Two-Step Fluidized Bed Process for Metal Borohydride Regeneration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for regenerating metal borohydride from spent fuel mixtures are inefficient in terms of energy requirements and reconversion rates, hindering the widespread use of hydrogen as a fuel due to high production, storage, and transportation costs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving two fluidized bed steps is used to convert metal boron oxide into metal borohydride, where the first step utilizes a gas such as nitrogen or a noble gas to remove oxygen atoms, and the second step uses hydrogen to react with metal boron particles, optimizing conditions like pressure, temperature, and liquid mediums to achieve efficient reconversion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional methods are used to regenerate metal borohydride from spent fuel mixtures, then the reconversion process can be performed, but the energy consumption is high and the reconversion rate is low
Solution Approach 1:
The regeneration process is divided into two separate fluidized bed reactors: the first reactor performs oxygen removal from metal boron oxide to produce metal boron particles, and the second reactor performs hydrogenation to produce metal borohydride. This segmentation allows each reactor to be optimized for its specific function, improving overall reconversion efficiency while managing energy consumption through targeted heating zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The process utilizes controlled changes in temperature, pressure, and gas composition within the fluidized bed reactors. The first reactor operates under conditions optimized for oxygen removal, while the second reactor operates under conditions optimized for hydrogenation. These parameter changes enable efficient reconversion by matching process conditions to the specific chemical transformations required at each stage.
2Ease of operation
If hydrogen is stored in gaseous form, then it is readily available, but additional costs are incurred for continuous cooling or compression
Solution Approach 1:
The invention utilizes phase transition by converting hydrogen from gaseous form to solid form through chemisorption onto metal boron particles in the fluidized bed reactor. This transforms hydrogen into a solid metal borohydride compound that can be stored without continuous compression or cooling, eliminating the energy costs associated with maintaining gaseous hydrogen storage while preserving ready availability through controlled hydrolysis.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly enhances the efficiency of reconverting hydrolysis products into metal borohydride, reducing energy consumption and enabling a waste-free recycling process, thereby improving hydrogen storage and utilization efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
in a first fluidized bed step the metal boron oxide is provided in a first fluidized bed that is fluidized using a gas selected from at least one of nitrogen, N2, gas and a noble gas under such circumstances, especially pressure and temperature, that oxygen atoms are removed from the metal boron oxide to provide metal boron, MeBn, particles
Implementation Method 2
in a subsequent second fluidized bed step the metal boron particles are provided in a second fluidized bed that is fluidized using hydrogen, H2, gas under such circumstances that hydrogen chemically reacts with the metal boron particles to provide metal borohydride
Implementation Method 3
the metal boron oxide is provided in a first fluidized bed that is fluidized using a gas selected from at least one of nitrogen, N2, gas and a noble gas
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing metal borohydride, Me(BH4)n, from metal boron oxide, Me(BO2)n, in which Me is a metal or a molecule that shows metal-like behaviour and can act as a metal, and n is an integer number that can be associated with the valence of the metal, wherein in a first fluidized bed step the metal boron oxide is provided in a first fluidized bed. The first fluidized bed is fluidized using a gas selected from at least one of nitrogen, N2, gas and a noble gas, optionally the noble gas being selected from at least one of helium, He; neon, Ne; argon, Ar; and xenon, Xe, under such circumstances, especially pressure and temperature, that oxygen atoms are removed from the metal boron oxide to provide metal boron, MeBn, particles, possibly ions. In a subsequent second fluidized bed step the metal boron particles are provided in a second fluidized bed that is fluidized using hydrogen, H2, gas under such circumstances that hydrogen chemically reacts with the metal boron particles to provide metal borohydride.