BE1028610B1 - Process for the simultaneous capture of energy and CO2 from the environment to combat global warming - Google Patents

Abstract

Process capturing the primary energies that are the kinetic energy of the wind, the quantum energy of solar photons and the potential energy of water from dams, tides and waves in order to reduce the thermal discharges from these primary energies into the environment ; to convert these primary energies into chemical energy which will be stored within the hydroxides of Mg, Ca, Na or K, via the electrical energy used in the electrolytic conversion of the Chlorides of Mg, Ca, Na or K in phase aqueous to transform the latter into hydroxides of Mg, Ca, Na or K; and thus succeed in storing in these Hydroxides, and in the form of chemical energy, the three primary energies of departure.

Description

nod 1 BE2021/0015 Process for capturing energy from the environment to combat global warming The invention lies in the field of processes for capturing energy from the environment.

Context of the invention Currently, the progressive transition to green energies and the increasingly important use of electric vehicles do not yet make it possible to reduce global warming.

The polar ice caps and glaciers continue to melt, the permafrost is thawing and the forest fires are more and more intense.

The efforts made by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate Change, in fact only aim to reduce CO2 emissions (3 to 7 giga tonnes [GT] of CO, to be captured per year and 15 GT towards the end of the century) in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

However, it happens that human activities and solar irradiation transfer a lot of energy to the environment.

It would therefore be useful to also capture this energy to store it in stable materials, in order to help achieve the objective set for limiting global warming.

Description of figures

Figure 1 shows the diagram of the process for capturing energy and CO from the environment.

Solar 1 energy is underutilized because most of the quantum energy of 2 photons received from the sun is left free and heats the illuminated part of the earth.

Only a small part 3 of this energy is currently converted into electrical energy. The process can use an increased amount of this energy 4 to convert chlorides to hydroxides for energy harvesting purposes in plant 13 where chlorides in aqueous solution 14 are electrolytically converted to insoluble and soluble hydroxides 15. Insoluble hydroxides 16 are those of Mg and Ca, which can be used for long-term energy storage. The soluble hydroxides 17 are those of Na and K. The insoluble and insoluble hydroxides end up in 18. Similarly, wind energy 5 is underused because most of this energy 6 is left free and releases calories into the environment. . Only a small part 7 of this energy is currently converted into electrical energy. The process can use an increased amount of energy 8 to convert chlorides to hydroxides.

Likewise the hydraulic energy of waterfalls, tides and waves 9 is underutilized because most of it, especially that of waves, 10 is left free and releases calories to the environment. Only a small part 11 of this energy is currently converted into electrical energy. The process can use an increased amount of this energy 12 to convert chlorides to hydroxides. Figure 2 shows a diagram of an electrolyser with four pairs of electrodes 22 having been used for the electrolytic conversion of chlorides into hydroxides using solar energy, in order to store most of the energy received in the hydroxides. The diagram shows four pairs of electrodes, but this does not mean that the invention is limited to equipment having four pairs of electrodes, nor to only the use of solar energy. This number of pairs may be less or much greater without affecting the scope of this patent. Similarly, the installation can operate with a flow rate

> BE2021/0015 continuous aqueous solution or by discontinuous batch without this affecting the scope of this patent. The three views 19, 20 and 21 of the electrolyzer (used in Example 3) show the arrangement of the four pairs of Anodes-Cathodes. The anodes are housed in a porous Teflon sock 23, and in operation are connected to the + of the direct current bus

24. Cathodes are at - power bus. Contact relays 25, 26, 27, 28 individually activate or deactivate each pair of electrodes according to variations in the current available. In Example 3 the hydrogen and chlorine given off during the experiment are not collected, but for safety reasons are purged by a stream of air entering at 29 and leaving at 30, towards a ventilation hood. The distance between Anodes and Cathodes 31 is adjustable between 1 mm and 200 mm. Description of the invention This patent proposes a process for capturing the energy contained in the environment, starting from the observation made by the author of this document during the resolution of problems encountered with one of his stock solution electrolysers. containing titanium salts. In fact, it has been observed that with a power supplying the electrolyser kept constant during its normal operation and during incidents (brief local contact of the electrodes), the temperature of the electrolytes changed a lot. During the incidents, when the regulated power supply was equal to that in normal operation, the temperature of the tank was very high. In the event of simple ohmic conduction, the energy supplied therefore overheated the electrolyser. On the other hand, during normal operation, this same power was largely transferred to the electrolysis products where it was stored in the form of chemical energy, which helped to limit the heating of the electrolyser. Example 1 below

below illustrates this limitation of warming well thanks to the conversion of electrical energy into chemical energy.

