JPH0398266A - Energy system generating no carbon dioxide gas - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an environmentally clean energy system generating no carbon dioxide by providing a separating means for separating hydrocarbon which is starting material into carbon and hydrogen. CONSTITUTION:Hydrocarbon OmHn which is starting material is introduced into a separator 1 by a passage 2, and separated into carbon C and hydrogen H2 in the separator 1. The carbon is led out of the system by a passage 3, and the hydrogen is introduced into an energy converting equipment 5 by a passage 4. In the energy converting equipment 5, energy is taken out by the reaction of an oxidizing agent entered from a passage 6 with the hydrogen, and a fluid containing water H2O formed by the reaction is released out of the system by a passage 7. As the flammable gas running into the energy converting equipment is pure hydrogen, a secondary effect that pure water can be produced and supplied by using the pure oxygen separated from the air as the oxidizing agent can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an energy system that avoids the generation of carbon dioxide gas CO■, and is particularly suitable for using hydrogen energy equipment such as fuel cells, burners, and hydrogen engines. Regarding energy systems that do not generate carbon dioxide gas.

[Conventional technology and problems]

Conventionally, in systems using hydrogen energy equipment, when raw materials such as hydrocarbons are used as an energy source, it is natural to use the exothermic energy associated with the oxidation of carbon in the raw materials, and as a result, the final form of carbon It produced carbon dioxide gas.

The carbon dioxide trapped in conventional systems such as those described above is typically released into the atmosphere.

On the other hand, numerous documents have pointed out that environmental changes caused by global warming due to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the so-called "greenhouse effect," have a significant impact on life activities. Incidentally, as an application related to the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide gas, there can be cited Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63211571 titled "Power Plant Equipment".

To deal with this, fixation and decomposition of the generated carbon dioxide gas may be considered as a way to avoid releasing carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere.

However, in the method of fixing carbon dioxide gas, it is still unclear how the method itself and the effect of the fixed substance on the environment at the disposal site, and the method of decomposing the carbon dioxide gas is still unclear. However, there is a major problem that it is difficult to put any of them into practical use due to the enormous amount of energy required, and in fact, there have been no examples of practical use to date.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems in the conventional techniques described above and to construct and provide an environmentally clean energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an energy system that produces carbon as a by-product and has the above characteristics.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an energy system having the above-mentioned characteristics that is energy self-sufficient and does not require any external energy supplementation other than the hydrocarbons supplied as feedstock.

[Means of problem solving]

In order to achieve the stated purpose, the present invention aims to separate carbon at the raw material stage and convert it into a carbon-free energy source so that carbon dioxide gas production does not occur in the energy system. In addition, by using part of the energy from new raw materials that have been converted into carbon-free energy sources as the energy required for carbon separation, it is possible to create a self-sufficient system. This is to build an energy system.

The present invention includes energy conversion means for converting hydrogen into thermal energy, electrical energy, etc., and separation means for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen, and the hydrogen separated from the hydrocarbons is transferred to the energy conversion means. An energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas, characterized by having a channel for guiding the energy system, and in the energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas, supplying a part of the energy obtained from the energy conversion means to the separation means; In addition, it is better to use a discharge-type separator that separates the separation device using discharge energy, or a heating-type separator that separates the separation device using a heating reactor, in order to achieve the object of the present invention. This is a preferred embodiment.

In the energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to the present invention, the energy conversion means is a fuel cell, the energy conversion means is a burner, or the energy conversion means is a hydrogen engine. This is a more preferred embodiment for carrying out the invention.

The fuel itself is limited to hydrocarbons, such as methane, ethane, propane, etc.

The energy conversion means can be applied to anything that can use hydrogen as an energy raw material, such as a fuel cell, a burner, or a hydrogen engine.

As a separation means to separate hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen,
Either an electric type separation means such as a discharge type separation means or a type using thermal energy such as a heating type separation means can be used.
The efficiency is slightly lower than that using electrical energy.

The basic configuration of the energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to the present invention will be explained in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, a separator 1 for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen has three channels 2, 3. is connected to. Furthermore, the energy conversion device 5 is provided with two flow channels 6.7.

The operation of the industrial energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to the present invention is as follows.

