JPH11354133A - Regenerative type fuel cell apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simple and light-weighted regenerative type fuel cell apparatus having high self-supporting ability and reliability. SOLUTION: This is a regenerative type fuel cell apparatus for electrolyzing water W into oxygen O and hydrogen H to be stored in an oxygen storing part 33 and a hydrogen storing part 34, and for generating power using them as fuels. An electrolytic cell 39 provided in a lower part of a water W storing space S, and comprising plural unit cells 38 for electrolyzing the water W into the oxygen O and the hydrogen H, and a power generative cell 41 provided in an upper part of the space S, and comprising plural power generative unit cells 40 for generating power using the oxygen and the hydrogen as fuels are mounted inside a container 31 having the space S.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a renewable fuel in which water is electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen by using solar energy during daytime and stored, and the hydrogen and oxygen are supplied to a fuel cell at night to obtain electric power. It relates to battery equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A regenerative fuel cell system utilizes the principle that hydrogen and oxygen electrochemically react to directly generate electricity. This fuel cell facility is a clean power generation facility that has high power generation efficiency and can be installed in a consuming area, has no power transmission loss, effectively uses limited energy resources, and emits very little air pollutants. For this reason, utilization as a power generation facility not only on the earth but also on the moon has been studied, and a ground test facility as shown in FIG. 4 has been proposed for practical use.

As shown in FIG. 4, a regenerative fuel cell system includes a water electrolysis device 1 for electrolyzing water W into hydrogen H and oxygen O using solar energy in the daytime, Oxygen storage unit 4 and hydrogen storage unit 5 that respectively store O
And a fuel cell device 2 that generates power using these hydrogen H and oxygen O as fuel at night.

[0004] The water electrolysis apparatus 1 is a solar cell 6 that receives solar energy to generate electric power, an electrolytic cell 7 that receives electric power from the solar cell 6 to electrolyze water W, and supplies the water to the electrolytic cell 7. A water tank 8 for storing water W, a water pump 9 for sending the water W from the water tank 8 to the electrolytic cell 7, and a water W passing through the water pump 9;
An ion removing device 10 for removing ions contained in
A pure water heater 11 for heating the water W having passed through the ion removing device 10 to a required temperature is provided.

[0005] The oxygen storage section 4 is divided by a cooler 12 for cooling oxygen O obtained in the water electrolysis apparatus 1 and cooling water vapor contained in the oxygen O to return to the condensed water W '. A gas-liquid separator 13 for temporarily storing the condensed water W ′ and oxygen O, an oxygen tank 14 for storing oxygen O in the gas-liquid separator 13, and a condensed water W ′ in the gas-liquid separator 13. And a water pump 15A for returning the water to the water tank 8. The hydrogen storage unit 5 cools the hydrogen H obtained by the water electrolysis device 1, cools the water vapor contained therein, and returns the water to the condensed water W ′.
6, a gas-liquid separator 17 for temporarily storing the condensed water W ′ and the hydrogen H separated by the cooler 16, a hydrogen tank 18 for storing the hydrogen H in the gas-liquid separator 17, Water pump 1 for returning condensed water W ′ in liquid separator 17 to water tank 8
5B. Symbols R and H indicate a radiator for heat exchange and a high-temperature device, respectively. In addition, the electric power required for the operation of the water pumps 15 </ b> A and 15 </ b> B is covered by the electric power from the solar cell 6.

The fuel cell device 2 includes an oxygen tank 14
And a fuel cell 16 that electrochemically reacts oxygen O and hydrogen H stored in each of the hydrogen tanks 18 to generate electric power, and a path from the oxygen tank 14 and the hydrogen tank 18 to the fuel cell 16. Are provided with humidifiers 19 and 20, a gas-liquid separator 21, coolers 22 and 23, and blowers 24 and 25 for adjusting supplied oxygen O and hydrogen H. Reference numeral 26 denotes a power device that receives supply of power generated by the fuel cell 16, and reference numeral R denotes a radiator for heat exchange.

The power generation by the above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell equipment is as follows.
It is performed as follows. In the daytime, the electrolytic cell 7 receives supply of electric power from the solar cell 6, and electrolyzes the water W into oxygen O and hydrogen H based on the electric power. The water W is consumed by being electrolyzed, but is supplied from the water tank 8 for the consumed amount. That is, the water pump 9 is activated to send the water W stored in the water tank 8 toward the electrolytic cell 7, the ions are removed by the ion removing device 10, and the pure water heater 11 heats the water to the required temperature. After that, it is supplied to the electrolytic cell 7.

