State-of-the-art technology effectively utilizes the heat emitted from power generation stations. It is based on the vaporization of the substance "propane", and it may increase the efficiency of the production of electrical energy in the power stations from 35 percent to 60 percent
Yoram Ored, Galileo
When talking about environmental pollution, they also include the heat emitted from the chimneys of the power stations. The emitted heat means not only environmental pollution but also a reduction in the efficiency of the production of electrical energy in the power plants. The power plants use the heat generated in the process of burning the fuel, be it coal, oil or other fuel, or from nuclear processes, to heat water to create high pressure steam, which is used to drive a turbine.
Generates electricity in motion
The turbine is connected to the generator, which moves due to the movement of the turbine and produces electricity in its movement. To enable the efficient production of electrical energy, the heat of the steam reaches a temperature of approximately 650 degrees Celsius. When the temperature drops below 450 degrees Celsius, the production of electrical energy is no longer efficient due to too low steam pressure.
The temperature of the gases emitted from the chimneys of the power plants is below this threshold, therefore the utilization of the heat of the gases to produce additional electrical energy to that originally produced, is not effective. Even in other facilities where heat is generated, such as refineries, this inefficiency prevents the utilization of the heat to generate electricity.
Surprising in its simplicity
The impossibility of utilizing the heat of the gases is one of the reasons for the overall low efficiency of a power station powered by mineral fuel (such as coal, oil or natural gas), which reaches around 35 percent. A surprising development in its simplicity, for efficient utilization of the emitted heat to generate electricity, was recently proposed by a turbine engineer named Daniel Stinger and a petroleum engineer named Farouk Mian.
Their development is based on two additional turbines, both of which are based not on heating water to obtain steam but on the vaporization of the substance propane (C3H8). The boiling point of propane is much lower than that of water and it stands at -42.5 degrees Celsius. The meaning of this figure is that propane can be used very efficiently to drive turbines even at low temperatures.
The heat drives a turbine
The heat emitted in the original process of using the fuel to produce electrical energy is used to drive a turbine based on propane. The heat generated in the process of producing electrical energy through this turbine is used to drive a second turbine, which also operates using propane.
The technology is called 'cascading closed loop cycle', or in English "cascading closed loop cycle" or CCLC for short. The two developers formed a company called Wow Energy to promote their development. According to the calculations made by the company, it will be possible, through this development, to increase the efficiency of the production of electrical energy in the power stations from 35 percent to 60 percent, an increase of approximately eighty-five percent!
Huge potential
The use of this technology could be used not only in power stations but in industry in general. Daniel Stinger estimates that even utilizing only 20 percent of the heat produced in industrial facilities in the United States would add over 200 gigawatt-hours, which is almost 20 percent of the electrical energy consumption of the entire United States.
Since the technology makes it possible to produce much more electrical energy from the same amount of fuel, it will not only be able to optimize the production of electrical energy in the world but also significantly reduce the depletion of the earth's mineral fuels.
