A smart hydrogen refueling station roof

Abstract

This invention relates to the design and technical fields of hydrogen catalytic combustion, thermoelectric power generation, and hydrogen refueling station lighting systems. Specifically, it relates to an intelligent hydrogen refueling station roof, which includes a catalytic combustion zone, a thermoelectric power generation zone, and a nighttime lighting system. Hydrogen undergoes catalytic combustion in the combustion zone, safely converting hydrogen energy into heat energy. The generated heat energy enters the thermoelectric power generation zone to generate electricity. The generated electricity is then supplied to the nighttime lighting system on the roof for nighttime illumination of the hydrogen refueling station. This invention alleviates the problem of excessive electricity consumption for nighttime lighting at hydrogen refueling stations and solves the safety issue of potential explosion hazards from leaked hydrogen, significantly improving the energy efficiency and safety of hydrogen refueling stations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the design and technical fields of hydrogen catalytic combustion, thermoelectric power generation, and hydrogen refueling station lighting systems, specifically to an intelligent hydrogen refueling station canopy. Background Technology

[0002] With increasing global emphasis on environmental protection, the development and optimization of clean energy has become a top priority for countries in energy utilization. Hydrogen, because it does not produce pollutants such as CO2, SO2, or soot during its use, is currently considered one of the most promising clean energy sources. Hydrogen refueling stations, as a crucial component of the hydrogen energy industry, represent a significant breakthrough for its development. Many countries are currently planning and constructing hydrogen refueling stations in advance. However, the safety hazards associated with hydrogen refueling stations cannot be ignored.

[0003] The main safety hazard at hydrogen refueling stations is the potential for hydrogen explosion. Hydrogen has a flammable range (volume fraction) of 4%–75%, a minimum ignition energy of 0.02 MJ, and a mass diffusion coefficient of 0.61 cm⁻¹. 2 ·s -1 The maximum laminar flame velocity is 2.8 m / s. -1 The adiabatic flame temperature is 2390K. Hydrogen's combustion characteristics show a wide flammability range, low lean-fuel limit, high rich-fuel limit, low ignition energy, fast heat transfer rate, and high flame temperature. Therefore, hydrogen has a high risk of spontaneous combustion and explosion. During hydrogen refueling operations for fuel cell vehicles at hydrogen refueling stations, a small amount of hydrogen leakage is unavoidable. If the leaked hydrogen accumulates and explodes, the damage is enormous. To avoid such accidents, some hydrogen refueling station roofs are designed with an outward-curving shape, allowing leaked hydrogen to quickly diffuse into the atmosphere and preventing accumulation. However, this design wastes the hydrogen energy released into the atmosphere. Other hydrogen refueling stations have installed hydrogen leakage safety interlock protection systems, which greatly improve safety but complicate construction and also waste hydrogen energy released into the atmosphere. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides an intelligent hydrogen refueling station roof, which is equipped with a catalytic combustion zone, a thermoelectric power generation zone, and a night lighting system. Hydrogen is catalytically combusted in the catalytic combustion zone to achieve a safe conversion from hydrogen energy to heat energy; the generated heat energy enters the thermoelectric power generation zone to achieve thermoelectric power generation; and the generated electricity is transmitted to the night lighting system on the roof for nighttime lighting of the hydrogen refueling station.

[0005] Optionally, the roof is arched, with a higher inner surface and a lower outer surface, to achieve initial capture of leaked hydrogen.

[0006] Optionally, the outermost layer of the canopy facing the inner side of the hydrogen refueling station is a porous graphene film PG-ES1 (15), whose pore size is exactly between that of hydrogen molecules and other molecules, so as to achieve secondary enrichment of hydrogen with high selectivity and high permeability.

[0007] Optionally, the outermost part of the roof is a sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger, which consists of a baffle (1), sawtooth fins (2) and a sealing strip (3). The plate-fin heat exchanger has a compact structure, is lightweight, and has good heat transfer performance.

[0008] The internal structure is a sawtooth-shaped plate-fin heat exchanger, which periodically disrupts the fluid boundary layer in the fin channels, keeping the velocity and temperature boundary layers in a state of development, resulting in a higher heat transfer coefficient and stronger heat transfer capacity.

[0009] The sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger is connected to the water cooler (5), so that the low-temperature heat source temperature of the power generation module (6) is always kept at the ambient temperature.

[0010] Optionally, the catalytic combustion zone (9) is composed of Pt as a catalyst and SiC porous ceramic as a support, and the enriched hydrogen and oxygen undergo catalytic combustion in the catalytic combustion zone (9).

[0011] Optionally, the catalytic combustion has the following characteristics: it can be carried out at room temperature, there is no obvious flammability limit, no open flame is produced and only heat is generated on the surface of the catalyst, no additional ignition device is required, and the safe conversion of hydrogen energy into thermal energy can be achieved.

