JPS59146903A - Hydrogen storage apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a hydrogen storage apparatus for supplying conveniently hydrogen with a simple constitution apparatus by housing a hermetic vessel filled with metallic hydride in a heat medium tank provided in a case, and providing a connector communicating with the hermetic vessel. CONSTITUTION:A heat medium tank 16 having an open side is provided in a case 17, and a single or plural hermetic vessel 1 filled with metallic hydride is housed in the heat medium tank 16. A single or plural connectors 7 communicating with the hermetic vessels 1 are provided to obtain the desired hydrogen storage apparatus. To use the apparatus for occluding hydrogen in metallic hydride, a low-temp. cooling heat medium such as water as a heat medium is supplied into the heat medium tank 16 to cool the metallic hydride in the hermetic vessel 1, and hydrogen is supplied into the hermetic vessel 1 from a hydrogen bomb 11. Thus the heat generated in occluding hydrogen is absorbed. When hydrogen is released, water is drained from the heat medium tank 16, and hot air is introduced to heat the hermetic vessel 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hydrogen storage or supply device, and more specifically, a metal hydride is used as a hydrogen storage or supply source, hydrogen is absorbed into the metal hydride, purified and stored, and, for example, a gas chromatograph is used. The present invention relates to a simple hydrogen storage or supply device that can supply hydrogen that can be suitably used for analytical instruments such as the present invention.

It is known that certain metals and alloys exothermically absorb hydrogen to form metal hydrides, and that these metal hydrides reversibly and endothermically release hydrogen. The use of metal hydrides as storage and supply devices for hydrogen is attracting attention. That is, unlike conventional hydrogen supply devices such as hydrogen gas cylinders or hydrogen generators, such a hydrogen supply device uses a metal hydride that stores hydrogen as a hydrogen supply source, making it easy to supply hydrogen. This is because it is possible.

For this reason, various hydrogen storage or supply devices using metal hydrides have been proposed in the past, but all of them have complicated and large device configurations, making them inconvenient to carry and transporting. The operation is complicated. Furthermore, in the case of an apparatus that purifies and stores hydrogen, the hydrogen filling and purification operation is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has a simple device configuration, is convenient for portable transportation, and is easy to perform operations such as discharging and filling hydrogen, and at the same time purifies hydrogen. An object of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen storage or supply device that is easy to operate and is suitable for use in analytical instruments such as gas chromatographs.

The hydrogen supply and storage device of the present invention includes a heating medium tank provided in a case and having at least one open surface, and one or more closed containers filled with metal hydride and housed in the heating medium tank. The device is characterized in that it consists of a sealed container, and one or more connectors communicating with each other, and the connectors are attached to the case.

The present invention will be described below based on drawings showing examples.

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of an apparatus suitable for using a liquid, such as water, as a heating medium for heating and/or cooling a closed container.

The one or more sealed containers 1 filled with metal hydrides are not particularly limited as long as they have hydrogen embrittlement resistance, but are usually made of copper, stainless steel, aluminum, etc.
A communication pipe 2 connected to this for introducing hydrogen into or deriving hydrogen from the sealed container is connected to a first pipe 3 for filling hydrogen into the metal hydride in the container. It is branched into a refining pipe 4 connected to a purge relief valve for refining the hydrogen filled in the closed container, and an outlet pipe 5 for guiding the hydrogen released by the metal hydride to the user side. This outlet pipe is connected via a filter 6 to one or more connectors 7 on the use side. The above filter has a filtration performance that allows hydrogen to pass through but does not allow metal hydrides to pass through.Generally, metal hydrides become pulverized to a particle size of several microns while repeatedly absorbing and desorbing hydrogen, and when hydrogen is supplied, Since there is a risk of scattering into the pipe, it is preferable to have a filtration performance of about several μm, and be made of, for example, porous sintered metal.

The first pipe 3 for hydrogen filling is connected to a hydrogen phone 11 via an on-off valve 8, a safety valve 9 and a hydrogen pressure control device 1o,
This safety valve is set lower than the withstand pressure of the sealed container. Of course, this pipe can be connected by interposing a suitable connector 12,
It is also possible to freely connect and disconnect the communication pipe 2. The second pipe 4, which is a purge pipe, is connected to a purge relief valve 14 via an on-off valve 13, and its opening pressure is lower than the hydrogen filling pressure regulated by the hydrogen control device 10. It is set. The third tube 5 is, for example,
This is a hydrogen lead-out pipe for supplying hydrogen to analytical instruments such as a gas chroma or Togelaf, and is connected to the connector 7 via the filter 6 and the discharge on/off valve 15. For example, it is convenient to use a male-female connector that is normally closed, but automatically creates an open line by connecting it to a hydrogen-using connector (not shown). be. Such dioecious types are already known and commercially available. Further, a pressure gauge P is attached to the pipe system as necessary.

The closed container 1 is housed in a heat medium tank 16 that can store or circulate a heat medium for heating and cooling the container, and further,
In order to facilitate transportation of the apparatus, this heat medium tank is housed in a case 17 together with the above-mentioned pipe system and valves. In the illustrated embodiment, the heat medium tank is formed in a tower shape with an open surface 18 on the top surface in order to ensure circulation of the atmosphere, and an inlet 19 and an outlet 2o for the liquid heat medium are appropriately installed near the bottom. The case is also provided with an opening 21 corresponding to the open surface of the heat medium tank. Further, the opening of the case and, if necessary, the open surface of the heat medium tank are covered with a net 22 so that even if the heat medium tank is damaged, the pieces of the container will not be scattered. Note that the case 17 and the heat medium tank 16 may be integrated.

