section, is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, e.g. air, and the outer surface of the second tile 1103b, i.e. the second section, is facing the extraction means (not shown in Figure 13a) located internally within the blade structure. Figure 13b is a schematic showing the drive mechanism 1301 connected to two tile arrangements whilst the tile arrangement is part way through a rotation to interchange the first section and the second section.

The drive mechanism 1301 shown in Figures 13a and 13b comprises a drive shaft 1302 that is operatively connected to at least one linkage 1303. The linkage 1303 is operatively connected to a support structure 1304a at a first end of the tile arrangement. The linkage 1303 may be connected to the drive shaft 1302 and the support structure 1304 at the first end of the tile arrangement by a connecting means 1305, wherein the connecting means may be a pin or any other suitable connecting means. On operating the drive shaft 1302 via a further linkage 1307 connected to a motor, each tile arrangement of the wind turbine blade is configured to rotate around a central axis member 1306 thereby enabling the first section and the second section to be interchanged.

Figures 13a and 13b show the support structures for the tile arrangement wherein the support structure 1304 supports the trace chemical capture material of each tile at the first end of the tile arrangement and the support structure 1304 supports the trace chemical capture material at a second opposing end of the tile arrangement. One or more further additional support structures 1309 may be located or positioned between the two opposing support structures 1304, wherein the further additional support structures may be included depending on the size and dimensions of the tile arrangement. Thus, it will be understood that each of the two opposing support structures 1304 can be considered to be a first support structure for the first section and a second support structure for the second section, for example, the connection between the support structure 1304 and the first section may be considered to be the first support and the connection between the support structure and the second section may be considered to be the second support structure. Similarly, the further additional support structures 1309 can be considered to support both the first section and the second section of the tile arrangement. Figures 13a and 13b further show the central axis member 1306 which may also be considered a support structure for the trace chemical capture material of each tile and may further act as a support structure to strengthen the blade and provide resistance to flap wise bending. The central axis member 1306 may be formed as lateral bars that extend the length of the tile or tile arrangement as shown in Figure 14.

The extraction means 701 will now be described with reference to Figure 7. The extraction means is described below in relation to the trace chemical capture material being formed as a substantially flexible belt, however, as will be appreciated any of the features of the extraction means described below will equally apply to the trace chemical capture material being formed as a substantially rigid tile or tile arrangement, unless explicitly mentioned otherwise. The extraction means 701 may be any suitable trace chemical extraction means that is able to extract the given chemical from the second section 702 of the trace chemical capture material 703. Thus, the specific method of extraction of the trace chemical may depend upon the trace chemical capture material 703 used and/or the trace chemical being captured. The extraction means may traverse the surface of the second section of the trace chemical capture material, or may cover, enclose, or be substantially close to the total available surface of the second section of the trace chemical capture material.

The extraction means 701 may be, for example, an autoclave type system 704 within which the environmental conditions within the autoclave type system 704 can be varied to that required for the extraction of the given trace chemical from the given trace chemical capture material. The environmental conditions that may be varied include one or more of pressure, humidity, pH, light, and temperature, or any other condition that may need to be varied in order to extract the given trace chemical. In the example that the trace chemical capture material is formed as a tile which includes a heating layer then the heat required for the extraction of the trace chemical may be provided by the heating layer, or a combination of the heating layer and the extraction means.

The autoclave type system 704 may be disposed between adjacent inner supports and comprises a frame. The frame comprises a bottom section 706, a top section 707, a first side section 708, a second side section 709 and a back section 710. In operation the second section of the trace chemical capture material may form a surface of the autoclave system in order to provide a substantially closed autoclave type system. For example, the trace chemical capture material may comprise four sealant members with two disposed on the first section of the trace chemical capture material and two disposed on the second section of the trace chemical capture material. As such, when the second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the autoclave type system the two sealant members are disposed such that they form a seal with the two side sections 708, 709 of the frame of the autoclave type system 704, thereby ensuring a substantially closed system.

As the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material are interchanged at determined intervals and that the first section and the second section are of the same length then the sealant members will be aligned with the frame of the autoclave system. The sealant members may be, for example, a rubber strip, or any other suitable sealant member. Additional sealant members may be disposed on the trace chemical capture material such that they form a seal with the bottom section 706 and the top section 707 of the frame of the autoclave type system.

Alternatively, the frame of the autoclave type system may comprise one or more sealant members or other clamp means for clamping onto the second section of the trace chemical capture material in order to provide a substantially closed system.

Alternatively, in the case that the trace chemical capture material is in the form of a tile or tile arrangement, the extraction means may not include the sealant members such that the extraction means is positioned substantially close to the second section whilst maintaining a predetermined gap between the second section and the extraction means. The predetermined gap is kept to a minimal gap sufficient to extract the trace chemical from the second section.

