Movable methanol hydrogen production and power generation system and control method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a movable methanol hydrogen production and power generation system and a control method thereof. The methanol hydrogen production and power generation system comprises a car type box driven by a clean fuel engine to walk, a solar cell is arranged at the top of the car type box, a hydrogen fuel cell and a hydrogen production device are installed in the car type box, the hydrogen fuel cell is provided with a water saving separator, the hydrogen production device provides hydrogen for the hydrogen fuel cell to make the hydrogen fuel cell continuously generate power, and the hydrogen production device comprises sequentially connected methanol liquid storage tanks, an evaporator, a reactor, a membrane separator and a hydrogen storage tank. The application adopts an innovative technical route of "methanol reforming hydrogen production + fuel cell power generation", which is in sharp contrast with the existing diesel power generation technology. The comprehensive energy utilization efficiency is improved to more than 75% compared with a pure diesel engine system. The application uses the methanol reforming hydrogen production and waste heat coupling technology, uses the exhaust waste heat of the methanol internal combustion engine to supply the evaporator and the reforming reactor in stages, and significantly improves the energy utilization rate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a portable methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] For a long time, the technological development of mobile power generation devices has been dominated by diesel power generation technology. Traditional diesel generators produce a large amount of electricity during power generation. CO and , The carbon emission intensity of pollutants such as diesel fuel is assessed to be approximately 3.12 kg per kilogram of diesel fuel consumed. This is seriously inconsistent with the global trend of low-carbon transformation and my country's policy requirements. Meanwhile, increasingly stringent urban environmental standards for noise and emissions control have highlighted the inherent shortcomings of diesel generator sets in terms of emissions, energy efficiency, and noise. To address these challenges, the industry has continuously made improvements. For example, Caterpillar's C7.1 | DE220E0 model, a leading manufacturer in the industry, employs high-pressure common rail fuel injection, turbocharging with intercooling, and an advanced SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) aftertreatment system, combined with a smart electronic control unit (EMCP) for closed-loop regulation. This solution significantly reduces NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions and improves environmental adaptability through closed-loop water cooling and vibration isolation / noise reduction design.

[0003] However, this solution has fundamental limitations. First, its improvements focus on end-of-pipe treatment, and it will inevitably generate a large amount of waste during operation. In the context of "dual carbon" (carbonization and emissions control), diesel engines cannot meet the carbon emission constraints of green buildings and zero-carbon industrial parks. Secondly, due to the Carnot cycle-based operating principle of diesel engines, their theoretical maximum comprehensive thermal efficiency is approximately 42%. In actual operation, technologies such as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) further reduce efficiency, resulting in more than half of the fuel energy being lost as waste heat, leading to high operating costs. Thirdly, the core noise sources—combustion knock, mechanical friction, and high-speed exhaust—cannot be eliminated in principle. Even with optimization, the noise level is typically above 75 dB(A), making it difficult to meet the requirements of sensitive locations such as hospitals, schools, and residential areas where background noise levels must be below 50 dB(A) at night. Finally, diesel fuel has poor fluidity at low temperatures, making cold starts difficult. In high-altitude areas, the thin air can cause a significant power reduction of about 20%, affecting the reliability of power supply in extreme environments.

[0004] Therefore, although the improvement schemes represented by Caterpillar C7.1 have improved the performance boundaries of traditional technologies through complex engineering means, they are essentially still optimizations of the traditional thermodynamic cycle of "combustion for work". They cannot fundamentally overcome the structural contradictions such as high carbon emissions, low energy conversion efficiency, high noise pollution and limited environmental adaptability. Improving the end of a single problem, such as emission reduction, will expose or exacerbate the inherent defects of the system in other dimensions such as reliability and applicability. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a mobile methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system and its control method, thereby reducing the practical problems of high carbon emissions, high pollution, and low energy conversion.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0007] A mobile methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system includes a box-type vehicle driven by a clean fuel engine. Solar panels are mounted on the top of the vehicle's body. A hydrogen fuel cell and a hydrogen generator are installed inside the vehicle's body. The hydrogen fuel cell is equipped with a water-saving separator. The hydrogen generator supplies hydrogen to the hydrogen fuel cell to enable continuous power generation. The hydrogen generator comprises a methanol liquid storage tank, an evaporator, a reactor, a membrane separator, and a hydrogen storage tank connected in sequence. The methanol liquid storage tank is connected to the evaporator via a first metering pump and a check valve. A throttling valve is installed between the evaporator and the reactor. A flow control valve is installed between the reactor and the membrane separator. Switch control valves are installed between the separator and the hydrogen storage tank. The discharge pipe of the membrane separator is connected to the exhaust pipe of the engine. The hydrogen output of the membrane separator is also connected to the engine via the second regulating control valve. The methanol liquid storage tank is connected to a pipeline between the first metering pump and the check valve. The pipeline is connected to the engine via the first regulating control valve to provide clean fuel to the engine. The hydrogen storage tank is connected to the hydrogen fuel cell via the third regulating valve. The exhaust pipe of the engine is connected to the reactor and the evaporator in sequence. The hot gas emitted from the exhaust pipe first passes through the reactor and then through the evaporator to exchange heat with methanol before being discharged from the evaporator, forming a cascade utilization channel for the high-temperature exhaust gas of the engine.

