JP7277985B2 - Power generators and power generation systems for processing equipment or processing systems, and such processing equipment or processing systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technology of power generators that supply power to devices and systems.

In recent years, fuel cells have been widely used. For example, fuel cell vehicles have been put into practical use, and household fuel cell equipment is also becoming popular. The use of fuel cells not only enables highly efficient power generation, but also makes it possible to eliminate or greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, unlike conventional power generation means using internal combustion engines. . For this reason, fuel cells are expected to greatly contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society in the future.

The inventors of the present application focused on such potential of fuel cells, and have invented a soldering apparatus using fuel cells as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In this soldering device, not only the electric power generated by the fuel cell but also the exhaust gas generated by power generation is supplied to the soldering device and used.

JP 2013-233549 A JP 2016-164987 A

Furthermore, the inventors of the present application have come to realize that if fuel cells are used, energy and materials required by the devices and systems can be supplied collectively or collectively to various devices and systems. rice field.

In other words, by reconsidering the fuel cell not only as a means of generating electricity, but also as a means of preparing and providing the necessary energy and substances in parallel with electric power, we discovered that a wide range of applications would be opened up. .

It was also realized that by adding various apparatuses and devices to the fuel cell, it is possible to construct an apparatus or system capable of solving conventional or long-standing problems in the apparatus or system to which it is supplied.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a power generation device capable of collectively or collectively supplying required energy and materials to a destination device or system.

According to the present invention, the workpiece or the surface of the medium in which the workpiece is placed is covered with a non-oxidizing atmosphere, and a processing apparatus or a processing system for processing the workpiece is provided. A power generator that supplies power to
a hydrogen gas generating unit that electrolyzes water vapor at pressure above atmospheric pressure to generate hydrogen gas at pressure above atmospheric pressure ;
a high-pressure hydrogen tank that receives and stores the hydrogen gas with a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure;
Receive the hydrogen gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure stored in a high-pressure hydrogen tank, and generate the electric power using a fuel containing the hydrogen gas at a pressure above the received pressure and a gas containing oxygen, a power generation unit including a fuel cell that emits exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into a gas with reduced or substantially zero oxygen content that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere, and supplies the gas to a processing apparatus or processing system. cage,
The water vapor having a pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure to be electrolyzed by the hydrogen gas generation unit includes water vapor generated when generating the power received from the power generation unit, and generates the power received from the power generation unit. It is steam heated using the heat generated when
A power generation device characterized by the following is provided.

Further, as another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, it is also preferable that the hydrogen gas generation unit receives part of the generated power from the power generation unit, and performs electrolysis using at least the received power. .

Furthermore, as still another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the power generation device further includes a solar cell unit having a solar cell and a heat exchange means capable of transferring the generated heat to the outside,
The hydrogen gas generator is steam heated by using the heat generated when generating the electric power, and the steam heated by also using the heat from the heat exchange means is generated at least by the solar cell. Electrolysis using electric power is also preferred.

Further, as still another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, a part of the generated hydrogen gas is processed to be used as part of the non-oxidizing atmosphere or mixed in the medium. It is also preferred to further comprise a hydrogen supply for supplying the device or system .

Furthermore, as still another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the hydrogen gas generation unit includes a reflecting mirror that collects sunlight to generate heat, and uses the heat generated when generating the power. It is also preferable to electrolyze the heated steam using the heat from the reflecting mirror as well .

According to the present invention, a processing device or a processing system that covers the work piece or the surface of the medium in which the work piece is placed in a non-oxidizing atmosphere and performs processing on the work piece is provided with A power generation system that supplies power to be used,
a hydrogen gas generating unit that electrolyzes water vapor at pressure above atmospheric pressure to generate hydrogen gas at pressure above atmospheric pressure ;
a high-pressure hydrogen tank that receives and stores the hydrogen gas with a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure;
Receive the hydrogen gas at a pressure above atmospheric pressure stored in a high-pressure hydrogen tank, and generate the electric power using a fuel containing the hydrogen gas at a pressure above the received pressure and a gas containing oxygen, a power generation unit including a fuel cell that emits exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into a gas with reduced or substantially zero oxygen content that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere , and supplies the gas to the processing apparatus or processing system. and
The water vapor having a pressure exceeding the atmospheric pressure to be electrolyzed by the hydrogen gas generation unit includes water vapor generated when generating the power received from the power generation unit, and generates the power received from the power generation unit. It is steam heated using the heat generated when
There is provided a power generation system characterized by:

According to the present invention, there is further provided a power generator that supplies power used for processing to a processing device or system that processes a workpiece by placing it in a heated medium,
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the electric power using the supplied fuel and gas containing oxygen and emits exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit for converting at least part of the exhaust gas into an inert gas for covering at least the surface of the medium containing the workpiece, and supplying the inert gas to the processing apparatus or system A power generator is provided.

As an embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the power generation device further includes a hydrogen gas generation unit that processes the supplied material to generate hydrogen gas,
It is also preferable that the power generation unit uses at least part of the generated hydrogen gas as fuel to generate the electric power.

Further, the power generation device according to the present invention obtains a part of the hydrogen gas generated in the hydrogen gas generation unit, reacts the hydrogen gas with the oxygen gas in the exhaust gas discharged from the power generation unit, It is also preferable to further include an oxygen removal section that reduces or reduces the oxygen content in the exhaust gas to approximately zero.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment related to hydrogen gas, the present power generation device is configured to reduce the oxygen content in the exhaust gas discharged from the power generation unit to substantially zero, so that the amount of hydrogen gas supplied to the power generation unit is and the amount of the oxygen-containing gas supplied to the power generation unit. In addition, it is preferable to further include a hydrogen removing section that reduces or reduces the hydrogen content in the exhaust gas in which the oxygen content is reduced or reduced to approximately zero.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments related to hydrogen gas, the present power generation device mixes a portion of the generated hydrogen gas with the medium and supplies it to the above-described processing apparatus or system to suppress oxidation of the medium. It is also preferable to further include a hydrogen supply unit for

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments related to hydrogen gas, the hydrogen gas generator uses electric power from a solar battery or storage battery installed outside or inside, or commercial electric power, and electrolyzes the supplied water or steam. It is also preferred to include an electrolysis section that produces hydrogen. Moreover, it is preferable that the present power generation device further includes an electrolytic heat transfer section that transfers heat generated when the power generation section generates electric power to the electrolysis section.

Furthermore, as another embodiment, the power generation device of the present invention is a processing heat transfer device that transfers the heat generated when the power generation unit generates power to the processing device or system described above so that it is used to heat the medium. It is also preferable to further include a part.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a fryer, which is the processing device or system, comprising the power generation device described above.

According to the present invention, there is further provided a power generation system that supplies electric power used for processing to a processing apparatus or system that processes a workpiece by placing it in a heated medium,
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the electric power using the supplied fuel and gas containing oxygen and emits exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit for converting at least part of the exhaust gas into an inert gas for covering at least the surface of the medium containing the workpiece, and supplying the inert gas to the processing apparatus or system A power generation system is provided.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a power generator that supplies electric power to a processing apparatus or system that heats and processes an object to be heated in a non-oxidizing atmosphere with electric power,
a hydrogen gas generator that processes the supplied material to generate hydrogen gas;
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the electric power using the generated hydrogen gas and the oxygen-containing gas and discharges exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into an inert gas that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere and supplies it to a processing device or system;
and a hydrogen supply for supplying a portion of said hydrogen gas produced to said processing equipment or system for use as said non-oxidizing atmosphere.

As an embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the power generation device obtains a part of the hydrogen gas generated in the hydrogen gas generation unit, and obtains the hydrogen gas and oxygen gas in the exhaust gas discharged from the power generation unit. It is also preferable to further include an oxygen removal section that reacts with oxygen to reduce the oxygen content in the exhaust gas or to make it substantially zero.

Further, as another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the power generation device includes hydrogen gas supplied to the power generation unit in order to reduce the oxygen content in the exhaust gas discharged from the power generation unit or to make it substantially zero. and the amount of the oxygen-containing gas supplied to the power generation unit. In addition, it is preferable to further include a hydrogen removing section that reduces or reduces the hydrogen content in the exhaust gas in which the oxygen content is reduced or reduced to approximately zero.

Furthermore, as still another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the power generation device includes the above-described processing device for mixing part of the generated hydrogen gas into the medium to suppress oxidation of the medium. Alternatively, it is also preferable to further include a hydrogen supply section for supplying to the system.

Further, as still another embodiment of the power generation device according to the present invention, the power generation device includes the heat generated by the power generation unit when the power generation is generated, so as to heat the object to be heated. It is also preferred to further comprise a process heat transfer section for transfer to the device or system.

According to the present invention, there is also provided an atmosphere furnace, which is the processing apparatus or system, including the power generation apparatus described above.

According to the present invention, there is further provided a power generation system that supplies electric power to a processing apparatus or system that heats and processes an object to be heated in a non-oxidizing atmosphere with electric power,
a hydrogen gas generator that processes the supplied material to generate hydrogen gas;
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the electric power using the generated hydrogen gas and the oxygen-containing gas and discharges exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into an inert gas that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere and supplies it to the processing apparatus or system;
a hydrogen supply for supplying a portion of said hydrogen gas produced to said processing apparatus or system for use as said non-oxidizing atmosphere.

