WO2009155703A1 - Systems and methods for obtaining thermally stable high-density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source - Google Patents

Systems and methods for obtaining thermally stable high-density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009155703A1
WO2009155703A1 PCT/CA2009/000881 CA2009000881W WO2009155703A1 WO 2009155703 A1 WO2009155703 A1 WO 2009155703A1 CA 2009000881 W CA2009000881 W CA 2009000881W WO 2009155703 A1 WO2009155703 A1 WO 2009155703A1
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Prior art keywords
oxygen
hydrogen
gaseous
liquid cryogenic
ocean
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PCT/CA2009/000881
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French (fr)
Inventor
Stéphane LABELLE
Original Assignee
Labelle Stephane
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Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from CA002635646A external-priority patent/CA2635646A1/en
Priority claimed from CA2659623A external-priority patent/CA2659623A1/en
Application filed by Labelle Stephane filed Critical Labelle Stephane
Publication of WO2009155703A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009155703A1/en

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0243—Start-up or control of the process; Details of the apparatus used; Details of the refrigerant compression system used
    • F25J1/0257—Construction and layout of liquefaction equipments, e.g. valves, machines
    • F25J1/0275—Construction and layout of liquefaction equipments, e.g. valves, machines adapted for special use of the liquefaction unit, e.g. portable or transportable devices
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25B1/00—Electrolytic production of inorganic compounds or non-metals
    • C25B1/01—Products
    • C25B1/02—Hydrogen or oxygen
    • C25B1/04—Hydrogen or oxygen by electrolysis of water
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
    • F01K—STEAM ENGINE PLANTS; STEAM ACCUMULATORS; ENGINE PLANTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ENGINES USING SPECIAL WORKING FLUIDS OR CYCLES
    • F01K13/00—General layout or general methods of operation of complete plants
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/0002—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the fluid to be liquefied
    • F25J1/0005—Light or noble gases
    • F25J1/001—Hydrogen
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/0002—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the fluid to be liquefied
    • F25J1/0012—Primary atmospheric gases, e.g. air
    • F25J1/0017—Oxygen
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/003—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the kind of cold generation within the liquefaction unit for compensating heat leaks and liquid production
    • F25J1/0032—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the kind of cold generation within the liquefaction unit for compensating heat leaks and liquid production using the feed stream itself or separated fractions from it, i.e. "internal refrigeration"
    • F25J1/0035—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures characterised by the kind of cold generation within the liquefaction unit for compensating heat leaks and liquid production using the feed stream itself or separated fractions from it, i.e. "internal refrigeration" by gas expansion with extraction of work
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0203—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using a single-component refrigerant [SCR] fluid in a closed vapor compression cycle
    • F25J1/0204—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using a single-component refrigerant [SCR] fluid in a closed vapor compression cycle as a single flow SCR cycle
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0203—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using a single-component refrigerant [SCR] fluid in a closed vapor compression cycle
    • F25J1/0205—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using a single-component refrigerant [SCR] fluid in a closed vapor compression cycle as a dual level SCR refrigeration cascade
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0221—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using the cold stored in an external cryogenic component in an open refrigeration loop
    • F25J1/0222—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using the cold stored in an external cryogenic component in an open refrigeration loop in combination with an intermediate heat exchange fluid between the cryogenic component and the fluid to be liquefied
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0225—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using other external refrigeration means not provided before, e.g. heat driven absorption chillers
    • F25J1/0227—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process using other external refrigeration means not provided before, e.g. heat driven absorption chillers within a refrigeration cascade
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J1/00—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures
    • F25J1/02—Processes or apparatus for liquefying or solidifying gases or gaseous mixtures requiring the use of refrigeration, e.g. of helium or hydrogen ; Details and kind of the refrigeration system used; Integration with other units or processes; Controlling aspects of the process
    • F25J1/0228—Coupling of the liquefaction unit to other units or processes, so-called integrated processes
    • F25J1/0235—Heat exchange integration
    • F25J1/0236—Heat exchange integration providing refrigeration for different processes treating not the same feed stream
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2205/00—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means
    • F25J2205/86—Processes or apparatus using other separation and/or other processing means using electrical phenomena, e.g. Corona discharge, electrolysis or magnetic field
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2210/00—Processes characterised by the type or other details of the feed stream
    • F25J2210/50—Oxygen
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2230/00—Processes or apparatus involving steps for increasing the pressure of gaseous process streams
    • F25J2230/30—Compression of the feed stream
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2270/00—Refrigeration techniques used
    • F25J2270/90—External refrigeration, e.g. conventional closed-loop mechanical refrigeration unit using Freon or NH3, unspecified external refrigeration
    • F25J2270/908—External refrigeration, e.g. conventional closed-loop mechanical refrigeration unit using Freon or NH3, unspecified external refrigeration by regenerative chillers, i.e. oscillating or dynamic systems, e.g. Stirling refrigerator, thermoelectric ("Peltier") or magnetic refrigeration
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
    • F25J—LIQUEFACTION, SOLIDIFICATION OR SEPARATION OF GASES OR GASEOUS OR LIQUEFIED GASEOUS MIXTURES BY PRESSURE AND COLD TREATMENT OR BY BRINGING THEM INTO THE SUPERCRITICAL STATE
    • F25J2280/00—Control of the process or apparatus
    • F25J2280/30—Control of a discontinuous or intermittent ("batch") process
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
    • Y02E60/36—Hydrogen production from non-carbon containing sources, e.g. by water electrolysis

Definitions

  • the present invention relates cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen.
  • the present invention relates to systems and methods for producing, stocking and thermally stabilizing high density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen obtained from an ocean source.
  • a drawback of hydrogen is that its pressure makes it very dangerous to handle, therefore it is not easy to stock in large amounts for safe and easy use.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen.
