JP2021079931A - Equatorial countercurrent-based hydrogen generation plant - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a new equatorial countercurrent-based hydrogen generation plant that can efficiently utilize solar energy, which is one of the renewable energies, and stably produce and supply it as hydrogen.SOLUTION: A floating structure 110 floating on the sea surface in the equatorial countercurrent sea area includes a solar power generation facility 120, a water splitting facility 130 that generates hydrogen by electrolysis of seawater or rainwater using electricity obtained from the solar power generation facility 120, and a hydrogen storage and transportation facility 140 that stores and transports the hydrogen generated by the water splitting facility 130. With these facilities, solar energy, which is one of the renewable energies, can be efficiently utilized and stably produced as hydrogen, which can then be transported and supplied to demand areas such as large cities.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a hydrogen generation plant utilizing the equatorial countercurrent that slowly flows near the equator.

In recent years, due to global warming caused by the emission of large amounts of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and concerns about the safety of nuclear power, from conventional fossil energy and nuclear energy to renewable energy such as solar power, wind power, hydraulic power, biomass, and geothermal energy. There is an urgent need to switch between. These renewable energies are usually taken out as electric power and used as they are as electric power for homes and factories, and it is also considered to be used as electric power for producing hydrogen which is called clean energy.

For example, Patent Document 1 below proposes a hydrogen energy storage system in which water is electrolyzed using electric power generated by renewable energy to produce hydrogen, and the hydrogen is stored and used. Further, Patent Document 2 below proposes a method of storing surplus electric power of renewable energy, producing hydrogen by using the stored electric power, and storing and using the hydrogen in a storage alloy tank. Further, Patent Document 3 below proposes a method of producing hydrogen using renewable energy and using it as a fuel for a fuel cell vehicle.

Republished patent WO2018-06993 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-133803 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-8919

By the way, the above-mentioned renewable energy is unstable because it depends on natural conditions such as weather and geographical conditions, and there is a problem that it is difficult to efficiently supply it according to demand. In addition, a large amount of land is required to install solar cell modules (solar panels) and wind power generators, but there are various problems such as land acquisition and compensation for residents in large cities and their surrounding areas where electricity demand is particularly high. There is, and it is difficult to secure it.

Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve these problems, and its main purpose is to efficiently utilize solar energy, which is one of the renewable energies, and stably use it as hydrogen. It provides a hydrogen production plant that utilizes a new equatorial countercurrent that can be produced and supplied. Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel hydrogen generation plant utilizing the Equatorial Counter Current, which can produce a large amount of clean energy that does not generate carbon dioxide without using any fossil fuel. It also provides a hydrogen production plant capable of producing methane gas by utilizing the produced hydrogen and carbon dioxide generated by the consumption of fossil fuels.

The first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is to use a photovoltaic power generation facility and electric power obtained by the photovoltaic power generation facility in a floating structure floating on the sea surface in the equatorial regurgitation sea area to obtain seawater or seawater. Utilizing the equatorial regurgitation, which is characterized by being equipped with a water splitting facility that electrolyzes rainwater and distilled water to generate hydrogen, and a hydrogen storage and transport facility that stores and transports the hydrogen generated by the water cracking facility. It is a hydrogen generation plant.

Here, the "equatorial countercurrent" referred to in the present invention is also called the equatorial countercurrent, and as shown in FIG. 20, it slowly moves from west to east in parallel with the equator, mainly between latitudes 3 to 10 degrees north of the Pacific Ocean. It refers to a belt-shaped ocean current that flows at 0.5 to 3 knot / h (1 knot = 1.8 km). The "sea area" includes not only the area where the Equatorial Countercurrent flows, but also the areas of the South Equatorial Current and the North Equatorial Current that flow in opposite directions (east to north) across this area. ..

The South Equatorial Current and the North Equatorial Current have northeastern and southeastern trade winds blowing almost parallel to the equator, respectively, and it is thought that these trade winds generate currents from east to west. The area where the Equatorial Countercurrent flows is called the Equatorial Current Zone, and there is almost no strong wind blowing throughout the year. This is because a large vortex that is affected by gravity is counterclockwise in both water and air in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere, so no vortex is generated near the equator located between them, and as a result, This is because the sea area is only the flow of the atmosphere that slowly flows from the north and south to the place where the pressure is reduced due to the updraft and its rise.

In this way, the Equatorial Countercurrent does not generate atmospheric vortices, so tropical cyclones and typhoons do not occur even if the seawater temperature is high. In addition, although cumulonimbus clouds generated by the updraft cause rainfall such as squall, it is also short and the weather is almost clear throughout the day. For this reason, the hours of sunshine are comparable to the vast deserts on the continent, and the apparent orbit of the sun moves within the range of the north-south return line of 22.6 ° north-south across the equator, resulting in a large amount of direct sunlight per year. Stable through.

In addition, as mentioned above, strong winds such as trade winds do not blow in the sea area where the Equatorial Countercurrent flows, so the speed of the current is slow at 0.5 to 3 knot / h (1 knot = 1.8 km) on average. Moreover, the speed decreases as it approaches the equator. Therefore, if the velocity is 0.5 knot / h and the distance of the Equatorial Counter Current is calculated at 10,000 km, the time from the western end to the eastern end of the Equatorial Counter Current is 10,000 hours or more (1 year or more). It takes a long time. In addition, since strong winds do not blow in this sea area, large waves (rough waves) and swells do not occur on the sea surface.

Therefore, the present invention provides a huge floating structure (megafloat) on the surface of the equatorial countercurrent where a large amount of direct sunlight can be stably obtained in a calm sea area where strong winds and rough waves do not occur. Hydrogen that is constructed and floated, and the solar power generation equipment and the electric power obtained by this solar power generation equipment are used to electrolyze seawater, rainwater, and distilled water into this floating structure to generate hydrogen. By providing a generation facility and a hydrogen storage and transportation facility that stores and transports the hydrogen generated by this hydrogen generation facility, solar energy, which is one of the renewable energies, can be efficiently used and stably used as hydrogen. It can be produced in Japan and transported to demand areas such as large cities for supply.

In addition, since most of this sea area (about 10,000 km east-west and about 400 km north-south) is the high seas or the exclusive economic zone / connecting waters, artificial islands and huge floating structures are created according to the principle of freedom of the seas under international law. No special permission is required for installation (floating) (Article 86, Paragraph 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). Moreover, since there are no islands in this area, even a huge floating structure does not interfere with its movement. Moreover, this sea area is also called the desert of the sea, and compared to the coast of the continent, it is poor in minerals and nutrients, and plankton and marine organisms that eat it are scarcely inhabited. Therefore, even if this floating structure is made huge, for example, having a length of several km to several hundred km in each of the vertical and horizontal directions to temporarily block the sunlight entering the sea, there is almost no adverse effect on the ecosystem.

The second invention is to electrolyze seawater or rainwater into a floating structure floating on the sea surface in the equatorial countercurrent sea area by using a solar power generation facility and the electric power obtained by the solar power generation facility to generate hydrogen. It is a hydrogen generation plant that utilizes equatorial regurgitation, which is characterized by being equipped with a water splitting facility that produces methane and a methane producing facility that produces methane by reacting hydrogen generated in the water splitting facility with carbon dioxide. ..

