JP2021158054A - humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a humidifier in which a separator and a water exchange membrane are tightly adhered to each other and which can therefore maintain good sealability even used for long period of time.SOLUTION: A humidifier A comprises: a plurality of plate-shaped separators in each of which a water-containing gas flow path is formed in one surface and a dry gas flow path is formed on the other surface; a water exchange membrane sandwiched between adjacent water-containing gas flow path and dry gas flow path while the plurality of separators are laminated; a water-containing gas supply unit which supplies water-containing gas to the water-containing gas flow paths of the plurality of laminated separators; dry gas supply units 21, 22, and 23 that supply dry gas to the dry gas flow paths of the plurality of laminated separators; and a pressurizing unit P which applies pressure to the plurality of separators in the lamination direction by the gas pressure of the gas supplied from the outside.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a humidifier.

Humidifiers for humidifying the cathode gas supplied to the cathode side of the fuel cell are often configured to alternately arrange a separator that guides the gas and a film that permeates a plurality of waters. There are Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 to be described.

Patent Document 1 describes a fuel cell system in which a plurality of power generation cells constituting a fuel cell, a plurality of separators constituting a humidifier, and a water permeable membrane are laminated and connected by a plurality of bolts. .. That is, the plurality of power generation cells and the plurality of separators are maintained in a laminated state by fastening the plurality of tightening bolts. Further, the spring constant of the entire humidifier is adjusted by fitting an elastic cylinder to a plurality of tightening bolts.

This fuel cell system supplies air to the humidifier through an air inlet communication hole formed in the third end plate which is the outer surface of the humidifier, and supplies the air humidified by the humidifier to the fuel cell. In addition, by supplying the humidified air discharged from the fuel cell to the humidifier, moisture is given to the air supplied from the air inlet communication hole, and the air after being humidified by this humidifier is air-off gas outlet discharge communication port hole. It is configured to drain from.

In Patent Document 2, separators and humidifying films are alternately arranged and laminated, a pressure plate is arranged at the outer end in the stacking direction, and a nut is provided on one end side of a plurality of screw rods penetrating the pressure plates at both ends. A humidifier with a washer and a spring is described.

JP-A-2007-234314 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-163035

As shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the humidifier has a plate-shaped member (hereinafter referred to as a separator) having gas flow paths formed on both sides and a membrane capable of permeating water (hereinafter referred to as a water exchange membrane). (Referred to as) are arranged alternately, and a configuration in which these are laminated is often adopted.

In such a humidifier, in order to maintain the sealing performance between the separator and the water exchange membrane, it is necessary to press-weld them with an appropriate load. Further, in a conventional humidifier, since the separator is a molded product made of a resin material, there is a possibility that the dimensional accuracy may vary slightly, and that the humidifier may be slightly curved or otherwise deformed due to distortion during molding. When such a separator is used, it is necessary to take some measures in order to exhibit the required performance without causing any inconvenience in practical use by applying an appropriate load in the stacking direction.

However, for example, in the configuration in which the load of the spring is applied as described in Patent Document 2, even if the load of the spring is not excessive, the separator may be deformed due to the resin creep phenomenon due to the continuous application of the load. In addition, since the resin deteriorates over time, the pressure on the entire surface of the separators adjacent to each other across the water permeable film becomes non-uniform, which may adversely affect the sealing performance.

For this reason, there is a demand for a humidifier that can maintain good sealing properties by keeping the separator and the water exchange membrane in good contact with each other even when used for a long period of time.

The characteristic configuration of the humidifier according to the present invention is a plurality of plate-shaped separators having a water-containing gas flow path formed on one surface and a dry gas flow path formed on the other surface, the water-containing gas flow path, and the above. In a state where the plurality of separators are laminated so as to alternate with the dry gas flow paths, the water exchange film sandwiched between the boundaries of the adjacent separators and the water-containing gas flow paths of the laminated plurality of separators The plurality of said water-containing gas supply units, which supply the water-containing gas supply unit, the dry gas supply unit which supplies the dry gas to the dry gas flow paths of the plurality of stacked separators, and the gas pressure of the gas supplied from the outside. The point is that it is equipped with a pressurizing unit that applies pressure to the separator in the stacking direction.