[0008] The hydrogen storage tank is equipped with a pressure sensor, and the reactor is equipped with... A catalyst support is used to catalyze the reaction of methanol gas, and an electric heater is installed in the evaporator and reactor. The solar cell is connected to the car battery and provides power to the electric heaters of the membrane separator, evaporator, and reactor. A switch is installed between the evaporator and reactor and the solar cell. Temperature sensors are installed at the hot gas exhaust port of the evaporator and the exhaust pipe of the engine. The water-saving separator of the hydrogen fuel cell is connected to the evaporator through a second metering pump. A proportioned mixture of water and liquid methanol is delivered to the evaporator through the first metering pump and the second metering pump. A controller is connected to the temperature sensor, the first metering pump and the second metering pump, the pressure sensor, the throttle valve, the switch control valve, the first regulating control valve and the second regulating control valve, and the hydrogen fuel cell.

[0009] The solution further includes: the membrane separator is a hydrogen separation device of model Generon PRISM®PH1000, or a hydrogen membrane separator of model SM8100 / SL8100.

[0010] The scheme further describes the hydrogen extraction process of the hydrogen generator as follows: First, a mixture of water and liquid methanol enters an evaporator, absorbs heat, and evaporates to form a gaseous output; second, the water and liquid methanol mixture enters the reactor from the evaporator for further heat absorption and... Catalyst support for catalytic reaction generation CO Mixed gas is discharged; discharged CO The mixed gas enters a hydrogen separation unit, which acts as a membrane separator. This unit employs a membrane separation-PSA coupled refining process: the mixed gas enters the cylinder via a pressure control valve, and utilizing the selective permeability of Pd metal to hydrogen, it permeates the hollow metal membrane under pressure, purifying the hydrogen. The separated gas is then separated by the membrane separator. The CO and other byproduct gases enter the engine's exhaust pipe. At the same time, the membrane separator also supplies throttled hydrogen to the engine to mix with methanol for combustion.

[0011] The solution further includes: the evaporator is a capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporator, comprising an evaporator shell and a filter element. A heat exchange tube is installed in the shell, and the filter element is placed inside the shell and sleeved on the heat exchange tube. The heat exchange tube has a hot gas inlet and an outlet at both ends of the shell, which are horizontally opposite to each other and are used to connect with the engine's exhaust pipe. The shell has a liquid methanol inlet, a water inlet, and a gaseous methanol outlet for mixed water, which are staggered and opposite to each other. The filter element adopts a capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporation and finned heat exchange structure, so that the liquid methanol and water entering the cavity can fully contact and exchange heat with the fins. An electric heater is installed in the shell.

[0012] The solution further includes: the reactor comprising a reactor shell and heat exchange tubes, the heat exchange tubes penetrating the reactor shell, and hot gas inlets and outlets horizontally opposite each other at both ends of the heat exchange tubes for connection to the engine's exhaust pipe; a core cylinder is installed inside the reactor shell, fitted onto the heat exchange tubes, the surface of the core cylinder having a concave-convex structure and perforations, and the surface of the core cylinder being coated with... Catalyst formation The catalyst support, with the electric heater arranged around the core cylinder on the inner surface of the reactor shell 503-1, has gaseous methanol inlet and outlet for the mixed water arranged alternately at the upper and lower positions of the reactor shell. The gaseous methanol entering the mixed water is... Catalyst support reaction generation CO The mixed gas is output from the outlet.

[0013] The solution further specifies that the ratio of the water and liquid methanol mixture is 1.5:1.

[0014] A power generation control method based on the aforementioned methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system includes start-up control and operation control, wherein the start-up control includes:

[0015] Step 1: Close the throttle valve, switch control valve, check valve, first regulating control valve, second regulating control valve, third regulating valve, and switch. Check and confirm that the solar panel and car battery voltages are working normally, and check and confirm that there is water in the water-saving separator.