According to the power generation device, the power generation system, and the processing device or system equipped with the power generation device or system of the present invention, it is possible to collectively supply the required energy and materials to the device or system to which it is supplied. Become.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining various embodiments of a power generation device and a power generation system according to the present invention; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the electric power generating apparatus which concerns on this invention, and a processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of off-gas treatment in the power generator according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the power generation device and the processing device according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the power generation device and the processing device according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the supply destination device according to the present invention; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a power generator (system) according to the present invention and a store-related system as a destination system; It is a mimetic diagram showing one embodiment of the electrolysis part concerning the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing still another embodiment of the power generator and the processing device according to the present invention; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a power generator (system) according to the present invention and a hospital-related system as a destination system; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a power generator (system) according to the present invention and a hydroponic cultivation system as a destination system;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail, referring an accompanying drawing. In addition, in each drawing, the same component is indicated using the same reference number. Components that may have similar structures and functions may also be indicated using the same reference numerals. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios within and between constituent elements in the drawings are arbitrary for ease of viewing of the drawings.

[Power generation system/equipment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining various embodiments of a power generator and a power generation system according to the present invention.

According to FIG. 1, the power generation system 1 or power generation device 2 according to the present invention is:
(A) A fuel cell unit as a power generation unit, including a fuel cell 30 that uses supplied fuel (eg, hydrogen gas) and oxygen-containing gas (eg, air) to generate electric power and discharge exhaust gas (off-gas). 3 and
(B) a gas reforming unit 31 as a hydrogen gas generator that processes the supplied material (for example, hydrocarbon gas such as city gas (commercial gas)) to generate hydrogen gas;
(C) a hydrogen removal unit 32 that removes or reduces the hydrogen content in the offgas;
(D) an oxygen removal unit 33 that removes or reduces the oxygen content in the offgas;
(E) a heat exchange unit 34 as a process heat transfer section that transfers heat generated during power generation by the fuel cell 30 to a destination device or system for use by the device or system;
(F) a solar cell unit 41 that includes a solar cell that generates power using sunlight, installed externally or internally;
(G) an electrolysis unit 42 as an electrolysis unit that electrolyzes supplied water or steam to generate hydrogen using power from the solar cell unit 41 or a storage battery installed outside or inside;
(H) a power storage unit 51 that stores and stores electric power from the solar cell unit 41, the fuel cell unit 3, and the like;
(I) a heat storage unit 52 that stores and stores heat from the solar cell unit 41, the fuel cell unit 3, and the like;
(J) A thermoelectric generation unit 53 that generates electric power using heat from the solar cell unit 41, the fuel cell unit 3, and the like.

Here, although the fuel cell unit (U) 3 of (A) above is an essential unit in the power generation system 1 or the power generation device 2, the other units (B) to (J) are supplied to They are appropriately selected or combined according to the type of energy or substance to be supplied to the device or system, or according to the requirements within the system or device. This makes it possible to collectively or collectively supply the required energy or material to the destination device or system.

Incidentally, the power generation system 1 has a form in which a plurality of devices including at least one adopted unit including the fuel cell unit 3 are assembled to form a whole. All of the units employed are in the form of being included in one device. Hereinafter, possible embodiments will be described as the device 2 of the invention, but of course, the same content applies to the power generation system 1 as well.

Also, (C) the hydrogen removal unit 32 and (D) the oxygen removal unit 33 convert at least a portion of the off-gas to an inert gas used in the destination device or system, and It also functions as an "inert gas supply unit" to supply. By the way, an embodiment that does not require these units is also possible, but even in that case, some treatment (eg, dehumidification, etc.) is performed on the off-gas. At this time, the processing section that performs this process functions as an "inert gas supply section".

Furthermore, (B) the gas reforming unit 31 and (C) the hydrogen removal unit 32 supply a portion of the produced hydrogen gas to a destination device or system for use in the destination device or system ("hydrogen It may also function as a "supply unit".

Also, (E) the heat exchange unit 34, in addition to or instead of functioning as a process heat transfer unit, transfers heat generated during power generation by the fuel cell 30 to (G) the electrolysis unit 42. It is also preferable to function as an electrolytic heat transfer member. The details of the above components (A) to (J) will be described in order below.

First, (A) the fuel cell 30 provided in the fuel cell unit 3 has a hydrogen electrode (anode) and an air electrode (cathode) with an electrolyte sandwiched therebetween, and a hydrogen-containing gas (reformed hydrogen), Oxygen (O ₂ ) in the taken air causes a battery reaction to generate DC power. As a cell system in this fuel cell 30, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) system, a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) system, a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) system, or a solid oxide fuel cell ( SOFC) method or the like can be adopted.

Here, the PEFC system operates at a relatively low temperature, and the size of the battery can be made compact, so it is widely used in fuel cell vehicles. In addition, the SOFC system has high power generation efficiency and normally operates at about 700 to 1000°C, and the exhausted off-gas is also very high temperature. Furthermore, in the PEFC method and the PAFC method, a platinum (P _t )-based material is used as a reaction catalyst. This platinum-based material generally degrades when exposed to carbon monoxide (CO). Therefore, usually, a means for removing CO modification is further provided.

This CO modification removal means uses a CO modification catalyst or the like to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide gas contained in the hydrogen-containing gas supplied as fuel to the fuel cell 30 . In addition, a CO selective oxidation means may be provided which uses a CO selective oxidation catalyst to further reduce the carbon monoxide concentration. On the other hand, when adopting the SOFC system or the MCFC system, at least platinum-based materials are not used as catalysts, so such CO modification removal means is not required.

As a modification of the fuel cell 30, it is also possible to combine different or similar types of fuel cells or connect them to form a multi-stage (multi-stage) fuel cell. For example, it is also preferable to configure the fuel cell 30 by combining the PEFC system and the SOFC system in order to keep the power generation efficiency, the temperature of the generated heat, the composition of the off-gas, and the cell size within the design range.

Further, as the fuel cell unit 3, a fuel cell unit of Enefarm (registered trademark), which is a commercially available fuel cell cogeneration system, may be used. Also, for example, it is possible to use a fuel cell power generation system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-180911.

Furthermore, the fuel cell unit 3 preferably also includes an inverter that converts the DC power it produces into AC power if AC power is required by the device or system to which it is supplied. It is also preferable to have a stabilizing circuit for regulating the generated DC power to the required stable power, even if DC power is required.

In any event, the fuel cell unit 3 is capable of supplying power, heat and off-gas to the destination device or system. Of these, the off-gas may be treated as described later and supplied as nitrogen gas (inert gas), hydrogen gas and/or oxygen gas. It is also possible to adopt a form in which part of the electric power generated by the fuel cell unit 3 is supplied to the electrolysis unit 42 .

Furthermore, the fuel cell unit 3 preferably supplies pure water (steam) produced by the fuel cell reaction to a destination device or system. Also, part of the pure water (steam) thus generated may be supplied to the electrolysis unit 42 .

In addition, (B) the gas reforming unit 31 takes in a hydrocarbon gas such as city gas or LPG, mixes this hydrocarbon gas and steam, and produces hydrogen (H ₂ ) from this mixed gas by a steam reforming reaction. to generate a hydrogen-containing gas composed mainly of The gas reforming unit 31 may supply the produced hydrogen-containing gas to the fuel cell unit 3 and further to a destination device or system.

Here, the gas reforming unit 31 extracts hydrogen gas from the generated hydrogen-containing gas using a hydrogen separation filter or the like, which will be described later, and supplies high-purity hydrogen to the fuel cell unit 3, supply destination device or system. It is also preferred to supply

Further, (C) the hydrogen removal unit 32 removes/reduces the hydrogen gas content in the hydrogen off-gas discharged from the hydrogen electrode out of the off-gas discharged from the fuel cell unit 3 . By removing the hydrogen gas content, for example, it is possible to relax measures to prevent hydrogen explosions in off-gas utilization.

Specifically, the hydrogen removal unit 32 removes hydrogen gas by using a filter (hydrogen separation membrane) that allows passage of small molecules such as hydrogen and helium while blocking larger molecules such as nitrogen. There may be. Incidentally, as this hydrogen separation membrane, for example, a commercially available hollow fiber membrane using a polymer material such as aromatic polyimide can be used.

Here, the hydrogen gas removed from the off-gas in the hydrogen removal unit 32 may be configured so as to be supplied to a supply destination device or system, or reused as fuel for the fuel cell 40. preferable. Further, as a modification, in the hydrogen removal unit 32, the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen offgas and the oxygen gas in the air offgas are burned by, for example, an electric heating unit, and the hydrogen gas in the offgas is converted to water vapor (moisture). may be processed.

In addition, (D) the oxygen removal unit 33 removes the oxygen gas (not consumed at the air electrode) in the air off-gas released from the air electrode in the exhaust gas of the fuel cell unit 3,
(a) using oxygen scavengers, oxidation absorbers, or oxygen absorption cartridges, or (b) easily oxidizable metals such as iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), or manganese (Mn) powder or fine pieces/thread pieces to remove/reduce.

In addition, as a modification, the oxygen removal unit 33 uses a commercially available hollow fiber membrane (so-called nitrogen-enriched membrane) using a polymer material such as polyimide that allows more oxygen to pass through than nitrogen in the air. may be separated and removed. Furthermore, oxygen gas can be separated and removed by an oxygen separation filter using a zirconia solid electrolyte, a BaO--SrO--CoO--Fe ₂ O ₃ -based composite oxide, or the like.

As described above, the off-gas from which the hydrogen gas component and the oxygen gas component have been removed by the hydrogen removal unit 32 and the oxygen removal unit 33 can be supplied, for example, as high-purity nitrogen gas to a supply destination device or system. Although not shown, it is also preferable to provide a dehumidification unit that removes and reduces water vapor (moisture) from the off-gas.

(E) The heat exchange unit 34 receives the heat (reaction heat) generated by the fuel cell 30 and transfers it to the heat exchange fluid filled in the heat exchange tube. Heat is then supplied to the destination device or system by circulating this heat exchange fluid in heat exchange tubes extending to the destination device or system. The heat exchange fluid may be circulated using electric power generated by the fuel cell unit 3, for example.

