JP7257933B2 - water electrolyzer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a water electrolysis device that electrolyzes water to generate hydrogen and oxygen.

Conventionally, technologies for producing hydrogen using natural energy as primary energy have been developed, and one of them is known as a solid polymer type water electrolysis device (Patent Document 1). In this type of water electrolysis device, hydrogen blown water (separated water) released from a hydrogen gas-liquid separator that separates water from hydrogen generated at the cathode of the water electrolyzer is returned to the water storage tank to produce hydrogen. can be reused for

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-173788 (published on June 21, 2002)

By the way, the hydrogen gas-liquid separator is pressurized during operation of the solid polymer type water electrolysis device. Therefore, hydrogen is dissolved in the hydrogen blown water supplied from the hydrogen gas-liquid separator to the water storage tank. On the other hand, since the pressure in the water storage tank is low, the hydrogen dissolved in the hydrogen blow water vaporizes inside the water storage tank to generate hydrogen gas. Therefore, from the viewpoint of safety, it is necessary to take measures against hydrogen in the hydrogen blown water.

For example, the following method is conceivable as a hydrogen countermeasure for this hydrogen blown water. A method of introducing dilution air into the upper part of the water storage tank to dilute the hydrogen gas, or a method similar to the hydrogen gas-liquid separator, from the hydrogen blow water, the hydrogen gas contained in the hydrogen blow water, and the difference in specific gravity between the gas and the liquid. In this method, hydrogen gas is released into the atmosphere by gas-liquid separation by gravity.

However, when diluting the hydrogen gas with the dilution air, a separate device for supplying a huge amount of the dilution air is required in order to make the hydrogen gas have a safe concentration.

In addition, as with the hydrogen gas-liquid separator, when the hydrogen gas contained in the hydrogen blow water is separated from the hydrogen blow water by gravity using the difference in specific gravity between the gas and the liquid, the hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blow water Since the gas is fine bubbles, it is necessary to slow down the flow rate of the hydrogen blow water. Since the amount of hydrogen blow water is proportional to the amount of generated hydrogen, it is necessary to make the diameter of the hydrogen blow water pipe very large in a large solid polymer type water electrolysis apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to remove gas contained in a liquid without increasing the size of the water electrolysis apparatus.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a water electrolysis apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a water electrolyzer that electrolyzes water using a polymer electrolyte membrane to generate hydrogen at a cathode, and hydrogen generated at the cathode. a hydrogen gas-liquid separator that separates water from the hydrogen gas-liquid separator; a removal device that removes gas containing at least hydrogen contained in the water separated by the hydrogen gas-liquid separator; and a water storage tank.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a water electrolysis apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a water electrolysis tank that electrolyzes water using a polymer electrolyte membrane to generate hydrogen at a cathode, and a water storage tank for storing pure water to be electrolyzed; an ion exchange resin disposed upstream of the water storage tank for ion-exchanging ion components contained in water supplied to the water storage tank to obtain the pure water; and a removal device disposed upstream of the exchange resin for removing gas containing at least oxygen contained in water supplied to the ion exchange resin.

According to one aspect of the present invention, gas contained in liquid can be removed without increasing the size of the water electrolysis device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the water electrolysis apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a peripheral configuration of the filter device shown in FIG. 1; 3 is a view showing a configuration example of the filter device main body shown in FIG. 2, where L1 shows a front view of the filter device main body and L2 shows a cross-sectional view of the filter device main body; FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the function of the filter with which the said filter apparatus main body is provided. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the air vent valve shown in FIG. 2; The sectional view of the modification of the said filter apparatus main body is shown.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

(Configuration of water electrolysis device)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water electrolysis device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the water electrolysis device 100 includes a water electrolysis tank 10, a DC power supply 11, a hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12, an oxygen gas-liquid separator 13, a water storage tank 15, a filter device (removal device ) 30.

The water electrolytic bath 10 electrolyzes (electrolyzes) water using a polymer electrolyte membrane to generate oxygen at the anode and hydrogen (gas) at the cathode. A DC power supply 11 is connected to the water electrolytic bath 10 . Electric power required for water electrolysis is supplied from a DC power supply 11 to the water electrolyzer 10 .

