Heat exchanger

Abstract

To provide a heat exchanger which has improved efficiency of a gas separator.SOLUTION: There is provided a heat exchanger for production of a first fluid of a first molecule (H2) and a second fluid of a second molecule (O2) from a parent compound. The molecular weight of the first molecule is smaller than that of the second molecule. The heat exchanger includes: a reaction device for decomposition of a fluid into a mixed complex of the first molecule and the second molecule; and a gas separator device. The gas separator device includes: a mixture inlet 26 in a bottom section 24, for the mixed complex of the first molecule (H2) and the second molecule (O2); and first and second outlets 27, 28 in a top section 25. The first outlet 27 essentially gives the first molecule (H2) and the second outlet 28 essentially gives the second molecule (O2). The gas separator device further includes: a guide element 6 which guides the first and second molecules from the mixture inlet 26 toward the first and second outlets 27, 28 in a coil-shaped pathway. The coil-shaped pathway is enclosed by a side wall 29.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2a

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat exchanger for producing a first fluid of first molecules having a first molecular weight and a second fluid of second molecules having a second molecular weight from parent compounds, wherein the first molecular weight of the first molecules is less than the second molecular weight of the second molecules, the heat exchanger comprising a reactor for breaking down the fluid into a composite of the first and second molecules, and a gas separator device.

[0002] The present invention further relates to a gas separator.

[0003] The present invention also relates to a procedure for producing hydrogen and oxygen gases. [Background technology]

[0004] From Patent Document 1, a radiation energy transfer reactor is known, into which water molecules are introduced, preferably in the form of steam or water vapor. The radiation energy is absorbed by the molecules, which dissociate into hydrogen and oxygen. In the separation step, a time-varying magnetic field is used to cause the dissociated hydrogen and oxygen to rotate, facilitating their separation by the centrifugal effect of the magnetic field. The hydrogen gas can be pumped into a storage tank for use elsewhere, or used to power a fuel cell, or combusted for other installations close to the reactor.

[0005] Patent Document 2 discloses a vertical spiral-tube combined gas-liquid separator consisting of a gas collection section, a spiral centrifugal separation section, and a liquid collection section. Liquid entering the spiral tube in the spiral separation section generates centrifugal acceleration. Under the combined action of centrifugal force and gravity, liquid with a high density aggregates in the lower part of the pipe, while gas aggregates in the upper part before being discharged through the upper hole in the spiral tube. Under conditions of a smaller gas content in the fluid or a relatively small fluid flow rate, the fluid is mainly separated in the gas collection section, and the liquid is mainly collected in the liquid collection section. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2005 / 005009 [Patent Document 2] Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 200610009659 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The efficiency of the gas separator is important to the efficiency of the heat exchanger, therefore it is an object of the present invention to improve the efficiency of the gas separator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention proposes a heat exchanger for producing a first fluid of first molecules having a first molecular weight and a second fluid of second molecules having a second molecular weight, where the first molecular weight of the first molecules is less than the second molecular weight of the second molecules. The heat exchanger includes a reactor for decomposing a fluid into a composite of the first and second molecules. The heat exchanger further includes a gas separator device having a mixture inlet for the composite of the first and second molecules in a bottom section of the gas separator device, a first outlet for providing substantially the first molecules, and a second outlet for providing substantially the second molecules. The first outlet is located in a top section of the gas separator. The gas separator device further includes a guide element for guiding the first and second molecules from the mixture inlet toward the first and second outlets in a coiled path, the coiled path being enclosed by a sidewall that defines the coiled path such that its diameter increases from the mixture inlet to the outlet.

