US 12,258,883 B2
Charge, storage, and discharge energy system using liquid air and sCO2
Owen M Pryor, San Antonio, TX (US); and Aaron M Rimpel, Helotes, TX (US)
Assigned to Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (US)
Filed by Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (US)
Filed on Jun. 6, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/833,653.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/197,235, filed on Jun. 4, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0389841 A1, Dec. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. F01K 23/06 (2006.01); F01K 1/04 (2006.01); F01K 7/16 (2006.01); F01K 23/10 (2006.01); F01K 25/10 (2006.01); F02C 6/04 (2006.01); F02C 6/14 (2006.01); F02C 1/10 (2006.01)
CPC F01K 23/06 (2013.01) [F01K 1/04 (2013.01); F01K 7/16 (2013.01); F01K 23/10 (2013.01); F01K 25/103 (2013.01); F02C 6/04 (2013.01); F02C 6/14 (2013.01); F02C 1/10 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of using excess electrical energy of a primary power generation system to store and generate power, comprising:
using an air separation unit powered by the excess electrical energy to cool and liquify ambient air into liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen;
storing the liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen in separate storage systems;
using the liquid oxygen (L-O2) in an L-O2 energy discharge path that vaporizes and heats the oxygen with an L-O2 heat exchanger, receives the oxygen into an sCO2 oxy-combustor that provides an sCO2 (supercritical carbon dioxide) stream, and uses exhaust from the combustor to drive a first turbine;
using a recuperator to recover waste heat from the first turbine thereby capturing the sCO2 stream;
wherein the oxygen is vaporized and heated with heat from the sCO2 stream delivered to the L-O2 heat exchanger; and
using the liquid nitrogen (L-N2) in an L-N2 energy discharge path that vaporizes and heats the nitrogen with an L-N2 heat exchanger, thereby providing expanded nitrogen, and uses the expanded nitrogen to drive a second turbine;
wherein the L-N2 heat exchanger uses heat from the sCO2 stream delivered from the recuperator, such that the recuperator is configured to deliver heat from the sCO2 stream to the L-N2 heat exchanger while both the L-O2 energy discharge path and the L-N2 energy discharge path are in operation;
wherein the air separation unit operates independently of both the L-02 energy discharge path and the L-N2 energy discharge path;
wherein both the L-02 energy discharge path and the L-N2 energy discharge path operate independently of operation of the primary power generation system.