JPH0335192A - Cathode for exothermic reaction to form tritium by electrolysis method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the cathode to substitute palladium by using metal uranium coated with palladium, metal uranium housing into a porous alumina container, etc. as the cathode to be used for the exothermic reaction to from the tritium generated in an electrolyte. CONSTITUTION:Any of the following three kinds is adopted as the above- mentioned cathode to be used in the exothermic reaction to form the tritium to generate the energy larger than the energy required for an electrolysis in the electrolyte by electrolyzing the electrolyte consisting of heavy water D2O added with a small amt. of a basic material with a platinum PT anode and cathode: (a) the metal uranium (U metal) coated with the palladium Pd, (b) the metal uranium (U metal) housed into the porous alumina (al2O3) container, (c) the alloy of the metal uranium (U metal) and the palladium Pd housed into the porous alumina (Al2O3) container. A soln. mixture composed of 0.1N sulfuric acid (0.1N-H2SO4) and 0.1N lithium deuter oxide (0.1N-LiOD) may be used as the above-mentioned electrolyte in place of the heavy water added with the above-mentioned basic material in any case.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention generates energy greater than the energy required for electrolysis by electrolyzing a liquid containing deuterium at room temperature. It relates to a cathode used for an exothermic reaction to generate tritium.

[Prior Art] Research and development of controlled thermonuclear fusion as a future energy source is proceeding with the prerequisite for realizing nuclear fusion being exclusively to confine ultra-high temperature plasma in a space.

flJtR thermonuclear fusion using plasma confinement includes two methods: a magnetic field confinement method that electromagnetically controls ultra-high-temperature plasma, and an inertial confinement method that implodes a fusion fuel sphere by irradiating it with high-energy density electromagnetic waves or particle beams. It is believed that

First, among the magnetic field confinement methods, those employing tokamak devices are seen as promising. This involves heating deuterium and tritium to a high temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius, trapping them in an ultra-high density donut-shaped torus using a strong magnetic field, and causing the atomic nuclei to collide and fuse. With the aim of achieving critical plasma conditions, which are a prerequisite for realizing this type of nuclear fusion, large-scale tokamak devices, such as the critical plasma testing device JT-60 of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, are being developed.

On the other hand, laser fusion is a typical example of an inertial confinement method. In this project, a high-power laser beam is irradiated onto a fuel globule made of deuterium and tritium, causing it to instantaneously implode, creating ultra-high temperature plasma, which is expected to trigger a nuclear fusion reaction. Development of high-power lasers is underway to achieve this goal.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, at present, none of these systems has been able to sustain a nuclear fusion reaction, and the timing of its realization is uncertain. Furthermore, both methods require a huge investment on a national scale to achieve ultra-high temperature conditions, making it difficult to realize controlled thermonuclear fusion on an industrial scale.

However, in March 1989, Professor Bonds of the University of Utah in the US and Professor Fleischman of the University of Sarathampton in the UK reported the possibility of realizing nuclear fusion at room temperature (so-called cold fusion) using a simple experimental device.

According to the professor, electrolysis can be carried out by placing platinum (anode) and palladium (cathode) electrodes in a glass container filled with heavy water (with a small amount of base added to give it conductivity). Although the details of the principle behind this reaction, in which a unique tritium-generating exothermic reaction similar to nuclear fusion is observed, are still unclear, the following opinions are currently available.

When heavy water is electrolyzed, negatively charged oxygen is attracted to platinum (the anode), and positively charged deuterium is attracted to the palladium (the cathode). Since palladium has the property of incorporating light elements, hydrogen atoms are forced into the palladium lattice. When the deuterium trapped in this palladium lattice becomes extremely dense, it is presumed that the deuterium nuclei fuse with each other due to the tunnel effect, resulting in the "H(d,p)'H reaction.

The truth of this assumption and whether or not the above reaction is true nuclear fusion will have to be investigated in the future, but in any case, it is expected that the heat generated by the above reaction will be used as an energy source.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a suitable cathode to replace palladium in the exothermic reaction of producing tritium by the above-mentioned electrolysis method. Moreover, if the above-mentioned tritium production exothermic reaction is based on a nuclear fusion reaction, it is also an object of the present invention to provide a cathode that can realize nuclear fusion at room temperature and at low cost.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides electrolytic solutions by electrolyzing an electrolyte consisting of heavy water (020) to which a small amount of a base is added between a platinum (pt) anode and a cathode. Any one of the following three types is employed as the cathode used in the exothermic reaction of tritium production that generates energy in the electrolytic solution that is larger than the energy required for electrolysis.

(a) Metallic uranium (U metal) coated with palladium (Pd) (b) Metallic uranium (U metal) stored in a porous aluminum container (A corner 203) (C) Metallic uranium (U metal)
An alloy of U metal and palladium (Pd) is housed in a porous alumina (^J! 203) container. .1N sulfuric acid (0゜N-H5
Oa) and 0.1N lithium deuteroxide (0,1N-
A mixed balm solution with Li0d ) may also be used.

