JPH06127901A - Method and device for rapid storage / release of hydrogen - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To efficiently and quickly perform heat exchange in a hydrogen storage alloy container to enable rapid and maximum hydrogen storage and release. [Structure] A screw conveyor is effectively arranged in a hydrogen storage alloy container, the conveyor is used as a heat transfer body, and a dispersion tray and a heat transfer body are installed in a gas phase section, and a storage section for the hydrogen storage alloy is further installed. And the gas phase.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for rapidly occluding and releasing hydrogen and facilitating its use, and relates to the energy industry in general and the hydrogen utilization industry.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since hydrogen storage alloys can store hydrogen at low pressure in a compact and safe manner, many studies have been conducted on their containers. When absorbing hydrogen in the form of powder into a hydrogen storage alloy that is powder and has a low thermal conductivity, make sure that hydrogen and the hydrogen storage alloy are in sufficient contact to quickly remove the heat generated during storage to increase the storage capacity for storage. Reducing the required time is an important issue.

Further, when hydrogen is taken out from the hydrogen storage alloy, heat is evenly and quickly applied to the hydrogen storage alloy to release hydrogen from the hydrogen storage alloy, thereby increasing the amount of release and shortening the time required for release. Doing is an important issue. In order to solve this problem, (1) a method of arranging a large number of finned heat transfer tubes in a container filled with a hydrogen storage alloy has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-140427).

Further, (2) a number of methods of arranging a number of honeycomb structures instead of the finned heat transfer tubes have been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-35401). Further, (3) a method of rotating a container filled with a hydrogen storage alloy has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-297).
No. 21, etc.).

[0005]

However, each of the above methods has the following major problems. First, regarding the above methods (1) and (2), there are the following problems to be solved. (A) The thermal conductivity of the powder hydrogen storage alloy is extremely low, about 0.2 to 0.7 w / m · ° k, and the heat transfer rate when both the hydrogen storage alloy and the heat transfer tube are stationary. And the efficiency is extremely poor. In other words, there is a variation in the mutual distance between the heat transfer tube and the hydrogen storage alloy in the stationary state, and the heat transfer tube near the finned heat transfer tube or the hydrogen storage alloy near the honeycomb structure and the other part far away from the hydrogen storage alloy Due to the presence of the hydrogen storage alloy, the storage or release amount of hydrogen is generally reduced, and the storage or release rate is also slow. (B) When the hydrogen absorbing alloy absorbs hydrogen, the alloy absorbs about 2
Although it expands by about 0%, when the amount of the hydrogen storage alloy filled in the container is large, the expansion force causes excessive stress in the heat transfer tube or the container and damages the heat transfer tube or the container.

Next, regarding the method (3) of rotating the container, the main problems are as follows. (A) The specific gravity of the hydrogen storage alloy is about 2.5 to 5.3, which is considerably heavy, and since the entire hydrogen storage alloy filled in the container is rotationally stirred, the rotation (power) increases as the container becomes larger. The size of the driving device becomes large.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and the gist thereof is as follows. (1) A rapid storage / release device for hydrogen, wherein a means for transporting the hydrogen storage alloy in the container is provided inside a container filled with the hydrogen storage alloy, and the transport means is provided with hydrogen from the outside of the container. A rapid storage of hydrogen, characterized in that a pipeline for supply is provided, the transport means has a jacket structure in which a heat medium or a refrigerant body is supplied from the outside of the container, and a hydrogen release port is provided in the container. -Discharge device.

(2) A method for rapid storage of hydrogen, in which a hydrogen storage alloy filled inside a container is transported in the container, and hydrogen is transferred from the outside of the container to the hydrogen storage alloy being transported. A method for rapid storage of hydrogen, characterized in that the hydrogen storage alloy mixed and in the transported / mixed state and hydrogen are cooled by a cooling medium supplied from the outside of the container, and the hydrogen storage alloy rapidly stores the hydrogen. .

(3) A method for rapidly releasing hydrogen, wherein a hydrogen storage alloy filled in a container and storing hydrogen is transported in the container, and the hydrogen storage alloy in the transported state is stored in the container. A method for rapid release of hydrogen, characterized by heating with a heat medium supplied from the outside to release hydrogen from the hydrogen storage alloy and releasing it into the container.

[0010]

The present invention achieves the following operational effects by the above means. (1) When occluding hydrogen, hydrogen is sent to the lower part of the screw conveyor and occluded by the hydrogen occluding alloy conveyed in the conveyor. The hydrogen flow rate is controlled to an amount commensurate with the flow rate of the hydrogen storage alloy conveyed in the screw conveyor, and the hydrogen is uniformly stored up to the maximum limit.

