WO2025017329A1

WO2025017329A1 - Apparatus and method

Info

Publication number: WO2025017329A1
Application number: PCT/GB2024/051921
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Atkins; Rob Wright
Original assignee: Biaco Limited
Priority date: 2023-07-20
Filing date: 2024-07-22
Publication date: 2025-01-23
Also published as: GB202311111D0; GB2631979A

Abstract

An apparatus comprising: an energy cell configured to apply electrical energy to liquid in the energy cell to heat the liquid by generating one or more bubbles of plasma therein; a liquid supply system coupled to the energy cell and configured to supply liquid to be heated to the energy cell; and a work extraction system coupled to the energy cell to receive heated fluid therefrom and configured to extract useable work from said heated fluid; wherein the work extraction system comprises a heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger coupled to both the energy cell and a supply of working gas, wherein the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger is configured to use heat from the heated fluid to raise the enthalpy of the working gas for extracting work therefrom.

Description

Apparatus and Method

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of energy cells. In particular, the present disclosure relates to the field of energy cells in which plasma is generated for indirect and direct heating of a fluid.

Background

GB 2604853 discloses a heating system including a cell which applies electrical energy to liquid in that cell to generate bubbles of plasma therein. In turn, this causes energy to be released into the cell, both into the fluid contained within the cell and also into a housing of the cell. The result of this energy release is to generate a heated fluid within the cell. The heated fluid can then be output from the cell and used by a work extraction system to extract useable work from this heated fluid. This arrangement disclosed in GB 2604853 provides for a highly efficient generation of heated fluid.

In an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: an energy cell configured to apply electrical energy to liquid in the energy cell to heat the liquid by generating one or more bubbles of plasma therein; a liquid supply system coupled to the energy cell and configured to supply liquid to be heated to the energy cell; and a work extraction system coupled to the energy cell to receive heated fluid therefrom and configured to extract useable work from said heated fluid. The work extraction system comprises a heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger coupled to both the energy cell and a supply of working gas, wherein the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger is configured to use heat from the heated fluid to raise the enthalpy of the working gas for extracting work therefrom.

Embodiments may enable more efficient extraction of energy from the energy cell. For instance, the working gas may have a higher enthalpy than if it had arisen from heating liquid to gas (e.g. by converting water to steam). More work may therefore be extracted from this working gas and/or work may be extracted more efficiently from this working gas.

The work extraction system may comprise a heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger (e.g. which exchanges heat from the heated fluid to the working liquid) coupled to both the energy cell and a supply of working liquid. The heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger may be configured to use heat from the heated fluid to heat the working liquid. The heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger may be downstream of the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger. For example, fluid output from the cell will first pass through the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger before then passing through the heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger. The heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger may be coupled to a heating system and configured to supply heated working liquid thereto.

The work extraction system may comprise a compressor coupled to the supply of working gas and configured to compress working gas. The compressor may be arranged to be driven by liquid supplied by the liquid supply system. The work extraction system may comprise a generator coupled to the compressor and arranged to receive a flow of compressed working gas therefrom. The system may comprise a compressed working gas store for storing compressed working gas from the compressor. For example, the apparatus may be configured to store some of the compressed gas from the compressor. The apparatus may be configured to control an amount of compressed gas which is stored (e.g. in the gas store) and which is used for extracting work (e.g. by the generator). The apparatus may be configured to increase gas storage during a first (e.g. selected) time period and to increase gas usage during another (e.g. selected) time period. The generator may comprise a turbine arranged to be driven by the flow of compressed working gas. For example, one or more blades of the turbine may be driven to rotate by the flow of the compressed working gas. The heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger may be arranged to heat working gas which has passed through the generator. For example, the working gas which has passed through the generator may then travel (either directly or indirectly) through to the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger.

The apparatus may comprise a gas to air heat exchanger. The gas to air heat exchanger may be configured to exchange heat between a source of air, e.g. ambient air, and the working gas. The gas to air heat exchanger may be configured to use the working gas which has passed through the generator to cool the air. The gas to air heat exchanger may comprise a water outlet to output water obtained from cooling the air in the gas to air heat exchanger. The gas to air heat exchanger may comprise an air conditioning unit. The heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger may comprise a working gas channel wrapped around a heated fluid channel. The working gas channel may be wrapped helically around the heated fluid channel.

The apparatus may comprise a controller configured to control operation of the apparatus to provide a selected amount of heat exchange from the heated fluid to the working gas in the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger. The liquid supply system may comprise a pump configured to control an amount of liquid to be provided to the energy cell. The controller may be configured to control operation of the pump to provide the selected amount of heat exchange. The apparatus may comprise a flowmeter. The controller may be configured to control operation of the pump based on data obtained from the flowmeter. The heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger may be coupled to at least one of: (i) a generator, and (ii) a compressed gas storage unit, to provide pressurised working gas thereto. The work extraction system may comprise at least one generator configured to generate electrical energy. At least some of said generated electrical energy may be supplied to one or more electrodes of the energy cell to generate one or more bubbles of plasma therein. The apparatus may comprise a fluid outlet for discarding fluid which has passed through the energy cell and the work extraction system. The fluid outlet may be coupled to a greywater connection.

In an aspect, there is provided a method comprising: supplying liquid to be heated to an energy cell; applying electrical energy to the liquid in the energy cell to generate one or more bubbles of plasma therein for heating the liquid; using heat from heated fluid from the energy cell to increase the enthalpy of a working gas in a heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger; and extracting useable work from said working gas. The method may comprise controlling operation of the energy cell to provide a selected amount of heat exchange from the heated fluid to the working gas in the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger.

Aspects of the present disclosure may provide one or more computer program products comprising computer program instructions configured to program an apparatus comprising an energy cell, a liquid supply system and a work extraction system to perform any of the methods disclosed herein.

Summary

Aspects of the disclosure are set out in the independent claims and optional features are set out in the dependent claims. Aspects of the disclosure may be provided in conjunction with each other, and features of one aspect may be applied to other aspects.

Figures

Some examples of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the figures, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus in which work is extracted from an energy cell.

Fig. 1a is a schematic diagram of an energy cell.

Fig. 1b is a schematic diagram of a heat exchanger.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus in which work is extracted from an energy cell.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus in which work is extracted from an energy cell.

In the drawings like reference numerals are used to indicate like elements.

Specific Description

Embodiments are directed to an energy cell and a work extraction system for extracting useable work from heated fluid output from the energy cell. The heated fluid from the cell is directed into a heat exchanger, as is compressed gas. The interaction between the heated fluid and the compressed gas causes a raise in the enthalpy of the compressed gas. This enthalpy-increased gas is then used with work being extracted therefrom. Heated fluid from the cell which has passed through the heat exchanger may be used for further work extraction, such as in another heat exchanger. The compressed gas which is directed into the heat exchanger may itself also have previously been used for extracting work therefrom.

An example of an apparatus with a cell and a heat exchanger will now be described with reference to Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 shows an apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 includes a liquid supply system 100, a cell 200 and a work extraction system 300. The liquid supply system 100 has a cell connection 103. The cell 200 includes an inlet 201 and an outlet 203. The work extraction system 300 includes a fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 has two inputs: first input 311 and second input 312, and two output channels: first output 313 and second output 314.

The liquid supply system 100 is coupled to the cell 200. For this, the cell connection 103 of the liquid supply system 100 is coupled to the inlet 201 of the cell 200. For example, a liquid carrying channel may extend from the cell connection 103 to the inlet 201. The cell 200 is coupled to the work extraction system 300. For this, the outlet 203 of the cell 200 is coupled to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 comprises two fluid carrying channels. A first fluid carrying channel of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 extends from the first input 311 to the first output 313. A second fluid carrying channel of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 extends from the second input 312 to the second output 314. The two channels are located in close proximity to each other (e.g. to permit transfer of heat from one to the other). The first input 311 is coupled to the outlet 203 of the cell 200. The second input 312 is coupled (directly or indirectly) to a source of compressed gas. The first output 313 is coupled (directly or indirectly) to a waste fluid area. The second output 314 is coupled to means for obtaining work from the compressed gas which has passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. For example, this may comprise a generator which is powered by the compressed gas from the second output 314.