Furthermore, (F) the solar cell unit 41 includes a solar cell that converts light energy such as sunlight into power, and supplies the generated power to the electrolysis unit 42 or stores it in the power storage unit 51. . The solar cell unit 41 also includes a heat exchange tube filled with a heat exchange fluid and a light collector for concentrating light energy on the heat exchange tube, and transfers the generated heat to the heat storage unit 52 via the heat exchange fluid. It is also preferable to store it in a storage container or transfer it to the thermoelectric generation unit 53 to generate electricity.

Furthermore, (G) the electrolysis unit 42 decomposes the supplied water or water vapor (H ₂ O) into hydrogen (H ₂ ) and oxygen (O ₂ ) by electrolysis treatment using supplied electric power, and generates Hydrogen can be supplied to the fuel cell unit 3 or supplied to a destination device or system. Also, the generated oxygen may be supplied to a destination device or system. Furthermore, it is also possible to use a carbon electrode as the electrode for electrolysis that generates oxygen, oxidize carbon to generate carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), and supply this carbon dioxide to a destination device or system.

Incidentally, the electrolysis unit 42 uses the supplied heat to generate water vapor to be electrolyzed or to raise the temperature of the water to be electrolyzed, thereby improving the efficiency of hydrogen generation in the electrolysis. preferable. In this case, it is also preferable to monitor and control the temperature of the whole electrolytic cell or unit in order to avoid the occurrence of explosion due to heating of the electrolyte or the like. Furthermore, by increasing the voltage applied between the electrodes, it is possible to perform an electrolysis treatment without using an electrolyte and without electrolyte monitoring and maintenance.

Further, the electrolysis unit 42 may temporarily store the generated hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in a cylinder, and release them appropriately when necessary. For example, it is possible to store the hydrogen generated by the power from the solar cell unit 41 in a cylinder during the daytime and supply the hydrogen to the fuel cell unit 3 and the like after nighttime.

(H) The power storage unit 51 includes a secondary battery such as a lead storage battery or a lithium ion battery, and stores power generated by the solar battery unit 41 and the fuel battery unit 3 . The power stored here is also preferably supplied to a destination device or system or electrolysis unit 42 as appropriate.

In addition, (I) the heat storage unit 52 includes a heat storage section made of a known latent heat storage material such as zeolite, and the heat generated in the solar cell unit 41 or the fuel cell unit 3 in this heat storage section is to save. The heat stored here is also preferably supplied to a destination device or system or electrolysis unit 42 as appropriate. Furthermore, it is also possible to supply this heat to the storage unit 51 to keep the secondary battery cells of the storage unit warm, thereby maintaining and improving the storage efficiency of the storage unit 51 .

In addition, (J) the thermoelectric generation unit 53 includes a thermoelectric module including a thermoelectric element that converts heat into electric power using the Seebeck effect (reverse action of the Peltier effect). ) and the fuel cell unit 3 to generate electric power. The generated power is also preferably supplied to a destination device or system or electrolysis unit 42 as appropriate. Here, the thermoelectric element specifically refers to two junctions of conductors such as bismuth (Bi)/tellurium (Te), lead (Pb)/tellurium, or silicon (Si)/germanium (Ge). It is an element that extracts electric power by supplying heat to one side and generating a potential difference between the junctions. Generally, in a thermoelectric module, a plurality of thermoelectric elements are electrically connected in series so as to obtain a predetermined voltage or higher.

Since the thermoelectric generation unit 53 thus generates electricity by the thermoelectric module without depending on moving parts or chemical reactions, it can be used as a maintenance-free unit and as a stable power generation source. In particular, it is useful as a supplementary power supply when the fuel cell unit 3 malfunctions or when a disaster or emergency occurs when the solar cell unit 41 becomes unusable.

By the way, the supply destination devices or systems described above include a fryer 61, a fryer 65, a showcase 68, a convenience store 6, an atmosphere furnace 71, a hospital 8, an autoclave 81, a hydroponic cultivation system, which will be described in detail later. 9, and the hydroponics unit 91. Of course, the supply destination device or system to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to these.

Various possible embodiments of the power generator 2 (power generation system 1) have been overviewed above with reference to FIG. In any case, depending on the embodiment, the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1) as a whole, or the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1) and the destination device or system as a whole, presents the appearance of one artificial ecosystem. It is understood that Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to construct an efficient or waste-free device/system like a natural ecosystem in terms of energy/substance generation/consumption.

[Flyer]
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a power generation device and a processing device according to the present invention.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2(A), the power generator 2 according to the present invention and the fryer 61 are combined to form a processing system as a whole. Of these, the fryer 61 performs a frying process as a processing process by putting an object to be fried (for example, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, etc.) into the frying oil, which is a heated medium. and a processing device or processing system for producing fried food.

Specifically, the flyer 61
(61a) an oil bath 611 containing frying oil;
(61b) a heater 612 and a heat exchange tube 613 for heating the frying oil in the oil tank 611;
(61c) a temperature controller 614 for adjusting the temperature of the frying oil based on the sensor output from a temperature sensor 614a embedded in the frying oil;
(61d) a power line 615 for supplying power from the power generator 2 to the heater 612 (temperature controller 614);
(61e) a nitrogen supply pipe 621 for supplying nitrogen gas sent from the power generation device 2 into the fryer 61 as an inert gas for covering at least the surface of the frying oil containing the object to be fried;
(61f) a blower 622 for transferring the nitrogen gas in the nitrogen supply pipe 621 into the fryer 61;
(61 g) a cooler 623 for cooling the blown nitrogen gas to rapidly cool the fried food after frying;
(61h) A hydrogen supply pipe 631 for supplying the hydrogen gas sent from the power generation device 2 into the oil tank 611 (frying oil) in order to mix the hydrogen gas with the frying oil and suppress the oxidation of the frying oil;
(61i) A conveyor 641 is provided for moving the object to be fried so as to put it into the frying oil in the oil tank 611 and for taking out the object to be fried (fried food) that has been fried from the oil tank 611 .

Also, as shown in FIG. 2A, the fryer 61 includes a paddle for transferring the object to be fried contained in the frying oil, and a damper for exhausting the supplied nitrogen gas to the outside of the apparatus after using it as an inert atmosphere. may be further provided.

On the other hand, the power generation device 2
(2a) A fuel cell unit (U) 3 including a fuel cell 30, an air filter 36 that supplies filtered air to the fuel cell 30, and an inverter 37 that converts DC power generated by the fuel cell 30 into AC power. and,
(2b) a gas reforming unit 31;
(2c) a hydrogen removal unit 32 and an oxygen removal unit 33 as inert gas supply units that process off-gas from the fuel cell 30 and supply it as nitrogen gas to the fryer 61 (nitrogen supply pipe 621);
(2d) a heat exchange unit 34 as a processing heat transfer section that extracts heat generated from the fuel cell 30 and supplies it to the fryer 61 (heat exchange tube 613);
(2e) Distribution as a hydrogen supply unit that supplies hydrogen gas produced by the gas reforming unit 31 (or taken out by the hydrogen removal unit 32) to the fuel cell 30 and/or the fryer 61 (hydrogen supply pipe 631) A vessel 35 is provided. The flyer 61 further includes a control unit 20 that integrates and controls the driving of these components and activation of functions.

By the way, when the components (2a) to (2e) described above are provided over a plurality of devices, the power generation system 1 is composed of these components. Further, the above components (2a) to (2e) may be included in the flyer 61, and the processing apparatus or processing system as a whole may be configured as shown in FIG. 2(A).

With the configuration as described above, the power generation device 2, as shown in FIG. Then, it can be supplied to the fryer 61 as appropriate.

That is, in many conventional cases, energy supply and substance supply have been performed from separate apparatus systems to a predetermined apparatus or system as a supply destination. can be supplied together or in bulk. As a result, it becomes possible to easily construct a more stable supply system that suppresses an increase in supply costs.

As another embodiment of the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1), an electrolysis unit 42 (Fig. 1 , FIG. 8), which will be described later, are also preferably provided. Here, the electrolysis unit 42 preferably uses power from a solar cell unit 41 (FIG. 1) installed outside or inside, a storage battery, or commercial power as power for electrolysis. Further, a heat exchanger may be provided as an electrolytic heat transfer section for transferring heat generated when the fuel cell 30 generates electric power to the solar cell unit 41 .

Furthermore, the molar ratio of hydrogen (H ₂ ) introduced into the fuel cell 30 from the gas reforming unit 31 and oxygen (O ₂ ) in the air also introduced into the fuel cell 30 is set to a value greater than 2. (i.e., hydrogen-rich in the fuel cell 30) so that a mixture of residual nitrogen in the air and hydrogen in excess of the reaction is exhausted as off-gas. In this off-gas, the oxygen gas content is almost zero. Note that such adjustment of the molar ratio may be performed by the distributor 35 ′ according to instructions from the control unit 20 .

By the way, the ratio of the hydrogen gas to be supplied to the fuel cell and the oxygen gas (in the air), which is also the case with the fuel cell in the fuel cell vehicle, is usually set to a state where oxygen (air) is excessive in the cell reaction. is determined so that the hydrogen is used up (burned out). On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it is exactly the opposite, and an excessive amount of hydrogen gas (fuel) is supplied so that oxygen (air) is used up. As a result, it is possible to provide the supply destination device or system with off-gas in which the amount of oxygen gas that is unnecessary or harmful to the supply destination device or system is sufficiently reduced or reduced to almost zero. .

