METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATING ELECTRICITY AND VAPOURISING A LIQUID IN A THERMAL POWER STATION

摘要

1299773 Steam generation ATOMENERGI AB 20 Jan 1970 [20 Jan 1969 5 May 1969] 2779/70 Heading F4A [Also in Division B1] High-pressure steam from source 1, which may be a nuclear reactor cooled by boiling water, is supplied to turbine 2a, 2b which drives electric generator 4; but when the demand for electric power is low, some of the steam is taken off from the high-pressure stage 2a of the turbine in order to heat the feed Liquid of a multi-stage evaporator 16a ... 16f which is suitable for producing fresh water from salt water by distillation. The salt water, supplied through conduit 21, is preheated in stages 15f ... 15a by the vapour from the evaporator. The plant also comprises a liquid-container 29 connected by conduits and valves to the preheating conduit between stages 15b and 15c. When the demand for electric power is low, a mixture of salt water from stage 15c and salt water withdrawn from the lower part of container 29 is passed through conduit 17 to heat exchangers 10 where it is heated by the steam taken from turbine stage 2a, some of the hot mixture then being introduced into the first stage 16a of the evaporator while the remainder is passed through conduit 30 into the upper part of container 29. When the demand for electric power is high and all the steam has to be utilized in the turbine, preheated salt water from stage 15c is passed into the lower part of container 29 and hotter salt water from the top thereof is supplied through conduit 30 to evaporator stage 16a. Container 29 serves as a heat-accumulator so that the evaporator can operate continuously. If, during a period of intermediate demand for electric power, the excess capacity of the reactor is exactly that required to supply the evaporator with heat, then no liquid is allowed to pass into container 29. The direction and quantity of liquid passing through the container is adjusted with valves 34-37. The temperature-difference between the hot and cooler liquid in container 29 should be at least twice the difference in temperature between two adjacent evaporator stages. The steam from low-pressure turbine stage 2b flows to condenser 5; and the condensate therefrom and that from heat-exchangers 10 is punped back to the reactor. Fresh water, produced in the evaporator, is withdrawn from the plant through conduit 25.