JP2014518333A - electrolytic - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrolysis apparatus, and more particularly to an electrolytic cell that can be used in various parts of a technique for generating hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis of an aqueous electrolyte.
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Description

  The present invention relates to an electrolysis apparatus, and more particularly to an electrolytic cell that can be used in various parts of a technique for generating hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis of an aqueous electrolyte.

A known device (Russian Patent No. 2149921) takes the shape of a laminate forming an anode, and takes the shape of an anode electrode, which is a plurality of electrodes each consisting of a flat plate, and a laminate forming a cathode. , An electrolytic cell for electrolysis of water, comprising a plurality of cathode electrodes each composed of a flat plate, and anode electrodes arranged alternately with the cathode electrodes. Furthermore, the electrolytic cell passes through the interleaved anodes and is provided for electrical connection only with each anode electrode, with at least one first conductive connection element and the interleaved cathodes passing through each cathode electrode. At least one second conductive connection element provided for electrical connection only with
Russian Federation Patent No. 2149921

  Disadvantages of known electrolyzers for producing hydrogen gas and oxygen gas used for welding include their complex design and low efficiency.

A known device (Russian Federal Patent No. 2228390) is a device for generating thermal power, hydrogen and oxygen, which is made of a dielectric material, a cover, an anode cavity and a cathode cavity, and an anode cavity. A flat ring-shaped anode having an opening located and connected to the positive electrode of the power supply; a cathode in the form of a rod of refractory material inserted into the dielectric tube by an external screw and connected to the negative electrode of the power supply; And a working solution supply port located in the center of the anode cavity, the cover is made of a dielectric material, and a cylinder with a through-opening that cooperates with the case to form the anode cavity and the cathode cavity. -Conic extension) and the dielectric tube passes through the threaded opening of the case and forms an upper cathode cavity. Centered around the through-opening and inserted into the chamber between the electrodes by its external threads, the anode cavity is interconnected with the upper cathode cavity via a channel consisting of vertical and horizontal sections located in the cover, and A device in which the gap between the upper cathode cavity and the lower cathode cavity is adjustable by moving the dielectric tube, and the working solution drain port located on the side of the cover and the cover coaxially with the upper cathode cavity And a gas mixing output port located at the top of the device, wherein the cathode and anode are connected to a power supply comprising a pulse generator and a control circuit.
Russian Federation Patent No. 2228390

  The disadvantages of the known devices include their complex design and low efficiency.

The closest counterpart of the technical solution provided herein is a device that generates thermal power, hydrogen, and oxygen, comprising a case made of a dielectric material, between a through opening and an electrode A device having a chamber, a working solution supply port and a drain port, an anode connected to the positive electrode of the power source, and a cathode connected to the negative electrode of the power source (Russian Federation No. 2175027). A case with an axial opening comprises a lower frustoconical part and a lower cover which, in cooperation with the case, forms a chamber between electrodes consisting of an anode cavity and a cathode cavity interconnected in the lower section. A flat ring-shaped anode with an opening is located in the anode cavity. The cathode is in the form of a rod of refractory material that is inserted into a threaded dielectric tube. The dielectric tube is inserted into the chamber between the electrodes through a threaded opening in the bottom cover and can be moved vertically along the axis of the device. A working solution container with an automatic solution level control system in the cathode cavity is connected to the anode cavity. The apparatus also includes a cooling chamber for vapor condensation and hydrogen separation, the cavity of which is interconnected with the working solution supply port of the anode cavity. The vapor / gas mixture supply port of the cooling chamber is inserted into the case opening by its screw and the oxygen output port is inserted into the top of the anode cavity.
Russian Federation Patent No. 2175027

  Known devices operate as follows.

  A working solution is poured into the container and flows from the container through the batching device and the float chamber to the anode cavity and the cathode cavity. After reaching the required solution level in the reactor, the float in the float chamber closes the intake opening of the batching apparatus. Next, power is supplied and the voltage is gradually increased until a stable plasma is generated in the cathode region. The vapor / gas mixture produced at the cathode is fed to the cooler. Vapor exposed to the cold surface of the cooler pipe condenses and the released gas exits from the bottom of the reflector to the output port. Vapor condensate is supplied to the anode cavity via a tube and an intake port. Oxygen released at the anode is supplied to the top of the anode cavity and removed through the port. Since the solution level in the reactor is automatically controlled, the hydrogen and oxygen generator operates automatically as well. As the working solution is consumed, it is refilled into the receiving container.

  The nature of the physicochemical process that takes place in the reactor is that the electric field between the cathode and the anode when the cathode region is much smaller than the anode region concentrates the ion flow at the cathode first of the alkali metal present in the electrolyte. Let Alkali metal ions push hydrogen atoms from water molecules by preserving the kinetic energy stored during movement towards the cathode. When arriving at the cathode, the protons gain electrons and form hydrogen atoms, producing photons, which form an atomic hydrogen plasma at 5000-10,000 ° C. This plasma energy drives the thermal dissociation of water into hydrogen and oxygen and the release of additional energy that is readily indicated by the increased energy of the heated solution, evaporated water, and collected gas. Hydrogen release by electrolysis occurs simultaneously at the anode. Therefore, the hydrogen plasma at the cathode becomes a source of thermal energy transmitted to the aqueous solution, and at the same time a source of atomic and molecular hydrogen and oxygen.