The hydrogen generated at the cathode of the water electrolyzer 10 is supplied from the water electrolyzer 10 to the hydrogen-gas-liquid separator 12 in the state of gas-liquid mixed water together with water remaining without being electrolyzed. Oxygen (gas) generated at the anode of the water electrolyzer 10 is supplied from the water electrolyzer 10 to the oxygen-gas-liquid separator 13 in the form of gas-liquid mixed water together with water remaining without being electrolyzed.

The hydrogen-gas-liquid separator 12 separates the hydrogen-containing gas-liquid mixed water supplied from the water electrolyzer 10 into hydrogen and water. Hydrogen (hydrogen gas) after the gas-liquid separation is wet hydrogen containing a large amount of water. Therefore, the hydrogen after the gas-liquid separation is supplied to a dehumidifier (not shown) or the like to remove water. On the other hand, the water after the gas-liquid separation is supplied as hydrogen blow water (separated water, liquid) through the hydrogen line 19 of the water electrolysis device 100 to the water storage tank 15 .

A hydrogen line 19 supplies hydrogen blown water from the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12 to the water storage tank 15 . A motor-operated valve 20 and a filter device 30 are arranged in the hydrogen line 19 from the upstream side. The hydrogen line 19 includes a hydrogen exhaust line 19 a branched at a branch point downstream of the filter device 30 . A check valve (backflow prevention mechanism) 70 is arranged in the hydrogen exhaust line 19a.

The electric valve (pressure adjustment mechanism) 20 adjusts the flow rate of the hydrogen blow water flowing through the hydrogen line 19 by adjusting the valve opening using the pressure difference between the water storage tank 15 side and the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12. do. In addition, the electric valve 20 reduces the pressure of the hydrogen blown water flowing through the hydrogen line 19 by adjusting the opening degree of the valve, thereby making the pressure on the water storage tank 15 side lower than the pressure on the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12 side.

Here, the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12 is pressurized during operation of the water electrolyzer 10 . Therefore, the pressure of the hydrogen blown water separated from the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12 is high, and hydrogen is dissolved in the high-pressure hydrogen blown water. Therefore, the hydrogen blown water discharged by the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12 contains hydrogen. As the hydrogen blow water flowing through the hydrogen line 19 is decompressed by the electric valve 20, dissolved hydrogen becomes fine bubbles in the hydrogen blow water.

The filter device 30 is a removal device that removes gas contained in liquid. In this embodiment, the filter device 30 removes hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blown water. The filter device 30 includes a filter device main body 40 having a filter 41 that removes hydrogen from the hydrogen blown water, and a gas vent valve (discharge mechanism) 50 that discharges the hydrogen removed by the filter 41 . Details of the filter device 30 will be described later.

The oxygen-gas-liquid separator 13 separates the oxygen-containing gas-liquid mixed water supplied from the water electrolyzer 10 into oxygen and water. Oxygen (oxygen gas) after gas-liquid separation is released to the atmosphere, for example. On the other hand, the water after the gas-liquid separation is supplied to the water electrolyzer 10 through the oxygen-side circulation line 17 of the water electrolysis device 100 as oxygen-side circulation water. The oxygen-side circulation line 17 supplies oxygen-side circulation water from the oxygen-gas-liquid separator 13 to the water electrolytic bath 10 . A pump 14 for sending oxygen-side circulating water from the oxygen-gas-liquid separator 13 to the water electrolytic bath 10 is arranged in the oxygen-side circulation line 17 .

The water storage tank 15 stores water to be electrolyzed in the water electrolytic bath 10 . Pure water is supplied to the water storage tank 15 . Further, the water storage tank 15 is supplied with hydrogen blown water that has passed through the filter 41 . The water stored in the water storage tank 15 is supplied to the oxygen gas-liquid separator 13 through the water supply line 18 of the water electrolysis device 100 . A water supply line 18 supplies water from the water storage tank 15 to the oxygen-gas-liquid separator 13 . A pump 16 for sending water from the water storage tank 15 to the oxygen gas-liquid separator 13 is arranged in the water supply line 18 . The water supplied from the water storage tank 15 to the oxygen-gas-liquid separator 13 is supplied to the water electrolytic bath 10 through the oxygen-side circulation line 17 .

(Details of the filter device)
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the peripheral configuration of the filter device 30 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows the configuration within the frame surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the filter device 30 is arranged in horizontal piping of the hydrogen line 19 . Specifically, the filter device 30 is arranged in the horizontal pipe of the hydrogen line 19 installed at a position higher than the liquid level L of the water storage tank 15 . As a result, the installation height of the filter 41 is higher than the liquid level L of the water storage tank 15 .

