STEAM GENERATION SYSTEM FOR THERMAL AND RELATED POWER APPLICATIONS USING STOICHIOMETRIC OXYHYDROGEN FUEL STOCK

Abstract

The invention in the preferred embodiment represents a method of powering any application requiring a motive body of steam in order to produce power, using stoichiometric oxyhydrogen combustion to vaporize a requisite flow of water. The steam-generation process produces water as the sole product of combustion. Applications include providing motive steam for thermal power generation systems within the electric power industry, electric-power generation systems within the railroad locomotive industry, and turbine-driven propulsion systems both water- and aeronautical-based.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to the field of steam-driven power technologies in general, and more specifically to the sub-fields of thermal power generation of electricity for utility distribution to retail electricity customers; electric power generation for the railroad locomotive industry; and turbine-driven propulsion systems for marine and aeronautical applications. In parallel, the invention relates to the field of liquid rocket advanced technology, insofar as the system utilizes hydrogen and oxygen fuel components to generate the heat of vaporization integral to the internal dynamics of the invention.

BACKGROUND ART

The use of super-heated steam under pressure to drive a steam-engine arguably ushered in the industrial revolution. The generation of electric power using steam-driven turbines operatively associated with generators is the most common power plant configuration worldwide. Railroad locomotives most commonly derive motive power from electric motors driven by diesel-powered generators. Early motive transportation systems, as well as industrial manufacturing systems were contrived using piston-driven flywheels powered by steam generation.

To this day, modern, state-of-the-art thermal power generation systems utilize ultra super-critical steam temperatures and pressures to drive multi-stage, reheat turbine systems in operative communication with a generator set. While the natural gas turbine-generator system has taken a beachhead within the power generation industry, the great bulk of power generation worldwide relies on a system dependent on the combustion of carboniferous fossil-fuels to heat the outside of a boiler tank filled with water, in order to generate steam. Every commercial steam-turbine application has an optimum temperature and pressure range, recommended by its manufacturer; to achieve optimum performance efficiency, the manufacturer recommends that the steam supply to the turbine be maintained in this range.

From a cold start, fossil-fuel-fired thermal power generation systems require from four- to six-hours to generate steam at sufficient temperature and pressure to power their turbines. Recent advances in natural gas-fired auxiliary system research and development have resulted in fast-cycling capability, enabling start-up times under an hour; Siemens, AG recently announced start-up times under forty-minutes using its proprietary Benson technology in parallel with a conventional coal-fired system.

Inherent to the current art of steam generation technology, and characteristic of the boiling of water either by applying heat to a single boiler tank as in the conventional art, or to a matrix of copper tubing as in the Benson technology, a significant portion of the heat energy generated in the combustion process is lost to the exhaust system that ports the products of combustion to the atmosphere for disposal.

The combustion of stoichiometric mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen gases produces the most powerful oxidative reaction known to physical chemistry; hydrogen contains the highest Gross Colorific Value of any know fuel, at 141,790 kiloJoules per kilogram. At atmospheric pressure the combustion reaction burns at approximately 5,165 degrees-Fahrenheit. As this event occurs, the sole product of combustion is steam, albeit at a temperature beyond the temperature-range recommended by any current turbine manufacturer. This temperature is in fact beyond the upper limits of endurance of any known metal, effectively rendering a motive flow body comprised only of the directly-generated products of stoichiometric oxyhydrogen combustion useless for thermal power generation purposes.

In 1971, a report was prepared for the Rocketdyne Division of North American Rockwell entitled, A Role for Liquid Rocket Advanced Technology in the Electric Power Crisis, by Escher Technology Associates in response to early interest in the application of hydrogen as a fuel to generate steam for power applications. An informal inquiry made of one recent Rocketdyne engineer indicated that research into the use of hydrogen fuel to generate steam for power generation applications was subsequently abandoned due to the excessively exogenous nature of the reaction, and the subsequent system inefficiencies resulting from the need to dissipate such large quantities of heat to ensure turbine-blade survival.

Edward V. Somers was an engineer for Westinghouse Electric Corporation, when he was granted a patent in 1979 for his vision of using hydrogen combustion as a source of steam generation for power applications; preliminary research has failed to reveal evidence that a commercial application of his concept was ever developed.

The current worldwide concern over global warming, and the effects of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment as a by-product of coal combustion, has stimulated heated discussion in many quarters regarding the need for the world to supplant fossil-fuel bases power generation systems with renewable energy generation systems. While renewable energy generation is growing in response to the concern, the ability to store off-peak production of renewable energy in order to maintain a reliable supply to utilities during periods of peak-demand does not yet exist. As the years pass the world's supply of fossil fuels will one-day be exhausted, necessitating humanity's transition to non-fossil-fuel based power generation systems. The use of hydrogen fuel provides perhaps the only combustive alternative to carboniferous fossil-fuel sources.

