1732 results about "Hydrogen fuel" patented technology

A wind energy conversion system optimized for offshore application. Each wind turbine includes a semi-submersible hull with ballast weight that is moveable to increase the system's stability. Each wind turbine has an array of rotors distributed on a tower to distribute weight and loads and to improve power production performance where windshear is high. As much of the equipment associated with each rotor as possible is located at the base of the tower to lower the metacentric height. The equipment that may be emplaced at the bottom of the tower could include a power electronic converter, a DC to AC converter, or the entire generator with a mechanical linkage transmitting power from each rotor to the base of the tower. Rather than transmitting electrical power back to shore, it is contemplated to create energy intensive hydrogen-based products at the base of the wind turbine. Alternatively, there could be a central factory ship that utilizes the power produced by a plurality of wind turbines to create a hydrogen-based fuel. The hydrogen based fuel is transported to land and sold into existing markets as a value-added “green” product.

Diatomic hydrogen and unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced as reactor gases in a fast quench reactor. During the fast quench, the unsaturated hydrocarbons are further decomposed by reheating the reactor gases. More diatomic hydrogen is produced, along with elemental carbon. Other gas may be added at different stages in the process to form a desired end product and prevent back reactions. The product is a substantially clean-burning hydrogen fuel that leaves no greenhouse gas emissions, and elemental carbon that may be used in powder form as a commodity for several processes.

An energy storage and recovery system includes a renewable power source, a hydrogen generation device in electrical communication with the renewable power source, a hydrogen storage device in fluid communication with the hydrogen generation device, a hydrogen fueled electricity generator in fluid communication with the hydrogen storage device, and a pressure regulator interposed between and in fluid communication with the hydrogen fueled electricity generator and the hydrogen storage device. The pressure regulator is set at an operating pressure of the hydrogen fueled electricity generator.

Described herein is a portable storage device that stores a hydrogen fuel source. The storage device includes a bladder that contains the hydrogen fuel source and conforms to the volume of the hydrogen fuel source. A housing provides mechanical protection for the bladder. The storage device also includes a connector that interfaces with a mating connector to permit transfer of the fuel source between the bladder and a device that includes the mating connector. The device may be a portable electronics device such as a laptop computer. Refillable hydrogen fuel source storage devices and systems are also described. The refillable system comprises a hydrogen fuel source refiner that includes the mating connector and provides the hydrogen fuel source to the storage device. Hot swappable fuel storage systems described herein allow a portable hydrogen fuel source storage device to be removed from a fuel processor or electronics device it provides the hydrogen fuel source to, without shutting down the receiving device or without compromising hydrogen fuel source provision to the receiving device for a limited time.

Hydrocarbon and hydrogen fuels and other products may be produced by a process employing a combination of fermentation and electrochemical stages. In the process, a biomass contained within a fermentation medium is fermented with an inoculum comprising a mixed culture of microorganisms derived the rumen contents of a rumen-containing animal. This inoculated medium is incubated under anaerobic conditions and for a sufficient time to produce volatile fatty acids. The resultant volatile fatty acids are then subjected to electrolysis under conditions effective to convert said volatile fatty acids to hydrocarbons and hydrogen simultaneously. The process can convert a wide range of biomass materials to a wide range of volatile fatty acid chain lengths and can convert these into a wide range of biobased fuels and biobased products.

The invention is a hydrogen passivation shut down system for a fuel cell power plant (10). An anode flow path (24) is in fluid communication with an anode catalyst (14) for directing hydrogen fuel to flow adjacent to the anode catalyst (14), and a cathode flow path (38) is in fluid communication with a cathode catalyst (16) for directing an oxidant to flow adjacent to the cathode catalyst (16) of a fuel cell (12). Hydrogen fuel is permitted to transfer between the anode flow path (24) and the cathode flow path (38). A hydrogen reservoir (66) is secured in fluid communication with the anode flow path (24) for receiving and storing hydrogen during fuel cell (12) operation, and for releasing the hydrogen into fuel cell (12) whenever the fuel cell (12) is shut down.

A hydrogen-electricity co-production (HECP) system utilizes a fuel cell to produce hydrogen, electricity, or a combination of both hydrogen and electricity. In a first mode, the fuel cell performs an electrochemical reaction by reacting a hydrogen-containing fuel with oxygen to produce electricity, water and heat. In a second mode, the fuel cell utilizes heat released by an electrochemical reaction of the fuel cell to reform a hydrogen-containing fuel to produce hydrogen rich gas. In a third mode, both hydrogen and electricity are co-produced by the fuel cell. The HECP system can control an amount of hydrogen and/or electricity produced and switch between modes by varying an electrical load on the system.

This is a system and method for single plug-in installation of a high voltage intelligent renewable energy grid-tied controller with wireless smart load management. The present invention relates to the improvement of integration and management of renewable electric energy in homes and small businesses. The invention offers a lower cost method for safely installing and managing the use of the electric energy either generated or stored onsite by solar collecting panels, wind turbine generators, backup hydrocarbon fueled generators or any other supplemental power sources such as fuel cells and future electric automobiles with smart energy management. Furthermore, the invention utilizes wireless controllers connected to key appliances, motors and systems permitting continuous real time load and energy management of these devices.

