DESCRIPTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a plant for the generation of hydroelectric energy.

In particular, the plant of the invention is capable of producing hydroelectric energy by exploiting the heat of the sun, or solar energy.

BACKGROUND As known, the production of electricity of solar origin, i.e. that occurs with the sun's irradiation, can be achieved by means of different known methods, for example photovoltaic, thermal, thermodynamic systems, by means of solar energy obtained by the greenhouse effect or by other minor technologies.

However, it is known that the possibilities of transformation and generation of energy deriving from solar energy are many.

The object of the present invention is therefore to identify a further alternative and innovative way to use solar energy to produce electricity.

A further object of the invention is obtaining the above result in an economical and practical way. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These objects are achieved by a plant for the generation of hydroelectric energy, where the plant includes at least one water heating tank and at least one water cooling tank, where the water cooling tank is located at a higher level than the water heating tank and is connected to the water heating tank by means of a first steam delivery pipe and by means of a second water return pipe, and where the water heating tank is configured to heat the water contained in it by solar radiation and to convey the steam derived from the heating of the water in the aforementioned steam delivery pipe towards the water cooling tank, and where the water cooling tank is divided into at least a first portion and a second portion, where the water contained in the first portion of the tank cooling water is at a higher temperature than the temperature of the water contained in the a second portion of the water cooling tank and where the water contained in the aforementioned first portion of the water cooling tank can be conveyed by means of the aforementioned water return pipe to a hydroelectric power station which can in turn be connected to the aforementioned water heating tank.

The invention has numerous and important advantages.

First of all, the invention makes it possible to use solar energy to evaporate fresh water whose steam is channeled, brought up and again transformed into water to be used to produce hydroelectric energy and to return the water to the starting point to start the cycle again.

The sun's heat is then used to create an artificial cloud to be used to produce hydroelectricity.

Among the further, multiple advantages of the invention we can mention the fact that electric energy is produced starting from the heat of solar radiation with a higher efficiency than any other way of producing solar energy.

The yield per square meter of solar energy is amplified by increasing the height at which the steam is raised.

Additional electrical energy can be obtained by using the forces generated by the collision or meeting of the vortices of the high and low pressure created.

The water generated by the steam can be collected in tanks in order to always have water capable of producing energy all year round, even in winter, at night or with no solar radiation.

There is no pollution.

The environmental impact is canceled with the covering of the pipes and the rehabilitation of the excavations.

Not excessive investments are required.

Simple maintenance is required. The invention involves relative management costs.

Rainwater can be used, which can be collected near the upstream tanks with an impact on energy production of a further 10% or more.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a water pre-heating tank is comprised between the aforementioned hydroelectric power station and the aforementioned water heating tank.

The pre-heating tank saves about 10% of solar energy for the complete evaporation cycle.

According to another aspect of the invention, the steam delivery pipe is insulated with the exception of its terminal portion and provides in said terminal part a plurality of small tubes configured to circulate cold water around the aforementioned terminal part of the pipe itself to cool the steam, as well as tubes configured to circulate cooler air at altitude to cool the steam.

With the accumulation of part of the water heated and maintained at temperature by means of insulation, steam is produced even outside the hours of irradiation, at night.

Unlike other sources of thermal energy, in this way the heat accumulated by the water produces steam even after the solar heat is no longer directly present, so there is no need for continuous heat to produce thermal energy. Further characteristics of the invention can be deduced from the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The advantages of the invention are evident from an examination of the figures illustrated in the attached tables: - Figure 1 represents top and section views respectively of a water heating tank, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

- Figure 2 represents top and sectional views respectively of the water heating tank of Figure 1 equipped with a cover configured to heat the water; - Figure 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the plant according to the present invention;

- Figure 4 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the plant according to the present invention; - Figure 5 is a sectional view illustrating the plant and its operation according to the present invention;

- figure 6 is a view of a detail of the plant according to the present invention;

- Figure 7 is a view of a detail of Figure 6; and

- Figure 8 is a sectional view of a water pre-heating tank belonging to the plant according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to Figure 1 , there is first of all a top and sectional view of a water heating tank, globally indicated with the reference number 30 and which is part of a portion of the plant 100 of the invention located at a height of departure. The tank 10 is bounded by walls 30 and contains a certain amount of water 20. A subsequent calculation example will provide an exemplary and non-limiting value of this quantity.

