JP5112366B2 - Hydrogen gas separation system with microchannel structure for efficiently separating hydrogen gas from mixed gas source - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to systems and methods used to separate molecular hydrogen from gas bodies. In particular, the present invention relates to a system and method for separating hydrogen from a mixed gas by exposing the mixed gas to a hydrogen permeable material that only allows atomic hydrogen to pass through.

  The use of molecular hydrogen has many applications in the industry. However, in a typical process for producing hydrogen, the produced hydrogen gas is often not pure. On the contrary, when producing hydrogen, the resulting gas is often contaminated with water vapor, hydrocarbons and / or other contaminants. However, in many cases it is desirable to obtain ultra-high purity hydrogen. In the technical field, ultra-high purity hydrogen generally refers to hydrogen having a purity level of at least 99.999%. To achieve such purity levels, it is necessary to intentionally separate hydrogen gas from contaminants.

  In the prior art, the most commonly used method for purifying contaminated hydrogen gas is to pass the gas through a membrane made of a hydrogen permeable material such as palladium or palladium alloy. As contaminated hydrogen gas passes through the membrane, atomic hydrogen passes through the walls of the conduit and is thereby separated from the contaminants. In such prior art processes, the film is typically heated to at least 300 degrees Celsius. On the surface of the membrane, molecular hydrogen decomposes into atomic hydrogen and the membrane material adsorbs atomic hydrogen. Atomic hydrogen permeates from the high pressure side of the membrane to the low pressure side of the membrane. At the low pressure side of the membrane, atomic hydrogen recombines to form molecular hydrogen. The molecular hydrogen that has passed through the membrane can be collected and used. Such prior art systems are exemplified in US Pat. No. 5,614,001 by Kosaka et al., Entitled “Hydrogen Separator, Hydrogen Separator and Method for Producing Hydrogen Separator”.

  In the prior art, hydrogen permeable membranes are generally formed as coiled tubes. The flow rate of hydrogen gas passing through the coiled tube wall is proportional to the length of the coiled tube and inversely proportional to the thickness of the coiled tube wall. Therefore, highly efficient purification systems need to maximize flow rates using very long and thin conduits. However, palladium is a very expensive noble metal. Therefore, palladium and palladium alloy tubes are very expensive to manufacture. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the amount of palladium used as much as possible in manufacturing the hydrogen gas purification system. Furthermore, in general, tubes made of palladium and palladium alloys retain gas at elevated pressures. Thus, the wall of the tube should not be too thin, depending on the pressure gradient applied to the tube wall, as the conduit will rupture or collapse.

  Although coiled tubes are often used in prior art separators, there are many drawbacks to using coiled tubing. In order to operate the palladium-based hydrogen separator, it is necessary to heat it above 300 degrees Celsius. When palladium coils are heated at such temperatures, they expand. Furthermore, palladium expands significantly as hydrogen diffuses through the walls of the palladium coil. As the palladium coil repeats expansion and contraction, the palladium coil twists. The twist of the palladium coil causes the palladium to fatigue and embrittles the palladium. Eventually, the palladium coil cracks and the hydrogen separator stops functioning.

  Another disadvantage of hydrogen separators using coiled palladium tubing is that the palladium coil is very sensitive to vibration and susceptible to damage. The palladium coil in the hydrogen separator acts as a spring. If the hydrogen separator is subjected to any vibrations during operation, these vibrations resonate in the palladium coil and movement of the palladium coil occurs. When the palladium coil resonates and moves, the palladium fatigues and becomes brittle. This ultimately causes a failure in the palladium coil due to cracking.

