Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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NAME OF INVENTION: Method and Apparatus for a Vacuum Hydroelectric Power
Generation
Station System
Technical Field
The present invention concerns energy technology and in particular it refers
to a device that
facilitates and allows the production of safe, clean, cost-effective,
renewable, efficient hydroelectric
energy.
State of the Art
The world's appetite for energy continues to grow. There is a tremendous
energy resource in the
earth's atmosphere to take advantage of. A method and apparatus has been
developed for an eco-
friendly hydroelectric power generation station system that utilizes
atmospheric pressure to facilitate
the efficient, systematic transport of water vertically from a source to its
designated highest point
through a series of elevated, vertically stacked, airtight tanks. The water is
released and dropped in
freefall (waterfall), through use of the gravitational force, from its highest
point onto a turbine
generator at the base to produce clean, safe, renewable, efficient
hydroelectric energy.
Once the vacuum hydroelectric power generation station is constructed, the
project produces no
direct waste, and will have a considerably lower output level of the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
(C02) relative fossil fuel powered energy plants.
To avoid all the existing economical, environmental and aesthetic
inconveniences on the electric
energy field a method and apparatus for a system has been founded that creates
safe, clean,
renewable, efficient hydroelectric energy. The system produces electrical
energy utilizing water,
atmospheric pressure, gravitational force, air suction pumps, switches,
valves, airtight water tanks
and turbine generators.
The function of this system is to create and convey electrical, from the
vacuum hydroelectric power
generation station system energy efficiently and effectively and dispatch the
electricity through i) an
existing grid to the consumer ii) dedicated freestanding hydroelectric
projects to provide substantial
amounts of electricity iii) electronic storage devices such as ultracapacitors
to generate electrical
power when needed. The apparatus consists of pipes, valves, switches, sensors,
meters, vertically
stacked, airtight reservoirs tanks, turbine generators and air suction pumps.
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Current Methods of Power Generation
Advantages of Hydroelectricity
Economics
The major advantage of hydroelectricity is elimination of the cost of fuel.
The cost of operating a
hydroelectric plant is nearly immune to increases in the cost of fossil fuels
such as oil, natural gas or
coal, and no imports are needed.
Hydroelectric plants also tend to have longer economic lives than fuel-fired
generation, with some
plants now in service that were built 50 to 100 years ago. Operating labor
cost is also usually low, as
plants are automated and have few personnel on site during normal operation.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Since hydroelectric dams do not burn fossil fuels, they do not directly
produce carbon dioxide (a
greenhouse gas). While some carbon dioxide is produced during manufacture and
construction of
the project, this is a tiny fraction of the operating emissions of equivalent
fossil-fuel electricity
generation. One measurement of greenhouse gas related and the Paul Scherrer
Institute and the
University of Stuttgart, which was funded by the European Commission, can find
other externality
comparison between energy sources in the Extern Eproject. According to this
project,
hydroelectricity produces the least amount of greenhouse gases and externality
of any energy
source. Coming in second place was wind, third was nuclear energy, and fourth
was solar
photovoltaic. The extremely positive greenhouse gas impact of hydroelectricity
is found especially
in temperate climates. The above study was for local energy in Europe;
presumably similar
conditions prevail in North America and Northern Asia, which all see a
regular, natural freeze/thaw
cycle (with associated seasonal plant decay and re-growth).
Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Dams
Very Hazardous
Dam failures have been some of the largest man-made disasters in history.
Also, good design and
construction are not an adequate guarantee of safety. Dams are tempting
industrial targets for
wartime attack, sabotage and terrorism.
For example, the Banqiao Dam failure in Southern China resulted in the deaths
of 171,000 people
and left millions homeless. Also, the creation of a dam in a geologically
inappropriate location may
cause disasters like the one of the Vajont Dam in Italy, where almost 2000
people died, in 1963.
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Smaller dams and micro hydro facilities create less risk, but can form
continuing hazards even after
they have been decommissioned. For example, the Kelly Barnes small
hydroelectric dam failed in
1967, causing 39 deaths with the Toccoa Flood, ten years after its power plant
was decommissioned
in 1957.
Recreational users must exercise extreme care when near hydroelectric dams,
power plant intakes
and spillways.
Limited Service Life
Almost all rivers convey silt. Dams on those rivers will retain silt in their
catchments, because by
slowing the water, and reducing turbulence, the silt will fall to the bottom.