  • an apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source comprising:
  • a hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly for producing gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen via electrolysis from a water source
  • first and second bottom reservoirs for being positioned proximal the ocean floor and being in fluid communication with hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly so that at least one of the first and second bottom reservoirs receives gaseous hydrogen therefrom and that the other of the first and second bottom reservoirs receives gaseous oxygen therefrom;
  • a thermal transferring circuit in fluid communication with the first and second bottom reservoirs; and [0012] first and second top reservoirs proximal the ocean surface and in fluid communication with the thermal transferring circuit,
  • a method for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source comprising:
  • an apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen comprising:
  • a hydrogen reservoir for containing liquid cryogenic hydrogen therein
  • an oxygen reservoir for containing liquid cryogenic oxygen therein;
  • thermal energy is transferred from the liquid cryogenic hydrogen to the liquid cryogenic oxygen via the heat exchanger.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with a non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 4 is aschematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen in accordance with a non- restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 7 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention.
  • ocean water is used to produce pure hydrogen and oxygen gases via purification, desalination and electrolysis steps. Theses gases have a high pressure and as such they are maintained within reservoirs at the bottom of the ocean which acts against their pressure. In this way, inexpensive reservoirs can be used.
  • the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen flow through an upward circuit that dissipates their thermal energy within the ocean via heat exchanging steps until liquid, high density, cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are obtained.
  • the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are maintained within reservoirs near the ocean surface so as to be recuperated by a vessel.
  • the vessel includes a thermal stabilizing system for substantially maintaining the temperature of the liquid hydrogen and oxygen constant during transporation. This thermal stabilizing system also provides for generating and storing electricity as well as pure water for later use.
  • Figure 1 shows an apparatus 10 for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from the ocean 12.
  • the apparatus 10 includes a H 2 /O 2 producing assembly 14 as well as a H 2 /O 2 stocking assembly 16.
  • the electrolysis of ocean water provides for producing hydrogen and oxygen.
  • the H2/O2 producing assembly 14 can harness thermal energy from the bottom of the ocean 12 in order to provide for the electrolysis of water so as to be separated into oxygen and hydrogen. Electrolysis is best achieved at high temperatures and high pressures. These conditions can be found for example at the outlets of black smokers or sea vents which are a type of hydrothermal vents found on the ocean floor. Appropriate thermal energy is also be achieved by using solar collectors in the desert for example. Of course a variety of methods for the electrolysis of water can be contemplated within the art.
  • electrolysis is performed outside the ocean, in another water source such as a river, a lake and the like.
  • water electrolythe skilled artisan can easily contemplate performing water electrolysis on land and then transferring the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen to the bottom of the ocean for stocking thereof.
  • Containers A and B are in fluid communication with cylinders 20 and 24 respectively via conduits 18 and 22 respectively.
  • a pair of reservoirs in the form of cylinders 20 and 24 form part of the hydrogen and oxygen stocking assembly 16 and are positioned near the ocean floor. In this way the ocean provides enough pressure to contain the hydrogen and oxygen while using smaller containers as will be more clearly described below.
  • the cylinders 20 and 24 include bottom perforations or openings
  • Floating pistons 28 having a density lesser than that of water, and separate the water from the H 2 and O 2 gasses in cylinders 20 and 24 respectively. As such, the pressure between the gas (H 2 or O 2 ) and the ocean water is balanced within each cylinder 20 and 24. The pistons 28 also avoid from the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from dissolving in the ocean water 12.
  • a sensor (not shown) operates a valve to close the opening 26.
  • a thermal transferring circuit in the form of a geothermic system 17 comprising an oxygen heat exchanging assembly 19 is provided having multiple cooling stages providing the oxygen to dissipate its heat and depressurize within the ocean in a continuous fashion as the oxygen rises from the deep of the ocean, within the system 17, towards the ocean surface as it is transformed from its gaseous phase into its liquid phase.
  • the upper chamber 32 of the cylinder 24 contains oxygen and is in a fluid communication, via a conduit 34, with a flow regulator 36.
  • the flow regulator 36 includes a motor 38 for controlling a turbine 40 which causes a pressure differential thereby allowing the oxygen within chamber 32 to flow upwards into the conduit 34 and through a conduit 42 which forms part of a heat exchanger 44.
  • the heat exchanger 44 includes a conduit 46, that forms part of another heat exchanging system 47, and that interfaces with the conduit 42.
  • a refrigerant is in-fed into the conduit 46 via an in-feed conduit 48 and is out-fed therefrom via a conduit 50.
  • the flow of refrigerant is controlled by a pump 52.
  • the heat exchanging system 47 is a thermoelectric system. Therefore the oxygen flowing out of the conduit 42 is substantially cooled down and flows into a short conduit 54 leading to a heat exchanging assembly 56.
  • the heating exchanger assembly 56 includes a first, second and third refrigerant circuit 56A, 56B and 56C respectively. Refrigerant is separately circulated within circuits 56A, 56B and 56C via pumps 58A, 58B and 58C respectively.
  • the heating exchanger assembly provides a compounded cooling effect, the result of which acts on the oxygen coming out of the short conduit 54.
  • the ocean water 12 cools down the refrigerant in the first circuit 56A.
  • the refrigerant in the first circuit 56A cools down the refrigerant in the second circuit 56B which cools down the refrigerant in the third circuit 56C which then provides for drastically cooling down oxygen.
  • the first circuit 56A includes first and second conduits 60 and 62 respectively.
  • the first conduit 60 is interfaced with the ambient ocean 12 thereby cooling the refrigerant therein and the second conduit 62 is interfaced with the first conduit 64 of the second circuit 56B in order to cool the refrigerant therein.
  • the second conduit 66 of circuit 56B is interfaced with the first conduit 68 of the third circuit 56C.
  • the second conduit 68 circuit 56C interfaces with a conduit 70, within heat exchanger 72, having received oxygen from the short conduit 54 thereby is liquefying this oxygen before it flows through a final conduit 74 into the reservoir 30 at a temperature between about 7OK and 155K and at a pressure between about 0,001 MPa and 50 MPa. Therefore extremely cold and low pressure, high denisty oxygen in liquid form is obtained.
  • oxygen can also flow in the opposite direction from its liquefied state within the reservoir 30 towards the cylinder 24 and thereby be reheated into its gaseous state.
  • This opposite flow of oxygen is provided by a pressure regulator 76 that is in communication with conduit 74. More specifically, the pressure regulator 76 includes a turbine 78 which is in fluid communication with the conduit 74 and 70 and is controlled by a motor 80.
