JP2003163025A - Hydrogen production and storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hydrogen production and storage system that can retain efficient and stabilized operation. <P>SOLUTION: The hydrogen production and storage system 2 provides a fuel cell 8 that generates power by using hydrogen produced by a hydrogen production plant. A power generated by the fuel cell 8 is used in the hydrogen production plant, hydrogen storage equipment, or other equipment. The hydrogen production and storage system is stably actuated and operated, also the system is controlled through the whole hydrogen production and storage, and in addition efficiency is raised further by using the exhaust heat. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hydrogen production and storage system for producing, supplying and storing hydrogen, and in particular, hydrogen production which is not affected by the state of commercial electric power and has high energy efficiency in production and storage. Regarding storage system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional hydrogen production and storage system is shown in FIG. The conventional hydrogen production / storage system 22 is connected to the commercial power line of the electric power company 24 and receives and uses the electric power required for hydrogen production and storage from the grid of the electric power company 24. For example, the electric power from the electric power company 24 is used for hydrogen production, operation of the hydrogen production device 14 of the storage system 22, operation of a pump for conveying various fluids, cooling and heating of raw materials, products, etc. It was used for temperature control and constant temperature maintenance.

[0003]

However, in the conventional hydrogen production / storage system 22, when the power supply from the electric power company 24 is stopped due to a power failure or the like, the hydrogen production device 14 produces hydrogen, It was impossible to store hydrogen in the storage device 16. In addition, power plants are generally installed in remote areas, and when the power generated by such power plants is used, a loss occurs while the power is being transmitted from the power plant, and the generated energy is taken into consideration. The overall energy efficiency was getting worse.

Further, when the electric power generated by thermal power generation is used, the carbon dioxide emission conversion amount of the electric power used in the hydrogen production in the hydrogen production apparatus 14 increases, regardless of hydrogen having a low environmental load. As a result, the environmental load increases due to power generation.

Further, when the electric power from the electric power company 24 is stopped due to a power failure or the like, the system in the hydrogen production device 14 and the hydrogen storage device 16 is stopped, and not only the production of hydrogen is interrupted but also the internal flammability The gas cannot be discharged, and the internal pressure of the tank or the like may become abnormally high. In addition, if there is a power failure without notice, the hydrogen production system 1
However, there is a drawback that the life of the equipment is shortened because it cannot be stopped by a normal stop operation according to the prescribed operation procedure.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a hydrogen production and storage system configured as follows.

A fuel cell for generating electricity using hydrogen is connected to the hydrogen production / storage system, electricity is generated in the fuel cell using the produced hydrogen as fuel, and the produced electric power is used in the hydrogen production / storage system. I decided to use it as a power source.

This makes it possible to use electric power with high power generation efficiency. Since there is no transmission loss until the power is sent from the power plant, overall efficiency can be improved. The running cost can be reduced. Since the electric power of the fuel cell can be used, it is possible to cope with the power failure from the electric power company without any trouble.

Exhaust heat generated from a fuel cell or the like can be used in a hydrogen production device or the like, and efficiency can be further improved.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a hydrogen production and storage system will be described.

The hydrogen production / storage system 2 comprises a hydrogen production device 4, a hydrogen storage device 6, a fuel cell 8 and the like. The hydrogen production device 4 is a membrane reformer and produces hydrogen from a primary fuel such as natural gas. The hydrogen production device 4 may be a reformer. As the primary fuel, in addition to natural gas, LPG, methanol, gasoline,
Light oil or naphtha may be used.

The hydrogen production device 4 may be started up by a commercial power source or by operating the fuel cell 8 and using its electric power. The produced hydrogen is sent to the hydrogen storage device 6 and the fuel cell 8.

The hydrogen storage device 6 is a device containing a hydrogen storage alloy in a tank. The hydrogen storage device 6 may be composed of carbon nanotubes, a hydrogen liquefaction device and a tank, or a hydrogen compression device and a tank, in addition to the hydrogen storage alloy. The hydrogen storage device 6 stores the hydrogen produced by the hydrogen production device 4 at a predetermined amount of pressure and temperature.