The liquid supply system 100 is configured to supply liquid to the cell 200. To avoid confusion with the output from the cell 200, hereinafter it is referred to as liquid being supplied to the cell 200 and fluid output from the cell 200. However, it is to be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure that the ‘liquid’ supplied to the cell 200 may be a fluid (e.g. it may contain some gas). The liquid supply system 100 may be configured to supply liquid at a variable flow rate to the cell 200. For example, the apparatus 10 may comprise a controller configured to control a flow rate of liquid supplied to the cell 200. As will be described in more detail below in relation to Fig. 1a, the cell 200 is configured to: receive a liquid from the liquid supply system 100, to generate one or more bubbles of plasma therein for heating the housing of the cell 200 and any liquid within the cell 200, and to output a heated fluid. The cell 200 is configured to receive liquid through the inlet 201. The cell 200 is configured to provide heated fluid through the outlet 203. The heated fluid may comprise one or more of: liquid, gas and/or plasma. For example, the heated fluid may be predominantly a heated gas.

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is configured to receive a heated fluid from the cell 200. The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is arranged for the heated fluid to flow through the first fluid carrying channel (from the first input 311 to the first output 313). The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is configured to receive compressed gas. The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 receives the compressed gas when it is already in gas form (i.e. it does not receive a liquid which is heated to become a gas, it receives a gas). The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is arranged for the compressed gas to flow through second fluid carrying channel (from the second input 312 to the second output 314). The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is arranged with the first fluid carrying channel in close proximity of the second fluid carrying channel. The two fluid carrying channels may be in contact with each other. For example, the two may be in contact with each other along a majority of the length of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. One of the fluid carrying channels may travel along a tortuous path relative to the other of the fluid carrying channels. For example, and as will be described below in relation to Fig. 1b, one of the fluid carrying channels may be wrapped around the other (e.g. with multiple turns along the length of said other channel).

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is configured for energy from the heated fluid (from the cell 200) to be transferred to the compressed gas. In other words, the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is arranged for at least some energy from the first fluid carrying channel to be transferred to the second fluid carrying channel. The proximity of the first fluid carrying channel to the second fluid carrying channel may cause heat from the heated fluid (as provided from the outlet 203 of the cell 200) to be transferred to the compressed gas. This exposure of the compressed gas to heat from the heated fluid may act to raise an enthalpy of the compressed gas. As will be appreciated, the enthalpy (i.e. H = U + pV) may be increased by raising one or more of: the internal energy (L/), the pressure (p) and/or the volume (V). As one example, the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may act to increase the pressure of the compressed gas. For example, the volume through which the compressed gas flows may be fixed. In which case, the heated fluid may act to heat up the compressed gas without a corresponding increase in volume. As such, the pressure of the compressed gas may increase and/or the internal energy of the gas may increase.

In other words, the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is configured to utilise the heated fluid from the cell 200 to increase the enthalpy of the compressed gas.

The work extraction system 300 may be configured to utilise this higher enthalpy gas for extracting work therefrom. As one example, the work extraction system 300 may comprise a generator, e.g. a turbine powered generator and/or a piston device. The compressed gas may be directed towards turbine(s) of the generator to cause movement thereof for generating power. Additionally, or alternatively, the compressed gas could be stored (e.g. for subsequent use), and/or it may be directed to another mechanism for extracting work therefrom.

The heated fluid which has passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 (e.g. through the first fluid carrying channel and out the first output 313) may be discarded. For example, this fluid may pass through to a waste fluid volume. This discarding may occur immediately after the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 or it may occur further downstream, with additional components included to extract further work from this heated fluid. For example, one or more further heat exchangers may be included to further extract work from the heated fluid before discarding of that fluid. As will be described in more detail below in relation to Fig. 1a, the heated fluid output from the cell 200 may need to be discarded and given time (and sunlight) to enable its internal energy levels to restore to normal (i.e. before that fluid could be used again in the cell 200).

In operation, the liquid supply system 100 supplies a liquid, such as water, to the cell 200. Electrical energy is applied to that liquid in the cell 200 to cause bubbles of plasma to generate within the liquid. These bubbles then release energy into the surrounding liquid and the cell housing, causing heating of the cell 200 and the fluid therein. In turn, this may result in liquid (e.g. water) being heated and converted into a gas (e.g. steam), although some liquid and/or plasma may remain within the gas. This heated fluid is then provided through the outlet 203 of the cell 200 and to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310, where the heated fluid travels through the first fluid carrying channel of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. Similarly, a compressed gas is also provided to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310, and this compressed gas travels through the second fluid carrying channel. Energy from the heated fluid in the first fluid carrying channel is transferred to the gas in the second fluid carrying channel, causing an increase in the enthalpy of the compressed gas. The work extraction system 300 then extracts useable work from this enthalpy-increased gas.

An example of an energy cell will now be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 1a.

Fig. 1a shows a schematic diagram of an energy cell 200. The cell 200 includes fluid inlet 201 and fluid outlet 203. The cell 200 has a housing 250. The housing 250 defines an internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The cell 200 also includes a plurality of electrodes. As shown, this includes a first electrode 210, a second electrode 220 and a third electrode 230. The cell 200 may also include a resistive element 240. As described above with reference to Fig. 1, the cell 200 is connected to liquid supply system 100. The liquid supply system 100 may supply liquid to the cell 200 through the inlet 201. Likewise, and as described above with reference to Fig. 1, the cell 200 is connected to work extraction system 300. The work extraction system 300 may extract useable work from heated fluid from the outlet 203.

The housing 250 of the cell 200 encapsulates the internal volume 256. The fluid inlet 201 provides a flow path for fluid into the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The fluid outlet 203 provides a flow path for fluid out from the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. Fluid may flow along any suitable path between the fluid inlet 201 and the fluid outlet 203. For example, it may flow along a very indirect (e.g. tortuous) path. The internal volume 256 of the cell 200 may otherwise be sealed by the housing 250.

The first electrode 210 is at least partially disposed within the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The second electrode 220 may also be disposed at least partially within the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The first and second electrode 220 are arranged concentrically. The first electrode 210 extends within a central region of the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The second electrode 220 is arranged radially outward from the first electrode 210. The second electrode 220 may be cylindrical, as may the first electrode 210. The first and second electrode 220 are arranged co-axially in the example shown in Fig. 1a. The second electrode 220 is located adjacent to an internal surface of the housing 250 (however in some examples, the second electrode 220 may be integrated with the housing 250, e.g. to form a part thereof, and/or a portion of the housing 250 may provide the second electrode 220, e.g. if said portion of the housing is electrically conductive).

A first end of the first electrode 210 is located outside the internal volume 256 of the housing 250. A second end of the first electrode 210, distal to the first end, is located within the internal volume 256 of the housing 250. The second electrode 220 may extend along some, or all, of the length of the internal volume 256 of the housing 250. At least one end of the second electrode 220 may extend out of the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. Although not shown in Fig. 1a the first and/or second electrode 220 may each be coupled to a power supply. For example, each electrode may have one end which extends outside the internal volume 256 (e.g. into the housing 250), and this end may be coupled to the power supply. In some examples, the housing 250 may provide a ground, and the first electrode 210 may be connected to a positive terminal of the power supply. In Fig. 1a, the second electrode 220 is shown as being a separate component to the housing 250, but this need not be the case, as the second electrode 220 may be provided by the housing 250 (e.g. the housing 250 may be made of an electrically conductive material which may function to provide the second electrode 220).