Next, the hydrogen removal unit 32 removes hydrogen gas from the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen, so that nitrogen gas with high purity can be sent to the fryer 61 . The hydrogen gas removed here may be sent to the fuel cell unit 3 through the pipe by the distributor 35 and reused as fuel for the fuel cell 30 .

In addition, as a modification, by mixing this mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the frying oil via, for example, the nitrogen supply pipe 621, it is possible to suppress the oxidation of the frying oil as will be described later. be. In the case described above, since almost all oxygen is consumed, for example, a configuration without the oxygen removal unit 33 is also possible.

By the way, as the fuel cell 30, various battery types can be adopted. It is also preferable to use a PEFC type fuel cell that can be easily made compact. When the SOFC type fuel cell 30 is adopted, the cell reaction temperature is very high, about 700 to about 1000°C. It is also possible to use this battery reaction heat.

Next, a characteristic feature of the flyer 61 according to the present invention will be described. Conventionally, the following three issues have been important issues in fryers for producing food.
(a) Fryers require a large amount of stable power to maintain a temperature of, for example, 200°C. For example, even if the supply of commercial power is stopped due to a power outage or the like, it is necessary to take measures to prevent damage to the objects to be fried during production.
(b) It is necessary to ensure the safety of food processed (fried) in a fryer.
(c) It is necessary to suppress oxidation of the frying oil used in the fryer as much as possible to ensure the life of the frying oil.

First, regarding the above problem (a), the fryer 61 can of course draw in commercial power to operate the heater 612 and the like, but it is possible to receive a large amount of power from the fuel cell unit 3 via the power line 615. can. As for maintaining the temperature of the frying oil, a large amount of heat is received from the fuel cell unit 3 through the heat exchange tube 613 to support the maintenance of the high temperature of the frying oil. Thus, the flyer 61 reliably solves this problem (a).

Next, the above problem (a) will be described in further detail. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-302131, "After frying materials such as potatoes, root vegetables, vegetables, fruits, etc., if the fried product is maintained at a high temperature, acrylamide is generated in the fried product. There is a demand to suppress the formation of acrylamide, and in order to suppress the formation of acrylamide, it is necessary to cool fried products as soon as possible after frying.”

In this way, conventionally, by cooking foods containing a large amount of carbohydrates at high temperatures (120°C or higher), asparagine, a kind of amino acid in foods, reacts with reducing sugars such as glucose and fructose, and changes to acrylamide. I know you will.

This acrylamide has neurotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and mutagenicity (carcinogenicity), and its occurrence must be sufficiently suppressed. On the other hand, the fryer 61 can receive a large amount of nitrogen gas from the fuel cell unit 3 through the nitrogen supply pipe 621, and the large amount of nitrogen gas cooled by the cooler 623 is used as fried food after frying. Blowing can cool the fry quickly. As a result, generation of acrylamide in the fried food is suppressed.

It is also possible to lower the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied through the nitrogen supply pipe 621 by extracting a considerable amount of heat from the nitrogen gas generated from the fuel cell unit 30 by the heat exchange unit 34 . In this case, low-temperature nitrogen gas can be blown to the fried food without using the cooler 623 . Furthermore, although it is an embodiment different from the above, when hydrogen gas from a liquefied hydrogen cylinder is used instead of the hydrogen gas generated by the gas reforming unit 31, this cryogenic liquefied hydrogen is used to It is also possible to lower the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied through the supply pipe 621 .

In addition, in the fryer 61, by filling the entire frying space including the oil tank 611 and the surrounding conveyor 641 with nitrogen gas supplied through the nitrogen supply pipe 621, the object to be fried and the fried object before and during the frying process are Oxidation of fried food after treatment can also be suppressed.

Next, regarding the above problem (c), the fryer 61 applies nitrogen gas as an inert gas received from the fuel cell unit 3 through the nitrogen supply pipe 621 so as to cover the surface of the frying oil containing the object to be fried. It is supplied into the oil tank 611 . As a result, it is possible to prevent the frying oil at a high temperature from coming into contact with, for example, oxygen in the air, thereby suppressing the oxidation of the frying oil.

Furthermore, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-24219, by "supplying hydrogen into oil", "the hydrogen reacts with free radicals such as peroxy radicals generated during oil oxidation. It has been found that by reacting, the chain reaction of oil oxidation can be significantly suppressed." In particular, in unsaturated fatty acids, which are abundant in vegetable fats and oils, oxidation is suppressed by blocking one end of carbon double bonds with hydrogen.

In this regard, the fryer 61 can mix the hydrogen gas received from the power generator 2 through the hydrogen supply pipe 631 into the frying oil. As a result, it becomes possible to suppress the oxidation of the frying oil.

Here, the amount of hydrogen mixed into the frying oil through the hydrogen supply pipe 631 is set to a very small amount, and furthermore, the hydrogen gas inside the hydrogen supply pipe 631 and the hydrogen release holes are devised so that they do not come into contact with air (oxygen) at all. preferably. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a dangerous situation such as a hydrogen explosion. As a modification, it is also preferable to mix the frying oil with nitrogen gas as an inert gas supplied through the nitrogen supply pipe 621 to suppress the oxidation of the frying oil.

Furthermore, as a modification, the fryer 61 may include an electrode in the oil tank 611 capable of applying a high voltage (strong electric field) to the frying oil. This high voltage (strong electric field) is, for example, on the order of 1 to 10 kV, and can be generated using high DC power received from the fuel cell unit 3 via the power line 615 . Of course, AC power converted by the inverter 37 may be used. As an example of such an oxidation suppressing effect by applying a high voltage, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-88769 discloses that by inserting a high potential generation plate having a DC negative high potential into the edible oil, It is disclosed that the oxidation of can be suppressed.

In this way, according to the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1), DC power is efficiently supplied to a destination device or system that requires DC power (usually obtained by converting commercial power). You can also do it.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the offgas treatment in the power generator 2. In FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the distributor 35' monitors the concentration of oxygen remaining in the offgas by means of an oxygen concentration measuring sensor 351. In the embodiment shown in FIG. Based on the measured oxygen residual concentration, the distributor 35' determines, of the hydrogen gas supplied from the gas reforming unit 31, the amount that reacts with the oxygen gas in the off-gas per unit time ( The hydrogen gas is supplied to the oxygen removal unit 33' in an amount equivalent to twice the number of moles of the residual oxygen gas per unit time.

This oxygen removing unit 33' mixes the off-gas with the hydrogen gas supplied from the distributor 35', and then heats platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), ruthenium (Ru), copper (Cu), or the like. Oxygen (O ₂ ) in the off-gas is converted to moisture (H ₂ O) by reacting in an environment in contact with a catalyst containing. Then, by removing this moisture with a dehumidifier, nitrogen gas with high purity can be generated and delivered to the fryer 61 .

By the way, according to trial calculations by the inventors of the present application, when nitrogen gas with a purity of 99.9% flows into the oxygen removal unit 33' at a pace of 10 m ³ /hour, in order to increase the purity of this nitrogen gas to 99.999%, Gas may be supplied at a rate of 1.98×10 ⁻³ m ³ /hour.

The off-gas treatment using the oxygen removal unit 33' described above can be performed not only in the fryer 61 (FIG. 2), but also in the fryer 65 (FIGS. 4 and 5) and the atmosphere furnace 71 (FIG. 9), which will be described later. Applicable. In any case, depending on the required oxygen partial pressure and hydrogen partial pressure in the off-gas, the off-gas can be treated with a simple configuration without providing an additional oxygen removal unit or hydrogen removal unit. Of course, an embodiment may be adopted in which the hydrogen removal unit 32 and/or the oxygen removal unit 33 are provided side by side in order to bring hydrogen and/or oxygen closer to zero.

4 and 5 are schematic diagrams showing other embodiments of the power generation device and processing device according to the present invention. Here, FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5 are respectively a front view, a side view, and a top view of the device (flyer 65) of this embodiment.

According to the embodiment shown in these drawings, the power generation device 2 and the simple fryer 65 used in convenience stores (convenience stores), small shops, etc. constitute a processing system. Incidentally, the power generation device 2 may be included in the flyer 65, and the whole may be integrated to form a device as a flyer. In this case, it is also preferable to employ a PEFC type fuel cell 40 that can be easily made compact.

An oil tank 651 of the fryer 65 contains frying oil for making fried food, and is provided with a net-like basket with a handle for taking the object to be fried in and out of the frying oil. Furthermore, a heater 652 is provided at the bottom of the oil tank 651 . The heater 652 receives AC power or commercial power supplied from the fuel cell unit 3 via the inverter 37 after being adjusted by the power regulator 656, and heats the frying oil with this power.

Here, the power controller 656 controls the usage ratio of supplied AC power and commercial power according to, for example, the temperature of the frying oil, the set temperature indicated via the operation panel, and the presence or absence of a power failure. do. Basically, it is also preferable to program so that AC power from the fuel cell unit 3 is mainly used, and commercial power is also used if there is a shortage.

A heat exchange tube 653 is provided together with a heater 652 at the bottom of the oil tank 651 of the fryer 65 . The heat exchange pipe 653 transfers the heat supplied from the fuel cell unit 3 through the heat exchange unit 34 to the frying oil by the heat exchange medium circulating in the pipe, thereby heating the frying oil. As a result, for example, when the frying oil is heated up to the set temperature by electric power, the temperature of the base frying oil can be kept high, and power can be saved.

Furthermore, the nitrogen supply pipe 654 of the fryer 65 supplies nitrogen gas supplied from the fuel cell unit 3 via the hydrogen removal unit 32 into the oil tank 651 so as to cover the surface of the frying oil. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the nitrogen supply pipe 654 is arranged so as to surround the oil tank 651, and the nitrogen gas can be discharged toward the frying oil from a large number of holes opened in the pipe. can. As a result, the surface of the frying oil can be filled with nitrogen gas while the fried food is being prepared, and the frying oil and the object to be fried can be shielded from the outside air. As a result, the oxidation of the frying oil and the object to be fried by oxygen in the air is suppressed, the service life of the frying oil is greatly extended, and the quality of the fried food is also improved.

