EP0400701B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method and installation for generating electrical energy
Assignee: Turboconsult BV
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Filing: 1990-05-14
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Granted: 1996-02-28
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Expires: 2010-05-14
Abstract
Abstract A method and installation is proposed for generating electrical energy in an open circuit for a gaseous fluid, comprising a compressor unit (2) driven by a turbine (4) receiving the compressed fluid after its passage through an exhaust gas heat exchanger (I), said method and installation further comprising a power generator (14) driven by a gas turbine (6), the circuit also comprising a fuel cell (10) receiving natural gas in its anode (AN) from an external source and receiving the gaseous fluid from the compressor unit (2) as an oxidizing agent in its cathode (CA), the electrical power originating from both the generator (14) and the fuel cell (10) forming the output of the method and installation.
Inventors
- 👤 Rudolf Hendriks
- 👤 Hendrik Jan Ankersmit
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 21:24
CPC Classifications
F; F02; F02C; F02C3/00; F02C3/36; F02C1/00; F02C1/04; F02C6/00; F02C6/003; F02C6/04; F02C6/10; H; H01; H01M; H01M8/00; H01M8/04; H01M8/04082; H01M8/04089; H01M8/06; H01M8/0606; H01M8/0612; H01M8/14; H01M2008/147; H01M2300/00; H01M2300/0017; H01M2300/0048; H01M2300/0051; H01M8/04007; H01M8/04014; H01M8/04022; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E60/00; Y02E60/30; Y02E60/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
149 words
Method of generating electrical energy using a gaseous medium which is passed in an open circuit first through at least one compressor unit (2) having a driving turbine (4), the gaseous medium within the circuit being subsequently passed as oxidizing agent into a fuel cell (10) which, together with a fuel supply as reduction agent, is producing electrical energy in said cell, characterized in that the gas flow in the circuit is also passed through a power turbine (PT) for the development of mechanical energy, the exhaust of said power turbine escaping via one side of a flue gas heat exchanger (I), the other side of which is traversed by said compressed gaseous medium to raise its temperature prior to its passage through said turbine (4) for driving the compressor unit (2), the gaseous medium is passed into the fuel cell (10) after having passed the driving turbine (4).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
36 words
Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas flow to the power turbine (PT) is first passed either through said fuel cell (10) (fig. 1-3 and 5) or through a combustor (12) (fig. 4).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the gas flow in the circuit passes through one or more additional heat exchangers (II-VI) for the purpose of adjusting the gas temperature in order to optimize the efficiency.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
47 words
Method according to any one of the preceeding claims, characterized in that air is used as gaseous medium of the glas flow and in that a hydrogen-rich gas, for example from a steam reformer fed with natural gas, is supplied to the fuel cell (10) as fuel.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
Method according to one of the preceeding claims, characterized in that the direct current developed in the fuel cell (10) is supplied to an electrical generator (14) coupled to the power turbine (PT).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
187 words
Installation for carrying out the method according to one of claims 1-5, comprising the generation of electrical energy by means of a gas flow using a number of mechanical components, comprising a compressor unit (2) coupled to at least one driving turbine (4) and further comprising a flue gas heat exchanger (I) the inter-connection of the said components being such as to produce an open circuit of the gas flow, the pressure of which is first increased in the compressor unit (2), then also its temperature is increased in the flue gas heat exchanger (I), after which the gas flow is passed through a fuel cell (10) provided in the circuit, characterized in that the gas flow after its passage through the compressor unit (2) and through the flue gas heat exchanger (I) is subsequently passed to the compressor turbine(s) (4), prior to its traversing the fuel cell (10), after which it flows with a slight overpressure towards the power turbine (6) but in doing so, after first having been passed upstream and/or downstream of said power turbine as an oxidizing agent through said fuel cell (10).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
Installation according to claim 6, characterized in that a power turbine (6) of the single-flow centripetal type is used.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
Installation according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a fuel cell (10) of the type MCFC (molten carbonate fuel cell) is used.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
Installation according to claim 8, characterized in that the anode of the fuel cell (10) is connected to a supply (15) of natural gas.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
Installation according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a fuel cell (10) of the type PAFC (phosphoric acid fuel cell) is used.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
42 words
Installation according to one of claims 6-10, characterized in that ad additional burner (20) or combustor (12) which is connected to the discharge line (13) of the anode of the fuel cell (10) for receiving "spent fuel" is present in the circuit.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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