The third electrode 230 is also provided in the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. A first end of the third electrode 230 may be located outside the internal volume 256, and the third electrode 230 may extend form the first end to a second end located within the internal volume 256. The second end of the third electrode 230 may be located proximal to the second end of the first electrode 210 within the internal volume 256. The first and third electrodes 210, 230 may be parallel (e.g. they may be co-axial). The second and third electrodes 220, 230 may be parallel (e.g. coaxial). The first electrode 210 may extend from outside a first end of the housing 250 into the internal volume 256 towards an opposite end of the housing 250. The third electrode 230 may extend from outside the opposite end of the housing 250 into the internal volume 256 towards the first end. The first and third electrodes 210, 230 may extend into the internal volume 256 so that there is no spatial overlap between these electrodes 210, 230 (e.g. their respective second ends do not touch/overlap). The second electrode 220 may extend along the length of the internal volume 256 from at or outside the first end to at or outside the opposite end. The distance between the second end of the first electrode 210 and the second end of the third electrode 230 may be less than the smallest distance between the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 220. The third electrode 230 may be located away from an expected current path between the first and second electrode 220.

A resistive element 240 may also be included in the internal volume 256. The resistive element 240 may also be cylindrical (for example, it may be annular - i.e. to provide a hollowed-out cylinder). The resistive element 240 may be arranged to increase the electrical resistance of the conductive path between the first electrode 210 (anode) and the second electrode 220 (cathode). The resistive element 240 may be provided by a single (e.g. contiguous) piece of material or it may be provided by multiple pieces of material. For example, different portions of the resistive element 240 could be provided by different components, wherein each potion may contribute to providing an electrical resistance for the resistive element 240 as a whole. Different portions of the resistive element could be electrically connected and provided by different materials/components. For example, the resistive element 240 could include circuitry, such as a sensor (e.g. a photovoltaic sensor). The different portions of the resistive element 240 need not be physically and/or electrically connected. The resistive element 240 may increase the electrical resistance between the first and second electrodes 210, 220. The resistive element 240 may extend around a majority of the internal volume 256 (e.g. along a length and width of the internal volume 256 to impede the majority of possible conductive paths from anode to cathode). The resistive element 240 may be located between the first/third and second electrodes 210, 220. For example, the resistive element 240 may be located radially outward from the first/third electrodes 210, 230, but not as far radially outward than the second electrode 220. The resistive element 240 may extend along some or all of the length of the internal volume 256.

The housing 250 may be cylindrical. That is, a cross-sectional shape (i.e. when viewed in plan) of the housing 250 may be circular. Alternatively, the housing 250 may be polygon shaped. The housing 250 may be provided by a shape which is tessellatable (i.e. which is capable of being tessellated with other copies of that same shape). For example, multiple cells 200 may be provided together, e.g. to increase output as compared to that provided by a single cell. In which case, the cells 200 may be stacked together. The cells 200 may be designed to facilitate more space efficient stacking. For example, the cells 200 may be arranged so that, when stacked together, they tessellate with each other (or at least substantially tessellate to provide more space efficient stacking). As will be appreciated, any suitable tessellatable shape may be used for this purpose. For example, the shape may be any suitable polygon, such as a hexagon or an octagon. The shape may be imparted by an outer surface of the housing 250, e.g. with everything thereinside being circular (including the inner surface of the housing 250), or the shape may be impaired by the inner surface of the housing 250.

The fluid inlet 201 may be arranged at an opposite end of the housing 250 to the fluid outlet 203. The first and second electrode 220 extend along an axis extending from the fluid inlet 201 to the fluid outlet 203 (e.g. a longitudinal axis of the cell 200). The fluid outlet 203 may be arranged higher (e.g. above, such as directly above or above and laterally offset from) the fluid inlet 201. The housing 250 is configured to encapsulate the internal volume 256. The housing 250 is arranged to define the internal volume 256 to provide a region in which liquid may be heated. An internal surface of the housing 250 (e.g. which faces/defines the internal volume 256) may be configured to generate heat in response to incident photons (for example, the housing 250 may be conductive). The internal surface may comprise the region of the housing 250 which lies adjacent to the internal volume 256. This may comprise part of the housing 250 and/or it may comprise an additional component, such as a layer/film provided there to absorb incident photons, and in response, to generate heat. For example, the internal surface may be configured to absorb electromagnetic energy, such as in the form of visible light. The internal surface is configured to heat up as it receives incident photons. The internal surface is configured to provide heating of fluid within the internal volume 256, e.g. as it heats up from incident photons.

The housing 250 may be made of a metal, such as steel, or other materials may be used, such as a ceramic. For example, a glass with e.g. boron or lead may be used. The housing 250 may be formed of multiple different materials. The different materials may be selected based on their photon absorption characteristics. For example, materials may be selected which absorb photons in different wavelength range(s) for which photons are expected within the internal portion 256, e.g. for visible, infrared, ultraviolet. The housing 250 may comprise a plurality of layers, e.g. with an outer housing layer, and an inner layer, such as a sleeve, inside the outer layer. The different layers may be made of different materials. The housing 250 is configured to retain fluid in the internal volume 256 under pressure.

The fluid inlet 201, the internal volume 256, and the fluid outlet 203 are arranged to define a flow path for fluid to flow through the internal volume 256 of the housing 250. The internal volume 256 is arranged to receive liquid to be heated through the fluid inlet 201. The cell 200 is arranged to heat this liquid in the internal volume 256 to provide a heated fluid. The fluid outlet 203 is arranged to provide a flow path for this heated fluid away from the internal volume 256.

The first and second electrodes 210, 220 are configured to provide a current flow path through the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. One of the electrodes 210, 220 may provide an anode, and the other may provide a cathode. For instance, the first electrode 210 may provide the anode for bringing current into the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The second electrode 220 may then provide the cathode for carrying current away from the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. The first and second electrode 220 are spaced apart from each other. The first electrode 210 is arranged to receive a voltage so that a potential difference exists between the first and second electrodes 210, 220. The first and second electrodes 210, 220 are arranged capacitively. The presence of fluid in the internal volume 256 may provide a conductive path between the first and second electrode 220. The fluid will provide electrical resistance between the two electrodes 210, 220. The first and second electrode 220 with fluid in the cell 200 may effectively provide a circuit having a capacitance and a resistance. The first and second electrodes 210, 220 are configured to provide a voltage stress to fluid and/or plasma within the internal volume 256.

The third electrode 230 may be active or passive. When active, a voltage is applied to the third electrode 230. When passive, the third electrode 230 may be conductive for receiving current within the internal volume 256, but without receiving power from the power supply 30. The third electrode 230 may be configured to provide a balancing electrode (e.g. it may be arranged to balance electric field/current generated within the internal volume 256). The third electrode 230 may comprise a tip of electrically conductive material (i.e. which is arranged within the internal volume 256 of the cell 200). The tip need not be electrically connected to a component outside of the cell 200. For example, where the third electrode 230 is passive, the provision of an electrical conductor within the housing 200 may provide passive balancing. For example, such a tip could be capable of charging and discharging by itself. For example, the first electrode 210 may be active, the second electrode 220 may be passive and third electrode 230 could be active or passive. A distal tip of the first electrode 210 (i.e. the exposed tip within the cell would be electrically connected to a voltage source (e.g. external to the cell 200). The second electrode 220 may be electrically grounded (e.g. so that current may flow from the second electrode 220 to ground). The third electrode 230, when passive, may provide an exposed portion of electrically conductive material within the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. That passive exposed portion of electrically conductive material may be arranged to be charged and/or discharged within the cell (e.g. due to internal electrical conditions of the cell). The third electrode 230, when active, may be connected to a voltage source. An exposed portion of the third electrode 230 within the cell 200 may then be connected to the voltage source.

The resistive element 240 may be arranged on a current flow path between the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 220, e.g. so that current would need to flow through the resistive element 240 to get from the first electrode 210 to the second electrode 220. The resistive element 240 may extend along one or both of the ends of the internal volume 256 (e.g. to reduce the likelihood of a conductive path from anode to cathode not via the resistive element 240 being possible). The resistive element 240 may be configured to be of relatively high resistance (e.g. as compared to the resistance of the electrodes and/or fluid within the internal volume 256). The resistive element 240 may be of sufficient resistance to effectively provide an electrical insulator (between the anode and cathode).