[0016] The second step is to start the first metering pump, open the first regulating control valve to supply methanol liquid to the engine, start the engine, monitor the temperature of the engine exhaust pipe and the temperature of the evaporator hot gas exhaust port, and at the same time open the switch control valve. According to the temperature set value of the engine exhaust pipe, control the switch to control the supply of heating power to the electric heater of the evaporator and the electric heater of the reactor.

[0017] Third step: When the temperature of the hot gas outlet of the evaporator reaches the set value, open the check valve, adjust the first metering pump and the second metering pump to send water and liquid methanol into the evaporator according to the set ratio of water and liquid methanol mixture, and monitor the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank.

[0018] Step 4: When the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank reaches the set value, open the third regulating valve to supply hydrogen fuel to the hydrogen fuel cell, and the hydrogen fuel cell generates electricity. At the same time, open the second regulating control valve to supply hydrogen fuel to the engine. Simultaneously, adjust the first regulating control valve 10 to reduce the supply of methanol liquid and maintain it in a set ratio with hydrogen.

[0019] The operation control is as follows: monitor the output power of the hydrogen fuel cell; when the output power increases and the output voltage decreases, adjust the third regulating valve to increase the hydrogen fuel supply; conversely, decrease the hydrogen fuel supply. Monitor the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank; when the pressure is lower than the set value, adjust the first and second metering pumps to increase the supply of water and liquid methanol mixture to the hydrogen storage tank, thereby increasing the hydrogen production; conversely, decrease the supply of water and liquid methanol mixture to the hydrogen storage tank, thereby decreasing the hydrogen production.

[0020] The solution further includes: the method further includes, during operation, when an abnormality or uncontrollable situation occurs, issuing an alarm and closing the throttle valve, the switch control valve, the check valve, the first regulating control valve and the second regulating control valve, the third regulating valve, the switch, as well as the first metering pump and the second metering pump.

[0021] The solution further specifies that the ratio of the water and liquid methanol mixture is 1.5:1.

[0022] The solution further states that the hydrogen to methanol mixture combustion ratio in the engine is 0.5:1.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: Compared with existing diesel power generation technology, the present invention brings the following significant and verifiable positive effects through the above technical solution.

[0024] This invention employs an innovative technical route of "methanol reforming for hydrogen production + fuel cell power generation," which contrasts sharply with existing diesel power generation technologies. Existing technologies rely on the combustion and expansion principle of diesel internal combustion engines, resulting in high carbon emissions (approximately 3.12 kg of hydrogen per kilogram of diesel fuel). Traditional fuel cell technology (TCC) suffers from inherent drawbacks such as low energy conversion efficiency (theoretical upper limit 42%, actually lower), high noise pollution (typically above 75 dB(A)), and poor environmental adaptability (e.g., difficulty in low-temperature start-up and power attenuation at high altitudes). This invention addresses these drawbacks by producing hydrogen through methanol steam reforming (SRM) and then directly converting chemical energy into electrical energy using a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). This fundamentally avoids the combustion process, achieving near-zero emissions at the terminal (producing only water), increasing overall energy utilization efficiency to over 75%, operating noise below 60 dB(A), and stable operation in a wide temperature range of -30℃ to 50℃ and at high altitudes. Specifically, this invention utilizes methanol reforming for hydrogen production coupled with waste heat technology, using a cascaded supply of waste heat from the methanol internal combustion engine's exhaust gas to the evaporator and reforming reactor, significantly improving energy utilization.

[0025] The invention will be further explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the box-type vehicle structure of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the system structure of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the evaporator structure of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the reactor of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the reactor of the present invention. Figure 4 AA view. Detailed Implementation

[0031] Example 1:

[0032] A mobile methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the system includes a box truck 2 driven by a clean fuel engine 1. A solar panel 3 is mounted on the top of the truck body 201. A hydrogen fuel cell 4 and a hydrogen generator 5 are installed inside the truck body 201. The hydrogen fuel cell 4 has a water-saving separator 401. The hydrogen generator 5 supplies hydrogen to the hydrogen fuel cell 4 to continuously generate electricity. The hydrogen generator 5 includes a methanol liquid storage tank 501, an evaporator 502, a reactor 503, a membrane separator 504, and a hydrogen storage tank 505 connected in sequence. The methanol liquid storage tank is connected to the evaporator 502 via a first metering pump 6 and a check valve 601. A throttling valve 7 is installed between the evaporator 502 and the reactor 503. A throttling valve 7 is also installed between the reactor 503 and the membrane separator 504, and between the membrane separator 504 and the hydrogen storage tank 505. Switch control valves 8 and 9 are respectively installed between 05. The discharge pipe of membrane separator 504 is connected to the discharge pipe 101 of engine 1. The hydrogen output of membrane separator 504 is also connected to engine 1 via second regulating control valve 11. Methanol liquid storage tank 501 is connected to pipeline 602 between first metering pump 6 and check valve 601. Pipeline 602 is connected to engine 1 via first regulating control valve 10 to provide clean fuel to engine 1. Hydrogen storage tank 505 is connected to hydrogen fuel cell 4 via third regulating valve 12. The discharge pipe 101 of engine 1 is sequentially connected to reactor 503 and evaporator 502. The hot gas discharged from discharge pipe 101 first passes through reactor 503 and then through evaporator 502 to exchange heat with methanol before being discharged from evaporator 502, forming a cascade utilization channel for high-temperature exhaust gas of engine 1.

