Air heating in an air heat pump installation in the expander -generator set

Abstract

The article touches upon the actual problem of the use of secondary energy resources in the transport and distribution of natural gas. Excess gas pressure as the main component of secondary energy resources for technological processes is practically not used at gas distribution stations, where throttling devices are used. The proposal to use excess gas pressure in turboexpanders both at gas distribution stations and at compressor stations of main gas pipelines without preheating has not yet found widespread use, and therefore the replacement of throttling devices with turboexpander units will be determined by energy and economic efficiency. Expander-generator technology is one of the effective technologies that allows to reduce the consumption of fuel and energy resources. In combination with heat pump units, expandergenerator units make it possible to create highly efficient power generating complexes that are capable of generating electricity without burning fuel. The possibility of using heat pumps is considered, in which air is used as a working medium, the purpose of which is to increase the temperature potential of heat to ensure the possibility of heat exchange when transferring this heat to the heated medium. An analytical dependence of the electric power of the heat pump installation on the difference between the total power consumption of the compressor and the power of the air turbine is obtained.