In operation, a liquid is supplied through the fluid inlet 201 and into the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. In this example, the liquid will be water, but other liquids may be used. For example, the liquid may be any aqueous solution, such as tap water, sea water, ionised water etc. The liquid may be any non-Newtonian liquid. The liquid may be a non-electrically insulating liquid. The liquid may be at least partially electrically resistive (but not fully resistive). The cell 200 will fill up with water. Any gas previously in the cell 200 may be forced out through the fluid outlet 203 of the cell 200. The cell 200 may then be substantially filled with water.

A voltage is applied to the first electrode 210 (anode). This will cause some current flow into the water. Due to the electrical resistance of water, this current flow and resistance will cause some heating of the water (e.g. I²R heating). This process of resistive heating continues as a voltage is applied to the first electrode 210. As the temperature of the water within the internal volume 256 rises, microbubbles of gas will start to form within the water in the internal volume 256. These may be steam bubbles forming or bubbles of air being released which were trapped in the water supplied to the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. As a result, some pockets of gas will develop within the liquid in the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. With continued application of the voltage to the first electrode 210, bubbles of plasma will be generated within the internal volume 256 of the housing 250. These bubbles will release energy into the surrounding fluid and the internal surface of the housing 250. In turn this provides heating of the fluid within the internal volume 256.

By applying the voltage to the first electrode 210, this may charge up the capacitor provided by the first and second electrode 220. As the fluid within the internal volume 256 heats up, its permittivity may change, and this may change a capacitance of the cell 200 (e.g. between the first and second electrodes 210, 220). For example, when water is used, its permittivity will decrease as it heats up (and then also when it becomes steam). In particular, where microbubbles of gas (e.g. steam) begin to form within the liquid in the internal volume 256, these will provide localised regions of lower permittivity. This process may effectively provide a permittivity collapse in localised regions. For example, where water is used, this difference in permittivity between bubbles forming in the water and the surrounding water may be a factor of approximately 40 (e.g. the capacitance per unit volume in those bubbles may be 1/40th of that of the surrounding water). During this process, the volumetric energy density for fluid and/or plasma within the internal volume 256 will remain constant. Due to the permittivity collapse within the bubbles of gas, capacitance will decrease in this region. As the volumetric energy density remains constant and the capacitance decreases, the voltage per meter will rise accordingly (e.g. to conserve energy as per E=1/2 CV²). For examples where water is used, the voltage per meter will rise by a factor of approximately 40.

With electrical energy still being applied to the first electrode 210, these microbubbles of gas (at lower density than surrounding liquid) will try to rapidly expand into their surroundings. However, the surrounding liquid will resist this expansion, e.g. due to the non-Newtonian nature of the liquid in these conditions. This will cause the microbubbles to rapidly increase in temperature and pressure. In turn, their capacitance will further decrease (e.g. causing an increased dV/dr), thereby giving rise to further increased voltage stress across the bubble. With sufficient voltage stress across the bubble, ionization may occur leading to the formation of plasma within the bubble. Thus, one or more plasma bubbles may form in the liquid in the internal volume 256. The plasma may be at an even lower density than the gas, and so with a voltage still applied to the first electrode 210, the plasma bubble will further try to rapidly expand. In particular, this process of plasma bubble generation will occur rapidly, and so each bubble of plasma will drive for rapid expansion. In turn, this will bring about nonNewtonian fluid responses in the liquid in the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. For instance, where water is used, the water does not immediately yield before the pressure wave brought about by the bubble of plasma trying to expand. The bubble of plasma is therefore held in a relatively fixed volume (e.g. it may only expand relatively slowly). While the volume of the plasma remains relatively constant, the temperature and pressure within this bubble rise rapidly in response to the voltage stress brought about by the voltage applied to the first electrode 210.

As mentioned above, the breakdown of gas may occur such that a low impedance bridge forms (e.g. the gas resistivity drops), but not as far as a full breakdown in which electrical arcing occurs. In addition to this, thermionic emission may occur within the cell 200. Electron spraying may occur with electrons moving between different electrodes of the cell. In particular, electrons may pass from the first electrode 210 to the second electrode 220 and/or from the first electrode 210 to the third electrode 230. In turn, this may also cause electrons to pass from the third electrode 230 to the second electrode 220. In other words, the third electrode 230 may act to draw in electrons (i.e. from the first electrode 210) before then sending them out (i.e. to the second electrode 220). This may act to stretch out the plasma generating region, which in turn may increase the stability thereof. The electrons may accelerate through the gas bubbles which have formed.

The electrodes may be designed to provide a preferential flow for the electron movement. For example, the material of each electrode (and in particular its valence) may be selected to impart this preferential flow of electrons. For example, tungsten may be used for the first electrode as it has a high valence. The electrodes may be arranged to provide a preferential flow from the first electrode 210 to the third electrode 230 (as compared to a flow from the first electrode 210 to the second electrode 220). This may act to stretch out the plasma generating region, which in turn may provide greater stability and/or a greater amount of work output.

Energy may be absorbed by atoms (and molecules) within the bubble. The energy levels (e.g. states) of these particles may therefore rise. Within the plasma, atoms may have their electrons move to higher electron energy levels, and/or spin states for these particles may change. For example, Hydrogen atom spin states may change from their lower energy parastate to their higher energy ortho-state. Molecules may also move to higher rotational and/or vibrational energy levels, and/or further splitting up of these molecules may occur. As a result, the atoms within each bubble will be at disproportionately high energy levels (e.g. as compared to conventional fluids/the fluid within the internal volume 256). Photon emission from the plasma may occur to accommodate for the high energy within the plasma. Electrons may move to lower energy electron states, and/or changes to lower energy vibrational/rotational/spin states may occur for atoms/molecules. It is this returning to lower energy configurations which gives rise to the emission of photons (e.g. to accommodate for the drop in energy levels as per the Bohr model). This emission of photons may occur on a relatively large scale. Where water is used, a large proportion of this photon emission may occur in the visible light spectrum.

The photons emitted from each plasma bubble will then be absorbed by either fluid in the internal volume 256 or the housing 250 of the cell 200. In response to receiving such incident photons, the fluid and/or housing 250 will heat up as it absorbs said photons. The inner surface of the housing 250 in particular may absorb a large number of these photons and thus increase in temperature. As the inner surface of the housing 250 heats up, it will in turn provide conductive heating of the fluid within the internal volume 256. This may give rise to convection currents occurring and thus increased turbulence for fluid within the internal volume 256 of the cell 200. As a result of this process, the fluid within the internal volume 256 will heat up. The majority of the liquid provided to the internal volume 256 of the cell 200 may then evaporate to provide a gas (e.g. steam). It is to be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure that some of the fluid which exits the cell 200 may have somewhat unconventional, or at least lower energy configurations, as compared to the liquid that was provided to the cell 200. This is as a consequence of the plasma generation and subsequent energy release which occurred within the cell 200.

This fluid then passes through the fluid outlet 203. This fluid will have a higher enthalpy (i.e. it will be hotter and more pressurised). Hereinafter, this will be referred to as ‘heated fluid’. Typically, the heated fluid is in the form of steam, which is generated within the internal volume 256, and which rises up and out through the fluid outlet 203. This heated fluid output from the cell 200 may then be used in the work extraction system 300 to extract useable work from that heated fluid.

In this sense, the cell 200 may operate as a heat pump. That is, the cell 200 is receiving a liquid, such as water (e.g. cold water) and turning this into steam. Although not shown, the cell 100 may also include one or more filters. The filters may be for filtering solid contaminants, such as Manganese, Iron compounds or other material deposits which may accumulate within the cell 100. For example, the this may comprise a gravity filter or another suitable type of filter arranged to prevent excess build up of such material deposits within the cell. An example of a heat exchanger, such as the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 shown in Fig.