  Yet another disadvantage of hydrogen separators using palladium coils is that clogging of contaminating gases occurs. When a gas containing a large amount of hydrocarbon is introduced into the palladium coil, the hydrogen partially dissociates from the hydrocarbon and passes through the wall of the palladium coil. What remains in the palladium coil is primarily carbon and oxygen, forming carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide fill the palladium tube. New hydrocarbon gas must therefore diffuse through the contaminated gas before reaching the surface of the palladium coil. If the contamination gas becomes clogged, it will take a very long time for the hydrocarbons to reach the palladium surface. The hydrogen in the feed gas must be able to reach the palladium surface within a short time frame compared to the residence time of the gas in the coil. However, as more hydrogen is removed as the gas flow advances through the coil, the concentration of non-hydrogen components in the feed gas gradually increases. This greatly reduces the efficiency of the hydrogen separator. If the flow in the palladium tube is increased to drive out polluting gases, hydrocarbons may flow through the palladium tube before hydrogen has the opportunity to pass through the palladium. This greatly reduces the efficiency of the hydrogen separator.

  To complicate matters, the efficiency of tubes made of palladium and palladium alloys decreases with time as contaminants adhere to the inner wall of the tube. To extend the life of such conduits, many manufacturers attempt to clean the tubing by applying back pressure to the conduit. In such a method, the outer surface of the tubing is exposed to pressurized hydrogen. Hydrogen passes through the tube wall and enters the tube. As hydrogen enters the interior of the tube, some of the contaminants attached to the inner wall of the tube can be removed by the hydrogen.

  Many tubes are generally cylindrical so that if the inside of the tube is pressurized higher than the outside of the tube, the tube can withstand a fairly high pressure gradient. However, if such a tube is cleaned and the external pressure of the tube is higher than the internal pressure of the tube, the tube material may burst inward unless a much smaller pressure gradient is used.

  In one attempt to overcome the above disadvantages that occur when using coiled tubing, hydrogen separators have been designed that use straight tubing segments. For example, in Edlund US Pat. No. 5,997,594, the title of the invention “steam reformer with built-in hydrogen purification function”, the linear segment of the palladium tube is placed inside the larger tube. Gas is allowed to flow through the larger tube. Hydrogen from the gas permeates into the palladium tube where it is collected.

  The opposite structure is disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,461,408 by Buxbaum, entitled “Hydrogen Generator”. In Buxbaum's design, a small diameter tube is placed inside a straight section of palladium tubing. Gas is introduced into the palladium tubing. Hydrogen from the gas permeates out of the palladium tubing and is collected. The remaining waste gas is removed by a small diameter tube.

In prior art systems, such as those shown in both the Edlund and Buxbaum patents, the gas flows either inside the palladium tube or along the outside of the palladium tube. However, in both prior art designs, the space through which the gas flows is large. This allows the gas to have a laminar flow as it flows along the length of the palladium tube. Due to the laminar nature of the passing gas, there is very little turbulence in the flowing gas. The laminar flow pattern prevents much gas from coming into contact with the surface of the palladium tube before the gas flows out of the palladium tube. Thus, much of the hydrogen that will be contained in the gas stream has no opportunity to be absorbed by the palladium tube. Hydrogen is simply swept through the palladium tubing. Therefore, the overall efficiency of the hydrogen separator remains low.
US Pat. No. 5,614,001 US Pat. No. 5,997,594 US Pat. No. 6,461,408

  Accordingly, there is a need for a hydrogen separator that optimizes gas exposure to the palladium surface, thereby minimizing the need for hydrogen to diffuse through the contaminated gas.

  Furthermore, a hydrogen separator that allows high-concentration hydrocarbon gas to flow through the palladium tubing without creating laminar flow characteristics that cause the hydrocarbons to sweep the hydrocarbons out of the palladium tubing. There is a need for

  These needs are met by the present invention as described below and claim its rights.

  The present invention is a hydrogen purification system used to separate hydrogen gas from source gas. The hydrogen purification system includes a hydrogen separator adapted to allow a feed gas to flow into it. Within the hydrogen separator is at least one hydrogen permeable tube having an open first end and a closed second end. Each hydrogen permeable tube is made from a hydrogen permeable material such as palladium or a palladium alloy.

  A support tube is provided for each hydrogen permeable tube. The support tube is positioned to be coaxial with the hydrogen permeable tube. The outer diameter of the support tube is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the surrounding hydrogen permeable tube. Therefore, when the support tube is arranged inside the hydrogen permeable tube, there is only a small microchannel between the inside of the hydrogen permeable tube and the outside of the support tube.

