HK1131422B - Method, device and system for converting energy - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the invention for converting energy, a non-gaseous support medium is initially converted into a gaseous support medium by applying thermal energy such that the gaseous support medium rises and produces potential energy. Then, the gaseous support medium at a predetermined height is converted back into a non-gaseous support medium. The potential energy of the retrieved non-gaseous support medium can be converted into another desired form of energy.

Description

Method, device and system for energy conversion

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method, a device and a system for energy conversion.

Background

An updraft generator is one example of a device for energy conversion. In the case of an updraft generator, air is heated by the sun and conveyed to a chimney where it rises. A turbine disposed in the stack may then generate an electric current from the airflow.

The invention is based on the following considerations: existing energy is not optimally utilized in this and other energy conversion devices.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an alternative or complementary solution for energy conversion that enables a conversion efficiency higher than that of known devices.

A method for energy conversion is proposed, which method comprises the following steps:

a) converting the non-gaseous carrier medium into a gaseous carrier medium by introducing thermal energy, causing the gaseous carrier medium to rise, thereby obtaining potential energy;

b) reconverting the gaseous carrier medium to a non-gaseous carrier medium at a given height; and

c) the potential energy of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is converted into another form of energy.

Furthermore, a device for converting energy is proposed. The device includes a cavity. The device further comprises a state of aggregation converter arranged at the lower end of the cavity for converting the non-gaseous carrier medium into the gaseous carrier medium by adding thermal energy, thereby causing the carrier medium to rise in the cavity and gain potential energy. The apparatus further comprises a collector arranged at the upper end of the cavity for collecting the non-gaseous carrier medium recovered from the gaseous carrier medium. The apparatus further comprises an energy transforming device for transforming the potential energy of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium into another energy form.

Finally, a system is proposed which comprises such a device and additionally comprises a device for obtaining thermal energy for use by the aggregation state changer.

It has also been proposed to use existing thermal energy to obtain potential energy which can then be converted again into the desired energy form. Potential energy is obtained here by bringing the carrier medium, which is not gaseous (i.e. solid or liquid), into a gaseous state of aggregation and thereby rising. The carrier medium with the applied potential energy is then converted again into a non-gaseous aggregate state for energy extraction.

The present invention has the advantage of being able to efficiently convert existing thermal energy into a desired form of energy. The invention can also be implemented with a comparatively small overall size.

The invention can also be implemented with a suitable choice of the thermal energy added in such a way that it is completely free of scattering. But generally any energy source for obtaining useful thermal energy may be used. The added thermal energy can thus be obtained from geothermal heat, hot water, hot gas, fossil energy carriers, nuclear energy carriers and/or solar energy.

It is possible to add thermal energy only at the beginning of the rise of the carrier medium, and thus in the case of a device only via the aggregation state changer. In an alternative, however, the heat can also be introduced into the carrier medium in a dispersed manner over the height over which the gaseous carrier medium passes.

The device therefore has correspondingly arranged energy input means. Such energy adding means may comprise energy harvesting means itself or may be powered by energy harvesting means.

The advantage of adding thermal energy dispersively over the height range is that less external thermal energy needs to be transported overall. It is thus possible to deliver the right amount of energy at the selected height or continuously along the height of the cavity, respectively, so that the carrier medium remains in the gaseous state up to a given height.

Furthermore, the invention can be implemented significantly more compactly and economically when, for example, a solar collector is placed directly on the envelope of the cavity as energy extraction and energy introduction means or even forms the envelope partially or completely, the gaseous carrier medium rising in the envelope of the cavity.

The energy input means may completely surround a cavity in which the carrier medium rises or, for example, in the case of a solar collector, be arranged only on the side facing the sun. Furthermore, the component can extend over the entire height of the cavity or be arranged only over a selected height section or over a plurality of selected height sections.

In an exemplary embodiment, the gaseous carrier medium can be reconverted into a non-gaseous carrier medium by cooling the gaseous carrier medium. The cooling can be effected here by means of a cooling unit.

The cooling can be effected here, for example, by conducting the transport medium through a cooling zone, for example a cooling battery, which is arranged at a given height. The cooling zone can be formed by a hose or other conduit. The cooling zones can also be designed and arranged such that they can simultaneously be used to guide the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium to a predetermined collection point.