  • a thermal transferring circuit in the form of a geothermic system 17 comprising a hydrogen heat exchanging assembly 85 is provided having multiple cooling stages providing the hydrogen to dissipate its heat and depressurize within the ocean in a continuous fashion as the hydrogen rises from the deep of the ocean, within the system 17, towards the ocean surface as it is transformed from its gaseous phase into its liquid phase.
  • Hydrogen within chamber 82 flows upward directly into a heat exchanger 86 via a conduit 88.
  • the heat exchanger 86 includes a refrigerant circuit
  • conduit 90 having a first conduit 92 interfacing with the ambient ocean 12 and a second conduit 94 interfacing with a conduit 96 that receives hydrogen from conduit 88.
  • the flow of refrigerant within the circuit 90 is controlled by a pump 97.
  • Hydrogen within conduit 96 is cooled down by the refrigerant within conduit the hydrogen then flows into a short conduit 98 leading to a second conduit 100 within a heat exchanger 102.
  • the heat exchanger 102 includes a conduit 104 which forms part of the previous heat exchanging system 47 described above. Hydrogen is thereby liquefied and flows into conduit 105 leading to the reservoir 84.
  • the flow of hydrogen is controlled by a pressure regulator 106 including a turbine 108 in fluid communication with the conduit 104 and being controlled by a motor 110.
  • the turbine 108 provides for pressure differentials which cause the hydrogen to flow in one direction or another.
  • liquid oxygen is provided to flow downwardly, by the action of the flow regulator 76 towards the heat exchanger 44.
  • the liquid oxygen will cool the refrigerant within the circuit 48 thereby cooling down the rising hydrogen in conduit 100. This is convenient since a greater amount of hydrogen is required than oxygen.
  • oxygen can be kept within the reservoir 30 for a longer time period due to its thermal inertia. As such, it is advantageous to produce liquid cryogenic hydrogen only when recuperating oxygen.
  • the hydrogen and oxygen will be recuperated via conduits I and Il respectively, leading to mobile reservoirs 202 and 204 on a water vessel 112.
  • the liquid, high density, cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are kept thermally stable during transportation by a thermal stabilizing system which will be described further below.
  • FIGs 2 to 5 show alternative embodiments of the system described above. As such only the differences between these embodiments and the initial embodiment shown in Figure 1 will be described for convenience purposes only.
  • FIG. 2 shows that the stocking assembly 16 includes an alternative thermal transferring circuit 17' including a secondary heat exchanging system 114 between hydrogen and oxygen.
  • a secondary heat exchanging system 114 between hydrogen and oxygen.
  • the conduit 118 which forms part of the circuit 113 and interfaces with conduit 42' removes heat from the rising gaseous oxygen.
  • the circuit 113 is a thermoelectric system.
  • conduit 100 which interfaces with conduit 120, which forms part of the circuit 113.
  • liquid oxygen descends from reservoir 30 into conduit 42'.
  • heat is transferred from gases hydrogen in conduit 100' to liquid oxygen in conduit 42'.
  • the same step is repeated with respect to conduits 100 and 42. The foregoing causes hydrogen to liquefy and oxygen to evaporate.
  • Figure 3 shows that the stocking assembly 16 includes an alternative geothermic system 17" including a heat exchanging assembly 122 between the hydrogen and oxygen pathways.
  • the heat exchanging assembly 122 includes a first heat exchanger 123 for interfacing the conduit 42 with the conduit 124, the later being a portion of a thermo-pump circuit 126 including a pump 128 and a refrigerant. Therefore, when gaseous 02 rises in conduit 42 it is cooled down by the refrigerant in conduit 124 and when it liquid 02 descends in conduit 42 it cools down the refrigerant in conduit 124.
  • the conduit 132 of the circuit 126 interfaces with conduit 134 of a thermo-electric circuit 136.
  • the thermoelectric circuit 136 can either transfer heat to the refrigerant in circuit 126 or remove heat therefrom depending on the desired result.
  • a third heat exchanger 138 interfaces with the conduit 140 of the thermo-electric circuit 136 with the conduit 100 including hydrogen for transferring heat therefrom.
  • FIG. 4 shows that the cylinders 20 and 24 are in fluid communication via their openings 26 with conduits 150 and 152 respectively. These conduits 150 and 152 are fed with water 13 via reservoirs 160 and 162 respectively. In this way the water pressure within the bottom chambers 33 and 83 of the cylinders 24 and 20, respectively, can be more easily controlled. Furthermore, the foregoing is practical when the ocean water 12 includes a large of amount of matter (fish, shells, seaweed etc.) that can damage the cylinder 20 and 24. Thus the water 13 which can be still ocean water is pre-filtered removing damaging debris and the like.
  • hydrogen and oxygen can move upwardly and downwardly within the hydrogen heat exchanging assembly 85 and the oxygen heat exchanging assembly 19 so as to liquefy or evaporate.
  • the assemblies 85 and 19 of the thermal transferring circuit 17 can interface at different points within the circuit 17 for transferring heat therebetween.
  • FIG 6 there is shown a stabilizing system 200 for cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
  • the system 200 includes two reservoirs 202 and 204, respectively, containing liquid, high density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen.
  • a thermo electric heat transferring apparatus 206 is in communication with the reservoirs 202 and 204 in order to transfer heat from the hydrogen to oxygen, since as mentioned above, oxygen has greater thermal inertia and therefore, will be less affected by increases in heat. In contrast, hydrogen will heat up faster and therefore this heat must be dissipated.
  • a pressure regulator 208 is positioned within the reservoir 202 in order to decrease the pressure therein causing a molecular expansion of the hydrogen which leads to the evaporation of the liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen at a slightly lower temperature.
  • the gaseous hydrogen flows into a conduit 210 and through a thermoelectric heat exchanger 212.
  • This thermoelectric heat exchanger 212 provides for transferring heat from the liquid cryogenic hydrogen to the gaseous hydrogen in conduit 210 thereby increasing the temperature of the gaseous hydrogen and maintaining the liquid hydrogen temperature substantially constant.
  • the gaseous hydrogen exits the heat exchanger 212 and flows into a conduit 214 leading to a compressor 216 which pressurizes the gaseous hydrogen.
  • a pressure regulator 216 positioned therein decreases the pressure causing the liquid cryogenic oxygen to evaporate into its gaseous state at a slightly lower temperature.