The fuel cell 8 includes a hydrogen producing device 4 and a pipe 12.
Is a fuel cell that uses the hydrogen produced by the hydrogen producing apparatus 4 as a fuel gas and the air as an oxidant gas to generate electricity. The type of the fuel cell 8 is not particularly limited, but a pure hydrogen fuel cell is preferable as the fuel cell 8 because it can generate power with good load followability. In addition, exhaust pipes and the like from the fuel cell 8 are connected to the hydrogen production apparatus 4 and the hydrogen storage apparatus 6, and exhaust gas having a high temperature discharged from the fuel cell 8 and unconsumed hydrogen content and the like are produced by the hydrogen production apparatus 4
Or to the hydrogen storage device 6 and utilize the heat amount.

Next, the operation of the hydrogen production system 2 will be described.

When the natural gas is supplied to the hydrogen production apparatus 4, hydrogen is produced using the electric power, heat, etc. supplied from the fuel cell 8 and the like. The hydrogen produced by the hydrogen producing device 4 is sent to the hydrogen storage device 6. The hydrogen storage device 6 stores hydrogen with the hydrogen storage alloy contained therein. The hydrogen storage alloy appropriately absorbs hydrogen and releases stored hydrogen by controlling the pressure and temperature.

The hydrogen storage device 6 is connected to a special furnace as the hydrogen utilization device 10, a gas station of a hydrogen automobile, and the like, and hydrogen is appropriately supplied in response to a request from the hydrogen utilization device 10. Then, the hydrogen supply pressure P2 to the fuel cell 8 and the hydrogen pressure P flowing out from the hydrogen storage device 6
1 is measured, and a control valve (not shown) provided in each device is operated according to the pressures P1 and P2 to perform a desired operation. For example, when a constant value is required for the amount of hydrogen supplied from the hydrogen storage device 6 as in the case of a hydrogen furnace,
When the pressure of P1 decreases, the hydrogen supply to the fuel cell 8 is decreased, that is, P2 is decreased to secure the hydrogen supply amount from the hydrogen storage device 6.

On the other hand, when the gas station itself has an allowance for increasing or decreasing the amount of hydrogen storage, such as supply to the gas station, even if P1 is lowered, P2 is used to stabilize the operation of the fuel cell 8. The control valve is operated so as to keep the pressure at constant.

As described above, the hydrogen production system 2 is equipped with the fuel cell 8 for generating electric power by using the hydrogen produced by the hydrogen production system 2, and therefore, is self-sustaining by using the electric power generated by the fuel cell 8. The operation of hydrogen production, storage, etc. is performed and is not affected by the state of commercial power supply. Further, by taking out hydrogen to the fuel cell 8 immediately after the hydrogen production device 4, energy required for storing and releasing hydrogen is not required as compared with the case where hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage device 6 is used. Therefore, efficiency is improved. To be However, in this case, the hydrogen pressure in the hydrogen production device 4 needs to exceed the hydrogen pressure required for the fuel cell 8.

Further, since the fuel cell 8 is installed, hydrogen production can be continued even when the commercial power source is cut off.
Further, even in such a case, the hydrogen production and storage operations can be stopped according to the predetermined standard procedure. Hydrogen production,
In the storage process, it is necessary to keep the flow rate, pressure, temperature, etc. of hydrogen in each part in a predetermined state and shift to a stop operation, etc.If stopped without controlling them due to a power failure, the system will be overloaded. This leads to shortening the life of the device. By using the electric power from the fuel cell 8, the stop operation can be performed according to the reference operation, and the system is not overpowered. Further, since the operation of the hydrogen production device 4 and the hydrogen storage device 6 can be continued by the electric power of the fuel cell 8, the fuel gas necessary for the fuel cell 8 can be supplied by the hydrogen.