An electric valve 20 is arranged on the upstream side of the filter device 30, and a T-shaped branched cheese pipe (gas-liquid separation mechanism) 60 is arranged on the downstream side. A hydrogen exhaust line 19 a branches off from the hydrogen line 19 at the cheese tube 60 .

The filter device 30 removes hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blown water flowing through the hydrogen line 19 . In this embodiment, the filter device 30 removes the hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blown water that has been turned into microbubbles by the electric valve 20 . The filter device 30 includes a filter device body 40 including a filter 41 and a housing 42 accommodating the filter 41, and a gas vent valve 50 connected to the filter device body.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a configuration example of the filter device main body 40 shown in FIG. show. As shown in FIG. 3, both the filter 41 and the housing 42 included in the filter device main body 40 are cylindrical. A cartridge-type filter 41 is accommodated in the housing 42 so that the central axis of the filter 41 and the central axis of the housing 42 are substantially aligned.

The housing 42 is a housing that accommodates the filter 41 . The housing 42 includes a trunk portion 42a with one open end accommodating the filter 41, and a lid portion 42b detachably attached to close the opening of the trunk portion 42a. An introduction port 43, a discharge port 44, and a valve connection port (discharge mechanism) 45 are arranged in the lid portion 42b.

The introduction port 43 and the discharge port 44 are arranged on the upper side surface of the lid portion 42b at a position substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the housing 42 so as to face each other. The introduction port 43 is connected to the upstream hydrogen line 19 and introduces hydrogen blow water into the housing 42 . The discharge port 44 is connected to the hydrogen line 19 on the downstream side and discharges the hydrogen blown water that has permeated the filter 41 to the outside of the housing 42 . The valve connection port 45 is arranged on the upper surface of the lid portion 42b. A degassing valve 50 to be described later is connected to the valve connection port 45 .

The filter 41 filters the hydrogen blown water to remove hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blown water. The filter 41 traps fine hydrogen bubbles (gas) on the surface into which the hydrogen blown water (liquid) flows. As the filter 41, a surface filtration type filter that traps fine hydrogen bubbles contained in the hydrogen blown water on its surface is preferably used. The cylindrical filter 41 has a primary side of the filter 41 on the surface 41a side (outer peripheral surface side) and a secondary side of the filter 41 on the inner surface 41b side (inner peripheral surface side or central axis side).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram explaining the function of the filter 41. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the hydrogen blown water is supplied to the surface 41a side of the filter 41 (supplying step). The hydrogen blow water supplied to the surface 41 a side permeates the filter 41 from the surface 41 a of the filter 41 to the inner surface 41 b of the filter 41 . When the hydrogen blown water permeates the filter 41, the fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1 contained in the hydrogen blown water are captured by the surface 41a of the filter 41 (capturing step). The fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1 captured on the surface 41a of the filter 41 combine on the surface 41a to become large hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -2. As a result, the buoyancy of the hydrogen bubble H ₂ -2 increases, and the hydrogen bubble H ₂ -2 floats along the surface 41 a of the filter 41 . Floating hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -2 flow into the gas vent valve 50 through the valve connection port 45 . That is, the fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1 captured by the filter 41 become hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -2 and are discharged from the inside of the housing 42 accommodating the filter 41 (discharge step).

In addition, the transmission direction D1 in which the hydrogen blow water permeates (passes) the filter 41 and the discharge direction in which the fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1 trapped by the filter 41 are discharged (the fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ trapped by the filter 41 -1 movement direction) D2 intersects (crossflows).

More specifically, the housing 42 is attached to the horizontal pipe of the hydrogen line 19 so that the inlet 43 and the outlet 44 are vertically upward (see FIG. 3). Therefore, the filter 41 is arranged in the hydrogen line 19 so that the central axis of the cylindrical filter 41 is substantially parallel to the vertical direction. In other words, the filter 41 is arranged in the hydrogen line 19 so that the surface 41a of the filter 41 extends substantially vertically. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1 trapped on the surface 41a of the filter 41 move upward in the vertical direction. As a result, the permeation direction D1 in which the hydrogen blow water permeates the filter 41 and the discharge direction D2 in which the fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1 captured by the filter 41 are discharged are substantially orthogonal.

