JP4146388B2 - Water electrolysis apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water electrolysis apparatus and method for producing oxygen and hydrogen by electrolyzing water using, for example, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane as a diaphragm.

A conventional solid polymer membrane water splitting apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, a water electrolysis tank 114 whose interior is partitioned into an anode chamber 112 and a cathode chamber 113 by a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 111, and electrolyzed water 115 on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 111 side of the anode chamber 112. A solid polymer membrane water electrolyzer comprising: a water supply means for supplying; an oxygen separation means for separating oxygen (O ₂ ) and hydrogen (H ₂ ) generated by water electrolysis; and a hydrogen separation means. A water supply tank 120 is installed above a water electrolysis tank 114 in which the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 111 is erected in the vertical direction, and water from the water supply tank 120 is used as circulating water 121 to form a solid polymer electrolyte. The film 111 is supplied while being naturally circulated. That is, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 111 in the electrolytic cell 114 is erected in the vertical axis direction, and the circulating water supply means 122 for supplying the circulating water 121 to the cathode chamber 113 side is provided above the electrolytic cell 114. A water supply tank 120 installed in the water supply line, a descending line 123 for circulating the circulating water 121 from the water supply tank 120 while supplying a descending flow due to natural fall from the lower end side of the electrolyte membrane, and generated hydrogen (H ₂ ) As an upward flow and an ascending line 125 for supplying hydrogen (H ₂ ) / water (H ₂ O) as a two-layer flow 124 to the hydrogen separation means together with the circulating water.

On the oxygen side, on the other hand, a cooling means 133 that cools the electrolyzed water 115 supplied from the water supply tank 132 to about 60 ° C., and a filter that is interposed downstream of the cooling means 133 and removes contaminants in the water. 134, a heating means 135 that is interposed downstream of the filter 134 and heats the electrolyzed water to 80 ° C. or higher, and a circulation pump 136 that circulates the electrolyzed water. The electrolyzed water 115 is placed in the anode chamber 112. Supplying a two-layer flow 137 of oxygen (O ₂ ) / water (H ₂ O). Similar to the tank 120 on the circulating water side, the water supply tank 132 has an air-water separation function and separates oxygen.

As described above, the hydrogen generated in the electrolyte membrane 111 is introduced from the lower end side of the membrane by the natural circulation water from the water tank 120 installed on the upper side of the water electrolysis tank 114, and rises when rising along the membrane. Since hydrogen is removed from the interface of the film as a two-layer flow, the bubbles are easily removed and the electrolysis efficiency is improved. In order to improve the electrolytic efficiency, a large amount of oxygen and hydrogen are usually produced by assembling a plurality of cells each having a standing membrane to form a stack.
As a result, the bubble escape on the hydrogen side is improved, so that the current density with respect to the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 111 can be improved to, for example, about 1 to 3 A / cm ² . At this time, the flow rate of the upward flow is about 0.3 to 1.0 m / s. Here, the water supply tank 120 also serves as a hydrogen separation means, and constitutes an air / water separation tank for separating hydrogen (Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-285368 A

  However, when hydrogen generated by electrolysis of water moves from the anode chamber 112 to the cathode chamber 113 side, water also accompanies, so that there is a problem that circulating water 121 accumulates in the water supply tank 120 on the hydrogen side. . For this reason, it is necessary to discard surplus water separately or supply it to the oxygen-side water supply tank 132 via a pump.

  Further, although a filter is installed to purify the electrolyzed water 115, it becomes a large-scale apparatus for purifying the electrolyzed water 115.

  In addition, in an apparatus such as Patent Document 1, pipes are stretched around the water electrolysis tank 114, which is complicated and has a large loss of thermal efficiency. Thus, the appearance of a water electrolysis facility that is compact and has improved thermal efficiency. Is desired.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a water electrolysis apparatus and method that can reduce the size of water electrolysis equipment, can be stably operated over a long period of time, and can greatly improve in-house efficiency. This is the issue.

  A first invention of the present invention for solving the above-described problems is provided in a container body, purifies the circulating water to be circulated, and hangs down from the top of the container body, and the container body is first A partition plate that is separated into the chamber and the second chamber, a water electrolysis stack that is provided outside the container body and generates hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing the circulating water, and a circulation purified in the water electrolysis stack A water supply pipe for supplying water, a first feed pipe for feeding a hydrogen / water / two-layer flow entrained by circulating water from the water electrolysis stack to a first chamber of the container body, and the water A second supply pipe for supplying oxygen / water / two-layer flow accompanying the circulating water from the electrolytic stack to the second chamber of the container body, and a hydrogen discharge section for discharging hydrogen from the first chamber And an oxygen discharge part for discharging oxygen from the second chamber, While purifying circulating water supplied to click in the water electrolysis apparatus characterized by formed by natural circulation.