Here, the nitrogen gas supplied through this nitrogen supply pipe 654 is generated through the hydrogen removal unit 32 . At this time, the molar ratio between the hydrogen (H ₂ ) introduced into the fuel cell 30 from the gas reforming unit 31 and the oxygen (O ₂ ) in the air also introduced into the fuel cell 30 is set to a value greater than 2. (ie, hydrogen-rich in the fuel cell 30) such that a mixture of residual nitrogen in the air and reacting excess hydrogen is exhausted as off-gas. The oxygen gas content in this off-gas is almost zero. Incidentally, such adjustment of the molar ratio may be carried out by the distributor 35 according to instructions from the control section 20 .

Then, by removing hydrogen gas from the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen in the hydrogen removal unit 32 , nitrogen gas with high purity can be sent to the fryer 65 through the nitrogen supply pipe 654 .

By mixing the hydrogen gas removed by the hydrogen removal unit 32 into the frying oil through the hydrogen supply pipe 655, it is possible to suppress the oxidation of the frying oil as described in the fryer 61. Also, the removed hydrogen gas portion may be reused as fuel in the fuel cell 40 via the distributor 35 .

Incidentally, in the fryer 65, a waste oil hole is provided at the bottom of the oil tank 651, and the frying oil that has passed the expiration date is taken out from the waste oil hole by opening the waste oil valve, filtered through the oil dregs separation net, and drained into the waste oil tank. may be stored in Also, in the fryer 65, a plurality of oil tanks 651 may be provided. In this case, for example, the flyer structure described above may be used as one unit, and a plurality of units may be connected to form the flyer 65 .

[Showcase]
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the supply destination device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a showcase 68 installed in a store such as a convenience store. The showcase 68 is a transparent case that displays the fried food prepared by the fryer 65 to visitors while keeping it in a heat-retained state. The nitrogen supply pipe 681 of the showcase 68 supplies the nitrogen gas from the power generator 2 into the booth where the fried food is placed, thereby filling the booth with nitrogen gas. As a result, oxidation of the fried food by oxygen in the air is greatly suppressed, and the quality of the fried food is maintained.

Further, the heat exchange pipe 682 transfers heat from the heat exchange unit 34 of the power generator 2 to the inside of the booth where the fried food is placed to warm the nitrogen gas in the booth and keep the fried food warm. Heat exchange tubes 682 also preferably heat and keep beverages in hot water supply 69 located alongside the frying booth. Furthermore, it is also preferable that the heating illumination lamp 683 is supplied with power from the power generator 2 and radiates visible light and infrared rays to illuminate the fried food for display and to heat and keep it warm.

As described above, the power generator 2 can collectively or collectively supply necessary energy and materials to various devices and facilities installed in stores such as convenience stores. Next, an embodiment in which a store to which energy and materials are supplied from the power generation system 1 or the power generation device 2 is treated as a system will be described.

[Store related system]
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a power generator (system) according to the present invention and a store-related system as a destination system.

According to FIG. 7, a convenience store (store) 6 as a supply destination system including a fryer 65, a showcase 68, etc. is supplied with required energy and materials from the power generation system 1 according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the power generation system 1 is
(1a) a solar cell unit 41;
(1b) an electrolysis unit 42 that performs electrolysis using the power generated by the solar cell unit 41;
(1c) an oxygen tank for storing the oxygen gas produced by the electrolysis unit 42;
(1d) a high-pressure hydrogen tank and a low-pressure hydrogen tank for storing the hydrogen gas produced by the electrolysis unit 42;
(1e) a fuel cell unit 3 that generates electricity using hydrogen obtained from such a hydrogen tank;
(1f) a hydrogen removal unit 32 for removing hydrogen gas from the off-gas of the fuel cell unit 3;
(1 g) a nitrogen tank for storing the nitrogen gas produced by the hydrogen removal unit 32;
(1h) a pure water tank for storing pure water generated by the fuel cell unit 3;
(1i) A heat exchange unit 34 for recovering heat generated in the fuel cell unit 3 is provided.

By the way, these components (1a) to (1i) may be provided in one device and may be regarded as the power generation device 2. FIG. In addition, it is also possible for the convenience store 6 to include these components (1a) to (1i) and be grasped as one system. The high-pressure hydrogen tank and the low-pressure hydrogen tank in (1d) above can be used together or selectively depending on the cell system and power generation mode of the fuel cell 30, or only one of them may be provided in advance.

Electric power is supplied to the convenience store 6 from the fuel cell unit 3 through the power line, nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen tank through the nitrogen supply pipe, and hydrogen gas is supplied from the hydrogen removal unit 32 through the hydrogen supply pipe. , oxygen gas is supplied from the oxygen tank through the oxygen supply pipe, pure water is supplied from the pure water tank through the pure water supply pipe, and heat is supplied from the heat exchange unit 34 through the heat exchange pipe. At the convenience store 6, the supplied energy and materials are distributed to in-store devices and equipment such as the fryer 65 and the showcase 68 for use.

Here, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, and oxygen gas are preferably stored in a tank. For example, hydrogen gas is stored in a hydrogen tank during the day when the solar cell unit 41 can generate electricity, and then at night, the stored hydrogen gas is used to generate electricity in the fuel cell unit 3, and the convenience store is also operated at night. Electric power, nitrogen gas, heat, etc. may be supplied to the fryer 65 in the store.

In addition, power generation in the fuel cell unit 3 is also performed during the daytime, the generated power is stored in the power storage unit 51 (FIG. 1), the generated nitrogen gas is stored in the nitrogen tank, and the generated heat is stored as heat. It is also possible to store heat in the unit 52 (FIG. 1) and then supply these energies/substances to the convenience store 6 at night.

[Electrolysis unit]
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the electrolysis section according to the present invention.

According to FIG. 8A, the electrolysis unit 42 of this embodiment includes an electrolysis cell 421 , a parabolic reflector 422 and a heat absorption tube 423 . The electrolysis cell 421 has a configuration capable of electrolyzing water vapor in this embodiment. Specifically, water vapor kept at high pressure at the negative electrode is decomposed into hydrogen (H ₂ ) and oxygen ions (O ²⁻ ), and the oxygen ions that reach the positive electrode via the electrolyte are released as oxygen (O ₂ ). do.

By electrolyzing water vapor in this way, the hydrogen production efficiency is greatly improved compared to the decomposition of liquid water. The efficiency is also improved by raising the temperature of the electrolyte with the heat of this water vapor. The DC power required for electrolysis may be obtained by converting commercial power, but in this embodiment, it can be obtained from the solar cell unit 41 .

Here, the water vapor supplied to the electrolytic cell 421 can be generated by heating water (pure water) passing through the heat absorption tube 423 using sunlight collected by the parabolic reflector 422 . Incidentally, usable parabolic reflectors are not limited to the point-focus type shown in FIG. 8(A). For example, it is possible to use parabolic reflectors 422' whose focal points are arranged on a line as shown in FIG.

By using units such as those described above, for example, the solar cell unit 41 and the electrolysis unit 42 each generate hydrogen gas during the day when power generation and steam generation are possible, store it in a hydrogen tank, and then store it in a hydrogen tank at night. Moreover, it is also possible to generate electricity in the fuel cell unit 3 using the stored hydrogen gas.

It is also possible to allocate at least part of the heat for generating water vapor and/or at least part of the heat for warming the electrolyte from the fuel cell unit 3 (heat storage unit 52, heat exchange unit 34). . Further, at least part of the electric power used in the electrolysis unit 42 can be supplied from the fuel cell unit 3 (electricity storage unit 51) according to the electric power usage situation, the hydrogen gas storage situation, and the like.

Technical matters relating to the electrolysis unit 42 as described above are summarized as follows.
[Technical matter 1]
A power generator for supplying electric power used for processing to a processing device that heats and processes an object to be heated in a non-oxidizing atmosphere,
a hydrogen gas generator that electrolyzes water or steam using power from a solar cell installed outside or inside to produce hydrogen;
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the electric power using the generated hydrogen gas and the oxygen-containing gas and discharges exhaust gas;
and an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into an inert gas that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere and supplies the gas to the processing device.
[Technical matter 2]
2. The power generating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a hydrogen supply section for supplying a portion of said generated hydrogen gas to said processing apparatus for use as said non-oxidizing atmosphere.
[Technical item 3]
The processing device is a processing device that processes the object to be heated by putting it into a heated medium,
A technology characterized in that the power generation device further includes a hydrogen supply unit that mixes a part of the generated hydrogen gas with the medium and supplies it to the processing device to suppress oxidation of the medium. The power generator according to Item 1.
[Technical matter 4]
3. Any one of technical items 1 to 3, wherein the power generation device further comprises a heat transfer section that transfers heat generated by the power generation section to the hydrogen gas generation section. The power generator according to .
[Technical matter 5]
The power generation device further comprises a heat transfer unit for processing that transfers heat generated when the power generation unit generates power to the processing device for use in heating the object to be heated. The power generator according to any one of the technical matters 1 to 4.