The tank 30 is placed on a base 12 which is in turn placed on the ground.

The tank 30 has a cover 14 placed above the water level 20 and configured to leave open a plurality of steam outlet holes 16, said holes 16 are represented in figure 1 with a square shape, but they can have other shapes, for example circular, oval, rectangular or other.

Above the water heating tank 10 there is a cover 40 equipped with Fresnel lenses 45 which are configured to heat the water contained in the water heating tank 10 by means of solar radiation.

The cover 40 is, in turn, connected to a steam delivery pipe 50, as shown for example in Figure 2.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the plant according to the present invention, globally indicated with the reference numeral 100. Figure 3 shows a water heating tank 10 and at least one water cooling tank 70.

The water cooling tank 70 is located at a higher level than the water heating tank 10 and is connected to the aforementioned water heating tank 10 by means of the aforementioned steam delivery pipe 50 and by means of a second water return pipe 90.

The steam delivery pipe 50 can be buried or semi-buried following an inclined pitch 80.

The heating tank 10 is configured to heat the water contained in it by means of solar radiation and to convey the steam derived from the heating of the water to the aforementioned steam delivery pipe 50 towards the water cooling tank 70.

As previously indicated, the water 10 can be heated with the aid of the Fresnel lenses 45 placed on the cover 40.

The water cooling tank 70 is divided into at least a first portion 70’ and a second portion 70” where the water contained in the aforementioned first portion 70’ of the water cooling tank 70 is at a higher temperature than the water temperature contained in the second portion 70” of the water cooling tank 70.

Furthermore, the water contained in the aforementioned first portion 70’ of the water cooling tank 70 can be conveyed by means of the water return pipe 90 to a hydroelectric power station 110, by means of a pipe 114, said hydroelectric power station 110 being in turn connected to the tank water heater 10 by means of a pipe 112.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the plant 100 according to the present invention in which the water return pipe 90 has also been highlighted.

Figure 5 illustrates the plant 100 and its operation according to the present invention and in particular it can be seen that between the hydroelectric station 110 and the water heating tank 10 there is a water pre-heating tank 120 connected to the hydroelectric station 110 by means of a pipe 124 and to the water heating tank 10 by means of a pipe 122.

Figure 6 is a view of a detail of the plant according to the present invention, showing an end portion 60 of the steam delivery pipe 50 which enters the water cooling tank 70, which is in turn divided into two portions 70’ and 70”. Figure 7 is a view of a detail of Figure 6, that is of the end portion 60.

In this figure it is highlighted that the steam delivery pipe 50 is insulated with the exception of its terminal portion 60, equipped with a water outlet 65, and provides in said terminal portion 60 a plurality of tubes 62 configured to circulate around the terminal part of the pipe itself cold water to cool the steam, as well as small tubes 64 to circulate cooler air at high altitude to cool the steam.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of a water pre-heating tank 120 which can be connected to the hydroelectric power station 110 by means of a pipe 124 and to the water heating tank 10 by means of a pipe 122.

In the operation of the system, the water contained in the aforementioned water heating tank 10 is heated above all until evaporation by using concentrated solar radiation.

A channeling of the steam is then obtained to be brought upwards by means of a steam delivery pipe 50 sufficiently insulated so as not to lose heat: the pipe, as mentioned, can also be buried inside a stratum 80 of a mountain in order to cancel the environmental impact.

Then there is a transformation of the steam back into water by means of the cooling system described in figure 6 which uses the part of the coldest water accumulated in a part of the tank and the cooler air that circulates in the air.

The accumulation of the water obtained from the steam in a suitable cooling tank and simultaneous subdivision of the tank 70 into two zones with cooler or warmer water occurs.

The water at high altitude and accumulated in the hottest part of the tank can therefore be used to produce hydroelectric energy with the possibility of equally distributing the water accumulated throughout the 365 days of the year or to meet particular consumption needs.