The amount of energy that the earth receives from the sun is enormous.

If in addition man also rejects calories where he lives, these energies will contribute to global warming, and in an excessive way unless we manage to trap these calories in stable materials.

Trees store the energy they receive, but not in an eternal way because the plant matter decomposes or burns, and then returns this energy to the environment.

Similarly, electrical energy storage batteries only retain their energy temporarily, and ultimately this energy is also released into the environment.

As permanent storage materials, insoluble hydroxides from both alkaline earth chlorides of abundant Mg and Ca are ideal in several ways.

Per atom Mg** and Ca* offer the capacity to store twice as many charges as the alkali hydroxides Li*, Nat and K+. The alkaline earth chlorides of Mg and Ca are found in abundance in the oceans and can be extracted without polluting their environment.

The theoretical reaction of the conversion of Magnesium chloride into Magnesium hydroxide in an aqueous medium, for example, is however impossible without the supply of energy from the environment: MgCla + 2 H20 — Mg(OH)2 + 2 HC1 cannot not give Mg(OH)2 spontaneously.

But if we apply an electrolytic conversion with sources 5, 9 or 12 in Figure 1, everything is different, and this makes it possible to convert the primary energies of the environment, that is to say the kinetic energy of the wind , the quantum energy of solar photons, and hydraulic potential energy, into chemical energy stored within the hydroxide.

° BE2021/0015 For example, the electrolytic conversion of an aqueous solution containing Mg**(C1-)2 (see Example 2) gives a precipitate of Mg (OH) 2: At the anode, the Cl ions: give Cl, which is released: 2 Cl: — Cla(g) + 2 er At the cathode, the water is decomposed to give OH- ions and hydrogen H: which is released: 2 H20 + Ha( g) + 2 OH Overall: Mg*t*(C1-)2 + 2 H20 — Mg(OH)a(s) + Cla(g) + Ha(g) Chlorine and Hydrogen are then recombined into hydrochloric acid HC1, (intended, for example, for the hydrochlorination of white latex to give a product with no carbon footprint that can be used in the fight against global warming): Mg*+*(C1-)2 + 2 H20 — Mg(OH)a( s) + 2 HCl (in another medium) (1) The standard enthalpies of formation of the products are as follows: Mg (OH)2 in aqueous phase: -926.8 kJ/mole 2 HCL in aqueous phase: 2 x ( -167.2) kJ/mole The standard enthalpies of formation of the reactants are as follows: Mg*t in aqueous phase: -466.85 kJ/mole 2 C l: in aqueous phase: 2 x (-167.2) kJ/mole 2 H2O: 2 x (-285.8) kJ/mole From reaction (1), the calculation of the standard enthalpy of reaction from the standard enthalpies of formation gives 111.6 kJ/mol or 1.91 kJ of standard enthalpy of reaction per g of Mg(OH)2 formed, and stored in Magnesium hydroxide, which is significant when this capture of the energie is on a large scale, exploiting the unoccupied spaces of deserts and oceans.

Under operating conditions, these values will be slightly different, but the result gives the order of magnitude of the chemical energy storage capacity per gram of Mg(OH)2 formed, i.e. approximately 1.91 kJ per g of Mg(OH) 2 product with electrolytic conversion. Note that in ocean water there are approximately 0.0528 mole of Mg** per kg of liquid.

For Calcium, the electrolytic conversion gives: Ca**+(C1-)2 + 2 H20 — Ca(0H)a(s) + Cla(g) + Hz(g) Ca**(C1-)2 + 2 H20 — Ca(OH)2(s) + 2 HCl in another medium) (2) The standard enthalpies of formation of the products are as follows: Ca(OH)2 in aqueous phase: -1002.82 kJ/mole 2 HCL in aqueous phase: 2 x (-167.2) kJ/mole The standard enthalpies of formation of the reactants are as follows: Catt in aqueous phase: -543.0 kJ/mole 2 Cl: in aqueous phase: 2 x (-167 ,2) kJ/mole 2 H2O: 2 x (-285.8) kJ/mole From reaction (2), calculating the standard enthalpy of reaction from the standard enthalpies of formation gives 111.78 kJ/mol or 1.51 kJ per g of Ca(OH)2 produced, and stored in Calcium hydroxide. Note that in ocean water there are approximately 0.0103 moles of Ca** per kg of liquid.