Thermal power plants and steel mills are facilities that operate on the thermal energy of burning fossil fuels, but at the same time they are also factories that produce a large amount of carbon dioxide. Therefore, carbon dioxide emitted for many years cannot be absorbed by the carbon dioxide assimilation action of the earth's plants and phytoplankton, and now has a serious impact on the earth's environment. Since a large amount of carbon dioxide that cannot be assimilated by the carbon dioxide gas circulation system built by the living things of the earth is emitted by human desires, it is urgent to create an artificial carbon dioxide circulation system or a safe storage system. is there.

Therefore, in the present invention, methane is produced by reacting hydrogen generated in a water splitting facility with carbon dioxide generated in a thermal power plant, a steel mill, or the like, thereby releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Not only can carbon dioxide be reduced to prevent global warming, but it can also be reused as methane (fuel).

Further, in the third invention, the floating structure has a position detecting unit for detecting the position of the floating structure and the floating structure is located in the equatorial countercurrent area based on the position information detected by the position detecting unit. It is a hydrogen generation plant that utilizes the Equatorial Countercurrent, which is characterized by being equipped with a position control facility consisting of a floating body moving part that moves its position so as to stay at.

As mentioned above, this equatorial countercurrent is an ocean current that slowly flows from west to east along the equatorial distance for a distance of about 10,000 km. Therefore, if the floating structure is floated at the western end of the sea area, This floating structure drifts in the area and reaches the eastern end about a year later. As shown in Fig. 20, the current that reached the eastern end is off the coast of Mexico and then divides into north and south, and the current on the north side merges with the California current (cold current) that moves southward on the west coast of North America and flows to the North Equatorial Current side. .. On the other hand, the current on the south side merges with the Humboldt Current (cold current) that moves northward on the west coast of South America and flows to the South Equatorial Current side.

For this reason, the floating structure that reached the eastern end of the sea area while drifting on this Equatorial Countercurrent was then swept in either the North Equatorial Current or the South Equatorial Current, and this time on the current. It drifts from east to west. Some of these North Equatorial Current and South Equatorial Current merge with the Equatorial Counter Current as they flow westward, so if the position of the floating structure is near the Equatorial Counter Current, the floating structure will It will continue to ride on some of the currents and move to the Equatorial Countercurrent side, but if not, it will drift as it is and reach the western end of the North Equatorial Current or the South Equatorial Current.

The western end of the North Equatorial Current is divided into north and south off the Philippines, and the current that flows to the south becomes the Equatorial Countercurrent again, but the current that flows to the north then becomes the Kuroshio and moves north off Japan. On the other hand, the western end of the South Equatorial Current is also divided into north and south off the coast of New Guinea, and the current that flows to the north merges with the North Equatorial Current and becomes the Equatorial Countercurrent again, but the current that flows to the south moves south off the coast of Australia. It joins the Antarctic Current. Therefore, in the worst case, if the drift of this floating structure is left to the current of the ocean current, there is a risk that it will move northward or southward on the Kuroshio Current. Therefore, in the second invention, in the floating structure, a position detecting unit for detecting the position of the floating structure and the floating structure are placed in the equatorial countercurrent area from the position information detected by the position detecting unit. It is equipped with a floating body moving part that moves its position so as to stay.

That is, the position of this floating structure is constantly or periodically detected by a position detecting unit such as GPS (Global Positioning System), and when the floating structure is about to deviate from the equatorial countercurrent area, the position control unit performs it. It operates and controls the position by a large number of rudders (rudder plate or steerboard) attached to each floating body, and adjusts the position of the floating body structure so that it stays in the sea area. As a result, the floating structure drifts in the equatorial countercurrent area while circulating forever, so that efficient power generation can be performed in the optimum environment at all times throughout the year. In addition, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the floating structure and its equipment are damaged by being exposed to strong winds and rough waves caused by a typhoon.

A fourth invention is the hydrogen storage and transportation facility, which is a hydrogen generation plant utilizing the Equatorial Counter Current, which stores hydrogen by an organic chemical hydride method. As described above, according to the hydrogen production plant of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently utilize solar energy and stably produce hydrogen as hydrogen, while in a large city or the like, which is a demand area for the produced hydrogen, Since it is a long distance of several thousand kilometers to tens of thousands of kilometers from a floating structure drifting over the Pacific Ocean, it is necessary to efficiently transport the produced hydrogen to the demand area over a long distance. However, hydrogen gas is difficult to liquefy like natural gas, and since the floating structure itself is constantly moving, it cannot be transported by pipeline.

Therefore, in the present invention, the organic chemical hydride method is used for the storage and transportation of the produced hydrogen. This organic chemical hydride method (OCH method: Organic Chemical Hydride Method) fixes hydrogen by hydrogenation reaction of aromatics such as toluene and converts it into a saturated cyclic compound such as methylcyclohexane (MCH) at room temperature and normal temperature. This is a method in which hydrogen is extracted and used by a dehydrogenation reaction after storage and transportation in a liquid state at pressure (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-269522, etc.).

The details of this organic chemical hydride method will be described later, but since hydrogen is fixed as methylcyclohexane with a volume of about 1/500 by using this technology, it is efficient from the ocean to the demand area using a transport ship such as a tanker. Can be transported. In addition, this organic chemical hydride method is a method with less potential danger because the storage and transportation conditions are normal temperature and pressure, and since there is no loss in long-term storage, it is suitable for mass storage / long-distance transportation. It is a suitable technology and can be used for national storage of hydrogen.

A fifth invention is hydrogen using equatorial countercurrent, wherein the hydrogen storage and transportation equipment individually encloses a solvent in which hydrogen is stored by the organic chemical hydride method in a large number of containers and transports the hydrogen in container units. It is a production plant. According to such a configuration, it can be easily transported by a normal container ship without using a dedicated liquid transport ship such as an LNG carrier, and it is subdivided (filled) on land by transporting it in container units. It is economical because there is no need to fix it and it can be transported by land immediately after unloading.

The sixth invention is provided with a distilled water generation facility for producing distilled water obtained by evaporating seawater, and the water decomposition facility uses distilled water produced by the distilled water generation facility with an electrolyte added. It is a hydrogen generation plant that utilizes the characteristic equatorial countercurrent. According to such a configuration, as compared with the case where seawater is used as it is, the generation of concentrated water and the like is eliminated, and the influence on nature can be further suppressed. In addition, if the pumped seawater is electrolyzed as it is, a small amount of chlorine gas and other impurities may be generated, which may be mixed with hydrogen gas. If there is, there are no impurities, so high-purity hydrogen gas can be stably obtained.

The seventh invention includes a cooling water intake facility for cooling and taking in seawater near the sea surface, and the cooling water intake facility includes a base float floating on the sea surface and a group of hoses from a plurality of pumping hoses. The hose group has a pump, both ends of which are attached to the base float, and the hose group hangs down to the deep sea in the middle of the hose group, and the portion from the base float to the deep sea is bundled. The deep sea part is a hydrogen generation plant using equatorial countercurrent, which is characterized in that each pumping hose is held so as to be separated from each other by a holding plate.