  A disadvantage of the known technical solution is that the cathode is permanently in the plasma zone, which dramatically reduces its useful life. Furthermore, the device has a very complex design.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient electrolytic cell for decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen.

  It is proposed to achieve the objective by using a plasma cell having the design provided herein. The plasma electrolyzer comprises an anode and a cathode that are located in the dielectric container and interconnected via pipes at the bottom of the dielectric container. The spiral cathode is made from an electrically isolated copper wire, the electrical insulator has local breaks, the anode is flat, and the cathode and anode vessels are built-in gas pressure regulation It has a cover with a valve, the upper part of the container is connected to a gas exhaust device, and the cathode and anode containers allow the addition of electrolyte. In some embodiments of the invention, the cathodic electrical insulator is removed to form a stepped pattern having strips 4-6 mm wide spaced 20-60 mm apart. However, there are other options for removing the insulator from the cathode surface. The cathode is preferably filled in a cathode container. In some embodiments of the present invention, the electrolytic cell allows more electrolyte to be added to the cathode vessel and the lower portion of the anode vessel.

  The working principle of the device provided herein is the same as the working principle of the technical solution used as the closest counterpart. The technical solution provided herein enables the generation of hydrogen and oxygen from aqueous electrolytes by plasma electrolysis and simultaneous gas separation. Plasma electrolysis is achieved by using a cathode that exposes only some of its operating range that is not insulated from the electrolyte to the solution. This eliminates a single concentrated area of the hot plasma and allows the heat load to be distributed over a larger area of the cathode.

  This dramatically reduces the heat load on the cathode and significantly increases its useful life. Pulsed plasma formation at different cathode regions produces a current pulse, the average magnitude of which is much smaller than the magnitude reached when DC voltage and current are used for water electrolysis. This significantly reduces the power consumption of electrolysis.

  Furthermore, hydrogen and oxygen can be generated separately by placing the cathode and anode in different containers whose solutions are interconnected only through the small diameter pipe at the bottom of the container.

  The cathode located in the cathode vessel is made from a copper wire, preferably helical, insulated with lacquer. A uniform heat load distribution on the cathode is achieved by removing the cathode insulator in place to form sections of less than 5 mm length, preferably spaced 3-5 cm apart.

  The anode is located in the anode container and has a plate shape.

  Hydrogen released at the cathode exits the cathode vessel through a valve that regulates the pressure in the cathode vessel, and oxygen exits through a valve and port in the top cover of the anode vessel.

  The basic embodiment of the plasma electrolyzer is designed as follows. The plasma cell comprises two dielectric vessels interconnected at the bottom by dielectric pipes, one being the cathode and the other being the anode. The cathode and anode containers are connected to a common container via a pipe, through which they are refilled with electrolyte.

  The cathode is made from lacquer-insulated copper, from which the insulator is removed to form sections up to 3 mm long, spaced 3-5 cm apart. The cathode has a spiral shape. The anode has a plate shape and is made of a conductive metal. The cathode container and the anode container have a cover, and a valve for adjusting the pressure in the cathode container and the anode container is installed in the cover.

  Hydrogen exits the cathode vessel through valves and pipes that guide the hydrogen to a common dryer. Oxygen exits the anode vessel through valves and pipes that guide the oxygen to a common dryer.

  After the container 4 and the container are filled with electrolyte, power is supplied to the clamp and the electrolyte begins to heat up. As the gas release rate gradually increases and the solution temperature reaches a critical threshold, a plasma pulse is generated in the non-insulated cathode surface strip, and the gas release rate increases dramatically by decades (by decades of times). Reaching 0.3 to 0.5 liters / second. A properly adjusted valve in the cathode container and anode container maintains the solution in the individual containers at the required level. The current amplitude varies irregularly during this period, but its average value remains relatively low, saving electricity. As a result, the cathode lifetime increases by several decades (by decades of times).

Claims (4)

  An anode and a cathode located in a dielectric container and interconnected via pipes at the bottom of the dielectric container, the spiral cathode being made from an electrically insulated copper wire, The insulation has a local break, the anode is flat, the cathode vessel and the anode vessel have a cover with a built-in gas pressure regulating valve, the upper part of the vessel is connected to a gas discharge device A plasma electrolyzer wherein the cathode vessel and anode vessel allow for the addition of electrolyte.   The plasma electrolyzer of claim 1, wherein the cathode electrical insulator is removed to form a stepped pattern having strips of 4-6 mm wide spaced 20-60 mm apart.   The plasma electrolytic cell according to claim 1, wherein the cathode is preferably filled to the maximum extent in the cathode container.   The plasma electrolytic cell according to claim 1, wherein the electrolytic cell allows more electrolyte to be added to the cathode container and the lower part of the anode container.