[0009] The use of a helix forces the combination of lighter and heavier molecules into a helical trajectory. This helical trajectory forces the molecules into radial motion, which exerts centrifugal force on the molecules. Because centrifugal force is a function of mass and radius, the second molecule, i.e., the molecule with a larger molecular weight, experiences a greater centrifugal force than the first molecule, which has a smaller molecular weight than the second molecule. As a result, the molecule with a larger molecular weight is separated from the molecule with a smaller molecular weight because it is accelerated radially outward from the imaginary axis of the helix more strongly than the molecule with a smaller molecular weight. As the diameter of the helix expands, i.e., the diameter increases more with distance from the mixture inlet, this effect is intensified because the centrifugal force increases with the expanding diameter due to the increased radius that the molecule with a larger molecular weight is allowed to assume.

[0010] Since molecules with smaller molecular weights remain mainly along the imaginary axis of the helix, they can be collected at an outlet opposite the mixture inlet and coaxial with the imaginary axis of the helix. Conversely, molecules with larger molecular weights are mainly at the side wall of the gas separator, from where they can be collected by an outlet located at the side wall, ideally furthest from the mixture inlet.

[0011] In another aspect of the invention, the radial coiled path is an ellipse.

[0012] It should be noted that if the gas separator has an elliptical cross section with respect to the imaginary axis of the helix, the acceleration effect is increased.

[0013] In another aspect of the invention, the eccentricity of the ellipse, ie, the ratio of the major axis of the ellipse to the minor axis of the ellipse, is preferably greater than 1.5.

[0014] In another aspect of the invention, a reactor includes a gas generator having an inlet for a fluid in a liquid phase and an outlet for a fluid in a gas phase.

[0015] In another aspect of the invention, a gas separator unit comprises a plurality of gas separator devices each having a single inlet and first and second outlets, the first outlet of one gas separator device being connected to the inlet of a subsequent gas separator device and the second outlet of each gas separator device being connected to a collection tube.

[0016] A gas separator may only achieve a certain ratio of gas separation. Some of the collected molecules with smaller molecular weights may still contain molecules with larger molecular weights. Therefore, by connecting more than one gas separator, the purity of the fluid with smaller molecular weight molecules is improved in stages. Depending on the purity required for a particular purpose, the gas separator unit may include two gas separator modules, three gas separator units, or even more gas separator units.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, the reactor includes not only a gas reactor but also a gas generator. If the parent compound exists in a liquid phase, the liquid parent compound is heated in the gas generator to convert it to a gas phase. If the parent compound is water, the gas generator is a steam generator that produces steam from liquid water.

[0018] Additionally or alternatively, the reactor further comprises a gas superheater having an inlet for the parent compound in a vapor state at the bottom end of the gas generator and an outlet for the fluid in a supercritical state at the top end of the gas generator. The gas superheater raises the temperature of the fluid in a vapor state above its critical point. When the fluid is water, the gas superheater is a steam superheater that raises the temperature of the steam to a temperature at which the steam would be superheated.

[0019] In one aspect of the invention, the gas generator, gas superheater, and reactor are combined in a converter unit, which is commonly heated by a heat source and is the same in all configurations. The difference between the gas generator, gas superheater, and reactor unit is a function of the temperature experienced by portions of the converter unit, because the temperature for portions of the converter unit closer to the heat source is higher than the temperature for portions of the converter unit farther away from the heat source. The gas generator is in fluid connection with a fluid reservoir containing the parent compound. A lower temperature is sufficient for converting the parent compound to gas than for superheating the gasified fluid to superheated fluid, and this portion of the converter unit is located where the converter unit receives less heat, usually the portion farthest from the heat source. When the reactor requires the highest available temperature, the portion of the converter unit closest to the heat source becomes the reactor, and therefore the outlet of the reactor should be selected to be close to the heat source. A logical consequence is that the part of the converter unit that functions as a gas superheater will be located between the gas generator and the reactor, exposed to lower temperatures than the reactor, but at a higher temperature than the gas generator.

[0020] In another aspect of the invention, the gas generator or gas superheater comprises a grid of connecting tubes for circulating a fluid received at an inlet of the gas generator or gas superheater to an outlet of the gas generator or gas superheater, the grid of tubes having one inlet and one outlet, where the outlet is located closest to the heat source.