[0033] A pressure sensor 13 is installed on the hydrogen storage tank 505, and a pressure sensor 13 is installed in the reactor 503. A catalyst support is used to catalyze the reaction of methanol gas, and an electric heater is provided in the evaporator 502 and reactor 503. The solar cell 3 is connected to the car battery and provides power to the electric heaters of the membrane separator 504 and reactor 503. A switch 14 is provided between the evaporator 502 and reactor 503 and the solar cell 3. Temperature sensors 15 and 16 are respectively provided on the hot gas exhaust port of the evaporator 502 and the exhaust pipe 101 of the engine 1. The water-saving separator 401 of the hydrogen fuel cell 4 is connected to the evaporator 502 through the second metering pump 17. The first metering pump 6 and the second metering pump 17 deliver a proportioned mixture of water and liquid methanol to the evaporator. A controller is connected to the temperature sensors 15 and 16, the first metering pump 6 and the second metering pump 17, the pressure sensor 13, the throttle valve 7, the switch control valves 8 and 9, the first regulating control valve 10 and the second regulating control valve 11, and the hydrogen fuel cell 4.

[0034] Wherein: the membrane separator 504 uses a hydrogen separation device of model Generon PRISM®PH1000 or a hydrogen membrane separator of model SM8100 / SL8100.

[0035] The hydrogen generation device described in the embodiment extracts hydrogen as follows: First, a mixture of water and liquid methanol enters an evaporator, absorbs heat, and evaporates to form a gaseous output; second, the water and liquid methanol mixture enters the reactor from the evaporator for further heat absorption and... Catalyst support for catalytic reaction generation CO Mixed gas is discharged; discharged CO The mixed gas enters a hydrogen separation unit, which acts as a membrane separator. This unit employs a membrane separation-PSA coupled refining process: the mixed gas enters the cylinder via a pressure control valve, and utilizing the selective permeability of Pd metal to hydrogen, it permeates the hollow metal membrane under pressure, purifying the hydrogen. The hydrogen separated by the membrane separator... The CO byproduct enters the engine exhaust pipe, while the membrane separator also supplies throttled hydrogen to the engine for combustion with the methanol. Practice has shown that the optimal ratio of the water and liquid methanol mixture is 1.5:1.

[0036] The evaporator 502 described in this embodiment is a capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporator, including an evaporator shell 502-1 and a filter element 502-2. A heat exchange tube 502-3 is disposed within the shell 502-1. The filter element 502-2 is placed within the shell 502-1 and sleeved on the heat exchange tube 502-3. The heat exchange tube 502-3 has a hot gas inlet 502-4 and an outlet 502-5 horizontally opposite each other at both ends of the shell, for communication with the exhaust pipe 101 of the engine 1. The shell 502-1 is staggered vertically. For the gaseous methanol outlet 502-8, which is equipped with a liquid methanol inlet 502-6, a water inlet 502-7, and mixed water, the filter element 502-2 adopts a capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporation and finned heat exchange structure, so that the liquid methanol and water entering the cavity can fully contact the fins for heat exchange. This design utilizes the capillary force of activated carbon to passively form an evaporation film, which has a high heat flux density and can effectively reduce the exhaust back pressure of the engine. An electric heater 502-9 is installed in the housing 502-1 to increase the chamber temperature at low temperatures.

[0037] The reactor 503 described in this embodiment includes a reactor shell 503-1 and heat exchange tubes 503-2, as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the reactor shell 503-1 is a two-part structure joined by flanges. A heat exchange tube 503-2 penetrates the reactor shell 503-1. At both ends of the heat exchange tube 503-2, a hot gas inlet 503-3 and an outlet 503-4 are horizontally opposite each other. The hot gas inlet 503-3 and outlet 503-4 are connected to the exhaust pipe 101 of the engine. A core cylinder 503-5 is installed inside the reactor shell 503-1, fitted onto the heat exchange tube 503-2. The surface of the core cylinder 503-5 has a textured surface with through holes 503-5-1. The surface of the core cylinder 503-5 is coated with... Catalyst formation The catalyst support, the electric heater 503-6 is arranged around the core cylinder on the inner surface of the reactor shell 503-1, and the gaseous methanol inlet 503-7 and outlet 503-8 of the mixed water are arranged alternately on the upper and lower positions of the reactor shell 503-1. The gaseous methanol entering the mixed water is... Catalyst support reaction generation CO The mixed gas is output from the outlet.