  The source gas is introduced into the microchannel. The source gas spreads thinly in the microchannel along the hydrogen permeable tube. The flow restriction caused by the size of the microchannel has the property of turbulence as the source gas flows through the microchannel. The turbulent flow property brings most gas molecules of the source gas into contact with the hydrogen permeable tube at some point in the microchannel. Accordingly, hydrogen from the source gas passes through the hydrogen permeable tube with a high probability. This significantly increases the efficiency of the hydrogen separator.

  A method for separating hydrogen gas from a source gas, comprising: providing a tube of hydrogen permeable material having a first end, an inner surface, and an inner diameter; and providing a support tube having an outer surface and an outer diameter. A step of providing a support tube, wherein the outer diameter of the support tube is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the hydrogen permeable material tube, and the hydrogen permeable material tube coaxially surrounding the support tube. Disposing and forming a microchannel smaller than 300 microns between the outer surface of the support tube and the inner surface of the hydrogen permeable material tube, and the source gas is turbulent when flowing through the microchannel Passing the source gas through the microchannel at a flow rate having characteristics, wherein hydrogen from the source gas contacts the hydrogen permeable material, and passes through the hydrogen permeable material. Is absorbed to a method comprising the steps of opportunities are provided to be separated from the feed gas.

  The system of the present invention provides a means for purifying hydrogen gas at a high flow rate using a small space and a small amount of noble metal.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a hydrogen purification system 10 according to the present invention is shown. The hydrogen purification system 10 includes a hydrogen separator 20. The hydrogen separator 20 is connected to a source of contaminated source gas containing hydrocarbons or contaminated hydrogen gas. The contaminated source gas is, for example, heated hydrogen fuel, ethanol, gasoline, or simply hydrogen mixed with water vapor.

  The hydrogen separator 20 is heated to the operating temperature by the external heating element 12. The hydrogen separator 20 separates hydrogen from the contaminated source gas, thereby producing ultra high purity hydrogen and exhaust gas. Ultra-high purity hydrogen is collected through the first collection port 14. The exhaust gas is collected through the second exhaust gas collection port 16.

  The contaminated raw material gas enters the hydrogen separator 20 through the supply port 18. Referring to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 3, it can be seen that the supply port 18 leads from one end of the sealed housing 24 into the plenum chamber 22. The sealed housing 24 is preferably made of stainless steel or other high strength alloy that does not react with any component gases contained in the contaminated source gas.

  The plenum chamber 22 refers to the space between the inside of the sealed housing 24 and the first perforated wall 26. The perforated wall 26 includes a plurality of holes 28 arranged symmetrically with high spatial efficiency. The holes 28 are preferably spaced to be as dense as possible while maintaining a predetermined minimum material area around each hole 28.

  A plurality of support tubes 30 extend from the first perforated wall 26. The support tube 30 has an open end 46 on the opposite side and has a rigid tube wall. The support tube 30 is coupled to the first perforated wall 26 at each hole 28. As described above, the hole 28 communicates with the inside of the support tube 30, and any gas flowing out of the plenum chamber 22 through the first perforated wall 26 always flows through the support tube 30.

  The support tube 30 has substantially the same length as the inside of the sealed housing 24. Support tube 30 and perforated wall 26 are preferably made of the same non-reactive material as hermetic housing 24. In this way, the first perforated wall 26 and the support tube 30 have the same thermal expansion coefficient as that of the sealed housing 24.

  The second perforated wall 32 is disposed at a position adjacent to the first perforated wall 26 in the sealed housing 24. The second perforated wall 32 forms two more chambers in the sealed housing 24 in addition to the plenum chamber 22. An exhaust gas collection chamber 34 is formed between the first perforated wall 26 and the second perforated wall 32. The hydrogen collection chamber 36 is formed between the second perforated wall 32 and the second end 45 of the sealed housing 24.