In order to use a device equipped with such a heat medium tank, when hydrogen is stored in a metal hydride, a low-temperature cooling heat medium such as water is supplied to the heat medium tank as a heat medium. By submerging the sealed container in water, the metal hydride in the sealed container is effectively cooled and the heat generated by hydrogen storage is absorbed. On the other hand, in order to release hydrogen from the sealed container after filling it with hydrogen in this way, after draining the water from the heating medium tank, open the sealed container using the open surface of the heating medium tank and the opening of the case. For example, the open surface 18 may be heated naturally in the atmosphere, or heated to the atmosphere or hot air to a predetermined temperature by a blower.
Alternatively, the airtight container is forcibly heated by being sprayed from the inlet 19.

As shown in FIG. 3, an operation panel 23 is disposed on one side of the case 17, and the above-mentioned connector 7 is attached to the operation panel 23 for easy connection with the connector on the hydrogen use side. In addition, a hydrogen release on-off valve 15, a purge on-off valve 3, a pressure gauge P, etc. are installed as necessary.

If necessary, a protector plate 24 that can be opened and closed is attached to protect the panel. Further, the heat medium inlet 19, outlet, purge relief valve 14, hydrogen filling connector 12, etc. are provided at appropriate positions on the case. Furthermore, the case has 25 casters on the - side for convenient carrying.
However, a knob 26 is also attached to the opposite surface of the case, and a knob 27 is also attached to a predetermined surface of the case in order to improve stability in the folded state.In this way, the device of the present invention Not only is it convenient to transport, but it can also be used as a hydrogen supply device immediately after transport.

Figure 4 shows the main parts of a device that heats and cools metal hydrides using air at a current temperature or air that has been preheated and cooled to a predetermined temperature. As shown in FIG.
The lower part also has an opening 31 that opens to the outside of the case. For example, air at room temperature or a predetermined temperature is blown from the upper opening with a blower and passed through a heat medium tank, thereby effectively heating the closed container. Can be cooled. Note that, as described above, the net 22 may be placed over the open surface of the heat medium tank and the opening of the case.

Next, the hydrogen filling and purification and discharge operations in the apparatus of the present invention will be explained.

First, the equipment piping system is connected to the vacuum pump V, and after exhausting the impure hydrogen gas remaining in the closed container and piping system that make up the equipment, a cooling heat medium such as water or air is introduced into the heat medium tank. While supplying the metal hydride and cooling the metal hydride, supply hydrogen from the hydrogen bomb 11 to a predetermined pressure by the hydrogen pressure control device 10 to a predetermined pressure via the safety valve 9 and the on-off valve 8 and fill it into the closed container. After this, the on-off valve 8 is closed. Next, when the purge on-off valve 13 is opened, the purge relief valve 14 whose opening pressure has been previously set lower than the hydrogen filling pressure is activated, and hydrogen is purged from the device up to the set pressure of the relief valve. In this purge operation, the metal hydride selectively absorbs only hydrogen, so when the sealed container is filled with hydrogen, impurity residue remaining in the sealed container is selectively removed from the device without being absorbed by the metal hydride. In this way, the sealed container is filled with only highly purified hydrogen, and if the purge on-off valve 13 is closed after this refined M operation, it can be used as a hydrogen supply device. It can be provided to

To obtain hydrogen from the device, if the cooling heat medium is water, after removing it, use the open surface of the heat medium tank and the opening in the case.
While heating the metal hydride in the closed container using the atmosphere as a heating medium, connect the connector 7 to the required connector on the user side and open the on-off valve 15, the metal hydride will release hydrogen and return to the user side. supply to.

In the apparatus of the present invention, it is clear that a liquid such as water can be used as the heating medium for heating and cooling.

As described above, according to the device of the present invention, the closed container filled with metal hydride is housed in the heat medium tank for heating and cooling the container, so that it is particularly possible to quickly fill the container with hydrogen. Furthermore, since this heat transfer tank is housed in the case together with the piping system and valve valves, it is not only convenient for transportation, but also the connectors on the hydrogen use side are mounted on the case, and the necessary valve valves and meters are installed on the case. , hydrogen can be filled or discharged immediately after transportation, and has excellent practical operability.

In addition, when filling hydrogen, set the pressure of the purge relief valve lower than the hydrogen filling pressure for the metal hydride in advance (if you set it, then after filling the closed container with hydrogen to the specified pressure, When the on-off valve is opened, excess and impure hydrogen in the device is automatically discharged by the operation of the purge relief valve, so the device stores hydrogen at a predetermined pressure and the hydrogen is highly purified. Therefore, the device of the present invention can be suitably used in applications that require purified hydrogen gas, such as analytical instruments.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the hydrogen storage device of the present invention;
2 is a sectional view taken along line A--A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of main parts showing another embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Airtight container, 2...Communication pipe, 6...Filter, 7...Connector, 15...Hydrogen release on/off valve, 1
6... Heat medium tank, 17... Case, 18... Open surface, 21... Opening, 22... Net, 23... Panel,
28.29...Open surface, 30.31...Opening. Patent applicant Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Representative Mototoshi Fujinuma Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A heating medium tank provided in a case and having at least one open surface, one or more sealed containers filled with metal hydride and housed in the heating medium tank, and 1. A hydrogen storage device comprising one or more connectors for communication, the connectors being attached to a case.