A stoichiometric fuel mixture is one in which the volumes of each component are combined in quantities consistent with the exact number of molecules required to effect an exact chemical reaction. In the case of the invention, the fuel mixture consists of stoichiometric hydrogen and oxygen gases in the ratio of two-molar-volumes of hydrogen gas to one-molar-volume of oxygen gas, at Standard Temperature and Pressure. The use of this specific fuel-mix formulation serves dual purposes of generating maximum exogenous heat release, while eliminating the generation of harmful secondary by-products of combustion normally associated with the combustion of hydrogen fuel in nitrogen-containing air.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In the preferred embodiment, the invention consists of a boiler unit of conventional design, to which has been adapted a power head unit, fitted with strategically-located, appropriately-threaded flow-receiving ports, to receive flows of hydrogen gas fuel-stock, oxygen gas fuel-stock, and water for vaporization, located on the exterior surface of the power head unit, each port into the interior of the combined boiler unit and power head unit, thus comprising a sealed assembly, terminating in an array of nozzles of specific size and function, strategically located on the interior of said power head unit, such as to facilitate the operation of the invention.

The power head unit features a threaded socket into which an ignition glow-plug has been installed such that its distal terminus is located at the focal point of the combined fuel-stock flow as directed by the nozzles of each component gas, and the proximal end of which is connected through an appropriately-rated ignition switching device to a twelve-volt, direct-current power supply of appropriate amperage, in order to initiate combustion within the boiler unit of the invention during a cold-start. An externally-supplied ignition source is necessary only to initiate the combustion reaction within the boiler unit; once it has been initiated, the combustion process within the boiler unit requires only the continuous flow of additional fuel-stock components to be self-sustaining.

The invention utilizes stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-stock combustion within the interior of the boiler unit to generate sufficient heat to vaporize a flow of water sufficient to drive a conventional steam-turbine generator system, raising the temperature of the resultant motive body of steam to a level consistent with optimum steam conditions at the high-pressure steam inlet. The heat required to vaporize the water-flow within the boiler unit is drawn from the existent motive body of steam generated directly as the product of combustion of the fuel-mixture, thereby simultaneously lowering the temperature of the body of steam generated directly, and raising the temperature of the body of steam generated by the vaporization of system-water flow within the boiler unit.

In the process of steam generation, the only product of combustion is directly-generated steam. The invention requires no exhaust of any kind, thereby eliminating a major source of energy loss, and thereby system inefficiency common to the background art, and resulting in an efficiency in the conversion of Gross Colorific Value to steam energy that is beyond the capability of any existing technology, thereby constituting an advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 represents the preferred embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 1, and demonstrates the interaction of the various components of the system claimed, in the operation of the invention in the preferred embodiment, operating in automatic mode. The system management computer system operating a dedicated process-control software program (M) directs the flow of water to the boiler unit (0) by controlling automated valve-systems located within the water-flow control system (G), through which is ported water from the main water storage system (C), the pressure of which is raised above the pressure range recommended by the manufacturer of the target application at the steam inlet, by an auxiliary booster-pump system (D), and ported to the water-flow receiving points (P) located on the exterior surface of the power head unit (N), bolted to the boiler unit by way of a pair of matching flanges (S), from which point the flow of water is then dispersed via fog-head nozzles located within the interior of the power head unit, the resulting nebulized flow being thus discharged into the interior of the boiler unit, where it is vaporized into steam by the combustion of stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-mixture at the most distal point of ignition glow-plug (L). In addition, the process-control software directs the flow of hydrogen gas fuel-stock to the boiler unit by controlling automated valve-systems located within the hydrogen gas-flow control system (H), through which is ported hydrogen gas fuel-stock from the main hydrogen fuel-stock storage system (A), the pressure of which is raised above the pressure range recommended by the manufacturer of the target application at the steam inlet, by an auxiliary booster-pump system (E), and ported to the hydrogen gas fuel-flow receiving point (R) located on the exterior surface of the power head unit (N), from which point the flow of hydrogen gas fuel-stock is then directed by a high-flow nozzle towards a focal point within the interior of the boiler unit at the most distal point of the ignition glow-plug, where it combines with its compliment of oxygen gas fuel-stock in forming the stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-mixture used by the system. In addition, the process-control software directs the flow of oxygen gas fuel-stock to the boiler unit by controlling automated valve-systems located within the oxygen gas-flow control system (I), through which is ported oxygen gas fuel-stock from the main oxygen fuel-stock storage system (B), the pressure of which is raised above the pressure range recommended by the manufacturer of the target application at the steam inlet, by an auxiliary booster-pump system (F), and ported to the oxygen gas fuel-flow receiving points (Q) located on the exterior surface of the power head unit (N), from which point the flow of oxygen gas fuel-stock is then directed by multiple high-flow nozzles towards a focal point within the interior of the boiler unit at the most distal point of the ignition glow-plug, where it combines with its compliment of hydrogen gas fuel-stock in forming the stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-mixture used by the system. The process-control software receives digital temperature information measured at a point just proximal to the steam inlet of the target application, from a redundant thermistor-array (TS) rated for the range of steam motive flow temperature and pressure conditions at the target inlet, as recommended by the manufacturer of the target application, in order to regulate the ratio of water-flow to the flows of the components of the stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-mixture in the process of steam generation, and thereby optimizing the temperature of the motive body of steam for the operation of the specific target application. The process-control software also receives digital pressure information measured at a point just proximal to the steam inlet of the target application, from a redundant transducer-array (PS) rated for the range of steam motive flow temperature and pressure conditions at the target inlet, as recommended by the manufacturer of the target application, in order to regulate the total flow volumes of each of the components contributory to the steam generation process occurring within the boiler unit, thereby optimizing the pressure of the motive body of steam for the operation of the specific target application.

