NL1040249C2 - ALTERNATIVE ENERGY-DRIVEN HYDROGEN GAS ENERGY CENTRAL. - Google Patents

Description

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY-DRIVEN HYDROGEN GAS ENERGY CENTRAL

PREFACE:

This document contains the unique process of an alternative energy-driven hydrogen power plant, which generates other by-products in addition to electrical energy production. This invention has been partially tested and contains other parts that are already in operation. The electrical energy thus generated is primarily supplied to the local electricity grid, but other by-products are also made in the process, namely sodium hypochlorite, oxygen gas, sodium metal, caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and pure water. This is done in a safe, clean, cheap, efficient and green way. The electrical energy thus generated is not dependent on the availability of fossil fuels. On the contrary, this process makes their use unnecessary and reduces the production of greenhouse gases (CO2). The by-product, hydrogen gas, can also be used as fuel for all types of engines that are currently powered by fossil fuels. This process is a combination of already existing and / or existing technologies, processes, systems and devices that are firstly partly technologically adapted or refined, and subsequently arranged or combined by means of a unique / innovative devised system in such a way that a flexible constant energy production is achieved. guaranteed. This is not the case before.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION:

The process is as follows and we refer to the attached drawing. Seawater A-1 is pumped up via pumps E-1 and E-2. The seawater is first pumped to an accumulation tank T-1 that ensures that the supply of seawater remains constant. The lifting pumps E-3 and E-4 ensure that the seawater from accumulation tank T-1 is pumped to a pressure of at least 4 bar (g) to the electrolysis tank E-19. In this electrolysis vessel E-19, by means of direct current which is supplied to special Titanium (Ti) coated platinum electrodes, the seawater is split into hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and sodium hypochlorite. The seawater temperature in the electrolysis pressure vessel is raised to approximately 80 degrees Celsius to increase the conductivity of the seawater. Depending on the requirement, it is possible to switch to oxygen production. The direct current required for the electrolysis process is obtained by one or a combination of the following alternative energy sources (see drawing). Wind (ES-1), Sun (ES-2), Tidal / Flood, Wave (ES-3) or other alternative energy sources (ES-4) that are currently still under development. See figure ES-1 in the diagram. The direct current regulator 1-1 ensures that the required amount of direct current DC-1 is always adjusted. As a result, only the amounts of energy required for the process can and will be extracted from the alternative energy sources. This regulated system ensures that optimum use is made of all available alternative energy sources, which is also new, unique and innovative. By means of this regulated system, for example, in the presence of solar panels and wind turbines the cheapest energy source will always be used in the first instance, after which the most expensive energy source will only be discussed later if necessary. The system also implies that if there is a need for more energy than what can be supplied by a source itself, this is regulated via an artificial intelligence program in such a way that hydrogen is extracted from the storage tanks for electricity production and on those less recourse is made to the natural alternative energy sources themselves. If there is a small demand for electricity from the existing electricity grid, the system will produce more hydrogen and then store it in storage tanks and thus keep the supply of hydrogen up to date.

The separate inverter EA-1 enables alternating voltage from alternative energy sources for own use within the factory installation itself. This inverting machine can also be switched off if there is no need. In such a case, the alternating voltage is supplied by the Gas Turbines GT-1 and GT-X.

Completely unique and innovative in the process described is that a side stream of sodium hypochlorite is drained from the E-19 electrolysis vessel via the P-66 pipeline. This side stream injects sodium hypochlorite as a biocide into the seawater inlet and into the suction lines of pumps E-1 and E-2. This sidestream is at least 10% by weight of the total produced amount of the electrolysis vessel E-19. The advantages of injecting this side stream of sodium hypochlorite are as follows: Less algae growth and growth of other marine organisms that can eventually clog the seawater pipes. As a result, less maintenance is required and the installation will be able to operate longer without having to stop for cleaning the seawater inlet pipes. As far as is known, there are no other processes that use a side stream of the electrolysis vessel as a biocide for the seawater inlet.

Hydrogen gas is produced from the electrolysis vessel E-19 with a purity level of more than 99%. This hydrogen gas is sucked up by a centrifugal compressor E-20, which compresses the gas to a pressure of at least 80 bar (g). This hydrogen gas can then, via pipeline P-18, be stored in specially designed storage tanks T-2 which are provided with carbon fibers. The hydrogen gas from compressor E-20 can also be pumped directly to the gas dryer E-25, which removes 95% of the moisture from the hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas can also be pumped directly via pipeline P-18 to gas dryer E-25.

The dry hydrogen gas is pumped directly from the gas dryer E-25 to the combined cycle of gas turbines GT-1 to GT-X which, by burning hydrogen gas with air, converts thermal energy into electrical energy which is supplied to the 66-kilovolt transformer station. power grid. It is noted that with the combustion of the hydrogen gas in the gas turbines, water vapor is produced as steam. This steam contains an enormous amount of power and energy and is used to drive other steam turbines, which in turn produce electricity that is supplied to the electricity distribution network. That is why we talk about combined cycle gas turbines. They are gas turbines that are combined with steam turbines. This is incidentally existing technology.