  • the gaseous oxygen flows into a conduit 218 and through a heat exchanger 220 which transfers heat from the liquid cryogenic oxygen to the conduit 218 in order to stabilize the temperature of the liquid cryogenic oxygen and increase the temperature of the gaseous oxygen.
  • the gaseous oxygen flows into a conduit 222 to be lead to a compressor 226 to be pressurized.
  • the pressurized hydrogen and oxygen respectively flow out of compressors 216 and 226 and into respective conduits 228 and 230 which are passed through a heat exchanger 232 interfacing the conduits 228 and 230 with a conduit 234 containing high temperature gaseous H 2 O.
  • the heated hydrogen and oxygen then flow into a motor 236 where they are mixed in order to provide combustion thereby causing the motor 236 to actuate a rotatable shaft 238 which, in turn, actuates both the compressors 216 and 226 as well as an electrical generator 240 thereby producing electricity which is stored into a battery a battery 242 via wiring 244 or for producing mechanical energy for propulsion of the vessel 112.
  • the pure gaseous H 2 O flows out of the motor 236 and into a conduit 245 so as to be lead to turbine 246, thereby causing the turbine 246 to add additional mechanical action on the shaft 238 in order to increase the rotational performance thereof.
  • Conduit 234 is interfaced with conduits 228 and 230 so as to provide the pressurized gases with thermal energy as described above.
  • the H 2 O dissipates its heat and is liquefied as it flows into a conduit 250 to be emptied in reservoir (not shown) for later use.
  • the by-product of the present system is pure liquid water. If the temperature of the gaseous H 2 O in conduit 248 is too high, it is possible that it causes the hydrogen and oxygen of conduits 228 and 230 to auto-ignite inside the combustion chamber of the motro 236. As such, a valve 252 will cause the gaseous H 2 O to bypass conduit 234 and enter an auxiliary conduit 254.
  • Figure 7 shows the same system 200 as described in Figure 6 with the exception that an additional heat exchanging device 260 is provided. More particularly, the gaseous hydrogen that flows out of the heat exchanger 212 enters conduit 262 which leads to device 260 which is in heat-transferring communication with the reservoir 204. As such, heat is transferred from the liquid oxygen in reservoir 204 to the gaseous hydrogen which then flows into conduit 264 leading to compressor 216.
  • the compressors, motor and turbines above can also include for example, the internal combustion engine disclosed in United States Paten Number 6,739,307.
  • suitable compressors, motors and turbines can be used within the context of the present disclosure.

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Abstract

An apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source is provided. The apparatus includes a hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly for producing gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen. First and second bottom reservoirs are positioned proximal the ocean floor for stocking the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen produced. A thermal transferring circuit is in fluid communication with the first and second bottom reservoirs. First and second top reservoirs proximal the ocean surface are in fluid communication with the thermal transferring circuit. When gaseous hydrogen and oxygen flow through the thermal transferring circuit, the thermal energy thereof is so dissipated as to provide liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen. The first and second top reservoirs stock the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen. A method for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source is also disclosed. An apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen is also provided.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OBTAINING THERMALLY STABLE HIGH-DENSITY CRYOGENIC HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN FROM AN OCEAN SOURCE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen.
More specifically, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to systems and methods for producing, stocking and thermally stabilizing high density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen obtained from an ocean source.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Current climate change has made it ecologically urgent to find alternatives to fossil fuels. One such alternative is the use of hydrogen as a fuel and oxygen as an oxidant. Hydrogen has many uses as an energy source, it is both abundant and non-polluting and as such is an attractive alternative to fossil fuels
[0003] A drawback of hydrogen is that its pressure makes it very dangerous to handle, therefore it is not easy to stock in large amounts for safe and easy use.
[0004] There thus remains a need for obtaining large amounts of hydrogen, in a safe and efficient manner for use as an energy source. OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source.
[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source.
[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source, the apparatus comprising:
[0009] a hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly for producing gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen via electrolysis from a water source;
[0010] first and second bottom reservoirs for being positioned proximal the ocean floor and being in fluid communication with hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly so that at least one of the first and second bottom reservoirs receives gaseous hydrogen therefrom and that the other of the first and second bottom reservoirs receives gaseous oxygen therefrom;
[0011] a thermal transferring circuit in fluid communication with the first and second bottom reservoirs; and [0012] first and second top reservoirs proximal the ocean surface and in fluid communication with the thermal transferring circuit,
[0013] wherein when gaseous hydrogen and oxygen flow through the thermal transferring circuit, the thermal energy thereof is so dissipated as to provide liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen, one of the first and second top reservoirs providing for stocking the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and the other of the first and second top reservoirs providing for stocking the liquid cryogenic oxygen.
[0014] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source, the method comprising:
[0015] producing gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen from a water source;
[0016] stocking the gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen in the ocean proximal the ocean floor;
[0017] dissipating the thermal energy of the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen through a thermal transferring circuit in the ocean so as to provide liquid cryogenic hydrogen and liquid cryogenic oxygen; and
[0018] stocking the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and liquid cryogenic oxygen in the ocean proximal the ocean surface.
[0019] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen comprising:
[0020] a hydrogen reservoir for containing liquid cryogenic hydrogen therein;
[0021] an oxygen reservoir for containing liquid cryogenic oxygen therein; and
[0022] a heat exchanger in thermal communication with the hydrogen reservoir and the oxygen reservoir,
[0023] wherein thermal energy is transferred from the liquid cryogenic hydrogen to the liquid cryogenic oxygen via the heat exchanger.
[0024] Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of non-limiting illustrative embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] In the appended drawings, where like reference numerals denote like elements throughout and in where:
[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with a non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention; [0027] Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] Figure 4 is aschematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
[0030] Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
[0031] Figure 6 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen in accordance with a non- restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] Figure 7 is a schematic representation of the apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen in accordance with another non-restrictive illustrative embodiment of the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0033] Generally stated and in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, ocean water is used to produce pure hydrogen and oxygen gases via purification, desalination and electrolysis steps. Theses gases have a high pressure and as such they are maintained within reservoirs at the bottom of the ocean which acts against their pressure. In this way, inexpensive reservoirs can be used. The gaseous hydrogen and oxygen flow through an upward circuit that dissipates their thermal energy within the ocean via heat exchanging steps until liquid, high density, cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are obtained. The liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are maintained within reservoirs near the ocean surface so as to be recuperated by a vessel. The vessel includes a thermal stabilizing system for substantially maintaining the temperature of the liquid hydrogen and oxygen constant during transporation. This thermal stabilizing system also provides for generating and storing electricity as well as pure water for later use.