According to this feature configuration, when humidifying with a humidifier, by supplying gas from the outside, a load (gas pressure) is applied in the stacking direction of the separator and the water exchange film only while the gas is being supplied. Since the load is not applied in the stacking direction when the gas supply is stopped, the deformation when the load is continuously applied as in the configuration in which the load is obtained by using a spring or the like can be alleviated.
Therefore, a humidifier that can maintain the sealing property by making good contact between the separator and the water exchange membrane even after long-term use has been constructed.

As a configuration added to the above configuration, the pressurizing unit is a pressurizing body arranged adjacent to the one at the end position in the stacking direction among the plurality of stacked separators, and the gas pressure of the dry gas. The piston that applies pressure to the pressurizing body in the direction along the stacking direction by operating in the direction along the stacking direction by the action, and a part of the dry gas supplied from the dry gas supply unit are said to be the same. A pressurizing flow path for supplying to the piston may be provided.

According to this, the piston is operated by the pressure of the dry gas supplied from the pressurizing flow path, and the pressure of the piston is applied to the plurality of separators in the stacking direction via the pressurizing body, so that the piston is operated. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a dedicated gas supply source. Further, since the pressure of the piston is applied to the separator through the wide surface of the pressurizing body, it is possible to apply a uniform pressure to the separator.

As a configuration added to the above configuration, the area of the piston on which the pressure of the dry gas acts may be larger than the area of the separator in the direction along the stacking direction.

Further, the pressure per unit area acting on the separator from the piston is made larger than the pressure per unit area on which the drying gas acts in the direction of separating the separators, so that the separators can be surely brought into close contact with each other.

In addition to the above configuration, the dry gas supply unit includes a pump that sends out dry gas, a dry gas supply path to which the dry gas is supplied from the pump, and an on-off valve that opens and closes the dry gas supply path. The pressurized flow path may be connected to the upstream side of the on-off valve in the dry gas supply path.

According to this, even when the on-off valve is closed, for example, when the power generation of the fuel cell is temporarily stopped, the crimping state of the plurality of separators can be maintained, and the plurality of separators and the water exchange membrane can be maintained. No gas leaks from between.

As a configuration added to the above configuration, an urging member that exerts an urging force in a direction in which the plurality of separators are brought into pressure contact with each other may be provided.

According to this, it is possible to maintain the crimped state of the plurality of separators even when the gas pressure does not act.

It is a perspective view of a humidifier. It is a top view which shows the humidifier and a gas flow path. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the upper plate, a separator, a water exchange membrane, and arrangement. It is a perspective view which shows the lower surface of the separator. It is a figure which shows the cross section of a humidifier, a supply path, and a pressurizing flow path. It is sectional drawing of the humidifier of another embodiment (a).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Basic configuration]
As shown in FIGS. A pressurizing body 4 that can move up and down is arranged, and a humidifying unit H is arranged between the upper plate 1 and the pressurizing body 4, and the air (an example of gas) supplied from the external pressurizing flow path 24 is arranged. The pressurizing body 4 is operated by air pressure (an example of gas pressure), and a plurality of separators 6 of the humidifying unit H are sandwiched between the upper plate 1 and the pressurizing body 4, so that a load is applied to the plurality of separators 6 in the stacking direction. A humidifier A is configured with a pressurizing unit P to act on.

As shown in FIG. 5, in this humidifier A, air pressurized by a compressor 21 (an example of a pump) (an example of a dry gas) connects a supply path 22 (an example of a dry gas supply path) and an on-off valve 23. Supplied through. In this configuration, the compressor 21, the supply path 22, and the on-off valve 23 constitute a dry gas supply unit. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a water-containing gas supply pipeline 17 is formed as a part of the water-containing gas supply unit in which the water-containing gas discharged from the fuel cell B is supplied to the humidifier A.

The fuel cell B generates electricity by supplying a fuel gas containing hydrogen gas and air containing oxygen gas. In the fuel cell B, a large amount of water is contained in the state of water vapor in the air after the reaction discharged from the fuel cell B by power generation. Air containing water in this way is referred to as hydrous air.

The humidifier A humidifies the air supplied to the fuel cell B (hereinafter referred to as dry air). That is, the humidifier A functions to provide the dry air with the moisture contained in the humidified air in the humidifying unit H by supplying the humidified air and the dry air to create the humidified air. In the humidifier A of FIGS. 1 and 5, the posture in which the upper plate 1 is arranged at the upper end is shown, but this humidifier A is not limited to the one used in this posture, and is used in a sideways posture or an oblique posture. Is also good.