Thus, when cooling is effected by the transport medium, the transport medium is heated by cooling of the carrier medium, which transport medium can furthermore be used to contribute to the added thermal energy. Thus, in the case of the device, a heat return line can be provided which conveys the heated transport medium to a concentration state changer arranged on the lower end of the cavity. This embodiment has the advantage that it is particularly efficient, since only lost energy, including the extracted useful energy, has to be added from the outside during operation.

In an alternative or additional embodiment, the substances can also be introduced directly into the gaseous carrier medium, for example by means of a correspondingly designed trap, in order to facilitate the reconversion. The addition can be effected here, for example, by spraying or showering. After the substance has extracted heat from the carrier medium and thereby promoted condensation, the substance and the carrier medium can be separated again for further use. This can be achieved, for example, in a simple manner if the carrier medium is water and the substance is oil. However, it is also possible to spray or shower the carrier medium onto the rising gaseous carrier medium before the energy conversion of the potential energy contained in the carrier medium which has been recovered. The renewed transfer can likewise be promoted by enlarging the impact surface for the rising, still gaseous carrier medium. In this case, it is only necessary to ensure that the sprayed or showered carrier medium does not fall back into the accumulation state changer, but is still supplied to the energy conversion device. This can be achieved, for example, by spraying or sprinkling the carrier medium only into the bend region at the upper end of the cavity.

In another exemplary embodiment, active cooling for carrier medium reconversion may be eliminated. The gaseous carrier medium can be reconverted to a non-gaseous carrier medium at a given height, for example, as a result of the gaseous carrier medium being cooled during the lifting movement. The height of the cavity can be suitably selected for this purpose. This level is in a right proportion to the amount of heat added to the carrier medium, so that supercooling vapor is produced as a result of the cooling effect caused by the rising movement, so that automatic condensation takes place at the level of the collector. This automatic condensation may be supported by a suitable collector structure. The collector can be designed, for example, in the form of a single web or multiple webs, which act as large impingement surfaces for the generation or further compression of the condensation mist and/or condensate.

It goes without saying, however, that the collector can likewise simply comprise an optionally cooled upper boundary surface of the cavity, whether by active cooling or without active cooling, which boundary surface guides the reconverted non-gaseous carrier medium to the energy conversion device, for example via a collecting cup.

In an exemplary embodiment, the reconverted non-gaseous carrier medium is intermediately stored, for example by an intermediate storage, before converting the obtained carrier medium potential energy into another energy form.

The intermediate storage of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is for example suitable for providing a reserve when no external thermal energy is available for use. Furthermore, peaks in the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium can be provided by intermediate storage covering the peak demand of the desired energy form or buffering.

To convert the potential energy of the carrier medium into another energy form, the potential energy can first be converted into kinetic energy. This can be achieved by letting the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium descend on a path from a higher level to a lower level, for example through a downcomer. For this purpose, energy converters, for example turbines and possibly downstream generators, can be provided.

The potential energy can be converted into various arbitrary energy forms finally. It goes without saying that the conversion into the desired energy form also includes storage in the desired energy carrier. The conversion into mechanical energy, electrical energy, energy for the production of chemical energy carriers and/or energy for the production of physical energy carriers can therefore also be considered.

After the conversion of the potential energy into another energy form, the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium can be intermediately stored in an intermediate storage if required.

Alternatively or in addition, the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium can be used at least partially in a closed circuit after conversion of the potential energy into another energy form. For this purpose, the carrier medium is fed to the accumulation state changer again, depending on the device.

The carrier medium can also be distilled according to composition by converting the non-gaseous carrier medium into a gaseous carrier medium. The distilled, recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is then withdrawn at least partially through a withdrawal connection before or after converting the potential energy into another form of energy.

If, for example, seawater is used as carrier medium, the water is briefly evaporated, the separated gaseous phase freed and the salt precipitated. Pure water is mainly supplied in the condensation zone at a given height. This in turn gives rise to various application and implementation possibilities, such as drinking water extraction and irrigation. If industrial or domestic waste water or sewage is used as carrier medium, water or sewage purification can be achieved by distillation, and the remaining material is obtained.

The gaseous carrier medium can be caused to rise in a cavity which is free of other substances than possible impurities. It is however also possible to choose to provide the cavity with a filling medium which is carried along by the ascending gaseous carrier medium. Air or various other gases or gas mixtures are conceivable for the filling medium.