Hydrocarbons C, H,, which are raw materials, are sent to separator 1 from flow path 2.
It is separated into carbon C and hydrogen H2 in the separator 1 by the separation method described later.

Carbon is led out of the yarn through the flow path 3, and hydrogen is led to the energy conversion device 5 through the flow path 4.

In the energy conversion device 5, energy is extracted by the reaction between the oxidizing agent that has flowed in through the channel 6 and the hydrogen, and the fluid containing the water 1{20 that has been trapped in the reaction is discharged from the channel 7 to the outside of the yarn.

In the present invention, since the combustible gas flowing into the energy conversion equipment is pure hydrogen, the oxidizing agent is separated from air and pure oxygen is used to produce and supply pure water. effect can be obtained.

[Effect]

In the energy system of the present invention that does not generate carbon dioxide gas, hydrogen is a new raw material that has been transformed into an energy source that does not contain carbon through a separation means that separates raw material hydrocarbon into carbon and hydrogen. is supplied to hydrogen energy conversion equipment such as fuel cells, burners, and hydrogen engines, and converted into desired energy. In this case, since the final form of hydrogen is water H20, there is no risk of carbon dioxide dissipating into the atmosphere, which is caused by the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which causes global warming, the so-called "greenhouse effect." Can prevent environmental changes.

〔Example〕

Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

Example 1 This is a separation method for separating Mekun CH into carbon and hydrogen.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a discharge type separator 8 that uses discharge energy to cause a reaction represented by the following reaction formula (1).

(1) CH4 → C + 2H2 1
7.9 kcal. (25°C, latm) Since the reaction represented by reaction formula (1) is an endothermic reaction, energy needs to be supplied, but in this example, electrical energy is used.

The discharge type separator 8 is provided at a position where a negative electrode 9 and a positive electrode 10 face each other, and a hydrogen permeable membrane 11 made of palladium alloy or the like is further provided to surround both electrodes (9, 10).

Further, a shell 12 is provided to include the hydrogen permeable membrane 11, and the shell 12 includes the shell 12 and the hydrogen permeable membrane 1.
A conduit 13 is provided which communicates with the space defined by 9 and 1, while the conduit 13 is surrounded by a hydrogen permeable membrane 1l and is connected to both poles (9 and 1).
10) is provided with a conduit 14 communicating with the space in which it exists;
Further, a conductive spatula 15 is provided so as to come into contact with the positive electrode 10.

Below the shell 12, there is a U-shaped conduit 1 surrounded by a hydrogen permeable membrane 11 and communicating with the space where both poles (9.10) exist.
6 is provided. A conduit 17 is provided at the open end of the conduit 16, and the inside of the conduit 16 is liquid-sealed to a level below the conduit 17.

Note that electric wires l8 and 19 are connected to the negative electrode 9 and the positive electrode 10, respectively.
are connected directly or indirectly. Further, in this embodiment, the electric cotton 19 is grounded.

The positive electrode 10 is a rotating drum, and although not shown in FIG. 2, it is connected to an external rotating machine.

Since a high voltage V is applied to the discharge type separator 8 in FIG. 2, it is appropriately electrically insulated and appropriately sealed to prevent hydrogen leakage to the outside.

Furthermore, the hydrogen permeable membrane 11 may have a structure in which it is supported by a reinforcing material so as to have appropriate strength.

q 10 The operation of the separator 8 in this embodiment is as follows.

An inert gas such as nitrogen N2 is introduced into the space where the two electrodes (9.10) exist through the conduit 14 in advance to purge oxygen. Then, the nitrogen is switched to the raw material hydrocarbon.

A voltage of tens of thousands of volts is applied between the negative electrode 9 and the positive electrode 10, and is set so that corona discharge occurs.

Part of the hydrocarbon present between the two poles (9.10) is separated into carbon and hydrogen by the electrical energy generated by corona discharge.

The carbon separated between the two electrodes (9.10) is negatively charged by electrons from the negative electrode 9 and adheres to the positive electrode 10. Carbon attached to the positive electrode 10 is removed from the positive electrode 10 by a spatula 15 in contact with the positive electrode 10 as the positive electrode 10, which is a rotating drum, is rotated.

