High temperature gas compressor, systems, and methods thereof

Abstract

A steam generation system, comprising a first heat exchanger to discharge steam having a first pressure, a gas compressor discharge steam at a second pressure, the gas compressor including a first impeller made of a first material, a second impeller made of a second material, and a shaft, an auxiliary heater to receive steam at a first temperature and discharge the steam at a second temperature, an industrial processing plant to receive the steam at the second temperature and discharge a fluid, a pump to receive and discharge a the fluid, and a second heat exchanger to receive the fluid at a temperature and discharge the fluid at a higher temperature to the first heat exchanger.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An integrated steam compression system, comprising: 
 a nuclear reactor;   a steam source to discharge first steam having a first pressure at a first temperature;   a multi-stage gas compressor to receive the first steam and discharge second steam having a second pressure that is higher than the first pressure and at a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature, the multi-stage gas compressor including: 
 an inlet stage having a first impeller made of a first material,  
 an outlet stage having a second impeller made of a second material different than the first material, and 
 a shaft extending through the first impeller and the second impeller; 
 an industrial processing plant to receive the second steam at the second temperature and discharge a first fluid having a third pressure; and 
 a pump to receive the first fluid and discharge a second fluid having a fourth pressure to the steam source. 
   
     
     
         2 . The integrated steam compression system of  claim 1 , further comprising an auxiliary heater to receive the second steam at the second temperature from the multi-stage gas compressor and discharge the second steam at a third temperature that is higher than the second temperature to the industrial processing plant. 
     
     
         3 . The integrated steam compression system of  claim 1 , wherein the second material is an oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy. 
     
     
         4 . The integrated steam compression system of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the shaft includes a first shaft extending through the inlet stage to a second shaft that extends through the outlet stage, and   the outlet stage includes a gear set configured to couple the first shaft to the second shaft.   
     
     
         5 . The integrated steam compression system of  claim 4 , wherein the first shaft rotates at a first speed and the second shaft rotates at a second speed that is different than the first speed. 
     
     
         6 . The integrated steam compression system of  claim 1 , wherein the first temperature is at least 500° C. 
     
     
         7 . The integrated steam compression system of  claim 1 , wherein the industrial processing plant includes a petrochemical plant. 
     
     
         8 . A steam compression system, comprising: 
 a steam source to discharge first steam having a first pressure at a first temperature;   a multi-stage gas compressor to receive the first steam and discharge second steam having a second pressure that is higher than the first pressure and at a second temperature that is higher than the first temperature, the multi-stage gas compressor including: 
 an inlet stage having a first impeller made of a first material,  
 an outlet stage having a second impeller made of a second material different than the first material, and 
 a shaft extending through the first impeller and the second impeller; 
 an industrial processing plant to receive the second steam at the second temperature and discharge a first fluid having a third pressure; and 
 a pump to receive the first fluid and discharge a second fluid having a fourth pressure to the steam source. 
   
     
     
         9 . The steam compression system of  claim 8 , further comprising an auxiliary heater to receive the second steam at the second temperature from the multi-stage gas compressor and discharge the second steam at a third temperature that is higher than the second temperature to the industrial processing plant. 
     
     
         10 . The steam compression system of  claim 8 , wherein the second material is an oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy. 
     
     
         11 . The steam compression system of  claim 8 , wherein:  
       the shaft includes a first shaft extending through the inlet stage to a second shaft that extends through the outlet stage, and 
       the outlet stage includes a gear set configured to couple the first shaft to the second shaft. 
     
     
         12 . The steam compression system of  claim 11 , wherein the first shaft rotates at a first speed and the second shaft rotates at a second speed that is different than the first speed. 
     
     
         13 . The steam compression system of  claim 8 , wherein the first temperature is at least 500° C. 
     
     
         14 . The steam compression system of  claim 8 , wherein the industrial processing plant includes a petrochemical plant. 
     
     
         15 . A multi-stage gas compressor, comprising: 
 a first stage, the first stage including a first impeller made of a first material;   a second stage including a second impeller made of a second material that is different than the first material;   a third stage, the third stage including a third impeller made of the second material; and    a shaft extending through the first impeller, the second impeller, and the third impeller.   
     
     
         16 . The multi-stage gas compressor of  claim 15 , wherein the second material is an oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy. 
     
     
         17 . The multi-stage gas compressor of  claim 16 , wherein the ODS alloy is GRX-810. 
     
     
         18 . The multi-stage gas compressor of  claim 15 , wherein: 
 the second stage is configured to receive first steam that is at least 400°C, and   the third stage is configured to discharge second steam that is at least 500°C.   
     
     
         19 . The multi-stage gas compressor of  claim 15 , the shaft including: 
 a first shaft extending from a first end of the multi-stage gas compressor to the second impeller,   a second shaft extending from the second impeller to the third impeller, and   a third shaft extending from the third impeller to a second end of the multi-stage gas compressor.   
     
     
         20 . The multi-stage gas compressor of  claim 19 , wherein: 
 the first shaft is configured to rotate at a first speed,   the second shaft is configured to rotate at a second speed that is different than the first speed, and   the third shaft is configured to rotate at a third speed that is different than the first speed and the second speed.