Use of renewable energy like solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower for manufacturing combustion air for a fossil fuel burner and firebox

Abstract

Invented is a method of making combustion air for a fossil fuel burner, as a coal burning power plant, oil refinery or gas fired household appliance. Combustion air is made from solar, wind, biomass, hydropower or geothermal. A staged progression using lower cost greenhouses, or flatplates, or solarponds, feed warm air to higher cost concentrator solar collectors. Wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy heat and compress combustion air. Hydropower also heats and compresses combustion air. Solar evaporation from salt or impure water creates water or local rain for the hydropower system. Combustion air thus is made economically hot, compressed and high velocity, and placed into a heavily insulated pipes for long distance transmission to a distant power plant.

Description

PRIOR ART[0001]Methods of making hot and warm air from renewable energies abound. Commonly referred to as solar, wind, biomass, or geothermal, or tidal energy; renewable energy can make hot air, compress air, and blow air. Nix in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,187 (issued May 3, 1994) outlines a method of reducing fuel consumption for a fossil fuel burner. Air is pre-heated by solar energy, using a parking lot like surface. The transparent clear covering heats an opaque thermal conducting mass. This thermal conducting mass then transfers heat to underground pipes. The hot air is sucked into a firebox in a coal burning power plant. The pre-warmed air reduces the amount of fuel that needs to be burned. The invented device improves upon Nix, to include higher temperatures, and higher compression of the air. This makes for a more efficient combustion, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide created, and also reduces drastically the amount of fossil fuels needed.[0002]Cottle in U.S. Pat. No. 608,755 ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0108]The invented device improves upon Nix, U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,187 (issued May 3, 1994). Nix claims a system of heating air with solar energy and for supplying air to a fossil fuel burner. However, the system described only supplies air in the low temperature range. To adequately power a large-scale power plant, a coal burning power plant will need temperatures on upwards above 750 F degrees. Often the interior of a firebox of a coal power plant can approach 1,000 F degrees. By pre-heating air to high temperatures, it can reduce significantly the amount of coal burned. And also it will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide gases generated, and reduce pollution. Alternatively, the same technology can pre-heat air for common household appliances like a gas hot water heater. This invented device is not unlike a common utility, like underground water, natural gas, fiber optic, electrical power, or other utilities. It is proposed that the color code “deep purple” be assigned for the invented device's pipes.

[0109]It is common knowledge that hot air can be made from solar energy. Hot air made from solar energy in the low temperature range (100 to 200 F degrees) is fairly inexpensive. Often times apex heat of a greenhouse or house attic can be sucked into a pipe. However, when hot air is manufactured in the 750 F or hotter range, concentrating solar collectors can be very expensive. What is proposed is a system of different types of solar collectors, each designed to gradually heat air, in stages. This will make production of hot air more economic. Whichever type of solar collector, that is the most cost effective for a particular temperature range, is used. More lower cost solar collectors pre-heat the air for higher cost solar collectors.

[0110]The goal of the invented device is to employ various energy sources, like wind, solar, geothermal, tidal energy, or biomass energy, to manufacture hot air for combustion 24 hours a day, year long. The concept is to develop various modular systems, which then can be picked and chosen, depending on local economics and land use. For example, if the site for the large power plant has extensive solar energy, but lacks hydropower or wind energy, then solar collectors can be emphasized. If however, the region is stormy, with lots of rainfall, then hydropower and wind energy can be emphasized. Developed, are approximately, but not necessarily, 100 ft by 100 ft land area size modules. Each module is of one type of solar, wind, or geothermal, biomass, or hydropower (or other renewable energy) systems. Each module is tailored to that particular degree range to manufacture hot air. Whichever is most cost effective is built. For example, greenhouse air is cost effective for warming air in the 100 F degree range, but ineffective at producing temperatures in the 500 F degree range. Each step of the way, air is pre-warmed by the module. The greenhouse air could pre-heat air to a higher temperature solar collector, flat-plate or concentrator type. This allows for the use of lower cost low temperatures solar collectors, thus downsizing the need to spend more money on higher cost high temperature solar collectors.

Problems solved by technology

However, the system described only supplies air in the low temperature range.

However, when hot air is manufactured in the 750 F or hotter range, concentrating solar collectors can be very expensive.

For example, greenhouse air is cost effective for warming air in the 100 F degree range, but ineffective at producing temperatures in the 500 F degree range.

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