FIG. 2 represents a typical presentation of the power head unit of the invention in the preferred embodiment. Located around the distal terminus of the power head unit, mounting flange (D) is shown with a plurality of bolt-holes (E) the configuration of which matches an identical mounting flange located around the proximal terminus of the boiler unit, such that the two components may be bolted together, forming a single tank assembly. The hydrogen gas fuel-stock receiving-port (A) is shown in the center of the dome portion of the power head unit, directing the flow of hydrogen gas fuel-stock along the central axis of the power head unit by a discrete gas-nozzle, and thus along the central axis of the boiler unit as well. The oxygen gas fuel-stock receiving ports (B) are shown surrounding the hydrogen gas fuel-stock receiving port, and are located at points lateral to the central axis of the power head unit, such that the axis of flow of each component of the total oxygen gas fuel-stock flow is directed by a discrete gas-nozzle to a point along the central axis of the boiler unit, at which the ignition glow-plug terminates at its most distal point. The ignition glow-plug is threaded into the threaded glow-plug socket (F), bored and tapped at a location and angle such that its terminal point locates at the focal point of fuel-stock gas-flow. Water flow into the system is received at receiving-ports (C), through which water is ported to high-flow fog-head nozzles designed to generate large volumes of fog-mist, thereby rendering the flow of water nebulized in such a way as to maximize the efficiency of the vaporization of that flow into steam by the combustion of fuel-stock within the boiler unit.

The actual number of receiving ports (A), (B), and (C), and the actual number of flange bolt-holes (E) appearing on an functional incarnation of the invention will vary according to the volume of steam generation required by a specific target application, the receiving-port configuration and the bolt-hole configuration shown in the drawing representing the smallest configuration, capable of driving turbines small enough to generate auxiliary electric power in commercial aircraft systems. Gigawatt-scale thermal power generation systems will require multiple custom-manufactured gas-flow and water nozzles, the configuration of which will be custom-designed by system engineers in response to the requirements of specific target applications, as well as many more bolt-holes of a size and configuration dictated by the requirements of the specific target application, as determined by those same system engineers.

FIG. 3 represents the power head unit represented by FIG. 2, modified according to Claim 2, so as to represent the inclusion of a plurality of receiving-ports (F) to receive re-pressurized post-stage discharge steam from a primary or intermediate turbine-stage, within a multi-stage reheat-type thermal power generation system. The ignition glow-plug socket (G) found in FIG. 3, appeared previously in FIG. 2, represented by designator (F).

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Operation of the system of the invention in the preferred embodiment from a cold-start, requires that the circuit between the ignition-power source and the ignition glow-plug located within the power head unit is completed via the ignition switching device prior to the initiation of component flows into the interior of the boiler unit of the invention.

Normal operation of the ignition system having been verified, a flow of system-water equal in pounds per hour to the steam-volume requirement to drive a specific steam-driven application, is ported through the power head unit from a water supply system consistent with the background art pertaining to the storage of system-supply-water in conventional thermal power generation applications via a water distribution system consistent with the background art pertaining to the distribution of system-supply-water in conventional thermal power generation applications, and into the interior of the boiler unit of the invention, at a pressure greater than the manufacturer's recommended range for pressure at the specific application's steam inlet. Within the interior of the boiler unit of the invention, high-flow fog-head nozzles located on the inner portion of the power head unit disperse the incoming water-flow in a nebulizing manner, facilitating a rapid vaporization into steam.