[Humidification unit]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the humidification unit H is laminated by alternately stacking a plurality of plate-shaped separators 6 made of a resin material and a plurality of water exchange membranes 7 made of a resin film. The separator 6 has a dry gas flow path 6D formed on one surface (upper surface in the embodiment) and a water-containing gas flow path 6W formed on the other surface (lower surface in the embodiment). Then, in the laminated state, the water exchange membrane 7 is arranged at a position sandwiched between the adjacent water-containing gas flow paths 6W and the dry gas flow path 6D.

The water-containing gas flow path 6W allows dry gas to flow diagonally from the water-containing gas supply port 6Wa toward the water-containing gas discharge port 6Wb, and the dry gas flow path 6D is from the dry gas supply port 6Da to the dry gas discharge port 6Db. The orientation of the flow path is set so that the water-containing gas flows in the direction along the diagonal line that intersects the direction in which the water-containing gas flows. A through hole through which the center rod 10 described later is inserted is formed in the center of the separator 6 and the water exchange membrane 7.

Since the water-containing gas flow path 6W and the dry gas flow path 6D are formed in this way, in the humidification unit H, as shown in FIGS. 6W becomes one space extending in the stacking direction, and each of the water-containing gas discharge ports 6Wb of the plurality of stacked separators 6 becomes one space extending in the stacking direction. Similarly, each of the dry gas supply ports 6Da of the plurality of stacked separators 6 becomes one space extending in the stacking direction, and each of the dry gas discharge ports 6Db of the plurality of stacked separators 6 extends in the stacking direction. It becomes one space.

In addition, in FIG. 2, reference numerals common to each of the water-containing gas supply port 6Wa, the water-containing gas discharge port 6Wb, the dry gas supply port 6Da, and the dry gas discharge port 6Db are attached to each space.

The pressurizing body 4 is arranged adjacent to the lower side of the plurality of stacked separators 6 at the lower end position in the stacking direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the pressurizing body 4 includes a water-containing gas supply port 4Wa communicating with the water-containing gas supply port 6Wa, a water-containing gas discharge port 4Wb connected to the water-containing gas discharge port 6Wb, and a dry gas supply port 6Da. A dry gas supply port 4Da communicating with the dry gas supply port 4Db and a dry gas discharge port 4Db communicating with the dry gas discharge port 6Db are formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pressurized body 4 is supplied with dry air from the supply path 22 to the dry gas supply port 4Da, and contains water from the water-containing gas supply line 17 to the water-containing gas supply port 4Wa. Air is supplied.

[Main body frame and pressure unit]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the above-mentioned upper plate 1 is formed into a polygonal shape in a plan view, and the above-mentioned lower case 2 is formed into a circular shape in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 5, the humidifier A includes a center rod 10 coaxial with the center line X connecting the center of the upper plate 1 and the center of the lower case 2. The center rod 10 is provided so as to vertically penetrate the upper plate 1, the plurality of separators 6, the plurality of water exchange membranes 7, the pressurizing body 4, and the lower case 2 in a laminated state. A retaining plate 10a is integrally formed at the upper end of the center rod 10, and the lower end is fixed to the bottom of the lower case 2 by a bolt 11.

Further, in the lower case 2, a spring accommodating space 2a is formed in the central portion thereof, and a ring-shaped cylinder-shaped space 2b is formed outside the spring accommodating space 2a.

The pressurizing unit P includes a compression coil type spring 12 (an example of an urging member) housed in the spring accommodating space 2a, a piston 13 accommodated in the cylindrical space 2b, a pressurizing body 4, and a pressurizing flow path 24. And have. Further, a seal ring 14 is provided between the outer circumference of the piston 13 and the cylinder-shaped space 2b.

The piston 13 generates a load that operates the pressurizing body 4 in the direction of the humidifying unit H, and the rubber sheet 15 is arranged between the pressing surface of the piston 13 and the pressure receiving surface of the pressurizing body 4. The load generated by the operation of the piston 13 is equally applied from the pressing surface to the entire surface of the pressure receiving surface of the pressurizing body 4, and the plurality of separators 6 and the water exchange film 7 are in good contact with each other over the entire surface.

The pressurizing unit P has a spring 12 and a piston 13 of the lower case 2, a pressurizing body 4, and a pressurizing flow path 24 for supplying dry gas to the piston 13.

