IT202300007158A1 - Eco-sustainable energy generation system and process for industrial, domestic and transport use through controlled heterogeneous catalysis of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at high concentration - Google Patents

Description

Eco-sustainable energy generation system and process for industrial, domestic and transport use through controlled heterogeneous catalysis of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at high concentration

DESCRIPTION

Science and the major industrialized countries of the world are aimed at blocking the excessive production of CO2 within the next decades, using alternative sources of clean energy, such as solar, hydrogen or wind, to the point of suspending the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas, preferring nuclear fission despite the problem of radioactive waste, betting and investing at risk in nuclear fusion. The reaction we are referring to needs a catalyst bed to occur rapidly, usually composed of honeycomb structures (channel catalytic beds) in silver, platinum or other catalytic materials or in porous ceramic coated with crystals of catalytic substances such as sodium or potassium permanganate. The catalyst beds used today suffer from numerous drawbacks, which ultimately allow them to be used only for short-term impubes, after which they deteriorate because during the decomposition phenomenon of hydrogen peroxide, the expelled gases are able to remove some catalytic material through friction, or the inevitable oxidation processes negatively affect the catalysis performance and must be replaced. This technology was used in the turbopumps designed for the V2 during the Second World War to pressurize the oxidizer and fuel of the German rocket, or in the attitude variations of orbital vehicles and space probes. For example, the hydrogen peroxide thrusters for the attitude variation of the Space Shuttle had a useful life just barely sufficient to generate the very short impubi necessary for maneuvers in space. To ensure application in energy production plants.

This technology must necessarily ensure continuous catalysis of the hydrogen peroxide at high concentration, control of the reaction speed and temperature, adequate feed pressure and flow rate. In fact, a considerable increase in temperature (already at 298?K and 1 atm 2980 KJ/Kg are released with an adiabatic reaction temperature of approximately 990?C) leads to an increase in the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide, in other words the reaction speed doubles for every 10?C risking leading to an uncontrolled chain reaction culminating in an explosion, which is why a cooling circuit is provided in the catalyst/reactor. The relationship between the power released in the liquid phase (in the form of heat) and the temperature of the liquid follows an exponential law according to the Arrhenius formula, which is the basis of the system for maintaining the reactor below the melting point of the materials it is composed of. We recall that hydrogen peroxide has oxidizing and reducing properties at the same time, and is therefore classified as a monopropellant (just one liter is capable of instantly generating 5000m<3 >of (free O2 and steam). One of the reasons why research in this direction was conducted and why this application is being filed is mainly complete eco-sustainability, since this reaction does not create combustion, but occurs through catalysis and the reaction products are exclusively water vapor and O2, thus fully respecting our ecosystem. Hydrogen peroxide at high concentrations is safe, does not require special precautions for transportation, is already in a liquid state at room temperature and therefore does not require cryogenic systems as in the case of hydrogen. It can be stored in containers made of 99.9% pure aluminum (i.e. without contaminants that could accelerate its decomposition and therefore deterioration), other suitable materials are Teflon<?>, Vitron<? >and HDPE. It is an industrial product widely used in purification, disinfection and treatment plants for contaminated water and in numerous other uses, including domestic ones. Since 2018, there has been a rapid growth in demand from the world market with a consequent increase in plants for its production, as well as numerous researches aimed at saving and optimizing its production. Furthermore, hydrogen peroxide requires production costs, including the energy used, of around 35?/t

Further features and advantages will be apparent from the detailed description that follows a preferred form of embodiment, with reference to the attached drawings, given by way of non-limiting example, in which:

- figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the object in figure 4, taken along a plane passing through the central vertical axis;

- Figure 2 is an orthogonal perspective view of the exploded view of the main components except the stepper motors;

- figure 3 is a cross-section on the horizontal plane passing just below the central assembly nut;

- figure 4 is an overall orthogonal perspective view;

- figure 5 is a partial cross-section view of a system with five objects from figure 4, one of which is outlined with a thick line, which represents the scope of the patent, but is not limited to, a complete system for producing heat and electricity;

- Figure 6 is an orthogonal perspective view of the heat and power generation system seen from the catalyst bed;

- Figure 7 is an orthogonal perspective view of the heat and power generation system seen from the side of the gas expansion volute and the reactant centrifugal compressor.

- Figure 8 represents the application of the invention as a totally eco-sustainable alternative to electric vehicles without the need for expensive storage batteries.