[Atmosphere Furnace]
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing still another embodiment of the power generation device and processing device according to the present invention.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9A, the power generation device 2 according to the present invention and the atmosphere heat treatment furnace (atmosphere furnace) 71 are combined to form a processing system as a whole. Of these, the atmosphere furnace 71 performs heat processing (heat treatment) in a non-oxidizing atmosphere in order to perform transformation control in accordance with the product for the steel material that is the object to be heated (object to be heat treated) in this embodiment. It is a high-temperature furnace for

Nitrogen gas as an inert gas and hydrogen gas as a reducing gas are introduced into the atmosphere furnace 71 so as not to oxidize the steel material during the treatment process, and hydrogen gas etc. are introduced as process gases. be done. In addition, one processing apparatus (atmosphere furnace) may be configured by the entirety of the components of the power generation device 2 and the components of the atmosphere furnace 71 in FIG. 9 .

Specifically, the atmosphere furnace 71
(71a) an antechamber chamber into which a purge gas can be introduced, for introducing steel material through a gate including a gate opening plate;
(71b) a plurality of atmosphere chambers, each separated by partitions to provide a unique process environment (e.g., temperature, etc.) and further equipped with a stirring fan to homogenize the atmosphere in the chamber;
(71c) a rear chamber into which a purge gas can be introduced, for carrying out the steel material after heat treatment through a gate including a gate opening/closing plate;
(71d) Receive nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas supplied from the power generator 2, distribute them to the required atmosphere chambers through the nitrogen/hydrogen supply pipe 712, and generate a mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen. a mixer/distributor 711 that feeds the required atmosphere chamber;
(71e) The steel material is transported from the front chamber through a plurality of atmospheric chambers to the rear chamber through a heat treatment process path, during which the steel material is heated to a temperature set according to its position. a roller hearth 721 for
(71f) A roller hearth control unit 722 that receives power supplied from the power generator 2 (inverter 37) through the power line 723, supplies power to the roller hearth 721 for the conveying operation and the heating operation, and controls these operations. and,
(71g) A heat exchange tube 731 that transfers the heat supplied from the generator 2 (heat exchange unit 34) to the atmosphere chamber to heat the steel material or assists the heating operation by the roller hearth 721.

On the other hand, the power generator 2 is the same as that of FIG. 2 in terms of configuration and function, and it is also the same that it may be regarded as the power generation system 1 depending on the mode. However, in FIG. 9, the hydrogen removal unit 32 supplies the remaining nitrogen gas after removing the hydrogen gas from the off-gas discharged from the fuel cell unit 3 to the mixer/distributor 711 . Furthermore, the separated hydrogen gas is reused as fuel for power generation via the distributor 35 .

The hydrogen removal unit 32 may also supply the separated hydrogen gas to the mixer/distributor 711 for use as a reducing gas. Further, part of the hydrogen gas produced in the gas reforming unit 31 is also preferably supplied to the mixer/distributor 711 via the distributor 35 .

With the configuration as described above, the power generation device 2, as shown in FIG. They can be collectively supplied to the atmosphere furnace 71 as appropriate. As a result, it becomes possible to easily construct a more stable supply system that suppresses an increase in supply costs.

In particular, since the atmosphere furnace 71 normally consumes a large amount of electric power, inert gas (nitrogen gas), and hydrogen gas (reducing gas), their procurement costs a great deal. On the other hand, according to the power generator 2, it is also possible to significantly reduce this procurement cost.

As another embodiment of the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1), as a supply source of hydrogen gas to the fuel cell 30, the electrolysis unit 42 ( 1, 8) are also preferably provided. Further, the electrolysis unit 42 preferably uses power from a solar cell unit 41 (FIG. 1) installed outside or inside, a storage battery, or commercial power as power for electrolysis. Further, a heat exchanger may be provided as an electrolytic heat transfer section for transferring heat generated when the fuel cell 30 generates electric power to the solar cell unit 41 .

Furthermore, the molar ratio of hydrogen (H ₂ ) introduced into the fuel cell 30 from the gas reforming unit 31 and oxygen (O ₂ ) in the air also introduced into the fuel cell 30 is set to a value greater than 2. (i.e., hydrogen-rich in the fuel cell 30) so that a mixture of residual nitrogen in the air and hydrogen in excess of the reaction is exhausted as off-gas. The oxygen gas content in this mixed gas is approximately zero. Incidentally, such adjustment of the molar ratio may be carried out by the distributor 35 according to instructions from the control section 20 .

Next, by removing hydrogen gas from the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen in the hydrogen removal unit 32 , nitrogen gas with high purity can be fed into the atmosphere furnace 71 . The removed hydrogen gas portion may be sent to the fuel cell unit 3 by the distributor 35 through the pipe and reused as fuel for the fuel cell 30 .

Incidentally, as the fuel cell 30, in the case of this embodiment, it is also preferable to employ an SOFC type fuel cell having high power generation efficiency and a very high cell reaction temperature (approximately 700 to approximately 1000° C.). In this case, the high-temperature heat of reaction is recovered using the heat exchange unit 34 and transferred to the atmosphere furnace through the heat exchange tube 731, so that the base temperature for the heat treatment by the roller hearth 721 is sufficiently increased. You can raise it. As a result, power saving in the atmosphere furnace 71 can be achieved.

Next, a characteristic feature of the atmosphere furnace 71 according to the present invention will be described. Conventionally, the following three problems have been important issues in atmosphere heat treatment furnaces.
(a) Stable high power is required even in an atmosphere heat treatment furnace. For example, even if the power supply is interrupted due to a power outage or failure of thermal power generation equipment, etc., it is necessary to take measures to prevent damage to the steel material being manufactured.
(a) Oxidation of iron (Fe) and oxidation/decarburization of carbon (C) in steel materials during heat treatment must be avoided as much as possible.

First, regarding the above problem (a), the atmosphere furnace 71, of course, does not require commercial power or an installed thermal power generation facility, or separately from them, from the fuel cell unit 3 via the power line 723 Can receive large power. Also, it receives a large amount of heat from the fuel cell unit 3 through the heat exchange pipe 731, and secures a considerable amount of the heat required for the high-temperature heat treatment. Thus, the atmosphere furnace 71 reliably solves the problem (a).

Next, with respect to the above problem (a), it is well known that even stainless steel is oxidized in a high-temperature environment exceeding 700° C., for example. In fact, it is practically impossible to completely reduce the oxygen partial pressure to zero at temperatures higher than this. is difficult.

On the other hand, the atmosphere furnace 71 can supply a mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the atmosphere chamber by the mixer/distributor 711 . That is, it is possible to fill the atmosphere chamber with not only an inert atmosphere of nitrogen gas but also a reducing atmosphere of hydrogen gas. Thus, the atmosphere furnace 71 reliably solves the problem (a). Incidentally, in order to more reliably prevent oxidation of steel materials, it is also preferable that the mixer/distributor 711 has a function of removing molecular gas components including oxygen atoms such as water vapor and carbon dioxide.

Of course, the atmosphere furnace 71 can supply only nitrogen gas into the atmosphere chamber by the mixer/distributor 711 . In this case, in order to suppress the oxidation of the steel material as described above, it is necessary to substantially completely remove the oxygen gas from the nitrogen gas and increase the purity of the nitrogen gas as much as possible. In the present embodiment, as described above, in the power generation device 2, the molar ratio of hydrogen (H ₂ ) and oxygen (O ₂ ) introduced into the fuel cell 30 is set to a value greater than 2, and furthermore, this offgas It is also possible to send high-purity nitrogen gas to the atmosphere furnace 71 by removing the hydrogen gas portion from the hydrogen removal unit 32 .

In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 3, in the oxygen removal unit 33, the oxygen in the off-gas is subjected to a catalytic reaction or a combustion reaction with a portion of the hydrogen gas generated in the gas reforming unit 31, although this is a modification. , is also preferably removed as water.

Furthermore, as another embodiment of the power generation device 2, electric power from the solar cell unit 41 (FIG. 1) installed outside or inside, electric power from the storage unit 51 (FIG. 1), or commercial electric power is used and supplied. It is also preferable to provide an electrolysis unit 42 (FIGS. 1 and 8) that electrolyzes water or steam to produce hydrogen. Further, a heat exchange unit 34 (FIG. 1) may be further provided as an electrolysis heat transfer section for transferring heat generated when the fuel cell 40 generates electric power to the electrolysis unit 42 .

Finally, a hospital-related system (FIG. 10) and a hydroponics system (FIG. 11) will be described as examples of supply destination devices or systems according to the present invention.

[Hospital related system]
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a power generator (system) according to the present invention and a hospital-related system as a destination system.

According to FIG. 10, a hospital (medical service provider) 8 as a supply destination system (hospital-related system) including an autoclave 81 and the like, which will be described later, supplies required energy and materials from the power generation system 1 according to the present invention. It is In this embodiment, the power generation system 1 is
(1a) a solar cell unit 41;
(1b) an electrolysis unit 42 that performs electrolysis using the power generated by the solar cell unit 41;
(1c) an oxygen tank for storing the oxygen gas produced by the electrolysis unit 42;
(1d) a high-pressure hydrogen tank and a low-pressure hydrogen tank for storing the hydrogen gas produced by the electrolysis unit 42;
(1e) a fuel cell unit 3 that generates electricity using hydrogen obtained from such a hydrogen tank;
(1f) a hydrogen removal unit 32 for removing hydrogen gas from the off-gas of the fuel cell unit 3;
(1 g) a nitrogen tank for storing the nitrogen gas produced by the hydrogen removal unit 32;
(1h) a pure water tank for storing pure water generated by the fuel cell unit 3;
(1i) A heat exchange unit 34 for recovering heat generated in the fuel cell unit 3 is provided.

By the way, these components (1a) to (1i) may be provided in one device and may be regarded as the power generation device 2. FIG. In addition, the hospital 8 may also include these components (1a) to (1i) and may be grasped as one system. The high-pressure hydrogen tank and the low-pressure hydrogen tank can be used together or selectively depending on the cell system and power generation mode of the fuel cell 30, or only one of them may be provided in advance.

