Hygroscopic Cycle

Profits

The Hygroscopic Cycle with minimum concentrations of hygroscopic compound that requires current commercial technology, you get respect Rankine cycle:

• Increased production of electricity (net electrical output increased from 0,3 to 1%). Therefore, reduction of CO₂ and other gases (NOx, SOx…) emissions per kWh produced and reduced fuel consumption.
• Best cooling conditions. Savings of 100% of cooling water consumption.
• Savings in demineralized water supply and chemical additives around 50%.
• Cost reduction of O&M by 25%.
• Decrease the investment costs of the steam cycle by 5%.
• Compatible with one and all of improvements of the traditional Rankine cycle.
• Increases life-period of installation, reliability and availability.
• Reduce the environmental impact. “A technology that helps to achieve the challenges set in 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21)”.
• Increased competitiveness.

“A development of the Rankine cycle which reduces production costs and decreases the environmental impact”

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Applications

The Hygroscopic Cycle has many applications among which may be mentioned:

• Electricity generation:
  • Thermoelectric plants.
  • Biomass power plants.
  • CSP.
  • Combined cycle.
  • Nuclear power plants.
  • Cogeneration.
  • Geothermal energy.
• Condensation of process vapours.

Applicable to both, new and existing ones.

In all of them, the addition or adaptation of a Hygroscopic cycle would be a major improvement in competitiveness by reducing production costs.

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Commercial plants

Steam cycles used as working fluid deionized water additivated with chemicals that will control the pH of the liquid and gaseous phase, dissolved oxygen and incrustations. To control the pH in the liquid phase is usually used phosphates and the vapor phase ammonia (NH₃) and its family such as amines, of particular interest in Hygroscopic Cycle. To control the dissolved oxygen is often used hydrazine (N₂H₄) (increasingly obsolete for several reasons, one of them is that it is carcinogenic). As you can see, all chemicals used in treating water steam cycle are hygroscopic, fully compatible and necessary in this technology.

Another important parameter is the salt content in the vapor, which is not controlled with a chemical treatment itself, but with strict control of water supply and adequate regime of purges. The salt content is controlled indirectly by the measurement of conductivity.

Hygroscopic Cycle leverages the hygroscopic characteristics of additives of the steam cycle, and the salts accompanying the inflow water cycle, recovering thermally and chemically the boiler blowdown. Therefore:

• Hygroscopic Cycle can be commercially applied to all power plants that use a Rankine cycle for any power.
• Most of the equipment and materials are the same as in a conventional Rankine cycle (turbine, boiler, deaerator, pumps, etc.).
• The novelty is the incorporation of an absorber, enthalpy recovery and an internal recirculation of air cooler to get this thermally and chemically boiler blowdown with high concentration of hygroscopic compounds.
• Chemical additives and salt content of technology are the same (same concentration) than a traditional Rankine Cycles. In this case, instead of dropping boiler blowdown, is recovered thermally and chemically to guarantee the  physical and chemical principles of Hygroscopic Cycle.
• All equipment and materials are commercials and 100% guaranteed by the different manufacturers, so no risk to implement them.

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