[0012] Optionally, the roof is provided with a thermoelectric power generation area, which consists of a sandwich structure of a water cooler (5), a power generation module (6) and a collector (7);

[0013] The core device of the thermoelectric power generation zone is the power generation module (6), which is made of thermoelectric material bismuth telluride. The upper part of the power generation module (6) is connected to the water cooler (5), and the lower part of the power generation module (6) is connected to the collector (7). The heat energy generated by the catalytic combustion reaction is conducted into the collector (7) through the rib (8). The collector (7) provides a high-temperature heat source to one side of the layered bismuth telluride, and the water cooler (5) is connected to the other side of the layered bismuth telluride to provide a low-temperature heat source, thereby realizing thermoelectric power generation.

[0014] Optionally, the roof is equipped with a night lighting system, which consists of a lead-acid battery (11), a mains power complementary controller (13), a sine wave inverter (14), and LED lights (16). The electrical energy generated by the thermoelectric generator is transmitted to the lead-acid battery (11) on the roof through the transmission line (10) for storage. At night, the electrical energy in the lead-acid battery (11) first supplies power to the LED lights (16). When the power in the lead-acid battery (11) is insufficient, the mains power complementary controller (13) switches to mains power (12) to supply power to the LED lights (16).

[0015] Optionally, the solar collector (7) provides a high-temperature heat source of 500°C to the power generation module (6), and the water cooler (5) provides a low-temperature heat source of 20°C to the power generation module (6).

[0016] Optionally, 157 bismuth telluride power generation modules (6) are connected in series to power the LED lamps (16).

[0017] The beneficial effects of the technical solution provided by this invention include at least the following:

[0018] This invention not only alleviates the problem of huge electricity consumption for nighttime lighting at hydrogen refueling stations, but also solves the safety problem of potential explosion hazards from leaked hydrogen at hydrogen refueling stations, greatly improving the energy utilization rate and safety of hydrogen refueling stations. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a cross-sectional structure of the roof of an intelligent hydrogen refueling station provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a bottom view of the roof of an intelligent hydrogen refueling station provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the specific structure of the catalytic combustion zone and the thermoelectric power generation zone provided in the embodiments of the present invention. Attached image description:

[0024] 1—Baffle; 2—Serrated fins; 3—Seal; The baffle, serrated fins, and seal together form a serrated plate-fin heat exchanger; 4—Gas guide plate; 5—Water cooler; 6—Power generation module; 7—Heat collector; 8—Flat column; 9—Burner; 10—Transmission line; 11—Lead-acid battery; 12—Transmission line connected to the mains power; 13—Mains power complementary controller; 14—Sine wave inverter; 15—PG-ES1 thin film; 16—LED light; The arrow indicates the direction of hydrogen flow. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To make the technical problems, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, a detailed description will be given below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] like Figure 1-3As shown, this embodiment of the invention provides a smart hydrogen refueling station roof. The roof adopts an arched design with a higher inner surface and a lower outer surface. Leaking hydrogen gas, due to its lower density than air, will spontaneously rise and be initially captured by the arched roof. It is then enriched again through a PG-ES1 membrane (15). The enriched hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen in the catalytic combustion zone (9). The generated heat energy is conducted to the collector (7) by the ribs (8). The collector (7) is connected to the lower part of the power generation module (6) to provide a high-temperature heat source for the power generation module (6). The upper part of the power generation module (6) is connected to a water cooler (5). The water cooler (5) is connected to a sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger ( Connecting 1, 2, and 3 ensures that the temperature of the water cooler (5) remains at the ambient temperature, providing a low-temperature heat source for the power generation module (6). The power generation module (6) generates electricity due to the temperature difference between its upper and lower sides. The generated electricity is transmitted through the transmission line (10) to the lead-acid battery (11) on the roof for storage. At night, the night lighting system first determines whether the lead-acid battery (11) has sufficient power to supply the LED lights (16). If the lead-acid battery (11) has sufficient power, the lead-acid battery (11) power supply mode is preferred. If the lead-acid battery (11) has insufficient power, the mains power (12) power supply mode is used. The power supply mode is controlled by a microcontroller. The DC power from the mains complementary controller (13) is then converted into AC power by the sine wave inverter (14) and finally supplies power to the LED lights (16).

[0027] Specifically:

[0028] The outermost part of the roof is a sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger, which consists of a baffle (1), sawtooth fins (2), and a sealing strip (3). The plate-fin heat exchanger has a compact structure, is lightweight, and has good heat transfer performance. The internal structure of the plate-fin heat exchanger is sawtooth, which can periodically disrupt the fluid boundary layer in the fin channels, keeping the velocity and temperature boundary layers in a state of development, resulting in a higher heat transfer coefficient and stronger heat transfer capacity. The sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger is connected to the water cooler (5), so that the low-temperature heat source of the power generation module (6) is always kept at the ambient temperature.