The carbon thus removed falls by gravity into the liquid contained in conduit 16 and accumulates therein. Carbon accumulated in conduit 16 is taken out through conduit 17. In that case, in order to prevent the liquid level in the conduit 16 from decreasing,
The liquid is replenished as appropriate from the open end. More preferably, the lower part of the shell 12, that is, the part of the hopper 20, is made of an insulating material so that carbon is less likely to adhere thereto.

On the other hand, the separated hydrogen permeates through the hydrogen permeable membrane 11 due to the supply pressure of the raw material, is purified, and is sent to the hydrogen demand destination via the conduit 13. Unreacted hydrocarbons are subsequently separated into carbon and hydrogen by corona discharge.

As described above, hydrocarbons supplied as raw materials are completely separated into carbon and hydrogen.

<Embodiment 2> As shown in FIG. 3, the separator 1 in FIG.

The hydrogen supplied to the fuel electrode 22 of the fuel cell 21 via the flow path 4 reacts with the air supplied to the air electrode 23 via the flow path 6 via the electrolyte 24, and becomes water. 12 reaches the air electrode 23 and is discharged to the outside via the conduit 25. If there is unreacted hydrogen, it is sent to the outside through conduit 26. On the other hand, the remaining air is discharged to the outside through the conduit 25.

The electrolyte 24 is connected to the electrode 27. 28, both electrodes 27. 28 provides a direct current electrical output.

Although the fuel cell 21 is used as the energy conversion device 5 in this embodiment, it is easy to imagine a system that uses hydrogen as thermal energy by replacing it with a hydrogen engine, burner, etc., and this embodiment does not require any energy conversion. This does not limit the device 5.

<Embodiment 3> As shown in FIG. 4, the electric wire 18 of the discharge type separator 8 in FIG. Electrical energy output from the fuel cell 21 is used as a power source to be applied to the fuel cell 19.

Electrode 27 of fuel cell 21. Wires 29. to external loads 31 connected to 28 respectively. The electric wire 3233 branched from 30 is input to the inverter 34, and the electric wire 35. 36 to transformer 37
Electric wire 38. 39 is input to the converter 46.

Electric wire 18 of discharge type separator 8. 19 have respective changeover switches 40. 41 is provided, and an electric wire 42. for supplying external power is provided. Electric wire 44 for connection to 43 and output from converter 46. 45 can be switched arbitrarily.

The operation of the energy system in this example is as follows.

The electric wire 1
8. 19 are electric wires 4 for supplying external power, respectively.
2. 43. Electric wire 42 for supplying external power. The discharge type separator 8 is activated by the power supplied from 43, and the system starts operating.

Electric wire 29 of fuel cell 21. Since the electricity output from 30 is direct current, in order to boost the voltage, it is first converted from direct current to alternating current by inverter 34, and then converted to high voltage by step-up transformer 37. And furthermore,
A converter 46 converts high voltage alternating current to direct current.

When the output from the fuel cell 2l is obtained in this way, the selector switch 40. 41 and external power wires 42. 43 to the output wire 44 of the converter 46. 45 and connect. As a result, the discharge energy is covered by a portion of the hydrogen energy, making the system energy self-sufficient.

In this embodiment, the efficiency can be further improved by adjusting the electrical output or controlling the raw material flow rate and voltage in a connected manner, if necessary.

<Example 4> This is another separation method for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the heating type separator 47.

The heating type separator 47 is composed of a reaction tube 48, a heating section 49, and a heat insulating section 50, and one end of the reaction tube 48 is provided with a conduit 51 for supplying raw materials, and the other end of the reaction tube is connected to an end. A portion thereof is closed by a hydrogen permeable membrane 52, and a conduit 53 is further provided for leading out hydrogen.

Further, the reaction tube 48 is filled with a holding material 54 such as quartz wool that holds the precipitated carbon.

A holding material 5 is attached to the end of the reaction tube 48 near the hydrogen permeable membrane 52.
A barge line 60 is provided that fluidly communicates with the reaction tube 48 on the side filled with the reaction tube 48, and the barge line 60 is further provided with a valve 6l.