The electrolytic conversion of Na+ and K+ alkalis does not yield insoluble hydroxide, but is nevertheless interesting. For Sodium, the electrolytic conversion gives: Na*Cl- + H20 — NaOH + % Cl2{(g) + % Hz(g) Na+C1- + H20 — NaOH + HCl(in another medium)

/ BE2021/0015 The standard enthalpies of product formation are as follows: NaOH in the aqueous phase: -469.15 kJ/mole HCL in the aqueous phase: -167.2 kJ/mole The standard enthalpies of formation of the reactants are: Na* in aqueous phase: -240.34 kJ/mole Cl- in aqueous phase: -167.2 kJ/mole H20: -285.8 kJ/mole The standard reaction enthalpy is 56.99 kJ/mol or 1, 42 KJ per g of NaOH produced, and stored in sodium hydroxide. Ocean water contains about 0.469 mole of Nat per kg of liquid.

For Potassium, the electrolytic conversion gives: K*Cl- + H20 — KOH + % Cla(g) + % Hz(g) K+Cl- + H20 — KOH + HCl (in another medium) The standard enthalpies of formation of the products are as follows: KOH in aqueous phase: -425.8 kJ/mole HCL in aqueous phase: -167.2 kJ/mole The standard enthalpies of formation of the reactants are: K* in aqueous phase: -252.14 kJ /mole Cl: in aqueous phase: -167.2 kJ/mole H2O: -285.8 kJ/mole The standard enthalpy of reaction is 111.78 kJ/mol or 2.0 kJ per g of KOH produced, and stored in Potassium hydroxide. Ocean water contains about 0.0102 mole of K* per kg of liquid.

Taking into account the concentrations of chlorides in ocean water, and the enthalpies of reaction, the conversion of chlorides and hydroxides contained in one metric ton of ocean water will make it possible to store the following quantities of energy, per metric ton of liquid. Approximately: 7.05 x 106 J in the hydroxides of Mg and Ca, 27.87 x 106 J in the hydroxides of Na and K, i.e. 34.92 x 106 J in the four hydroxides of Mg, Ca, Na and K.

An energy harvesting station processing 1 tonne of ocean water per second will be capable of an energy harvesting power of approximately 34.92 MW.

Green electricity obtained from nature such as wind electricity, solar electricity, hydroelectricity, tidal electricity or electricity supplied by waves is used to treat ocean water and produce green hydroxides used by the chemical industry. The insoluble hydroxides will have captured the energy of the environment to keep it permanently.

No other chemicals are used in this process of producing hydroxides for energy harvesting.

In the case of solar electricity, cheap and abundantly available solar panels make solar energy very competitive.

The direct current provided by the solar panels is sufficient to power the electrolyzers arranged in parallel. The use of inverters to convert direct current into alternating current is therefore not required for the operation of electrolyzers. But as the current available from the solar panels is variable, the number of electrolyser cells put into service is modulated according to the sunshine via programmable microcontrollers in order to avoid overloading the electrolysers in periods of strong sunshine. , and to supply the minimum current necessary for the electrolysers kept in service during periods of low sunlight. The use of diodes makes it possible to avoid reverse currents in the solar panels.

During periods of strong sunshine, the production of hydroxides is high, allowing the building up of significant reserves of products. In periods of low or no sunlight, these reserves make it possible to maintain the average production of hydroxides targeted for the installation.

The use of solar energy without batteries or inverters makes it possible to limit energy losses, and therefore thermal discharges into the environment.

To modulate the number of electrolyser cells put into service according to the sunshine, programmable microcontrollers ARDUINO UNO R3, or other PLC, equivalent Microcontroller are used. The ARDUINO UNO R3 is available at online stores like FABLAB FACTORY-www. fablabfactory.com. The microcontrollers we used are connected to INA-219 power measurement modules (available from ADAFRUIT Industries-www.adafruit.com). Other equivalent power measurement modules can be used.

The programming of the ARDUINO is carried out in C language, with the function libraries available from the ADAFRUIT site. At each power measurement, 128 samples of the power measured by the INA-219 are performed in order to deduce the average power representative of the moment:

void getpower() { int is int imax = 128; power mW = 0.; for (i = 0; i < imax; ++i) { power mW = power mW + ina219.getPower mW(); delay(20); } power mW = power mW/imax; Serial. print("Power:"); Serial. print (power mW); Serial.println("mW"); Serial.println{(""); } The direct electric current supplied by a unit of solar panels passes in series with the INA-219 module and feeds a 12 V DC bus supplying the electrolyzers, 4 in our case.

This number of electrolyzers, and the size of the latter, as well as the supply voltage and the number of power measurement modules can be increased according to the nominal solar power available.