[0021] In another aspect of the invention, the coil is located at or near the end of the outlet pipe of the gas separator.

[0022] A coil is used to generate an electromagnetic field where the outlet tube of the gas separator is located, which accelerates the first and second molecules from the inlet towards the outlet, thereby improving the efficiency of the gas separator.

[0023] In another aspect of the invention, a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is arranged between the water reservoir and the gas generator, and the TEG is preferably specifically designed for high temperature resistance, particularly temperatures up to 600°C.

[0024] The thermoelectric generator may be, for example, a Seebeck generator element, which generates an electrical current as a function of the temperature difference between the top and bottom surfaces of the Seebeck generator. In a preferred embodiment, the electrical power generated by the thermoelectric generator is used to power a coil to generate the electromagnetic field.

[0025] The present invention is applicable to a combustion engine for the combustion of either a first stream of first molecules or a second stream of second molecules, depending on whether the combustible molecules are first or second molecules. In a preferred embodiment, the combustion engine is in close proximity to a heat exchanger, i.e., connected by a manifold to the outlet of a reactor providing the combustible molecules. If water is the liquid selected to be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen, the combustible molecules are hydrogen molecules, i.e., molecules with a smaller molecular weight compared to oxygen molecules.

[0026] Another application of the present invention is in thermal waste treatment processes for the combustion of materials contained in waste to scrub flue gases.

[0027] In another aspect of the invention, the heat generated by the combustion is transferred to at least one of a gas generator or a gas superheater.

[0028] In this case, waste energy produced by the combustion engine may be reused to preheat fluid in a fluid reservoir or to provide heat to a gas generator, gas superheater or reactor.

[0029] In another embodiment of the invention, the parent compound is water, the first molecule is a hydrogen molecule, and the second molecule is an oxygen molecule, in which case the combustible molecule is hydrogen.

[0030] In another aspect of the invention, the parent compound is ammonia NH3.

[0031] In another aspect of the invention, a method for producing hydrogen and oxygen gases includes exposing water to a first heat source to produce steam; exposing the steam to a second heat source to superheat the steam to supercritical steam; directing the supercritical steam into a spiral track having an increasing diameter to force oxygen molecules (O2) radially outward; and collecting hydrogen molecules (H2) at the end of the track.

[0032] These and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

[0033] Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the embodiments. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation on the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Alternatives and further modifications to the features shown herein, and further applications of the principles shown herein, as may occur to those skilled in the art and having access to this disclosure, may be considered within the scope of the disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an arrangement for splitting water into molecular hydrogen and molecular oxygen, and a gas separator for separating these molecules. [Figure 2] An arrangement with three gas separator devices is shown. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a gas exchanger. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a gas superheater / reactor apparatus. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional view of the reactor module. [Figure 6] FIG. 3D view of a heat exchanger. [Figure 7]3D views of the heat exchanger from different angles. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 shows a heat exchanger as a wireframe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] The present invention aims to improve the efficiency of separation of molecular hydrogen and molecular oxygen in the gas separator module 2. It is known that water, respectively water vapor, can be decomposed into molecular hydrogen and molecular oxygen in a chemical reaction. [ka]

[0036] Thus, heat of exothermic reaction must be added to cause this chemical reaction to occur. In electrolysis, this may be in the form of an electric current. If the temperature is high enough, the reaction can occur by adding heat alone, which is commonly referred to as pyrolysis. In recent years, various techniques have been developed to reduce the temperature of the pyrolysis of water through the use of catalysts.

[0037] Figure 1 shows an overview of an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a pyrolysis apparatus 1 is supplied with heat from a heat source 4, which may be a chemical plant, a waste incinerator, or underutilized heat from another source. The heat is used to bring water to a boil, changing its phase from liquid to vapor, and further heat the vapor, eventually reaching a temperature at which the vapor begins the process of breaking down into its molecular components, hydrogen H2 and oxygen O2.