A waterless power generator, particularly a waterless electrical power generator and a passively controlled process for producing electricity with a fuel cell using stoichiometric amounts of a solid hydrogen fuel and byproduct water vapor produced by the fuel cell to generate hydrogen gas. A fuel cell reaction of hydrogen and oxygen produces electrical energy as well as by-product water which diffuses back into the power generator as water vapor to react with the hydrogen fuel, producing more hydrogen gas. This generated hydrogen gas is then used as a fuel which allows the fuel cell to generate additional electrical power and additional water. The process runs without any attached water source or water supply other than the water which is produced by the fuel cells themselves.

In one disclosed embodiment according to the invention, a fuel cell system for generating electrical power comprises: an open-ended tubular solid oxide fuel cell; a first fuel injector tube extending from a first fuel plenum chamber through one open end of the fuel cell; and a second fuel injector tube extending from a second fuel plenum chamber through another open end of the fuel cell; wherein the first and second fuel injector tubes form a gap within the fuel cell from which a hydrogen-containing fuel gas may flow towards the open ends of the fuel cell. Further related systems and method are also disclosed.

A hydrogen fueled powerplant including an internal combustion engine that drives a motor-generator, and has a two-stage turbocharger, for an aircraft. A control system controls the operation of the motor-generator to maintain the engine at a speed selected based on controlling the engine equivalence ratio. The control system controls an afterburner, an intercooler and an aftercooler to maximize powerplant efficiency. The afterburner also adds power to the turbochargers during high-altitude restarts. The turbochargers also include motor-generators that extract excess power from the exhaust.

A power generation and supply system utilizing one or more solar cells to produce electricity and hydrogen. The power generation and supply system includes an electrolyzer powered by the one or more solar cells for producing hydrogen, a hydrogen distribution system for distributing the hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer, a rechargeable battery for storing electricity produced by the solar cells, and an electricity distribution. The power generation and supply system according may further comprise a hydrogen fueled fuel cell which receives hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer and produces electricity as needed to recharge the rechargeable battery and/or power one or more electrical devices.

A hydrogen-powered hybrid powertrain system includes a hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine operating at a lean air/fuel mixture, and a supercharger for boosting a primary drive torque produced by the engine primarily over a high operating speed range. An electric motor/generator generates a secondary drive torque for the vehicle, such that the secondary drive torque complements the boosted primary drive torque over at least a low operating speed range of the powertrain. A disconnect clutch disposed between the engine and the motor/generator engages and disengages the engine from the motor/generator, and serves to transfer the boosted primary driver torque through the motor/generator and to a power transmission system. The input at the power transmission is thus a combination of the boosted primary drive torque and the secondary drive torque having an enhanced torque characteristic over at least the low operating speed range.

The invention provides a high-pressure hydrogen supply system for an external supplying type hydrogen filling station, which can fill hydrogen fuel for fuel cell powered vehicles. The hydrogen supply system mainly comprises a pipe bundle hydrogen conveying vehicle, a fixed high-pressure hydrogen storage tank group, a parallel multi-compressor pressurizing system, a high-pressure hydrogen filling system, and a data acquiring, processing and safety monitoring system. The high-pressure hydrogen supply system takes the pipe bundle hydrogen conveying vehicle as a part of a hydrogen storage container of the hydrogen filling station and makes the pipe bundle hydrogen conveying vehicle a first stage of the staged hydrogen storage container, adopts the pressurizing system consisting of multiple compressors which are connected in parallel, and introduces the data acquiring, processing and safety monitoring system. The high-pressure hydrogen supply system has the advantages of adjustable hydrogen storage volume, large operation flexibility, cost conservation, convenient maintenance, high service efficiency and so on.

A power generator has a hydrogen flow path through which moisture is induced to flow to a hydrogen-containing fuel that reacts with the moisture to produce hydrogen. The moisture passes to the hydrogen flow path through a water exchange membrane from a water vapor flow path. A fuel cell between the hydrogen flow path and the water vapor flow path reacts with the hydrogen in the hydrogen flow path to produce electricity, and to also principally produce the moisture in the water vapor flow path.

A chemical microreactor suitable for generation of hydrogen fuel from liquid sources such as ammonia, methanol, and butane through steam reforming processes when mixed with an appropriate amount of water contains capillary microchannels with integrated resistive heaters to facilitate the occurrence of catalytic steam reforming reactions. One such microreactor employs a packed catalyst capillary microchannel and at least one porous membrane. Another employs a porous membrane with a large surface area or a porous membrane support structure containing a plurality of porous membranes having a large surface area in the aggregate, i.e., greater than about 1 m²/cm³. The packed catalyst capillary microchannels, porous membranes and porous membrane support structures may be formed by a variety of methods.

A mediated electrochemical oxidation process and apparatus are used to process biological and organic materials to provide hydrogen and oxygen for use as fuel in numerous types of equipment. Waste materials are introduced into an apparatus for contacting the waste with an electrolyte containing the oxidized form of one or more reversible redox couples, at least one of which is produced electrochemically by anodic oxidation at the anode of an electrochemical cell. The oxidized species of the redox couples oxidize the organic waste molecules and are themselves converted to their reduced form, whereupon they are reoxidized and the redox cycle continues until all oxidizable waste species have undergone the desired degree of oxidation. The entire process takes place at temperatures to avoid any possible formation of either dioxins or furans. The oxidation process may be enhanced by the addition of ultrasonic energy and/or ultraviolet radiation.