Methane manufacturing equipment

Abstract

A methane production apparatus includes: a microwave reaction chamber having an internal accommodating space containing a sample carrier; an inlet pipe connected at one end to the microwave reaction chamber and at the other end to a vacuum pump and a hydrogen supply source; and a microwave generator coupled to the microwave reaction chamber. This allows for the extraction of gas and supply of hydrogen to the accommodating space via the inlet pipe, and, in conjunction with the microwave energy provided by the microwave generator, the sample material within the accommodating space undergoes methane synthesis under controlled conditions.

Description

Methane manufacturing equipment Technical Field

[0001] This work relates to a manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a methane manufacturing apparatus. Prior Technology

[0002] Existing microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) equipment is mainly used to prepare single-crystal diamonds or diamond thin films. In recent years, although some technologies have attempted to convert biomass samples such as hair or nails into methane via microwave plasma, the existing equipment often suffers from problems in practical applications due to improper structural configuration, leading to low reaction efficiency or insufficient product purity.

[0003] For example, Chinese Patent Publication No. CN115198359A, "A Method for Growing Hair Carbon Source into Diamonds Using an MPCVD Device," requires a specific "filter plate" to hold the sample. The filter plate configuration increases the complexity of the device and can cause interference and shielding effects on the microwave field, leading to uneven plasma distribution and reducing the effective surface area in contact with the sample. In addition, the filter plate can also hinder airflow circulation, affecting the utilization rate of the reaction space and the efficiency of heat conduction, resulting in an unstable reaction process and difficulty in improving product purity.

[0004] For example, Chinese Patent Publication No. CN117448794A, "Method for Preparing Life Diamonds Using Hair as a Carbon Source via CVD Process", lacks a pipeline that can simultaneously supply and extract gas, making it impossible to maintain a stable gas pressure environment by adjusting the gas flow rate during the reaction. Furthermore, the equipment does not have a low-temperature condensation device to discharge and purify the gas, resulting in impurity gases (such as ammonia or hydrogen sulfide) remaining inside the chamber, making it difficult to produce high-quality methane.

[0005] Therefore, how to eliminate the aforementioned deficiencies is the technical difficulty that the creator of this case wants to solve. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of conventional usage, this work aims to address and improve upon the problems and deficiencies present in conventional usage.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this invention provides a methane manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a microwave reaction chamber having an internal accommodating space and a sample carrier disposed therein; an inlet pipe having one end connected to the microwave reaction chamber and the other end connected to a vacuum pump and a hydrogen supply source; and a microwave generator coupled to the microwave reaction chamber.

[0008] The output power of the microwave generator ranges from 200W to 3000W.

[0009] The microwave reaction cavity is equipped with a pressure regulating valve.

[0010] The intake pipe is equipped with a flow controller.

[0011] The microwave reaction cavity is equipped with a temperature monitoring element.

[0012] The microwave reaction cavity is connected to a low-temperature condensation device.

[0013] The microwave reaction cavity is connected to a low-temperature condensation device, which is connected to a high-pressure storage bottle.

[0014] In this way, the intake pipe evacuates the containment space and supplies hydrogen, and in conjunction with the microwave energy provided by the microwave generator, methane is synthesized from the biomass sample inside the containment space under a controlled environment. Specifically, this invention utilizes the sample carrier to allow the biomass sample to be directly subjected to microwave plasma etching, eliminating the hardware limitation of weaving the biomass sample into bundles as in the previous work; at the same time, through the structure of the microwave reaction chamber connecting the cryogenic condenser and the high-pressure storage bottle, the produced gas can be condensed to remove impurities, and the synthesized methane can be pressurized and poured into the high-pressure storage bottle for collection, effectively improving the purity and convenience of methane production. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0015]

[0016] [Figure 1] is a block diagram of the methane manufacturing equipment of this invention.

[0017] [Figure 2] is a block diagram of the methane manufacturing equipment of this invention, which includes a pressure regulating valve and a temperature monitoring element.