  A second invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the container body is a pressure vessel.

  A third invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to the first or second invention, wherein the water supply pipe supplies the oxygen side and the hydrogen side of the water electrolysis stack.

  4th invention is provided in the pressure vessel main body, purifies the circulating water which circulates, and hangs down from the top part of the pressure vessel main body, and the inside of the container main body is divided into the first chamber and the second chamber. A partition plate to be separated; a water electrolysis stack that is provided at a lower portion of the main body of the pressure vessel and electrolyzes the purified circulating water to generate hydrogen and oxygen; and a water supply that supplies the purified circulating water to the water electrolysis stack A first feed pipe for feeding a hydrogen / water / two-layer flow entrained in the circulating water from the water electrolysis stack to the first chamber of the container main body, and circulating water from the water electrolysis stack A second feed pipe for feeding the accompanying oxygen / water / two-layer flow to the second chamber of the container body, a hydrogen discharge section for discharging hydrogen from the first chamber, and the second It is equipped with an oxygen discharge part that discharges oxygen from the room and supplies it to the water electrolysis stack While purifying ring water in the water electrolysis apparatus characterized by formed by natural circulation.

  A fifth invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to the fourth invention, wherein the water supply section supplies the oxygen side and the hydrogen side of the water electrolysis stack.

  A sixth invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein the purification layer is made of an ion exchange resin.

  A seventh invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth inventions, wherein a heat insulating material is provided around the container body.

  An eighth invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh inventions, wherein a heating unit for heating the purified circulating water is provided.

  A ninth invention is the water electrolysis apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth inventions, wherein a water supply unit for replenishing circulating water from the outside is provided in the container body.

  According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, the cell constituting the electrolytic stack includes a pair of separators, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane provided between the separators, and the solid polymer. The water electrolysis apparatus is characterized in that it is interposed between an electrolyte membrane and a separator, and is composed of a power feeding body that has a low water flow resistance and a low electric resistance.

  The eleventh aspect of the present invention is to use any one of the first to tenth water electrolysis apparatuses to purify the circulating water supplied to the water electrolysis stack while naturally circulating and electrolyzing the water to obtain hydrogen and oxygen. The water electrolysis method is characterized.

  According to the present invention, since the circulating water is supplied to the water electrolysis stack by natural circulation, a conventional pump for circulating the circulating water becomes unnecessary, the apparatus can be simplified and the in-house efficiency can be improved. Further, since the purification layer is disposed in the container body, it is not necessary to install the purification device outside as in the conventional case, and the equipment can be made compact. Further, since the hydrogen-entrained water and the oxygen-entrained water are integrated after being purified by the purification layer, it is not necessary to supply surplus water using a conventional pump, and the permeated water can be reused. As a result, since the simplification in the system of the water electrolysis apparatus can be achieved, thermal independence can be established, and water electrolysis can be stably performed over a long period of time.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.

A water electrolysis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a water electrolysis apparatus according to Example 1, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof (sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4), FIG. 3 is a front view thereof, and FIG. It is a BB arrow line view of FIG.
As shown in these drawings, a water electrolysis apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with a predetermined interval from a lower end surface in a container body 11, and a purification layer 13 for purifying circulating water 12 that circulates, and a container A partition plate 25 that hangs down from the top portion 11a of the main body 11 and separates the inside of the container main body 11 into a first chamber 14-1 and a second chamber 14-2, and is provided outside the container main body 11 for circulating water. A water electrolysis stack 15 that generates hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, a water supply pipe 17 that supplies purified water 16 to the water electrolysis stack 15, and hydrogen / Oxygen / water entrained by circulating water from the first feeding pipe 19-1 for feeding the water / two-layer flow 18-1 to the first chamber 14-1 of the container body 11 and the water electrolysis stack 15. The two-layer flow 18-2 is transferred to the second chamber 14-2 of the container body A second feed pipe 19-2 for feeding, a hydrogen discharger 20 for discharging hydrogen from the first chamber 14-1, and an oxygen discharger 21 for discharging oxygen from the second chamber 14-2. Thus, the circulating water 12 supplied to the water electrolysis stack 15 is naturally circulated while purifying it.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 30 denotes a heat insulating material, and 31 denotes a heating unit such as a heater.