The combustion of hydrogen and air produces water vapor that is converted via special coolers E-31 into pure water that can be used, for example, as drinking water and or as industrial water. This is a new and innovative application of this process. In this way no water has to be produced via a distillation process, which saves enormous costs and energy. The result is that both water production and energy production will become cheaper and will no longer be linked to the price of crude oil, which will benefit the national economy in all respects.

The unique and innovative aspect of this process is that there will always be extra hydrogen storage for periods when, for some reason, no alternative energy sources are available. The storage period can be planned in such a way that energy can be generated from the available hydrogen gas storage for at least 30 days.

No other process is known which has a built-in storage facility T-2 or spare capacity as part of the total production process.

Hydrogen gas can also be supplied from the available storage tanks to fill gas bottles at gas filling installation WG-1 or to fill a LT-1 loading truck with hydrogen gas.

Sodium hypochlorite from the electrolysis vessel E-19 is sent via the line P-22 to a reducing vessel E-21, whereby it is converted into sodium metal (Na) by direct current. This is an innovative way to produce more hydrogen gas from sodium hypochlorite. After all, this sodium metal, under the protection of an oil layer, is transported via a belt system B-1 to the reactor E-22. A chemical reaction takes place together with the addition of pure water, whereby the sodium metal is converted into hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide. The chemical reaction is as follows: 2Na + 2H 2 O-> 2NaOH + H 2. The hydrogen gas from the reactor E-22 is sucked up to the gas compressor E-20. The sodium hydroxide produced from the E-22 reactor is pumped to the T-5 storage tank. From here to the dryer and filling installation WG-2. The sodium hydroxide can also be pumped directly from the storage tank T-5 to the LT-2 loading truck installation.

The oxygen gas produced from the egg vessel E-19 is sent via pipeline P-10 to gas compressor E-18. Here the oxygen gas is compressed to a pressure of at least 25 bar (g). From here the oxygen gas is sent to the T-4 storage tank. From this storage tank, oxygen gas can be further compressed at the gas bottle filling installation WG-4 to a pressure of 200 bar (g) and further filled in oxygen bottles. The oxygen gas from the gas compressor E-18 can also be pumped to the LT-4 loading truck installation.

A portion of the sodium hypochlorite produced from the E-19 epoxy vessel is pumped via pipeline P-15 to pumps E-5 and E-6 and then to the T-3 storage tank. From here the sodium hypochlorite is filled in containers via the WG-3 filling plant. The liquid sodium hypochlorite can also be shipped in the loading track installation LT-3. This sodium hypochlorite is intended for sale on the local market as a disinfectant for hospitals, oil refining, hotels, swimming pools and for local households. The result is that this product will no longer have to be imported, which will save on currency and logically benefit the national economy in every way.

THE DIFFERENT NEW AND INOVATIVE PROCESS PARAMETERS BASED ON THIS PROCESS ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. Temperature range of seawater from 23 ° C to 80 ° C.

2. DC voltage of the Electrolyzer greater than 2.1 Volt DC.

3. Current density of the Electrolyzer between 25 and 130 mA / cm 2 DC.

4. Strength of sodium hypochlorite produced in mg / liter.

5. Hydrogen gas with more than 99% chemical purity, produced in the electrolysis pressure vessel with a given direct current and direct current.

6. Oxygen gas with more than 99% chemical purity produced in the electrolysis pressure vessel with a given direct current and direct current and special electrodes.

7. Feed back a percentage of a minimum of 10% by weight of sodium hypochlorite as a biocide, via a side stream from electrolysis vessel in the inlet of the seawater pumps via pipeline P-66.

8. Conversion of sodium hypochlorite into sodium metal which is subsequently converted into hydrogen gas

Different quality sensors continuously measure the quality and quantity of the various generated main and by-products and furthermore they regulate the mass inflow of the seawater, the pressure, the electrical voltage and the electrical current with the help of their own designed feedback instrumentation system in combination with different " Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) ”which are programmed with special instructions.

For personnel safety and to protect technical installations, the presence of hydrogen gas is constantly measured at critical locations with special detectors, to prevent explosion limits being reached. These critical locations are: the external housing of the electrolysis pressure vessel, the discharge pipes and connections, the flanges of all pressure vessels and all pipelines with hydrogen gas. In particular, the external housing of the electrolysis pressure vessel, the discharge pipes and their connections are subject to very strict safety checks and continuous measurements are made to detect leaks early on and to detect and eliminate possible unsafe hydrogen gas accumulation at vital locations, thus avoiding the risk of explosion. This is an application of existing technologies and equipment, but the specific locations of the detectors and their types are innovative and unique in this system.

A system for removing accumulated hydrogen gas, with the aid of nitrogen gas, has been specially devised and designed to remove any accumulated hydrogen gas in and / or around the electrolysis pressure vessel and / or the pipe systems. This is especially necessary when planned maintenance has to be carried out on the existing equipment and the existing supply and / or discharge pipes.

The original primary purpose of the production process as described above is to use the hydrogen gas as fuel for gas turbines that in turn produce electricity through controlled combustion of the hydrogen gas with air. The electricity is then fed or supplied to a high-voltage alternating current electrical distribution network X-1 for local consumption.

The hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, sodium hypochlorite, sodium metal, caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and pure water produced in this production process can be sold on the local or international market. Sodium hypochlorite, sodium metal and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) are products that replace imports, saving on foreign exchange.

SPECIAL METALLURGY:

Due to the aggressive nature of the sea water & atmospheric conditions at the coast where the industrial facility is located and partly hydrogen gas-induced cracking or crumbling phenomena of steel, the choice of the design, equipment and equipment of the hydrogen industrial facility involves special metals and non- applied metallic materials, such as the following components of the facility: 1. Seawater inlet & booster pumps and sodium hypochlorite pumps; 2. Electrolysis pressure vessel housing, electrolysis electrodes (Titanium coated Platinum electrodes), inlet and outlet nozzles; 3. Gas detectors, mass flow meters, flow transmitters, pressure gauges, control instruments, pressure transmitters; 4. Safety valves, control valves, block valves, valve needles, discharge valves; 5. Hydrogen gas lines, oxygen gas lines, sodium hypochlorite lines; 6. Hydrogen storage tanks of reinforced carbon glass fibers; sodium metal pressure reducing vessels with internal lining, sodium hydroxide pressure vessels with internal Nickel-copper alloy lining, pipes and storage tanks; 7. Wind turbine blades, wind turbine housing, wind turbines supporting steel structures and structures; Solar panels, tidal energy generators, wave energy generators or other alternative energy sources under development.

8. Electric switching systems and transmission systems;

Claims (14)

1. The invention / innovation relates to a process for the production of hydrogen using alternative energy sources including wind power, flood / tides, wave water power, solar panels and or other alternative energy sources still under development, characterized in that direct current which is generated via a special automatic regulated system, which controls the production of hydrogen gas in such a way that optimum use is made of the cheapest alternative energy source available to produce hydrogen gas at any time of the day. 2. The characteristic of this process is that seawater A-1 is processed on a continuous basis, with a minimum of 10% by weight sodium hypochlorite from a side stream of the electrolysis pressure vessel. 3. Another characteristic of this unique process is that sodium hypochlorite is also produced as a by-product in the electrolysis with the same seawater that also generates hydrogen gas. Said by-product sodium hypochlorite from the electrolysis is used as a biocide in the seawater inlet pipes and pumps at A-1 to prevent algae growth and other bio-organisms present in the seawater in an ecologically responsible manner. 4. It is further characteristic that the sodium hypochlorite from the electrolysis of seawater is converted back into sodium metal. The special feature of this regeneration is that the sodium metal thus obtained is used again to make hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide. In this way there is a cycle from seawater to sodium hypochlorite and again to seawater. Nothing is lost. Even the water that is made as part of this process goes back to nature in a clean way. 5. The hydrogen gas resulting from the electrolysis of seawater is characterized by a degree of purity of more than 99%. The hydrogen gas obtained in this way can be used in the gas turbines as a fuel for generating electrical energy in a 100% clean manner. 6. A characteristic of this process is that during the combustion of hydrogen gas and air, pure water is created that is recovered via special heat exchangers (coolers) and is reused as process water in the production process and as drinking water. No distillation has to take place from seawater to freshwater first to make this process possible. This saves costs and energy. 7. Depending on the need, this process is characterized by the possibility of switching randomly in the electrolysis vessel to also oxygen production in addition to the production of hydrogen. The purity of the oxygen gas is more than 99%. Electrodes specially coated with magnesium oxide are used in the production of oxygen gas in the electrolysis vessel. This system is therefore so flexible that the production of oxygen gas can take place automatically depending on the need. 8. This process is also characterized by the fact that, depending on the need, there is the possibility of producing calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide in small quantities as by-products. 9. The unique characteristic of this total process is that no fossil fuels are burned and that a cycle is created from seawater via hydrogen, sodium hypochlorite, water to seawater again. So all products and by-products are continuously recycled. 10. The special feature of this process is that all the main and by-products produced are produced in an environmentally-friendly manner without the emission of greenhouse gases and other chemical discharges into nature. 11. Another characteristic of this process is that all types of alternative energy sources can be used individually or in combination to produce hydrogen gas and to generate or produce electrical energy. It is always assumed that the cheapest alternative energy source will be used primarily. 12. This unique conceived process is arranged and combined in a special way, furthermore it is characterized that electrical energy is produced in an extremely clean way. No fossil fuels are used. 13. This unique and innovative process is also special in that a portion of produced hydrogen is stored in the form of high-pressure hydrogen gas, which can later be used at any time as fuel for the gas turbines to produce electrical energy in the event of no or not enough alternative energy is present. This process is characterized by a hydrogen gas storage capacity to generate 30 MW of electrical energy for 30 calendar days without any presence / availability of other alternative energy sources. 14. The characteristic feature of this innovative hydrogen gas storage process is that the hydrogen gas storage can be used to operate other types of combustion engines without greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen gas filling stations intended for automobiles could be introduced with the hydrogen gas from the storage tanks.