  The second perforated wall 32 is provided with a plurality of holes 38 that are slightly larger than the diameter of the support tube 30 extending from the first perforated wall 26. The holes 38 in the second perforated wall 32 are aligned with the support tube 30, which allows the support tube 30 to extend through the second perforated wall 32.

  A plurality of hydrogen permeable tubes 40 are coupled to the second perforated wall 32. The hydrogen permeable tube 40 is aligned with the hole 38 of the second perforated wall 32 and passes around the support tube 30. Therefore, it goes without saying that the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is arranged coaxially with the support tube 30 and surrounds the support tube 30. The hydrogen permeable tube 40 is preferably a palladium-based alloy such as palladium or a palladium / silver alloy.

  Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 5, it can be seen that the inner diameter of each hydrogen permeable tube 40 is only slightly larger than the outer diameter of each support tube 30. Therefore, the microchannel 42 exists between the outer surface of the support tube 30 and the inner surface of the hydrogen permeable tube 40. The microchannel 42 extends in a region where the hydrogen permeable tube 40 overlaps the support tube 30 along the length of the support tube 30. This length is preferably in the range of 3 inches to 12 inches. The size of the microchannel 42 is important for the functionality of the hydrogen separator 20. The microchannel 42 is preferably less than 300 microns and about 250 microns. The flow rate of the contaminating source gas through any microchannel 42 is preferably 2-3 liters per minute. When the microchannel 42 is made small in this way and the flow rate is made large in this way, the contaminated raw material gas causes a large friction between the outer surface of the support tube 30 and the inner surface of the hydrogen permeable tube 40. Due to this friction, the flow of the contaminated raw material gas is completely turbulent in the region of the microchannel 42. Since the flow of the pollutant source gas becomes turbulent in the microchannel, there is no large laminar channel that can sweep the pollutant source gas through the microchannel 42 without colliding with the inner surface of the hydrogen permeable tube 40. do not do. Rather, the turbulent flow of the contaminated source gas in the microchannel 42 causes many vortices and flow undulations. As a result, the probability that almost all the hydrogen molecules contained in the contaminated raw material gas come into contact with the inner surface of the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is statistically increased. Furthermore, due to the turbulent flow of the contaminated raw material gas, each hydrogen molecule collides with the inner surface of the hydrogen permeable tube with greater energy. Therefore, the probability that hydrogen molecules react with the hydrogen permeable tube 40 and pass through the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is increased.

  Furthermore, by providing very small microchannels 42, it goes without saying that the contaminated source gas spreads very thin when subjected to turbulent flow. The time until the gas in the microchannel 42 reaches the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is generally proportional to the square of the size of the microchannel. Therefore, if the microchannel 42 is kept very small, the time until the hydrogen gas is exposed to the hydrogen permeable tube 40 remains short. This makes it possible to achieve higher efficiencies than can be obtained with conventional long hydrogen permeable tubes using short and relatively inexpensive hydrogen permeable tubes 40.

  The hydrogen permeable tubes 40 are longer than the support tube 30 that they surround. The free end of the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is closed. The free end of the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is preferably not tilted and not brazed. Inclined free ends or brazed free ends cannot withstand long cycles of repeated expansion and contraction. In the present embodiment, an inner end cap 44 is provided. By using the inner end cap, the hydrogen permeable tube 40 can be sealed while maintaining the cylindrical shape. The inner end cap 44 is brazed at the end position of each hydrogen permeable tube 40. The end cap 44 is preferably brazed inside the hydrogen permeable tube 40. Thus, when the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is heated and saturated with molecular hydrogen, the end cap 44 does not prevent the hydrogen permeable tube 40 from expanding outward.

  The end of each hydrogen permeable tube 40 sealed with a cap is also at a predetermined distance from the second end 45 (FIG. 3) of the sealed housing 24 (FIG. 2). This predetermined distance is larger than any change in the length of the hydrogen permeable tube 40 caused by temperature or hydrogen expansion. Thus, the hydrogen permeable tube 40 expands freely without limitation.