[0034] Figure 1 shows an apparatus 10 for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from the ocean 12. The apparatus 10 includes a H2/O2 producing assembly 14 as well as a H2/O2 stocking assembly 16.
[0035] Electrolysis of water
[0036] The electrolysis of ocean water provides for producing hydrogen and oxygen. The H2/O2 producing assembly 14 can harness thermal energy from the bottom of the ocean 12 in order to provide for the electrolysis of water so as to be separated into oxygen and hydrogen. Electrolysis is best achieved at high temperatures and high pressures. These conditions can be found for example at the outlets of black smokers or sea vents which are a type of hydrothermal vents found on the ocean floor. Appropriate thermal energy is also be achieved by using solar collectors in the desert for example. Of course a variety of methods for the electrolysis of water can be contemplated within the art.
[0037] In effect, water is purified, desalinated and electrolyzed and its hydrogen and oxygen components are separated into two containers A and B respectively. Electrolysis within the ocean water provides for obtaining high pressure hydrogen and oxygen.
[0038] In another embodiment, electrolysis is performed outside the ocean, in another water source such as a river, a lake and the like, In fact, water electrolythe skilled artisan can easily contemplate performing water electrolysis on land and then transferring the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen to the bottom of the ocean for stocking thereof.
[0039] Liquefying and stocking H^and O?
[0040] Containers A and B are in fluid communication with cylinders 20 and 24 respectively via conduits 18 and 22 respectively.
[0041] A pair of reservoirs in the form of cylinders 20 and 24 form part of the hydrogen and oxygen stocking assembly 16 and are positioned near the ocean floor. In this way the ocean provides enough pressure to contain the hydrogen and oxygen while using smaller containers as will be more clearly described below.
[0042] The cylinders 20 and 24 include bottom perforations or openings
26 in order to receive ambient water therein. Floating pistons 28, having a density lesser than that of water, and separate the water from the H2 and O2 gasses in cylinders 20 and 24 respectively. As such, the pressure between the gas (H2 or O2) and the ocean water is balanced within each cylinder 20 and 24. The pistons 28 also avoid from the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from dissolving in the ocean water 12. When the cylinders 20 and 24 are full, a sensor (not shown) operates a valve to close the opening 26. [0043] The foregoing balancing between gas and water pressure provides for minimizing the pressure differential between the internal pressure of the cylinders 20 and 24 and the pressure of the ambient ocean water. As such, there is no need for large reservoirs having thick protective layers in order to withstand the internal gaseous pressure.
[0044] Liquefied cryogenic oxygen is stocked near the ocean surface within a reservoir 30. The oxygen circuit will now be described.
[0045] In general, a thermal transferring circuit in the form of a geothermic system 17 comprising an oxygen heat exchanging assembly 19 is provided having multiple cooling stages providing the oxygen to dissipate its heat and depressurize within the ocean in a continuous fashion as the oxygen rises from the deep of the ocean, within the system 17, towards the ocean surface as it is transformed from its gaseous phase into its liquid phase.
[0046] More specifically, the upper chamber 32 of the cylinder 24 contains oxygen and is in a fluid communication, via a conduit 34, with a flow regulator 36. The flow regulator 36 includes a motor 38 for controlling a turbine 40 which causes a pressure differential thereby allowing the oxygen within chamber 32 to flow upwards into the conduit 34 and through a conduit 42 which forms part of a heat exchanger 44.
[0047] The heat exchanger 44 includes a conduit 46, that forms part of another heat exchanging system 47, and that interfaces with the conduit 42. A refrigerant is in-fed into the conduit 46 via an in-feed conduit 48 and is out-fed therefrom via a conduit 50. The flow of refrigerant is controlled by a pump 52. Alternatively, the heat exchanging system 47 is a thermoelectric system. Therefore the oxygen flowing out of the conduit 42 is substantially cooled down and flows into a short conduit 54 leading to a heat exchanging assembly 56.
[0048] Alternatively, there is no cooling down of the gaseous oxygen until it reaches the heating exchanging assembly 56.
[0049] The heating exchanger assembly 56 includes a first, second and third refrigerant circuit 56A, 56B and 56C respectively. Refrigerant is separately circulated within circuits 56A, 56B and 56C via pumps 58A, 58B and 58C respectively. The heating exchanger assembly provides a compounded cooling effect, the result of which acts on the oxygen coming out of the short conduit 54.
More particularly, the ocean water 12 cools down the refrigerant in the first circuit 56A. The refrigerant in the first circuit 56A cools down the refrigerant in the second circuit 56B which cools down the refrigerant in the third circuit 56C which then provides for drastically cooling down oxygen.
[0050] More specifically, the first circuit 56A includes first and second conduits 60 and 62 respectively. The first conduit 60 is interfaced with the ambient ocean 12 thereby cooling the refrigerant therein and the second conduit 62 is interfaced with the first conduit 64 of the second circuit 56B in order to cool the refrigerant therein. The second conduit 66 of circuit 56B is interfaced with the first conduit 68 of the third circuit 56C. The second conduit 68 circuit 56C interfaces with a conduit 70, within heat exchanger 72, having received oxygen from the short conduit 54 thereby is liquefying this oxygen before it flows through a final conduit 74 into the reservoir 30 at a temperature between about 7OK and 155K and at a pressure between about 0,001 MPa and 50 MPa. Therefore extremely cold and low pressure, high denisty oxygen in liquid form is obtained.
[0051] It should be noted that oxygen can also flow in the opposite direction from its liquefied state within the reservoir 30 towards the cylinder 24 and thereby be reheated into its gaseous state. This opposite flow of oxygen is provided by a pressure regulator 76 that is in communication with conduit 74. More specifically, the pressure regulator 76 includes a turbine 78 which is in fluid communication with the conduit 74 and 70 and is controlled by a motor 80.