Once water enters the interior of the boiler unit, flows of oxygen-gas and hydrogen-gas fuel-mixture components may be ported from independent gas supply systems consistent with the background art pertaining to the bulk storage of hydrogen and oxygen gases, via independent gas distribution systems consistent with the background art pertaining to the distribution of hydrogen and oxygen gases for industrial applications, by way of independent high-flow gas nozzles located on the inner portion of the power head unit of the invention, at a pressure greater than the manufacturer's recommended range for pressure at the appropriate steam inlet. Within the interior of the boiler unit of the invention, high-flow gas nozzles located on the inner portion of the power head unit combine the two gas fuel-mixture components homogeneously, in preparation for combustion which occurs immediately upon contact with the heated element of the ignition glow-plug, instantaneously generating steam. Upon ignition, the power supply to the glow-pug is interrupted via the ignition switching device.

Regulation of the temperature of the steam motive body driving the target application is effected by adjusting the flow of water in proportion to the original products of combustion, in turn a function of the total flow of fuel-mixture into the boiler unit. Regulation of system temperature can thus be achieved by adjusting the ratio of water injectate to total fuel-mix gas-flows, while maintaining the ratio of hydrogen-flow to oxygen-flow throughout the operational range of the invention, in order to maximize fuel efficiency. Regulation of system pressure can then be achieved by adjusting the total flow of the three flow components in order to increase or decrease the total amount of steam generated in a given period of time, while maintaining the ratio at which the temperature of the motive body of steam is optimal.

In one mode for carrying out the invention, the system can be operated under manual control, using feedback provided by temperature- and pressure-sensing units located immediately proximal to the steam inlet, and within the steam path between the invention and the target application, providing temperature and pressure information to a human system operator. Simply opening and closing supply valves by hand will effectively regulate the flows of the three necessary components: hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, and water in order to effect adjustments in system temperature and pressure, thereby achieving optimum motive body conditions at the steam inlet of any given application.

In another mode for carrying out the invention, the system can also be operated under automatic control, using digital sensor/sender units in place of those sensing units that would otherwise be utilized in a manually-controlled system, those sensor/sender units similarly immediately proximal to the steam inlet, and within the steam path between the invention and the target application, providing temperature and pressure information in the form of digital data to a system management computer system operating a dedicated process-control software program to enable the process-control software to control the operation of the invention. The process-control software analyzes the constant flow of feedback data, in turn generating operative electronic signals to servo-controlled automated valves in order to actuate said automated valves, thereby making moment-to-moment adjustments to the flows of the three necessary components: hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, and water in order to effect adjustments in system temperature and pressure, thereby achieving optimum motive body conditions at the steam inlet of any given application.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The invention can be deployed in a multi-stage, reheat-cycle type thermal power generation system, whereby a fully-functional automatic-valve equipped system-module of the invention generates a steam supply for its stage, fully independently of multiple similar system-modules, each generating the steam supply for a different stage at temperature and pressure conditions unique to that stage, without the need for fossil-fuels, thereby representing another advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

The invention can be deployed in a typical Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system as the primary source of steam generation, the resulting system considered closed with respect to the water used by the system for its operation, and thereby consistent with the background art with respect to Rankine-cycle thermal power generation systems. The post-cycle condensate that is returned by such a system to the system-water holding tanks will include both the system-water vaporized by the invention in the steam-generation process, and the water generated as the product of combustion generated by the invention as well, actually resulting in a net water gain to the system overall, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

When hydrogen and oxygen fuel-stock gases are generated by electrolysis from the main system water supply of a Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system, and Rankine-cycle system utilizes the invention as its primary source of steam generation, that Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system thus improved, remains closed with respect to water consumption, the Law of Conservation of Matter ensuring that the water required to generate hydrogen and oxygen fuel-stock gases during the electrolysis process is returned to the source from which it originally came, with the exception of such minor leakage as is inherent to modern steam-turbine design. The system thus expanded, therefore requires only an external supply of electric power to operate, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

Provided sufficient commercial electrolysis units are available to supply fuel-stock gases in quantities sufficient to operate the system on a gigawatt-scale, and provided sufficient quantities of off-peak intermittent renewable energy generation are available to operate those commercial electrolysis units to the capacity required to operate the system on a gigawatt-scale, the invention is a vital component in a system capable of storing utility-scale quantities of renewable electric power indefinitely, and then capable of generating renewable-sourced electric power on demand, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