[0038] Example 2:

[0039] A power generation control method based on the methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system described in Example 1, wherein the content of Example 1 is applicable to this example, and the method includes start-up control and operation control; the start-up control includes:

[0040] Step 1: Close throttle valve 7, switch control valves 8 and 9, check valve 601, first regulating control valve 10, second regulating control valve 11, third regulating valve 12, switch 14, check and confirm that the solar cell (3) and car battery voltage are working normally, and check and confirm that the water-saving separator 401 contains water;

[0041] Step 2: Start the first metering pump 6, open the first regulating control valve 10 to supply methanol liquid to the engine, start the engine 1, monitor the temperature of the engine exhaust pipe 101 and the temperature of the hot gas exhaust port of the evaporator 502, and at the same time open the switch control valves 8 and 9. Control the switch 14 according to the temperature set value of the engine exhaust pipe 101 (when the temperature is lower than the temperature set value of 280℃±5℃, the controller closes the switch 14) to control the supply of heating power to the electric heater of the evaporator 502 and the electric heater 503-6 of the reactor 503;

[0042] Third step: When the temperature of the hot gas outlet of evaporator 502 reaches the set value (when the temperature sensor 15 detects that the temperature of the outlet of evaporator 502 is higher than 150℃±5℃), open the check valve 601, adjust the first metering pump 6 and the second metering pump 16 to send water and liquid methanol into evaporator 502 according to the set ratio of water and liquid methanol mixture, and monitor the pressure of hydrogen storage tank 505.

[0043] Fourth step: When the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank 505 reaches the set value, open the third regulating valve 12 to supply hydrogen fuel to the hydrogen fuel cell 4, and the hydrogen fuel cell 4 generates electricity. At the same time, open the second regulating control valve 11 to supply hydrogen fuel to the engine 1. At the same time, adjust the first regulating control valve 10 to reduce the supply of methanol liquid and maintain it in a set ratio with hydrogen.

[0044] The operation control is as follows: monitor the output power of the hydrogen fuel cell 4. When the output power increases and the output voltage decreases, adjust the third regulating valve 12 to increase the amount of hydrogen fuel supplied, and vice versa. Monitor the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank 505. When the pressure is lower than the set value, adjust the first metering pump 6 and the second metering pump 16 to increase the supply of water and liquid methanol mixture to the hydrogen storage tank 505, thereby increasing the amount of hydrogen produced. Conversely, reduce the supply of water and liquid methanol mixture to the hydrogen storage tank 505, thereby reducing the amount of hydrogen produced.

[0045] The method further includes, during operation, issuing an alarm when an abnormality or uncontrollable situation occurs, and closing the throttle valve 7, switch control valves 8 and 9, check valve 601, first regulating control valve 10 and second regulating control valve 11, third regulating valve 12, switch 14, as well as the first metering pump 6 and the second metering pump 16.

[0046] The method further includes: adjusting the ratio of the water and liquid methanol mixture to an optimal 1.5:1 based on the hydrogen production; and adjusting the hydrogen and methanol mixing ratio of the engine to an optimal combustion ratio of 0.5:1 based on the engine operating status, which has been confirmed by experiments to achieve the highest efficiency.

[0047] The above embodiments are further explained below:

[0048] The clean fuel engine in this system is primarily a methanol engine. Therefore, when the vehicle needs to be driven, a portion of the liquid methanol in the methanol tank is first introduced into the methanol engine. After the engine starts, the exhaust gas enters the heat pipe. Considering the fluctuating characteristics of the exhaust gas temperature and the fact that the reactor catalyst requires a higher temperature than the evaporator, the exhaust gas is passed through the reactor and evaporator in sequence to make reasonable use of the exhaust gas temperature to drive the methanol cracking to produce hydrogen.

[0049] When the temperature sensors at both ends of the reactor and evaporator detect that the exhaust gas temperature is insufficient to meet the required operating temperature, the controller initiates intelligent control through exhaust gas temperature compensation: the controller's LCD display provides real-time feedback on the temperatures at both ends of the reactor and evaporator, and the controller's STM32 microcontroller performs precise regulation, compensating for heat through heat pipes arranged on the inner wall of the reactor. This heat comes from the vehicle's onboard battery, which is connected to a solar power plant and fuel cell, directly converting electrical energy into heat energy to ensure timely, flexible, and precise replenishment of the operating temperature.