1, will now be described with reference to Fig. 1b.

Fig. 1b shows the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 of Fig. 1, but it is to be appreciated that other heat exchangers disclosed herein (e.g. fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 and/or gas to air heat exchanger 370 of Fig. 3) may utilise the same (or a similar) arrangement. As shown in Fig. 1b, the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is formed of two fluid carrying channels. The first fluid carrying channel extends from the first input 311 to the first output 313, and the second fluid carrying channel extends from the second input 312 to the second output 314. The first fluid carrying channel may be for the heated fluid from the cell 200. The second fluid carrying channel may be for the compressed gas.

The second fluid carrying channel is wrapped around the first. The first fluid carrying channel may extend along a straight line. The second fluid carrying channel may be coiled about the first channel. For example, the second fluid carrying channel may be arranged helically with respect to the first fluid carrying channel. The second fluid carrying channel may be arranged to maximise the surface area of the second channel in contact with the first channel. For example, each subsequent turn of the second channel (about the first channel) may be adjacent to, such as in contact with, the preceding turn of the second channel. For example, the helical structure of the second channel may a pitch below a threshold level. The second channel may comprise a plurality of turns about the first channel. The helical pitch/helix angle may be selected to be small enough so that each subsequent turn of the second channel lies adjacent (e.g. in contact with) a preceding turn of the second channel. The second channel may be within a threshold distance of, e.g. in contact with, the first channel along the majority (or all) of its length within the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. The second channel may provide a fixed volume for the compressed gas (e.g. to inhibit expansion of the gas volume in response to heating).

In other words, the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may be arranged so that the length of the first channel which is in contact with the second channel is smaller than the length of the second channel which is in contact with the first channel. Within the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310, a majority of the surface area of the first channel may be in contact with the second channel. The first fluid carrying channel may be at least partially circumscribed by the second channel. For example, the first fluid carrying channel may be completely circumscribed by the second channel, e.g. the second channel may be wrapped around the first channel with a plurality of turns. The first channel may have a uniform width (e.g. diameter) along its length. For example, the first channel may be cylindrical (annular in cross-section). The second channel my be wound about the circular cross-section of the first channel. The pitch of the helix of the second channel may remain constant along its length.

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is arranged to provide a greater surface area of contact between the first and second fluid channels than if two cylindrical channels were used. For example, the length of contact between the first and second channels may be longer than the length of the first channel within the heat exchanger.

An example of another apparatus containing a cell and work extraction system 300 will now be described with reference to Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows an apparatus 10 including a liquid supply system 100, a cell 200 and a work extraction system 300. The arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is similar to that of Fig. 1 , and like components will not be described again. As with Fig. 1, the liquid supply system 100 has a cell connection 103 and the cell 200 has an inlet 201 and an outlet 203. Similarly, the work extraction system 300 includes a fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 having a first input 311, a second input 312, a first output 313 and a second output 314.

In addition to the features mentioned above which are also common to the apparatus 10 of Fig. 1, the apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 2 also shows further features of the liquid supply system 100 and the work extraction system 300. For the liquid supply system 100, a liquid source is shown. The liquid supply system 100 includes a liquid source connection 101 , a flow meter 120 and a liquid pump 110. The work extraction system 300 includes a regulator 320, a fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 and a generator 340. The fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 has two inputs: a first input 331 and a second input 332, and two outputs: first output 333 and second output 334.

The liquid source connection 101 is coupled to the source of liquid (e.g. a water reservoir). The liquid source connection 101 is coupled to the cell connection 103 via the flow meter 120 and liquid pump 110. In other words, the liquid supply system 100 provides a connection between the liquid source and the cell 200. The flow meter 120 and pump 110 are arranged to monitor and regulate flow of water between the liquid source and the cell 200.

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is coupled to the generator 340. Gas heated by the exchanger 310 will be used by the generator 340. For example, the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may be coupled to an expander (e.g. a volume into which the working gas may flow and expand). The generator 340 may be coupled to this expander, e.g. such that the generator 340 is driven by flow of gas in the expander. For this, the first output 313 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is coupled to the generator 340 (e.g. the first output 313 may be coupled to the expander). For example, the generator 340 may comprise one or more turbines. The first output 313 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may channel the gas which has passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 towards the turbine(s) of the generator 340. For example, the turbine(s) may be located in a fluid flow path to be driven by gas flow through said flow path. The generator 340 may be coupled to an electrical grid to deliver electrical energy thereto. For example, the generator 340 may comprise one or more turbines configured to be driven in response to flow of gas, and electrical componentry for generating a current in response to said turbine movement. The electrical componentry may be coupled to the electrical grid to provide output electrical energy thereto.

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is coupled to the regulator 320 and/or the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330. For this, the second output 314 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is connected to the regulator 320. The regulator 320 may be arranged between the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 and the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330. The first input 331 of the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 is coupled to the first output 313 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 (e.g. via the regulator 320). The second input 332 of the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 is coupled to a liquid source, e.g. to receive a liquid such as water therefrom. The first output 333 of the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may be coupled (directly or indirectly) to a discard region for the fluid. The second output 334 of the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 is coupled to a heated liquid supply system 100.

In other words, the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 is located downstream of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. Heated fluid from the cell 200 will thus pass through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 before passing through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330. Fluid which has passed through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may then be discarded.

As with the apparatus 10 Fig. 1, the liquid supply system 100 is configured to supply liquid to be heated to the cell 200. The liquid supply system 100 is configured to supply liquid from the liquid source to the cell 200. For this, the liquid supply system 100 may be configured to draw liquid through the liquid source connection 101. This liquid may then be driven through the cell connection 103 and to the cell 200 (through inlet 201).

The pump 110 is configured to control the flow of liquid. The flow meter 120 is configured to monitor the flow of liquid. The pump 110 is operable to vary the flow rate of liquid provided to the cell 200. For example, the apparatus 10 may comprise a controller configured to control operation of the pump 110 to deliver a selected volume (or mass flow rate) of fluid to the cell 200. The flow meter 120 may be configured to monitor volumetric flow rates of fluid to determine the volumetric throughput of fluid through the cell 200. The controller may be configured to monitor the flow rate indicated by the flow meter 120 and to control operation of the pump 110 based on the flow rate. For example, the controller may be configured to control operation of the pump 110 to provide selected operational characteristics for operation of the cell 200 (e.g. to provide a selected amount of heat generation therefrom) and/or based on a demand for the work extraction system 300 (e.g. to provide a selected amount of heat exchange).

In other words, the liquid supply system 100 is configured to control the supply of liquid to the energy cell 200. The liquid supply system 100 may be operated to vary the amount of liquid supplied. The liquid supply system 100 may be operated to vary one or more properties of the liquid supplied, such as to supply liquid at a higher pressure and/or temperature.

The generator 340 is configured to generate electrical energy using the gas from the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. The generator 340 may be arranged such that the flow of gas through the heat exchanger (i.e. the enthalpy-enhanced gas from the second fluid carrying channel through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310) drives a motion from which electrical energy may be generated. For example, the gas may flow from the heat exchanger 310 into an expander. The flow (and expansion) of the heated compressed gas into the expander may drive a turbine of the generator (or a piston based device for extracting power from the gas). For example, the flow of gas may cause the turbine(s) of the generator 340 to rotate. In turn, this may cause electrical energy to be generated. The generator 340 may be configured to output the resulting electrical energy. For example, the generator 340 may be connected to one or more electrical conductors for delivering the electrical energy (i.e. a current/voltage) away from the generator 340. The generator 340 may be coupled to the cell 200 to provide electrical energy to be applied to one or more electrodes of the cell 200.