With such a configuration, high-temperature seawater taken near the sea surface can be cooled by the low temperature of the deep sea and pumped up, so this cooling water can be used for cooling photovoltaic modules and buildings. it can. Moreover, since the heights of the seawater intake and outlet of the hose group are almost the same near the sea surface and there is almost no difference in height (head pressure difference), the power is extremely higher than when directly pumping deep sea water. To less. As a result, even a small pump can easily pump, and capital investment and power consumption can be kept low. In addition, in this hose group, the part from the base float to the deep sea is bundled, and the deep sea part has a structure in which each pumping hose is separated from each other by a holding plate, so that efficient heat exchange (cooling) is performed. ) Can be performed and heat dissipation during pumping can be prevented.

According to the present invention, solar energy, which is one of the renewable energies, can be efficiently used to stably produce hydrogen as hydrogen, and the energy can be transported to a demand area such as a big city for supply. In addition to being able to generate electricity efficiently in an optimal environment at all times throughout the year, it is possible to avoid situations in which the floating structure and its equipment are damaged by being exposed to strong winds and rough waves caused by typhoons. In addition, since the floating structure circulates forever in the equatorial countercurrent area without departing from it, efficient power generation can be performed in the optimum environment at all times throughout the year. Furthermore, since the organic chemical hydride method is used for the storage and transportation of the produced hydrogen, it can be efficiently transported to the demand area using a transport ship. In addition, it not only reduces carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere to prevent global warming, but also has excellent effects such as being able to reuse it as methane (fuel).

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the hydrogen generation plant 100 which utilized the equatorial countercurrent which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows one Embodiment of the hydrogen generation plant 100 using the equatorial countercurrent which concerns on this invention. It is a vertical cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the floating body unit 111. It is a block diagram which shows the solar power generation facility 120. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the water decomposition equipment 130. It is a side view which shows the installation example of the water decomposition equipment 130. It is a top view which shows the front part part of the distilled water generation equipment 160. It is a top view which shows the rear part part of the distilled water generation equipment 160. It is a vertical sectional view which shows the structure of the evaporation passage 163 of the distilled water generation facility 160. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the cooling water intake equipment 170. (A) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 9, and (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the hydrogen storage transportation equipment 140. It is a figure which shows the chemical reaction formula by the organic chemical hydride method. It is a figure which shows another example of the chemical reaction formula by the organic chemical hydride method. It is explanatory drawing which shows the hydrogen storage process in a hydrogen storage part 141. It is a top view which shows the container pool CP for temporarily mooring container C. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the position control equipment 150. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the methane production equipment 180. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of carbon dioxide capture equipment 190. It is explanatory drawing which shows the ocean current of the Pacific Ocean.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall outline of a hydrogen generation plant 100 utilizing the Equatorial Countercurrent according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the hydrogen generation plant 100 mainly includes a photovoltaic power generation facility 120, a water splitting facility 130, a hydrogen storage and transportation facility 140, and a position control facility 150 in a floating structure 110. , Hydrogen energy is generated and supplied while slowly drifting in the equatorial regurgitation area over the Pacific Ocean as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation (function) of each facility will be described.

(Floating structure 110)
As shown in FIG. 2, the floating structure 110 is formed by continuously connecting a large number of tile-like floating units 111 having a side of several tens of meters to several hundreds of meters in a rectangular shape in the vertical and horizontal directions. The size of one side is huge, at least several kilometers to several hundred kilometers. As shown in FIG. 3, the floating unit 111 has a structure in which a deck plate 114 and a bottom plate 115 are connected by a plurality of columns 117, and a tank 116 is provided on the lower surface (below the waterline) of the bottom plate 115. The structure is such that sufficient buoyancy is secured by the buoyancy of the tank 116.

Then, the solar cell module 121 of the photovoltaic power generation facility 120 described below is installed on the deck plate 114 so as to be spread over the deck plate 114, and various facilities such as the water splitting facility 130 described later are provided in the tank 116. ing. Further, on the lower surface of the tank 116, a plurality of rudders (rudder plate: steer board) 155 of the position control equipment 150, which will be described later, are provided. A staircase (not shown) is provided between the tank 116 and the deck plate 114 so that workers can come and go between them. Further, the floating body unit 111 is not limited to this structure as long as it floats on the sea surface, and a material that returns to nature such as wood or bamboo, for example, Moso bamboo (durable) having high durability and high buoyancy. It may be a combination of 20 years) like a raft.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the solar cell modules (solar panels) 121 of the photovoltaic power generation facility 120 are provided on the upper surface of each of the floating body units 111 so as to be spread vertically and horizontally. A part of the land will be used as a multipurpose site for installing an accommodation facility or a management building where workers who operate and manage the plant 100 and the floating pier 112, which serves as a landing place for transport ships, will stay. Further, near the floating pier 112, an equipment area 113 for installing a hydrogen storage and transportation facility 140 and the like, which will be described later, is provided.

Further, as described above, since large waves and swells do not occur in the equatorial countercurrent area, the height of the floating unit 111 is such that the solar cell module (solar) installed on the surface of the floating unit 111 even if some waves are generated. The height of the panel) should not be covered by seawater. Specifically, it is sufficient if the position of the deck plate on the upper surface is about 2 m from the sea surface when it is floated on the sea surface. Then, if a large number of floating body units 111 are connected vertically and horizontally and the length and width thereof are assumed to be about 200 km × about 50 km, the total area of the floating body structure 110 becomes a huge one reaching ^{about 10,000 km 2.} .. However, this is a case where the whole is connected into one, and in reality, in order to make a compromise with a ship that crosses the Equatorial Countercurrent from north to south, a certain size of about 60 km x 20 km is fixed. Many will be drifted at intervals. The total area around the Equatorial Countercurrent area is ^{as large as at least 4 million km 2} (about 10,000 km x about 400 km), and the ratio of the floating structure 110 to the total area is only 0.25%. It's just too much.

(Solar power generation equipment 120)
As shown in FIG. 4, the photovoltaic power generation facility 120 controls a large number of solar cell modules (solar panels) 121, a junction box 122 for electrically connecting them, and the generated electric power, as shown in FIG. It is composed of a power conditioner (PC) 123, a storage battery 124, and the like. Then, the electric power generated by the solar cell module 121 is supplied to the water decomposition equipment 130, the hydrogen storage and transportation equipment 140, the position control equipment 150, and the like via the power conditioner 123. Then, a part of the electric power is temporarily stored in the storage battery 124 and used for nighttime lighting and a living space for workers.

The power conditioner 123 directly supplies the electric power generated by the solar cell module 121 to the water splitting facility 130, the hydrogen storage and transportation facility 140, the position control facility 150, etc. during the daytime when the sun continues to shine, but the power generation It is also possible to switch to the electric power stored in the storage battery 124 and supply it at night when it is not performed. As a result, the water decomposition equipment 130, the hydrogen storage and transportation equipment 140, and the like can be constantly supplied with electric power, so that they can be operated continuously for 24 hours.

In addition, as mentioned above, this equatorial countercurrent area is in an almost sunny state and has a low latitude, and can receive strong direct sunlight from sunrise to sunset, so it is an optimal environment for photovoltaic power generation. Therefore, it is possible to generate electricity with the highest efficiency. When the same solar panel is used, the maximum amount of power generated is about 3.90 kWh / day (average) in high latitude areas such as Japan, whereas it is more than 7.00 kWh / day in this equatorial countercurrent area (average). (Average), and it is possible to obtain 1.5 times or more of the amount of power generation. In addition, while the annual sunshine hours in Japan are about 1,500 to 2,200 hours, this equatorial countercurrent area reaches 3,000 hours a year, and the total power generation is more than double that when it is installed in Japan. To reach.