The use of a filling medium enables the pressure difference between the cavity and the external environment to be equalized. Such a pressure difference can be given in dependence on different operating temperatures due to a change in the state of aggregation of the carrier medium. Since the filling medium is carried along by the carrier medium, it is possible for the filling medium to have a closed circuit in which the filling medium is available again in the evaporator at a given height after leaving the carrier medium. However, an open system can also be selected in which the filling medium is sucked from the outside through the synchronizer into the interior of the cavity and is discharged again after use.

Embodiments with closed circulation and open channels are generally provided for all substances used and not removed for external use (such as carrier medium, transport medium and filling medium) and for all energy removed for external use.

Drawings

The invention is described in detail below with the aid of exemplary embodiments. In the drawings:

fig. 1 schematically shows the structure of an exemplary apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic flow diagram describing the operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates the structure of another exemplary apparatus according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the structure of another exemplary apparatus according to the present disclosure; and

fig. 6 schematically shows an exemplary heat recovery in a device according to the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the device for energy efficient conversion according to the invention.

The apparatus comprises a building 10, the building 10 having a cavity 11. It goes without saying that the cavity can also be arranged obliquely in alternative configurations, for example close to the side of a hill. The evaporation chamber 12 is provided at the lower end of the cavity 11 at a height h 0.

A cooling unit 13 is provided at the upper end of the cavity 11 at a height h 1. The drop pipe 14 leads from the cooling battery 13 to a turbine 15, which turbine 15 is connected to a generator. The turbine 15 is in turn connected to the evaporation chamber 12. The cooling unit 13 is also connected to the evaporation chamber 12 via a heat return line 16.

A turbine of a conventional updraft generator 17 is also optionally provided in the cavity.

Finally, the means 18 for extracting thermal energy are arranged in such a way that they can supply thermal energy to the evaporation chamber 11. An example of such a component is a solar collector. However, the member 18 may utilize various other energy sources in addition to the sun. It goes without saying that many such components may be provided.

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart which represents the operating principle of the device in fig. 1.

The carrier medium is located in the evaporation chamber 12 in a non-gaseous aggregate state (e.g. water as liquid carrier medium).

The evaporation chamber 12 is supplied with external thermal energy by the means 18 for extracting energy (step 21).

The carrier medium is converted into a gaseous state of aggregation as a function of the thermal energy supplied, i.e. the carrier medium evaporates and rises in the cavity 11.

At a height h ═ h₁The carrier medium is again brought into the original aggregate state (step 22). That is, the vapor from the carrier medium condenses again. In the example shown, the reconversion is caused by the cooling aggregate 13. Such a cooling unit may for example consist of a hose network. The hose network provides on the one hand a large impact surface for generating or compressing the condensation mist. On the other hand, the transport medium can flow through the hose as a coolant, which promotes condensation on the hose network. Hose network in the direction of the drop tube 14The condensate obtained is discharged.

The transport medium heated in the hose can be supplied via the heat return line 16 to the evaporation chamber 12, in order to increase the effect of the supplied thermal energy and then in the cooled state to the cooling unit 13 again (step 23).

Now the carrier medium is overcome by the height h₁-h₀But with added potential energy. The carrier medium falls downwards through the drop tube 14, whereby kinetic energy is obtained from the potential energy (step 24).

This kinetic energy can now be converted into other desired energy forms (step 25). For example, the falling carrier medium can drive a turbine 15, which can then use the generated rotational energy to drive a connected generator and produce electrical energy.

After the carrier medium has driven the turbine 15, it can be guided to the evaporation chamber 12 again (step 26).

Alternatively, the ascending gas flow generator 17 may utilize the ascending carrier medium vapor to extract energy between step 21 and step 22 again in a conventional manner.

Some alternative details and variations of the apparatus of fig. 1 are shown in the block diagram of fig. 3.

The carrier medium is conveyed to the evaporator 32 or generally to the accumulation state changer. The carrier medium may be, for example, seawater. The evaporator 32 corresponds to the evaporation chamber 12 in fig. 1. The carrier medium is evaporated in the evaporator 32 by the transported thermal energy.

The steam rises in the cavity of the building 30 until it reaches the second aggregation state modifier 33. The cavity may additionally comprise a filling medium, which is carried by the carrier medium in an open or closed cycle.

The second condensation state changer 33 can correspond, for example, to the cooling train 13 in fig. 1, which acts as an active condensation collector for promoting condensation and cools the steam. If the accumulation state changer 33 comprises a cooling unit, the heat is fed back to the evaporator 32.

