EP0204872B1 - Moteur électrochimique - Google Patents

Moteur électrochimique Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0204872B1
EP0204872B1 EP19850304066 EP85304066A EP0204872B1 EP 0204872 B1 EP0204872 B1 EP 0204872B1 EP 19850304066 EP19850304066 EP 19850304066 EP 85304066 A EP85304066 A EP 85304066A EP 0204872 B1 EP0204872 B1 EP 0204872B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
compartment
membrane
tubular member
prime mover
disposed
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP19850304066
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP0204872A1 (fr
Inventor
Henri J.R. Maget
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Maget Henri JR
Original Assignee
Individual
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Filing date
Publication date
Priority to US06/527,698 priority Critical patent/US4522698A/en
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to DE85304066T priority patent/DE3584631D1/de
Priority to EP19850304066 priority patent/EP0204872B1/fr
Publication of EP0204872A1 publication Critical patent/EP0204872A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0204872B1 publication Critical patent/EP0204872B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F04—POSITIVE - DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS FOR LIQUIDS OR ELASTIC FLUIDS
    • F04B—POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS
    • F04B17/00—Pumps characterised by combination with, or adaptation to, specific driving engines or motors

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a prime mover and more particularly to a prime mover which exploits pressure increases and decreases induced by converting molecules of electrochemically active material to ions, transporting the ions through an electrolytic membrane and reconverting the ions to molecules.
  • U.S. Patent No. 3,489,670 discloses a process for gas purification in which a gas composed of hydrogen and various contaminants is introduced into a chamber bounded by an ion exchange membrane. A voltage gradient is established across the membrane, and the hydrogen molecules within the gas are ionized so that they pass through the membrane and are extracted from the opposite side of the membrane. The contaminants are not ionized and therefore do not pass through the membrane.
  • the process can also be employed in providing hydrogen for a fuel cell.
  • U.S. Patent No. 4,118,299 discloses an electrochemical water desalination process in which water containing salt and other contaminants is mixed with hydrogen gas. The mixture is introduced into a chamber bounded by an ion exchange membrane across which a voltage gradient is established. The hydrogen molecules are ionized and pass through the membrane. During passage of the hydrogen ions through the membrane, water is entrained with the ions so that at the opposite side of the membrane, hydrogen and pure water are produced. The hydrogen in gaseous form is pumped back for reuse.
  • U.S. Patent No. 4 118 299 discloses that the hydrogen ions under the influence of the voltage gradient will be transported from a low pressure environment on one side of the membrane to a high pressure environment on the other side of the membrane.
  • EP A 82591 by the same present inventor Henri Maget discloses an electrochemical prime mover device in which two compartments are provided between which is a membrane having a first pervious surface bounding one compartment and a second pervious surface bounding the other compartment, both compartments contain an electrochemically active medium and ions are caused by a voltage applied to the membrane to pass from one compartment to the other which results in a pressure differential between the compartments.
  • the pressure differential is conducted by means of a conduit from each compartment to a bellows from which a reciprocating drive may be taken.
  • This is a complex construction and furthermore the drive is indirect so that inaccuracies between the application of the voltage and the final drive may develop.
  • a prime mover comprising a single gas-tight chamber, an electrolytic membrane disposed in said chamber, said membrane having a first surface and a second surface spaced from said first surface in substantial parallelism thereto, said membrane being fixed within said chamber so as to form a single compartment bounded in part by said first surface, a first pervious electrode disposed on said first surface and a second pervious electrode disposed on said second surface, said compartment containing an electrochemically active material capable of existing in a gaseous phase and being electrochemically reversibly active so as to enter into a reduction/oxidation reaction at said electrodes and produce ions that are transportable through said membrane, means connected to said electrodes for establishing a voltage gradient across said membrane so as to ionize said electrochemically active material at one said electrode and transport ions through said membrane from said second surface to said compartment thereby effecting a pressure increase in said compartment, and converting means operatively associated with said compartment for converting the pressure change therein to mechanical motion, said converting
  • An advantage over the prior art is that the simple construction of the prime mover of the present invention enables a very accurate response from the single compartment arrangement which controls the fluid filler hollow tubular member to eject an amount of fluid in response to a specific electrical signal causing increased pressure in the single compartment. The amount of fluid ejected is related accurately to the electrical signal.
  • a feature and advantage of the invention is that the increase and/or decrease of pressure in the compartment is accomplished without moving parts to the end that no friction losses are present and substantial longevity is achieved.
  • the drawing shows an impervious, cylindrical shell or wall 300.
  • the wall is formed of metal but can be of any other suitable material such as plastics, glass or like gas-tight material.