[0018] [Figure 3] is a block diagram of the methane manufacturing equipment of this invention, which includes a low-temperature condensation device and a high-pressure storage bottle. Implementation

[0019] To facilitate your reviewer's understanding of the other features, advantages, and effects of this work, the following detailed description, accompanied by accompanying illustrations, is provided:

[0020] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. This invention provides a methane manufacturing apparatus, which includes:

[0021] A microwave reaction cavity 1 has an internal accommodating space 11, and a sample carrier 12 is provided in the accommodating space 11.

[0022] The shell of the microwave reaction cavity 1 is made of a metal material with good electromagnetic shielding effect to prevent microwave leakage.

[0023] The sample holder 12 is used to hold biomass samples (such as hair or nails). The sample holder 12 is made of a high-temperature resistant material with low dielectric loss characteristics (such as high-purity quartz or industrial ceramics) to ensure that it will not overheat or deform in a strong microwave field. Specifically, the sample holder 12 provides a flat placement platform, allowing biomass samples of 0.1g to 1g to be laid out directly in a naturally spread-out state. This design allows the surface area of ​​each hair fiber to be uniformly exposed to the plasma environment, completely eliminating the need for pre-weaving or bundling into bundles, thereby significantly shortening the sample pretreatment time and improving reaction contact efficiency.

[0024] In addition, the microwave reaction chamber 1 is equipped with a pressure regulating valve 13. This pressure regulating valve 13 can be a manual fine-tuning valve or an automatic electromagnetic control valve, used to precisely control the pressure within the accommodating space 11 between 10 Torr and 100 Torr. Within this pressure range, hydrogen molecules, after being excited, can form a stable plasma flow with a sufficient mean free path, helping to maintain plasma stability and electron temperature. The microwave reaction chamber 1 is also equipped with a temperature monitoring element 14, such as a thermocouple sensor or an infrared thermometer, used to monitor the temperature of the accommodating space 11 and maintain it between 400°C and 800°C. This temperature range has been experimentally proven to optimize the selectivity of methane formation, avoiding incomplete chemical bond breaking due to excessively low temperatures, while also preventing unnecessary graphitization or excessive coking of the carbon source due to excessively high temperatures.

[0025] An air inlet pipe 2 is provided, one end of which is connected to the microwave reaction chamber 1, and the other end of which is connected to a vacuum pump 21 and a hydrogen supply source 22. The air inlet pipe 2 is made of a pressure-resistant flexible hose or stainless steel pipe with excellent sealing performance to ensure that no external air leakage occurs during vacuum pumping.

[0026] The inlet pipe 2 may be equipped with a flow controller 23, such as a mass flow controller (MFC), to regulate the hydrogen flow rate entering the microwave reaction chamber 1 and maintain it between 30 SCCM and 100 SCCM. Hydrogen serves as the primary material for the reaction and is converted into products afterward. Precise control of the hydrogen flow rate ensures stable hydrogen pressure within the containment space 11, thereby generating a sufficient concentration of hydrogen radicals. These highly reactive hydrogen radicals can precisely attack the surface carbon atoms of the biomass sample and combine with the pyrolyzed carbon fragments to synthesize methane.

[0027] A microwave generator 3 is coupled to the microwave reaction cavity 1.

[0028] The microwave generator 3 typically operates at a microwave frequency of 2.45 GHz, and its output power ranges from 200 W to 3000 W. The working principle of the microwave generator 3 involves using a high-frequency alternating electric field to excite hydrogen molecules within the accommodating space 11, causing a chain reaction of collisions to generate high-energy electrons and highly active hydrogen plasma. This plasma environment possesses extremely high chemical energy, capable of breaking down the carbon-carbon (CC) and carbon-nitrogen (CN) bonds of organic components in the sample (such as keratin), releasing fine carbon fragments. Since this design does not require a filter screen, these carbon fragments can immediately combine with surrounding hydrogen free radicals, reducing the probability of byproduct formation.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 3. The microwave reaction chamber 1 can be connected to a cryogenic condensation device 15. This cryogenic condensation device 15 can be a liquid nitrogen refrigerator, a circulating compressor refrigeration system, or an electronic cooler. The cryogenic condensation device 15 utilizes heat exchange technology to allow the reacted mixed gas to flow through a cryogenic path, lowering the gas temperature to -90°C. In this extremely low-temperature environment, non-methane components in the mixed gas (such as ammonia or hydrogen sulfide) condense into droplets or solid particles and are condensed and discharged. Compared to traditional chemical absorption or room-temperature filtration, this cryogenic condensation device 15 does not introduce additional chemical additives, enabling more thorough purification of methane and ensuring that the purity of the produced methane meets the requirements for synthetic diamond production.