The regulator 320 may be configured to regulate the flow of fluid through the work extraction system 300. For example, the regulator 320 may comprise a back flow regulator. The regulator 320 may be configured to control the pressure upstream of it. For example, the regulator 320 may be arranged to provide a variable flow rate therethrough to maintain upstream pressure within a selected range (e.g. above/below a threshold value). The regulator 320 may be configured to control the pressure to provide a selected amount of heated fluid within the first fluid carrying channel of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 (e.g. to regulate an amount of heat exchange occurring). In other words, the regulator 320 may be arranged to inhibit heated fluid from the cell 200 passing through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 too quickly to prevent sufficient heat transfer from occurring. For example, the regulator 320 may be set so that it takes fluid more than a threshold amount of time to move through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310.

The work extraction system 300 is arranged so that fluid which passes through the regulator 320 flows into the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330. The fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 is configured to provide heat exchange between: (i) the fluid which has come from the cell 200 and passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 (and regulator 320), and (ii) a liquid to be heated by said fluid. For example, the liquid may comprise water. The heated liquid may be used in a heating system, such as a hot water system, e.g. for a building. The fluid which has passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may still be in gas form, or it may contain gas and/or liquid (e.g. due to the cooling of that fluid in the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310).

The fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 is configured to utilise heat from the fluid to heat the liquid. For example, the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may comprise a hot water tank in which a tube carrying the fluid passes through the liquid in the tank to provide heating thereof. The tube may follow a tortuous path with the tank, e.g. to increase the contact surface area between the tube carrying the heated fluid and the liquid in the tank. The tube may be entirely sealed to the tank to prevent the heated fluid from mixing with the liquid in the tank. Due to the high specific heat capacity of the liquid (and larger contact surface area), the heat transfer between the cell fluid and the liquid may substantially reduce the cell fluid temperature, e.g. back towards ambient.

The cell fluid which has passed through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may be discarded. For example, the fluid at that point may be mostly (or entirely) in liquid form. This liquid may be discarded to a reservoir, or it may be coupled to a grey water system (e.g. to be used as grey water in the building). The heated liquid in the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may be used as a heated liquid. For example, this may comprise use in a hot water system, e.g. for a radiator, tap, shower etc. The first output 333 from the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may be coupled to a discard region/greywater system for providing used cell fluid thereto. The second output 334 from the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may be coupled to a heating system for providing heated liquid thereto.

In operation, liquid is supplied to the cell 200 using the liquid supply system 100. The amount, and/or flow rate supplied is controlled using the liquid pump 110 and the flow meter 120. Electrical energy is applied to the cell 200 to generate heated fluid therefrom, and this heated fluid is provided to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. Gas travelling through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is heated by the fluid and the enthalpy of that gas is raised. The gas is then used to drive the turbine(s) of a generator 340 for generating electrical energy therefrom. The cell fluid which passes through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may have its pressure/flow regulated by the regulator 320. The gas which passes through the regulator 320 then flows through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330. The cell fluid in the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 heats the liquid, and that heated liquid may then be used, e.g. as part of a hot water system of a building. The cell fluid which has travelled through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may then be discarded and/or provided as greywater in a greywater system of the building.

Another example of an apparatus including a cell and a work extraction system 300 will now be described with reference to Fig. 3.

As with Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 3 shows an apparatus 10 including a liquid supply system 100, a cell 200 and a work extraction system 300. Again, a number of the features shown in Fig. 3 have already been described above in relation to Figs. 1 and 2, and these features will not be described again here.

The liquid supply system 100 includes a first compressor connection 104 and a second compressor connection 105. A voltage provider 205 is included for the cell 200. The work extraction system 300 includes a compressor 350, a turbine 362, a generator 360 and a gas to air heat exchanger 370.

As compared to the apparatus 10 of Figs. 1 and 2, the apparatus 10 of Fig. 3 includes components upstream of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 on the gas side. In other words, the gas to be provided to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may have passed through one or more other components before it reaches the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. A gas store is shown in Fig. 3. The gas store is coupled indirectly to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. Gas from the gas store may travel through the compressor 350, turbine 362 and gas to air heat exchanger 370 before reaching the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310.

The compressor 350 is coupled (directly or indirectly) to the gas store. The compressor 350 may comprise a gamma compressor, such as a reduced gamma compressor. The first compressor connection 104 and the second compressor connection 105 may each be coupled to the compressor 350. The first compressor connection 104 provides a flow path for the flow of liquid towards the compressor 350. The liquid pump 110 is coupled to the first compressor connection 104. Liquid pumped by the liquid pump 110 may flow through the first compressor connection 104 towards the compressor 350. The second compressor connection 105 provides a flow path for the flow of liquid from the compressor 350. The second compressor connection 105 may receive the liquid which has passed through the compressor 350, and which is to be returned to the liquid supply system 100. The second compressor connection 105 may be upstream of the first compressor connection 104 (e.g. so that liquid which has passed through the compressor 350 may subsequently be used to either drive the compressor 350 again or to be provided to the cell 200). The compressor 350 may be coupled to receive both: liquid from the liquid supply system 100 (via the first compressor connection 104), and gas from the gas store. The compressor 350 may utilise the flow of liquid to drive compression of the gas. The compressor 350 may output compressed gas. The compressor 350 may also output the used, i.e. which has been used to drive the compressor 350.

The compressor 350 is coupled to the turbine 362. In particular, compressed gas from the compressor 350 will be directed towards the turbine 362. For example, the turbine 362 may be arranged across a gas flow path (along which compressed gas from the compressor 350 will flow). The turbine 362 is coupled to the generator 360. The turbine 362 may comprise a tesla turbine. The generator 360 is coupled to an electrical energy output. The generator 360 may output electrical energy (generated due to the motion of the turbine 362) to its electrical energy output.

The turbine 362 is coupled to the gas to air heat exchanger 370. That is, a flow path for gas may extend from the turbine region through to the gas to air heat exchanger 370. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 has two inputs and two or more outputs. A first input to the gas to air heat exchanger 370 receives the gas, e.g. the first input may be coupled to the turbine 362 (so that gas which has flown past the turbine 362 will travel into the first input of the gas to air heat exchanger 370). A second input to the gas to air heat exchanger 370 may be coupled to a source of air, e.g. to receive ambient air. A first output of the gas to air heat exchanger 370 is coupled to the first input and provides the gas. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 is coupled to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. For this, the first output of the gas to air heat exchanger 370 may be coupled to the second input 312 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310. A second output of the gas to air heat exchanger 370 may be coupled to the second input, e.g. for discarding ambient air which has passed through the gas to air heat exchanger 370. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 may comprise more than two outputs. For example, the gas to air heat exchanger 370 may have a water output. As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, the gas which has passed through the turbine 362 may be cold, and in turn this may cause condensation to occur within the gas to air heat exchanger 370, such that water vapour in the ambient air becomes liquid water in the gas to air heat exchanger 370. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 may comprise a water output. The water output may carry the condensed water from the gas to air heat exchanger 370 away. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 may comprise an air conditioning unit. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 may have a coolant flow path for circulating coolant through the gas to air heat exchanger 370.

The second output 314 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is coupled to expander 342. For example, the expander 342 may comprise a pump, such as a vane pump or it may be comprise a confined volume into which gas may flow and/or expand. Gas which passes through the expander 342 and which is used to drive the generator 340 may be exhausted. The expander 342 is coupled to the generator 340. The generator 340 is coupled to an electrical energy output. The generator 340 may output electrical energy to its output which has been generated by gas flow through the expander 342. For example, the gas flow through expander 342 may drive turbines of the generator 340. In this sense, the generator 340 may provide a lower pressure turbine (with the higher pressure turbine 362 being upstream). The electrical energy output of the generator 340 and/or the generator 360 may provide electrical energy to be used by the cell 200. For example, and as shown in Fig. 3, the generator 340 is coupled to the voltage provider 205. The voltage provider 205 is coupled to at least one of the electrodes of the cell 200. The voltage provider 205 may receive at least some of the electrical energy it uses from the generator 340.