  The hydrogen permeable tube 40 is linear. Thus, mechanical stress due to thermal and hydrogen expansion differences between the hydrogen permeable tube and its support is removed. The hydrogen permeable tube 40 is supported at one point and is fixed at only one point in the length of each tube. This basic concept allows the hydrogen permeable tube 40 to freely expand in response to changes in temperature and changes in the hydrogen absorption state.

  Referring again to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, in operation, it can be seen that the sealed housing 24 and all its contents are heated to an operating temperature in excess of 300 degrees Celsius. Contaminated source gas is introduced into the plenum chamber 22. The contaminated source gas fills the plenum chamber 22 and flows into the support tube 30 through the first perforated wall 26. The contaminated source gas exits from the open end 46 of the support tube 30 and is forced to flow through the microchannel 42 that exists between the outer surface of the support tube 30 and the inner surface of the surrounding hydrogen permeable tube 40. The contaminated source gas moves through the microchannel 42 having turbulent flow characteristics. The microchannel 42 discharges to the exhaust gas collection chamber 34. However, when the contaminated raw material gas flows through the microchannel 42, the flowing gas spreads thinly and becomes turbulent and flows along the outer surface of the hydrogen permeable tube 40. The length and width of the microchannel 42 and the gas flow rate are designed to maximize the efficiency with which the contaminated source gas permeates the hydrogen permeable tube 40. By spreading the contaminated raw material gas thinly and turbulently on the surface of the hydrogen permeable tube 40, it is not necessary to diffuse the hydrogen contained in the contaminated raw material gas far before contacting the hydrogen permeable material. In this way, a large proportion of hydrogen in the contaminated source gas is given an opportunity to separate from the contaminated gas and permeate the hydrogen permeable tube 40. Depending on the operating parameters, it is possible to obtain a hydrogen diffusion efficiency of more than 80%.

  The hydrogen gas passes through the collection chamber 36 of the sealed housing 24 after passing through the hydrogen permeable tube 40. The hydrogen gas in the collection chamber 36 is then withdrawn from the collection chamber 36 for use. Since only molecular hydrogen can be separated from the contaminated source gas and permeate through the hydrogen permeable tube 40, the hydrogen gas is ultra-high purity.

  The non-hydrogen component of the contaminated raw material gas passes through the microchannel 42 and flows to the exhaust gas collection chamber 34. Further non-hydrogen components are then discharged from the hydrogen separator 20. The pressure in the hydrogen gas collection chamber 36 is kept lower than the pressure in the exhaust gas collection chamber 34. Thus, there is a positive pressure difference between the microchannel 42 and the hydrogen collection chamber 36, which causes the hydrogen flow to pass through the hydrogen permeable tube 40 and be collected in the hydrogen collection chamber 36. Is promoted.

  The microchannel 42 is formed by arranging the support tube 30 coaxially inside the hydrogen permeable tube 40. However, such a structure also creates other advantages. During normal operation, the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is pressurized internally and thus expands outwardly away from the internal support tube 30. However, if the hydrogen separator 20 is accidentally or deliberately pressurized for cleaning, the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is pressurized from the outside and contracts on the support tube 30. The microchannel 42 is very small and can contact the support tube 30 without damaging the hydrogen permeable tube 40. The support tube 30 provides structural integrity to the hydrogen permeable tube 40 and prevents the hydrogen permeable tube 40 from collapsing. Therefore, by disposing the support tube 30 inside the hydrogen permeable tube 40, the resistance against damage caused by the back pressure of the entire hydrogen separator 20 is greatly enhanced.