Inherent to the design of the invention, even ultra super-critical conditions can be achieved at the high-pressure inlet of any commercial steam-turbine application within seconds of start-up, enabling the generation of gigawatt-scale electric power in the time it takes for the target system to spool up to maximum output speed. The application of the invention as the sole-source steam-generating component within a Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system, or as an auxiliary component in parallel with, or tangential to a conventional steam-generation boiler component in an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system, will enable participation by those systems in the ancillary services energy market, with system start-up times consistent with true rolling reserve, yet without the fuel cost of maintaining turbine-ready steam conditions, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

Deviating from the preferred embodiment in that such an application requires the use of the power head component of the invention without the accompanying balance of the invention as described in the preferred embodiment, said power head component, separate of the balance of the invention as described in the preferred embodiment can be retrofitted directly to a primary boiler unit, said boiler unit comprising a component in an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system in an alternate manner, that being achieved by cutting a round opening into the most distal end of said boiler unit, at a point above the highest functional water level within said boiler unit, to which a flange could be welded into place such that said welded boiler flange mates to the flange of the power head unit in the same manner as said power head unit might be mated with the boiler unit of the invention in the preferred embodiment, and thereby providing a method by which the existing primary boiler could function in the same manner as the boiler unit of the invention, thus altered to provide such a system with the capacity to generate steam in a manner consistent with the invention, in parallel with the original configuration of such a system. In such a retrofit application, significantly more fuel is required to achieve temperature and pressure conditions consistent with those achieved by the invention in the preferred embodiment, due to the absorption of heat by the body of system-water located within the thus-altered boiler unit in such a retrofit application. However, that additional heat lost to the body of water in proximity to the generated motive body of steam will raise the temperature of that body of water much more rapidly than might be possible by heating that body of water using the primary fossil-fuel-fired heating system alone, thereby potentially shortening the start-up time of an otherwise conventional system, and representing another advantageous effect of the invention with respect to the background art.

The invention will operate an electric generator unit of a size consistent with those currently providing electric power for railroad locomotive applications, and can be installed within the spatial constraints of those diesel generator systems currently installed in modern railroad locomotives. Railroad trains have the added convenience of the ability to include tank cars containing the three components required by the system, hydrogen, oxygen, and water in bulk quantities, thereby placing those components in the immediate proximity of the invention, thus located within the locomotive. Such a locomotive contributes no carbon-based emissions to the environment, and provides a viable alternative to the industry's current dependence on petroleum-based fuel, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with reference to the background art.

The invention can drive a turbine of the type commonly in operative communication with a propeller, in order to impart inertia to a vehicle or craft operating on land, on or under water, or in the air, providing for an alternative to fossil-fuel based turboproptype engine systems, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with reference to the background art.

The invention can drive a turbine of the type commonly in operative communication with a fan, in order to impart Newtonian-type reactive inertia to a vehicle or craft operating on land, on or under water, or in the air, providing for an alternative to fossil-fuel based turbofan or turbojet engine systems, representing another advantageous effect of the invention with reference to the background art.

While other applications of the invention are envisioned, and may come to commercial development in the future, they are not claimed herein; however the general applicability of the invention to any commercial application requiring a motive body of steam to provide motive power, and the use of the invention in any such application is considered by the inventor to be a use protected under such grant or grants as may be afforded to the inventor by this Request.

Claims

1. I claim a system for the generation of steam utilizing a high-pressure steam boiler unit, such unit consistent with the background art with respect to the construction materials and methods with and by which it has been manufactured, those materials and methods consistent with AMSE B31.1 Code standards, or other applicable national or international standards for the construction of high-pressure steam boiler units, wherein the improvement is characterized by the oxidative combustion of stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-stock generates a quantity of exothermic heat energy sufficient to vaporize a quantity of system-water sufficient to generate a motive body of steam sufficient to power a target steam-powered application, be that application the driving of an otherwise conventional steam-turbine in operative communication with an electricity generator set; or be that application the powering of another type of non-turbine-driven type of steam-engine designed for the purpose of generating motive or other power; or be that application the driving of a turbojet or turboprop engine for the purpose of generating Newtonian reactive propulsion in order to impart linear motion to water-based craft, or to aeronautical craft; and,

now referring to FIG. 1, wherein the improvement is characterized by a power head component (N) attached to the most proximal portion of the boiler unit (O) by way of a pair of matching flanges (S), one comprising the proximal end of the cylindrical boiler portion of the boiler unit, and the other comprising the distal end of the power head unit, the size and construction of said flanges themselves, as well as the methods by which they are welded into place, and the methods and materials by which they are attached to one another, being appropriate to the temperature and pressure conditions of the steam motive flow body therein contained, thereby being also consistent with the background art pertaining to the containment and transport of a motive body of steam in accordance with AMSE B31.1 Code standards, or other applicable national or international standards; and,