The liquid supply system 100 is configured to supply liquid to the compressor 350. The liquid supply system 100 may be configured to supply liquid to the compressor 350 to drive the compressor 350 to compress gas received from the gas store. The liquid pump 110 is configured to drive a flow of liquid towards the compressor 350 (e.g. via the first compressor connection 104). The liquid pump 110 may be controlled based on operation of the compressor 350. For example, a flow rate of liquid driven by the liquid pump 110 to the compressor 350 may be controlled to provide a selected level of compression by the compressor 350.

In other words, the liquid supply system 100 may be configured to supply liquid to the cell 200 and to the work extraction system 300. Some of the liquid will be supplied to the cell 200, where that liquid will be heated to provide cell fluid (as discussed above). Some of the liquid will be supplied to the work extraction system 300 to facilitate the extraction of useable work from the apparatus 10. For instance, the liquid will be supplied to the compressor 350 to drive compression of the gas which is to be used by the work extraction system 300 for extracting useable work therefrom. The liquid supply system 100 may be configured to reuse the liquid it supplies to the compressor 350. For example, liquid driven to the compressor 350 via the first compressor connection 104 may be received again via the second compressor connection 105. That liquid may then either be delivered to the cell 200 or the compressor 350. The apparatus 10 is configured to ultimately discard the liquid which was supplied to the cell 200 (after it has passed through the work extraction system 300).

As mentioned above, in response to pumped liquid being delivered to the compressor 350, the compressor 350 is configured to compress gas received from the compressor 350. For instance, the liquid will be pumped under pressure from the liquid pump 110 to the compressor 350, and that flow of liquid may cause the compressor 350 to compress the gas supplied to it. The compressor 350 may receive gas at a pressure of approximately 8 bar. The compressor 350 may be configured to compress the gas to a pressure of approximately 64 bar. The compressor 350 is configured to output compressed gas towards the turbine 362. The compressed gas may flow along a gas carrying channel towards the turbine 362.

The turbine 362 is configured to provide rotary motion in response to the flow of compressed gas. For example, the turbine 362 could be a bladed turbine, in which the gas flow onto the blades causes rotation of the turbine, or the turbine could be bladeless, e.g. a tesla turbine, in which a disc rotates in response to flow of compressed gas thereover. The turbine 362 is configured to provide rotational motion from which electrical energy can be generated. The generator 360 and turbine 362 are arranged so that rotational motion of the turbine 362 will give rise to a resulting current in the generator 360. The resulting electrical energy may be stored and/or transported elsewhere. In other words, the flow of compressed gas causes spinning of the turbine 362 and generation of electrical energy therefrom using generator 360.

The gas which has passed through the turbine 362 may be substantially cooler and/or lower pressure than that upstream of the turbine 362. In other words, the turbine 362 and generator 360 are arranged to extract useable work from the gas. In turn, this may cool and/or depressurise the gas. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 is configured to utilise the (cooled) gas to extract water from ambient air. For example, this may comprise a refrigeration process. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 is configured to use the cooled gas to cool the air (i.e. ambient air). The gas to air heat exchanger 370 may also optionally be configured to use a coolant to provide further cooling of the air. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 is arranged to collect liquid condensate from the ambient air, i.e. to collect water. The gas to air heat exchanger 370 may be configured to provide a water output. As will be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure, water obtained in this manner may be relatively pure and/or uncontaminated (e.g. desalinated). This arrangement may therefore potentially provide a source of drinking water, which would be of particular utility in certain locations throughout the world.

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is configured to receive the gas which has passed through the gas to air heat exchanger 370. As described above, the gas which travels in through the second input 312 and out through the second output 314 of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 will be heated by the cell fluid which enters through the first input 311 and exits through the first output 313. The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may thus act to raise the enthalpy of the gas. Said gas is then directed to the expander 342. For example, the gas pressure for the gas provided to the expander 342 may be approximately 8 bar. The expander 342 and generator 340 may be configured to generate electrical energy due to the flow of gas (e.g. through the expander 342). For example, the expander 342 may be a vane pump, and rotation of a portion of the pump may cause the generation of electrical energy by the generator 340. The generator 340 may be configured to output the electrical energy, such as to the voltage provider 205. The voltage provider 205 is configured to apply electrical energy to one or more electrodes of the cell 200, e.g. as described above in relation to Fig. 1a.

In operation, the liquid supply system 100 supplies liquid to both the cell 200 and the work extraction system 300. The liquid supply system 100 obtains liquid from the liquid source. The liquid pump 110 pumps the liquid to the cell 200 and/or work extraction system 300. The flow meter 120 monitors flow rate for liquid through the liquid supply system 100. Operation of the liquid pump 110 may be controlled based on data obtained from the flow meter 120 and/or based on an obtained indication of demand for cell operation and/or gas compression by the compressor 350.

For the liquid supplied by the liquid to the cell 200, this liquid is heated as described above in relation to Fig. 1a. That is, the voltage provider 205 is used to apply electrical energy to one or more electrodes of the cell 200. This causes bubbles of plasma to be generated in the cell 200. In turn, heat is released from the plasma and into the surrounding liquid and the housing of the cell 200. This process acts to heat the liquid within the cell 200 to generate fluid, i.e. heated ‘cell fluid’. This fluid may be mainly comprised of gas (e.g. water vapour), but it may also include some liquid (e.g. water) and/or some plasma. The heated cell fluid is then output from the cell 200 to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310.

For the liquid supplied by the liquid supply system 100 to the work extraction system 300, this liquid is used to facilitate the extraction of work from the gas. In particular, the liquid is pumped to the compressor 350, which uses the pumped flow of liquid to provide compression of gas. The compressor 350 receives gas from the gas store and uses the pumped liquid flow to compress the gas and then output compressed gas from which useable work is to be extracted.

This compressed gas then flows to the turbine 362. The gas causes rotation of the turbine 362, from which the generator 360 generates electrical energy. The gas which passes through the turbine 362 will be substantially cooled and/or depressurised. This cooler gas is then used in the gas to air heat exchanger 370 to extract water from ambient air (e.g. to condense water vapour in the ambient air into useable water). The gas to air heat exchanger 370 receives input ambient air and input (cold) gas, and outputs water and the gas. The output gas is provided to the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310.

The apparatus may comprise a compressed gas store for receiving compressed gas from the compressor 350. The store may be located between the compressor 350 and the turbine 362. For example, the apparatus may be configured such that compressed gas from the compressor 350 may pass through to the gas store and/or the turbine 362. The apparatus may be configured to select where the compressed gas goes, e.g. the proportion of the compressed gas which goes to the store or the turbine 362. For example, the apparatus may be configured to increase storage during a first time period and to increase usage during a second time period. For example, the first time period may be associated with a period in which other energy sources may be suitable to generate energy (e.g. during daylight hours - when sunlight may be used for solar energy generation). The second time period may be associated with a period in which other energy sources are less suitable, such as outside daylight hours. The store may therefore enable a regulation of energy generation, such that generation may be increased on demand.

The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 exchanges heat between the heated cell fluid and the gas. In so doing, the enthalpy of the gas is raised by its interaction with the heated cell fluid. The fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 provides two outputs: the enthalpy-enhanced gas (via the second output 314), and the cell fluid.

The gas output from the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 is used to drive the generator 340 (e.g. via flow in expander 342). The expander 342 and generator 340 uses this flow of gas to generate electrical energy therefrom. Gas output from the fluid to gas heat exchange which has been used to drive the generator 340 may then be exhausted.

The fluid output from the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may still be relatively hot and/or pressurised. The regulator 320 may regulate a pressure of this fluid, e.g. so that the pressure remains above/below a threshold pressure value. The cell fluid which has passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may still be used to extract further work therefrom. For this, the cell fluid is provided to the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330. The cell fluid passing through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 acts to heat up the liquid. This heated liquid may then be used, e.g. as part of a hot water system (e.g. in a building). The cell fluid which has passed through the fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may then be discarded.

Therefore, as described above, apparatuses of the present disclosure may supply a liquid to be heated to a cell 200 which heats that liquid. Useable work is then extracted from the heated fluid output from the cell 200. The liquid supply system 100 may also supply liquid to the work extraction system 300 to facilitate further extraction of useable work from a gas.