  Here, in this embodiment, the inside of the container body is separated into the first chamber 14-1 and the second chamber 14-2 by the partition plate 25 that partitions the container body 11, but the partition plate 25 is It is desirable to contact at least the purification layer. This is because it is necessary to prevent contact between hydrogen generated in the first chamber 14-1 and oxygen generated in the second chamber 14-2. Therefore, it is more desirable that the partition plate hangs down to the lower part of the purification layer 13.

  Moreover, it connects with the 1st supply pipe | tube 19-1 which supplies hydrogen / water and the two-layer flow 18-1 to the 1st chamber 14-1 so that the generated hydrogen and oxygen may not contact. The oxygen generation pipe 19-1 connected to the hydrogen supply pipe 19-1a and the second feed pipe 19-2 for feeding the oxygen / water / two-layer flow 18-2 to the second chamber 14-2. For example, it may be covered with ceramics, a sintered material or the like so as to surround the periphery of the outlet portion of 2a to prevent the movement of hydrogen or oxygen downward. In this case, since hydrogen and oxygen do not cross each other, the partition plate 25 may not reach the purification layer 13.

  Further, the pressure in each room is measured by a pressure gauge (not shown) so that the water surface in the container body is constant, and the pressure is adjusted so that each room has a uniform pressure.

  For this reason, a hydrogen gas discharge pipe 20a is connected to the hydrogen discharge portion 20 of the hydrogen gas, and is adjusted as appropriate by opening and closing the valve 20b. Similarly, an oxygen gas discharge pipe 21a is connected to the oxygen gas discharge section 21 and is adjusted as appropriate by opening and closing the valve 21b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, since water is consumed by water electrolysis, a water level meter 43 is installed in the container body 11, and a predetermined amount of water is supplied 42 via a water supply pipe by a ball tap 41 or the like. I am doing so.

  In the present embodiment, the inside of the container main body 11 is pressurized, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be normal pressure. In addition, when installing an electrolytic stack outside, it is preferable to set it to several to several tens of pressures from the sealing property of a cell. Thereby, high-pressure hydrogen gas can be obtained.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the container main body may be set to several to 800 atmospheres as the pressure resistant container 71.
In this case, the electrolytic stack 15 supported by the support portion 15 a in the container main body 71 is installed below the purification layer 13. And the oxygen side circulating water and the hydrogen side circulating water are supplied to each water supply port provided below the electrolytic stack 15. Further, by supplying the circulating water so as to cross, it is possible to correct the deviation of heat inside the electrolytic stack 15 and to equalize the temperature.

  As a result, since high-pressure hydrogen can be obtained, it can be supplied as it is, for example, to a fuel tank such as a hydrogen automobile without using a compressor or the like. Therefore, since the water electrolysis stack 15 is disposed inside the high pressure vessel and the electrolyzed water supplied to the water electrolysis stack 15 can be naturally circulated, it is possible to achieve compactness and further improve the in-house efficiency.

  Here, the purification layer 13 of the present embodiment is made of, for example, an ion exchange resin having a diameter of about several millimeters. In order to fill the ion exchange resin, a support member 13a having a net or pores is provided at a predetermined distance from the lower end surface of the container body 11, and the support member 13a is filled with the ion exchange resin. The filling amount may be an amount that efficiently purifies the circulating water, and the thickness leads to the pressure loss of the circulating water described later, and therefore may be a predetermined thickness that balances the pressure loss.

  When circulating water passes through, for example, an ion exchange resin or the like of the purification layer 13, impurities in the circulating water can be removed, and water electrolysis efficiency can be improved. In other words, if the supplied external water or impurities generated by water electrolysis adhere to the surface of the membrane during water electrolysis, the electrolysis efficiency in the membrane is reduced by passing through the purification layer 13. Can be resolved.

  Here, as the ion exchange resin, for example, “Dowex * Marathon * C600” (trade name: manufactured by Dow Chemical Japan Co., Ltd.), “Diaion TSA1200” (trade name: manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation), or “Diaion” SAT1200 & SMT1200 "(trade name: manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) can be exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to these.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the periphery of the container main body 11 is kept warm by a heat insulating material 30. This prevents the heat generated by water electrolysis (almost of the input power that is not used for water electrolysis from being converted into heat) from being released to the outside, thereby achieving complete thermal independence. Because. As a result, the circulating water can be circulated stably at a temperature of about 80 ° C. for a long period of time.
In addition, when the temperature of circulating water becomes higher than predetermined temperature by heat_generation | fever, what is necessary is just to adjust temperature by adjusting the amount of water supply from the outside.