Alternatively, the second condensation state changer 33 may be a condenser, which collects only condensate generated from the vapor as a passive condensation collector. In this case, the height of the building is advantageously designed such that automatic condensation takes place at the level of the condenser, for example on a pipe network comprising condensers for collecting and discharging condensate, as a result of the cooling of the steam in the lifting movement.

If evaporation and condensation are used simultaneously for the distillation of the support material, a portion of the condensed support medium can be conveyed directly to the load via the take-off connection 40. If the carrier medium is, for example, seawater, the contained salts precipitate out on evaporation and a part of the condensed carrier medium can be used as drinking water or for irrigation.

The non-removed part of the condensed carrier medium is fed to an intermediate reservoir 41 (e.g. a water tank), which intermediate reservoir 41 is likewise arranged substantially at the level of the second aggregation state changer 33. Intermediate storage enables the desired form of energy to be captured at the desired time. This also includes obtaining more of the desired energy form at peak load times and/or obtaining the desired energy form evenly distributed over time if the delivered thermal energy is, for example, available only at certain times and therefore the condensate can only be obtained at certain times.

The condensed carrier medium is then controlled as required to descend through the drop tube, whereby it hits the turbine 35 and drives it. The rotational energy generated by the turbine 35 may be used directly by a load and/or delivered to a generator 42 for generating electrical energy.

The electrical energy can again be fed directly to the load or used in other energy converters 43, for example for the production of hydrogen or oxygen.

After the condensed carrier medium has driven the turbine 35, it can be intermediately stored in a further intermediate storage 44 for subsequent renewed supply to the evaporator in a closed circuit. It goes without saying that the distilled carrier medium can also be removed before or after the second intermediate reservoir 44 via a removal connection, as a result of which a larger amount of carrier medium is available for the drive turbine.

After the condensed carrier medium has been removed from the circuit, it can additionally be conveyed from the outside to the evaporator 32, for example in the form of further seawater.

Fig. 4 shows another variation of the device in fig. 1 as another embodiment of the device for efficient conversion of energy according to the invention. Like parts are designated with the same reference numerals as in fig. 1.

In this embodiment, again as in the example of fig. 1, there is provided an evaporation chamber 12, a building 10 with a cavity 11, a cooling aggregate 13, a drop tube 14, a turbine 15 and a heat-transporting water tube 16.

In the embodiment corresponding to fig. 4, however, the means 19 for extracting and feeding in thermal energy are arranged along the outer envelope of the cavity. The component 19 may be, for example, a solar collector. This part 19 adds thermal energy to the rising, gaseous carrier medium in a distributed manner over the height of the cavity, so that an automatic condensation is prevented just before the cooling unit 13 is reached.

Only the energy just required to convert the non-gaseous carrier medium into the gaseous carrier medium needs to be delivered to the evaporation chamber 12. In continuous operation, therefore, the heat returned via the heat return line 13 may be sufficient. At start-up, however, it is necessary to supply external heat to the evaporation chamber, or to spray a non-gaseous carrier medium into the cavity 11 first at start-up, so that the carrier medium is automatically converted into steam in the cavity 11 at the start-up.

The device of fig. 4 operates in the same manner as the device of fig. 1.

In other words, the present invention and some embodiments may be described as follows.

The method and/or device for obtaining energy is based on the collection and conversion of heat, which is indirectly converted by the potential energy of mass obtained in the gravitational field (EPOT ═ m × g × h, where m is the mass lifted in height, in kilograms, g is the gravitational acceleration constant, and h is the height) into energy and/or energy carriers that are needed or considered necessary for the human world to be transformed.

The physical principle used for obtaining energy is derived from the fact that the state of aggregation in the solid and/or liquid state is changed to the state of aggregation in the gaseous state and back again by adding energy, and that the adiabatic expansion takes place after the state of aggregation has changed to the gaseous state by means of the gas dynamics in the form of adiabatic expansion. The chimney effect, which plays an important role in such a method and/or device, results from the adiabatic expansion. Finally, the energy in the form of heat is converted into energy which is stored in the gravitational field and can be converted again and/or into other energy forms.