The frame of the autoclave type system may include one or more control means for varying one or more environmental conditions within the autoclave type system. For example, the autoclave type system may include one or more of heaters 711 for varying the temperature, one or more nozzles 712 for varying the pressure (e.g. by removing and/or adding air) and/or for varying the humidity (e.g. by adding steam), illumination sources for varying light, means for varying one or more chemicals within the extraction means, or any other means for varying one or more other environmental conditions within the extraction means e.g. the autoclave type system. The one or more control means may control the addition and/or removal of one or more of air, steam, chemical species, light, or heat within the extraction means e.g. autoclave type system.

In the example that the trace chemical is carbon dioxide, and the capture mechanism is adsorption, the carbon dioxide particles may attach to the active sites of the trace chemical capture material. To induce desorption of the trace chemical and thus extract the trace chemical, the associated adsorption energy needs to be delivered or provided to the trace chemical to break the attractive bond between the carbon dioxide particles and the active sites. The extraction means, e.g. autoclave type system, can provide the bond energy required by modifying the environmental conditions experienced by the second section of the trace chemical capture material and thus induce desorption. For example, if the chosen chemical capture material was the metal organic framework SIFSIX-3-Cu, and the chosen trace chemical was carbon dioxide, full desorption may be achieved under a vacuum at 40°C. These conditions can be provided by the extraction means, e.g. autoclave system, through pump-based pressure reduction via the nozzles 712 and radiative heat transfer via the heaters 711 or via the heating layer of the tile, or a combination of both radiative heat and the heating layer of the tile. The associated bond energy is approximately 50 kJ/mol of carbon dioxide desorbed. Other metal organic frameworks have adsorption energies less than 30 kJ/mol, while some amine molecules have adsorption energies closer to 90 kJ/mol and above and therefore the conditions within the autoclave type system may be varied according to the trace chemical to be extracted and/or the trace chemical capture material used. Different capture chemicals will exhibit a range of required environmental conditions to induce prompt desorption. This power requirement to provide the bond energy to extract the trace chemical may be, where possible, provided by the normal operation of the turbine.

The trace chemical extracted may then be removed from the turbine blade such that the trace chemical can be further processed or stored as required. The extracted trace chemical may be removed by one or more outlet channels, wherein the outlet channels may be any suitable tubing, piping, passages formed within the blade structure, and so on. The outlet channels may be connected to a pump in order to force the extracted trace chemical from the trace chemical capture system and/or the turbine blade via the one or more outlet channels.

With reference to Figure 10, which shows a block diagram of a control arrangement, one or more controllers 1001 may be operatively connected to one or more of sensors 1002, memory 1003, timer 1006, drive mechanisms 1004, and turbine controllers 1005.

The one or more controllers 1001 may determine the intervals at which the first section of the trace chemical capture material is interchanged with the second section of the trace chemical capture material. In one example, the determined interval may be a predefined time period. The predefined time period may be set at a particular value, for example, 4 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours and so on. As will be appreciated this time period may be any suitable time period. The predefined time period may be set based on one or more parameters, for example, one or more of the expected, or estimated, environmental fluid flow at the turbine, the trace chemical capture material used, the expected or estimated operational time of the turbine, or any other suitable parameter relating to the turbine, the turbine blade and/or the environmental fluid flow conditions. The time period may be counted or monitored by the timer 1006.

Alternatively, or additionally, one or more sensors 1002 may monitor the trace chemical capture material and provide signals to the controller indicative of the amount of trace chemical that has been captured by the first section of the trace chemical capture material. The interval for interchanging the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material may then be determined by the controller 1001 based on one or more of the received signals from the one or more sensors 1002, for example, when the trace chemical capture material has captured, or is estimated to have captured, a sufficient amount of the given trace chemical.

The sensors may include, for example, at least one pair of sensors, wherein a first sensor of the pair is disposed at a region of the turbine where the trace chemical isn’t being captured from the environmental fluid (e.g., at the hub of a wind turbine) and a second sensor of the pair disposed downstream of the trace chemical capture system (e.g., towards the trailing edge of the turbine blade). During capture of the trace chemical, the sensor disposed downstream of the trace chemical capture system should measure a lower carbon dioxide (e.g. trace chemical ) concentration than measured at the hub as the carbon dioxide is being captured by the trace chemical capture material. Once the sensor downstream of the trace chemical capture system begins to measure a higher carbon dioxide concentration, the first section of the trace chemical capture material can be assumed to be saturated by the trace chemical and can be interchanged with the second section of the trace chemical capture material to enable extraction of the trace chemical. Alternatively, or additionally, sensors may be disposed within, on, or in contact with the first section of the trace capture chemical material to monitor changes in characteristics of the first section of the trace chemical capture material, e.g. electrical resistance, as the capture chemical on the trace chemical capture material captures the trace chemical. In terms of monitoring the electrical resistance, once the electrical resistance stops changing, the capture chemical can be assumed to be saturated and ready for extraction of the trace chemical. However, as will be appreciated, any sensor suitable for providing a signal indicative of the amount of trace chemical captured by the first section of the trace chemical capture material may be implemented. The output signals of the sensors is indicative of the amount of the trace chemical captured and the determined interval for interchanging the first and second sections of the trace chemical capture material is based, at least in part, on the output signals of the sensors. Alternatively, or additionally, the turbine controller 1005 may be any controller that forms part of the turbine control system, for example, the turbine controller 1005 may be a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCAD A) controller or part of a SCADA controller. The controller 1001 may be operatively connected to the turbine controller in order receive operational signals indicative of the operation, e.g. operational data, of the turbine, for example, operating time, turbine blades’ angle of attack, or any other suitable operational data. The controller may additionally receive one or more environmental signals indicative of environmental fluid conditions during the operation of the turbine. The controller 1001 may determine the interval for interchanging the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material based on the operational signals and the environmental signals. The determination may be based on one or more calculations, for example, based on the environmental fluid flow conditions and the operating time of the turbine, or may be based on the output of one or more trained machine learning models, wherein the machine learning models are trained to determine the interval based on at least a selection of the operational data and environmental fluid conditions received from the turbine controller. The controller 1001 and the turbine controller 1005 may be the same controller.

Once the controller 1001 has determined the interval, the controller 1001 operatively connects with the drive mechanism 1004 at the determined interval to drive the drive mechanism 1004 to interchange the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material. For example, the controller 1001 may control one or more motors to drive one or more drive shafts to move the trace chemical capture material by a predetermined amount to interchange the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material.

With reference to Figure 5, the turbine blade 501 may be provided with additional structural members, such as webs, in order to maintain the structural integrity of the turbine blade when fitted with one or more trace chemical capture systems 502. For example, additional structural members 503 and 504 may be provided. As will be appreciated, additional structural members may also be provided in the blade as required when utilising the tile or tile arrangement in order to maintain structural integrity of the blade.

As the turbine blade will be formed with a section of the turbine blade outer shell structure removed so that the first section of the trace chemical capture material is in fluid contact with the environmental fluid, additional guard members may be provided at either end of the removed section of the turbine blade outer shell structure so as to substantially prevent any liquid ingress or debris from entering the internal structure of the turbine blade. Figure 8 shows guard members 801 disposed on either side of the first section of the trace chemical capture material 802 and connected to the turbine blade structure 803.

Alternatively, or additionally, as described hereinabove the first section of the trace chemical capture material may include a sealant means which may form a guard member on opposing sides, or all four sides, of the first section of the trace chemical capture material.

As will be appreciated, additional guard members may also be provided in the blade as required when utilising the tile or tile arrangement in order to substantially prevent any liquid ingress or debris from entering the internal structure of the turbine blade.

The present invention advantageously provides a trace chemical capture system which can capture one or more different trace chemicals from an environmental fluid flow. The trace chemical capture system will be configured with an appropriate trace chemical capture material for the trace chemical that is to be captured from the environmental fluid flow. The trace chemicals may be captured using any suitable technique, for example, adsorption, absorption, and so on. Similarly, the captured trace chemical may be extracted using any suitable technique or extraction means, for example, using an autoclave type system within the turbine blade. The trace chemical capture system is flexible as they can be located at one or more regions of the turbine blade.

In the foregoing embodiments, the present invention is described in respect of a wind turbine blade, however, as will be appreciated and as discussed hereinabove, the features and embodiments can equally apply to other blades such as those of a hydro turbine.

In the foregoing embodiments, features described in relation to one embodiment may be combined, in any manner, with features of a different embodiment in order to provide a more efficient and effective trace chemical capture system. Note that, the above description is for illustration only and other embodiments and variations may be envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade comprising: a trace chemical capture material; a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material; a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material; and a trace chemical extraction means; wherein a first section of the trace chemical capture material is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, a second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the extraction means, and the drive mechanism interchanges the positions of the first section and the second section of the trace chemical capture material at a determined interval.

2. The trace chemical capture system of claim 1, in which the trace chemical capture material forms a belt and wherein the first section of the trace chemical capture material of the belt forms an outer surface of the turbine blade.

3. The trace chemical capture system of claim 1, in which the trace chemical capture material forms a tile and wherein the first section of the trace chemical capture material of the tile forms an outer surface of the turbine blade.

4. The trace chemical capture system of claim 3, further comprising: a tile arrangement wherein the tile arrangement comprises two tiles; and wherein the first tile is the first section and the second tile is the second section.

5. The trace chemical capture system of claim 3 or 4, in which each tile further comprises a heating layer,

6. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the trace chemical capture material extends in a spanwise direction of the turbine blade by 10% to 95% of the turbine blade’s spanwise length; and extends in a chordwise direction of the turbine blade by 10% to 95% of the blade’s chordwise length.

7. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the turbine blade comprises two or more trace chemical capture systems.

8. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the trace chemical capture material is located on either, or both, of the upper surface or lower surface of the turbine blade.

9. The trace chemical capture system of any one of claims 6 to 8 when dependent on claim 2, in which the drive mechanism comprises: at least one pulley in contact with the trace chemical capture material belt; and at least one drive shaft operatively coupled to the at least one pulley to move the at least one pulley.

10. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims 6 to 8 when dependent on claims 3, 4 or 5, in which the drive mechanism comprises: at least one linkage in contact with the trace chemical capture material tile; and at least one drive shaft operatively coupled to the at least one linkage to rotate the trace chemical capture material tile around a central axis member.

11. The trace chemical capture system of claim 9 or 10, further comprising a motor, wherein the motor drives the at least one drive shaft.

12. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the support structure comprises: a first support structure to support the first section of the trace chemical capture material; and a second support structure to support the second section of the trace chemical capture material.

13. The trace chemical capture system of claim 12, further comprises one or more additional support structures positioned at one or more locations along a first direction of the trace chemical capture material.

14. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the trace chemical extraction means comprises: an autoclave-type system, wherein the autoclave-type system comprises: one or more control means to control one or more environmental conditions within the autoclave-type system; and one or more removal means to remove extracted trace chemical from the trace chemical capture system.

15. The trace chemical capture system of claim 14, in which the one or more environmental conditions include one or more of pressure, temperature, humidity, light, and pH; and wherein the one or more control means includes one or more of heaters, nozzles, or illumination means to control the addition and/or removal of one or more of air, steam, chemical species, heat, light, and other environmental conditions within the autoclave type system.

16. The trace chemical capture system of claim 14 or 15, in which the one or more removal means comprises: one or more outlet channels; and a pump; wherein the pump forces the extracted trace chemical from the trace chemical capture system via the one or more outlet channels.

17. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the trace chemical capture material is a material impregnated with a trace chemical capture chemical.

18. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the first section of the trace chemical capture material is located on a high pressure side of the turbine blade and/or towards the leading edge of the turbine blade.

19. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a controller; wherein the controller is configured to activate the drive mechanism at the determined interval.

20. The trace chemical capture system of claim 19, further comprising: one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors output a signal indicative of the amount of trace chemical captured by the first section of the trace chemical capture material; wherein the controller is configured to: receive the signals indicative of an amount of trace chemical captured by the trace chemical capture material; and determine the interval based on the received signals.

21. The trace chemical capture system of claim 19 or 20, in which the controller is configured to: receive one or more operational signals indicative of an operation of the turbine; receive one or more environmental signals indicative of environmental fluid conditions during the operation of the turbine; and determine, based on the received operational signals and environmental signals, the interval.

22. The trace chemical capture system of any one of claims 1 to 19, in which the determined interval is a predetermined time period.

23. The trace chemical capture system of any one of the preceding claims, in which the trace chemical is one or more of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds, atmospheric aerosols, and particulate matter.

24. A turbine comprising one or more trace chemical capture systems of any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. The turbine of claim 24 further comprising: one or more structural members and/or one or more guard members.

26. A method of controlling a trace chemical capture system for a turbine blade, wherein the trace chemical capture system comprises: a trace chemical capture material,; a drive mechanism, wherein the drive mechanism is operatively coupled to the trace chemical capture material; a support structure, wherein the support structure supports the trace chemical capture material; and a trace chemical extraction means; wherein a first section of the trace chemical capture material is in fluid contact with an environmental fluid, and a second section of the trace chemical capture material faces the extraction means; the method comprising: determining an interval at which to interchange the positions of the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material; and operating the drive mechanism at the determined interval to interchange the positions of the first section and second section of the trace chemical capture material.

27. The method of claim 26, in which the trace chemical capture system further comprises an autoclave-type system, and the method further comprises: controlling one or more environmental conditions within the autoclave-type system to extract a trace chemical from the second section of the trace chemical capture material.

28. The method of claim 26 or 27, in which the trace chemical capture system further comprises one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors output a signal indicative of the amount of trace chemical captured by the first section of the trace chemical capture material, and the method further comprises: receiving the signals indicative of an amount of trace chemical captured by the trace chemical capture material; and determining the interval based on the received signals.

29. The method of any one of claims 26 to 28, further comprising: receiving one or more operational signals indicative of an operation of the turbine; receiving one or more environmental signals indicative of environmental fluid conditions during the operation of the turbine; and determining, based on the received operational signals and environmental signals, the interval.

30. The method of claims 26 or 27, further comprising: determining the interval as a predetermined time period.

31. A computer program product comprising computer readable executable code for implementing a method according to any one of claims 26 to 30.