VEHICLE WITH FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND PROCESS WATER TREATMENT DEVICE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle with at least one water tank for supplying at least one water consumption device of a sanitary cell or a galley of the vehicle with water, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one fuel cell system with at least one process water outlet, which is connected to the at least one water tank by means of at least one pipeline, so that process water from the fuel cell system can be supplied to the at least one water tank via the at least one pipeline, wherein the vehicle has at least one treatment device for the biological and / or chemical and / or physical treatment of water. Vehicles with drinking water supply systems, in particular for supplying passengers with drinking water, for example in sanitary facilities of the vehicle, are known.

[0002] Thus, from the patent application WO 2018 / 229937 A1, a vehicle with a drinking water system is known which has a temperature measuring device for monitoring the drinking water in a drinking water tank and a control device which in turn is connected to a dosing device for adding disinfectant in order to supply disinfectant to this drinking water depending on a detected temperature of the drinking water in the drinking water tank.

[0003] The German patent application DE 10 2004 007 791 A1 concerns the feeding of condensed water from the exhaust gas of a fuel cell into a vehicle's service water reservoir, in order to reduce the size of the service water reservoir. Service water is defined as water that cannot be used as drinking water but is suitable for purposes such as rinsing or washing.

[0004] The European patent application with application number EP21195273, which was not yet published at the time of this application, discloses a vehicle with a fuel cell system, wherein process water from the fuel cell system is supplied to a grey or fresh water tank.

[0005] US patent 2008 / 0127411 A teaches an interchangeable sanitary module with a low-temperature fuel cell system for supplying electrical energy to the sanitary module's electrical consumers. Process water from the fuel cell system is condensed by means of a cooler and fed to a fresh water tank in the sanitary module.

[0006] DE 102 16 709 A1 discloses a method for water treatment and distribution of on-board water in vehicles. Exhaust gas from a high-temperature fuel cell system is first used to drive a turbine. It is then cooled by means of a heat exchanger and a condenser. After filtration using activated carbon filters, the process water is collected in a water tank. From there, it can be used for air humidification, a greywater process (e.g., for flushing a toilet), or, after subsequent salinization, a drinking water process.

[0007] German patent DE10 2006 042 300 A1 discloses a vehicle comprising a sanitary module that is autonomously operated by a supply system. The supply system includes an energy supply unit, which in turn comprises a fuel cell system with a low-temperature fuel cell. The fuel cell system is not visibly designed to supply energy to an electric drive.

[0008] The invention is based on the objective of providing a further improved and simplified vehicle.

[0009] The problem is solved by the subject matter of independent patent claim 1. Further developments and embodiments of the invention are found in the features of the dependent patent claims.

[0010] A vehicle according to the invention comprises at least one water tank for supplying at least one water consumption device in a sanitary cell or galley of the vehicle with water, at least one fuel cell system with at least one process water outlet which is connected to the at least one water tank by means of at least one pipeline, so that process water can be supplied from the fuel cell system to the at least one water tank via the at least one pipeline, at least one treatment device for the biological and / or chemical and / or physical treatment of water, and an electric drive, wherein the fuel cell system comprises at least one low-temperature fuel cell and is designed to supply energy to the electric drive, wherein the at least one treatment device is arranged in or on the at least one water tank for the biological and / or chemical and / or physical treatment of the water located in the at least one water tank, or wherein the at least one treatment device is arranged downstream of the at least one water tank for the biological and / or chemical and / or physical treatment of the water supplied from the water tank, in particular to downstream water processes, for example, the supply to the water consumption device.so that the water contained in or discharged from the water tank is treated by means of the treatment plant, and wherein the at least one process water outlet is connected to the water tank by means of the at least one pipeline, free from the at least one treatment device, so that the untreated process water of the fuel cell system can be fed directly to the water tank by means of the pipeline.

[0011] The vehicle has no process equipment or facilities for treating or conditioning the fuel cell system's process water, particularly for conversion, cooling, or filtration, between the fuel cell system's at least one process water outlet and the water tank. The pipeline between the process water outlet and the water tank is therefore completely free of any treatment equipment. The term "treatment equipment" encompasses all treatment plants or facilities for the biological, chemical, and / or physical treatment of water. This includes, for example, purification, disinfection, sterilization, demineralization or mineralization, softening or hardening, deacidification or acidification. The pipeline is also free of heat exchangers, coolers, condensers, evaporators, filters, etc. Furthermore, the pipeline is also free of turbines.