Here, the method and/or device for obtaining energy is in principle a "heat pipe", but with important variations and modifications. The heat pipe is arranged in the mass gravitational field in such a way that, in order to move from one end of the heat pipe to its other end (height h), the energy required to overcome the potential energy difference in the gravitational field must be dissipated. For example, by "earth" as an example, this means: one end being located, for example, at the surface of the earth (height h)₀0) and the other end is located at a height h above the earth's surface₁>0。

The operating principle, on which the method and/or the device for obtaining energy operates, is described below (fig. 3):

the substances are converted into the gaseous state of aggregation by energy supplied from the outside (═ carrier medium), are then transported to the height h by the physical effect of adiabatic expansion, which plays an important role, and are converted back into the earlier state of aggregation (═ condensation). And then the substance with the added potential energy is used for obtaining energy. Optionally, the substance is intermediately stored here at this level for later use. The potential energy can then be converted into other physical or chemical energy forms by corresponding devices and/or methods, i.e. energy is taken away from the carrier medium. After removal of the potential energy, the substance can optionally be intermediately stored again. The carrier medium can then optionally be fed into the circuit again, if this is planned in a corresponding embodiment.

In order to implement the method and/or the device for extracting energy, a cycle with the following components is shown in one embodiment (see also fig. 1):

an evaporation chamber for evaporating a carrier medium by adding external heat, to which evaporation chamber a building with a height h is connected, in which the steam can rise and into which an updraft generator can also be integrated, in one embodiment a cooling unit (cooling device) for obtaining condensate from the carrier medium steam is connected to the building, and in another embodiment the height h is proportional to the heat added to the carrier medium in such a way that the cooling caused by the rising movement (which is the physical process of the conversion of heat in the form of micro movements into macro movements, which is the co-directional molecular/atomic chimney effect) produces subcooled steam, which in the best case is automatically condensed, so that no cooling unit is required, and in one embodiment a condensate collector, for example in the form of a pipe network, is connected to the building, which serves as a large impact surface for the generation or further compression of the condensate mist/condensate, to which condensate collector there is no need to connect an intermediate storage device for the condensate (but is necessary, for example, in the case of no external heat or to cover peak demands or to buffer peaks in the supply of condensate), to which there is connected a drop tube for the condensate, to which there is connected a turbine and a generator connected thereto, wherein the potential energy of the carrier medium condensate can be converted by falling in the drop tube into, for example, electrical energy (which can also be converted directly into heat again), to which there is no need to connect a further intermediate storage device for the condensate, and to which there is connected an evaporation chamber. The heat obtained in the cooling unit can be heated again in the evaporation chamber by the transport medium.

To implement the method and/or apparatus for harvesting energy, different embodiments may be used. In the method and/or device described so far, the carrier medium does not necessarily have to be the only gaseous state inside the height h of the building apart from impurities, but in another embodiment the building of height h is additionally filled with a filling medium (in particular air, but also other gas/gas mixtures are possible). The selection of the filling medium is brought about by the pressure difference between the inner chamber of the method and/or the device and the external environment at different operating temperatures due to changes in the state of aggregation. The pressure difference can optionally be compensated by a filling medium, thereby producing a structural measure for the application of the structural object. Since the filling medium is carried by the carrier medium, at least two embodiments are obtained for this purpose. One is a closed circulation of the filling medium, which is supplied to the evaporator at a height h after leaving the carrier medium by the return device, and the other is an open system, in which the filling medium is sucked from the outside through a synchronizer into the interior of the building and is discharged again after use.

Another application is derived from another perspective of the method and/or apparatus for harvesting energy. As a side effect of changing the aggregation state of the utilized substance, fractional distillation is obtained according to the composition of the substance. If, for example, seawater is used as carrier medium in an open process of a method and/or device for extracting energy, the water is briefly evaporated, the decomposed gases are freed and salts are precipitated. Pure water is then predominantly supplied for use in the condensation zone of height h, said energy having been obtained earlier by pumping to height h without intermediate steps. Many applications and embodiments are thereby obtained (subject matter: obtaining (drinking) water, irrigation). If, for example, industrial or domestic waste water or sewage is used, the method is applied to waste water or sewage purification and to the extraction of residual substances.

In other embodiments, it is possible to choose to specifically study the heat of vaporization or the enthalpy of vaporization of those carrier media, which as latent heat must be added when the state of aggregation of the liquid/solid state changes to the gaseous state and then released again in the form of sublimation or condensation heat in the reverse process. The latent heat can optionally be added by the above-described recirculation by means of a cooling unit in the region in which the state of aggregation of the liquid/solid state changes into the gaseous state (see fig. 3). This makes it possible to add only the lost energy from the outside to the evaporator during operation. The extracted effective energy also belongs to the loss energy. Overall, these embodiments have the advantage that the construction outlay required for energy extraction is significantly less.