For a given wall thickness, a small diameter tube can withstand a higher pressure differential than a large diameter tube. This is because the stress experienced by the wall of the tube is equal to the product of the pressure drop across the wall and the radius of the tube divided by the thickness of the tube wall. In actual hydrogen separators, a large gas flow needs to flow with relatively little loss due to pressure drop, but this need is met when using a single or a few small diameter tubes. Seems unable to. Furthermore, the exposed wall area in a small diameter tube is relatively small. In the present invention, these problems are solved by arranging a large number of relatively short and small-diameter hydrogen permeable tubes 40 in parallel.
Depending on the contaminated source gas used, it may be desirable to adjust the contaminated gas by passing the contaminated source gas through a catalyst. Referring to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the plenum chamber 22 of the hydrogen separator can be filled with the catalyst 50. As a result, any gas that flows into the support tube 30 and the hydrogen permeable tube 40 must first pass through the catalyst 50. The catalyst 50 selected depends on the pollutant source gas used. For example, when the pollutant source gas is petroleum distillate, catalysts such as iron / chromium oxide, copper / zinc oxide, and certain precious metals are used to dissociate complex hydrocarbons present in the gas. Can help you.

  To increase the effectiveness of the catalyst 50, the catalyst material can also be introduced into the microchannel 42 between the support tube 30 and the hydrogen permeable tube 40. FIG. 6 also shows the position of the catalyst 50 in the microchannel 42. In this way, the contaminated source gas is catalyzed simultaneously with the removal of hydrogen from the contaminated gas. Since the partial pressure of hydrogen gas is lower in the microchannel 42, the catalyst can help more effectively separate hydrogen molecules from the hydrocarbons in the gas.

  In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the hydrogen permeable tube 40 is disposed so as to surround the support tube 30. The contaminated source gas can then flow between the support tube 30 and the hydrogen permeable tube 40. Referring to FIG. 7, another embodiment of a hydrogen separator 60 is shown, in which a support tube 62 is disposed outside the hydrogen permeable tube 64.

  In this embodiment, there is a sealed housing 66. A hydrogen permeable tube 64 extends from a first perforated wall 68 in the sealed housing 66. The hydrogen permeable tube 64 has an end 69 sealed with a cap. A collection chamber 70 is formed between one end of the sealed housing 66 and the first perforated wall 68. The collection chamber 70 is in communication with the interior of the hydrogen permeable tube 64.

  A second perforated wall 72 is disposed within the sealed housing 66. An exhaust gas collection chamber 73 is formed between the first perforated wall 68 and the second perforated wall 72. A plurality of support tubes 62 extend from the second perforated wall 72. The support tube 62 is arranged in line with the hydrogen permeable tube 64 and surrounds the hydrogen permeable tube 64.

A plenum chamber 74 is formed between the second perforated wall 72 and the other end 77 of the sealed housing 66. Contaminated source gas is introduced into the plenum chamber 74. The contaminated source gas flows into the support tube 62 and flows through the microchannel 76 separating the support tube 62 from the hydrogen permeable tube 64. When hydrogen gas flows through the microchannel 76 in a turbulent flow, the hydrogen gas permeates the material of the hydrogen permeable tube 64. The hydrogen gas that has passed through the hydrogen permeable tube 64 is collected in the collection chamber 70. The exhaust gas flowing through the microchannel 76 is collected in the exhaust gas collection chamber 73 and removed from the hydrogen separator 60.
The described embodiments of the hydrogen separator are merely examples, and it goes without saying that many modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments by those skilled in the art. For example, the above embodiment only has several support tubes and hydrogen permeable tubes. It goes without saying that embodiments of the present invention are designed to use hundreds of such tubes. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the hydrogen permeable tube may be arranged either inside or outside the support tube as long as a microchannel is formed between the support tube and the hydrogen permeable tube. Further, depending on the type of gas component used as the contaminated raw material gas, a catalyst may be included in the hydrogen separator. All such variations, modifications, or other embodiments are within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a hydrogen purification system. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an exemplary hydrogen separator. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the hydrogen separator shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion A shown in FIG. 3. It is an enlarged view of the cross section B shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of other embodiment of a hydrogen separator. It is sectional drawing of another embodiment of a hydrogen separator.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hydrogen purification system 12 External heating element 14 1st collection port 16 2nd exhaust gas collection port 18 Supply port 20 Hydrogen separator 22 Plenum chamber 24 Sealed housing 26 1st perforated wall 28 Hole 30 Support pipe 32 2nd Perforated wall 34 Exhaust gas collection chamber 36 Hydrogen collection chamber 38 Hole 40 Hydrogen permeable tube 42 Microchannel 44 Inner end cap 45 Second end 46 Open end 50 Catalyst 60 Hydrogen separator 62 Support tube 64 Hydrogen permeable tube 66 Sealed Housing 68 First perforated wall 69 End 70 Collection chamber 72 Second perforated wall 73 Exhaust gas collection chamber 74 Plenum chamber 76 Microchannel 77 Other end