[Operation] Although the mechanism of operation of the present invention itself is not clear at present, the feature of the present invention is that uranium is used as the cathode. Uranium is considered to be a hydrogen storage material, and we decided to use it because it has unique properties against hydrogen and deuterium. Here, as the uranium, toothpick metal uranium, which can be used as an electrode, is used. However, if the metallic uranium cathode is directly immersed in heavy water, the uranium will peel off, so it is desirable to provide some kind of coating on the metallic uranium cathode. Peeling of uranium is prevented by coating the cathode with palladium, or by storing metallic uranium in a porous alumina container as in the cathodes (b) and (c) above.

Next, we will give a rough estimate of the main effects of the present invention.

Uranium's ability to absorb hydrogen is expected to trap positively charged deuterium in the uranium lattice, making it extremely dense. Although the behavior of high-density charged particles is still unknown, it is presumed that bringing deuterium to an ultra-high density state causes a nuclear fusion reaction or an unknown reaction accompanied by tritium generation heat. In this action,
The point of confining deuterium in the lattice is similar to the method using a palladium cathode by Professor Bonds and others mentioned above.

However, since the hydrogen absorption capacity of uranium is higher than that of palladium, it is better to use a metallic uranium cathode (or a cathode composed of both metallic uranium and palladium) rather than a palladium cathode in order to cause the above reaction. is considered to be effective.

In order to further clarify the features and advantages of the present invention, preferred embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Example] As an example of the present invention, an experimental example of an exothermic reaction for producing tritium by electrolysis using the above cathode is shown below.

Experimental Apparatus> Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration of an apparatus for realizing the exothermic reaction of producing tritium by electrolysis.

In the figure, a container 1 is filled with heavy water as an electrolyte 2. However, since heavy water is an insulator, a small amount of a basic substance such as lithium chloride is mixed in to give it conductivity.

On the other hand, as an electrode, platinum (anode) is placed on the + side of battery 3.
4. Similarly, the metal uranium (cathode) 5 of the present invention according to any one of (a), y, (b), and (c) is used on one side.

Further, a deuterium ion permeable membrane 6 is arranged between the picture electrodes 4.5. Here, as metal uranium, α-uranium casting product (23$lu metal; electrical conductivity 3.45X10'Ω-1
・cm-') is used. This is because it is presumed that the main effect of the present invention is to confine hydrogen atoms in the uranium lattice, so it is desirable that the crystal structure of uranium is not deformed. Therefore, it is not preferable to use rolled uranium whose crystal structure tends to collapse.

Experimental Conditions> Electrolytic solution 2 was electrolyzed under the following conditions using the above-mentioned experimental apparatus.

Voltage: 25V (applied continuously and in pulses) Current: 2~
1000 mA/cm" Application time: 50 minutes or more Temperature of electrolyte 2 before starting energization = 25°C Experiment results> No matter which cathode 5 of (a), (b), or (c) is used, energization is possible. 50 minutes after the start, the temperature of electrolyte 2 reaches 4
The temperature rose to 0@C, and the tritium in electrolyte 2 increased to about three times the background value. This result suggests that a unique exothermic tritium-producing reaction similar to nuclear fusion occurred.

In addition, for the purpose of improving the electrical conductivity of heavy water, 0.0. Results similar to the above experimental results were also obtained when a mixed solution of IN-)ISOn, O, and IN-LlOd was employed.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the cathode of the present invention, a remarkable exothermic reaction for producing tritium can be caused by electrolysis. In this case, electrical energy can be extracted by inserting a heat vibrator into the electrolyte and connecting it to a generator.

In addition, metallic uranium is used as the cathode of the present invention, and since uranium has the advantages of higher hydrogen absorption than palladium and is cheaper, it can be used as a cathode for the exothermic reaction of tritium production. suitable.

Furthermore, if the above-mentioned tritium production exothermic reaction is a nuclear fusion reaction, nuclear fusion can be realized at a much lower C cost than the magnetic field confinement method or inertial confinement method that has been developed in the past.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an experimental apparatus for an exothermic reaction of producing tritium by electrolysis using a cathode according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols of main parts] 2... Electrolyte, 4... Anode (platinum) 5
・・・・・・Cathode (metallic uranium) Attorney Masatoshi Tosato

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) By electrolyzing an electrolytic solution consisting of heavy water to which a small amount of a base has been added between a platinum anode and a cathode, tritium generation heat generation is generated in the electrolytic solution, which generates energy greater than the energy required for this electrolysis. A cathode for an exothermic reaction for producing tritium by electrolysis, characterized in that the cathode used in the reaction is made of metallic uranium coated with palladium. (2) The cathode for an exothermic reaction for producing tritium by electrolysis according to claim 1, wherein the metallic uranium is housed in a porous alumina container instead of being coated with the palladium. (3) The cathode for an exothermic reaction for producing tritium by electrolysis according to claim 2, wherein the metallic uranium housed in the porous alumina container is an alloy with palladium.