  In the present embodiment, the heating unit 31 is provided on the lower side of the container body 11. For example, a heater or the like can be used as the heating unit 31, but a boiler using oxygen and hydrogen generated by the apparatus as fuel sources may be used.

  Here, if the heating part 31 is used at the time of starting, thermal independence can be aimed at by Joule heat at the time of electrolysis after that.

In this embodiment, when the purified circulating water 16 is supplied to the water electrolysis stack 15, it is supplied to both the oxygen side and the hydrogen side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is sufficient to supply at least to the water supply path side on the oxygen side.
In the case of using only the oxygen supply side, the amount of water to be circulated can be reduced only on the oxygen side, the diameter of the container body can be reduced, and the size can be reduced.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the supply method is such that the hydrogen-side water supply port 41-1 and the oxygen-side water supply port 41-2 are connected to the outlet of the hydrogen / water / two-layer flow 18-1, which is a gas outlet. 42-1 and the outlet 42-2 of the oxygen / water bilayer flow 18-2 are crossed so that the flow of circulating water passing through the water electrolysis stack 15 crosses, It tries to make it.

  Further, in the cells constituting the water electrolysis stack 15, the pressure loss of the circulating water does not decrease, and a power supply body that also serves as a water supply path for supplying water having a good contact rate with the solid polymer membrane is used. ing.

  An outline of this cell is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the cell 50 includes a pair of separators 52 and 53, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 51 provided between the separators 52 and 53, and between the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 51 and the separator. It is composed of a power feeding body 54 that is interposed and has a small flow resistance of water (pressure loss is small) and a small electric resistance. In the present embodiment, the power feeding body 54 has a mesh opening larger in order from the solid polymer film 51 side (three layers 54-1 to 54-3 in this embodiment).

  The power supply body 54 is a power supply body 54-3 having a large mesh opening on the separator side, and has good water permeability. On the other hand, the side of the solid polymer film 51 is a power feeder 54-1 having a small mesh opening, and the solid polymer film 51 and the power feeder 54-1 are in good contact so that the electrical resistance is reduced. Thereby, the power feeding body 54 has both a water channel function and a power feeding function.

  For example, the power feeder 54-3 having a large opening on the separator side has a mesh thickness of, for example, 0.6 mm, a mesh count of 10 pieces / inch, and a wire diameter of 600 μm. The power feeder 54-1 having a small mesh opening on the separator side has a mesh thickness of, for example, 0.1 mm, a mesh count of 36 pieces / inch, and a wire diameter of 100 μm. And the inclination function is given by changing a wire diameter or increasing the number of meshes. In this embodiment, as a power supply body that contacts the solid polymer film 51, a power supply body (not shown) having a thickness of 0.1 mm and having fine holes formed by photoetching is used.

  In this embodiment, the inclination function is exhibited by the size of the mesh openings, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is assumed that the water permeability and electrical characteristics of the circulating water are combined. That's fine. The electrolytic stack 15 is formed by laminating a plurality of the above-described cells, and the number of laminated layers is appropriately set according to the capacity and size.

Here, the effect | action which circulating water circulates naturally is demonstrated.
When passing through the purification layer 13, a pressure loss of water occurs. When this flow rate is large, the pressure loss increases. Moreover, pressure loss also occurs in the electrolytic stack 15, and the pressure loss increases as the flow rate increases. On the other hand, inside the electrolytic stack 15 and the supply pipe, if the gas generation is constant at a constant current, the void rate is decreased and the circulation force is decreased when the circulation flow rate is large. Thus, there is an appropriate amount to balance.

In this example, the following design conditions were used.
The pressure (P) in the container body was 7 ata, the current density (I) was 1 A / cm ² , and the temperature (T) was 80 ° C. Further, the flow rate of the circulating water on the oxygen side in the purification layer 13 was set to 0.5 L / min / cell.