A supply path 22 for supplying air as dry gas from a compressor 21 (an example of a pump) is connected to the dry gas supply port 4Da of the pressurizing body 4, and an electromagnetic opening / closing valve 23 is connected to this supply path 22. Is intervened. Further, the pressurizing flow path 24 is branched and connected to the supply path 22 between the compressor 21 and the on-off valve 23, and the air from the pressurizing flow path 24 is connected to the cylinder via the supply plug 25 on the bottom surface of the lower case 2. It is supplied to the shape space 2b.

Further, in the pressurizing unit P, the area of the piston 13 that exerts pressure on the pressurizing body 4 in the directional view along the stacking direction is set to a value larger than the area of the separator 6 in the directional view along the stacking direction. .. As a result, the pressure per unit area of the piston 13 acting on the separator 6 becomes larger than the pressure per unit area of the dry gas or the water-containing gas acting in the direction of separating the separators 6, respectively. Make sure that they are in close contact with each other.

Further, the urging force of the spring 12 is set to a value that maintains a state in which the plurality of separators 6 are in close contact with each other in a state where gas is not supplied to the humidifying unit H.

As shown in FIG. 2, the humidifier A discharges humidified air from the dry gas discharge port 4Db, and the humidified air is supplied to the cathode side of the fuel cell B. Further, since the air after the reaction (cathode off gas) discharged from the cathode side of the fuel cell B is a water-containing air containing a large amount of water vapor, this water-containing air is supplied to the water-containing gas supply port 4Wa of the humidifier A. Will be done.

In this way, the moist air is supplied to the humidifying unit H from the moist gas supply port 4 Wa, and the dry air supplied from the dry gas supply port 4 Da is humidified.

[Pressurization operation by pressurization unit]
Since the pressurizing unit P is configured as described above, when the compressor 21 is operated to generate power in the fuel cell B, pressurized air (dry air) is supplied to the pressurizing flow path 24. Therefore, the piston 13 of the lower case 2 is operated by the pressure of air, and the operation of the piston 13 causes the plurality of separators 6 to be crimped by the load from the pressurizing body 4.

The load due to the pressure of the air acts only when the compressor 21 is operated and the dry air is supplied to the cylindrical space 2b, and does not act when the compressor 21 is stopped and the dry air is not supplied to the cylindrical space 2b. Therefore, for example, as compared with the configuration in which the separator 6 is pressed against each other using a spring, a part of the separator 6 is plastically deformed by the resin creep phenomenon due to the constant pressure acting by the spring, the separator 6 is curved, and the like. It does not cause any inconvenience.

Further, even when the on-off valve 23 is closed to temporarily stop the power generation in the fuel cell B, the air from the pressurizing flow path 24 can be supplied to the piston 13, so that the separator 6 can be maintained in the pressure contact state, and the separator can be maintained. 6 and the water exchange membrane 7 can be brought into close contact with each other over the entire surface, and good sealing properties can be maintained. Further, since the area on which the pressure is applied by the piston 13 is larger than the area of the separator 6, the separator 6 and the water exchange membrane 7 are always in close contact with each other, and air is not unnecessarily leaked.

[Another Embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the above-described embodiment (those having the same functions as those in the embodiment are designated by the same number and reference numeral as those in the embodiment).

(A) The humidifier A shown in FIG. 6 is provided with a center rod 10 that vertically penetrates the upper plate 1 at the upper end and the lower case 2 at the lower end with a coaxial core with the center line X, and is provided with a cylindrical space of the lower case 2. The lower case 2 is provided with a seal ring 14 for accommodating the piston 13 in 2b so as to be movable in the vertical direction and sealing the piston 13. Further, the upper end of the center rod 10 is provided with a compression coil type spring 12 that exerts an urging force for pulling the center rod 10 upward.

The humidifier A of the other embodiment (a) is provided with a pressurizing body 4 on the upper surface of the piston 13, and a humidifying unit H is arranged between the upper surface of the pressurizing body 4 and the upper plate 1. .. Further, the pressurizing body 4 includes a dry gas supply port 4Da that receives dry gas (dry air) from the outside via a supply path 22, and a dry gas discharge port 4Db that discharges humidified gas (humidified air). ing.

Further, the humidifier A of the other embodiment (a) is provided with a pressurizing flow path 24 that supplies a part of the dry gas supplied to the dry gas supply port 6Da to the cylindrical space 2b.

Although not shown in FIG. 6, in the other embodiment (a), the humidifying unit H has a water-containing gas flow path 6W formed on one surface and a dry gas flow path 6D on the other surface as in the embodiment. It has a plate-shaped separator 6 made of the formed resin material, an adjacent water-containing gas flow path 6W in a state where the separator 6 is laminated, and a water exchange membrane 7 sandwiched between the boundaries of the dry gas flow path 6D. doing.

The humidifier A of the other embodiment (a) includes a pressurizing unit P including a spring 12, a piston 13, and a pressurizing body 4. From such a configuration, by supplying dry air to the pressurizing body 4, the dry air is supplied to the humidifying unit H to perform humidification, and a part of the dry gas supplied to the pressurizing body 4 is added. It is supplied to the cylindrical space 2b via the pressure flow path 24. As a result, the piston 13 operates, and the load due to this operation causes pressure to act on the humidifying unit H via the pressurizing body 4, so that good crimping between the separator 6 and the water exchange membrane 7 is possible.

In this other embodiment (a) as well, as in the embodiment, there is no inconvenience such as plastic deformation of a part of the separator 6 or bending of the separator 6 due to the constant pressure acting. .. Thereby, for example, as compared with the configuration in which the separator 6 is pressure-welded using a spring, the separator 6 and the water exchange membrane 7 can be brought into close contact with each other over the entire surface, and a good seal product can be maintained.

(B) Even when the pressurizing gas is not supplied from the pressurizing unit P, the urging member for crimping the plurality of separators 6 of the humidifying unit H is replaced with the spring 12, for example, the cylinder-shaped space 2b of the lower case 2. It is conceivable that the member is composed of protrusions protruding upward with respect to the member serving as the bottom wall of the. Similarly, it is also conceivable to project downward on the lower surface of the upper plate 1 to form elastically deformable protrusions. With this configuration, it is possible to obtain an urging force without using the spring 12 by changing the shape of a part of the members constituting the humidifier A.

(C) The gas to be supplied can also be supplied to the pressurized flow path 24 by a dedicated pump. Further, the gas supplied to the pressurized flow path 24 is not limited to the dry gas, and a water-containing gas may be used, or any other gas may be used.

(D) The shape of the separator 6 is not limited to that shown in the embodiment, and the arrangement of the ports formed on the pressurizing body 4 is not limited to the position shown in the embodiment, and can be arranged at any position.

The present invention can be used in a humidifier that humidifies the gas supplied to the fuel cell.

4 Pressurizing body 6 Separator 6D Dry gas flow path 6W Moisture-containing gas flow path 7 Water exchange membrane 12 Spring (Anging member: Pressurizing unit)
13 Piston (pressurization unit)
21 Compressor (Pump: Dry gas supply unit)
22 Supply path (dry gas supply section)
23 Open / close valve (dry gas supply unit)
24 Pressurized flow path (pressurized unit)
P pressurization unit

Claims (5)

A plurality of plate-shaped separators having a water-containing gas flow path formed on one surface and a dry gas flow path formed on the other surface.
A water exchange membrane sandwiched between the boundaries of adjacent separators in a state where a plurality of the separators are laminated so that the water-containing gas flow path and the dry gas flow path alternate with each other.
A water-containing gas supply unit that supplies water-containing gas to the water-containing gas flow path of the plurality of stacked separators, and a water-containing gas supply unit.
A dry gas supply unit that supplies dry gas to the dry gas flow path of the plurality of stacked separators,
A humidifier including a pressurizing unit that applies pressure to a plurality of the separators in a stacking direction by the gas pressure of a gas supplied from the outside. A pressurizing body in which the pressurizing unit is arranged adjacent to a plurality of laminated separators at an end position in the laminating direction, and a pressurizing body.
A piston that applies pressure to the pressurizing body in the direction along the stacking direction by operating in the direction along the stacking direction by the action of the gas pressure of the dry gas.
The humidifier according to claim 1, further comprising a pressurizing flow path for supplying a part of the dry gas supplied from the dry gas supply unit to the piston. The humidifier according to claim 2, wherein the area of the piston on which the pressure of the dry gas acts is larger than the area of the separator in the direction along the stacking direction. The dry gas supply unit includes a pump that sends out dry gas, a dry gas supply path to which the dry gas is supplied from the pump, and an on-off valve that opens and closes the dry gas supply path. The humidifier according to claim 2 or 3, which is connected to the upstream side of the on-off valve in the dry gas supply path. The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an urging member that exerts an urging force in a direction in which the plurality of separators are brought into pressure contact with each other.

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