[0012] Water treatment generally serves to achieve, i.e., to produce, restore, or maintain a specified water quality. This can include compliance with quality requirements for a given drinking water quality, particularly according to regulations such as a drinking water ordinance or drinking water directive, focusing less on pollutant and / or biological contamination and more on adhering to specified limit values ​​for a given drinking water quality. Methods of drinking water treatment are already well-known.

[0013] According to a further development of the invention, the at least one water consumption device is a water dispensing point for drinking water, such as a handwashing basin in a sanitary compartment of the vehicle. However, the water consumption device can also be, for example, a dishwasher in a galley of the vehicle.

[0014] A drinking water tank can be arranged between the water reservoir and the water consumption device to supply at least one drinking water consumption device in a sanitary unit or galley of the vehicle with drinking water. In a further development, the vehicle then includes a drinking water tank which is connected to the water reservoir via at least one additional pipe and is arranged downstream of the water reservoir, i.e., fluidically speaking, between the water reservoir and a drinking water dispensing point in the vehicle.

[0015] If the at least one treatment device is arranged downstream of the at least one water tank, it can be arranged between the at least one water tank and the drinking water tank, or it can be arranged downstream of the drinking water tank altogether. In the first case, it is arranged downstream of the at least one water tank and upstream of the drinking water tank. In the second case, it is arranged downstream of both the at least one water tank and the drinking water tank, and is located between the drinking water tank and the drinking water dispensing point.

[0016] The advantage of upstream water treatment, i.e., a treatment device located in or on the water tank, or between at least one water tank and the drinking water tank, lies particularly in the fact that drinking water already present in the drinking water tank is not contaminated by untreated process water. By treating the process water collected in the water tank to a specified drinking water quality, it can be dispensed to consumers via a drinking water dispensing point – even via the drinking water tank. If further treatment of the drinking water from the drinking water tank is planned, this can take place either within the drinking water tank itself or downstream of it.

[0017] According to a further embodiment of the invention, at least one treatment device comprises at least one UV disinfection unit. UV disinfection units are generally known from the prior art. UV light deactivates all bacteria, viruses, algae, and fungi exposed to UV radiation without affecting water quality (pH value, oxygen content). UV light has a strong destructive effect on microorganisms. This alters the DNA of the microorganisms, rendering them unable to reproduce. In this further embodiment, the UV disinfection unit is arranged downstream of the at least one water tank. It can therefore be located between the at least one water tank and the drinking water tank, or it can even be located downstream of the drinking water tank.It can be designed as a pipe-side device to irradiate and thus treat the water flowing through a pipeline between at least one water tank and the water consumption point, for example, the drinking water dispensing point, with UV light. This could be described as flow-through disinfection, analogous to instantaneous water heaters.

[0018] UV disinfection can always be carried out when water is dispensed to the water consumption point, for example, a drinking water dispensing point, regardless of whether the water is contaminated with germs. In this case, at least one treatment device, comprising at least one disinfection unit with UV light, is advantageously arranged between the drinking water reservoir and the water consumption point, for example, the drinking water dispensing point.

[0019] The duration and / or intensity of UV disinfection can be controlled depending on the flow rate of the water being disinfected. For this purpose, the vehicle can have a control unit designed to regulate the duration and / or intensity of UV irradiation by the UV disinfection device based on the flow rate of the dispensed drinking water. The dispensing volume of water can be predetermined, thus also determining the duration and / or intensity of UV irradiation by the UV disinfection device. For example, a predetermined quantity of drinking water is dispensed each time a control device is activated to trigger a liquid dispensing. Such a configuration is known, for example, from WO 2013 / 026622 A1.

[0020] In a further developed form, at least one treatment device can include at least one unit for cooling or heating the dispensed drinking water. This unit for cooling or heating the dispensed drinking water can also be designed as a pipe-integrated unit for flow-through cooling or heating. It can, for example, include a heat exchanger.

[0021] The amount of heat delivered or absorbed, and thus the cooling or heating capacity, is determined, for example, by the control unit, based on a measured temperature of the drinking water in the drinking water tank or in the pipeline between the drinking water tank and the drinking water dispensing point. For this purpose, a temperature sensor can be provided and positioned accordingly in the drinking water tank or in the pipeline between the drinking water tank and the drinking water dispensing point. The control unit is then designed to perform a control function for regulating the cooling or heating of the treatment system based on the measured temperature values.

[0022] If, however, the dispensed quantity of drinking water is not fixed, for example, if the dispensed quantity can be regulated by means of a tap or other shut-off device or valve, the vehicle can include a flow meter to determine the flow rate of the dispensed drinking water. The control unit can be further developed to perform a control function for regulating the cooling or heating of the treatment device depending on the measured flow rates.

