Dual hydrogen production apparatus

a technology of hydrogen production apparatus and hydrogen gas, which is applied in the field of combination apparatus, can solve the problems of difficult to achieve the effect of proximate and easy to combin

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-12-07
FELDER MITCHELL S +2
View PDF44 Cites 20 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus wherein a bioreactor is readily combinable and proximate with secondary hydrogen production apparatus of varying types, the bioreactor utilizing heat or heat waste from the secondary hydrogen production apparatus with a heat exchanger bridge, wherein the hydrogen is not substantially converted to methane subsequent to production.

Problems solved by technology

Similarly, steam reforming is another expensive method requiring fossil fuels as an energy source.
Substantial and useful creation of hydrogen gas from microorganisms, however, is problematic.
The primary obstacle to sustained production of useful quantities of hydrogen by micro-organisms has been the eventual stoppage of hydrogen production generally coinciding with the appearance of methane.
As the appearance of methanogens in a biological system has previously been largely inevitable, continuous production of hydrogen from hydrogen producing micro-organisms has been unsuccessful in the past.
Indeed, at 2500° C., electrical input is unnecessary because water breaks down to hydrogen and oxygen through thermolysis.
As such temperatures are impractical, however; high temperature electrolyzers operate at about 100 to 1000° C. At higher temperature operating rates, lower levels of energy are required.
In either case, there is never a 100% efficient conversion of the water or steam to hydrogen, resulting in left over heated steam, water and / or oxygen.
However, as not all compounds are converted, this process also results in heat or excess heat in the form of several solutions or gasses of elevated temperatures at elevated temperatures.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Dual hydrogen production apparatus
  • Dual hydrogen production apparatus
  • Dual hydrogen production apparatus

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1

[0066] The apparatus combines a bioreactor with a high temperature electrolyzer. The organic feed material is a grape juice waste product diluted in tap water at approximately 32 mL of juice per liter. The solution uses chlorine-free tap water or is aerated previously for 24 hours to substantially remove chlorine. The dilution and aeration occur in a treatment container. The organic feed material is then conveyed into the heat exchanger 12 through a passage.

[0067] The organic feed material is heated in the heat exchanger 12 to about 65° C. for about 10 minutes to substantially deactivate methanogens. The organic feed material is heated with excess heat from the high temperature electrolyzer with a heat exchanger. The organic feed material is conveyed through a passage to the bioreactor wherein it is further inoculated with Kleibsiella oxytoca. The resultant biogases produced by the microorganisms metabolizing the organic feed material include hydrogen without any substantial methan...

example 2

[0068] A multiplicity of reactors were initially operated at pH 4.0 and a flow rate of 2.5 mL min−1, resulting in a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of about 13 h (0.55 d). This is equivalent to a dilution rate of 1.8 d−1. After one week all six reactors were at pH 4.0, the ORP ranged from −300 to −450 mV, total gas production averaged 1.6 L d−1 and hydrogen production averaged 0.8 L d−1. The mean COD of the organic feed material during this period was 4,000 mg L−1 and the mean effluent COD was 2,800 mg L−1, for a reduction of 30%. After one week, the pHs of certain reactors were increased by one half unit per day until the six reactors were established at different pH levels ranging from 4.0 to 6.5. Over the next three weeks at the new pH settings, samples were collected and analyzed each weekday. It was found that the optimum for gas production in this embodiment was pH 5.0 at 1.48 L hydrogen d−1 (Table 2). This was equivalent to about 0.75 volumetric units of hydrogen per unit of r...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

PropertyMeasurementUnit
temperatureaaaaaaaaaa
temperatureaaaaaaaaaa
temperatureaaaaaaaaaa
Login to view more

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus for the dual production of hydrogen, wherein organic feed material of a primary hydrogen production apparatus is heated with excess or diverted heat from a secondary hydrogen production apparatus, thereby substantially deactivating or killing methanogens within the organic feed material. Hydrogen producing microorganisms contained or added to the organic feed material metabolize the organic feed material in a bioreactor to produce hydrogen in a primary hydrogen production apparatus. As the methanogens are no longer substantially present to convert produced hydrogen to methane, a biogas that contains hydrogen without substantial methane can be produced.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 685,851, filed May 31, 2005, entitled “COMBINATION BIOREACTOR AND ELECTROLYZER FOR PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN”FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to a combination apparatus for concentrated production of hydrogen from hydrogen producing microorganism cultures. More particularly, the invention relates to a method that dually combines a primary hydrogen production apparatus with a secondary hydrogen production apparatus that is different than the primary hydrogen production apparatus. The primary hydrogen production apparatus uses heat or uses heat waste that is produced during typical usage of the secondary hydrogen production apparatus, thereby reducing energy costs of the primary hydrogen production apparatus and conserving energy. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The production of hydrogen is an in...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): C25B1/02
CPCC12M21/04C12M41/26C12M41/28C12M45/20Y02E60/366C25B1/02C25B1/04C25B1/10C12M47/18C25B9/73Y02E60/36Y02P20/129
Inventor FELDER, MITCHELL S.FELDER, JUSTINDIZ, HARRY R.
Owner FELDER MITCHELL S
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap