Gas supply system to engine

Abstract

To provide a gas supply system capable of supplying mixed gas of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas continuously for a long period.SOLUTION: A gas supply system to an engine is configured by: preparing a device having the same structure as a fuel battery as a device for performing electrolysis; supplying pure water to the device instead of generating power by supplying hydrogen as fuel, so as to energize and generate hydrogen; sending generated hydrogen gas and undecomposed pure water containing oxygen gas into a gas-liquid mixture tank; mixing the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas in the gas-liquid mixture tank; and sending the mixed gas into air supply of the engine.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for supplying hydrogen gas for agitation and oxygen gas for combustion into an air supply. In the case of a binary system of hydrogen and oxygen, the explosion limit is 4 to 74 vol%, just like hydrogen and air. When electrolyzed, the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen is 2:1, which exceeds the upper explosion limit. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes adding a small amount (0.01 to 0.1 vol%) of hydrogen to the intake air as a method for efficiently burning polymer liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, or heavy oil in an engine.

[0003] This method ignites the hydrogen gas in the intake air when the fuel is ignited, and because the flame propagation speed of hydrogen gas is much faster than that of polymer liquid fuel, the combustion of hydrogen gas promotes mixing of the polymer liquid fuel with the intake air, promoting complete combustion. This method is particularly effective for combustion systems with large load fluctuations.

[0004] To apply the combustion of the above-mentioned hydrogen with a small amount added to the intake air to ships, etc., a constant supply of hydrogen is required. To achieve this, it is possible to install a hydrogen production device on the ship or to install hydrogen cylinders or cylinders filled with hydrogen storage alloys on the ship.

[0005] The produced hydrogen gas is usually stored in a cylinder, but a larger amount can be stored by filling a cylinder filled with a hydrogen storage alloy. Patent Document 2 describes a method of predicting surplus electricity generated based on renewable energy, using this predicted surplus electricity to produce and store hydrogen, and filling the stored hydrogen into cylinders or the like.

[0006] Electrolysis devices are commonly used for producing hydrogen. The electrolysis device described in Patent Document 3 is configured such that pure water is fed into a gas-liquid separator, the pure water is electrolyzed in an electrolysis section connected to a number of cell stacks from the gas-liquid separator, the hydrogen gas and oxygen gas produced by the electrolysis are fed together with water into the gas-liquid separator, a mixed gas of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas is extracted, and the hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are then separated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6328186 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-207728 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-123899 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The operating method disclosed in Patent Document 1 allows complete combustion even when the engine load fluctuates, and the amount of hydrogen gas added per stroke is extremely small. However, ships and other engines have extremely large capacities, and when considering continuous operation for long periods of time, a large amount of hydrogen is required.

[0009] It is possible to load hydrogen cylinders or hydrogen storage alloy cylinders onto the ship, but if the ship is to be operated for a long period of time, such as one week or one month, a large number of cylinders would have to be loaded, making this unrealistic.

[0010] Therefore, it is practical to load a water electrolysis device onto a ship. General electrolysis devices, including the device disclosed in Patent Document 3, generate hydrogen gas at the cathode and oxygen gas at the anode. Such electrolysis devices generate only a small amount of gas per unit of power consumption, and in order to increase the amount of gas generated, the electrolyte is made strongly alkaline, consuming large amounts of caustic soda and potassium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the system of the present invention provides a device with the same structure as a fuel cell as a device for performing electrolysis, and instead of supplying hydrogen as fuel to generate electricity, pure water is supplied to the device and electricity is passed through to generate hydrogen. The generated hydrogen gas and undecomposed pure water containing oxygen gas are sent to a gas-liquid mixing tank, where the hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are mixed, and this mixed gas is sent into the air supply to the engine. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, not only trace amounts of hydrogen gas but also oxygen gas are contained in the air supplied to the engine, so not only is there a stirring effect due to the combustion of hydrogen, but oxygen deficiency can also be eliminated, making it easier to achieve complete combustion.

[0013] Furthermore, by passing pure water and electricity through a device with the same structure as a fuel cell (using a fuel cell in reverse), it is possible to obtain large amounts of hydrogen gas without using caustic soda or potassium and with little power consumption. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall view of a gas supply system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a pure water supply unit, an electrolysis unit, and a gas supply unit that constitute the gas supply system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a gas supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] The control unit 4 includes a power supply 41, a recorder 42, a display and control panel 43, a power supply 44 for electrolysis, and the like.

[0017] The pure water supply unit 1 is equipped with an ion exchange resin column 11 that converts clean water into pure water, and the pure water that passes through this ion exchange resin column 11 is temporarily stored in a gas separation tank 31 that constitutes the gas supply unit 3, and is then supplied from this gas separation tank 31 to an electrolyzer 21 that constitutes the electrolysis unit 2.

[0018] The electrolyzer 21 has the same structure as a fuel cell, and produces hydrogen ions (H + ) permeable electrolyte membrane, and an anode and anode placed on either side of the electrolyte membrane.

[0019] When pure water is supplied from the anode side and electricity is passed between the electrodes (anode and negative electrode), the water (HO) converts into hydrogen ions (H + ) and hydroxide ions (OH - ) and hydrogen ions (H + ) permeates the electrolyte membrane, hydrogen gas (H2) is generated on the negative electrode side, and hydroxide ions (OH - ) is 2(OH - ) → H2O + 1 / 2O2, and undecomposed water containing oxygen gas is produced on the anode side.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the hydrogen gas (H2) is sent to a gas separation tank 31 via a pipe 22, and water (H2O) containing oxygen gas (O2) is sent to the gas separation tank 31 via a pipe .

[0021] The gas separation tank 31 is cooled by a cooling means. The cooling means comprises a spiral pipe 32 arranged inside the gas separation tank 31 through which fresh water flows, and a spiral pipe 33 arranged around the outer periphery of the gas separation tank 31.

[0022] Hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2) are mixed in the gas separation tank 31 and supplied to the intake pipe or supercharger of the engine. The amount of supply is preferably 0.01 to 0.1 vol% of the intake air based on hydrogen gas.

[0023] In this system, hydrogen gas (H2) is sent alone to the gas separation tank 31. This makes it easy to control the amount of hydrogen gas generated. Conversely, if hydrogen gas (H2), oxygen gas (O2) and undecomposed water are returned together to the gas separation tank 31, it becomes difficult to accurately detect the amount of hydrogen gas generated. In particular, in the case of this system, the amount of hydrogen gas supplied into the air supply is very small, so it is important to control the amount of hydrogen gas generated. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1...pure water supply unit, 11...ion exchange resin column, 2...electrolysis unit, 21...electrolyzer, 22, 23...piping, 3...gas supply unit, 31...gas separation tank, 32, 33...spiral piping, 4...control unit, 41...power supply, 42...recorder, 43...display / control panel, 44...electrolysis power supply.

Claims

[Request 1] This system sends a mixture of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas into the intake air of an engine or into a turbocharger. The system comprises a pure water supply unit, an electrolysis unit, a gas supply unit, and a control unit for controlling each of these units. The electrolysis unit comprises an electrolyte membrane permeable to hydrogen ions and an anode and a cathode disposed on either side of the membrane. By passing a current between the electrodes, the pure water supplied from the anode side is converted into hydrogen gas (H 2 ) and oxygen gas (O 2 ) containing water (H 2 O), and the gas supply unit supplies hydrogen gas (H 2 ) and oxygen gas (O 2 ) containing water (H 2 A gas separation tank is provided to which hydrogen gas (H 2 ) and oxygen gas (O 2 ) and supplying the mixture to the engine or to a supercharger.

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