Hydrogen production method, hydrogen production apparatus, hydrogen supply facilities, nd method for generating electric power

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for producing hydrogen and a hydrogen production plant are provided. In the method, hydrogen production requiring high temperature is performed at low cost using energy of relatively low-temperature exhaust heat discharged form various types of heat processes, and the apparatus can readily start and suspend operation and whose running cost and equipment cost are reduced. These are achieved by a method for producing hydrogen and a hydrogen production apparatus and plant for realizing the method. The method includes the step of heating a fluid to turn into a high-pressure gas having a pressure at least five times as high as the internal pressure of the hydrogen production apparatus before reaction by heat exchange with a heat source; the step of instantaneously releasing the high-pressure gas into the hydrogen production apparatus to generate a shock wave; the step of feeding a raw material into the hydrogen production apparatus before the generation of the shock wave; and the step of impact-compressing the raw material by the shock wave to heat the raw material, thereby producing hydrogen.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a method for producing hydrogen and a hydrogen-containing fuel gas by subjecting a raw material, such as waste, to chemical reaction using a shock wave which is generated by instantaneously releasing a high-pressure gas prepared using relatively low-temperature waste heat energy discharged from various types of heat processes including waste incineration plants, and to an apparatus for producing hydrogen, a hydrogen supply plant, and a method for generating electric power by burning a hydrogen-containing gas. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In order to produce hydrogen by reforming a wasted raw material with steam, an environment-conscious method (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-272904, pp. 3-4, FIG. 1, hereinafter referred to as “prior art 1”) may be applied to the hydrogen production process, which uses a heating furnace-type, double tube-type steam reforming reactor partitioned wit...

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Benefits of technology

[0006] The present invention has been accomplished in order to overcome those disadvantages above. The object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for producing hydrogen and a hydrogen supply plant. The method, apparatus, and plant perform hydrogen production, which requires high temperature, at a low cost using relatively low-temperature waste heat energy discharged from various types of heat processes, and the hydrogen production apparatus is so easy to start and suspend the operation as to reduce running cost and facility cost. Specifically, the present invention provides the following:

Problems solved by technology

This produces not only the problem of consuming fuel inevitably, but also the problem of generating carbon dioxide due to the combustion of the fuel.

In addition, since the reactor must maintain a constantly high-temperature field, it is required that at least the internal wall of the reactor is formed of expensive fire-resistant material, and consequently there occurs a problem that the investment cost becomes higher.

Accordingly, there occurs a problem that a large amount of energy loss happens, when the equipment starts or suspends the operation.

And there occurs a problem that the running cost of the equipment becomes higher.

The time consuming also becomes bigger.

Thus, it is undesirably difficult to operate the system only when it is required to supply the hydrogen.

And it is undesirably difficult to produce the hydrogen in accordance with a required small scale production or in accordance with a required short time production.

In addition, since the temperature in the reactor is maintained high over a long period from the startup time to the suspension time, the apparatus is required to be constituted of a large amount of refractories, and consequently the investment cost becomes undesirably higher.

Also, since natural gas or propane gas is used as a raw material, the running cost that is spent on the apparatus increases.

Therefore, from the standing point of preventing global warming, the above-mentioned emission, which has been a worldwide problem in the recent years, is unfavorable.

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