[0038] The mixture of molecular hydrogen H2 and molecular oxygen O2 is then provided to the gas separator module 2. The gas separator module 2 separates the molecular oxygen O2 from the molecular hydrogen H2. The molecular hydrogen H2 may be collected and compressed to store them as a compressed gas in a reservoir, such as a gas bottle. This would allow the gas bottle with compressed hydrogen to be transported to a location where hydrogen is needed, for example, as a fuel. In this embodiment, the molecular hydrogen H2 is supplied to an internal combustion engine 3 as a fuel or as an additive to another fuel. The internal combustion engine 3 is, for example, a conventional four-stroke engine that produces work W. As with any other gas or gasoline engine, this engine produces underutilized heat 5, which is normally unused and may be transferred to the heat source 4 or, alternatively, may be used as a secondary heat source to preheat water used in the pyrolysis unit 1.

[0039] Referring now to FIG. 2a, a side view of the gas separator device 2 is shown. In this embodiment, the gas separator device 2 is composed of a first gas separator module 21, a second gas separator module 22, and a third gas separator module 23. In this embodiment, the first, second, and third gas separator modules 21, 22, and 23 are identical in structure. Each gas separator module 21, 22, and 23 has the shape of a truncated cone, or more precisely, a truncated cone, having a parallel base 24 and a parallel top 25. In contrast to the usual terminology, when comparing the areas of the base 24 and the top 25, the base 24 is the surface with the smaller area. This terminology is used because, in this application of the gas separator modules 21, 22, and 23, the inlet for the mixture of molecular hydrogen and molecular oxygen (H2, O2) (mixture inlet) is located on the left side of the drawing, i.e., on the bottom 24, in a plane with the smaller area. The top surface 25 of the conical truncated body accommodates the hydrogen outlets 27, which are located to the right of each gas separator module 21, 22, 23 in the drawing, and which can only be seen for the third gas separator module 23, since the hydrogen outlets of the first and second gas separator modules are hidden in Figure 2a.

[0040] The first gas separator module 21, the second gas separator module 22, and the third gas separator module 23 are arranged in series; that is, the mixture inlet 26 of the second gas separator module 22 is connected to the hydrogen outlet 27 of the first gas separator module 21, and the mixture inlet 26 of the third gas separator module 23 is connected to the hydrogen outlet 27 of the second gas separator module 22. With this arrangement, the mixture of decomposed hydrogen molecules H2 and oxygen molecules O2 flows from left to right in FIG. 2a. The oxygen outlets 28 of the first gas separator module 21, the second gas separator module 22, and the third gas separator module 23 are connected by oxygen collection tubes 30. For clarity, the oxygen collection tubes are not shown in FIG. 2a but are shown in FIG. 6. The distance between the bottom region 24 and the top region 25 of each conical frustum is about 90 mm, so that the length of the gas separator device 2 comprising the three gas separator modules 21, 22, 23 is about 270 mm in total. These dimensions are an example for an application in which the heat exchanger / gas separator unit serves an internal combustion engine. It will be apparent that these dimensions will vary depending on the power of the selected engine and may be smaller for smaller engines or larger for more powerful engines.

[0041] The conical frustum of each of the gas separator modules 21, 22, 23 includes a conical frustum-shaped guide element 6 therein. The guide element 6 may consist of a single guide element or may consist of multiple guide elements 6. In effect, the guide elements 6 form a spiral extending from the gas mixture inlet 26 to the hydrogen outlet 27 of each gas separation module 21, 22, 23. The spiral does not rotate but is fixed to the inner wall of the conical frustum. Because the inner wall encloses the spiral, the gas mixture entering the gas mixture inlet 26 is forced by gas pressure along the spiral path toward the hydrogen outlet 27 and the oxygen outlet 28 and cannot bypass the spiral along the inside of the side wall 29.