wherein the improvement is further characterized by the power head component serving the multiple functions of receiving the ported flow of hydrogen fuel-stock component gas from the hydrogen gas storage system (A) having first passed through a pressurizing pump (E) in order to condition pressure condition of the flow of hydrogen gas fuel-stock within its distribution system en route to the hydrogen gas fuel-stock receiving point (R) located on the exterior surface of the power head unit; and of receiving the ported flow of oxygen fuel-stock component gas from the oxygen gas storage system (F) having first passed through a pressurizing pump (I) in order to condition the pressure condition of the flow of oxygen gas fuel-stock within its distribution system en route to multiple oxygen gas fuel-stock receiving points (Q) located on the exterior surface of the power head unit;

and of receiving the ported flow of water from the water storage system (C) having first passed through a pressurizing pump (D) in order to condition the pressure condition of the flow of water within its distribution system en route to multiple water-flow receiving points (P) located on the exterior surface of the power head unit;

and, now referring to FIG. 2, wherein the oxygen gas fuel-stock receiving ports (B) and the hydrogen gas fuel-stock receiving port (A) have received the ported flows of gas fuel-stocks as previously described, the improvement is further characterized by the power head component serving the additional functions of providing for the homogeneous mixing of the of the hydrogen fuel-stock component gas flow, and of the oxygen fuel-stock component gas flow by the use of a high-volume gas-flow-nozzle of a type consistent with the background art as it pertains to the science of gas-flow nozzle technology, one such nozzle being located at the terminal end of each component gas-flow port (A) and (B) within the interior surface of the power head unit, such that each ported gas-flow component is directed by said nozzle towards a center-point within the boiler unit located at the point of glow-plug-mediated combustion, represented in FIG. 1, at the distal end of ignition glow-plug (L), at which point the gas fuel-stock components combine to achieve a homogeneous mixture, thereby facilitating optimum fuel-stock combustion dynamics within the boiler unit of the system;

and, now referring to FIG. 2, of providing for the dispersal of multiple component water-streams into nebulized fog-mist bodies of water flow by the use of a high-flow fog-head water nozzle of a type consistent with the background art as it pertains to fire-fighting equipment technology, one such nozzle being located at the terminal end of each water-flow port (C) within the interior surface of the power head unit, such that each ported water-flow component is dispersed by said nozzle into a nebulized fog within the boiler unit in a generally omnidirectional manner, thereby facilitating optimum vaporization of the invention's primary water-flow, within the boiler unit of the system;

and of providing a port (F) through which an ignition glow-plug of a type consistent with the background art as it pertains to diesel engine glow-plug ignition technology, further characterized by custom manufacture according to the length required to terminate at the desired point of combustion, is mounted in order to mediate ignition of the stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-mixture within the interior of the boiler unit in order to initiate fuel-stock combustion during a cold-start process, said ignition glow-plug being electrically activated by its connection via an electric power cable to an power-switching device of a type and rating consistent with the background art as it pertains to electric switching technology, and represented in FIG. 1, at (J), itself connected via an electric power cable to a power source of suitable direct-current voltage and amperage consistent with the background art as it pertains to DC voltage power supply technology, and represented in FIG. 1, at (K); and,

now again referring to FIG. 1, the improvement is further characterized by having multiple independent flow-control systems, comprised of a flow-control system (G) by which the flow of water between the water supply system (C) and the power head unit (N) is regulated, and a flow-control system (H) by which the flow of hydrogen gas fuel-stock between the hydrogen fuel-stock supply system (A) and the power head unit (N) is regulated, and a flow-control system (I) by which the flow of oxygen gas fuel-stock between the oxygen fuel-stock supply system (B) and the power head unit (N) is regulated, and whereby each dedicated flow-control system consists of one or a plurality of valves consistent with the background art as it pertains to fluid flow valve technology within the field of industrial process engineering, thereby regulating the flow of each of the three components into the interior of the boiler unit, in order to adjust the ratios between the various components involved in the process of generating steam motive flow, thereby achieving optimum conditions of temperature and pressure at the steam inlet of the target application; and,

whereby the system when operated manually, or in manual mode, the improvement is further characterized by each flow-control regulating valve being opened and/or closed manually by a skilled human system operator in order to effect changes in the flow-rates of hydrogen fuel-stock component gas, oxygen fuel-stock component gas, and system-water, as required to maintain steam motive flow temperature and pressure conditions at the steam inlet of the target application; or