The heterogeneous catalysis system (see Fig. 4), which is the subject of this Patent, allows a continuous, uninterrupted exothermic reaction of the decomposition of the following reaction via a transport catalyst:

In fact, thanks to the creation of a laminar flow 19 of the reagent 4 on the catalyzing surfaces 19, consisting of a portion of a Nickel tape of thickness not limited to the suggested range of 50 to 200 microns coated on one side only with metallic Silver or Platinum with high surface roughness and wound in coils 1 of 400ft (about 122m), and with the aid of an ultrasonic transducer 14 (see exploded view of fig. 2) to increase the number of molecular collisions, the complete decomposition reaction is ensured.

The other main elements of this innovative catalytic system (see figures 1, 2, 3 and 4) are:

The housings 3 of the coils necessary to use a Nickel tape covered with Silver or Platinum metal 2, with slides 15 for insertion into the prismatic body 11 which constitutes the reaction reactor equipped with sealing profiles 16;

The receiving coils 2;

The stepper motors for the advancement of the tape 45 (fig.2 and fig.4 for example);

Cavities 4 where the reagent flows (in this specific case H2O2), and 5 where the refrigerant flows, non-limiting to the R1234zd HFO (hydrofluorolefin) type, non-flammable with low GWP. are joined by the bolt formed by the screw 18 and the nut 17 to obtain a single body with the reactor 11, and positioned with precision thanks to the

thorns 13 ;

The sealing gaskets 12;

Connectors 7 and 8, respectively for the inlet and outlet of the refrigerant fluid; Connector 6 to the high pressure reagent coming from the compressor 37 of fig.5;

The exhaust 9 of high pressure water vapor and O2 is directed to the turbine responsible for transforming the energy of the reaction [a] into mechanical rotational motion;

The material of the components must be 99.9% pure aluminum, as well as the connectors, pipes and valves due to the strong oxidizing power that hydrogen peroxide has towards other metals. The sealing gaskets must be made of Teflon<?>,

: The reagent enters through the connector 6 into the high pressure chamber 4. The rectangular section chamber 10 narrows in thickness not limited to a dimension of 250?750? creating a laminar flow of reagent that flows on one side in contact with the flat surfaces of the reactor 11 within which the coolant flows in the cavity 5, and on the other side comes into contact with the mirror surface of the laminated Silver tape wound in coils 1 that winds on the spool 2 at a speed controlled by the driver of the stepper motors 45. The molecules of the laminar flow of the reagent are agitated by the ultrasonic transducer 14 to increase the collisions of the molecules and obtain complete decomposition, increasing the steric factor of the entire reagent during the crossing of the catalytic bed constituted precisely by the laminated Silver tape 2 in continuous controlled movement that always offers new intact catalytic surface.

The hydrogen peroxide enters from the feed duct 34 and the centrifugal compressor 37 supplies the working pressure directly to the reactors so that the gases developed during the reaction begin to expand at high speed, aided by the depression created by the speed previously induced in the turbine by an electric starter motor 33, conveyed through the duct 9 into the tubular ring 38 to exit from the oriented nozzles 46 of convergent-divergent section against the blades of the first stage 40 of the turbine, and through the stator 42 and the blades of the second stage 41 they expand into the volute with increasing section 28 pushing in rotation through the shaft 43, the feed compressor 37 and the alternator 27 to continue into the cavity 30 of the heat exchanger 36 to then be released into the atmosphere.

The purpose of the exchanger is to lower the temperature of the exhaust gases and at the same time provide heating through the inlet and outlet channels, respectively 31 and 32 of the heat exchange and utilization medium (air or water). The starter motor 33 is connected to the shaft 43 of the turbine/compressor assembly through a clutch, and is used only when the system is switched on to allow the compressor 37 to bring the power supply and rotation of the turbine to the ideal parameters for the exothermic reaction process which will then provide the energy required for the entire system by itself, creating a negative pressure downstream of the reactors. As illustrated in figure 6, the system, of indicative and therefore non-limiting shape, uses five catalyst groups of three reactors each, which introduce the gases, produced by the fifteen cooperating exothermic reactions, into the tubular collection ring 38 equipped with the necessary nozzles directed towards the blades of the two-rotor turbine with intermediate stator. Other types of turbines for gaseous fluids are contemplated and foreseen even if not reported in this application. Each reactor/catalyst group is connected to it through its own outlet channel 25.

Each reactor/catalyst group receives the high pressure hydrogen peroxide feed through the pipes 26 coming from the outlet ring 39 thanks to the centrifugal compressor 37.