[0030] The cryogenic condenser 15 can be connected to a high-pressure storage bottle 16. The high-pressure storage bottle 16 is made of high-pressure resistant alloy steel, and its inner surface can be polished or passivated to prevent the stored methane from reacting with the bottle wall. The high-pressure storage bottle 16 is used to collect purified methane and serves as a stable gas source for subsequent applications after the process is completed.

[0031] Operating principle explanation: In actual operation, the user lays a 0.1g to 1g biomass sample (which can be hair or nail) flat on the sample carrier 12 without the need for weaving or bundling pretreatment, which significantly increases the reaction area. Then, the vacuum pump 21 evacuates the containment space 11 through the air inlet pipe 2 to remove residual nitrogen and oxygen. Subsequently, hydrogen is injected into the containment space 11 by the flow controller 23. At this time, the microwave generator 3 is activated to generate microwave plasma, which bombards and etches the biomass sample. The keratin in the biomass sample is broken down by energy, and the resulting carbon fragments recombine with hydrogen free radicals in the plasma to form methane. Finally, the mixed gas is guided to the cryogenic condenser 15, where impurities are condensed and precipitated in a -90°C environment. The methane is then collected in the high-pressure storage bottle 16.

[0032] Therefore, this invention utilizes the configuration of the sample carrier 12 to allow the biomass sample to be directly subjected to microwave plasma etching, eliminating the limitation of weaving the biomass sample into a bundle of hard objects as in previous works, and solving the problems of cumbersome operation and uneven reaction efficiency; at the same time, by connecting the low-temperature condensation device 15 and the high-pressure storage bottle 16, harmful impurities are simultaneously removed during the process, improving the quality of methane production and storage stability.

[0033] The above discussion is merely a preferred embodiment of this invention and is not intended to limit the patent scope of this invention; therefore, any equivalent changes in shape, structure or combination made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention should be covered within the patent scope of this invention.

[0034]

[0035] 1: Microwave reaction cavity

[0036] 11: Storage space

[0037] 12: Sample carrier

[0038] 13: Pressure regulating valve

[0039] 14: Temperature monitoring element

[0040] 15: Low-temperature condensation device

[0041] 16: High-pressure storage bottle

[0042] 2: Intake pipe

[0043] 21: Vacuum pump

[0044] 22: Hydrogen supply source

[0045] 23: Flow controller

[0046] 3: Microwave generator

Claims

1. A methane manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a microwave reaction chamber having an internal accommodating space and a sample carrier disposed therein; an inlet pipe having one end connected to the microwave reaction chamber and the other end connected to a vacuum pump and a hydrogen supply source; and a microwave generator coupled to the microwave reaction chamber.

2. The methane manufacturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the output power of the microwave generator is in the range of 200W to 3000W.

3. The methane manufacturing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein the microwave reaction chamber is provided with a pressure regulating valve.

4. The methane manufacturing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein the inlet line is equipped with a flow controller.

5. The methane manufacturing apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein a temperature monitoring element is provided within the microwave reaction chamber.

6. The methane manufacturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microwave reaction chamber is connected to a cryogenic condenser.

7. The methane manufacturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the microwave reaction chamber is connected to a cryogenic condenser, and the cryogenic condenser is connected to a high-pressure storage bottle.

Images