JPH0351598Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention provides a hydrogen-absorbing alloy that has the property of producing metal hydride through a chemical reaction with hydrogen and storing hydrogen for its use. It is related to the container in which it is stored.

[Prior art and its problems] As is well known, alloys such as titanium-manganese, titanium-iron, and nickel-lanthanum can store relatively large amounts of hydrogen as metal hydrides. Then, when necessary, the stored hydrogen is released by heating or reducing the pressure.
It is also being considered for use in transportation, storage, hydrogen purification, etc.

By the way, this hydrogen-absorbing alloy has the characteristic that initially it is in the form of a large lump, but as it repeatedly absorbs and releases hydrogen, the particle size collapses to several tens of microns to several microns and becomes fine powder. However, when the hydrogen storage alloy is pulverized in this way, the effective thermal conductivity in this state becomes extremely low at about 0.5 kcal/mh°C, causing a problem that heat release and absorption become poor.
In other words, the reaction between a hydrogen storage alloy and hydrogen is affected by its temperature and pressure. In a hydrogen storage reaction, heat is generated and this heat must be quickly removed to the outside. In a hydrogen release reaction, heat is absorbed and heat is removed from the outside. needs to be supplied quickly. Therefore, it is not preferable that the thermal conductivity is low. In order to improve this property, it has been conventionally considered to interpose a structure made of a metal material with high thermal conductivity, or a network or granular structure thereof between the hydrogen storage alloys. However, an increase in the amount of materials that do not contribute to such a reaction is undesirable because it increases the heat capacity of the device, resulting in a decrease in thermal efficiency.

Furthermore, hydrogen storage alloys expand within a range of 10 to 25% when hydrogen is absorbed, and contract when hydrogen is released. Therefore, if this property is not taken into consideration when filling a container with a hydrogen storage alloy, there is a risk that problems such as deformation of the container itself or its internal structure may occur.

Therefore, as in the hydrogen storage device shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-140301 and Publication Utility Model Publication No. 58-21995, attempts have been made to agitate the alloy powder by rotating or vibrating the container to increase the hydrogen storage capacity. It is also known that However, since these devices only stirred the hydrogen storage alloy in the container in the same direction, sufficient external heating and cooling were not performed, and as a result, there was a problem in that a satisfactory storage capacity could not be achieved.

In addition, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-140301, a rotary joint is interposed in the middle of the piping to the rotating hydrogen storage alloy container, but mechanical parts such as the rotary joint require a mechanical seal. However, when a low-molecular-weight gas such as hydrogen is passed through, there is an extremely high risk of leakage from the seal, which may lead to an explosion, making it extremely dangerous and difficult to put into practical use.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, the hydrogen storage alloy container of the present invention includes a hollow cylindrical holding container 1 that accommodates the hydrogen storage alloy, and bearing stands 4, 4 that rotatably support the holding container. and,
It consists of a drive motor 6 that repeatedly rotates the holding container within a range of approximately 360 degrees, and double pipes 8 and 9 are provided in the center of the holding container through which a heat medium fluid for heating or cooling is circulated. A plurality of heat transfer fins 10 whose tips approach the inner circumferential surface of the holding container are fixed to the outer periphery of the double pipe, and a filter tube 16 for supplying and discharging hydrogen extending into the holding container and the double pipe are further connected to each other. are connected to the outside of the holding container through dedicated flexible hoses 14, 15, and 17, respectively.

[Operation] The amount of heat of the heat transfer fluid flowing in the double pipe is efficiently transferred to the hydrogen storage alloy through the heat transfer fins, and heating and cooling are efficiently performed. In addition, while repeatedly rotating the holding container within a range of about 360 degrees,
Since the hydrogen absorption and discharge filter tube in the holding container and the double pipe are communicated with the outside through a flexible hose, it can be constructed without using a connecting member such as a rotary joint, simplifying the structure and reducing installation cost. does not apply.