[0050] In the evaporator, liquid methanol and water are mixed in the methanol tank. The water is liquid water that has been stored in the fuel cell water-saving separator in advance. Under the control of the metering pump, the mixture is delivered from the bottom of the evaporator to the evaporator cavity at a water-methanol ratio of 1.5:1 (the optimal ratio calculated).

[0051] Engine exhaust gas from the reactor enters the evaporator. The high-temperature exhaust gas enters the horizontal heat exchange tubes inside the tube housing from the right side. As it flows through the densely packed finned tube walls, it transfers heat to the liquid methanol-water mixture outside the tubes. Simultaneously, a thin evaporation film is formed in the evaporator using the capillary force of the activated carbon in the finned structure. This passive film formation requires no additional auxiliary components. After the mixture absorbs heat and evaporates, the methanol vapor is discharged from the top outlet of the evaporator. The evaporator has a rectangular box structure, resulting in high heat exchange efficiency and low heat loss. The exhaust gas, after heat exchange, is discharged from the exhaust pipe on the left side.

[0052] Methanol vapor is discharged from the top of the evaporator (502) and enters the combined reforming reactor (503) (the steam flow rate can be precisely controlled by a Swagelok SS-1RS4 needle valve). The reactor in this embodiment is a combined structure, consisting of an outer wall, heat pipes (connected to an external heater), a reactor core, and a tail gas pipe. The outer wall is formed by welding, providing excellent airtightness. The reactor core features a perforated columnar design to maximize the heat exchange area. A mixture of gaseous methanol and water enters the core microchannel from the top of the reactor. A temperature sensor monitors the reaction temperature in real time, and the controller uses a cascade control algorithm to synchronously adjust the electric auxiliary heating power and the opening of the tail gas diversion valve to ensure stable reaction operation. The high-temperature tail gas delivered by the heat pipes provides the reactor with an optimal reaction temperature of 280℃±5℃. When operating conditions fluctuate, the resistance wire heat pipes on the inner wall of the outer shell can promptly provide a controllable high-temperature environment to ensure continuous and stable reaction.

[0053] At this point, methanol and water vapor enter the reaction zone through small holes at the bottom of the core. The surface of the core adopts an attapulgite rod structure, and its interior and the small holes are loaded by a coating method. Catalyst. The porous columnar structure of the reactor core works synergistically with the catalyst to significantly increase the reaction contact area, ensuring sufficient contact between methanol vapor and the catalyst; this catalyst also boasts advantages such as low cost and long service life. The reactor employs a structure design with perforations on the top and bottom and grids on the left and right sides, which can completely isolate the tail gas from methanol gas, while further increasing the reaction area and effectively preventing gas leakage. Sealing rings are installed at the flange connections on both sides of the reactor, and the core can be embedded inside the outer shell for easy installation, removal, and maintenance. The overall structure is compact and has a rapid heat exchange response. Finally, methanol vapor undergoes a catalytic cracking reaction under the action of the catalyst, producing... CO The mixed gas is discharged from the top of the reactor and directly fed into the separator.

[0054] The mixed gas enters the membrane separator cylinder through the left-side pressure control valve. The membrane separator utilizes advanced technology, specifically the Generon PRISM®PH1000 hydrogen separation unit or the SM8100 / SL8100 hydrogen membrane separator. It leverages the selective permeability of a Pd-Au-Ag ternary metal alloy membrane to achieve selective hydrogen permeation through the primary metal membrane. Driven by the pressure difference across the membrane, hydrogen permeates the hollow metal membrane. Through multi-stage membrane modules, pressure division and multi-stage flow are achieved, resulting in secondary purification of the extracted hydrogen. The dislocation pressure difference formed by the multi-faceted pressure difference propels the hydrogen to continuously permeate the metal membrane. The purified hydrogen in the membrane separator then enters the PSA unit for deep purification using a spiral circulation adsorption process: adsorption stage… Impurities such as CO are adsorbed by the adsorbent, while hydrogen flows out from the bottom of the adsorption unit, yielding a preliminarily purified high-purity product gas. The separator separates... The CO auxiliary gas is introduced into the pipes at the left end of the engine and the right end of the reactor, where it mixes with the exhaust gas in the exhaust pipe and is discharged after utilizing its residual heat. At the same time, a small portion of hydrogen is introduced into the intake pipe of the methanol engine through the second regulating valve 11 after the mixing ratio is throttled and adjusted, where it mixes with methanol for combustion, thereby improving the engine's thermal efficiency. Most of the hydrogen is stored in a hydrogen storage tank, and the pressure sensor monitors the pressure inside the tank in real time.