  • closure wall 302 centrally of which is a cylindrical, tubular extension 304.
  • the end of the extension 304 remote from the wall 300 is closed by an end wall 306.
  • an electrolytic membrane 310 Opposite to the closure wall 302 is an electrolytic membrane 310 which spans the circular opening defined by the cylindrical wall 300 and has an inner surface on which is disposed a gas-pervious electrode 308.
  • the membrane also has an outer surface, typically parallel to the inner surface, on which is disposed a gas-pervious conductive electrode 312.
  • the electrode 312 is exposed to the ambient enviroment.
  • Means for applying a voltage differential across the membrane is exemplified by a controller 314 powered by a battery 316.
  • the controller 314 typically includes an on/off switch and components for controlling the magnitude and time pattern of current and voltage applied to the membrane 310.
  • electrolytic membrane 310 depends upon the electrochemically active material that is employed in the device.
  • the device can operate on any redox couple that contains material capable of existing in a gaseous phase and that is electrochemically reversibly active so as to react at one of the electrodes 308, 312 to produce ions which can migrate across the electrolytic membrane and be reconverted at the opposite electrode into a molecular state.
  • a suitable redox couple is wherein both species of the couple are molecular hydrogen (H2 / H2) in gaseous form.
  • H2 / H2 molecular hydrogen
  • controller 314 establishes electrode 312 at a potential that is higher than electrode 308, electrode 308 functions as a cathode and electrode 312 functions as an anode.
  • a cathodic reaction represented by the following equation occurs: 2H+ + 2e ⁇ ⁇ H2
  • Suitable redox couples are oxygen and water (O2/H2O), chlorine and hydrochloric acid (Cl2/HCl), bromine and hydrobromic acid (Br2/HBr), iodine and hydriodic acid (I2/HI), and chlorine and lithium chloride (Li/LiCl).
  • the electrodes can be formed of a titanium-palladium alloy in the form of a mesh, palladium black in the form of a thin coating on the respective surfaces of membrane 310 or any other material that is electrically conductive and acts as a catalyst in converting molecules of the electrolytic material in shell 300 to ions in response to a voltage gradient applied across membrane 310.
  • a moveable wall member Disposed in the tubular extension 304 in communication with the compartment bounded by the wall 300, membrane 310 and closure wall 302, is a moveable wall member spanning the inside of the tubular extension and exemplified in Figure 1 by a piston 318.
  • An O-ring seal 320 provides a seal between the outer surface of the piston 318 and the inner surface of the tubular extension 304, so that the portion of the volume interior of the tubular extension remote from the membrane 310 is sealed from the compartment.
  • a pharmaceutical or like fluid material can be disposed within the volume.
  • the end wall 306 is provided with a fitting 322 which defines an outlet orifice for fluid within the volume defined at the right-hand side of the piston 318.
  • a small quantity of water W is placed within the compartment between the membrane 310 and the piston 318.
  • the fluid material is placed within the volume to the right of the piston 318, and the battery 314 is connected with the switch 316 in an opened position.
  • air is present at the exterior of the device and specifically adjacent to the left-hand or outer surface of the membrane 308.
  • a typical application is a device to administer pharmaceuticals to a human body over a substantial period of time at a sustained very low rate.
  • the size of the device can be about 1 centimetre in diameter or even less.
  • a suitable outlet conduit is connected to the fitting 322 and the controller 314 is activated, thus establishing a voltage gradient across the membrane 310.
  • the oxygen in the air constitutes the electrochemically active material.
  • oxygen molecules are introduced into the compartment to the right of the membrane 310 and cause a pressure increase in the compartment.
  • the pressure increase is converted to mechanical motion by moving the piston 318 rightward and expels the fluid through the outlet orifice in the fitting 322.
  • a typical repetition rate for the controller 314 provides for one second of a voltage gradient across the membrane 310 of one polarity followed by a one second interval of a voltage gradient of opposite polarity.
  • the electrodes 308 and 312 have a thickness of about .002 - .003 inches (0,05 - 0,076 mm), membrane 310 has a thickness of about .010 inches (0,25 mm) and the electrodes have a cross-sectional area of about one square centimetre.
  • a voltage of about .1 volt causes a current flow through the membrane of about one ampere and at a rate of about one polarity reversal per second; the device having a membrane area of about one square centimetre can pump about 400 cubic centimetres of hydrogen per hour.
  • the pressure in the compartment can vary from about one atmosphere to about three atmospheres.
  • the oxygen molecules produced by the reaction at the right-hand surface of the membrane 310 causes the pressure increase within the compartment.
  • the hydrogen can be mixed with an inert gas to which the membrane is impervious, nitrogen exemplifying a suitable gas for the purpose.
  • the nitrogen remains in the compartment in which it is placed thereby providing a preselected residual pressure even when all hydrogen is depleted from the compartment.
  • the prime mover can be constructed in a wide range of sizes from an extremely small device having a cross sectional area of about one centimetre to devices substantially larger. Because the device affords implementation in such a miniature device utilizing battery power sources, it lends itself to implantation or installation at inaccessible locations.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Separation Using Semi-Permeable Membranes (AREA)

Claims (3)