The reaction in this example is based on the reaction formula (1) in Example 1.
The reaction is similar to that, and since it is an endothermic reaction, heating type separator 4
7 may have any structure desirable for keeping the reactor 48 at a higher temperature and promoting heat transfer from the heating section 49 to the reactor 48, and is limited to the structure shown in FIG. It's not something you do.

The operation of the heating type separator 47 in this embodiment is as follows.

Hydrocarbons, which are raw materials, are supplied to the reaction tube 48 from the conduit 51, heated by the heating section 49, and separated into carbon and hydrogen.

Carbon adheres to the holding material 54 filled in the reaction tube 48,
Hydrogen passes through the hydrogen permeable membrane 52 and is led out through the conduit 53.

The heat insulating section 50 prevents heat radiation from the heating section 49 and increases the thermal efficiency of the heated separator 47.

<Embodiment 5> As shown in FIG. 6, the separator 1 in FIG. 1 is configured as a heating type separator 47, and the energy conversion device 5 is configured as a burner 55.

Since the heating type separator 47 tends to have the problem of carbon accumulating in the reaction tube 48 and clogging the reaction tube 48, two or more heating type separators are arranged in parallel and used. This is preferable, and in this embodiment, two heating type separators 47a and 47b are used, as shown in FIG.

The conduit 51a for introducing the raw material into the heating type separator 47a and the conduit 5lb for introducing the raw material into the heating type separator 47b are the conduit 51.
C is a common main pipe, and valves 56a and 56b are provided respectively. And the valve 61 is in the purge line 60a.
The purge line 60b is provided with a valve 6lb, respectively. Similarly, a conduit 53a for leading out hydrogen from the heating type separator 47a and a conduit 53b for leading out hydrogen from the heating type separator 47b use the conduit 53c as a common main pipe, and are provided with valves 57a and 57b, respectively.

The conduit 53c is connected to the harness 55, which is provided with a conduit 58 through which the oxidizing agent flows and a conduit 59 through which the exhaust gas is discharged.

The heating separators 47a and 47b are provided with stages 47n' and 4 for replenishing the heating medium to the respective heating sections as necessary.
7b' (indicated in broken lines in FIG. 6) or heating medium discharge stages 47a'', 47b'' (indicated in broken lines in FIG. 6) may be provided.

The operation of the system in this embodiment is as follows.

The section from the conduit 51C to the valves 57a and 57b shown in FIG. 6 is preliminarily connected to a purge line 60a. Oxygen has been purged with an inert gas such as nitrogen using 60b.
7 l8. After purging, the valves 61a and 6lb are closed. In this state, the valves 56a and 57a
open, valves 56b and 57b close, and conduit 51c
The raw material flows into the heating type separator 47a through the conduit 51a.

The raw material hydrocarbon is separated into carbon and hydrogen, and the separated hydrogen is sent to the burner 55 via a conduit 53a and a conduit 53c.
supplied to

In the burner 55, the hydrogen and the oxidizing agent supplied from the conduit 5B are burned, and thermal energy is extracted.

The combustion exhaust gas is led to the outside via a conduit 59.

Before carbon accumulates in the reactor of the heated separator 47a and the reactor becomes blocked with carbon, the heated separator 47a is stopped by opening the valves 56b and 57b and then closing the valves 56a and 57a. , the heating type separator 47b is operated. In this state, the heating type separator 47a is connected to the valve 56a.
After removing the precipitated carbon attached to the retaining material, the reactor is filled with new retaining material, and the inside of the reactor is removed from the barge line 60a using the purge line 60a and valve 61a. Purge the oxygen with nitrogen and reconnect to the original system. Then, the valve 61a is closed.

The above procedure is repeated in the heated separators 47a and 47b to enable continuous operation of the system.

<Example 6> As shown in FIG. 7, the combustion gas from the burner 55 was used as the heating medium for the heating part of the heating type separators 47a, 47b in Example 5 shown in FIG. i'l
In order to use it by branching off from 'ff59, conduits 62a and 62b are provided between the conduit 59 and each heating section of the heating type separator.

In addition, in order to discharge the combustion exhaust gas used for heating each reactor, conduits 63 are connected to the heating type separators 47a and 47b, respectively.
a, 63b are provided, and these conduits 63a, 63b are provided with hulls 64a, 64b, respectively, and each heating type separator 4 is
The amount of combustion exhaust gas 7a and 47b introduced is controlled.