Siltation reduces a dam's
water storage so that water from a wet season cannot be stored for use in a
dry season. Often at or
slightly after that point, the dam becomes uneconomic. Near the end of the
siltation, the basins of
dams fill to the top of the lowest spillway, and even storage from a storm to
the end of dry weather
will fail. Some especially poor dams can fail from siltation in as little as
20 years. Larger dams are
not immune. For example, the Three Gorges Dam in China has an estimated life
that may be as short
as 70 years. Dams' useful lives can be extended with sediment bypassing,
special weirs, and
forestation projects to reduce a watershed's silt production, but at some
point most dams become
uneconomical to operate.
Environmental Damage
Current hydroelectric projects are disruptive to surrounding aquatic
ecosystems both upstream and
downstream of the plant site. For instance, studies have shown that dams along
the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts of North America have reduced salmon populations by preventing
access to spawning
grounds upstream, even though most dams in salmon habitat have fish ladders
installed. Salmon
spawn are also harmed on their migration to most dams in salmon habitat have
fish ladders installed.
Salmon spawn is also harmed on their migration to sea when they must pass
through turbines. This
has led to some areas transporting smelt downstream by barge during parts of
the year. In some
cases dams have been demolished (for example the Marmot Dam demolished in
2007) because of
impact on fish. Turbine and power plant designs that are easier on aquatic
life are an active area of
research. Mitigation measures such as fish ladders may be required at new
projects or as a condition
of re-licensing of existing projects.
Generation of hydroelectric power changes the downstream river environment.
Water exiting a
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turbine usually contains very little suspended sediment, which can lead to
scouring of riverbeds and
loss of riverbanks.
Depending on the location, water exiting from turbines is typically much
warmer than the pre-dam
water, which can change aquatic faunal populations, including endangered
species, and prevent
5 natural freezing processes from occurring.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Lower positive impacts are found in the tropical regions, as it has been noted
that the reservoirs of
present day hydroelectric power plants in tropical regions may produce
substantial amounts of
methane and carbon dioxide. This is due to plant material in flooded areas
decaying in a more
anaerobic environment, and forming methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.
According to the
World Commission on Dams report, where the reservoir is large compared to the
generating
capacity (less than 100 watts per square meter of surface area) and no
clearing of the forests in the
area was undertaken prior to impoundment of the reservoir, greenhouse gas
emissions from the
reservoir may be higher than those of a conventional oil-fired thermal
generation plant. Although
these emissions represent carbon already in the biosphere, not fossil deposits
that had been
sequestered from the carbon cycle, there is a greater amount of methane due to
anaerobic decay,
causing greater damage than would otherwise have occurred had the forest
decayed naturally.
Population Relocation
Another disadvantage of hydroelectric dams is the need to relocate the people
living where the
reservoirs are planned. In February 2008, it was estimated that 40-80 million
people worldwide had
been physically displaced as a direct result of dam construction. In many
cases, no amount of
compensation can replace ancestral and cultural attachments to places that
have spiritual and
financial value to the displaced population. Additionally, historically and
culturally important sites
can be flooded and lost. Such problems have arisen at the Three Gorges Dam
project in China, the
Clyde Dam in New Zealand and the Ilisu Dam in Southeastern Turkey.
Affected by flow shortage
Changes in the amount of river flow will correlate with the amount of energy
produced by a dam.
Because of global warming, the volume of some rivers, lakes and glaciers has
decreased, such as the
North Cascades glaciers, which have lost a third of their volume since 1950,
resulting in stream
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flows that have decreased by as much as 34%. The result of diminished river
flow can be power
shortages in areas that depend heavily on hydroelectric power.
Comparison with other methods of power generation
Hydroelectricity eliminates the fuel gas emissions from fossil fuel
combustion, including pollutants
such as sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, dust, and mercury in
coal. Hydroelectricity
also avoids the hazards of coal mining and the indirect health effects of coal
emissions. Compared to
nuclear power, hydroelectricity generates no nuclear waste, has none of the
dangers associated with
uranium mining, nor nuclear leaks. Unlike uranium, hydroelectricity is also a
renewable energy
source, and in comparison vacuum hydroelectric allows non site-specific
construction (i.e. can be
where rivers or large bodies of water naturally do not occur).