The hospital 8 is supplied with electric power from the fuel cell unit 3 through the power line, nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen tank through the nitrogen supply pipe, oxygen gas is supplied from the oxygen tank through the oxygen supply pipe, and pure gas is supplied to the hospital 8 . Pure water is supplied from the water tank through the pure water supply pipe, and heat is supplied from the heat exchange unit 34 through the heat exchange pipe. In the hospital 8, these supplied energies and substances are distributed and utilized by in-hospital devices and facilities such as an autoclave 81, which will be described later. Also, if necessary, hydrogen gas may be supplied to the hospital 8 from the hydrogen removal unit 32 through a hydrogen supply pipe.

Here, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, and oxygen gas are preferably stored in a tank. For example, a hospital that stores hydrogen gas in a hydrogen tank during the daytime when the solar cell unit 41 can generate electricity, then generates electricity in the fuel cell unit 3 using the stored hydrogen gas at nighttime, and also operates at nighttime. Electric power, nitrogen gas, heat, etc. may be supplied to the devices/equipment in 8 .

In addition, power generation in the fuel cell unit 3 is also performed during the daytime, the generated power is stored in the power storage unit 51 (FIG. 1), the generated nitrogen gas is stored in the nitrogen tank, and the generated heat is stored as heat. It is also possible to store heat in unit 52 (FIG. 1) and then supply hospital 8 with these energies/substances at night.

In particular, in the hospital 8, even when commercial power stops due to a power outage or the like, power must be continuously supplied to perform emergency surgery or the like. According to this embodiment, for example, the solar cell unit 41 and the electrolysis unit 42 installed in the large rooftop space of the hospital 8 are used on a daily basis to store hydrogen gas in a hydrogen tank, and for example, in an emergency. It is possible to operate the fuel cell unit 3 to supply electric power to hospital devices and facilities. Of course, it is possible to supply electric power in the form of complementing commercial electric power even during normal times. In this case, of course, commercial power saving in the in-hospital equipment and facilities is also realized.

Also, the hospital 8 usually requires heat (heat source) for room heating and hot water supply. In this embodiment, it is possible to provide such heat (heat source) from the heat exchange unit 34 through the heat exchange tubes.

Furthermore, in the hospital 8, a mixed gas (artificial air) of pure oxygen and pure nitrogen having a mixing ratio suitable for the patient is required as the gas to be inhaled by the patient. According to this embodiment, a gas close to pure nitrogen can be provided from the nitrogen tank that receives the nitrogen gas from the hydrogen removal unit 32 . In addition, it is possible to provide (close to) pure oxygen gas from an oxygen tank that receives oxygen gas from the electrolysis unit 42 .

In addition, as a situation peculiar to medical institutions, pure water (RO water) produced using a reverse osmotic membrane (RO membrane) is widely used in various medical practices in each clinical department at the hospital 8. Used. According to the present embodiment, the pure water tank that receives the pure water (steam) from the fuel cell unit 3 can provide pure water that serves as a raw material for the RO water or supplements the RO water.

Furthermore, the pure water (steam) supplied from the fuel cell unit 3 is used as washing water and rinsing water for washing and rinsing various instruments collected from the hospital 8 operating room, outpatient clinic, and hospital wards. can be used as It may also be used as raw water for clean steam in the autoclave 81 .

Here, an autoclave is a high-pressure steam sterilizer that cleans and/or sterilizes objects in heated water or in an atmosphere of steam generated from the heated water. For example, as a pre-vacuum process, residual air in the cleaning/sterilization chamber containing the object is first discharged by a vacuum pump, and then high-temperature clean steam generated from pure water is introduced into the cleaning/sterilization chamber. to create a high-temperature and high-pressure state to clean and/or sterilize the object.

For the autoclave 81, the power generation system 1 supplies pure water as a raw material of clean steam, and electric power for operating a heater for heating this pure water to produce clean steam and for driving a vacuum pump. , can be provided collectively or collectively. Naturally, the power generation system 1 can also collectively or collectively provide at least pure water and electric power for operating the apparatus to devices other than autoclaves that handle pure water.

Further, the pure water (steam) supplied from the fuel cell unit 3 can be used in the hospital 8 as drug preparation water, instrument washing water, dialysis water, etc., or as a raw material thereof. By the way, the pure water used in the hospital 8 as explained above has a predetermined water quality standard according to its use. The pure water (steam) is further subjected to a predetermined treatment to make it water quality that satisfies the standards, and then provided. For example, dialysis water must be pure water that complies with a given ISO standard. In particular, water softening treatment and ultrafiltration treatment are performed to remove endotoxins, chloramines, and the like to prevent the onset of complications in dialysis patients. etc. are required.

Technical matters relating to the power generator 2 and the hospital 8 as described above are summarized as follows.
[Technical matter 1]
A generator that supplies electricity, water and nitrogen to equipment, installations or structures that use electricity, water and nitrogen to provide services or produce products,
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the electric power using the supplied fuel and air and discharges exhaust gas and water;
a nitrogen supply unit that removes or reduces components other than nitrogen from at least part of the exhaust gas and supplies the nitrogen to the medical device, facility or building;
and a water supply unit for supplying at least part of the discharged water to the device, facility or building.
[Technical matter 2]
The power generation device according to Technical Matter 1, wherein the device, facility, or building to which the electric power, the water, and the nitrogen are provided is a medical device, a medical facility, or a hospital.
[Technical item 3]
A generator that supplies electrical power for use in equipment that cleans and/or sterilizes objects in heated water or in an atmosphere of steam generated from the heated water. hand,
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates at least the electric power using the supplied fuel and gas containing oxygen and discharges water;
and a water supply unit that supplies at least part of the discharged water to the equipment as a raw material of the heated water.
[Technical matter 4]
A high-pressure steam sterilizer equipped with the power generation device described in Technical Matters 3.

[Hydroponic system]
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of a power generator (system) according to the present invention and a hydroponic cultivation system as a destination system.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1) described above with reference to FIG. water) and carbon dioxide gas. Incidentally, the power generator 2 of the present embodiment includes a rainwater collection unit 43, which will be described later, in addition to the constituent units shown in FIG.

This hydroponics system 9 is
(9a) A hydroponic cultivation unit 91 including a cultivation table 911 that enables hydroponic cultivation of plants such as medicinal herbs and vegetables, and an LED lighting device 912 as a photosynthetic light source,
(9b) a purification unit 93 and a nitrogen fixation unit 92;
(9c) a fertilizing unit 94;

Among these, the hydroponic cultivation unit 91 is
(9a1) generating a carbon dioxide-rich environment suitable for plant growth with the carbon dioxide gas received from the power generation device 2;
(9a2) In that environment, the water supplied from the power generation device 2 is also used to secure the cultivation water required for the cultivation table 911,
(9a3) using the heat received from the power generation device 2 to control the air and water temperatures in the carbon dioxide-rich environment and cultivation water to be suitable for plant growth;
(9a4) The LED lighting device 912 is driven by the electric power supplied from the power generation device 2, and illumination light having a wavelength band and intensity change suitable for the growth of the plant to be cultivated is realized.

In addition, the nitrogen fixation unit 92 receives nitrogen gas (or off-gas) from the power generation device 2 and uses the hydrogen gas, electric power and heat supplied from the power generation device 2 to fix the nitrogen content in the nitrogen gas. Specifically, according to the known Habor Bosch method, the electric power and heat supplied from the power generation device 2 are used together to heat nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas at high temperature (about 400 to about 600 ° C.) and high pressure (about 200 to about 400 atm) and react under a catalyst such as an iron (Fe)-based catalyst to produce ammonia (NH ₃ ).

Traditionally, this nitrogen fixation process, including the production of hydrogen gas from fossil fuels, has been a difficult process to implement because it requires not only large amounts of nitrogen and hydrogen, but also large amounts of energy. However, according to the present embodiment, not only raw materials for nitrogen fixation but also a large amount of required energy in the form of electric power and heat are prepared collectively or collectively and supplied to the nitrogen fixation unit 92. Since it can be provided, this nitrogen fixation treatment can be carried out more easily.

Incidentally, the hydrogen gas used in the nitrogen fixation unit 92 is not limited to that produced in the electrolysis unit 42. For example, hydrogen separated from the off-gas of the fuel cell unit 3 by the hydrogen removal unit 32 (FIG. 1) It may be gas or hydrogen gas produced in the gas reforming unit 31 (FIG. 1). Of course, hydrogen gas obtained from a hydrogen tank in which these hydrogen gases are collectively stored can also be used.

In addition, the purification unit 93 collects, for example, human or animal excrement that has ingested medicines and foods including medicinal herbs and vegetables cultivated in the hydroponic cultivation unit 91 , and is used for fertilizer production in the fertilizer conversion unit 94 . produce raw materials for Further, the fertilization unit 94 obtains ammonia and fertilizer raw materials from the nitrogen fixation unit 92 and the purification unit 93, respectively, and produces nitrogen fertilizer, potash fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer under a known fertilizer cycle.

Incidentally, if seawater can be obtained, the fertilizing unit 94 may obtain potassium from seawater to produce potash fertilizer. Moreover, when igneous rock is obtained, it is also possible to manufacture potash fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer using the potassium content and phosphate content contained in this igneous rock.

These manufactured fertilizers may be sold as products, or may be supplied to the cultivation table 911, for example, while their amounts are automatically adjusted. In the cultivation table 911, cultivation water is generated using the supplied fertilizer and the water supplied from the power generation device 2 as raw materials. Incidentally, this water can also be supplied by dripping from above the cultivation table 911 as artificial rain in the hydroponic cultivation unit 91, for example.