Each electrolyser is connected to the power supply bus and is switched on or off via contact relays by the microcontroller that we used.

The microcontroller through its INA-219 module detects the power P supplied by the solar panel power unit.

A kit of two 40 W, 12 V Si-Monocrystalline solar panels manufactured by XINPUGUANG, China served as our solar electricity source.

Of course any equivalent solar source can be used.

A tank containing 25 liters of water from the North Sea served as our electrolyser. 4 pairs of Anodes-Cathodes served as electrodes and are connected to the DC bus via contact relays. The Cathodes are in 99% Titanium, and the Anodes in 99% Titanium coated with an 8 um thick layer of Ir-Ru mixed oxide. Each electrode measures 100mm x 100mm and is 1mm thick. Additionally, each Anode is housed in a porous Teflon sock manufactured by Huahang Filter Co., Ltd. China. The number and dimensions of the electrodes and electrolyzers can be defined at will according to the size and the desired capacity of the installation and the means of manufacture of the suppliers of electrodes, tanks and Teflon socks.

For each pair of Anode-Cathode, the gap between the electrodes can be adjusted between 1 mm and 200 mm, depending on the risks that can be tolerated between a high ohmic loss (case of large gaps) and or shortening of the service life socks (case of narrow gauges, due to the risk of fouling by insoluble precipitates, because here it is raw North Sea water that is used). The socks act as a diaphragm which limits the return of ions between the electrodes, which reduces the efficiency of the electrolysis. The microcontroller is used to maintain the power consumed by the electrolysis at its maximum, which depends on the intensity of the sunshine. Control sequence At regular intervals, typically from 0.5 min to 50 min, the microcontroller measures the current power P of the solar panels supplying the electrodes, and activates a pair of electrodes which were shut down. If the new measured power Pl of the solar panels has increased with Pl >= P, this pair of electrodes remains in service, and at the next interval a new pair of electrodes off will be put into service, and the same logic and the same cycle begins again.

On the other hand, if the new power P1 of the solar panels has decreased with P1 < P, the microcontroller puts this pair of electrodes out of service, and at the following interval a new pair of electrodes in service will be put out of service, and the same logic and the same cycle begins again.

The choice of the pairs of electrodes to be put into service or out of service is made randomly in order to equally distribute the operating times to all the electrodes.

This control sequence is used in Example 3. Thus the available power of the solar panels is always exploited to its maximum throughout the day.

In the case of wind electricity, or electricity coming from the force of water, we have the advantage of being able to continue the electrolytic conversion at night, when the calories coming from human activities (factories, power stations, transport , heating-air conditioning, etc.) continue to be released into the environment when the sun's rays are totally absent.

If untapped green energies (wind, solar, and hydro) are not transformed into chemical energy for long-term storage, they will contribute to the release of calories into the environment.

Of course, this storage will no longer be necessary when the objective of combating global warming is achieved, unless we wish to continue using fossil, nuclear or geothermal energy.

Finally, one of the concerns related to global warming concerns the reduction of snow-covered surfaces at the poles and in the mountains. Thanks to the process of this document, large quantities of white powders of hydroxides and carbonates of Magnesium and Calcium can be easily obtained and used as paint pigments.

These paints can be used to cover houses in white on a large scale, and these pigments to make white panels to cover the vast expanses of deserts and oceans in order to reflect the sun's rays in compensation for the reduction of snow-covered surfaces.

Example 1 In a beaker containing 1200 ml of water, an electric heater supplied with a direct current of 28.4 V in voltage and 0.52 A in intensity is immersed. Starting from an ambient temperature of 12°C at time t=0 min, the water temperature reaches 30°C in 187 min.

Time Temperature (min) (°C) 0 12 13 15 32 18 60 22 93 25 187 30

In this same beaker containing 1200 ml of water, a pair of titanium electrodes of dimension 100 m x 100 mm are immersed, with an adjustable spacing of 1 mm to 50 mm between electrodes to operate with a direct current supply of 28, 4 V but with an intensity of 0.56 A slightly higher than that of the previous case.

Starting from an ambient temperature of 12°C at time t=0 min, the water temperature only reaches 26.5°C after 199 min of operation.

It is not possible to reach 30°C even after 4 hours of electrolysis.

Time Temperature (min) (°C) 0 12 19 16 62 22 92 24 199 26.5

Without electrolysis, the medium therefore heats up more quickly and reaches a higher temperature level.

With electrolysis a significant part of the injected energy is converted into chemical energy, making the heating slower and the final temperature reached is lower.