(Water decomposition equipment 130)
As shown in FIG. 5, the water splitting facility 130 is mainly composed of a water intake unit 132, an electrolysis unit 133, and a control unit 131 that controls them, and the water intake unit 132 controlled by the control unit 131. Seawater pumped up by a pump or the like, or rainwater poured onto the floating structure 110 is collected and sent to the electrolysis unit 133, and the electrolysis unit 133 decomposes the water as a raw material by a conventionally known technique to generate hydrogen. (Gas) and oxygen (gas) are generated (2H ₂ O → 2H ₂ + O ₂ ). As described above, the electric power used for this electrolysis is only the electric power generated by the photovoltaic power generation facility 120.

Then, all the hydrogen generated by the electrolysis unit 133 is sent to the hydrogen storage and transportation facility 140, and oxygen is released to the atmosphere as it is. Oxygen released to the atmosphere is expected to be diffused into the atmosphere or reach the ozone layer on an updraft and become a raw material for ozone that absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays. Further, the seawater as a raw material, sodium chloride and magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, potassium chloride, because it contains other components, these as water (H 2 _O) is reduced is decomposed It is concentrated to become concentrated water.

If the concentration of sodium chloride or the like in the concentrated water exceeds a certain level, the electrolysis efficiency will decrease. Therefore, if the electrolysis treatment is performed for a certain period of time or longer, the concentrated water will be released into the sea and inside the decomposition tank of the electrolysis section 133. All the water needs to be replaced. Even if this concentrated water is released into the sea as it is, it is unlikely that the salt concentration will rise locally and adversely affect marine life and the environment. That is, as mentioned above, the equatorial countercurrent area originally has a small number of marine organisms, and the average depth of this area is as deep as 4000 m or more. This is because it mixes with seawater and is sufficiently diluted. Further, since the floating structure 110 is constantly moving without staying at one place, the discharge positions of the concentrated water are scattered instead of one place, and the concentration of the seawater component does not change significantly locally.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the mounting state of the water splitting facility 130. As shown in the figure, a tank 116 made of a material having excellent corrosion resistance is provided on the lower surface (below the water surface) of the floating body unit 111 floating on the sea surface, and the water intake unit 132 and the electrolysis unit described above are provided in the tank 116. 133, a control unit 131, and the like are installed. An intake pipe 135, a drain pipe 136, a hydrogen pipe 137, an oxygen pipe 138, a power supply (signal) cable (not shown), and the like are connected to the tank 116, and seawater and the like are taken in from the intake pipe 135. This is electrolyzed to generate hydrogen and oxygen, hydrogen is taken out from the hydrogen pipe 137, oxygen is released into the atmosphere from the oxygen pipe 138, and concentrated water etc. is discharged into the sea from the drain pipe 136. ing. Further, the intake pipe 135 is provided with a branch pipe 134 and valves V1 and V2 so that rainwater and the distilled water described below can be taken in instead of seawater by operating the valves V1 and V2. It has become.

7 and 8 show an example of the distilled water generation facility 160 for generating distilled water when distilled water is used instead of seawater in the water decomposition facility 130. The distilled water generation facility 160 includes a seawater passage 161 (FIG. 7: front portion) stretched vertically and horizontally on a floating unit 111 to which the solar cell module 121 is attached, and an evaporation passage 163 provided on the base float BF. And a condenser 164 (Fig. 8: rear part) and the like. Then, the distilled water generation facility 160 causes low-temperature (about 16 ° C.) seawater taken in from the cooling water intake facility 170, which will be described later, to flow into the seawater passage 161 of the preceding portion, and the solar cell module 121 while passing through the seawater passage 161. And the floating body unit 111 are cooled and warmed by the heat of sunlight poured on the floating body unit 111.

As a result, the seawater whose temperature has risen becomes hot water (about 40 ° C.), and while flowing through the evaporation passage 163 shown in FIG. 8, it is further warmed by the heat of sunlight, and a part of it evaporates to become steam. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the water vapor generated in the evaporation passage 163 passes through a plurality of ducts 165 connected to the upper surface of the evaporation passage 163 at regular intervals and flows to the condenser 164, where it is cooled. It condenses into a liquid (distilled water) and is supplied to the water splitting facility 130. After that, when this distilled water is used in the water decomposition facility 130, it is efficient to add an _{appropriate amount of electrolytes such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sulfuric acid (H 2} SO ₄ ), sodium carbonate (Na ₂ CO _{3) and the like.} Can contribute to electrolysis. As the cooling water to flow through the condenser 164, the cooling water taken in by the cooling water intake facility 170 described below can be used. In addition, seawater whose salinity has increased due to evaporation of water vapor is discharged into the ocean as it is.

FIG. 10 shows an example of this cooling water intake facility 170, which is mainly composed of a base float BF floating on the sea surface, a hose group 171 composed of a plurality of pumping hoses, and a pumping pump 173. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 11, the hose group 171 is composed of a plurality of flexible hoses H, and the seawater intake port a1 at one end and the seawater discharge port a2 at the other end are attached to the base float BF. , It is in a state of hanging down to the deep sea on the way. The deep sea here means the depth at which a deep sea current lower than the surface current where the Equatorial Counter Current occurs flows. Specifically, since the surface current at which the Equatorial Counter Current occurs has a water depth of 100 to 200 m, it refers to a region deeper than that. The seawater temperature of this deep sea current is about 16 ° C., which is considerably lower than the seawater temperature of about 30 ° C. near the sea surface of the Equatorial Countercurrent.

Further, of the hanging part of the hose group 171, the equatorial reverse basin, that is, the substantially vertical part having a water depth of 100 to 200 m is simply a water transfer part Y for flowing seawater in the descending direction or the ascending direction. As shown in FIG. 11A, the water transfer section Y is in a state in which a plurality of flexible hoses H are bundled so as to be in close contact with each other. On the other hand, the folded portion at the lower end of the hose group 171 is a heat exchange portion N for cooling rainwater, cooling water, etc. taken in from the seawater intake port a1 by the low temperature seawater of the deep sea current.

The heat exchange unit N is provided with at least one metal holding plate 172 that also serves as a weight or a plastic holding plate 172 having a weight. As shown in FIG. 11B, a large number of through holes S are opened in the holding plate 172 at predetermined intervals, and each through hole S can be penetrated by a flexible hose H. The flexible hoses H are held apart from each other by a predetermined distance. Therefore, when the pumping pump 173 is driven, relatively high temperature (about 30 ° C.) such as rainwater falling on the floating unit 111 and the base float BF and cooling water after cooling the steam in the distilled water generation facility 160 as described above is performed. ) Is taken into the hose group 171 from the seawater intake a1 and then descends as it is to reach the heat exchange section N, the heat is taken away by the surrounding low-temperature deep sea current and cooled. In this heat exchange section N, since the flexible hoses H are separated from each other and the contact area with the deep sea current is large, efficient heat exchange (cooling) is performed.

After that, the rainwater or the like whose temperature has dropped in the heat exchange section N rises in the water transfer section Y to reach the base float BF, and is continuously discharged from the seawater discharge port a2 to form the solar cell module as described above. It is used as a raw material for cooling water such as 121 and distilled water. Since the water transfer section Y is bundled as described above and the contact area between the surrounding seawater and each flexible hose H is small, the seawater whose temperature has dropped in the heat exchange section N is the water transfer section Y. When the hose rises, it is hardly warmed by the temperature of the surrounding seawater, and it is pumped at a low temperature.