The electrolyzed oxygen O is cooled in the cooler 12, and the water vapor contained in the oxygen O becomes condensed water W 'and is separated from the oxygen O. Then, the oxygen O and the condensed water W ′ are temporarily stored in the gas-liquid separator 13. Oxygen O is stored in oxygen tank 14, and condensed water W 'is returned to water tank 8 by water pump 15A. The electrolyzed hydrogen H is cooled in the cooler 16 and the hydrogen H
Is converted into condensed water W ′ and separated from hydrogen H. Then, the hydrogen H and the condensed water W ′ are temporarily stored in the gas-liquid separator 17. Hydrogen H is stored in hydrogen tank 18, and condensed water W 'is returned to water tank 8 by water pump 15B. Through the above steps, oxygen O and hydrogen H are stored in the oxygen tank 14 and the hydrogen tank 18, respectively, during the daytime.

At night, the oxygen O stored during the day
And hydrogen H are supplied from the oxygen tank 14 and the hydrogen tank 18 to the fuel cell 16. Then, in the fuel cell 16, hydrogen H and oxygen O electrochemically react to generate electric power. The power generated in this manner is supplied to the power equipment 26
Supplied to.

[0010]

The above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell system has the following problems. That is, the weight of the entire equipment increases due to the large number of constituent devices, and the weight of the equipment becomes a problem when the equipment is sent from the earth to a celestial body such as the moon. In addition, similarly, there is a problem that, because of a large number of constituent devices, a failure is likely to occur, so that reliability is low and maintenance and inspection in space are difficult. Also,
In the daytime electrolysis process, the power for operating the water pumps 15 </ b> A and 15 </ b> B needs to be supplied by the solar cell 6, so that there is also a problem that the power generation amount required for the solar cell 6 increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to achieve the following objects.
That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a regenerative fuel cell facility that is simple and lightweight. Another object of the present invention is to provide a facility having high autonomy and reliability. Another object is to reduce the amount of power generation required for a solar cell.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems The regenerative fuel cell equipment of the present invention employs the following means to solve the above problems. That is, a regenerative fuel cell system is a regenerative fuel cell system that electrolyzes water into hydrogen and oxygen, stores the oxygen in an oxygen storage unit and a hydrogen storage unit, and generates electricity using these as fuel. An electrolysis cell comprising a plurality of electrolysis cells provided at the lower portion of the space for electrolyzing water to hydrogen and oxygen, and a plurality of power generation units provided at the upper portion of the space for generating power using these oxygen and hydrogen as fuel. And a power generation cell comprising a cell. According to the above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell equipment, water in the container is electrolyzed to oxygen and hydrogen by the single cell for electrolysis, and stored in the oxygen storage unit and the hydrogen storage unit, respectively. At this time, the water in the container is consumed and its water level falls. When the stored oxygen and hydrogen are returned into the container, the power generation single cell generates power using them as fuel. The oxygen and hydrogen used for power generation return to water, and are returned by gravity to the lower part of the space where the single cell for electrolysis is located. As a result, the water level in the lower part of the space where the single cell for electrolysis is located rises.

In this regenerative fuel cell equipment, the space in the container is vertically divided into an oxygen-side space communicating with the oxygen storage unit and a hydrogen-side space communicating with the hydrogen storage unit. A partition is formed, and the single cell for electrolysis and the single cell for power generation having an anode and a cathode are arranged in a plane on the partition, and the anode of these single cells faces the oxygen side space side, and the cathode is the hydrogen side space. Facing the side. According to the above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell equipment, the single cell for electrolysis and the single cell for power generation are arranged so as to form a small volume. During electrolysis, oxygen is generated in the oxygen side space where the anode of the single cell for electrolysis is located, and hydrogen is generated in the hydrogen side space where the cathode is located. However, these oxygen and hydrogen are separated by the partition walls. , Do not mix. In addition, even during power generation, oxygen supplied from the oxygen storage unit to the anode of the single cell for power generation and hydrogen supplied from the hydrogen storage unit to the cathode are separated by the partition walls and do not mix.

In the regenerative fuel cell system, the single cells for electrolysis are connected in parallel with each other, and the single cells for power generation are connected in series with each other. According to the above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell equipment, at the time of electrolysis, the single cells for electrolysis obtain high power because they are connected in parallel. Also,
During power generation, the single cells for power generation generate a high output because they are connected in series.