Claims (10)

A method for separating hydrogen gas from a raw material gas,
A first end that is an open end, a second end that is a closed end, an inner surface, an inner diameter, and a tube made of a material that is permeable only to hydrogen;
A support tube having open ends, an outer surface, and an outer diameter;
The outer diameter of the support tube is between the outer surface of the support tube and the inner surface of the tube made of a material that allows only hydrogen to pass rather than the inner diameter of the tube made of the material that allows only hydrogen to pass through. Small enough to form microchannels not exceeding 300 microns ,
A tube made of a material that only allows hydrogen to pass through is coaxially disposed so as to surround the support tube;
Using a hydrogen separator in which a microchannel not exceeding 300 microns is formed between the outer surface of the support tube and the inner surface of the tube made of a material that allows only hydrogen to pass through,
Introducing the source gas into the microchannel via the support tube;
Passing the source gas through the microchannel at a flow rate at which the source gas becomes turbulent when flowing through the microchannel;
Bringing hydrogen contained in the source gas into contact with a material that only allows hydrogen permeation of a tube made of a material that only allows hydrogen to pass through, absorbed by the material that only permeates the hydrogen, and separated from the source gas; A method for separating hydrogen gas from source gas, comprising: The method for separating hydrogen gas from source gas according to claim 1 , wherein the support tube is inserted from the first end of a tube made of a material that allows only hydrogen to pass therethrough. The method for separating the hydrogen gas from the source gas according to claim 2 , comprising collecting the hydrogen gas separated from the source gas. The hydrogen gas according to claim 3 , further comprising the step of collecting the source gas from which the hydrogen gas has been separated from the first end of a tube made of a material that allows only hydrogen to pass through. How to separate. The hydrogen separator is provided with a plurality of pipes made of a material that allows only hydrogen to pass through, and a first common chamber is provided.
4. The hydrogen gas according to claim 3 , wherein the first end of a pipe made of a material that allows only hydrogen to pass through is connected to the first common chamber in communication with the source gas. How to separate. 6. The method for separating hydrogen gas from source gas according to claim 5 , comprising the step of drawing out and collecting the source gas from which hydrogen gas has been separated from the first common chamber.   The method of separating hydrogen gas from source gas according to claim 1, comprising the step of passing the source gas through a catalyst before introducing the source gas into the microchannel.   The method for separating hydrogen gas from source gas according to claim 1, comprising the step of passing the source gas through a catalyst in the microchannel. Using a hydrogen separator that separates hydrogen gas from the source gas, when the source gas flows through a membrane that only allows hydrogen to pass through, the membrane that only allows hydrogen to be absorbed absorbs hydrogen from the source gas more efficiently. In order to cause a turbulent flow in the source gas,
The hydrogen separator comprises a membrane that only permeates hydrogen in the form of a hydrogen permeable tube having an open end, and a support tube,
The hydrogen permeable tube is disposed coaxially so as to surround the support tube ,
A microchannel not exceeding 300 microns exists between the hydrogen permeable tube and the support tube;
Introducing the source gas into the microchannel via the support tube;
Wherein when flowing microchannels, wherein said raw material gas is characterized by comprising the steps of introducing the feed gas at a flow rate of the turbulent flow in the micro channel, causing turbulence in the raw material gas. The method for generating turbulent flow in the raw material gas according to claim 9 , comprising collecting the raw material gas separated from the hydrogen gas from the open end of the hydrogen permeable tube.