It is conceivable to pump up the seawater of the deep sea flow as it is and use it as cooling water, but the pipes etc. will be corroded by the salt contained in the seawater, and regular maintenance and replacement work will be required. Operating costs increase. Therefore, instead of using the seawater of the deep sea current as the cooling water as it is, by using fresh water such as rainwater or cooling water, it is possible to avoid corrosion of equipment and avoid an increase in operating cost. Further, if the number of flexible hoses H constituting the hose group 171 is increased or the diameter thereof is reduced, the rising speed of seawater increases according to Bernoulli's theorem, so that the rise in water temperature at the time of rising can be suppressed to be smaller. it can.

(Hydrogen storage and transportation equipment 140)
As shown in FIG. 12, the hydrogen storage and transportation facility 140 includes a hydrogen storage unit 141 provided on the floating structure 110 side, a hydrogen recovery unit 142 in an area (demand area) far away from the floating structure 110, and a hydrogen recovery unit 142. It is composed of a transport ship 143 that reciprocates between the hydrogen recovery unit 142 and the hydrogen storage unit 141. Then, as shown in FIG. 13 (A), the hydrogen storage section 141 on the ocean reacts _{hydrogen gas (H 2} ) with liquid toluene (C ₇ H _{8) as a solvent by a hydrogen storage method using an organic chemical hydride method.} It is not captured as methylcyclohexane _{(C 7 H 14)} and (hydride (hydrogen storage)). Then, after loading this methylcyclohexane on the transport ship 143 and transporting it by sea to the demand area, the hydrogen recovery unit 142 of the demand area takes out and recovers the hydrogen incorporated in the methylcyclohexane as shown in FIG. 13 (B). (Dehydrogenation (hydrogen generation)).

By reacting hydrogen gas with liquid toluene by the organic chemical hydride method in this way and taking it in, hydrogen is fixed as methylcyclohexane with a volume of about 1/500, so from the ocean to the demand area using the transport ship 143. It can be transported efficiently. Therefore, for example, the use of the maximum 50,000 stuffing methylcyclohexane m ³ transport vessel can transport 25 million m ³ equivalent of a large amount of hydrogen gas at a time. Further, as described above, this organic chemical hydride method has less potential danger because the storage and transportation conditions are normal temperature and pressure. Further, since the combustion energy is about 30% per volume of the hydrogen gas 25 million ^{m 3} of hydrogen gas is comparable to natural gas 7.5 million ^{m 3.}

Then, the hydrogen recovered by the hydrogen recovery unit 142 is used in the demand area as fuel for power plants and automobiles using hydrogen gas. Hydrogen, which is a fuel, is burned by combining with oxygen to become harmless water, so it is used as clean energy that does not generate carbon dioxide or harmful nitrogen oxides like fossil fuels. On the other hand, toluene, which is a solvent from which hydrogen has been taken out, is transported by sea to the floating structure 110 at sea again by the transport ship 143, and is reused many times as a solvent for taking in hydrogen produced one after another.

Instead of this toluene, naphthalene (C ₁₀ H ₈ ) may be used as a solvent as shown in FIG. When naphthalene is used as a solvent, hydrogen is taken in as shown in Fig. (A) to form decalin (C ₁₀ H ₁₈ ), which is transported to the place of demand. Then, as shown in Fig. (B), hydrogen is extracted from decalin by the dehydrogenation reaction in the demand area (C ₁₀ H ₈ + 5H ₂ ← → C ₁₀ H ₁₈ ), and after that, it becomes naphthalene and many times in the same manner. Will be reused.

FIG. 15 shows an example of the hydrogen storage process in the hydrogen storage unit 141. As shown in the figure, the hydrogen storage unit 141 collects the container C provided in the equipment area 113, the container float CF that floats the container C on the sea surface, and the hydrogen generated in each of the above-mentioned water decomposition equipment 130. A working base float WBF for supplying hydrogen gas, a supply pump 144 provided on the working base float WBF, a hydrogen supply valve HV for supplying hydrogen gas into the container C, and heating for heating the container C. It is mainly composed of the device 146. A nozzle 145 that is detachable from the hydrogen supply valve HV is provided in the container C, and a solvent L such as toluene or naphthalene is sealed therein. Then, as shown in the figure, the hydrogen supply valve HV at the end of the hydrogen pipe 137 and the nozzle 145 are connected, and the generated hydrogen is supplied (filled) into the container C and ejected from the nozzle 145. As a result, the above-mentioned hydrogenation reaction occurs in the container C, and hydrogen is sequentially stored in the solvent L.

Since this hydrogenation reaction is most efficient at about 5 atm and 200 to 300 ° C., it is necessary to pressurize hydrogen gas with the supply pump 144 and heat the entire container C with the heating device 146 during hydrogen filling. .. Since the heating device 146 is composed of a condensing lens, a mirror, or the like that collects sunlight, the energy required for heating is not particularly required. Further, since the solvent L is agitated at the time of filling with hydrogen gas, heat is uniformly transferred to the entire container C even if the heating position of the container C changes depending on the position of sunlight or the like. The size of this container C is not particularly limited, but for example, a huge size for a power plant or city gas having a vertical and horizontal length of about 2 m × 2 m × 20 m, or 2 m × 2 m × 10 m for small-scale power generation or small and medium-sized factories. Medium size, small size 2m x 2m x 4m that can be installed as it is, such as a gas station at the end, can be used.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a container pool CP for temporarily mooring the container C. This container pool CP is formed by connecting a plurality of working base floats WBF floating on the sea surface in a frame shape by a chain or the like, and a plurality of containers C (container float CF) in the frame. Is floating and temporarily moored. The distance between the working base floats WBFs constituting the container pool CP is such that the container C and the ship towing the container C can sufficiently pass through, for example, about 5 to 10 m, and each canal. ) Is formed.

Then, as shown in the figure, the container C storing hydrogen in the container pool CP is towed from the container pool CP to the open sea through a waterway by a towing vessel and placed in the temporary storage place of the floating pier 112, and then sequentially or directly. It will be loaded and transported on the transport ship 143. On the other hand, the solvent L-only container C transported by the transport vessel 143 is unloaded on the floating pier 112, placed on the container float CF, towed into the container pool CP by the towing vessel, and then sequentially. The hydrogen storage treatment will be performed by being connected to one of the working base floats WBF.

If the hydrogen-fueled engine is used as the power source for the towing vessel and the transport vessel 143, fossil fuels will not be consumed at all during towing and marine transportation. Needless to say, the floating structure 110 or the hydrogen storage unit 141 is provided with satellite communication equipment for notifying the transport ship 143 and the demand area of the current position of the floating structure 110. Further, the hydrogen gas may be transported by using a liquefied hydrogen carrier. If the hydrogen produced in the water splitting facility 130 is cooled to -253 ° C. and liquefied as it is, the volume is compressed to 1/800 and no solvent is required. However, at present, there are many technical difficulties and it has not been put into practical use, but recently, a liquefied hydrogen tanker that has put into practical use the transportation of ^{9000 Nm 3} , 893 kg, and 2000 m ^{3 of liquefied hydrogen in terms of toluene using hydrogen gas as a power source.} Shipbuilding plans have been announced in China (http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-710054.html).