In the regenerative fuel cell system, the oxygen storage unit and the hydrogen storage unit are provided with a catalytic reactor for returning electrolyzed oxygen and hydrogen mixed with hydrogen or oxygen to water; And a steam condenser for returning condensed water generated while cooling the water into the space. According to the above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell equipment, hydrogen or oxygen mixed in the electrolyzed oxygen and hydrogen is removed by returning to water in the catalytic reactor, and the contained steam is cooled by the steam condenser. It becomes condensed water and is removed.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a regenerative fuel cell system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a regenerative fuel cell system according to the present invention includes a container 31 having a space S for storing water W, and an electrolytic cell provided under the space S for electrolyzing the water W into hydrogen H and oxygen O. 39
And a solar cell 37 for supplying power to the electrolytic cell 39;
An oxygen storage unit 3 for storing the obtained oxygen O and hydrogen H, respectively.
3 and a hydrogen storage unit 34, and a power generation cell 41 that is provided above the space S and generates power using the oxygen O and the hydrogen H from the oxygen storage unit 33 and the hydrogen storage unit 34 as fuel.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the space S in the container 31, the space S is vertically divided into an oxygen-side space S 'communicating with the oxygen storage unit 33 and a hydrogen-side space S "communicating with the hydrogen storage unit 34. A partition 36 is formed for partitioning into split states, and an electrolytic cell 39 is mounted below the partition 36. The electrolytic cell 39 has a plurality of anodes A and cathodes C as shown in FIG. The electrolysis single cells 38 are arranged in a plane. The anode A and the cathode C of each electrolysis single cell 38 are arranged so as to face the oxygen side space S 'and the hydrogen side space S ", respectively. I have. The single cells for electrolysis 38 are connected in parallel with each other, and in this state, the electrolysis device 32 is configured by being connected to the solar cell 37.

A power generation cell 41 is mounted above the partition 36. As shown in FIG. 3, the power generation cell 41 includes an anode A
And a plurality of power generation single cells 40 each having a cathode C. The anode A and the cathode C of each power generation unit cell 40 are arranged so as to face the oxygen side space S ′ and the hydrogen side space S ″, respectively. Connected to form a power generator 35, and in this state, a power device 50 that receives power supply.
It is connected to the.

As shown in FIG. 1, the oxygen storage unit 33 and the hydrogen storage unit 34 include a catalytic reactor 44 for returning electrolyzed oxygen O and hydrogen H or oxygen O mixed into hydrogen H to water W,
45, steam condensers 42 and 43 for returning the condensed water W ′ generated while cooling the oxygen O and the hydrogen H into the space S, an oxygen tank 46 and a hydrogen tank 47 for storing the obtained oxygen O and the hydrogen H, Is provided.

The power generation by the above-mentioned regenerative fuel cell equipment is as follows.
It is performed as follows. In the daytime, with the power generator 35 stopped, the solar cell 37 receives solar energy and supplies electric power to each electrolysis single cell 38. At this time,
Since each electrolysis single cell 38 is connected in parallel with each other, it receives high power. Based on the electric power, each electrolysis single cell 38 electrolyzes water W stored in the oxygen side space S ′ and the hydrogen side space S ″ of the container 31 into oxygen O and hydrogen H. Electrolyzed oxygen O and hydrogen H flow from the oxygen side space S ′ and the hydrogen side space S ″ to the catalytic reactors 44 and 45, respectively.

In the catalyst reactor 44 of the oxygen storage unit 33, when hydrogen H is slightly mixed with oxygen O,
This hydrogen H reacts with a corresponding amount of oxygen O, is returned to the water W, and flows down into the oxygen side space S ′. Similarly, in the catalyst reactor 45 of the hydrogen storage unit 34, when oxygen O is slightly mixed with hydrogen H, this oxygen O reacts with a corresponding amount of hydrogen H and is returned to water W, Hydrogen side space S "
Runs down.

The oxygen O and the hydrogen H passing through the catalytic reactors 44 and 45 go to the oxygen tank 46 and the hydrogen tank 47, respectively, and are cooled by the steam condensers 42 and 43 on the way. At this time, the water vapor contained in the oxygen O and the hydrogen H due to the reaction heat during the electrolysis is returned to the condensed water W ′, and flows down into the oxygen side space S ′ and the hydrogen side space S ″.
Oxygen O and hydrogen H passed through the steam condensers 42 and 43 are
They are stored in an oxygen tank 46 and a hydrogen tank 47, respectively.

At night, while the water electrolysis device 32 and the steam condensers 42 and 43 are stopped, the oxygen O and the hydrogen H stored in the oxygen tank 46 and the hydrogen tank 47 during the daytime are supplied to these gas pressures. Utilizing oxygen side space S '
Then, the oxygen O and the hydrogen H supplied to the power generation cells 41 are electrochemically reacted in each power generation single cell 40 to generate electric power. The generated power is supplied to the power device 50. The oxygen O and the hydrogen H used for the power generation return to the water W again, and are stored in the lower space S where the electrolytic cell 39 is located.