[0023] Similarly, the control unit can be designed to perform a control function for controlling the UV light disinfection device of the processing unit depending on the measured values ​​for the flow rate.

[0024] The advantage of at least one water treatment device arranged in or on at least one water tank or immediately downstream thereof is in particular that the water in the water tank or the water immediately discharged from it can be treated depending on the quality of the water in the water tank.

[0025] To describe the quality of the water in the water tank, at least one measuring device for recording measured values ​​of at least one predetermined measured quantity for describing the quality of the water in the water tank can be arranged in the water tank or in the at least one pipeline between the process water outlet and the water tank.

[0026] Furthermore, the vehicle can include at least one control unit which is connected to the at least one measuring device and is designed to read the measured values ​​of the measuring device acquired by the measuring device, and wherein the control unit is designed to perform a control function for controlling the processing device depending on the measured values ​​read in.

[0027] The treatment device is therefore controlled depending on the measured values ​​read in and thus depending on the quality of the water in the water tank, for example when at least one predetermined limit value is reached or exceeded or fallen below.

[0028] The temperature of the water in the water tank can be a measured parameter used to describe the water quality. If the treatment system includes a device for cooling or heating the water in the tank or the water dispensed from the tank, the cooling or heating can be carried out accordingly, possibly also depending on the measured temperature values. If, as outlined above, a device for cooling or heating water is located downstream of a drinking water tank, the cooling or heating can, however, occur independently of the measured values ​​regarding the water quality in the tank. The same applies to a disinfection device with UV light located downstream of a drinking water tank. This device is also controlled by the control unit independently of the measured values ​​regarding the water quality in the tank.The control unit can be configured to perform a control function for the treatment equipment, particularly downstream of the drinking water tank, independently of the measured and stored values ​​of the water quality in the water tank, using the UV light disinfection device and / or the cooling or heating device. This improves the efficiency of the disinfection and / or cooling or heating system downstream of the drinking water tank.

[0029] As explained above, the at least one water treatment device arranged in or on at least one water tank, or immediately downstream thereof, is advantageously controlled by the control unit based on the measured values ​​recorded and read in to describe the water quality in the water tank. In addition to temperature, measured values ​​describing the mineralization of the water can be recorded as parameters describing water quality.

[0030] The at least one measuring device is further developed to record measurements describing the mineralization of the water in the water tank. The at least one measuring device is further developed to record measurements of the pH value and / or the conductivity and / or calcite solubility of the water.

[0031] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the at least one processing device comprises at least one metering device for adding predetermined minerals depending on the control function of the control unit and thus depending on the measured values ​​recorded and read in by the control unit.

[0032] The addition of magnesium carbonate via the dosing device of the processing unit is advantageous. This so-called salinization with magnesium carbonate instead of calcium carbonate offers the benefit of improved limescale protection.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the processing device includes at least one dosing device for adding disinfectants.

[0034] According to the invention, activated carbon filters for purifying the process water, as well as other filters for softening the water, such as limescale filters, are unnecessary. The vehicle is therefore free of activated carbon and / or limescale filters.

[0035] The described system, which collects the process water directly in the water tank and treats it there or immediately downstream, and optionally performs further treatment steps, such as disinfection and / or cooling or heating, only after a drinking water tank downstream of the water tank, allows for significant savings in weight and installation space. The drinking water tank can be smaller compared to state-of-the-art systems. This allows for more passenger seats in the vehicle and / or a larger wastewater tank, resulting in longer pump-out intervals.

[0036] The treatment of the process water collected in the fuel cell system's water tank allows the treated water to be fed into a drinking water process. The quality of the process water generated during operation and collected in the water tank is monitored for this purpose. The water tank can be of a small size.

[0037] According to further training, the vehicle is a rail vehicle, specifically for passenger transport.

[0038] According to further training, the vehicle's fuel cell system consists exclusively of low-temperature fuel cells.

[0039] The vehicle is further developed to be exclusively electrically powered, in particular exclusively with the electrical energy provided by the fuel cell system.

[0040] The vehicle's electric drive will then be supplied exclusively with electrical energy from the fuel cell system.

[0041] The fuel cell system can be advantageously located in the roof area of ​​the vehicle.

[0042] At least one pipeline can advantageously be located inside the vehicle.

[0043] According to the invention, process water produced during the operation of the fuel cell system is discharged from the fuel cell system and fed directly and without treatment to the water tank to supply at least one water consumption device, at least one sanitary cell or galley of the vehicle with water, wherein treatment of the process water takes place downstream in the water tank or the water tank.

[0044] The treated process water can then be fed into a drinking water process, including dispensing at a drinking water dispensing point or a dishwasher.