The heat of reaction generated at that time is heat-exchanged between the refrigerant body flowing in the jacket of the screw conveyor and the hydrogen storage alloy flowing and moving in the conveyor, so that the hydrogen storage alloy is cooled efficiently and quickly, Hydrogen absorption is promoted. Furthermore, of the hydrogen storage alloy that has been dispersed and discharged from the upper part of the screw conveyor and the hydrogen that has not yet been stored, the hydrogen storage alloy is evenly dispersed on the dispersion tray, and the hydrogen diffuses in the reaction gas phase portion, and Be filled with.

Therefore, since the hydrogen storage alloy is in good contact with hydrogen, hydrogen is further stored. Next, the hydrogen storage alloy is in evenly distributed contact with the heat transfer body, and heat exchange is performed between the hydrogen storage alloy flowing around the heat transfer body and the refrigerant body flowing through the heat transfer body for further cooling. , Also absorbs hydrogen. The hydrogen storage alloy that has stored hydrogen up to the maximum limit falls to the upper part of the storage unit and is stored. The above operation is continuously and efficiently performed to complete the occlusion reaction.

(2) When releasing hydrogen, when the hydrogen storage alloy is conveyed from the lower part of the screw conveyor through the conveyor, it is heated by heat exchange with the heat medium flowing in the jacket of the conveyor pipe. As a result, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage alloy is quickly released, and the hydrogen storage alloy and hydrogen are dispersed and discharged from the upper part of the conveyor. Hydrogen is released from the hydrogen outlet at the top of the container.

Further, the hydrogen storage alloy is evenly dispersed on the dispersion tray, drops onto the heat transfer body, is brought into contact with it, and is heated to release all hydrogen which has not yet been released. Therefore, heat transfer is performed quickly without waste, and the required hydrogen flow rate is maximum.
It is released continuously.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall view of a hydrogen storage alloy container 1 of the present invention. In the figure, a screw 2 is arranged in a jacket 3 at the center of a hydrogen storage alloy container 1. The hydrogen storage alloy 13 is stored in the storage unit 14 as illustrated.

An example of the hydrogen storage alloy will now be described. The inner diameter of the container 1 is 500 mm and the length of the container is 120.
It is 0 mm. As the hydrogen storage alloy 13, a TiFeH-based hydrogen storage alloy was used. As the hydrogen storage alloy 13, a granular material having a particle size adjusted in advance to about 0.2 mm was used.

First, a process of storing hydrogen in the hydrogen storage alloy 13 will be described. When the rotating body 6 is rotated, the hydrogen storage alloy is introduced from the hydrogen storage alloy inlet 4 opened at the bottom of the screw 2 and is conveyed and moved upward by the screw 2. On the other hand, hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen inlet 16. The hydrogen purity in this case was 99.99%.

The hydrogen supplied to the inside of the jacket 3 is
The hydrogen storage alloy 13 is mixed with the moving hydrogen storage alloy 13 by the screw 2, and the hydrogen storage alloy and hydrogen flow in a mixed state so that they are in uniform contact with each other. Therefore, the hydrogen storage alloy rapidly stores hydrogen and releases reaction heat. On the other hand, the cooling medium for cooling this reaction heat is about 5 ° C. in this embodiment.
Cooling water was used. The cooling water is supplied from the heat transfer medium inlet 10, enters the heat transfer body 8, and reacts with the reaction gas phase portion 15 as shown in the figure.
After passing through the jacket 3 and entering the jacket 3 through the pipe to the lower part of the jacket 3 and being discharged into the jacket 3, the jacket 3 rises and is further introduced into the heat transfer body 8 of the reaction gas phase portion 15. Then, the heat transfer medium outlet 11 exits the container.

FIG. 3 shows the flow path system of these heat transfer media in more detail, and the above explanation is shown in an easily understandable manner. Now, the reaction heat generated in the screw 2 is efficiently cooled by the above-mentioned cooling water, so that the hydrogen storage alloy can store hydrogen up to the maximum limit. The thermal conductivity of the hydrogen storage alloy itself used in this example is extremely low and is about 0.4 w / m · ° k, but the hydrogen storage alloy is stirred and fluidized by the screw 2, while the cooling water is fed at high speed (this embodiment). An extremely high heat exchange performance could be obtained by flowing at a flow rate of about 3 m / sec in the case of the example.