As described above, in the regenerative fuel cell system of the present invention, the electrolytic cell 39 and the power generating cell 41 are housed in the container 31 and the electrolytic cell 41 is located below the power generating cell 39.
, The water W generated in the power generation cell 39
Is returned to the electrolytic cell 41 by gravity, so that equipment for moving the water W becomes unnecessary. Therefore, a large number of devices such as the water pumps 15A and 15B required in the conventional equipment are not required, and the number of constituent devices can be reduced, so that a simple and lightweight regenerative fuel cell equipment can be provided. And
For the same reason, a highly reliable and highly autonomous facility can be provided. Since the number of devices requiring electric power during electrolysis can be reduced, the amount of power generation required for the solar cell 37 can be significantly reduced. The container 31
The inner space S is partitioned into an oxygen side space S ′ and a hydrogen side space S ″ by the partition wall 36, so that these spaces S ′, S ″
The oxygen O and the hydrogen H generated between them are prevented from coming and going. Since the single cell for electrolysis 38 and the single cell for power generation 40 are respectively arranged in a plane, the occupied volume can be kept small. In addition, each single cell for electrolysis 3
8 are connected in parallel with each other, so that high power can be obtained and sufficient electrolysis can be performed. And
Since the power generation single cells 40 are connected to each other in series, a high output can be given to the power device 50. Further, the catalytic reactors 44 and 46 and the steam condensers 42 and 4
By providing 3, hydrogen H and oxygen O contained in oxygen O and hydrogen H and also water vapor can be removed.
Oxygen O and hydrogen H with high purity can be obtained.

[0025]

According to the present invention, a large number of devices such as a water pump, which have been required in conventional facilities, are not required, and the number of constituent devices can be reduced. it can. And for the same reason, it is possible to make the equipment highly reliable and highly independent. Since the number of devices that require electric power during electrolysis can be reduced, the amount of power generation required for the solar cell can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the space in the container is divided into an oxygen-side space and a hydrogen-side space by a partition, it is possible to prevent oxygen and hydrogen generated between these spaces from being mixed back and forth. Since the single cell for electrolysis and the single cell for power generation are arranged in a plane, respectively, the occupied volume can be kept small. In addition, since the single cells for electrolysis are connected to each other in parallel, high power can be obtained, and sufficient electrolysis can be performed. And since each electric power generation single cell is mutually connected in series, a high output can be given to electric power equipment. In addition, since the catalyst reactor and the steam condenser are provided, hydrogen and oxygen contained in oxygen and hydrogen, and also steam can be removed, so that highly pure oxygen and hydrogen can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and is a configuration diagram of a regenerative fuel cell facility.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a water electrolysis device of the regenerative fuel cell equipment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a power generator of the regenerative fuel cell equipment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional regenerative fuel cell facility.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Container 33 ... Oxygen storage part 34 ... Hydrogen storage part 36 ... Partition wall 38 ... Single cell for electrolysis 39 ... Electrolytic cell 40 ... Single cell for power generation 41 ... Power generation cells 42, 43 ... steam condensers 44, 45 ... catalytic reactor A ... anode C ... cathode H ... hydrogen O ... oxygen S ... space S '... Oxygen side space S "... Hydrogen side space W ... Water W '... Condensed water

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A regenerative fuel cell system for electrolyzing water (W) into hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) and storing the electrolyzed water in an oxygen storage unit (33) and a hydrogen storage unit (34) to generate power using these as fuel. In a container (31) having a space (S) for storing water (W), provided below the space (S) to electrolyze water (W) to hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Single cells for electrolysis (3
8), and a power generation cell (41) including a plurality of power generation single cells (40) provided above the space (S) and generating power using these oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) as fuel. ) And regenerative fuel cell equipment. 2. The regenerative fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the space (S) in the container (31) has an oxygen-side space that communicates the space (S) with the oxygen storage section (33). (S ′) and a hydrogen side space (S ″) communicating with the hydrogen storage part (34) are formed with a partition wall (36) which is vertically divided, and the partition wall (36) has an anode (A) and a cathode. (C) and the single cell for electrolysis (38) and the single cell for power generation (4
0) are arranged in a plane. The anode (A) of these unit cells (38, 40) faces the oxygen side space (S ′) side, and the cathode (C) faces the hydrogen side space (S ″) side. A regenerative fuel cell facility characterized in that: 3. The regenerative fuel cell equipment according to claim 1, wherein the single cells for electrolysis (38) are connected in parallel with each other, and the single cells for power generation (40) are mutually connected. A regenerative fuel cell system which is connected in series. 4. The regenerative fuel cell facility according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen storage unit (33) and the hydrogen storage unit (34).
A catalytic reactor (44, 45) for returning hydrogen (H) or oxygen (O) mixed into electrolyzed oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) to water (W); ) And steam condensers (42, 43) for returning condensed water (W ′) generated while cooling hydrogen (H) into the space (S), respectively. Battery equipment.