(Position control equipment 150)
As shown in FIG. 17, the position control equipment 150 includes a position detection unit 151 for detecting the position of the floating structure 110 and a floating body moving unit 152, and the floating body is based on the position information detected by the position detecting unit 151. The position of the structure 110 is controlled to stay within the equatorial countercurrent area. That is, the position detection unit 151 is composed of a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna and a GPS unit that extracts the signal, and receives a satellite signal to determine the position of the floating structure 110 drifting over the ocean in the equatorial countercurrent sea area. It is detected with accuracy, and its position information is input to the floating body moving unit 152 at all times, periodically, or at any time.

Further, the floating body moving unit 152 is provided from the steering device 154, the rudder (rudder plate: steer board) 155 provided on the bottom surface of the tank 116 of each floating body unit 111, and the control unit 153 that electronically controls these. It is configured. The control unit 153 stores map data of an area including the Equatorial Countercurrent area, data on ocean currents, and the like, and from the position information input from the position detection unit 151, the position of the floating structure 110 can be determined. When the floating structure 110 is detected with high accuracy and the floating structure 110 deviates from or is about to deviate from the equatorial countercurrent area, the steering device 154 is controlled so that the floating structure 110 stays in the equatorial countercurrent area. Control its position.

That is, in general, in order to move a structure floating in the sea, it is conceivable to provide a screw or the like driven by an engine or a motor and use the propulsive force thereof. However, it takes a huge amount of power to change the flow direction of the huge floating structure 110 of several tens to several hundreds of km as in the present invention, and fossil fuel is used to drive the engine. The method of driving the motor using the generated electric power violates the object of the present invention. As described above, the flow direction of the floating structure 110 is changed only at the turning point at the east-west end of the Equatorial Counter Current, and as long as it floats away from the outer edge of the Equatorial Current, it does not deviate from it.

On the other hand, in the Equatorial Counter Current and the South Equatorial Current, the flow velocity decreases at the contact surface between the two, so it cannot be denied that the floating structure 110 may be washed inward before reaching both ends. Therefore, some kind of steering equipment is required, and it is optimal to use a rudder 155 capable of movement such as a switchback in which the front end portion and the rear end portion are interchanged without having to turn at the turning point. The steering ability of the rudder 155 may be finely adjusted. For example, it is sufficient to gradually move the position of the floating structure to the north or south by about 35 km from 500 km before the turning point, and sin 0.070 is only 4 °. If this is the case, simply attach a large number of rudders 155 to the rear part of the floating unit 111 (the part where ocean current pressure is applied), change the rudder angle all at once with the steering device 154 and the control unit 153, and operate the water resistance. The direction can be easily adjusted with.

As described above, according to the hydrogen generation plant 100 of the present invention, solar energy, which is one of the renewable energies, is efficiently utilized to stably produce hydrogen as hydrogen, and the hydrogen is transported to a demand area such as a big city. Can be supplied. In addition, efficient power generation can be performed in the optimum environment at all times throughout the year, and the floating structure 110 and its equipment are not damaged by being exposed to strong winds and rough waves caused by typhoons. As a result, global warming due to mass consumption of fossil fuels can be prevented, and the energy crisis of humankind, which is a concern in the future, can be avoided.

In addition, since the floating structure 110 circulates in the equatorial countercurrent area forever without departing from the area, efficient power generation can be performed in the optimum environment at all times throughout the year. Furthermore, since the organic chemical hydride method is used for the storage and transportation of the produced hydrogen gas, it can be efficiently transported to the demand area by using the transport ship 143 and used. Further, as described above, the hydrogen generation plant 100 of the present invention rides on the current at the eastern end of the Equatorial Countercurrent and naturally changes its direction, but the easternmost sea area of the Equatorial Countercurrent (about 900 km west of the mainland of Ecuador). ) Has the Galapagos Islands (1 ° 36'south latitude, 89 ° 16' west longitude), which consists of many large and small islands and reefs, so to be more precise, turn around about 200 nautical miles west of the Galapagos Islands. It is desirable to control. In addition, since there is Kiribati Republic Kinchimachi Island (1 ° 56'north latitude 157 ° 28' west longitude) at the western end of the Equatorial Countercurrent, it is desirable to control it so that it turns back about 200 nautical miles east of it.

Since the mass of hydrogen that increases when 1 kg of toluene is changed to methylcyclohexane is 49.5 g, 250 tons of hydrogen will be added to 50,000 tons of toluene, but this figure is for combustion. It is only equivalent to about 83 tons of LNG on a base, and this inefficiency has hindered the idea of mass transportation by MCH. For example, the LNG tanker used by TEPCO and others can transport 60,000 to 70,000 tons at a time, so it seems that it cannot compete at all in terms of cost.

However, when hydrogen gas is generated from the carried LNG, the amount of hydrogen gas produced from LNG 100 becomes 70 on an energy basis. Currently, the amount of carbon dioxide derived is still better than burning coal to generate electricity, so the problem is left unchecked, but recovering this carbon dioxide costs a huge amount of money. Become. In addition, although LNG must be purchased, the production cost of hydrogen gas generated on the equatorial countercurrent is almost zero except for the initial investment, and the running cost after that does not affect the overall cost.

In terms of the cost of transportation itself, LNG must be liquefied and transported while maintaining a cool state, and considering the construction cost of a dedicated tanker and safety measures, the cost is methylcyclohexane that can be transported by a general cargo ship (container carrier). It is significantly inferior to the comparison. In addition, since a container ship does not require a receiving facility such as LNG, so-called "ship-to-ship" can be performed. That is, since a part of the container C floating on the sea can be released in an appropriate sea area on the coast, transferred to a small container carrier, and transported to a general port on the coast like the delivery of a courier, the land transportation cost. Can be significantly reduced or small power plants can be built in small cities and remote islands near the coast.

Considering the above circumstances, it is not an absurd idea to shuttle a large number of container carriers. At the moment, if a large number of vessels are driven by heavy oil, carbon dioxide problems will occur, but the reason why hydrogen-powered vessels have not been developed so far is that there is no reason to build them because of cost issues rather than technical issues. It depends. The price of hydrogen gas cannot be ignored, but if a dedicated ship is built, a home port equipped with hydrogen cooling and injection equipment into the ship will be required, and the route will be limited. It is obvious that it is more advantageous to use LNG as fuel as it is than to use hydrogen gas produced by reforming LNG as fuel, and ships that use LNG as fuel are already in service.

In addition, poles that also serve as lightning rods are erected at various parts of each floating unit 111 and base float BF that make up the floating structure 110, and collision prevention beacons, ship flags that can be seen from a distance, ad balloons, LED lighting, etc. If you install it, you can surely inform the nearby ships and large tankers of its existence. It should be noted that this is sufficient in the equatorial reverse basin where heavy fog and poor visibility due to typhoons rarely occur.

Further, dozens of floating unit 111s may be provided with independent power generation, electrolysis, storage, filling, intra-regional mobile transportation, and worker living space facilities, and these functions may be integrated and controlled. For example, in the case of efficient allocation of a hydrogen gas transport ship and communication with the home country, only the integrated command department may be installed on the ship and accompany the floating structure 110. The ship having this command function may be provided with a helicopter base, hospital equipment, academic observation equipment, etc., which are not included in the floating structure 110.