  1. Moteur comprenant une chambre unique étanche aux gaz, une membrane électrolytique (310) disposée dans cette chambre, cette membrane ayant une première surface et une deuxième surface espacée de la première surface en lui étant pratiquement parallèle, cette membrane étant fixée à l'intérieur de la chambre de façon à former un compartiment unique délimité en partie par cette première surface, une première électrode perméable (308) disposée sur la première surface et une deuxième électrode perméable (312) disposée sur la deuxième surface, ce compartiment contenant un produit électrochimiquement actif susceptible d'exister en phase gazeuse et étant électrochimiquement actif de manière réversible de façon à entrer dans une réaction de réduction/oxydation au niveau des électrodes et à produire des ions pouvant être transportés à travers cette membrane, des moyens reliés à ces électrodes pour établir un gradient de tension en travers de la membrane de façon à ioniser ce produit électrochimiquement actif au niveau d'une première électrode et à transporter des ions à travers cette membrane depuis la deuxième surface jusqu'à ce compartiment, provoquant ainsi une augmentation de pression dans le compartiment, et des moyens de conversion (304, 318) fonctionnellement associés à ce compartiment pour convertir le changement de pression dans le compartiment en un mouvement mécanique, ces moyens de conversion comprenant un élément tubulaire creux (304) fixé sur la chambre et ayant une extrémité interne communiquant avec le compartiment et une extrémité externe (306) à l'extérieur du compartiment, une paroi mobile (318) recouvrant transversalement de façon hermétique l'élément tubulaire et formant une enceinte contenant un fluide éloignée de l'extrémité interne, cette paroi mobile s'éloignant de l'extrémité interne en réponse à une augmentation de pression dans le compartiment et cet élément tubulaire ayant un orifice de sortie (332) éloigné du compartiment pour permettre l'éjection du fluide de l'enceinte contenant le fluide en réponse à une augmentation de pression dans le compartiment, caractérisé en ce que ce compartiment unique est le seul compartiment formé par la membrane.
  2. Moteur selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le produit électrochimiquement actif est de l'air contenant de l'oxygène.
  3. Moteur selon la revendication 1 ou la revendication 2, dans lequel la paroi mobile hermétique comporte un piston disposé à coulissement dans l'élément tubulaire creux pour se rapprocher et s'éloigner du compartiment, et un joint torique (320) entourant le piston entre l'extérieur du piston et l'intérieur de l'élément tubulaire creux pour réaliser entre eux une étanchéité.
EP19850304066 1981-11-12 1985-06-07 Moteur électrochimique Expired EP0204872B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US06/527,698 US4522698A (en) 1981-11-12 1983-08-30 Electrochemical prime mover
DE85304066T DE3584631D1 (en) 1985-06-07 1985-06-07 Electrochemical prime mover or motor
EP19850304066 EP0204872B1 (fr) 1985-06-07 1985-06-07 Moteur électrochimique

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19850304066 EP0204872B1 (fr) 1985-06-07 1985-06-07 Moteur électrochimique

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0204872A1 EP0204872A1 (fr) 1986-12-17
EP0204872B1 true EP0204872B1 (fr) 1991-11-06

Family

ID=8194253

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19850304066 Expired EP0204872B1 (fr) 1981-11-12 1985-06-07 Moteur électrochimique

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0204872B1 (fr)
DE (1) DE3584631D1 (fr)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2785021B1 (fr) 1998-10-09 2002-02-15 Eastman Kodak Co Dispositif pour controler le deplacement d'un fluide sous l'action d'un gaz
DE19925481A1 (de) * 1999-06-03 2000-12-14 August Winsel Vorrichtung zur Sammlung von pastösen Massen, Flüssigkeiten, Gasen und mobilen Objekten
FR2795017B1 (fr) 1999-06-21 2001-08-31 Eastman Kodak Co Dispositif de controle de l'atmosphere d'un reservoir d'encre applique a l'impression par jet d'encre

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1062842A (en) * 1964-05-14 1967-03-22 Saunders Valve Co Ltd Pneumatic actuator
US3739573A (en) * 1970-10-20 1973-06-19 Tyco Laboratories Inc Device for converting electrical energy to mechanical energy
DE2061897A1 (en) * 1970-12-16 1972-07-06 Deutsche Steinzeug- Und Kunststoffwarenfabrik, 6800 Mannheim Pure oxygen recovery from air - by means of oxygen ion-conducting membrane
US3706013A (en) * 1970-12-24 1972-12-12 Johnson Matthey & Mallory Ltd Ion exchange membrane electrochemical integrator
US3877989A (en) * 1971-09-13 1975-04-15 United Aircraft Corp Power system and an electrochemical control device therefor
US4402817A (en) * 1981-11-12 1983-09-06 Maget Henri J R Electrochemical prime mover
DE3316258A1 (de) * 1983-05-04 1984-11-08 Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh, 6000 Frankfurt Elektrochemischer druckwandler

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0204872A1 (fr) 1986-12-17
DE3584631D1 (en) 1991-12-12

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