[0042] The mixture of gas molecules H and O entering the mixture inlet 26 of the gas separator module 21 is accelerated by pressure. The gas mixture is forced to move in the direction of lower pressure toward the hydrogen outlet 27 and the oxygen outlet 28. Because there is no straight path toward the outlets 27, 28, the gas molecules of the gas mixture are forced to follow the spiral 6. This exerts a centrifugal force on each gas molecule, forcing them to rotate around the imaginary axis of the spiral 6. Because centrifugal force is proportional to the mass of the accelerated object, an oxygen molecule O, with an atomic weight of 32, is accelerated 16 times faster than a hydrogen molecule H, with an atomic weight of 2. The oxygen molecule is therefore accelerated by centrifugal force radially away from the imaginary axis of the spiral, i.e., toward the side wall 29 of the gas separator, while the hydrogen molecule H remains closer to the imaginary axis of the spiral relative to the oxygen molecule O. The spiral therefore separates the gas mixture H, O such that the gas molecules near the sidewall 29 of the gas separator 21 are substantially oxygen molecules O and the gas molecules near the imaginary axis of the spiral are substantially hydrogen molecules H. Thus, the gas molecules exiting through the hydrogen outlet 27 in the center of the top surface 25 are substantially hydrogen molecules H, and the gas molecules exiting through the oxygen outlet 28 at the sidewall 29 with the largest diameter are oxygen molecules O.

[0043] In real-world applications, the separation of gas molecules may not be as perfect as in theory, and the gas molecules exiting from the hydrogen outlet 27 may still contain a certain proportion of oxygen molecules O2. To further extract the remaining oxygen molecules to purify the gas mixture, this embodiment proposes a second gas separator 22, and, if necessary, further gas separators 23 in series. At each stage, more oxygen molecules O2 are removed so that at the final stage hydrogen outlet 27, hydrogen molecules are available with the target purity.

[0044] To improve separation efficiency, in this embodiment, the sidewalls 29 of the gas separators are ellipses rather than perfect circles. The ellipses have a minor axis and a major axis that is perpendicular to the minor axis. Each time gas molecules are forced along the elliptical conical spiral 6, they pass the minor axis of the elliptical cross section and are further accelerated toward the major axis of the elliptical cross section in front of them. In this embodiment, the minor axis of the elliptical cross section of the bottom surface 24 is 40 mm, and the major axis of the elliptical cross section is 60 mm. At the top surface 25 of each gas separator 21, 22, and 23, the minor axis is 60 mm, and the major axis is 90 mm. This results in eccentricities of 60 mm divided by 40 mm and 90 mm divided by 60 mm, which are 1.5 for both cross sections. In this embodiment, this ratio is uniform along the central axis of the conical frustum. In this embodiment, the eccentricity is the same for all three stages, ie, the first gas separation device 21, the second gas separation device 22, and the third gas separation device .

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a gas generator 10. Tubes 13 are wound in an S-curve from the fluid inlet 11 to the gas outlet 12, forming a lattice. Because this is a cross section, only one layer of the lattice is visible, and the diagram shows the arrangement of tubes for only one stack. However, the gas generator 10 includes multiple lattices stacked one on top of the other. For more than one stack, the tubes 13 at the end 12 of one stack must be connected to the inlet 11 of the next stack. Ideally, the number of stacks is selected so that enough energy is introduced into the gas generator 10 to heat the fluid entering through the fluid inlet 11, causing the temperature to change the fluid's phase to gas at the gas outlet 12.