(Methane production equipment 180)
Further, together with the hydrogen storage and transportation equipment 140 described above, or in place of the hydrogen storage and transportation equipment 140, a methane production equipment 180 as shown in FIG. 18 can be provided. The methane production facility 180 is mainly composed of a tank-shaped methane generation section 181 and a tank-shaped methane liquefaction section 182, and hydrogen (H ₂ ) and carbon dioxide obtained in the above-mentioned water splitting facility 130. Carbon (CO ₂ ) is chemically reacted under high temperature and high pressure to produce methane (CH ₄ ) and water (H ₂ O).

That is, as shown in the figure, the methane generation unit 181 is provided with supply lines L1 and L2 having compressors 183 and 184, respectively, and carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) is emitted from one of the carbon dioxide gas intake lines L1. Along with being pressurized and supplied, hydrogen (H ₂ ) is pressurized and supplied from the other hydrogen supply line L1. A heater 185 and a nickel catalyst (not shown) are provided in the methane generating section 181 to perform a _{Sabatier reaction with hydrogen (H 2} ) and carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) supplied under pressure at a high temperature (400 ° C.). Methane (CH ₄ ) and water (H ₂ O) are produced (4H ₂ + CO ₂ = CH ₄ + 2H ₂ O).

The methane generation section 181 and the methane liquefaction section 182 are connected by a cooling line L3 extending deep into the sea, and the methane produced by the methane generation section 181 reaches about 30 ° C. via this cooling line L3. After being cooled, it is sent to the methane liquefaction unit 182. The methane liquefaction unit 182 is equipped with a refrigerator (not shown), and after cooling the introduced methane gas to about −180 ° C. below its boiling point (-161.6 ° C.) and liquefying it, a liquefied methane line It is sent to a tanker (not shown) via L4 and transported to land as liquefied methane.

The carbon dioxide used in the methane production facility 180 is a large amount and high concentration that is inevitably generated in the above-mentioned facilities such as power plants, steel mills, cement manufacturing plants, and ammonia manufacturing plants in the hydrogen transportation area (land). Carbon dioxide can be used. Specifically, carbon dioxide gas recovered from equipment such as power plants that use fossil fuels is sublimated (dry iced) at -78.6 ° C under normal pressure and stored in the liquefied natural gas storage room of the tanker. While maintaining the cooled state, the gas is transported to the hydrogen production plant 100 of the present invention on the equatorial countercurrent.

The weight of dry ice is 1.56 ton / m ^3, which is much heavier than 415 kg / m ^{3 of} liquefied methane gas, and the loading volume is only about 1/4 of that of methane gas. Even if the volume increases, it can be easily filled. In the hydrogen generation plant 100, the loaded dry ice is cooled and stored as it is, and the required amount is gasified and introduced into the methane generation facility 180.

A nozzle for ejecting dry ice is installed in the storage chamber of the tanker, and the dry ice is ejected directly from the outside for injection. The tanker cooler is adjusted so that the dry ice is stable and can be adjusted at minus 78 ° C. Since this tanker carries the liquefied methane gas generated by the methane generation facility 180 on the return route, it is not wasted because one way is empty like a tanker that carries liquefied natural gas from the mining site. Since the space filled with liquefied methane is designed to withstand extremely low temperatures, dry ice does not physically or chemically damage the inner wall of the filling space.

Further, the high temperature (400 ° C.) required for the reaction in the methane generator 181 can be easily obtained by using a molten salt or a hydrogen burner heated by a sunlight reflection condensing device in addition to the electric heater 185. The pressure required for the reaction can be easily obtained by the compressors 183 and 184 driven by electricity generated by the solar panel. Although carbon dioxide costs transportation from land, if a tanker that can carry both methane gas and carbon dioxide is built, the part that operates with no cargo will be reduced, so the cost can be significantly reduced.

If the methane generation facility 180 is provided in this way, hydrogen generated by the water splitting facility 130 can be reacted with carbon dioxide generated at an existing thermal power plant or steel mill on land to generate methane. Not only can carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere be significantly reduced to prevent global warming, but it can also be reused as methane (fuel). The methane gas produced in this way is carbon-neutral, and by replacing the methane gas with fossil fuel power generation or city gas fuel, it is possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet the demands of society.

If a carbon dioxide circulation system using this Sabatier reaction, that is, a system for procuring hydrogen gas generated by electric power from natural energy and using a part of the surplus exhaust heat for the Sabatier reaction, is constructed, a power plant or a steel mill. It can also be operated in the neighborhood such as. If CO ₂ is regarded as industrial waste and the disposal cost is _{accepted, the circulation system that reacts the discharged CO 2} with clean hydrogen to produce methane gas and reuses it as fuel emits carbon dioxide. It can be a means of reduction.

Further, as the carbon dioxide used as a raw material for methane in the methane production facility 180, the carbon dioxide recovery facility 190 as shown in FIG. 19 was used to recover the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the sea area where the hydrogen generation plant 100 of the present invention floats. Can be used. As shown in the figure, this carbon dioxide recovery facility 190 is mainly composed of a tank-shaped carbon dioxide gas absorbing unit 191 located below the sea surface where the temperature is low and a tank-shaped carbon dioxide gas recovery unit 192, and the present invention A small amount of carbon dioxide is recovered from the atmosphere in the sea area where the hydrogen production plant 100 is suspended, and this is used in the methane generation facility 180.

That is, carbon dioxide occupying the atmosphere on the earth is 0.04%, and this is concentrated to about 90% by this carbon dioxide capture equipment 190 and supplied to the methane production equipment 180. The carbon dioxide absorption unit 191 is provided with an air intake line L1 composed of a large-diameter (about 2 m) pipe equipped with a blower 196 to take in a large amount of air, and seawater or fresh water is contained therein. It is stored. Further, a hydrogen burner section 193 is provided on the atmosphere intake line L1. Therefore, the air passing through the atmosphere intake line L1 by the blower 196 is in a state where oxygen is consumed by the combustion of the burner using hydrogen as fuel in the combustion burner section 193, and the concentration of carbon dioxide rises to 0.05%. It is sent into the carbon dioxide absorption unit 191 and discharged into seawater or fresh water as fine bubbles from the nozzle 194 with innumerable holes at the bottom thereof.

In the atmosphere released into the carbon dioxide gas absorption unit 191, carbon dioxide contained in the seawater or fresh water dissolves in the seawater or fresh water to generate carbonated water (H ₂ O + CO ₂ = H ₂ CO _3). ). On the other hand, seawater or other gases that are difficult to dissolve in fresh water (N ₂ , O ₂ , Ar, etc.) go out onto the water surface as they are and give a constant atmospheric pressure to the water surface to increase the solubility of carbon dioxide, and then the exhaust gas line L4. Is released into the atmosphere.

After that, the carbonated water generated in the carbon dioxide gas absorbing unit 191 flows in order to the carbon dioxide gas recovery unit 192 via the connecting line L2. An electric heater 195 is provided at the bottom of the carbon dioxide gas recovery unit 192 so that the carbonated water that has flowed in can be heated to about 60 ° C. As a result, carbon dioxide in the warmed carbonated water becomes a gas, is separated into the gas phase, accumulates on the water surface, and the concentration is concentrated to about 90%. After that, methane is generated from the carbon dioxide gas supply line L3. It will be sequentially supplied to the equipment 180.