Since the reaction must maintain ideal pressure, temperature and flow conditions, each reactor/catalyst group is cooled by inlet connections 21 and outlet connections 35 directed respectively to the ring distribution ducts 20 and 24, equipped with main inlet ducts 22 and outlet 23 of the refrigerant fluid whose flow rate is determined instantaneously for each catalyst group by the detected relevant temperature. In each individual reactor, the tape 2 unwinds and rewinds until the automation system detects that the catalyst is running out via a suitable sensor, not shown in the attached tables, which, by highlighting a drop in pressure downstream of the reactor, signals a deviation from the optimal performance values. In this case, the valves close the relevant circuit and an operator or a robotic arm will extract the exhausted coil housing 3 from the guides 15 of the unit concerned, replacing it with a new catalyst tape. The life of the catalyst tapes 2 depends on numerous factors, such as the roughness of the surface, the temperature of the reactor and the temperature of the reactor. and the size of the surface involved, the thickness of the silver coating, the flow rate, the flow rate and the supply pressure, the equilibrium temperature of the reaction and the characteristics of the ultrasonic transducer, values that represent the variables entered into the microcontroller programmed to manage the automation of the entire process. Therefore, at the moment it is not possible to provide an exact value, but only a forecast of around 1500 hours. For completeness, an application aimed at the "automotive" sector is suggested that allows a vehicle to be powered by a hydrogen peroxide turbine and a coaxial alternator to the vehicle's electric propulsion engine. The latter, via a torque converter, can exploit not only the power generated by the turbine, but also its rotational driving force, helping to increase the overall efficiency. This system, exploiting the flywheel effect and the lack of energy demand during vehicle deceleration, provides for intermittent operation, which allows the transformation, proportionally to the load, of mechanical energy into electrical energy, obtaining a clear saving of reagent used in the reactors. In this application, storage batteries are no longer necessary, which require periodic recharging when the vehicle is stationary, but simply a service battery with slightly higher performance than those currently provided for in a combustion vehicle, kept charged by the system. The battery is essential in both applications, energy production and vehicle implementation, since, as previously written, for the initial start-up of the system, and only for this condition, it is required that the turbine reaches the operating speed to allow the compressor to bring the supply to the reference pressure required to conduct the exothermic reaction of the hydrogen peroxide. This condition is satisfied by the electric motor connected to the main shaft, which will operate firstly to start the reaction and subsequently to simply transport the vehicle by decoupling from the turbine shaft, then receiving the electrical energy through an inverter, generated by the turbine thanks to the generator attached to it, as a consequence of the decomposition reaction of the hydrogen peroxide.

Claims (6)

1. System for the generation of energy by controlled heterogeneous catalysis of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at high concentration, comprising - at least one prismatic body (15) constituting a reaction reactor (11), - at least one catalyst strip (2) of nickel coated on one of its faces with silver, platinum or other metal, the catalyst strip (2) being slidably inserted into the prismatic body (11) unwinding from a donor coil and winding onto a receiving coil, - the at least one prismatic body (15) comprising a first cavity (4) in which hydrogen peroxide flows as a reagent and a second cavity (5) in which a refrigerant flows, the first cavity (4) being configured in such a way that the reagent flows in contact with the surface of the catalyst tape (2) and with a wall of the second cavity (5) cooled by the refrigerant. 2. Power generation system according to claim 1, comprising up to three prismatic bodies (15) and three related pairs of donor/receiver coils for three respective catalyst ribbons. 3. Power generation system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the donor and receiving coils are driven by a micro-controlled stepper motor by system management software for advancing the catalyst belt in both directions. 4. A system for generating energy according to any of the preceding claims, comprising an ultrasonic transducer (14) inserted in contact with the portion of catalyst tape between the donor coil and the receiving coil, the ultrasonic transducer being adapted to increase the steric factor of the reaction. 5. A power generation system according to any preceding claim, wherein the catalyst tape coils are sealed inside a sealed container pressurized with helium to prevent deterioration of the coils. 6. Energy generation process by controlled heterogeneous catalysis of decomposition of highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, comprising the following steps: - providing a power generation system having the characteristics of any of claims 1 to 5, - decompose hydrogen peroxide at high concentration using pressure, flow rate, temperature data from the aforementioned power generation system, detected by corresponding sensors and sent in real time to a microcontroller, said microcontroller controlling, via software, flow valves of the reagent and coolant to achieve a complete hydrogen peroxide decomposition reaction within the correct predetermined parameters, - direct the gas flow obtained from the reaction towards a turbine connected to an alternator and exploit its high temperature by means of a heat exchanger.