[0046] FIG. 4 shows a gas superheater / reactor apparatus 14 having a similar structure. A grid of tubes 16 extends from the gas inlet 15 to the mixture inlet 26 of the gas separator 21. When stacked together, the tubes form a cube. In this embodiment, the tubes 16 are arranged to form a recess 17 that houses the gas separator 21. The gas generator / gas superheater / reactor apparatus is housed within a common housing 9. The housing 9 also houses a water reservoir 7 having a water replenishment inlet 71. A thermoelectric generator pad 8 is arranged between the water reservoir 7 and the superheater / reactor apparatus 14. Due to the large temperature difference between the water reservoir 7 and the gas superheater / reactor apparatus 14, the thermoelectric generator pad 8 can generate significant electrical power. This power may be applied immediately or after conversion to an appropriate voltage to create an electrostatic field within the gas separators 21, 22, 23. For this purpose, the bottom section 24 of the gas separator must be insulated from the top section 25 of the gas separator. The output voltage of the thermoelectric generator pads 8 or the voltage converter is applied to the bottom section 24 and the top section 25, respectively. The electrostatic field further accelerates the gas molecules.

[0047] FIG. 5 shows a reactor module 40 constituting a gas generator / gas heater / reactor apparatus in an alternative embodiment, with tubes 41 oriented parallel in the figure from bottom to top. The tubes 41 are thermally connected by a connecting grid 42. At the lower end of the figure, the tubes 41 extend into a bottom plate 43, and at the upper end of the figure, the tubes 41 extend into a top plate 44. If the reactor module 40 is a bottom module, the bottom plate 43 includes channels (not visible in the figure) connecting two adjacent tubes 41. If the reactor module 40 is an intermediate module, the tubes 41 extend into through-holes in the bottom plate. Both the bottom and intermediate modules have a top plate 44 with through-holes 46 that allow fluid in the tubes 41 to pass to another module, which may be located on top of the reactor module 40. This may be a top module that closely resembles the bottom module, i.e., the bottom plate 43 has through holes and the top plate has channels for connecting pairs of tubes so that the tubes of the entire gas generator / gas superheater / reactor apparatus circulate in an S-curve through all of the tubes 41. This modular design allows the gas generator / gas superheater / reactor apparatus to be sized to correspond to the available heat and desired output of cracked gas molecules.

[0048] Another embodiment of a gas generator / gas superheater / reactor apparatus 50 is shown in FIG. 6. In contrast to the reactor module, it is configured as a non-module. In this embodiment, the tubes 41 extend from the bottom plate 43 to the top plate 46. As in the previous embodiment, the top plate 46 and the bottom plate 43 provide channels connecting each pair of adjacent tubes 41, so that the tubes 41 form a single S-curve with one fluid inlet and one mixture outlet. The mixture outlet, hidden in this view, is located below the first gas separator module 21. In this embodiment, three gas separator modules 21, 22, and 23 are connected in a linear fashion. The last gas separator module includes a hydrogen outlet 23. The oxygen outlet 28 terminates in the oxygen collection tube 33.

[0049] One of the applications of the present invention is the use of the produced hydrogen H2 in a combustion engine. As is known, when hydrogen is combusted with air, it is burned into water by the oxygen contained in the air, which is therefore environmentally friendly.

[0050] FIG. 7 shows a heat exchanger 60 consisting of a gas generator / gas superheater / reactor device 60 or a gas generator device 40 and a gas superheater / reactor device 50. The superheater / reactor device 50 has recesses dimensioned to accommodate the gas separator modules 21, 22, 23. This type of construction allows for optimized use of space while avoiding heat waste. FIG. 7 shows the application of the heat exchanger 60 in a combustion engine. In FIG. 7, the bottom of the heat exchanger 60 is placed at the top of the combustion engine's exhaust manifold. Arrows indicate exhaust gases flowing from the exhaust manifold into the heat exchanger 60, through the grid of tubes 41, 51, and to the top of the heat exchanger 60. The heat exchanger 60 is enclosed by a housing, not shown for clarity. The housing 9 has an inlet on the bottom that matches the opening of the exhaust manifold and an outlet that matches the opening of the exhaust collector manifold, located at the top of the heat exchanger. The housing 9 ensures that the unused heat of the combustion engine's exhaust gases is guided into the heat exchanger 60.