In another embodiment, the above-mentioned network of pipes is represented by the arrangement and layout of the cooling zones of the cooling unit on a structure, such as a network of hoses through which the coolant (transport medium) flows.

In a further embodiment, the recovery of the heat of evaporation and thus the condensation is improved by spraying/sprinkling/adding a condensate, which in a further embodiment has been cooled beforehand by a cooling unit. In other embodiments, the condensate may also be replaced by a substance that performs the same physical effect. (example: in the case where the carrier medium is water, the material added to improve condensation is oil.

In the method and/or device for extracting energy, the invention provides a solution with a closed cycle or open process in the structure in terms of all substances (carrier medium), transport medium, filling medium, energy (thermal energy), electrical energy, mechanical energy, wind energy, kinetic energy and aggregation state.

The transport media used in such a method and/or device (as for example catalysts in chemical reactions) only fulfill a functionally ancillary task, but they are nevertheless necessary for the functional description of the individual embodiments. For example, heat obtained in the cooling unit is circulated back to the evaporator by an optionally enclosed transport medium. The transport medium may also undergo aggregate state changes during this process, but this need not necessarily be the case. This is the case if this part of the embodiment is also constituted by a "heat pipe". In another embodiment, as heat transport medium, for example, a liquid with a high boiling point (for example, vegetable or mineral oil, salt solution, or the like), a gas is used, which does not change its state of aggregation under the addition of heat obtained in the cooling unit.

The thermal energy driving such a method and/or device can be taken from any source. Such as the earth (geothermal), water (heat of water), air (heat of air), fossil energy carriers (gas, oil, coal, methane, etc.), nuclear energy carriers (melting or cracking) or the sun (solar energy).

In other embodiments, a building with a height h (chimney) coincides with the device for extracting energy/heat, which significantly reduces costs and the associated construction and development costs. For this purpose, the physical/technical background takes into account that the energy required for the high-level transport of the support medium by means of the chimney effect does not have to be introduced centrally in the evaporation chamber (as a result: high temperatures are required) (FIG. 1), but rather may also be introduced distributed over the height of the building having a height h (as a result: only low temperatures are required; i.e., only the necessary degree of heating per height meter). If the device for capturing energy/thermal energy is designed in this way, for example in the case of a solar collector, the collector coincides with a building having a height h. The same applies analogously to various other cases in which only a low initial temperature is set for the evaporation or transport energy. For these embodiments, a principle process with the following positions is also obtained: evaporation location-where the transport energy need not be sufficient for spanning height h; the location of the extraction and addition of energy (thermal energy) with the aim of transporting the carrier medium to obtain potential energy and compensate for losses (where the carrier medium also fulfils the function of transporting the medium at the same time for extracting possible short-term surplus energy); after reaching the height h, the potential energy for condensation and recovery (which is also the heat of evaporation, as is the heat of transport medium) is fed back into the evaporation process, for example in the evaporator, where the energy used is taken and in the carrier medium is recovered. All the above-described embodiments are also used here for obtaining drinking water or sewage purification, etc., and enable an open and/or closed cycle (see also fig. 3).

The energy and/or energy carrier necessary or considered necessary for humans to transform our world may be, for example, an electrical or chemical energy carrier or a physical energy carrier, such as hydrogen and oxygen from electrolysis, or pumping energy, such as energy for distillation.

The advantage of such a method and/or device for extracting energy is that substances which pollute the environment are absolutely not emitted by the use of primary energy carriers such as geothermal heat, the heat of air or water, and solar energy.

To define:

the method and/or apparatus for extracting energy described herein is not an updraft generator (as is the case with the method and/or apparatus for extracting energy described herein, an updraft generator belongs to a thermal generator). The updraft generator need not be an integral part of the generator described herein.

The methods and/or apparatus for harvesting energy described herein are not seawater heat generators. Seawater heat is only one solution for creating an energy source.

The methods and/or apparatus for harvesting energy described herein are not geothermal generators. Geothermal is just another solution for creating energy.

In the case of geothermal energy as energy source, it is conceivable to use existing shaft equipment, for example in the luer region. This makes it possible to minimize the initial costs for development, while shortening the construction time until the first commissioning. In this case, for example, heat is extracted in a tunnel and the shaft is a building with a height h, and on a flat ground there is the possibility of an additional storage tank for condensate, which can be used as a "storage generator" function for regulating and controlling the peak load distribution.