[0052] Gaseous hydrogen within the top chamber 82 of cylinder 20 flows upward into a reservoir 84 which contains liquefied hydrogen. The flow of hydrogen will now be described.
[0053] In general, a thermal transferring circuit in the form of a geothermic system 17 comprising a hydrogen heat exchanging assembly 85 is provided having multiple cooling stages providing the hydrogen to dissipate its heat and depressurize within the ocean in a continuous fashion as the hydrogen rises from the deep of the ocean, within the system 17, towards the ocean surface as it is transformed from its gaseous phase into its liquid phase.
[0054] Hydrogen within chamber 82 flows upward directly into a heat exchanger 86 via a conduit 88. The heat exchanger 86 includes a refrigerant circuit
90 having a first conduit 92 interfacing with the ambient ocean 12 and a second conduit 94 interfacing with a conduit 96 that receives hydrogen from conduit 88. The flow of refrigerant within the circuit 90 is controlled by a pump 97. Hydrogen within conduit 96 is cooled down by the refrigerant within conduit the hydrogen then flows into a short conduit 98 leading to a second conduit 100 within a heat exchanger 102.
The heat exchanger 102 includes a conduit 104 which forms part of the previous heat exchanging system 47 described above. Hydrogen is thereby liquefied and flows into conduit 105 leading to the reservoir 84. The flow of hydrogen is controlled by a pressure regulator 106 including a turbine 108 in fluid communication with the conduit 104 and being controlled by a motor 110. The turbine 108 provides for pressure differentials which cause the hydrogen to flow in one direction or another. [0055] In this way, liquid, high density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are stored within reservoirs 84 and 30 respectively having been obtained from the initial reservoirs A and B.
[0056] When recuperating oxygen from the reservoir 30, liquid oxygen is provided to flow downwardly, by the action of the flow regulator 76 towards the heat exchanger 44. The liquid oxygen will cool the refrigerant within the circuit 48 thereby cooling down the rising hydrogen in conduit 100. This is convenient since a greater amount of hydrogen is required than oxygen.
[0057] Furthermore, oxygen can be kept within the reservoir 30 for a longer time period due to its thermal inertia. As such, it is advantageous to produce liquid cryogenic hydrogen only when recuperating oxygen.
[0058] The hydrogen and oxygen will be recuperated via conduits I and Il respectively, leading to mobile reservoirs 202 and 204 on a water vessel 112. The liquid, high density, cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen are kept thermally stable during transportation by a thermal stabilizing system which will be described further below.
[0059] Figures 2 to 5 show alternative embodiments of the system described above. As such only the differences between these embodiments and the initial embodiment shown in Figure 1 will be described for convenience purposes only.
[0060] Figure 2 shows that the stocking assembly 16 includes an alternative thermal transferring circuit 17' including a secondary heat exchanging system 114 between hydrogen and oxygen. [0061] Turning to the oxygen side of the system 114 cooled down oxygen flows from conduit 42 into conduit 42' to be cooled down even further by the refrigerant in the circuit 113 the flow of which is controlled by the pump 116. As such, the conduit 118 which forms part of the circuit 113 and interfaces with conduit 42' removes heat from the rising gaseous oxygen. Alternatively the circuit 113 is a thermoelectric system.
[0062] It can be provided that downward flow of cryogenic hydrogen from the reservoir 84 to the reservoir 20 provides for removing heat from the rising gaseous oxygen.
[0063] Alternatively, there is no dissipation of heat until the gaseous oxygen reaches the heat exchanging assembly 56.
[0064] Turning now to the hydrogen side of the heat exchanging system
114, hydrogen flows out of conduit 100 and into conduit 100' which interfaces with conduit 120, which forms part of the circuit 113. During this step, liquid oxygen descends from reservoir 30 into conduit 42'. As such heat is transferred from gases hydrogen in conduit 100' to liquid oxygen in conduit 42'. The same step is repeated with respect to conduits 100 and 42. The foregoing causes hydrogen to liquefy and oxygen to evaporate.
[0065] Figure 3 shows that the stocking assembly 16 includes an alternative geothermic system 17" including a heat exchanging assembly 122 between the hydrogen and oxygen pathways.
[0066] More particularly, the heat exchanging assembly 122 includes a first heat exchanger 123 for interfacing the conduit 42 with the conduit 124, the later being a portion of a thermo-pump circuit 126 including a pump 128 and a refrigerant. Therefore, when gaseous 02 rises in conduit 42 it is cooled down by the refrigerant in conduit 124 and when it liquid 02 descends in conduit 42 it cools down the refrigerant in conduit 124. In a second heat exchanger 130, the conduit 132 of the circuit 126 interfaces with conduit 134 of a thermo-electric circuit 136. The thermoelectric circuit 136 can either transfer heat to the refrigerant in circuit 126 or remove heat therefrom depending on the desired result. A third heat exchanger 138 interfaces with the conduit 140 of the thermo-electric circuit 136 with the conduit 100 including hydrogen for transferring heat therefrom.
[0067] Figure 4 shows that the cylinders 20 and 24 are in fluid communication via their openings 26 with conduits 150 and 152 respectively. These conduits 150 and 152 are fed with water 13 via reservoirs 160 and 162 respectively. In this way the water pressure within the bottom chambers 33 and 83 of the cylinders 24 and 20, respectively, can be more easily controlled. Furthermore, the foregoing is practical when the ocean water 12 includes a large of amount of matter (fish, shells, seaweed etc.) that can damage the cylinder 20 and 24. Thus the water 13 which can be still ocean water is pre-filtered removing damaging debris and the like.
[0068] In yet another embodiment showed in Figure 5, the cylinders 20 and 24 are replaced by reservoirs 164 and 166 respectively. Of course these types of reservoirs are built to withstand the pressure of the ambient ocean water as is known in the art. Furthermore, the pressure within these reservoirs is contained by the water pressure since they are placed proximal the ocean floor.
[0069] Therefore, hydrogen and oxygen can move upwardly and downwardly within the hydrogen heat exchanging assembly 85 and the oxygen heat exchanging assembly 19 so as to liquefy or evaporate. The assemblies 85 and 19 of the thermal transferring circuit 17 can interface at different points within the circuit 17 for transferring heat therebetween.