In the context of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that the examples described herein and as shown in the Figs, should not be considered limiting. For example, in Figs. 2 and 3 in particular, there are numerous components of the apparatus 10 shown. Not all of these components need to provided together. Instead, apparatuses of the present disclosure may comprise any combination of the different features shown. For example, the work extraction system 300 need not comprise any or all of the features upstream of the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310, e.g. the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 may be coupled directly to the gas store. While the inclusion of the compressor 350, turbine 362/generator 360 and gas to air heat exchanger 370 may enable more useable work and/or produce (e.g. water) to be extracted from the apparatus 10 as a whole, not all of these components are necessary. The heat exchanger 370 may not be included. Likewise, the turbine 362/generator 360 and/or compressor 350 need not be included. It will also be appreciated that any suitable mechanism for obtaining useable work from a compressed gas flow could be used. In the Figs., an expander 342 and a turbine 362 are shown, each forming part of an electrical energy generation system, but other alternatives may be used. For example, other mechanisms by which electrical energy can be generated may be used, and/or the work extracted from the gas need not be in the form of electrical energy generation. For example, a piston based system could be used (e.g. an engine). The gas flow could be used to provide a relevant motive force. Additionally, or alternatively, compressed gas may be stored for subsequent usage. Similarly, the heated cell fluid which has passed through the fluid to gas heat exchanger 310 could be used for other purposes than heating a liquid. For example, there may be two or more fluid to gas heat exchangers configured to utilise the cell fluid to increase the enthalpy of a gas. The fluid to liquid heat exchanger 330 may output heated liquid (e.g. and/or gas) which could be used for any suitable purpose. Although forming part of a hot water system has been described herein, it will be apparent that there may be other uses for such a supply of hot liquid (e.g. hot water).

Examples described above have generally related to the energy cell 200 shown in Fig. 1a. However, it will be appreciated that the cell 200 of Fig. 1a should not be considered limiting. For example, the third electrode 230 need not be included, and/or the resistive element need not be included. For example, any suitable energy cell (such as the cells disclosed in GB 2604853) could provide a cell 200 in an apparatus 10 of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated from the discussion above that the examples shown in the figures are merely exemplary, and include features which may be generalised, removed or replaced as described herein and as set out in the claims. With reference to the drawings in general, it will be appreciated that schematic functional block diagrams are used to indicate functionality of systems and apparatus described herein. In addition, the processing functionality may also be provided by devices which are supported by an electronic device. It will be appreciated however that the functionality need not be divided in this way, and should not be taken to imply any particular structure of hardware other than that described and claimed below. The function of one or more of the elements shown in the drawings may be further subdivided, and/or distributed throughout apparatus of the disclosure. In some examples the function of one or more elements shown in the drawings may be integrated into a single functional unit.

As will be appreciated by the skilled reader in the context of the present disclosure, each of the examples described herein may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Any feature of any aspects of the disclosure may be combined with any of the other aspects of the disclosure. For example, method aspects may be combined with apparatus aspects, and features described with reference to the operation of particular elements of apparatus may be provided in methods which do not use those particular types of apparatus. In addition, each of the features of each of the examples is intended to be separable from the features which it is described in combination with, unless it is expressly stated that some other feature is essential to its operation. Each of these separable features may of course be combined with any of the other features of the examples in which it is described, or with any of the other features or combination of features of any of the other examples described herein. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the invention.

Certain features of the methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, and one or more functions of the apparatus may be implemented in method steps. It will also be appreciated in the context of the present disclosure that the methods described herein need not be performed in the order in which they are described, nor necessarily in the order in which they are depicted in the drawings. Accordingly, aspects of the disclosure which are described with reference to products or apparatus are also intended to be implemented as methods and vice versa. The methods described herein may be implemented in computer programs, or in hardware or in any combination thereof. Computer programs include software, middleware, firmware, and any combination thereof. Such programs may be provided as signals or network messages and may be recorded on computer readable media such as tangible computer readable media which may store the computer programs in non-transitory form. Hardware includes computers, handheld devices, programmable processors, general purpose processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and arrays of logic gates. Any controller described herein may be provided by any control apparatus such as a general purpose processor configured with a computer program product configured to program the processor to operate according to any one of the methods described herein. In addition, the functionality of the controller may be provided by an application specific integrated circuit, ASIC, or by a field programmable gate array, FPGA, or by a configuration of logic gates, or by any other control apparatus.

Other examples and variations of the disclosure will be apparent to the skilled addressee in the context of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: an energy cell configured to apply electrical energy to liquid in the energy cell to heat the liquid by generating one or more bubbles of plasma therein; a liquid supply system coupled to the energy cell and configured to supply liquid to be heated to the energy cell; and a work extraction system coupled to the energy cell to receive heated fluid therefrom and configured to extract useable work from said heated fluid; wherein the work extraction system comprises a heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger coupled to both the energy cell and a supply of working gas, wherein the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger is configured to use heat from the heated fluid to raise the enthalpy of the working gas for extracting work therefrom.

2. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the work extraction system comprises a heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger coupled to both the energy cell and a supply of working liquid, wherein the heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger is configured to use heat from the heated fluid to heat the working liquid.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger is downstream of the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 or 3, wherein the heated fluid to working liquid heat exchanger is coupled to a heating system and configured to supply heated working liquid thereto.

5. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the work extraction system comprises a compressor coupled to the supply of working gas and configured to compress working gas.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the compressor is arranged to be driven by liquid supplied by the liquid supply system.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 or 6, wherein the work extraction system comprises a generator coupled to the compressor and arranged to receive a flow of compressed working gas therefrom, optionally wherein the system comprises a compressed working gas store for storing compressed working gas from the compressor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the generator comprises a turbine arranged to be driven by the flow of compressed working gas.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 or 8, wherein the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger is arranged to heat working gas which has passed through the generator.

10. The apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising a gas to air heat exchanger.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the gas to air heat exchanger is configured to exchange heat between a source of air, optionally ambient air, and the working gas.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , as dependent on claim 7 or any claim dependent thereon, wherein the gas to air heat exchanger is configured to use the working gas which has passed through the generator to cool the air.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the gas to air heat exchanger comprises a water outlet to output water obtained from cooling the air in the gas to air heat exchanger.

14. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 13, wherein the gas to air heat exchanger comprises an air conditioning unit.

15. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger comprises a working gas channel wrapped around a heated fluid channel, optionally wherein the working gas channel is wrapped helically around the heated fluid channel.

16. The apparatus of any preceding claim, further comprising a controller configured to control operation of the apparatus to provide a selected amount of heat exchange from the heated fluid to the working gas in the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the liquid supply system comprises a pump configured to control an amount of liquid to be provided to the energy cell; and wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the pump to provide the selected amount of heat exchange.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a flowmeter, and wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the pump based on data obtained from the flowmeter.

19. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger is coupled to at least one of: (i) a generator, and (ii) a compressed gas storage unit, to provide pressurised working gas thereto.

20. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the work extraction system comprises at least one generator configured to generate electrical energy, and wherein at least some of said generated electrical energy is supplied to one or more electrodes of the energy cell to generate one or more bubbles of plasma therein.

21. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus comprises a fluid outlet for discarding fluid which has passed through the energy cell and the work extraction system.

22. The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the fluid outlet is coupled to a greywater connection.

23. A method comprising: supplying liquid to be heated to an energy cell; applying electrical energy to the liquid in the energy cell to generate one or more bubbles of plasma therein for heating the liquid; using heat from heated fluid from the energy cell to increase the enthalpy of a working gas in a heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger; and extracting useable work from said working gas.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising controlling operation of the energy cell to provide a selected amount of heat exchange from the heated fluid to the working gas in the heated fluid to working gas heat exchanger.

25. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions configured to program an apparatus comprising an energy cell, a liquid supply system and a work extraction system to perform the method of claim 23 or 24.