[0029] Because hydrogen is less dense than air, leaked hydrogen will spontaneously float upwards. Therefore, the arched roof, which is higher on the inside and lower on the outside, can achieve initial capture of leaked hydrogen. The outermost layer of the roof facing the inside of the hydrogen refueling station is a porous graphene film PG-ES1 (15). Since the molecular dynamic diameter of hydrogen is much smaller than that of other gas molecules, and the pore size of the PG-ES1 film is exactly between that of hydrogen molecules and other molecules, the PG-ES1 film can be used to separate hydrogen, and the separation effect meets the dual requirements of selectivity and permeability, thus achieving secondary enrichment of leaked hydrogen.

[0030] The roof is equipped with three functional modules: one is a catalytic combustion zone (9) composed of Pt as catalyst and SiC porous ceramic as carrier, which realizes the safe conversion of hydrogen energy into thermal energy; the second is a thermoelectric power generation zone composed of water cooler (5), thermoelectric material bismuth telluride (6) and collector (7), which realizes the conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy; the third is a night lighting system composed of lead-acid battery (11), mains power complementary controller (13), sine wave inverter (14) and LED light (16), which realizes the complementary lighting of thermoelectric power generation and mains power.

[0031] Functional Module 1: Catalytic Combustion Zone (9). The effectiveness of the catalytic combustion reaction depends mainly on the selection of the catalyst. Since Pt has the characteristics of good adsorption of hydrogen at low temperature, high thermal stability, and the ability to activate hydrogen and oxygen, Pt is selected as the catalyst for hydrogen catalytic combustion. Considering that Pt is a precious metal with high raw material cost, a support needs to be selected to reduce the amount of Pt used. Compared with various supports, SiC has high catalytic activity and strong stability, so SiC porous ceramic is used as the support for the catalyst Pt in this embodiment of the invention. The ribs (8) can enhance the heat transfer effect, so the heat energy generated by catalytic combustion is transferred to the collector (7) of the thermoelectric power generation zone through the staggered ribs (8). Catalytic combustion has the following characteristics: the reaction can proceed at room temperature (20°C), therefore it does not produce nitrogen oxides and is environmentally friendly; there is no obvious flammability limit, and the reaction can proceed even with a small intake volume; hydrogen reacts only on the catalyst surface without producing an open flame, and the catalytic combustion temperature (500°C) is lower than the ignition temperature of ordinary hydrogen combustion (585°C), so there is no risk of hydrogen explosion; no additional ignition device is required, and the reaction will occur as long as the combustion initiation temperature of the combustible gas is reached (the initiation combustion temperature of hydrogen under Pt catalysis is 20°C). Based on these characteristics of the catalytic combustion reaction, it can be used to remove low-concentration hydrogen leaked from hydrogen refueling stations at room temperature, while safely converting the leaked hydrogen into thermal energy.

[0032] Functional Module Two: Thermoelectric Generation Zone. The thermoelectric generation zone consists of a sandwich structure composed of three devices: a water cooler (5), a power generation module (6), and a solar collector (7). The core device is the power generation module (6), which is made of bismuth telluride thermoelectric material. The power generation module (6) is connected to the water cooler (5) at the top, and the water cooler (5) provides a low-temperature heat source (20℃) for the power generation module (6); the power generation module (6) is connected to the solar collector (7) at the bottom, and the solar collector (7) provides a high-temperature heat source (500℃) for the power generation module (6). The hydrogen refueling station needs to install 12 LED lights (16), each with a power of 120W. Assuming equal day and night lengths, with 12 hours of darkness per day, the required electrical energy for one night is W. 需=12×120×12×60×60=62208kJ. Based on the typical floor area and height of a hydrogen refueling station, let's assume the station occupies an area of ​​4000m². 2 The height is 7m. According to my country's "Safety Technical Specification for Hydrogen Refueling Stations" GB / T34584-2017, the combustible gas detection alarm system in the hydrogen refueling station should trigger an audible and visual alarm signal when it detects that the hydrogen content in the air reaches 0.4%. Therefore, assuming a maximum hydrogen content of 0.4% in the air, the hydrogen content in the air at the hydrogen refueling station would be V = 4000 × 7 × 0.4% = 112m. 3 Hydrogen gas. Under standard conditions, the density of hydrogen gas is 0.0899 kg / m³. 3 Therefore, the mass of hydrogen in the hydrogen refueling station is m = ρV = 0.0899 × 112 = 10.0688 kg. The bismuth telluride power generation material has the highest conversion efficiency of 13.3% when the temperature difference is ΔT = 500 - 20 = 480 K, then the power generation is W. 供 =αcmΔT=13.3%×1.004×10 3 ×10.0688×480=645.363kJ, where c is the isobaric heat capacity of air, which is 1.004kJ / (kg·K) under standard conditions; α is the conversion efficiency of bismuth telluride. Because It is evident that the power generated by a single bismuth telluride power generation module (6) is too small to power the LED lamp (16). In this embodiment of the invention, 157 bismuth telluride power generation modules (6) are connected in series to power the LED lamp (16).

