Proe 90^tm Gas Turbine/Rankine Cycle Recuperator

The need for a low cost and high performance recuperator has been an obstacle to previous recuperated Engines (since John Ericsson's original engines). Proe Power Systems has overcome that obstacle and also developed a new, higher temperature, recuperator for our Proe Afterburning™ and HRPG® engines and also for the gas turbine and Rankine cycle industries!

· Totally new heat exchanger construction (US Patent 6,390,185 *) No, it is not a shell and tube heat exchanger - what you see is what it is

· Allows higher turbine exhaust temperatures (815C/1500F without exotic alloys) for higher engine efficiency

· Design innovations minimize thermal and pressure stresses for enhanced creep resistance and long life at elevated temperatures

· Avoids thin foils that limit the operating temperature of stainless steel primary surface recuperators to 650C/1200F due to creep and corrosion of the fragile foils

· All welded: No Leaky Gas Seals to blow out - further assures long life at high temperature

· Simple construction using commercially available stainless steel tubing materials and orbital welding techniques developed for shell and tube heat exchangers

· Tube-in-tube annular channels result in micro-channel heat exchanger performance without the need for costly etching and bonding processes

· Requires no special tooling and minimum machine work

· Effectiveness > 90%

· DP/P ~3%-5% on exhaust side

· Tolerant of exhaust gas fouling

· Low cost to manufacture, high profit

· No Complex or Costly Fin, Plate or Primary Surface Fabrication

· All Welding or Brazing involves Self Locating Parts with Minimal Weld Lengths for Rapid Assembly and Superior Joint Integrity

· Competition prevented by broad patent protection

· Outstanding market position for the initial manufacturer and distributor

The Proe 90^TMGas Turbine Recuperator concept is a low cost, high effectiveness, and low flow restriction heat exchanger for use on both our Proe Afterburning™ Engines and other manufacturers' Gas Turbine Engines in the Distributed Power microturbine (30 to 50 kW) Market.

Recuperators are heat exchangers (also sometimes referred to as regenerators) that are a key component in recovering combustion heat that would otherwise be lost to the exhaust in both the Proe Afterburning™ and gas turbine applications. Current recuperators for gas turbine applications are “primary surface” heat exchangers that are very expensive to manufacture and typically recover only about 70% to 80% of the exhaust heat. Furthermore, the low creep and corrosion resistance of the thin foils used in conventional primary surface recuperators limit their temperature and restricts the potential engine efficiency. Proe Power Systems' new Proe 90^TM recuperator provides a robust, easily manufactured, high temperature device capable of recovering over 90% of the exhaust heat with minimal exhaust backpressure.

*May 13, 2002. Thousand Oaks CA. Read our Press Release about the Proe 90(tm) Recuperator patent publication.

Additional Information available by contacting:

Richard Proeschel
President
Proe Power Systems, LLC
5072 Morning Song Drive
Medina OH 44256-6747
USA Phone: (800)315-0084 ext. 600
International Phone: 1-(330)723-4469 ext. 600
Fax: (330)723-4469
r.proeschel@proepowersystems.com

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