The pressure loss ΔPf of the purification layer 13 was determined by the following formula (1).
ΔPf = (μu / k) l (1)
Here, k is a permeation coefficient (= 9.76 × 10 ⁻¹¹ ) m ² , μ is a viscosity coefficient (PaS), u is a flow velocity (m / s), and l is a purification layer thickness (m).
On the other hand, the oxygen-side pressure loss ΔPs of the electrolytic stack 15 was obtained as follows.
The test result of the stack pressure loss under the above design conditions is shown in FIG. Based on the result of FIG. 7, it estimated with the following quadratic curve (Formula (2)).
ΔPs = 380W ² (2)
Where W is the oxygen circulation flow rate (l / min / cell)

Next, the circulation power of the circulating water will be examined.
The circulation force ΔPk was determined by the following formula (3). FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the void fraction of oxygen obtained during the electrolysis test and the mass flow ratio.
ΔPk = ΔHβρ (3)
β = 0.10502ln (X) +0.7009 (4)
Here, ΔH is the head difference (m), β is the void ratio (−), ρ is the density (kg / m ³ ), and X is the mass flow rate ratio (−).
Equation (4) was obtained from FIG. 8 and substituted into equation (3) to obtain the circulation force.

From the above results, the pressure loss (ΔPf) in the purification layer on the oxygen side is 77.5 (mmH ₂ O), and the pressure loss (ΔPs) of the water electrolysis stack is 89.5 (mmH ₂ O). The pressure loss is 167.1 (mmH ₂ O).
On the other hand, the circulating force (ΔPk) is 167.1 (mmH ₂ O), and the circulating water rotates to balance. Further, the head difference ΔH may be increased in order to increase the circulation force.

  It should be noted that the head difference ΔH is required to be 1 m minimum from the oxygen side circulation calculation. The inner diameter of the container body was 0.8 m, and the thickness of the purification layer 13 was 0.65 mm. It should be noted that the joint for connecting the first feed pipe 19-1 for feeding the hydrogen / water / two-layer flow 18-1 to the first chamber 14-1 of the container body 11 so that the head difference is variable. The rising pipe 19-1a having an arbitrary length can be connected via the 19-1b. Further, a second feed pipe 19-for feeding the oxygen / water / two-layer flow 18-2 to the second chamber 14-2 of the container body 11 so that the head difference on the oxygen side can be varied. The ascending pipe 19-2a having an arbitrary length can be connected through a joint 19-2b connected to the pipe 2.

  Thus, since the circulating water naturally circulates inside the container main body 11, a conventional pump is unnecessary, and the in-house efficiency is improved.

  Next, an operation of operating the water electrolysis device to circulate the circulating water into the natural circulation and purify it by the purification layer 13 during the circulation will be described.

  First, the purification layer 13 is filled in the container body 11, and then water supply is started. Thereafter, the inside of the container body is pressurized to a predetermined pressure (7 ata). Next, the circulating water 16 purified by the heating unit 31 is heated to a predetermined temperature (80 ° C.). Thereafter, power is supplied to the water electrolysis stack 15 to start water electrolysis. By this water electrolysis, a hydrogen / water two-layer flow 18-1 and an oxygen / water two-layer flow 18-2 are formed in the water electrolysis stack 15, and gases of hydrogen and oxygen rise. Circulation begins as this upward flow is formed. Thereafter, when the balance is achieved as described above, natural circulation occurs, and the hydrogen / water two-layer flow 18-1 and the oxygen / water two-layer flow 18-2 from the water electrolysis stack are respectively connected to the first feeding pipe 19-1. Hydrogen and oxygen are sent to the first chamber 14-1 and the second chamber 14-2 through the second feed pipe 19-2, respectively, where gas-liquid separation is started.

That is, hydrogen is separated as a gas from the hydrogen / water bilayer flow 18-1 introduced into the first chamber 14-1. Water flows to the lower purification layer 13 side, where it is purified. Further, oxygen is separated as a gas from the oxygen / water two-layer flow 18-2 introduced into the second chamber 14-2. The separated circulating water 12 flows to the purification layer 13 side located on the lower side of the container, where it becomes the purified circulating water 16 that has been purified.
As described above, in the water electrolysis apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the container main body 11 integrally has the gas-liquid separation unit and the purification unit, and the water from which hydrogen and oxygen are separated passes through the purification layer 13. Impurities are removed. Thereafter, the purified circulating water 16 is supplied to the water electrolysis stack 15.

  The separated hydrogen and oxygen are respectively a hydrogen discharge unit 20 that discharges hydrogen from the first chamber 14-1 provided at the top of the container body, and an oxygen discharge that discharges oxygen from the second chamber 14-2. It is discharged to the outside by the part 21 and used.

  As a result, according to the present embodiment, both the purification unit and the gas-liquid separation unit are provided inside the container body, and the circulating water is circulated by natural circulation. Since there is no need to install a purification device or the like outside, and there is also little piping, it is possible to provide a water electrolysis device having a compact and simple configuration. As a result, the in-house efficiency can be greatly improved.