[Example] In FIGS. 1 and 2, a hollow cylindrical holding container 1 has support shafts 3, 3 protruding from both end walls 2, 2, and the support shafts 3, 3 are mounted on bearings installed on the floor. stand 4,4
It is rotatably supported. A gear 5 is fixed to one of the support shafts 3, and the gear 5 is meshed with a gear 7 fixed to the rotating shaft of a drive motor 6. The drive motor 6 is capable of forward and reverse rotation, and repeatedly rotates the holding container 1 within a range of approximately 360 degrees via gears 7 and 5. At the center of the holding container 1 are a small diameter pipe 8 and a large diameter pipe 9.
A double conduction tube consisting of a large diameter tube 9 is provided, and heat transfer fins 10, 10, . . . are provided radially around the outer periphery of the large diameter tube 9. One end of the small diameter pipe 8 communicates with a connecting pipe 11 provided on one end wall 2 of the holding container 1, and one end of the large diameter pipe 9 communicates with a connecting pipe 12 provided on the end wall of the holding container 1. ing. The other end of the small diameter tube and the other end of the large diameter tube 9 communicate with each other through a communication portion 13. Flexible hoses 14 and 15 are connected to the connecting pipes 11 and 12, respectively, for supplying and discharging heat medium fluid for heating or cooling. Reference numeral 16 denotes a filter tube disposed inside the holding container 1, one end of which protrudes from the end wall to the outside, and a flexible hose 17 is connected to it to supply hydrogen to the holding container 1.
Supply or discharge from the holding container.

Here, the drive motor 6 is constantly or periodically driven in forward and reverse directions to repeatedly rotate the holding container 1. By doing so, the granular hydrogen storage alloy in the holding container 1 is stirred to improve contact with the heat transfer fins 10, 10, . . . and to activate heat transfer with the refrigerant fluid in the double pipe.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which a plurality of disc-shaped heat transfer fins 10'' are fixed at regular intervals to a large-diameter pipe 9.
As shown in these examples, various forms of the transmission fin are possible.

However, in this way, titanium-
Contains manganese-based hydrogen storage alloy for 7 to 8 minutes,
When cold water at 30°C is supplied from the flexible hose 14 into the double pipe and circulated, and hydrogen is supplied from the flexible hose 17 into the holding container 1 to store hydrogen, it is not possible to keep the holding container 1 stationary. As shown by the broken line in FIG. 4, it can be seen that there is a large temperature difference between the center and the periphery of the holding container 1, and the cooling effect does not reach the entire inside of the container. On the other hand, by simply rotating the holding container 1 approximately once per minute by the drive motor 6, the temperature distribution can be made significantly uniform as shown by the solid line in the figure. Furthermore, even when hot water of 50°C is supplied from the flexible hose 14 to release hydrogen, if the holding container 1 is left stationary, the temperature difference between the center and the peripheral portion will increase as shown by the break line in Fig. 5. On the other hand, when the holding container 1 is rotated, the temperature distribution becomes uniform as shown by the solid line in the figure, and the heating effect of the hot water spreads over the hydrogen storage alloy in the holding container 1. pervasive throughout.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, the hydrogen storage alloy container of the present invention allows the heating medium fluid to flow through the double pipe provided at the center and stores hydrogen through the heat transfer fins fixed to the outer periphery of the double pipe. Since heat is actively transferred to the alloy, the cooling effect and the heating effect can be spread throughout the hydrogen storage alloy in the holding container by repeatedly rotating the holding container. The desired storage capacity can be demonstrated. Therefore, even if the hydrogen storage alloy is pulverized, deterioration of properties such as storage capacity can be avoided and it can be used for a long period of time, which is beneficial.

In addition, the heat transfer fluid and hydrogen gas can be supplied or discharged into the holding container via a flexible hose, and the holding container can stir the hydrogen storage alloy by simply rotating it repeatedly within a range of about 360 degrees. Because of this, it has the advantage of being easy to construct at low cost, without the risk of a flexible hose becoming entangled or of hydrogen gas leakage caused by the use of a rotary joint.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the container for hydrogen storage alloy according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view thereof, and FIG.
The figure is a cross-sectional view, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing the temperature distribution of the hydrogen storage alloy in the holding container. 1... Holding container, 3, 3... Support shaft, 4, 4...
Bearing stand, 6... Drive motor, 8... Small diameter pipe, 9...
...Large diameter pipe, 10... Heat transfer fan, 14, 15...
Flexible hose, 16... Filter tube, 17... Flexible hose.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A hollow cylindrical holding container 1 that accommodates a hydrogen storage alloy, and bearing stands 4, 4 that rotatably support the holding container.
and a drive motor 6 that repeatedly rotates the holding container within a range of approximately 360 degrees, and double pipes 8 and 9 are provided in the center of the holding container through which a heating or cooling heat medium fluid flows. , a plurality of heat transfer fins 10 whose tips approach the inner circumferential surface of the holding container are fixed to the outer periphery of the double tube, and a filter tube 1 for supplying and discharging hydrogen extending into the holding container.
6 and the double pipe are connected to the outside of the holding container through dedicated flexible hoses 14, 15, and 17, respectively.