[0051] FIG. 8 shows the heat exchangers from a similar angle as FIG. 7, but with a wireframe showing the housings 9 of the heat exchangers 1,2.

[0052] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A first molecule (H ２ ) and a second molecule (O ２ a heat exchanger (1, 2) for producing a second fluid of the first molecule (H ２ The first molecular weight of the second molecule (O ２ ) less than the second molecular weight of The parent compound is reacted with the first molecule (H ２ ) and the second molecule (O ２ a reactor (1) for decomposing the molten metal into a mixed composite of the molten metal and the molten metal; A gas separator device (2) comprising a mixture inlet (26) for the mixed compound of the first and second molecules in a bottom section (24) of the gas separator device (2), and first and second outlets (27, 28) in a top section (25) of the gas separator device (2), the first outlet (27) being substantially for the first molecule (H ２ ), and said second outlet (28) provides substantially said second molecule (O ２ ), and the gas separator device (2) further comprises: ２ , O ２ a gas separator device (2) comprising a guide element (6) for guiding the coiled path, the coiled path being enclosed by a side wall (29); A heat exchanger (1, 2).

2. 2. The heat exchanger (1, 2) of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the coiled path increases from the mixture inlet (26) to the outlet (27, 28).

3. 3. A heat exchanger (1, 2) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the radial shape of the coiled path is elliptical, in particular the eccentricity of the ellipse is preferably greater than 1.

5.

4. 4. The heat exchanger (1, 2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reactor (1) comprises a gas generator having an inlet for the parent compound in a liquid phase and an outlet for the parent compound in a gas phase.

5. 5. A heat exchanger (1, 2) according to claim 4, wherein the inlet of the gas generator is in fluid connection with a fluid reservoir (7) containing the parent compound.

6. 5. The heat exchanger (1, 2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a coil is arranged in the top section (25) of the gas separator device or in the vicinity of an outlet pipe of the gas separator device (2).

7. 7. The heat exchanger (1, 2) of claim 6, wherein a thermoelectric generator (8) is disposed between the fluid reservoir (7) and the heat exchanger, and the power generated by the thermoelectric generator is used to generate an electric charge that is applied to the coil to generate an electromagnetic field.

8. 8. The heat exchanger (1, 2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the reactor (1) further comprises a gas superheater having an inlet for the parent compound in the gas phase and an outlet for the parent compound in the supercritical state.

9. 8. Heat exchanger (1, 2) according to claim 7, wherein the gas generator, the gas superheater and the reactor are combined in a converter unit which is commonly heated by a heat source (4).

10. 10. The heat exchanger (1, 2) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the gas generator or gas superheater is composed of a grid of connecting tubes for circulating a fluid received at an inlet of the gas generator or gas superheater to an outlet of the gas generator or gas superheater.

11. 11. The heat exchanger (1, 2) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the gas separator unit comprises a plurality of gas separator devices each having a single inlet and first and second inlets, the first outlet of one gas separator device being connected to the inlet of the subsequent gas separator device, and the second outlet of each gas separator device being connected to a collection tube (30).

12. The first molecule (H ２ a combustion engine (3) for combustion of the first flow of the

13. 13. The combustion engine (3) according to claim 12, wherein the heat generated by the combustion is transferred to at least one of a gas generator or a gas superheater.

14. The fluid is water, and the first molecule (H ２ ) is a hydrogen molecule, and the second molecule (O ２ 9. The heat exchanger (1, 2) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the gas is oxygen molecules.

15. 1. A method for generating hydrogen and oxygen gases, comprising: exposing the water to a first heat source to generate steam; exposing the vapor to a second heat source to superheat the vapor to a supercritical vapor; Oxygen molecules (O ２ ) radially outward to force the spiral directing the supercritical vapor into a tubular orbit; At the end of the orbit, a hydrogen molecule (H ２ ) and A method comprising:

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