The high concentration of carbon dioxide contains a small amount of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, etc., but these gases do not affect the Sabatier reaction. _{Since the CO 2} in the atmosphere to be inhaled first is 0.04%, 10 tons of air should be taken in to obtain _{4 kg of CO 2.} The weight of the atmosphere is about 1 kg per 1 m ^{3 , so 1000 m 3} is 1 ton. Therefore, in order to obtain 4 tons of CO ₂ by this method, an atmosphere of 10,000 tons and 10 million m ^{3 is required.} Now, if air with a flow velocity of 10 m / sec is passed through a pipe with a cross-sectional area of 4.0 m ^{3 (diameter 2 m or more), the flow rate will be 40 m 3} / sec (2400 m ³ / min 144000 ^{m 3} / h). If you make 10 pipes, you can get about 11 tons of CO ² per day.

_{In order to recover 3000 tons of CO 2} per day (1 million tons per year) by the same calculation, it is sufficient to make 300 of the above pipes. The _{cost of transporting CO 2} is zero, and the structure is extremely simple, consisting only of a carbon dioxide absorption unit 191 for removing oxygen and a heater 195 that keeps the carbon dioxide recovery unit 192 at 60 ° C. Of course, a vast site is required, but the hydrogen generation plant 100 of the present invention, which has a huge unused space under the solar panels spread all over, cannot be a big obstacle.

With this configuration, it is difficult to obtain high-purity carbon dioxide like the dry ice mentioned above, but even if residual nitrogen or argon is mixed in the Sabatier reactor, it will not react with hydrogen gas, so the production efficiency will only drop slightly. It is presumed. Since the pipe that sends air does not handle combustibles, it may be a commonly used pipe made of salt-resistant plastic with rings attached in places so that it will not wither due to water pressure. The maximum length of each pipeline is about 300 m.

In addition, in order to transport as methane in this way, a port reception facility for large ships is required, but in LNG tankers and the like, gas is injected and discharged from land equipment by pipes, so the valve is on the upper part of the hull. It is attached to the port, and the height of the attachment port differs depending on the ship. Unlike in a harbor, there may be "swells" on the sea surface, so a float for starboarding is made on the floating island, and the gas pipe on the hydrogen generation plant 100 side of the present invention is high so that it reaches the injection valve of the hull. You need to adjust the swell.

In addition, although it is a material industry that is the core of society such as methanol, ethanol, ammonia, formic acid, and urea, it uses a large amount of fossil fuels and hydrogen derived from fossil fuels, and has no choice but to emit carbon dioxide. It is difficult to operate on good land. According to the present invention, in addition to the favorable climatic and geographical conditions on the Equatorial Counter Current, the following infrastructure that can reduce the initial investment can be prepared, and the site can be provided to a company that uses these as resources.

100 ... Hydrogen generation plant 110 ... Floating structure 111 ... Floating unit 112 ... Floating pier 113 ... Equipment area 114 ... Deck plate 115 ... Bottom plate 116 ... Tank 117 ... Pillar 120 ... Solar power generation equipment 121 ... Solar cell module 122 ... Connection Box 123 ... Power conditioner 124 ... Storage battery 130 ... Water decomposition equipment 131 ... Control unit 132 ... Water intake unit 133 ... Electrolysis unit 134 ... Branch pipe 135 ... Intake pipe 136 ... Drain pipe 137 ... Hydrogen pipe 138 ... Oxygen pipe 140 ... Hydrogen storage Transport equipment 141 ... Hydrogen storage unit 142 ... Hydrogen recovery unit 143 ... Transport ship 144 ... Supply pump 145 ... Nozzle 146 ... Heating equipment 150 ... Position control equipment 151 ... Position detection unit 152 ... Floating body moving unit 153 ... Control unit 154 ... Steering device 155 ... Directional steering (control plate: steer board)
160 ... Distilled water generation equipment 161 ... Seawater passage 163 ... Evaporation passage 164 ... Condenser 165 ... Duct 170 ... Cooling water intake equipment 171 ... Hose group 172 ... Holding plate 173 ... Pumping pump 180 ... Methane production equipment 181 ... Methane generation Part 182 ... Methan liquefaction part 183, 184 ... Compressor 185 ... Heater 190 ... Carbon dioxide recovery equipment 191 ... Carbon dioxide gas absorption part 192 ... Carbon dioxide gas recovery part 193 ... Hydrogen burner part 194 ... Nozzle 195 ... Heater 196 ... Blower C ... Container BF ... Base float CF ... Container float CP ... Container pool H ... Flexible hose HV ... Hydrogen supply valve L ... Solvent N ... Heat exchange part S ... Through hole V1, V2 ... Valve Y ... Water supply part WBE ... Work base Float a1 ... Seawater intake a2 ... Seawater discharge port

Claims (7)

A floating structure floating on the sea surface in the equatorial regurgitation area, a solar power generation facility, and a water splitting facility that electrolyzes seawater or rainwater to generate hydrogen using the electric power obtained from the solar power generation facility. A hydrogen generation plant using equatorial regurgitation, which is characterized by being equipped with a hydrogen storage and transportation facility that stores and transports hydrogen generated by the water splitting facility. A photovoltaic power generation facility and a water splitting facility that electrolyzes seawater or rainwater to generate hydrogen by using the electric power obtained from the photovoltaic power generation facility on a floating structure floating on the sea surface in the equatorial countercurrent sea area. A hydrogen generation plant using equatorial regurgitation, which is characterized by being equipped with a methane generation facility that produces methane by reacting hydrogen generated by the water splitting facility with carbon dioxide. In the hydrogen generation plant using the Equatorial Counter Current according to claim 1 or 2.
The position detection unit that detects the position of the floating structure and the position information detected by the position detection unit move the position of the floating structure so that the floating structure stays in the equatorial countercurrent area. A hydrogen generation plant that utilizes the Equatorial Counter Current, which is characterized by being equipped with a position control facility consisting of a floating body moving part. In the hydrogen generation plant using the Equatorial Counter Current according to claim 1.
The hydrogen storage and transportation facility is a hydrogen generation plant using the Equatorial Counter Current, which is characterized by storing hydrogen in a solvent by an organic chemical hydride method. In the hydrogen generation plant using the Equatorial Counter Current according to claim 4.
The hydrogen storage and transportation facility is a hydrogen generation plant using the equatorial countercurrent, which comprises individually encapsulating a solvent storing hydrogen by the organic chemical hydride method in a large number of containers and transporting the solvent in container units. In the hydrogen generation plant using the equatorial countercurrent according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
Equipped with a distilled water generation facility that evaporates seawater to generate distilled water
The water cracking facility is a hydrogen generation plant using the equatorial countercurrent, which is characterized by using distilled water generated by the distilled water generation facility with an electrolyte added. In the hydrogen generation plant using the equatorial countercurrent according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
Equipped with a cooling water intake facility that cools and takes in seawater near the sea surface
The cooling water intake facility has a base float floating on the surface of the sea, a hose group consisting of a plurality of pumping hoses, and a pumping pump.
Both ends of the hose group are attached to the base float, the hose hangs down to the deep sea in the middle, the part from the base float to the deep sea is bundled, and the deep sea part is pumped by a holding plate. A hydrogen generation plant that utilizes the Equatorial Countercurrent, which is characterized by the hoses being separated from each other.

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