[0070] Thermally Stabilizing and Transporting H^and Q?
[0071] Turning now to figure 6, there is shown a stabilizing system 200 for cryogenic liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
[0072] The system 200 includes two reservoirs 202 and 204, respectively, containing liquid, high density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen. A thermo electric heat transferring apparatus 206 is in communication with the reservoirs 202 and 204 in order to transfer heat from the hydrogen to oxygen, since as mentioned above, oxygen has greater thermal inertia and therefore, will be less affected by increases in heat. In contrast, hydrogen will heat up faster and therefore this heat must be dissipated.
[0073] A pressure regulator 208 is positioned within the reservoir 202 in order to decrease the pressure therein causing a molecular expansion of the hydrogen which leads to the evaporation of the liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen at a slightly lower temperature. The gaseous hydrogen flows into a conduit 210 and through a thermoelectric heat exchanger 212. This thermoelectric heat exchanger 212 provides for transferring heat from the liquid cryogenic hydrogen to the gaseous hydrogen in conduit 210 thereby increasing the temperature of the gaseous hydrogen and maintaining the liquid hydrogen temperature substantially constant. The gaseous hydrogen exits the heat exchanger 212 and flows into a conduit 214 leading to a compressor 216 which pressurizes the gaseous hydrogen.
[0074] Turning now to the reservoir 204, a pressure regulator 216 positioned therein decreases the pressure causing the liquid cryogenic oxygen to evaporate into its gaseous state at a slightly lower temperature. The gaseous oxygen flows into a conduit 218 and through a heat exchanger 220 which transfers heat from the liquid cryogenic oxygen to the conduit 218 in order to stabilize the temperature of the liquid cryogenic oxygen and increase the temperature of the gaseous oxygen. After the heat transfer step, the gaseous oxygen flows into a conduit 222 to be lead to a compressor 226 to be pressurized.
[0075] The pressurized hydrogen and oxygen respectively flow out of compressors 216 and 226 and into respective conduits 228 and 230 which are passed through a heat exchanger 232 interfacing the conduits 228 and 230 with a conduit 234 containing high temperature gaseous H2O. The heated hydrogen and oxygen then flow into a motor 236 where they are mixed in order to provide combustion thereby causing the motor 236 to actuate a rotatable shaft 238 which, in turn, actuates both the compressors 216 and 226 as well as an electrical generator 240 thereby producing electricity which is stored into a battery a battery 242 via wiring 244 or for producing mechanical energy for propulsion of the vessel 112.
[0076] The pure gaseous H2O flows out of the motor 236 and into a conduit 245 so as to be lead to turbine 246, thereby causing the turbine 246 to add additional mechanical action on the shaft 238 in order to increase the rotational performance thereof.
[0077] The gaseous H2O flows out of the turbine 246 and into a conduit
248 which leads to conduit 234 of the heat exchanger 232. Conduit 234 is interfaced with conduits 228 and 230 so as to provide the pressurized gases with thermal energy as described above. As such, the H2O dissipates its heat and is liquefied as it flows into a conduit 250 to be emptied in reservoir (not shown) for later use.
[0078] Therefore the by-product of the present system is pure liquid water. If the temperature of the gaseous H2O in conduit 248 is too high, it is possible that it causes the hydrogen and oxygen of conduits 228 and 230 to auto-ignite inside the combustion chamber of the motro 236. As such, a valve 252 will cause the gaseous H2O to bypass conduit 234 and enter an auxiliary conduit 254.
[0079] Figure 7 shows the same system 200 as described in Figure 6 with the exception that an additional heat exchanging device 260 is provided. More particularly, the gaseous hydrogen that flows out of the heat exchanger 212 enters conduit 262 which leads to device 260 which is in heat-transferring communication with the reservoir 204. As such, heat is transferred from the liquid oxygen in reservoir 204 to the gaseous hydrogen which then flows into conduit 264 leading to compressor 216.
[0080] The compressors, motor and turbines above can also include for example, the internal combustion engine disclosed in United States Paten Number 6,739,307. Of course, a variety of suitable compressors, motors and turbines can be used within the context of the present disclosure.
[0081] It should be noted that the various components and features of the embodiments described above can be combined in a variety of ways so as to provide other non-illustrated embodiments within the scope of the invention. As such, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described hereinabove. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced in various ways. It is also to be understood that the phraseology or terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not limitation. Hence, although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of embodiments thereof, it can be modified, without departing from the spirit, scope and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. An apparatus for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source, said apparatus comprising: a hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly for producing gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen via electrolysis from a water source; first and second bottom reservoirs for being positioned proximal the ocean floor and being in fluid communication with said hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly so that at least one of said first and second bottom reservoirs receives gaseous hydrogen therefrom and that the other of said first and second bottom reservoirs receives gaseous oxygen therefrom; a thermal transferring circuit in fluid communication with said first and second bottom reservoirs; and first and second top reservoirs proximal the ocean surface and in fluid communication with said thermal transferring circuit, wherein when gaseous hydrogen and oxygen flow through said thermal transferring circuit, the thermal energy thereof is so dissipated as to provide liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen, one of said first and second top reservoirs providing for stocking the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and the other of said first and second top reservoirs providing for stocking the liquid cryogenic oxygen.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said hydrogen and oxygen producing is positioned within the ocean and provides for purification, desalination and electrolysis of ocean water so as to produce the gaseous hydrogen and the gaseous oxygen.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of said first and second bottom reservoirs comprises a movable piston providing for separating said at least one bottom reservoir into top and bottom chambers, said top chamber being in fluid communication with said hydrogen and oxygen producing assembly for receiving gaseous hydrogen or gaseous oxygen therein, said bottom chamber comprising an opening for receiving ocean water therein, wherein the pressure of the gaseous hydrogen or gaseous oxygen acts against the pressure of the ocean water via the movable piston thereby providing a pressure within said at least one bottom reservoir that is substantially similar to the ambient ocean pressure.
4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said bottom chamber opening is in fluid communication with a water reservoir to receive water therefrom.
5. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein said bottom reservoirs are in the form of respective cylinders.
6. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said thermal transferring circuit comprises a hydrogen thermal exchange assembly and an oxygen thermal exchange assembly, said hydrogen thermal exchange assembly being in fluid communication with one of said first and second bottom reservoirs and with one of said first and second top reservoirs, said oxygen thermal exchange assembly being in fluid communication with the other of said first and second bottom reservoirs and with the other of said first and second top reservoirs.
7. An apparatus according to claim 6, where said hydrogen and said oxygen thermal exchange assemblies comprise a common heat exchange circuit for transferring heat between hydrogen and oxygen.
8. An apparatus according to any one of claims 6 or 7, wherein gaseous hydrogen flows upwardly from one of said bottom reservoirs through said hydrogen thermal exchange assembly so as to dissipate its heat and enter one of said top reservoirs in liquid cryogenic form.
9. An apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein gaseous oxygen flows upwardly from one of said bottom reservoirs through said oxygen thermal exchange assembly so as to dissipate its heat and enter one of said top reservoirs in liquid cryogenic form.
10. An apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein said thermal transferring circuit comprises a device selected from the group consisting of a thermoelectric circuit, a thermo-pump and a combination thereof.
11. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said first and top reservoirs provide for recuperating liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen therefrom.
12. A method for obtaining liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source, said method comprising: producing gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen from a water source; stocking the gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen in the ocean proximal the ocean floor; dissipating the thermal energy of the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen through a thermal transferring circuit in the ocean so as to provide liquid cryogenic hydrogen and liquid cryogenic oxygen; and stocking the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and liquid cryogenic oxygen in the ocean proximal the ocean surface.
13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising recuperating the liquid cryogenic hydrogen and the liquid cryogenic oxygen from the ocean.
14. An apparatus for thermally stabilizing liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen comprising: a hydrogen reservoir for containing liquid cryogenic hydrogen therein; an oxygen reservoir for containing liquid cryogenic oxygen therein; and a heat exchanger in thermal communication with said hydrogen reservoir and said oxygen reservoir, wherein thermal energy is transferred from the liquid cryogenic hydrogen to the liquid cryogenic oxygen via said heat exchanger.
15. An apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a motor and shaft assembly comprising a shaft mounted to a motor for actuation thereof.
16. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said motor and shaft assembly actuate a generator for producing electricity.
17. An apparatus according to any one of claims 15 or 16, wherein said hydrogen reservoir is in fluid communication with said motor and shaft assembly.
18. An apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said hydrogen reservoir comprises a pressure regulator to decrease the pressure therein so as to produce gaseous hydrogen from the liquid cryogenic hydrogen, a conduit provides for the gaseous hydrogen to flow to said motor and shaft assembly.
19. An apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising a heat exchanger between said conduit and said hydrogen reservoir so as to transfer heat from said liquid cryogenic oxygen to the gaseous hydrogen.
20. An apparatus according to any of claim 18 or 19, wherein said motor and shaft assembly comprises a compressor being mounted to said shaft for receiving and compressing the gaseous hydrogen.
21. An apparatus according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein said oxygen reservoir is in fluid communication with said motor and shaft assembly.
22. An apparatus according to claim 21 , wherein said oxygen reservoir comprises a pressure regulator to decrease the pressure therein so as to produce gaseous oxygen from the liquid cryogenic oxygen, a conduit provides for the gaseous oxygen to flow to said motor and shaft assembly.
23. An apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising a heat exchanger between said conduit and said oxygen reservoir so as to transfer heat from said liquid cryogenic oxygen to the gaseous oxygen.
24. An apparatus according to any of claims 22 or 23, wherein said motor and shaft assembly comprises a compressor being mounted to said shaft for receiving and compressing the gaseous oxygen.
25. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said hydrogen and oxygen reservoirs comprise respective pressure regulators for respectively decreasing the pressure therein so as to provide gaseous hydrogen and oxygen, said motor and shaft assembly comprising separate compressors mounted to said shaft for respectively receiving and pressurizing the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen, said motor being in fluid communication with said compressors for receiving and mixing the pressurized gaseous hydrogen and oxygen for combustion thereof thereby actuating said shaft.
26. An apparatus according to claim 25, wherein said shaft is mounted to a generator for producing electricity during actuation thereof.
27. An apparatus according to any one of claims 25 or 26, wherein said motor and shaft assembly further comprises a turbine mounted to said shaft and being in fluid communication with said motor so as to receive high temperature H2O for actuation thereof.
28. An apparatus according to any one of claims 25 to 27, wherein said motor and shaft assembly further comprises a heat exchanger in fluid communication with said motor so as to receive high temperature H2O for transferring thermal energy to the gaseous hydrogen and oxygen before they enter said motor.
29. An apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said heat exchanger is in fluid communication with a reservoir for recuperating the H2O.
30. An apparatus according to any one of claims 14 to 29, further comprising an additional heat exchanger in thermal communication with said hydrogen and oxygen reservoirs.
31. A vessel for transporting liquid cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen comprising the apparatus of any one of claims 14 to 29.
PCT/CA2009/000881 2008-06-26 2009-06-26 Systems and methods for obtaining thermally stable high-density cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen from an ocean source WO2009155703A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

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CA2,635,646 2008-06-26
CA002635646A CA2635646A1 (en) 2008-06-26 2008-06-26 Exploitation of seabed thermal energy
CA2,659,623 2009-03-27
CA2659623A CA2659623A1 (en) 2009-03-27 2009-03-27 Engine and fuel cells

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EP4001462A1 (en) * 2020-11-23 2022-05-25 Linde GmbH A liquid hydrogen product and method and system for producing a liquid oxygen product

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WO2008117284A1 (en) * 2007-03-25 2008-10-02 Pangu Technologies Inc. System for electrolysis under pressure

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JP2004210597A (en) * 2003-01-06 2004-07-29 Toshiba Corp Waste-heat-using hydrogen/oxygen system and method for producing liquid hydrogen
WO2008117284A1 (en) * 2007-03-25 2008-10-02 Pangu Technologies Inc. System for electrolysis under pressure

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2014028952A1 (en) * 2012-08-21 2014-02-27 Brus Thomas Deep sea store
EP4001462A1 (en) * 2020-11-23 2022-05-25 Linde GmbH A liquid hydrogen product and method and system for producing a liquid oxygen product

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