METHOD AND APPARATUS OF PRODUCING AND UTILIZING THERMAL ENERGY IN A COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT

摘要

Combined heat and power plants largely work under two scenarios, when theelectricgeneration is operated stand-alone and when it is not operated in a stand-alonemanner. While in first scenario, the surplus steam is lost, in the secondscenario, theturbine drifts away from optimal design. In either scenario, the efficiencyand reliabilityof the combined heat and power plant suffers. The method and apparatus hereinrelateto a combined heat and power system with greater flexibility, reliability,control andstability, for providing operational flexibility and energy efficiency inoperating acombined heat and power plant which includes a backpressure steam engine thatexpands a high temperature heat source of a thermodynamic fluid to generatemechanical power and discharge its spent heat for a beneficial use comprises avesselsubsystem for the spent heat, said vessel subsystem including: at least onemainindirect heat exchange device or vessel (7) in heat exchange communicationbetweenits primary space (10) and its secondary space (11). The present inventionalsodiscloses the use of a method and apparatus to operate a combined heat andpowersystem.