[0045] The treatment process can be further refined depending on the downstream drinking water process. For example, less treated water can be supplied to a dishwasher or coffee machine in a galley. This requires no cooling or heating, and also less added minerals. A standard limescale filter in the dishwasher or coffee machine is therefore unnecessary.

[0046] This allows the volume of at least one drinking water tank to be further reduced.

[0047] In one embodiment, the water from the water tank is supplied exclusively to a drinking water system of a galley and optionally additionally to a grey water system of the sanitary unit, for example for flushing a toilet, and the drinking water supply of the galley and / or the sanitary unit can optionally be provided via gallons in accordance with WO 2019 / 242957 A1.

[0048] The invention allows for numerous embodiments. It is explained in more detail with reference to the following figure, which shows one embodiment example.

[0049] The figure schematically shows a vehicle according to the invention, here a rail vehicle for public passenger transport, with a fuel cell system 2 arranged in the roof area 10 of the rail vehicle 1 for supplying an electric drive 11 of the rail vehicle 1 with electrical energy. The fuel cell system 2 and the electric drive 11 are coupled to each other via an electrical line 13. The fuel cell system 2 comprises exclusively low-temperature fuel cells.

[0050] Inside the vehicle 1, here in the area of ​​the fuel cell system 2, a sanitary cell 7 is arranged, comprising a washbasin 5 and a toilet 6 as well as a drinking water tank 15 for supplying the washbasin 5 with drinking water and a grey water tank 4 for supplying the toilet 6 with water for flushing the toilet 6.

[0051] Both the washbasin 5 and the toilet 6 are water consumption fixtures. Washbasin 5 also serves as a drinking water dispensing point in vehicle 1. In addition to washbasin 5 in the sanitary unit, further drinking water dispensing points may be provided in vehicle 1, for example, in a galley, such as a coffee machine and / or dishwasher, which are not shown here. These may also be connected to the drinking water tank via a pipeline.

[0052] The washbasin module includes in particular a tap as a drinking water dispensing point, which is located above the hand basin, so that the drinking water exiting the tap is collected by the hand basin, whereby it is considered grey water at that moment and is treated accordingly as grey water.

[0053] The greywater is directed to the greywater tank, where it can be used to supply a flushing device for toilet module 6. Wastewater from toilet 6 is collected and stored in a wastewater tank 14.

[0054] Fuel cell system 2 has a process water outlet 8 to discharge process water produced by the fuel cell chemistry during operation. This process water outlet 8 is connected to the water tank 3 via a pipe 9, so that the process water discharged from fuel cell system 2 is fed into the water tank 3.

[0055] In this embodiment example, the water tank 3 and the greywater tank 4 are also connected to each other by pipes 12, so that water can be transferred from the water tank 3 to the greywater tank 4 if the water level in the greywater tank 4 falls below a minimum level.

[0056] Pipes 9 and 12 may be insulated to prevent the water inside from freezing.

[0057] As illustrated here, the fuel cell system 2 can be located near the sanitary cell 7 and its water tanks 3, 4 and 15. The connection from the process water outlet 8 to the water tank 3 would therefore be very short.

[0058] The collected process water from water tank 3 can be used to supply water to the water consumption facilities of the sanitary cell or a galley of the vehicle.

[0059] Depending on the power demand, the fuel cell produces distilled water, for example, between 1 and 12 liters per hour. The average weight of the process water produced by the fuel cell can then be calculated from the power demand. Accordingly, the amount of drinking water carried in the drinking water tank 15 can be reduced, since the water tank 3 is constantly being refilled with "new" water from the fuel cell. This affects the weight, space requirements, and ultimately the energy balance.

[0060] Since the process water of the fuel cell system 2 supplied to the water tank 3 does not meet drinking water regulations, it must be treated before being supplied to the drinking water dispensing points or before being supplied to the drinking water tank 15, by means of a treatment device 16 for the biological and / or chemical and / or physical treatment of water.

[0061] The treatment device 16 is arranged here on the water tank 3 for the treatment of the water contained in the water tank 3 or the water supplied from the water tank 3 to the downstream drinking water tank 15. Water tank 3 and drinking water tank 15 are connected to each other via a pipe 18.

[0062] Vehicle 1, however, is free of any treatment device between process water outlet 8 and water tank 3. Thus, process water outlet 8 is connected to water tank 3 via pipe 9 without any treatment device, so that the process water from fuel cell system 2 is fed to water tank 3 untreated via pipe 9.