For example, the pressure (P) in the container body (height: about 2 m, diameter: 0.8 m) is 0.7 MPa (7 ata), the current density (I) is 1 A / cm ² , and the temperature (T) is 80 ° C. When the water flow rate of the oxygen-side circulating water in the purification layer 13 is 0.5 L / min / cell, 2.6 Nm ³ / hr of hydrogen can be produced.

  As described above, the water electrolysis apparatus according to the present invention can reduce the size of water electrolysis equipment, can be stably operated over a long period of time, and the efficiency is greatly improved. It is suitable for use in manufacturing efficiently.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the water electrolysis apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of FIG. 2. It is a BB arrow line view of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the water flow of a water electrolysis stack. It is the schematic of the cell of a water electrolysis stack. It is a figure which shows the test result of the stack pressure loss in design conditions. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the void fraction of oxygen obtained at the time of an electrolysis test, and mass flow rate ratio. It is the schematic which shows the ultra-high pressure water electrolysis apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is the schematic which shows the water electrolysis apparatus concerning a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water electrolysis apparatus 11 Container body 12 Circulating water 13 Purified layer 14-1 First chamber 14-2 Second chamber 16 Purified circulating water 17 Water supply pipe 18-1 Hydrogen / water / two-layer flow 18-2 Oxygen / Water / two-layer flow 19-1 First feed pipe 19-2 Second feed pipe 20 Hydrogen discharge section 21 Oxygen discharge section 25 Partition plate

Claims (11)

A purification layer provided in the container body for purifying circulating water,
A partition plate that hangs down from the top of the container body and separates the inside of the container body into a first chamber and a second chamber;
A water electrolysis stack that is provided outside the container body and generates hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing the circulating water;
A water supply pipe for supplying purified water to the water electrolysis stack;
A first feed pipe for feeding a hydrogen / water bilayer flow entrained with circulating water from the water electrolysis stack to the first chamber of the container body;
A second feed pipe for feeding oxygen / water / two-layer flow entrained with circulating water from the water electrolysis stack to the second chamber of the container body;
A hydrogen discharger for discharging hydrogen from the first chamber;
An oxygen discharge part for discharging oxygen from the second chamber;
A water electrolysis apparatus characterized by being naturally circulated while purifying circulating water supplied to a water electrolysis stack. In claim 1,
The water electrolysis apparatus, wherein the container body is a pressure vessel. In claim 1 or 2,
The water electrolysis apparatus characterized in that the water supply pipe supplies water to the oxygen side and the hydrogen side of the water electrolysis stack. A purification layer provided in the pressure vessel body for purifying circulating water,
A partition plate that hangs down from the top of the pressure vessel main body and separates the inside of the container main body into a first chamber and a second chamber;
A water electrolysis stack that is provided at the lower part of the main body of the pressure vessel and generates hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing purified circulating water;
A water supply section for supplying purified water to the water electrolysis stack;
A first feed pipe for feeding a hydrogen / water bilayer flow entrained with circulating water from the water electrolysis stack to the first chamber of the container body;
A second feed pipe for feeding oxygen / water / two-layer flow entrained with circulating water from the water electrolysis stack to the second chamber of the container body;
A hydrogen discharger for discharging hydrogen from the first chamber;
An oxygen discharge part for discharging oxygen from the second chamber;
A water electrolysis apparatus characterized by being naturally circulated while purifying circulating water supplied to a water electrolysis stack. In claim 4,
The water electrolysis apparatus, wherein the water supply unit supplies the oxygen side and the hydrogen side of the water electrolysis stack. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
The water electrolysis apparatus, wherein the purification layer is made of an ion exchange resin. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6,
A water electrolysis apparatus, wherein a heat insulating material is provided around the container body. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 7,
A water electrolysis apparatus, wherein a heating unit for heating the purified circulating water is provided. In any one of Claims 1 to 8,
A water electrolysis apparatus, wherein a water supply unit for replenishing circulating water from the outside is provided in the container body. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 9,
The cell constituting the water electrolysis stack is interposed between a pair of separators, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane provided between the separators, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the separator, and the flow resistance of water is small And a water electrolysis apparatus comprising a power feeding body having a small electric resistance.   A water electrolysis using the water electrolysis apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10 to purify the circulating water supplied to the water electrolysis stack and to naturally circulate and electrolyze the water to obtain hydrogen and oxygen. Method.

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