Compared to wind farms, hydroelectricity power plants have a more predictable
load factor. If the
project has a storage reservoir, it can be dispatched to release power when
needed. Hydroelectric
plants can be easily regulated to follow variations in power demand.
Unlike fossil-fueled combustion turbines, construction of a hydroelectric
plant requires a long lead-
time for site studies, hydrological studies, and environmental impact
assessment. Hydrological data
up to 50 years or more is usually required to determine the best sites and
operating regimes for a
large hydroelectric plant. Unlike plants operated by fuel, such as fossil or
nuclear energy, the
number of sites that can be economically developed for hydroelectric
production is limited; in many
areas the most cost effective sites have already been exploited. New hydro
sites tend to be far from
population centers and require extensive transmission lines. Hydroelectric
generation depends on
rainfall in the watershed, and may be significantly reduced in years of low
rainfall or snowmelt.
Long-term energy yield may be affected by climate change. Utilities that
primarily use hydroelectric
power may spend additional capital to build extra capacity to ensure
sufficient power is available in
low water years.
The method and apparatus for the vacuum hydroelectric power generation station
system described
herein turns the force of a man-made waterfall into clean, renewable
electricity available to and
feasible for construction to any designated area on the planet earth.
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Scientific and Mechanical Principles
Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric pressure acts uniformly on the surface of any open body of water
just as on the other
parts of the earth's surface. If this atmospheric pressure is reduced from
above, a portion of the
water, (in other words - of a vacuum that is formed) then the surface of the
water is subject to
unequal pressure and the water being resistant to compression but not to
change of shape. That part
of the surface that is relatively free from pressure is called a vacuum.
Absolute zero pressure is
called a perfect vacuum.
The formation of a vacuum in this way is of fundamental importance in suction
lift since it is the
basis for the process of transporting water upwards in a vertical container.
Therefore, when the system becomes unbalanced water will flow up a tube or
vertical container until
the pressure exerted at the base of the column of water in the tube is equal
to the pressure of the
surrounding atmosphere.
Suction Lift
Theoretically, if an absolute vacuum could be formed in the tube (i.e. if the
air could be completely
exhausted) it would be found that the water would rise a vertical distance of
approximately 10.3
meters (m.) because a column of water 10.3 m. high is equivalent to a pressure
of 1.013 bar acting
on each square meter of the exposed surface of the water (i.e. 0.0981 x H =
10.33 = 1.01325). No
amount of further effort whether by trying to increase the vacuum (which is
impossible) or by
lengthening the tube, will induce the water to rise higher than 10.3m.
However, if the air is not
completely exhausted from the tube, then the water will only rise to a height
to balance the pressure
difference existing between the inside and the outside of the tube. Therefore,
if there remains in the
tube, air equivalent to a column of water 3.3m. high, then the water will only
rise 7m. . It will be
seen therefore that, when a vacuum is formed in a long tube, the water is not
sucked up by the
formation of the vacuum, but is driven up by the external pressure of the air
acting on the exposed
surface of the water.
This is precisely what happens when a pump is primed. The suction hose takes
the place of the
vertical tube and the primer is the device for exhausting or removing the air
from the vertical tube.
As the pressure inside the tube is reduced, the excess pressure of the air on
the exposed surface of
the water forces the water up the tube until it reaches the inlet of the pump.
It follows therefore, that
even theoretically, when under perfect working conditions, a pump cannot under
any circumstances
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lift water from a greater depth than 10.3m. from the surface of the water to
the center of the pump
inlet.
A pump is said to lift water when the water is taken from the open source
below the inlet of the
pump. Water has no intrinsic strength and cannot therefore be plugged upward
and it is the
atmospheric pressure only that raises the water.
The work performed by an air pump when water is being lifted on the suction
side is to create a
partial vacuum within the pump chamber. As the impeller revolves while pumping
with a
centrifugal pump or a piston in a piston pump, a partial vacuum is created at
the impeller or piston
inlet and in the suction hose. The atmospheric pressure exerts pressure on the
surface of the water
and so forces the water through the suction hose and into the pump.