[0063] The process water from fuel cell system 2 is collected in water tank 3, which can also be relatively small. If no drinking water is needed, for example, if drinking water tank 15 is full, the process water collected in water tank 3 can be fed untreated into greywater tank 4 for flushing the toilet. Drinking water tank 15 and greywater tank 4 are not directly connected by pipes. Greywater tank 4, which can therefore be used directly as a flushing tank for toilet 6, thus eliminating the need for an additional flushing tank, can also be small. This creates more space, for example for seating, in vehicle 1.

[0064] To record measured values ​​of at least one predefined parameter for describing the quality of the water in water tank 3, a suitably designed measuring device 17 is arranged in or on the water tank 3. Sensors or transducers of the measuring device 17 for monitoring at least one parameter of drinking water quality can, for example, record a pH value and / or the conductivity of the water and / or the calcite solubility of the water and / or the oxygen content of the water. In principle, all measured parameters for characterizing the condition and quality of the water in water tank 3 can be recorded in order to determine a prescribed quality.

[0065] A control unit, not shown separately, is provided for controlling the processing device 16. In this embodiment, the control unit is integrated into the processing device 16. The control unit is connected to the measuring device 17 and is configured to perform a control function for controlling the processing device 17 based on the measured values ​​received. For this purpose, the control unit is connected to the measuring device 17 via a line 20.

[0066] For example, the measuring device 17 is designed to record measured values ​​for describing the mineralization of the water in the water tank 3. The treatment device 16 can then include a dosing device for adding predetermined minerals.

[0067] A treatment device, controlled independently of the measured values, can also be assigned to the drinking water dispensing point. This treatment device includes a disinfection unit with UV light 19.

Claims

1. Vehicle (1) with at least one water container (3) for supplying at least one water consumption facility (5) of a sanitary cubicle (7) or a galley of the vehicle with water, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one fuel cell system (2) with at least one process water outlet (8), which is connected to the at least one water container (3) by means of at least one pipeline (9), such that the process water can be fed from the fuel cell system (2) to the at least one water container (3) via the at least one pipeline (9), wherein the vehicle (1) has at least one processing apparatus (16) for biological and / or chemical and / or physical treatment of water, wherein the fuel cell system (2) comprises at least one low temperature fuel cell, wherein the at least one process water outlet (8) is connected to the water container (3) by means of the at least one pipeline (9) independent of the at least one processing apparatus (16), such that the process water of the fuel cell system (2) is fed to the water container by means of the pipeline (9), characterised in that the vehicle (1) comprises an electric drive (11), wherein the fuel cell system (2) is designed to supply the electric drive (11) with power, wherein the at least one processing apparatus (16) is arranged in or on the at least one water container (3) or is arranged downstream of the at least one water container (3) to process water within the at least one water container (3) or water dispensed by the water container.

2. Vehicle according to claim 1, characterised in that the fuel cell system (2) comprises exclusively low temperature fuel cells.

3. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that at least one measurement facility (17) is arranged in the water container (3) to acquire measurement values of at least one prespecified measurement variable for describing a quality of the water in the water container (3), wherein a control unit is connected to the at least one measurement facility (17) and wherein the control unit is designed to perform a control function for controlling the processing apparatus depending on the read-in measurement values.

4. Vehicle according to claim 3, characterised in that the at least one measurement facility (17) is designed to acquire measurement values for describing a mineralisation of the water in the water container (3).

5. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the at least one processing apparatus (16) has at least one dosing apparatus for adding prespecified minerals.

6. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that it comprises a drinking water container (15), which is connected to the water container (3) via at least one pipeline (18) and is arranged between the water container (3) and a water outlet point (5) for drinking water in the vehicle (1), wherein the at least one processing system (16) is arranged between the at least one water container (3) and the drinking water container (15).

7. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the at least one processing apparatus (16) comprises at least one germ removal device (19) with UV light.

8. Vehicle according to claim 7, characterised in that the control unit is designed to execute a control function for the control of the germ removal device (19) with UV light independent of the read-in measurement values.

9. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the at least one processing apparatus comprises at least one device for cooling.

10. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the vehicle (1) is a rail vehicle.

11. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the fuel cell system (2) is arranged in the roof region () of the vehicle (1).

12. Vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the at least one water consumption facility (5, 6) is a water outlet point for drinking water or is a dishwasher.

13. Method for operating a vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that during operation of the fuel cell system (2), process water produced is discharged out of the fuel cell system (2) and is fed to water container (3) for supplying at least one water processing facility (5) of at least one sanitary cubicle (7) or galley of the vehicle with water directly and independent of a treatment for processing the process water, wherein processing the process water takes place in the water container or downstream of the water container.

14. Method according to claim 13, characterised in that the water from the water container (3) is fed to a drinking water process.