[0033] Functional Module 3: Night Lighting System. The night lighting system consists of a lead-acid battery (11), a mains power complementary controller (13), a sine wave inverter (14), and LED lights (16). The electrical energy generated by thermoelectric generator is transmitted to the lead-acid battery (11) on the roof via transmission line (10) for storage. Both the lead-acid battery (11) and the mains power (12) are connected to the mains power complementary controller (13). The controller consists of three parts: a charging circuit, a discharging circuit, and a control circuit. The switching of power supply modes is controlled by a microcontroller. At night, the LED lights (16) are powered primarily by the lead-acid battery (11). When the lead-acid battery (11) is low on power, the mains power complementary controller (13) switches to mains power (12) to supply power to the LED lights (16). The charging and discharging control of the lead-acid battery (11) is accomplished by a bidirectional DC / DC converter, which adjusts the duty cycle of the switching transistors to achieve step-up and step-down voltage conversion. The high and low voltage terminals can be isolated from each other without considering input and output voltage matching, making the control more flexible. The DC power from the mains-electricity complementary controller (13) is supplied to the sine wave inverter (14), which converts the DC power into AC power of appropriate frequency and voltage. The AC power is finally supplied to the LED lamp (16) for power supply.

[0034] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A smart hydrogen refueling station roof, characterized in that, The roof is equipped with a catalytic combustion zone, a thermoelectric power generation zone, and a night lighting system. Hydrogen is catalytically combusted in the catalytic combustion zone to achieve a safe conversion from hydrogen energy to heat energy. The generated heat energy enters the thermoelectric power generation zone to generate electricity. The generated electricity is transmitted to the night lighting system on the roof for nighttime lighting of the hydrogen refueling station. The roof is arched, with a higher inner section and a lower outer section, which enables the initial capture of leaked hydrogen. The outermost layer of the roof facing the inside of the hydrogen refueling station is a porous graphene film PG-ES1 (15), whose pore size is just between that of hydrogen molecules and other molecules, so as to achieve secondary enrichment of hydrogen with high selectivity and high permeability. The catalytic combustion zone (9) is composed of Pt as catalyst and SiC porous ceramic as support, and the enriched hydrogen and oxygen undergo catalytic combustion in the catalytic combustion zone (9).

2. The canopy roof according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outermost part of the roof is a sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger, which consists of a partition (1), sawtooth fins (2) and a sealing strip (3); The internal structure is a sawtooth-shaped plate-fin heat exchanger, which periodically disrupts the fluid boundary layer within the fin channels, keeping the velocity and temperature boundary layers in a state of continuous development. The sawtooth plate-fin heat exchanger is connected to the water cooler (5), so that the low temperature heat source temperature of the power generation module (6) is always kept at the ambient temperature.

3. The canopy roof according to claim 1, characterized in that, The roof is equipped with a thermoelectric power generation area, which consists of a sandwich structure of a water cooler (5), a power generation module (6) and a collector (7); The core device of the thermoelectric power generation zone is the power generation module (6), which is made of thermoelectric material bismuth telluride. The upper part of the power generation module (6) is connected to the water cooler (5), and the lower part of the power generation module (6) is connected to the collector (7). The heat energy generated by the catalytic combustion reaction is conducted into the collector (7) through the rib (8). The collector (7) provides a high-temperature heat source to one side of the layered bismuth telluride, and the water cooler (5) is connected to the other side of the layered bismuth telluride to provide a low-temperature heat source, thereby realizing thermoelectric power generation.

4. The canopy roof according to claim 1, characterized in that, The roof is equipped with a night lighting system, which consists of a lead-acid battery (11), a mains power complementary controller (13), a sine wave inverter (14), and LED lights (16). The electrical energy generated by the thermoelectric generator is transmitted to the lead-acid battery (11) on the roof through the transmission line (10) for storage. At night, the electrical energy in the lead-acid battery (11) first supplies power to the LED lights (16). When the power in the lead-acid battery (11) is insufficient, the mains power complementary controller (13) switches to mains power (12) to supply power to the LED lights (16).

5. The canopy roof according to claim 3, characterized in that, The solar collector (7) provides a high-temperature heat source of 500°C to the power generation module (6), and the water cooler (5) provides a low-temperature heat source of 20°C to the power generation module (6).

6. The canopy roof according to claim 3, characterized in that, The LED lamps (16) are powered by 157 bismuth telluride power generation modules (6) connected in series.

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