Note that the arrangement of the filter 41 is not limited to the above. It is sufficient that the filter 41 is arranged in the hydrogen line 19 so that the surface 41a of the filter 41 has an angle with respect to the horizontal direction.

Since the permeation direction D1 and the discharge direction D2 intersect in this way, for example, the structure in which the permeation direction D1 and the discharge direction D2 do not intersect (the structure in which the permeation direction D1 and the discharge direction D2 are substantially parallel). The flow rate of hydrogen blow water that can be processed by the filter 41 is increased compared to . As a result, a large amount of hydrogen blown water flowing through the hydrogen line 19 can be treated by the filter device 30 , and the filter device 30 can be preferably incorporated into the water electrolysis device 100 .

In addition, the filter 41 traps foreign matter (solid matter) contained in the hydrogen blown water, such as carbon powder C generated in the water electrolytic bath 10, on the surface 41a. That is, the filter 41 can simultaneously remove hydrogen (fine hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -1) and foreign matter (carbon powder C) contained in the hydrogen blown water.

The carbon powder C causes clogging of devices in the water electrolysis device 100, and is finally oxidized on the anode side of the water electrolysis tank 10 to become carbon dioxide gas, which deteriorates the circulating water in the water electrolysis device 100. Connect. Therefore, if the carbon powder C can be removed by the filter 41, clogging of devices in the water electrolysis device 100 and deterioration of circulating water in the water electrolysis device 100 can be prevented.

The filter 41 preferably has a pore size of 0.2 μm or more and 10 μm or less, and more preferably has a pore size of about 1 μm. Moreover, it is preferable that the filter 41 is made of polypropylene. According to such a filter 41, the fine hydrogen bubbles contained in the hydrogen blow water can be suitably captured and bound by the surface 41a.

Moreover, as the filter 41, a pleat filter is particularly suitable. By using a pleated filter with a large filtration area as the filter 41, fine hydrogen bubbles and foreign matter contained in the hydrogen blown water can be efficiently trapped on the surface 41a. Moreover, the size of the filter device 30 can be reduced by using a cylindrical pleated filter.

Gas vent valve 50 exhausts gas trapped by filter 41 from the interior of housing 42 . FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the gas vent valve 50 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5 , the gas vent valve 50 includes a valve body 51 , a float 52 , a housing connection port (discharge mechanism) 53 and a discharge port 54 .

The gas vent valve 50 is connected to the upper portion of the housing 42 of the filter device main body 40 . Specifically, the gas vent valve 50 is connected to the lid portion 42 b of the housing 42 via the housing connection port 53 of the gas vent valve 50 and the valve connection port 45 of the housing 42 .

Hydrogen blow water containing hydrogen captured on the surface 41 a of the filter 41 and formed into hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -2 flows into the gas vent valve 50 through the housing connection port 53 . As the hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -2 accumulate inside the gas vent valve 50, the liquid level of the hydrogen blown water becomes lower and the float 52 descends. As the float 52 descends, the valve body 51 is opened, and the hydrogen bubbles H ₂ -2 accumulated inside the gas vent valve 50 are discharged from the discharge port 54 as hydrogen gas. On the other hand, when the hydrogen is discharged, the liquid level of the hydrogen blow water inside the gas vent valve 50 rises and the float 52 rises. As the float 52 rises, the valve body 51 is closed, and the discharge of hydrogen gas from the discharge port 54 is stopped.

An outlet 54 of the gas vent valve 50 is connected to the hydrogen exhaust line 19a (see FIG. 2). Specifically, outlet 54 is connected to hydrogen exhaust line 19 a between cheese tube 60 and check valve 70 . In the cheese tube 60, the hydrogen remaining in the hydrogen blown water that has passed through the filter 41, that is, the hydrogen that has not been completely removed by the filter 41, becomes hydrogen gas and flows into the hydrogen exhaust line 19a. The hydrogen gas discharged from the discharge port 54 is discharged through the hydrogen discharge line 19a together with the hydrogen gas flowing from the cheese pipe 60 into the hydrogen discharge line 19a.

By using such a gas vent valve 50 , the hydrogen removed from the hydrogen blown water by the filter 41 can be appropriately discharged from the filter device main body 40 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent a reduction in the effective filtration area and an increase in pressure loss of the filter 41 due to an airlock phenomenon in which the surface 41a of the filter 41 is clogged with hydrogen.