You can also use the storage of the water used to produce hydroelectricity in the pre-heating tank 120 with the heat of the greenhouse effect.

The parked and preheated water with a temperature close to 50 degrees can then be introduced back into the water heating tank 10 where the water is again transformed into steam. The plant 100 also offers the possibility of accumulating the heated water, keeping it at a high temperature by means of suitable insulation and allowing evaporation in longer times even at night or in the absence of solar radiation, using where appropriate the non-continuous heat produced by another energy source to maintain the optimal water temperature and exploit steam 365 days a year, as well as the possibility of using the vortices created by low pressure and high pressure in addition to the production of hydroelectric energy.

EXAMPLE 1

Two tanks are built with side of 100m x 100m and height of m. 1.00 with transparent material such as glass or other material capable of containing boiling water, as indicated for example in figure 1.

Over the tanks is placed a cover having the shape of an inverted funnel and equipped with Fresnel type lenses 45 capable of concentrating the solar radiation (Figure 2). The outlet of the inverted funnel is connected to a perfectly insulated pipe capable of retaining heat.

Part of the heated water is accumulated, and it is stored by means of suitable insulation, with the integration, where appropriate, of another heat source in a non-continuous way but only to keep the water that will produce continuous steam at an optimal temperature (where the solar radiation does not allow it).

The return pipe can be passed underground or basement following an inclined pitch of a mountain (figure 3).

The pipe is brought to a useful height; in the example proposed with a height difference of 1 ,000 m. Once at the top, the aforementioned pipe is no longer protected by insulation and with a system of pipes that wrap the pipe, the coldest water in the tank is circulated around the pipe and a series of openings suck in fresh air creating the conditions for cooling the steam and turn it into water.

The water thus obtained is collected in a tank and from there it is sent back with another piping back to the bottom near the tank from which it had risen (figure 4). The water that reaches the bottom contains strong pressure and will be able to produce hydroelectricity.

The water used to produce hydroelectricity is held in a smaller pool and preheated with the heat of the greenhouse effect (figure 7).

At this point the water, which will have a temperature of about 50 degrees, is ready to be sent back into the tanks to be heated again and made to evaporate.

EXAMPLE OF CALCULATION OF THE ENERGY PRODUCED

In the proposed example we have the following hypotheses:

- A tank contains (100x100x1 ) = 10,000 cubic meters of water

- For 2 tanks there are 20,000 cubic meters of water.

- Assuming that to heat a cubic meter of water to 100 degrees it takes 1 hour with 1 square meter of irradiation.

- Assuming that as the theory says it takes 5 times the energy needed to evaporate an equal quantity of water brought to a boil.

- It is assumed that 5 hours of irradiation of 1 m ² with Fresnel lenses are required to evaporate one cubic meter of water.

- So, you need n. 1 hour for heating and n. 5 hours for complete evaporation then a total of 6 hours.

- Assuming the above we can say that:

- With one I/s in one day we have (60x60x24) = 86.400 I/s

- This means that 86,400 I/s per day are needed

86,400/10,000 = 8.64 cubic meters of water per day for which in a year we have (8.64x365) = 3,153.6 cubic meters of water.

- Therefore 3,153.6 cubic meters of water are needed to have one I/s for a whole year.

-with 20,000 cubic meters of water evaporated in six hours of irradiation and then transformed the steam into water into as many 20,000 cubic meters of water, we can say that we have (20,000/3, 153.6) = 6.34 I/s of water for a year. - Suppositories on average 6 hours of irradiation per day for 200 days:

- (6.34 l/sx 200) = 1 ,268 I/s of water for a whole year

- So with 1 ,268 I/s of water at a height that creates a difference in height of 1 ,000 m you get (1 ,268x10) = 12,680 KW per hour for a whole year.

So it is possible to say that with two tanks with dimensions of 100mx100mx1m with a total capacity of 20,000 cubic meters and a difference in height to which the steam is brought of 1 ,000 m, there is a production of about 15,000 KW per hour for a whole year.

Obviously, modifications or improvements may be made to the invention as described, dictated by contingent or particular reasons, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as claimed below.