Water and sulfur removal from combustion turbine exhaust
View Patent ↗A combustion turbine power plant ( 10 ) incorporating a desiccating scrubber ( 140 ) for simultaneously removing water and sulfur from a flue gas ( 20 ) of the power plant ( 10 ). The desiccating scrubber ( 140 ) may include an inlet nozzle ( 145 ) for spraying an aqueous solution ( 142 ) containing a desiccant and a base into flue gas ( 20 ) so the aqueous solution ( 142 ) makes direct contact with flue gas ( 20 ). A filter ( 162 ) may be provided to collect sulfur compounds downstream of the desiccating scrubber ( 140 ) and a regenerator ( 164 ) may be provided for recovering water. A controller ( 148 ) may control a base supply ( 170 ) and a desiccant supply ( 172 ) to regulate the respective amounts of each introduced into the aqueous solution ( 142 ). Controller ( 148 ) may be responsive to sensors ( 142 ) measuring the water and sulfur content of flue gas ( 20 ) exhausted to atmosphere ( 144 ). The desiccating scrubber ( 140 ) may include a demister ( 160 ) to entrain carryover droplets from a sprayed aqueous solution ( 142 ).
1. A power plant comprising:
a combustion turbine engine receiving fuel and air and producing shaft power and exhaust gas; and
a desiccating scrubber receiving the exhaust gas and directly contacting the exhaust gas with a solution comprising a desiccant and a base.
2. The power plant of claim 1 , the desiccating scrubber comprising an absorber providing direct contact between the exhaust gas and an aqueous solution comprising the desiccant and the base.
3. The power plant of claim 2 , further comprising:
a regenerator receiving the aqueous solution from the absorber;
a heat source for heating the aqueous solution of the desiccant in the regenerator and producing a flow of steam; and
means for cooling the flow of steam to produce a flow of recovered water.
4. The power plant of claim 1 , the desiccant comprising a calcium halide and the base comprising calcium hydroxide.
5. The power plant of claim 1 further comprising:
a regenerator receiving an aqueous solution comprising the desiccant and the base from the desiccating scrubber;
a heat source for heating the aqueous solution of the desiccant in the regenerator and producing a flow of steam; and
a condenser for cooling the flow of steam to produce a flow of recovered water.
6. The power plant of claim 5 further comprising a re-crystallizer receiving the aqueous solution from the regenerator.
7. The power plant of claim 5 further comprising:
a desiccant supply;
a base supply; and
a controller configured to control a respective quantity of the desiccant and the base supplied to the aqueous solution.
8. The power plant of claim 7 further comprising:
means for measuring at least one of a moisture content and a sulfur content of an exhaust gas exiting the desiccating scrubber wherein the controller is configured to control at least one of a quantity of desiccant and a quantity of base in response to the measured content.
9. The power plant of claim 1 further comprising:
means for measuring a moisture content or a sulfur content of an exhaust gas exiting the desiccating scrubber; and
a controller configured to control a flow rate of an aqueous solution comprising the desiccant and the base in response to the measured moisture or sulfur content.
10. The power plant of claim 1 further comprising:
a desiccant supply;
a base supply;
a fluid circulation line connecting the desiccant supply and the base supply with the desiccating scrubber; and
a controller for controlling a quantity of desiccant and a quantity of base to maintain a moisture content and a sulfur content of the exhaust gas exiting the desiccating scrubber within predetermined limits.
11. A power plant comprising:
means for generating power and an exhaust gas containing water and sulfur; and
a desiccating scrubber receiving the exhaust gas, the desiccating scrubber providing surface area contact between the exhaust gas and an aqueous solution comprising a desiccant and a base for removing sulfur and water from the exhaust gas.
12. The power plant of claim 11 further comprising:
a regenerator receiving an aqueous solution from the desiccating scrubber having a first concentration of desiccant and producing steam and an aqueous solution having a second concentration of desiccant higher than the first concentration; and
means for cooling the steam to recover water.
13. The power plant of claim 12 further comprising a recrystallizer receiving an aqueous solution from the regenerator having a second concentration of desiccant and producing an aqueous solution having a third concentration of desiccant higher than the second concentration.
14. The power plant of claim 12 further comprising a heat transfer loop for transferring heat from the exhaust gas to the regenerator.
15. The power plant of claim 11 , the desiccant comprising a calcium halide and the base comprising calcium hydroxide.
16. The power plant of claim 15 , the desiccant comprising calcium chloride.
17. The power plant of claim 11 further comprising:
means for spraying droplets of the aqueous solution into the desiccating scrubber; and
a filter downstream of the desiccating scrubber for collecting sulfur compounds.
18. The power plant of claim 11 further comprising a contact media for providing surface area contact between the exhaust gas and the aqueous solution.