The gas vent valve 50 may be arranged at a position where hydrogen can be discharged from the housing 42 containing the filter 41 . The vent valve 50 may be located inside the housing 42, for example.

(Effect of water electrolysis device)
As described above, the water electrolysis device 100 includes the filter device 30 arranged between the hydrogen gas-liquid separator 12 and the water storage tank 15, and the filter device 30 removes hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blown water. Therefore, it is possible to realize the water electrolysis device 100 capable of removing hydrogen from the hydrogen blown water without increasing the size of the device unlike the conventional device.

(Modification)
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the filter device main body 40 shown in FIG. Like the filter device main body 40A shown in FIG. 6, the filter 41 does not have to be cylindrical with both ends open. For example, the filter 41 may have a shape in which one end (lower end) is closed. In this case, filter 41 does not have to be in contact with the bottom of housing 42 . Even with such a configuration, the same effect as that of the filter device main body 40 can be obtained.

Further, in the water electrolysis device 100 , the hydrogen removed from the hydrogen blown water by the filter 41 is discharged by the gas vent valve 50 . Therefore, according to the water electrolysis device 100 , hydrogen does not stay inside the housing 42 of the filter device main body 40 , and the hydrogen contained in the hydrogen blown water can be continuously removed by the filter device 30 .

The embodiment described above is merely an example, and the filter device 30 according to the present invention can also be applied to remove gases other than hydrogen contained in water. For example, the filter device 30 can be applied to remove components such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon in liquids.

For example, the ion-exchange resin arranged in the water electrolysis device is arranged upstream of the water storage tank 15 and ion-exchanges the ion components in the liquid to obtain pure water. Specifically, the ion-exchange resin ion-exchanges water (city water) and supplies (replenishes) the treated water (pure water) to the water storage tank 15 . Alternatively, the ion-exchange resin ion-exchanges part of the circulating water circulating through the water electrolysis device 100 and supplies the treated water (pure water) to the water storage tank 15 . In ion exchange, if the liquid to be treated contains oxygen, the following problems may occur.

(1) The contact efficiency between the ion-exchange resin and the liquid is lowered, and the ion-exchange efficiency is lowered.

(2) Ion-exchange resins, especially anion-exchange resins, have chemically unstable functional groups for ion exchange and are easily oxidized. Therefore, if the ion-exchange resin is placed in an environment where the ion-exchange resin is easily oxidized, the high-molecular portion of the base material is oxidatively decomposed and the ion-exchange resin deteriorates.

(3) The ion exchange resin is usually used as a mixed bed resin in which appropriate amounts of anion exchange resin and cation exchange resin are mixed. Since the anion exchange resin and the cation exchange resin have different specific gravities, when the ion exchange resin is used in the ion exchange resin cylinder, the liquid to be treated is generally passed through the ion exchange resin cylinder in a downward flow. . When the liquid to be treated is passed through the ion exchange resin cylinder by downflow, if there are bubbles such as oxygen in the liquid, the liquid will be separated into the gas phase and the liquid phase in the cylinder, and ion exchange cannot be performed efficiently. .

Therefore, for example, the removal device according to the present invention is arranged upstream of the ion exchange resin, and the liquid to be treated is allowed to pass through the removal device before ion exchange. As a result, the liquid from which the oxygen in the liquid has been removed is supplied to the ion-exchange resin, so that the problems described above can be avoided.

Further, the removal device according to the present invention can be applied to removal of substances other than oxygen, and can be applied as a removal device other than a water electrolysis device.

〔summary〕
A water electrolysis apparatus according to aspect 1 of the present invention comprises a water electrolyzer that electrolyzes water using a polymer electrolyte membrane and generates hydrogen at a cathode; a separator, a removal device (filter device 30) for removing gas containing at least hydrogen contained in the water separated by the hydrogen gas-liquid separator, a water storage tank for storing water that has passed through the removal device, characterized by comprising

In the above configuration, water (hydrogen blown water) separated by the hydrogen gas-liquid separator is supplied to the water storage tank after hydrogen is removed by the filter device. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the gas (hydrogen) contained in the liquid can be removed without increasing the size of the water electrolysis apparatus unlike the conventional apparatus.