Practical Lift and Theoretical Lift
It has been shown that water cannot rise to a vertical height greater than
approximately 10 m. in a
completely evacuated tube and that water rises because it is forced up by the
atmospheric pressure
outside. When a pump is put to work from open water, the factors to content
with are:
i. Raising the water from its existing level to the level of the intake
ii. Overcoming frictional resistance to the water both on entering and on
passing through strainers
and suction hose.
iii. Turbulence as the water enters the pump impeller (this is known as entry
loss)
iv. Creating flow - a certain portion of the available atmospheric pressure is
used in creating a flow
in the water. This varies according to the velocity in the suction hose, but
in all cases, represents a
relatively small portion of the available pressure.
Because of the factors (ii) and (iii), it is obvious that a static suction
lift of 10 m cannot be obtained
in practice and whilst suction lifts of 8.5 m are sometimes obtained under
very good conditions, 8.5
m can be considered the maximum practical lift.
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Disclosure of Invention
Thus, it is the aim of the present invention to design a method and apparatus
for a vacuum
hydroelectric power generation station system that allows the production of
clean safe efficient
hydroelectric energy.
It is also the aim of this present invention to design a method and apparatus
for a vacuum
hydroelectric power generation station system that is variable in size and
power output to
accommodate electric energy as required.
It is also the aim of this present invention to design a vacuum hydroelectric
power generation station
system that can be manufactured using metal alloy, re-enforced concrete,
polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
other plastics and synthetic materials in combination for tanks, piping and
tubing.
It is also the aim of this present invention to design apparatus for a vacuum
hydroelectric power
generation station system(s) that can be built onsite or prefabricated offsite
and transported to and
assembled at the designated location(s).
It is also the aim of this present invention to design apparatus for a vacuum
hydroelectric power
generation station system that is variable in size, number of vertically
stacked airtight tanks and
power output (turbine generator capacity) to accommodate hydroelectric energy
generation
requirements for the specific location.
These and other aims are obtained through this system for the production of
clean safe efficient
hydroelectric energy. The present system is thus made to be utilized anywhere
on the planet earth
where clean safe efficient hydroelectric energy is needed and comprises of:
= At least a supporting structure (frame) that can hold up the desired number
of vertically
stacked airtight tanks, reservoir tanks, pumps, pipes, valves, floats and
water.
= At least airtight tanks to hold water, house vacuum pumps, pipes, valves,
floats and switches
and maintain its structure under weight and pressure.
= At least vacuum pumps connected each of the airtight tanks to suck out air
from within the
tanks to create a vacuum within the respective tanks.
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= At least a siphon pipe for each tank to drawn water from below as the tanks
are
decompressed from within by their respective vacuum pump.
= At least a valve within each siphon pump to independently open and close as
the tanks are
decompressed and compressed with air.
5 = At least a float within each tank that trigger timing control switches to
manage: valve
actuators for air intake, vacuum pumps, siphon pipe valves and drain pipe
valve.
= At least timing control switches for valve and vacuum pump control
management.
= At least a drain pipe to direct water flow down, due to gravity, onto the
electric turbine
generator.
10 = At least utilize a normal water pump.
= At least an electric turbine generator.
Characterized by the fact that the system described herein utilizes the basic
principle of atmospheric
pressure (1 cubic meter of air moves 1 cubic meter of water), moving 1 cubic
meter of air will lift 1
cubic meter of water to 7.5 meters height at the same time. This procedure can
be repeated multiple
times to the desired altitude before releasing or simultaneously releasing for
the vertical fall of water
to effect a turbine generation of electrical current.
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Brief Description of Drawings
Further features and advantages of this method and apparatus for a Vacuum
Hydroelectric Power
Generation Station System, according to the invention, will be clearer with
the description of some
of its pattern realizations that follow, made to illustrate but limit, with
reference to the annexed
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 represents a prospective view of the apparatus for the Vacuum
Hydroelectric Power
Generation Station System, utilizing 3 airtight tanks, according to a
preferred first
configuration.
Figure 2, 3 and 4, in prospective view, show the method: the sequential flow
of water up the
airtight tanks via siphon pipes and valves, as a result of the air exhausted
from the airtight
tanks by the vacuum pumps and down onto the electric turbine generator.
For the purposes of this specific design, 3 airtight tanks have been used to
illustrate the
design application. The apparatus for the Vacuum Hydroelectric Power Station
System can
utilize one or more vertically stacked airtight tanks, depending on the
requirements of the
specific purpose.