Example 2 In an electrolysis cell filled with 2000 ml of water from the North Sea and having two compartments separated by a Teflon filter diaphragm, a titanium anode covered with Ir-Ru mixed oxide is immersed in one of the compartments filled with 1000 ml of water from the North Sea, and a titanium cathode in the second compartment also filled with 1000 ml of water from the North Sea.

A direct current of 18.4 V is applied between Anode and Cathode.

The electrolysis gases, Hz and Cl:2, are evacuated by ventilation using light currents of air sweeping the surface of the electrolytes. Hydrogen and chlorine are normally recombined to produce power and hydrochloric acid in actual operation. The current obtained is 3 A. The voltage and the intensity of the current are high because we were testing the resistance of the diaphragm.

A white precipitate of magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2 is quickly obtained in the cathode compartment. Electrolysis is stopped when the pH of the cathode compartment reaches a ceiling, marking the end of the conversion of sodium chloride NaCl into caustic soda NaOH. The Mg(OH)2 is collected, filtered, washed with demineralised water, then dried. About 3 g of Mg(OH)2 are thus obtained.

Example 3 In a tank with a working volume of 25 l containing water brought back from the North Sea, 4 pairs of Anodes-Cathodes are placed, intended to be connected in parallel to a bus powered by a pair of 40 W solar panels, 12 V. Each electrode has dimensions of 100 mm x 100 mm, and 1 mm thick. The Cathodes are in Titanium and the Anodes in Titanium covered with Ir-Ru mixed oxide. The distance between Anode and Cathode is 2 cm, and each Anode is surrounded by a porous Teflon sock serving as a diaphragm.

Each pair of Anode-Cathode is connected to the 12 V bus via two-contact relays, the switching on and off of which are controlled by a microcontroller. Depending on the sunshine, the control of the commissioning or decommissioning of each pair of electrodes is carried out by the control sequence described above. If we follow the operation of the electrolyser over a full day, we can clearly see that the pairs of electrodes are put into service sequentially and then also put out of service sequentially during variations in sunshine, with the four pairs switched on when the sunshine is intense, and only one or no pair in use when the sunshine is weak. At the end of the day or at midday of the following day, an appreciable quantity of white and insoluble Mg(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2 is obtained, which is around 75 g on days with strong sunlight. . The voltage at the electrolyzer power bus varies around 4-11 V and the average current passing through each pair of electrodes in use is around 0.5-0.75 A.

It should also be noted that from the point of view of the fight against global warming, the efficiency of electrolysis does not affect the effectiveness of this fight with equal capacity for converting chlorides into hydroxides. Indeed, the energy losses of the process only result in a rejection of calories to the environment, that is to say exactly the same rejection in the case where the wind, solar and hydraulic energies are not used to capture the heat from the environment and store it as chemical energy in hydroxides.

Claims (8)

flo ol 17 Claims BE2021/0015 1. Process capturing the primary energies that are the kinetic energy of the wind, the quantum energy of solar photons and the potential energy of water from dams, tides and waves in order to: a. to reduce the heat discharges from these primary energies into the environment, b. to convert these primary energies into chemical energy which will be stored within the hydroxides of Mg, Ca, Na or K, via electrical energy used in the electrolytic conversion of chlorides of Mg, Ca, Na or K in the aqueous phase to transform them into hydroxides of Mg, Ca, Na or K, c. to thus manage to store in these Hydroxides, and in the form of chemical energy, the three primary energies of the departure. 2. (Deleted). 3. (Deleted). 4 (Deleted). 5. (Deleted). 6. Process according to claim 1, whereby when the quantum energy of the solar photons is captured, the resulting electrical energy is supplied directly to the electrolysers without passing through batteries or inverters, in order to reduce the thermal discharges caused by the operation of these accessories. 7. Process according to claim 6, whereby the control of the power supply to the electrolysers, having pairs of electrodes arranged in parallel, is carried out according to the following control sequence: at regular intervals, typically 0, 5 min to 50 min, a microcontroller measures the current power P of the solar panels supplying the electrodes, and puts into service a pair of electrodes which was off, if the new measured power Pl of the solar panels has increased with Pl > = P, this pair of electrodes remains in service, and at the following interval a new pair of electrodes at rest will be put into service, and the same logic and the same cycle start again, on the other hand if the new power Pl has decreased with Pl < P, the microcontroller deactivates this pair of electrodes, and at the next interval a new pair of electrodes in service will be deactivated, and the same logic and the same cycle starts again, the choice pairs The selection of electrodes to be put into service or out of service is carried out randomly in order to equally distribute the operating times to all the electrodes. 8. (Deleted).