Fig. 5 schematically shows another arrangement of the device according to the invention. This device corresponds to the device described on the basis of fig. 4. But supplements the means 45 for converting energy, generating heat and storing heat provided between one end of the turbine 35 and/or generator 42 and the other end of the evaporator 35. Such a device is used, for example, in the following embodiments:

in another embodiment of the method and/or device for extracting energy, the energy extracted by the method and/or device is introduced into the reservoir 45 in the form of heat (fig. 5). Thereby re-introducing heat into the energy capture cycle when needed. Such a heat store as a storage medium can be realized in various embodiments, for example of iron or another metal, or consist of stone (for example basalt, granite, marble, refractory rock, etc.) or of a liquid (for example a salt lake, a salt solution or a metal melt).

The advantage of such an intermediate storage is that a much higher energy density can be achieved compared to the storage carrier medium and thus the weight is increased over a large height and thus a significantly lower outlay is incurred. At the same time, the possibility of permanently conveying heat to the evaporation process is thereby obtained, which in some embodiments results in no low pressure being generated in the building; this also results in several architectural advantages.

Prepared from basalt (0.84 kJ/kg. K, 3000 kg/m)³) Made 365 thermal stores are examples, they are heated to 600 ℃ and have 300X 300m³This shows the throughput of this method. The thermal energy stored here yields 15000Peta joules, which corresponds essentially to the annual demand for primary energy in 2005 in federal germany. This heat can be generated by the method and/or device for extracting energy shown here and can be recovered for use in other energy carriers.

In a further embodiment of the method and/or device for extracting energy, the heat return is effected by means of a heat exchanger, for example the evaporation heat is added again and optionally also the basic heat of the carrier medium is added again. These heats are in each case connected to one another meaningfully via pipes (fig. 6). Namely: a heat exchanger collects the energy of the vapour or condensate of the ionophore medium (this heat exchanger is a cooling unit) and transfers this energy into the ionophore medium. A further heat exchanger re-supplies this collected energy to the carrier medium for evaporation in an evaporator, which is the evaporator. These heat exchangers may be passive (counter-flow heat exchangers, co-current heat exchangers, cross-flow heat exchangers) and/or active (heat pumps) in different embodiments.

If in one embodiment it is preferred to use a passive heat exchanger for the heat transfer, since a passive heat exchanger is not ideal, it is necessary in one embodiment to integrate at least one further active heat exchanger for transferring the residual heat which is not transferred by the passive heat exchanger, in order to transfer the residual heat to the evaporation process, or in another embodiment to send this residual heat via a heat exchanger to the surroundings of the method and/or device for extracting energy, and the energy transferred to the evaporation process has to be compensated again by the amount of residual heat. The integration of such an active heat exchanger is more relevant, but not necessarily at the location of the evaporator, where the transfer path of the residual heat is short during the evaporation process.

One example (fig. 6) demonstrates heat flow: assuming that the heat exchanger is a counter-flow heat exchanger and that the starting flow temperature of the carrier, e.g. transport medium, is 70 ℃ and the discharge temperature is 100 ℃ in the cooler (60), the temperature of the carrier medium vapor at the start of the counter-flow is 102 ℃ and 72 ℃ at the discharge, the transport medium starting flow temperature is 100 ℃ in the evaporator and again 72 ℃ of the carrier medium is encountered. The passive counterflow heat exchanger of the evaporator (62) is now designed similarly to the heat exchanger of the cooler. Then a carrier medium at 98 ℃ and a transport medium at 74 ℃ were present on the drainage stream. However, this passive heat exchanger can simultaneously discharge a part of the energy intermediately stored in the transport medium and therefore, in order to bring the cooler back to the initial flow temperature of 70 ℃ which is necessary for operation, it is necessary to actively discharge the residual heat and thus to lower the temperature of the transport medium by 4 ℃ again. This is achieved by a heat pump (61) (refrigerator principle), in which the heat is pumped out in a meaningful manner in such a way that it can be added again to the evaporation process for evaporation.

It goes without saying that the described embodiments are merely examples, which can be varied and/or expanded in various ways within the scope of the claims.