In addition, when using a hydrocarbon as a raw material that is liquid at normal temperature and normal pressure, it is desirable to vaporize it using a vaporizer and then introduce it as a raw material for use in the energy system of this example. .

〔effect〕

As described above, the energy system of the present invention that does not generate carbon dioxide gas includes an energy conversion means for converting hydrogen into thermal energy or electrical energy, and a separation means for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen. Since it is characterized by providing a flow path for guiding hydrogen separated from hydrocarbons to the energy conversion means, it is possible to provide an energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas, thereby reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. It can prevent global warming due to increase in It also has the great effect of being able to obtain carbon as a by-product.

Furthermore, in the energy system of the present invention that does not generate carbon dioxide gas, if a part of the energy obtained from the energy conversion means is supplied to the separation means, the system can be operated using almost no external energy other than raw materials. This not only provides an energy self-sufficient energy system, but also provides the outstanding effect of providing an electricity supply system without power outages.

Furthermore, as described as an embodiment of the present invention, by using a discharge type separator as the separator and a phosphoric acid type fuel cell as the energy conversion device, hydrogen energy can be efficiently converted into electrical energy. , it has the effect of continuously obtaining hydrogen energy.

Also, as described in the example, in a case where the separator is a heating type separator and the energy conversion device is a burner, by using multiple separators in parallel, it is possible to easily handle the separated carbon, In some cases, by operating the separators in parallel, there is an excellent effect that the operating range can be expanded, such as by increasing the amount of hydrogen supplied to the burner.

As also described in the example, by using the 21 22 combustion exhaust gas from the burner branched from the conduit as the heating medium for the heating part of the heating type separator, the reactor can be heated using the combustion exhaust gas from the burner. This has the great effect of improving the thermal efficiency of the system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a discharge type separator that is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
The figure is a system flow diagram incorporating the discharge type separator shown in Figure 2, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a heating type separator which is another embodiment of the wooden invention, and Figures 6 and 7 are 6 is a system flow diagram incorporating the heating type separator shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 1: Separator, 2, 3, 4, 6.1: Flow path, 5: Energy conversion equipment, 8: Discharge type separator 9: Negative electrode, 10:
Positive electrode, 1l: Hydrogen permeable membrane 12: Shell 13 14
, 17: Conduit l5: Spatula 16: Conduit (U-shaped tube) 18, 19: Electric wire 20: Part of hopper
21: Fuel cell 22: Fuel electrode 24: Electrolyte 27. 28: Electrode 29, 30, 32, 33, 35. 36 31: External load 37: Step-up transformer 40, 41: Changeover switch 47: Heating separator 49; Heating Part 5L53: Conduit 54: Holding material 61: Valve 47a, 47b: Heating type unit 51a,
53a, 53b, 58.59: Conduit 56a, 56b, 5
7a, 57b, 61a, 61b 60a, 60b: Purge line 62a, 62b, 63a, 63b: Conduit 3B. 39
．． 42.43.44.45: Electric wire 34: Inharter 23: Air electrodes 25, 26: Conduit 46: Converter 48: Reaction tube 50: Heat insulation section 52: Hydrogen permeable membrane 60: Purge line 55: Burner: Harvest 64a, 64b: Harp 23 24 50 Heat insulation part 51.53 Conduit 52 Hydrogen permeable membrane 54 Holding material 60 Purge line 61 Valp -405- -406-

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Energy conversion means for converting hydrogen into thermal energy or electrical energy, etc., and separation means for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen; An energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide and is characterized by having a flow path leading to energy conversion means. 2. The energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to claim 1, characterized in that a part of the energy obtained from the energy conversion means is supplied to the separation means. 3. The energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation means for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen is a discharge type separator that separates hydrocarbons using discharge energy. 4. The energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to claim 1, characterized in that the separation means for separating hydrocarbons into carbon and hydrogen is a heating type separator that uses a heating type reactor to separate the hydrocarbons. 5. An energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the energy conversion means is a fuel cell. 6. The energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that the energy conversion means is a burner. 7. An energy system that does not generate carbon dioxide gas according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that the energy conversion means is a hydrogen engine.