In addition, the cultivation table 911 drives the movement device of the cultivation bed 911a using the power supplied from the power generator 2, and moves the cultivation bed 911a vertically according to the water level of the cultivation water and the growth degree of the plant to be cultivated. You can move it to As a result, a cultivation water environment suitable for growth is maintained and, for example, root rot is prevented. Such adjustment of the vertical position of the cultivation bed 911a is also effective when cultivating medicinal herbs such as root crops and vegetables. For example, licorice (Glycyrrhiza licorice) is a medicinal herb with a high added value as a material for herbal medicine, and its roots usually extend to 1 m or more. Therefore, soil cultivation requires a considerable amount of labor for harvesting, and hydroponics also poses a problem of the water level of cultivation water. By adjusting the position of the cultivation bed 911a according to the growth of the roots, even such licorice can be grown sufficiently and easily harvested.

Furthermore, although this is another embodiment, it is also possible to cultivate plankton and fish in a tank within the cultivation table 911 or in a separately installed tank whose environment is similarly adjusted. For example, oxygen generated by cultivating a large amount of phytoplankton may be recovered and stored in, for example, an oxygen tank provided within the power generation device 2 .

Here, even in the electrolysis unit 42 (electrolysis cell 421) shown in FIG. 11 (which has already been explained with reference to FIG. 1), by using the carbon electrode as the positive electrode where oxygen gas is originally generated, The oxygen produced combines with the carbon of the electrode to produce carbon dioxide. In this embodiment, this carbon dioxide is supplied to the hydroponic cultivation unit 91 to promote the growth of the plant to be cultivated. It is also possible to configure a recycling system that replenishes with a carbon content including carbon (eg, starch).

Furthermore, the rainwater collection unit 43 of the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1) shown in FIG. do. At this time, the collected rainwater
(a) using a filtration device or an ion exchange device to make water of higher purity,
(b) Distillation using the heat of the power storage unit 51,
(c) It is also preferable to store water after adjusting the water quality to a predetermined range by adjusting the pH using the ammonia generated in the nitrogen fixation unit 92 .

Furthermore, the rainwater collection unit 43 may be installed, for example, on the roof of a high-rise building as a component of the power generation system 1 . In this case, the collected rainwater falls through a water pipe to a tank installed on the ground, and a micro hydroelectric power generation device is installed in the middle to generate power using the rainwater's potential energy, and the generated power is stored in electricity. Storage in unit 51 is also preferred.

In the above, various aspects that can be implemented in the system composed of the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1) and the hydroponic cultivation system 9 have been described with reference to FIG. In any case, depending on the aspect, it is understood that the power generation device 2 (power generation system 1) and the hydroponic cultivation system 9 present aspects of one artificial ecosystem.

Therefore, for example, if the present invention is used to construct an energy/material cycle system that is independent of the external environment (for a certain amount of time or over a long period of time), environments such as polar regions, isolated islands, deserts, outer space, satellites, and planetary surfaces Even in this case, it is possible to establish a production system for desired plants and the like. In any case, it is possible to construct an efficient device/system in terms of energy/substance generation/consumption.

Technical matters related to the hydroponic cultivation system 9 as described above are summarized as follows.
[Technical matter 1]
A power generation device or system that supplies power required for cultivation to a cultivation device for cultivating plants,
a power generation unit including a fuel cell that generates the power using the supplied fuel and air and discharges water;
and a water supply unit that supplies at least part of the discharged water to the cultivation apparatus or system.
[Technical matter 2]
A cultivation system comprising the power generation device or system described in Technical Matter 1 and the cultivation device,
a nitrogen fixation unit that fixes nitrogen gas contained in the exhaust gas discharged from the power generation unit;
A cultivation system, further comprising a fertilizing unit that produces fertilizer used in the cultivation apparatus using the nitrides that have been fixed by the nitrogen fixing unit.
[Technical matter 3]
A method of fixing nitrogen using a fuel cell that generates power using fuel and air and an electrolyzer that can electrolyze water or steam,
Acquiring nitrogen gas contained in exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell and hydrogen gas generated by the electrolyzer,
Using the electric power generated by the fuel cell, the nitrogen gas and the hydrogen gas are brought to a state of having a temperature of a predetermined temperature or higher and a pressure of a predetermined pressure or higher,
A nitrogen fixation method characterized by reacting the nitrogen gas and the hydrogen gas in the state in the presence of a predetermined catalyst.
[Technical matter 4]
The nitrogen fixation method according to Technical Matter 3, wherein the electrolyzer electrolyzes water or water vapor using electric power generated by a pre-installed solar cell to generate the hydrogen gas.

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the power generated by the power generation unit (fuel cell unit) equipped with the fuel cell but also the energy required by the destination device or system is supplied to the destination device or system. Substances can be supplied in batches or batches.

Of course, the supply destination device or system is not limited to the one described above. For example, a laser processing apparatus or system that generates a processing laser by electric power and blows nitrogen gas onto a workpiece during processing also corresponds to this supply destination apparatus or system. According to the present invention, it is possible to easily meet the requirements of supply destination devices and systems that require at least a large amount of electric power and a large amount of nitrogen gas.

It should be noted that all of the above-described embodiments are illustrative of the present invention and not restrictive, and the present invention can be implemented in various other variations and modifications. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims and their equivalents.

1 power generation system 2 power generation device 20 control section 3 fuel cell unit (power generation section)
30 fuel cell 31 gas reforming unit 32 hydrogen removal unit 33, 33' oxygen removal unit 34 heat exchange unit 35, 35' distributor 351 oxygen concentration measurement sensor 36 air filter 37 inverter 38 nitrogen tank 41 solar cell unit 421 electrolytic cell 422, 422' parabolic reflector 423, 423' heat absorption tube 42 electrolysis unit 43 rainwater collection unit 51 electricity storage unit 52 heat storage unit 53 thermoelectric generation unit 6 convenience store (convenience store)
61, 65 fryer 611, 651 oil tank 612, 652 heater 613, 653, 682, 731 heat exchange tube 614 temperature controller 614a temperature sensor 615, 723 power line 621, 654, 681 nitrogen supply pipe 622 blower 623 cooler 631, 655 hydrogen Supply pipe 641 Conveyor 656 Power regulator 68 Showcase 683 Heating lamp 69 High temperature water supply device 71 Atmosphere furnace 711 Mixer/distributor 712 Nitrogen/hydrogen supply pipe 721 Roller hearth 722 Roller hearth controller 8 Hospital 9 Hydroponics system 91 Hydroponics Cultivation unit 911 Cultivation table 911a Cultivation bed 912 LED lighting device 92 Nitrogen fixation unit 93 Purification unit 94 Fertilization unit

Claims (6)

The work piece or the surface of the medium in which the work piece is placed is covered with a non-oxidizing atmosphere, and the power used for the processing is supplied to the processing device or processing system that performs the processing of the work piece. A power generator,
a hydrogen gas generating unit that electrolyzes water vapor at pressure above atmospheric pressure to generate hydrogen gas at pressure above atmospheric pressure ;
a high-pressure hydrogen tank that receives and stores the hydrogen gas with a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure;
Receiving the above-atmospheric hydrogen gas stored in the high-pressure hydrogen tank, and generating the electric power using the received fuel containing the above-atmospheric hydrogen gas and the oxygen-containing gas. , a power generation unit including a fuel cell that emits exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into a gas with reduced or substantially zero oxygen content that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere, and supplies the gas to the processing apparatus or processing system. and
The water vapor having a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure to be electrolyzed by the hydrogen gas generation unit includes water vapor generated when generating the power received from the power generation unit, and the power received from the power generation unit. is steam heated using the heat generated when generating
A power generator characterized by: The power generation device further comprises a solar cell unit having a solar cell and a heat exchange means capable of transferring the generated heat to the outside,
The hydrogen gas generator is steam heated using heat generated when generating the electric power, and the steam heated also using heat from the heat exchange means is used to generate at least the solar cell. 2. The power generator according to claim 1, wherein electrolysis is performed using the electric power generated in. 3. The power generator according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogen gas generator receives part of the generated power from the power generator, and performs electrolysis using at least the received power. . further comprising a hydrogen supply unit for supplying a portion of the generated hydrogen gas to the processing apparatus or system in order to use it as part of the non-oxidizing atmosphere or to mix it with the medium. The power generator according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized by: The hydrogen gas generating unit includes a reflecting mirror that collects sunlight to generate heat, and is water vapor that is heated using the heat generated when the power is generated, and the heat from the reflecting mirror 5. The power generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the water vapor heated by the heat is electrolyzed. The work piece or the surface of the medium in which the work piece is placed is covered with a non-oxidizing atmosphere, and the power used for the processing is supplied to the processing device or processing system that performs the processing of the work piece. A power generation system,
a hydrogen gas generating unit that electrolyzes water vapor at pressure above atmospheric pressure to generate hydrogen gas at pressure above atmospheric pressure ;
a high-pressure hydrogen tank that receives and stores the hydrogen gas with a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure;
Receiving the above-atmospheric hydrogen gas stored in the high-pressure hydrogen tank, and generating the electric power using the received fuel containing the above-atmospheric hydrogen gas and the oxygen-containing gas. , a power generation unit including a fuel cell that emits exhaust gas;
an inert gas supply unit that converts at least part of the exhaust gas into a gas with reduced or substantially zero oxygen content that can be used as the non-oxidizing atmosphere, and supplies the gas to the processing apparatus or processing system. and
The water vapor having a pressure exceeding atmospheric pressure to be electrolyzed by the hydrogen gas generation unit includes water vapor generated when generating the power received from the power generation unit, and the power received from the power generation unit. is steam heated using the heat generated when generating
A power generation system characterized by:

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