Process for Heating Condensate

This invention relates to a process for heat recovery and, more particularly, to a process for heating the condensate of readily condensable vapor such as steam, a halogenated hydrocarbon (eg., a "Freon," the trademark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.), diphenyl-diphenyl oxide mixtures, mercury, and other familiar heating vapors. It is particularly adapted for heat recovery in the 100.degree.-200.degree. F. range, most particularly from steam-using apparatus.

Advantages of the present invention over prior proposals include an increase in efficiency of about 3-5% in modest size power genrating plants such as those using steam turbogenerators.

Basically this process is one for heating the condensate resulting from condensing a supply of exhaust vapor into a primary liquid condensate, eg. for use as preheated boiler feed water. A minor portion of said exhaust vapor, typically 1-2% or even more, is compressed to a termperature above that which the major portion of said exhaust vapor is being condensed (T.sub.1 being the condensing temperature of said major portion and T.sub.2 being the condensing temperature of said minor portion). The major portion of condensate (primary liquid condensate) is passed into heat exchange with the compressed minor portion of exhaust vapor for warming said primary liquid condensate and condensing said compressed vapor to form a secondary liquid condensate from the latter. Both the warmed primary condensate and such secondary condensate formed by this heat exchange are withdrawn from their heat exchanging operation. Ordinarily they are reused. In the case where the vapor is steam and the condensates are water, the condensates are sent to deaeration in conventional fashion for reuse, eg. as boiler feed water.

The drawing is a flow diagram serving as the basis of design for a modest size turbogenerator operation for the generation of electricity using 100,000 pounds per hour of superheated 650 psia steam fed to the operation at 325.degree. F. (H = 1418.8 BTU/pound). The equipment is conventional. Instruments, controls, and valves are not shown, but are to be provided conventionally where necessary or desirable.

This high pressure steam feed enters the system through line 11; 98,500 pounds per hour of it is fed by line 12 into primary turbine 13. Turbine 13 drives electric generator 14.

Simultaneously, 1,500 pounds per hour of the high pressure steam feed (2,250,000 BTU/hour) is bled from line 11 through line 21 and into turbine 22. This drives centrifugal compressor 23. Exhaust steam from primary turbine 13 flows into plenum 15, along with exhaust steam from secondary turbine 22, which latter exhaust steam enters the plenum through line 17. Exhaust steam for suction to compressor 23 is withdrawn through line 24 from plenum 15 (5,000 pounds per hour of vapor having 4,950,000 BTU).

The remainder of the exhaust steam from the two turbines is condensed in condenser 16 operated at 2 inches of mercury absolute pressure to yield a primary liquid condensate at 100.degree. F. This condensate passes into hot well 18, thence through line 19 into the suction of condensate pump 28.

Compressor 23 compresses the minor portion of exhaust steam flow to a temperature of 161.degree. F. at 10 inches of mercury absolute pressure (accounting for 5,500,000 BTU/hour, having H = 1,100 BTU/pound). The resulting compressed steam flow is fed by line 26 into the shell of heat exchanger 27. Here it warms the primary condensate flow (containing 95,000 BTU/hour) entering the tubes of heat exchanger 27 though line 29 at 100.degree. F.

Warmed primary condensate from heat exchanger 27 is withdrawn through line 31; a secondary liquid condensate resulting from condensation of the compressed minor portion of exhaust steam is withdrawn from the shell of condenser 27 by means of line 32. This secondary condensate is pumped by condensate pump 33 and discharged through line 34 into admixture with the warmed primary condensate from line 31. The two condensate flows are withdrawn together through line 36 at 158.degree. F. for providing a total of 100,000 pounds per hour for deaeration.

As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, in place of turbines any sort of steam engine drive (eg., reciprocating) can be used, and primary turbine 13, generator 14, and condenser 16 can be other conventional steam-condensing apparatus such as a heat exchanger or plurality of same in staged array. The vapor compression can be done in any conventional compressor such as a reciprocating one. However centrifugal drives and compressors are preferred for efficiency and economy, and multistage turbines and compressors likewise are advantageous. The heat exchange represented by item 27 preferably is done indirectly, but it can be done by direct exchange where desired.