Description of Pattern Realizations
Figure 1 describes the pattern realization according to the invention. In
particular the method and
apparatus for the Vacuum Hydroelectric Power Generation Station System
embraces a frame #1
supporting vertically stack the airtight TANKS 2A, 2B, 2C. As stated all tanks
are airtight, all of the
connecting equipment (pipes, valves, switches and pumps) are hermetically
joined to the tanks, and
in some cases to each other, so as to ensure minimum pressure within the tanks
and achieve
maximum vacuum.
The water supply can originate from the ocean, sea, lake, pond, river, quarry
or other ground storage
water reserve and for practical purposes can be considered largely as recycled
or reused.
To each airtight tank connects a vacuum pump #9A, #9B, #9C that suck and
exhaust the air out of
the said tanks in timed succession.
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To each tank is connected a siphon pipe #3A, #3B, #3C. Siphon pipe #3A draws
water up into tank
#2A as air is exhausted out of it by vacuum pump #9A. Siphon pipe #3B connects
tank #2A and
tank #2B and siphons water from tank #2A up into tank #2B.
Siphon pipe #3C connects tank #2B and tank #2C and direct water from tank #2B
up into tank #2C.
Siphon pumps #3B and #3C, each have a valve, #10A and #10B respectively that
open
automatically as air is drawn out of the airtight tanks by the vacuum pumps
(to allow water to flow
up into the tank above) and close when the vacuum pumps are shut off, air is
reintroduced through
air intake valves to restore atmospheric pressure.
Each tank is fitted with an air intake #5A valve actuator, #5B valve actuator,
#5C valve actuator that
allow air back into their respective tanks, once the tank has reached its
designated water capacity.
As air flows into the tanks, normal atmospheric pressure within the tanks is
restored.
Floatation sensors #7A, #7B, and #7C attached to the inside of each tank,
independently monitor the
designated water capacity for each tank. These floats elevate as the water
levels rise in each tank
accordingly. Once the designated water level is reached corresponding
switches, #11A, #11B, #11C,
#8A, #8B, #8C control the synchronized vacuum pump and valve operations.
The last/highest airtight tank, in this series, #2C has an additional valve
actuator #12 that opens
valve #13 once the tank has reached its water limit; the vacuum pump #9C is
turned off, air is
reintroduced back in to stabilize atmospheric pressure within via air intake
#6C. The water escapes
(pushed down by gravity) through #13 valve downward through #4 drainpipe onto
#14 turbine
generator to produce clean, safe, renewable efficient hydroelectric energy.
The water recycles back into the water supply for reprocess.
Figure 2 illustrates the method realization according to the invention. In
particular it shows tank #2A
with water at maximum capacity. The float #7A has triggered switch #8A to i)
deactivate vacuum
pump #9A ii) trigger valve actuator #5A to open the air intake valve #6A
allowing air to enter the
tank and stabilize the atmospheric pressure within and iii) start removing the
air from tank #2B by
activating vacuum pump #9B.
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Figure 3 illustrates the method realization according to the invention. In
particular it shows tank #2B
with water at maximum capacity. The float #7B has engaged switch #8B to i)
deactivate vacuum
pump #9B to stop ii) trigger valve actuator #5B to open the air intake valve
#6B allowing air to enter
the tank and stabilize the atmospheric pressure within and iii) start removing
air in tank #2C by
activating vacuum pump #9C.
Figure 4 describes the pattern realization according to the invention. In
particular it shows tank #2C
with water at maximum capacity. The float #7C has triggered switch #8C to i)
deactivate vacuum
pump #9C ii) trigger valve actuator #5C open the air intake valve #6C #6C
allowing air to enter the
tank and stabilize the atmospheric pressure within and iii) start exhausting
air from tank #2B by
activating vacuum pump #9B. iv) trigger valve actuator #12 to open #13 valve,
allowing water to
flow down into #4 drainpipe and drop onto the #14 turbine generator.
The process will continue in cycled fashion as described in the preceding
pattern realizations. With
this system we can lift predetermined quantities of water to predetermined
heights.
The above description of a basic design is able to show the invention from the
conceptive point of
view, in a way that others, by using the art, can easily modify and/or adapt
in different applications
this specific design without further research and without going apart from the
invention concept, and
therefore it is intended that these adaptations and transformations will be
considered as equivalent to
this specific realization. The means and materials to make the many described
functions can be
various in nature without exiting the area of the invention. It is intended
that the expressions or the
terminology use have a simple descriptive aim and therefore not limiting.
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