A water electrolysis apparatus according to aspect 2 of the present invention comprises a water electrolysis tank that electrolyzes water using a polymer electrolyte membrane to generate hydrogen at a cathode, and a water storage tank that stores pure water electrolyzed in the water electrolysis tank. an ion-exchange resin disposed upstream of the water storage tank for ion-exchanging ion components contained in water supplied to the water storage tank to obtain the pure water; and an ion-exchange resin disposed upstream of the ion-exchange resin, and a removal device (filter device 30) for removing gas containing at least oxygen contained in the water supplied to the ion exchange resin.

In the above configuration, the water supplied to the ion exchange resin is supplied to the ion exchange resin after oxygen is removed by the filter device. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the gas (oxygen) contained in the liquid can be removed without increasing the size of the water electrolysis apparatus unlike the conventional apparatus.

In the water electrolysis device according to aspect 3 of the present invention, the removal device includes a filter that captures the gas on the surface while allowing water supplied to the surface side to permeate, a housing that accommodates the filter, and the filter. and a mechanism (valve connection port 45, gas vent valve 50) for discharging the gas trapped by from the inside of the housing, the direction in which the water permeates the filter (permeation direction D1) and the filter The direction in which the trapped gas is discharged (discharge direction D2) may intersect.

In the above configuration, gas trapped on the surface of the filter is discharged from the interior of the housing by the discharge mechanism. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the gas contained in the water can be continuously removed without remaining in the housing.

Further, in the above configuration, the direction in which water permeates the filter and the direction in which the gas captured by the filter is discharged intersect. Therefore, the flow rate of water that can be processed by the filter increases. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the removal device can be preferably incorporated into a water electrolysis device that treats a large amount of water.

In the water electrolysis device according to aspect 4 of the present invention, the filter may capture the gas and solid matter contained in the water.

According to the above configuration, since the filter captures solids contained in the water, it is possible to prevent clogging of devices in the water electrolysis device and deterioration of circulating water in the water electrolysis device.

In the water electrolysis device according to aspect 5 of the present invention, the solid matter may be carbon powder.

Among the solids contained in the water treated by the water electrolyzer, carbon powder in particular causes clogging of equipment in the water electrolyzer and deterioration of circulating water in the water electrolyzer. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent clogging of devices in the water electrolysis device and deterioration of circulating water in the water electrolysis device.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

10 Water electrolytic tank 12 Hydrogen gas-liquid separator 15 Water storage tank 30 Filter device (removal device)
41 filter 41a surface 42 housing 45 valve connection port (discharge mechanism)
50 gas vent valve (discharge mechanism)
53 housing connection port (ejection mechanism)
100 Water electrolysis device C Carbon powder D1 Transmission direction (permeation direction)
D2 Ejection direction (direction of ejection)

Claims (4)

a water electrolytic cell that electrolyzes water using a polymer electrolyte membrane to generate hydrogen at the cathode;
a hydrogen gas-liquid separator for separating hydrogen and water generated at the cathode;
a removal device for removing gas containing at least hydrogen contained in the water separated by the hydrogen gas-liquid separator;
a water storage tank for storing water that has passed through the removal device;
with
The removal device is
a filter that captures the gas on the surface while permeating water supplied to the surface;
a housing containing the filter;
a mechanism for discharging the gas trapped by the filter from the interior of the housing;
A water electrolysis device , wherein a direction in which the water permeates the filter and a direction in which the gas captured by the filter is discharged intersect. a water electrolytic cell that electrolyzes water using a polymer electrolyte membrane to generate hydrogen at the cathode;
a water storage tank for storing pure water to be electrolyzed in the water electrolyzer;
an ion exchange resin disposed upstream of the water storage tank and ion-exchanging ion components contained in water supplied to the water storage tank to obtain the pure water;
a removal device disposed upstream of the ion exchange resin for removing gas containing at least oxygen contained in water supplied to the ion exchange resin;
with
The removal device is
a filter that captures the gas on the surface while permeating water supplied to the surface;
a housing containing the filter;
a mechanism for discharging the gas trapped by the filter from the interior of the housing;
A water electrolysis device , wherein a direction in which the water permeates the filter and a direction in which the gas captured by the filter is discharged intersect. 3. The water electrolysis device according to claim 1 , wherein the filter captures the gas and solids contained in the water. 4. The water electrolysis apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the filter captures carbon powder contained in the water as the solid matter.

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