[0055] Hydrogen gas from the hydrogen storage tank is introduced into the anode and cathode of the PEMFC fuel cell stack, where an electrochemical reaction occurs to generate electrical energy. At the same time, the electrical energy collected by the solar energy device is also stored in the fuel cell's built-in battery, providing continuous power to the temperature compensation system and ensuring stable system heating.

[0056] The byproduct water from the PEMFC fuel cell is recycled and transported to a water-saving separator. The separated water is split through a three-port connector: one part is used for cooling the fuel cell, and the other part is pumped to the evaporator to supplement the evaporation water, thus realizing the recycling of water resources.

Claims

1. A mobile methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system, comprising a box truck (2) driven by a clean fuel engine (1), a solar cell (3) mounted on the top of the truck body (201), a hydrogen fuel cell (4) and a hydrogen generator (5) installed inside the truck body (201), the hydrogen fuel cell (4) having a water-saving separator (401), and the hydrogen generator (5) supplying hydrogen to the hydrogen fuel cell (4) to enable the hydrogen fuel cell (4) to continuously generate electricity, characterized in that, The hydrogen generating device (5) includes a methanol liquid storage tank (501), an evaporator (502), a reactor (503), a membrane separator (504), and a hydrogen storage tank (505) connected in sequence. The methanol liquid storage tank is connected to the evaporator (502) via a first metering pump (6) and a check valve (601). A throttle valve (7) is installed between the evaporator (502) and the reactor (503). Switch control valves (8) and (9) are respectively installed between the reactor (503) and the membrane separator (504) and between the membrane separator (504) and the hydrogen storage tank (505). The discharge pipe of the membrane separator (504) is connected to the discharge pipe (101) of the engine (1). The hydrogen output of the membrane separator (504) is also controlled by a second regulating valve. The control valve (11) is connected to the engine (1). The methanol liquid storage tank (501) is connected to the pipeline (602) between the first metering pump (6) and the check valve (601). The pipeline (602) is connected to the engine (1) through the first regulating control valve (10) to provide clean fuel to the engine (1). The hydrogen storage tank (505) is connected to the hydrogen fuel cell (4) through the third regulating valve (12). The exhaust pipe (101) of the engine (1) is connected to the reactor (503) and the evaporator (502) in sequence. The hot gas emitted by the exhaust pipe (101) first passes through the reactor (503) and then through the evaporator (502) to exchange heat with methanol before being discharged from the evaporator (502), thus forming a cascade utilization channel for the high temperature exhaust gas of the engine (1). A pressure sensor (13) is installed on the hydrogen storage tank (505), and a pressure sensor (13) is installed in the reactor (503). A catalyst support is used to catalyze the reaction of methanol gas, and electric heaters are provided in the evaporator (502) and reactor (503). The solar cell (3) is connected to the car battery and provides power to the electric heaters of the membrane separator (504), evaporator (502) and reactor (503). A switch (14) is provided between the evaporator (502) and reactor (503) and the solar cell (3). Temperature sensors (15) and (16) are respectively provided on the hot gas exhaust port of the evaporator (502) and the exhaust pipe (101) of the engine (1). The water-saving separator (401) of the hydrogen fuel cell (4) is connected to the evaporator (502) through the second metering pump (17). The first metering pump (6) and the second metering pump (17) deliver a proportioned mixture of water and liquid methanol to the evaporator (502). A controller is connected to the temperature sensor (15), (16), the first metering pump (6) and the second metering pump (17), the pressure sensor (13), the throttle valve (7), the on / off control valve (8), (9), the first regulating control valve (10) and the second regulating control valve (11) and the hydrogen fuel cell (4).

2. The methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The membrane separator (504) is of model number [model number missing]. Hydrogen separation device, or hydrogen membrane separator with model number SM8100 / SL8100.

3. The methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The hydrogen generation device extracts hydrogen through the following process: First, a mixture of water and liquid methanol enters an evaporator, absorbs heat, and evaporates to form a gaseous output. Second, the water and liquid methanol mixture enters a reactor from the evaporator for further heat absorption, and then... Catalyst support for catalytic reaction generation CO Mixed gas is discharged; discharged CO The mixed gas enters a hydrogen separation unit, which acts as a membrane separator. This unit employs a membrane separation-PSA coupled refining process: the mixed gas enters the cylinder via a pressure control valve, and utilizing the selective permeability of Pd metal to hydrogen, it permeates the hollow metal membrane under pressure, purifying the hydrogen. The hydrogen separated by the membrane separator... The CO and other byproduct gases enter the engine's exhaust pipe. At the same time, the membrane separator also supplies throttled hydrogen to the engine to mix with methanol for combustion.