Claims (27)

1. A method for energy conversion, comprising:

a) converting the non-gaseous carrier medium into a gaseous carrier medium by adding thermal energy, thereby causing the gaseous carrier medium to rise, thereby obtaining potential energy;

b) cooling the gaseous carrier medium by means of the transport medium, so that the gaseous carrier medium is converted into a non-gaseous carrier medium again at a given height;

c) converting the potential energy of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium into another energy form; and

d) the added thermal energy is increased by heating the transport medium by cooling the carrier medium.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein the thermal energy is also added to the carrier medium in a distributed manner over the height over which the gaseous carrier medium passes.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the added thermal energy is obtained from geothermal heat, hot water, hot gas, fossil energy carriers, nuclear energy carriers, and/or solar energy.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein cooling is achieved by conducting the transport medium through a cooling zone disposed at a given elevation.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the substance is added directly to the carrier medium in order to promote the reconversion.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is intermediately stored before converting the obtained carrier medium potential energy into another form of energy.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein for converting the potential energy of the carrier medium into another energy form, the potential energy is first converted into kinetic energy by lowering the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium from a higher level to a lower level, and then said kinetic energy is converted into another energy form.

8. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the potential energy is converted into mechanical energy, electrical energy, energy for producing chemical energy carriers and/or energy for producing physical energy carriers.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is intermediately stored after conversion of the potential energy into another form of energy.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein after converting the potential energy into another energy form, the use of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is continued at least partly in the closed cycle starting with step a).

11. The process according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in step a) the non-gaseous carrier medium is distilled by conversion into a gaseous carrier medium and the distilled, recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is at least partially withdrawn before or after conversion of the potential energy into another form of energy.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the gaseous carrier medium is caused to rise in a cavity comprising a filling medium carried by the carrier medium.

13. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium is lowered from a higher level to a lower level in order to convert the potential energy of the carrier medium into another form of energy, thereby driving a turbine arranged at a lower level.

14. An apparatus for converting energy, comprising:

a cavity;

a state-of-aggregation converter arranged at the lower end of the cavity for converting the non-gaseous carrier medium into a gaseous carrier medium by adding thermal energy, thereby causing the carrier medium to rise in the cavity and acquire potential energy;

a collector arranged at the upper end of the cavity for collecting the non-gaseous carrier medium recovered from the gaseous carrier medium, wherein the collector has a cooling aggregate designed to be flowed through by the transport medium for cooling the gaseous carrier medium for reconversion of the gaseous carrier medium into the non-gaseous carrier medium;

an energy conversion device for converting the potential energy of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium into another energy form; and

a heat return conduit for conveying the transport medium heated by cooling of the carrier medium to the accumulation state changer in order to increase the added thermal energy.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising energy adding means for adding heat in a distributed manner over the height of the cavity.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, further comprising energy harvesting means for harvesting added thermal energy from geothermal, hot water, hot gas, fossil energy carriers, nuclear energy carriers and/or solar energy.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the cooling battery has a cooling zone through which a transport medium flows for cooling the gaseous carrier medium.

18. An apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the collector has means for adding a substance directly to the carrier medium for promoting reconversion of the gaseous carrier medium into the non-gaseous carrier medium.

19. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, further comprising an intermediate storage for intermediate storage of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium before converting the potential energy of the carrier medium into another form of energy.

20. An apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the energy transforming means comprises a descent path arranged to transform potential energy into kinetic energy by causing the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium to descend from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, and an energy converter for converting kinetic energy into another form of energy.

21. An apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the energy transforming device is adapted to transform the potential energy of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium into mechanical energy, electrical energy, energy for generating a chemical energy carrier and/or energy for generating a physical energy carrier.

22. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, further comprising an intermediate storage for intermediate storage of the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium after conversion of the potential energy into another form of energy.

23. Apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the energy transforming device is arranged to convey the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium after transforming the potential energy into another form of energy to the aggregation state transformer arranged at the lower end of the cavity.

24. An apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the non-gaseous carrier medium is distilled as a result of being converted into a gaseous carrier medium, the apparatus further comprising a withdrawal connection for at least partially withdrawing the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium before or after converting the potential energy into another form of energy.

25. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein the cavity comprises a filling medium carried by a carrier medium.

26. An apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the energy conversion means comprises a descending path arranged for converting potential energy into kinetic energy by causing the recovered non-gaseous carrier medium to descend from a higher level to a lower level, and the energy conversion means comprises a turbine arranged at a lower level and drivable by the descending carrier medium.

27. A system comprising an apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 26 and at least one means for obtaining thermal energy for use with the apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 26.