now again referring to FIG. 1, whereby the system when operated automatically, or in automatic mode, the improvement is further characterized by each flow-control regulating valve being opened and/or closed automatically by the system management computer system operating a dedicated process-control software program (M) consistent with the background art pertaining to automated process management computer systems, such that the computer issues electronic-signal commands to actuate servo-controlled automated valves consistent with the background art pertaining to the automated valve industry, said valves located within the flow-control systems (G), (H), and (I) and specific to the component flow regulated by each flow-control system, in order to effect changes in the flow-rates of hydrogen fuel-stock component gas, oxygen fuel-stock component gas, and system-water, as required to maintain steam motive flow temperature and pressure conditions at the steam inlet of the target application; and,

further including a steam path comprised of a series of connected steam pipes consistent with the background art pertaining to the containment and transport of a motive body of steam within a thermal power generation system, of a size appropriate to the manufacturer's recommendation for steam motive body temperature and pressure conditions at the steam inlet of the target application, the purpose of which is to port the generated steam motive body from the boiler unit of the invention to the target application; and

further including the installation of one or a plurality of temperature-sensing devices consistent with the background art pertaining to the measurement of temperature within a motive body of steam, at one or more points into the interior of the steam path piping system of the invention, and/or at one or more points into the interior of the existing steam path piping system of an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system, and at minimum into the interior of the steam path piping system at a point immediately proximal to the steam inlet of the target application, for the purpose of providing data reflecting steam motive body temperature conditions at the point or points of measurement, so that component flows may be properly regulated in order to achieve optimum temperature conditions at the steam inlet of the target application when the invention is to be operated in manual mode; and,

now referring to FIG. 1, further including the installation of one or a plurality of digital temperature sensing/sending devices (TS) consistent with the background art pertaining to electronic temperature measurement and the transmission of digital temperature data from within a motive body of steam to an automated process control system, at one or more points into the interior of the steam path piping system of the invention, and/or at one or more points into the interior of the existing steam path piping system of an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system, and at minimum into the interior of the steam path piping system at a point immediately proximal to the steam inlet of the target application, for the purpose of providing data reflecting steam motive body temperature conditions at the point or points of measurement to a system management computer system operating a dedicated process-control software program, so that component flows may be properly regulated in order to achieve optimum temperature conditions at the steam inlet of the target application when the invention is to be operated in automatic mode; and,

further including the installation of one or a plurality of pressure-sensing devices (PS) consistent with the background art pertaining to the measurement of pressure within a motive body of steam, at one or more points into the interior of the steam path piping system of the invention, and/or at one or more points into the interior of the existing steam path piping system of an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system, and at minimum into the interior of the steam path piping system at a point immediately proximal to the steam inlet of the target application, for the purpose of providing data reflecting steam motive body pressure conditions at the point or points of measurement, so that component flows may be properly regulated in order to achieve optimum pressure conditions at the steam inlet of the target application when the invention is to be operated in manual mode; and

now referring to FIG. 1, further including the installation of one or a plurality of digital pressure sensing/sending devices (PS) consistent with the background art pertaining to electronic pressure measurement and the transmission of digital temperature data from within a motive body of steam to an automated process control system, at one or more points into the interior of the steam path piping system of the invention, and/or at one or more points into the interior of the existing steam path piping system of an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system, and at minimum into the interior of the steam path piping system at a point immediately proximal to the steam inlet of the target application, for the purpose of providing data reflecting steam motive body pressure conditions at the point or points of measurement to a system management computer system operating a dedicated process-control software program, so that component flows may be properly regulated in order to achieve optimum pressure conditions at the steam inlet of the target application when the invention is to be operated in automatic mode.

2. Now referring to FIG. 3, I claim the system according to claim 1, wherein the improvement is characterized by a modification to the power head unit, such that the invention can be adapted to service the steam generation requirements of the secondary stages of a multi-stage reheat-type thermal power generation system, by altering the construction of the power head unit thereby integrating one or a plurality of additional ports (F) through the power head unit and into the interior of the boiler unit of the invention, into which the pressurized output of a steam motive body re-pressurizing pump consistent with the background art pertaining to the re-pressurization of the post-turbine steam discharge from an individual turbine-stage comprising a single-stage component operative within a multi-stage reheat-type thermal power generation system, the output of the re-pressurizing pump thereby providing a foundation body of steam, to which the invention contributes additional steam-generation in order to create a motive body of steam consistent with the manufacturer's recommended steam conditions at the steam inlet of the target turbine stage.

3. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the deployment of the invention as the primary source of steam generation within a typical Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system, consistent with the background art with respect to Rankine-cycle thermal power generation systems, wherein the invention contributes the products of combustion to the motive body of steam which is then transported to the target steam inlet within said Rankine-cycle power generation system, such that post-cycle condensate recovered from the turbine system includes that water generated by the invention in the process of stoichiometric oxyhydrogen combustion.

4. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the use of one or a plurality of commercial electrolyser units consistent with the background art as it pertains to the design and construction of hydrogen- and oxygen-generating electrolyser technology, in order to generate hydrogen gas fuel-stock and oxygen gas fuel-stock components from water supplied by the water supply system component of a typical Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system consistent with the background art with respect to Rankine-cycle thermal power generation systems, and using renewable-sourced electric to operate said commercial electrolyser units, such that the fuel-stock components used by the invention in generating steam are derived from renewable energy sources; and,

wherein the system is further characterized by the invention comprising the sole source of steam generation within a typical Rankine-cycle thermal power generation system, consistent with the background art with respect to Rankine-cycle thermal power generation systems, such that the electric energy power load produced by the system is generated by fuel-stock component gases which have been generated entirely from renewable energy sources, thereby qualifying said electric energy power load as having been generated entirely from renewable sources.

5. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the integration of the invention into an otherwise thermal power generation system consistent with the background art as it pertains to thermal power generation technology, as an auxiliary component system in parallel with, or tangential to the steam path of said thermal power generation system, distal to the conventional steam-generation boiler component of said thermal power generation system, and proximal to the steam inlet of the target turbine application, in order to modify an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system for the purpose of generating a motive body of steam with the invention such that said thermal power generation system may be operated in order to produce electric energy power load for commercial consumption during that period of time required by said conventional steam-generation boiler component to achieve optimum temperature and pressure conditions at the steam inlet of the target turbine, until such time as said conventional steam-generation boiler component has generated sufficient steam motive flow, thereby rendering said conventional steam-generation boiler component capable of operating the thermal power generation system independently; and,

thereby enabling an otherwise conventional thermal power generation system to achieve start-up times consistent with those achieved by the invention in the preferred embodiment, and enabling said system to participate in the ancillary services market sector of the power generation industry of which said system is a contributory entity.

6. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the integration of the invention into the electric motive power system of a railroad locomotive of a type and design consistent with the background art as it pertains to diesel-powered electric railroad locomotion technology, modified such that the diesel engine, or engines providing power to one or a plurality of electric power generators that provide electric energy power load to the electric motors that provide motive power to said railroad locomotive, be replaced by the invention; and,

whereby the steam generated by the invention powers a steam-turbine generator set of a size and power-output rating consistent the power-supply requirements of said railroad locomotive, such said railroad locomotive is powered by the combustion of stoichiometric oxyhydrogen fuel-stock, consistent with the invention in the preferred embodiment, rather than by the combustion of diesel fuel; and,

whereby hydrogen gas fuel-stock, oxygen gas fuel-stock, and system-water are stored in bulk tank cars within the cargo manifest of the train being pulled by said railroad locomotive, such that those three components required for the operation of the invention are transported as mobile fuel supply by said railroad locomotive.

7. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the integration of the invention into a turbine-driven propeller system consistent with the background art with respect to turbine-driven propeller systems used in aviation applications, modified such that the invention provides a motive body of steam in order to power a turbine in operative communication with a propeller shaft, said propeller shaft in operative communication with an aeronautical propeller system of a type designed for aviation propulsion applications, said propeller system consistent with the background art as it pertains to turbine-powered aviation propeller technology, for the purpose of imparting motive inertia to an aircraft.

8. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the integration of the invention into a turbine-driven propeller-propulsion system consistent with the background art with respect to turbine-driven propeller systems used in aviation applications, modified such that the invention provides a motive body of steam in order to power the turbine in operative communication with a gear-box capable of reducing the number of revolutions of the drive system, thereby reducing revolutions and increasing torque, said gear-box in operative communication with a propeller shaft, said propeller shaft in operative communication with a propeller of a type designed for marine propulsion, said propeller consistent with the background art as it pertains to marine propeller technology, for the purpose of imparting motive inertia to a craft operating on or under the water.

9. I claim the system according to claim 1, further characterized by the integration of the invention into a turbine-driven fan-propulsion system consistent with the background art with respect to turbofan aviation propulsion technology, modified such that the system could be driven using the invention to provide a motive body of steam in order to power that turbine in operative communication with the fan-propulsion system for the purpose of imparting Newtonian reactive motive inertia to an aircraft.