Furthermore, if a power storage device (including a flywheel, a generator, etc.) (not shown) is provided, it can be started even without a commercial power supply. Further, the power storage device can be charged by the fuel cell 8.

It should be noted that the location for sending hydrogen to the fuel cell 8 is not directly from the hydrogen production apparatus 4 but is sent from the pipe between the hydrogen production apparatus 4 and the hydrogen storage apparatus 6 or from the hydrogen storage apparatus 6. Alternatively, the hydrogen may be supplied from the hydrogen utilization device 10 through a pipe between the hydrogen storage device 6 and the hydrogen utilization device 10.

Further, as a power supply destination of the fuel cell 8,
It is possible to transmit power not only to the hydrogen production device 4 and the hydrogen storage device 6 but also to other devices. Further, even when the storage amount of the hydrogen storage device 6 reaches the limit, by supplying and consuming hydrogen to the fuel cell 8, it is possible to continue the operation of the hydrogen production device 4 without stopping, and the hydrogen production The frequency of repeating the start and stop of the device 4 can be reduced, the equipment life can be extended, and the loss at startup can be reduced to improve efficiency. The electric power produced by operating the fuel cell 8 is appropriately consumed or stored in a storage battery or the like.

Energy loss can be prevented by adjusting the hydrogen production amount and the like according to the amount of heat exhausted from the fuel cell 8, the amount of heat used in the hydrogen production system 2, the amount of power consumption, the demand for hydrogen, and the like. The overall energy efficiency can be increased.

[0025]

According to the hydrogen production / storage system of the present invention, since the fuel cell is provided and the electric power generated by the fuel cell is used in the hydrogen production / storage system, the efficiency of electric power utilization can be improved. it can. Since the heat emitted from the fuel cell can be used, the efficiency of hydrogen production can be increased.

The hydrogen production and storage system can be operated continuously, the number of times of starting and stopping can be reduced, the efficiency can be increased, and the life of various devices can be extended.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hydrogen production and storage system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Hydrogen production and storage system 4 Hydrogen production equipment 6 Hydrogen storage device 8 fuel cells 10 Hydrogen utilization device 12 piping

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kunihiro Nishizaki             1-5-20 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo Tokyo Gas             Within the corporation F-term (reference) 4G040 AA11 AB01                 5H027 AA02 BA01 BA13 BA14 DD00                       DD03 DD05 KK52

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A hydrogen producing apparatus for producing and supplying hydrogen from a raw material gas, wherein a fuel cell using hydrogen produced by the hydrogen producing apparatus as a fuel gas is installed, and the fuel cell is used as an operating power source of the hydrogen producing apparatus. A hydrogen production device characterized by using the electric power generated in. 2. The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein hydrogen as a fuel gas used for power generation is directly supplied from the hydrogen production apparatus to the fuel cell. 3. A hydrogen production / storage system comprising a hydrogen production device for producing hydrogen from a raw material gas and a hydrogen storage device for storing and supplying hydrogen produced by the hydrogen production device, wherein the hydrogen production device is produced by the hydrogen production device. A fuel cell using hydrogen as a fuel gas, and using the electric power generated by the fuel cell as an operating power source for either or both of the hydrogen production apparatus and the hydrogen storage apparatus;
Storage system. 4. The hydrogen production and storage system according to claim 3, wherein hydrogen as a fuel gas used for power generation is supplied from the hydrogen production device to the fuel cell. 5. The hydrogen production and storage according to claim 3, wherein hydrogen as a fuel gas used for power generation is supplied to the fuel cell from a pipe portion between the hydrogen production device and the hydrogen storage device. system. 6. The hydrogen production and storage system according to claim 3, wherein heat from the fuel cell is used in the hydrogen production device or the hydrogen storage device. 7. The hydrogen production and storage system according to claim 3, wherein the devices used for the hydrogen production device or the hydrogen storage device are direct current operating devices. 8. The hydrogen production and storage system according to claim 3, further comprising a storage battery that activates the fuel cell.