4. The methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The evaporator (502) is a capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporator, comprising an evaporator shell (502-1) and a filter element (502-2). A heat exchange tube (502-3) is installed in the shell (502-1). The filter element (502-2) is placed inside the shell (502-1) and sleeved on the heat exchange tube (502-3). The heat exchange tube (502-3) has a hot gas inlet (502-4) and an outlet (502-5) horizontally opposite each other at both ends of the shell, for use with the engine. The discharge pipe (101) of the machine (1) is connected, and the shell (502-1) is staggered with a liquid methanol inlet (502-6), a water inlet (502-7), and a gaseous methanol outlet (502-8) for mixed water. The filter element (502-2) adopts a capillary-assisted low-pressure evaporation and finned heat exchange structure, so that the liquid methanol and water entering the cavity can fully contact the fins for heat exchange. An electric heater (502-9) is provided in the shell (502-1).

5. The methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reactor (503) includes a reactor shell (503-1) and a heat exchange tube (503-2). The heat exchange tube (503-2) penetrates the reactor shell (503-1). A hot gas inlet (503-3) and an outlet (503-4) are horizontally opposite at both ends of the heat exchange tube (503-2) for communication with the engine's exhaust pipe (101). A core cylinder (503-5) is installed inside the reactor shell (503-1). The core cylinder (503-5) is fitted onto the heat exchange tube (503-2). The surface of the core cylinder (503-5) has a textured surface with perforations (503-5-1). The surface of the core cylinder (503-5) is coated with... Catalyst formation The catalyst support is provided, and the electric heater (503-6) is arranged around the core cylinder on the inner surface of the reactor shell (503-1). The reactor shell (503-1) has an alternating inlet (503-7) and outlet (503-8) for the gaseous methanol in the mixed water, located vertically opposite each other. The gaseous methanol entering the mixed water is... Catalyst support reaction generation CO The mixed gas is output from the outlet.

6. The methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ratio of the water and liquid methanol mixture is 1.5:

1.

7. A power generation control method based on the methanol-to-hydrogen power generation system according to claim 1, comprising start-up control and operation control, characterized in that, The startup control includes: Step 1: Close the throttle valve (7), switch control valve (8), (9), check valve (601), first regulating control valve (10), second regulating control valve (11), third regulating valve (12), switch (14), check and confirm that the voltage of the solar cell (3) and the car battery is working normally, and check and confirm that there is water in the water-saving separator (401); Step 2: Start the first metering pump (6), open the first regulating control valve (10) to supply methanol liquid to the engine, start the engine (1), monitor the temperature of the engine exhaust pipe (101) and the temperature of the hot gas exhaust port of the evaporator (502), and at the same time open the switch control valves (8) and (9), and control the switch (14) to control the supply of heating power to the electric heater of the evaporator (502) and the electric heater (503-6) of the reactor (503) according to the temperature set value of the engine exhaust pipe (101); Third step: When the temperature of the hot gas discharge port of the evaporator (502) reaches the set value, open the check valve (601), adjust the first metering pump (6) and the second metering pump (16) to send water and liquid methanol into the evaporator (502) according to the set ratio of water and liquid methanol mixture, and monitor the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank (505); Fourth step: When the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank (505) reaches the set value, open the third regulating valve (12) to supply hydrogen fuel to the hydrogen fuel cell (4), and the hydrogen fuel cell (4) generates electricity. At the same time, open the second regulating control valve (11) to supply hydrogen fuel to the engine (1). At the same time, adjust the first regulating control valve (10) to reduce the supply of methanol liquid and maintain the hydrogen in a set ratio. The operation control is as follows: monitor the output power of the hydrogen fuel cell (4), and when the output power increases and the output voltage decreases, adjust the third regulating valve (12) to increase the amount of hydrogen fuel supplied, and vice versa; monitor the pressure of the hydrogen storage tank (505), and when the pressure is lower than the set value, adjust the first metering pump (6) and the second metering pump (16) to increase the amount of water and liquid methanol mixture supplied to the hydrogen storage tank (505), thereby increasing the amount of hydrogen produced, and vice versa, to reduce the amount of water and liquid methanol mixture supplied to the hydrogen storage tank (505), thereby reducing the amount of hydrogen produced.

8. The power generation control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes, during operation, issuing an alarm when an abnormality or uncontrollability occurs, and closing the throttle valve (7), the switch control valves (8) and (9), the check valve (601), the first regulating control valve (10), the second regulating control valve (11), the third regulating valve (12), the switch (14), and the first metering pump (6) and the second metering pump (16).

9. The power generation control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The ratio of the water and liquid methanol mixture is 1.5:

1.

10. The power generation control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The hydrogen to methanol mixture combustion ratio in the engine is 0.5:1.

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