The hydrogen storage alloy in which hydrogen is stored in the screw 2 is discharged from the hydrogen storage alloy outlet 5 at the upper part of the screw,
Dispersed and discharged, but at this time, some hydrogen is not yet occluded with the hydrogen occluding alloy. The released hydrogen quickly diffuses into the reaction gas phase portion 15 at the same time as it is discharged, and fills the gas phase portion. On the other hand, the hydrogen storage alloy falls on the dispersion tray 7 and is more evenly dispersed and falls,
During this time as well, it contacts the diffused hydrogen and further occludes the hydrogen.

Further, the hydrogen storage alloy drops and contacts the heat transfer body 8 in the reaction gas phase portion 15 in a dispersed manner, and is further cooled by the action of cooling water to increase the hydrogen storage capacity. Of the free hydrogen, and after absorbing the hydrogen to the maximum extent, it falls and is stored in the upper part of the storage unit 14. By performing this operation continuously, all the hydrogen storage alloys in the storage section 14 were able to store hydrogen sufficiently.

The support 17 is for supporting the jacket 3 and the hydrogen inlet 16. FIG. 2 shows their behavior in more detail and the description is as above. Next, the process of releasing hydrogen will be described. When the rotating body 6 is rotated, the hydrogen storage alloy 13 that stores hydrogen
Flows in through the hydrogen storage alloy inlet 4 and flows in the screw 2. At that time, a heating medium (90 ° C. hot water was used in this embodiment) was supplied into the jacket 3 to heat the hydrogen storage alloy 13. The hydrogen storage alloy efficiently heated with warm water releases hydrogen, and a considerable amount of stored hydrogen is released and released in the screw as it goes to the upper part.

From the hydrogen storage alloy outlet 5 at the upper part of the screw, the hydrogen storage alloy which still stores some hydrogen and the released hydrogen are dispersed and discharged. Hydrogen is immediately released from the container through the hydrogen outlet 9. On the other hand, the hydrogen storage alloy is dispersed in the vapor phase portion 15 which has been heated by the heat transfer body 8 in advance, and further falls freely on the dispersion tray 7 to be dispersed, so that hydrogen which is still stored is released. Keep doing Further, the hydrogen storage alloy is heated by being in contact with the heat transfer body 8 of the heated reaction gas phase portion 15 while dropping, and further releases hydrogen.

By these operations, it became possible to release hydrogen from the hydrogen storage alloy to the maximum extent. Figure 4
The top view of the support 17 is shown. The mesh 12
Is for attaching to the outlet of hydrogen to prevent the hydrogen storage alloy from being carried outside the container.

In this embodiment, the screw 2 is used to convey the hydrogen storage alloy, but other conveying means,
For example, even if a continuous flow conveyor, a bucket elevator, a scraper conveyor, etc. are used, the corresponding effect can be achieved.

[0026]

According to the present invention, hydrogen can be efficiently absorbed or released up to the maximum capacity limit of a hydrogen storage alloy, and excessive stress due to expansion of the hydrogen storage alloy at the time of storage is eliminated. Further, it is possible to provide a compact and lightweight hydrogen storage alloy container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an embodiment of a hydrogen storage alloy container of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the behavior of a hydrogen storage alloy and a heat transfer medium.

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of a heat transfer body.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a support.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Container 2 Screw 3 Jacket 4 Hydrogen Storage Alloy Inlet 5 Hydrogen Storage Alloy Outlet 6 Rotor 7 Dispersion Tray 8 Heat Transfer Material 9 Hydrogen Outlet 10 Heat Transfer Medium Inlet 11 Heat Transfer Medium Outlet 12 Mesh 13 Hydrogen Storage Alloy 14 Storage Section 15 Reaction Gas phase 16 Hydrogen inlet 17 Support

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rapid storage / release device for hydrogen, comprising means for transporting a hydrogen storage alloy in a container filled with the hydrogen storage alloy, the transporting means from outside the container. In addition to providing a pipeline for supplying hydrogen, the conveying means has a jacket structure in which a heat medium or a refrigerant body is supplied from the outside of the container, and a hydrogen discharge port is provided in the container. Rapid storage / release device. 2. A rapid storage method for hydrogen, comprising transporting a hydrogen storage alloy filled in a container in the container, and mixing hydrogen from the outside of the container into the hydrogen storage alloy being transported. In addition, the hydrogen storage alloy in the transported and mixed state and the hydrogen are cooled by a cooling medium supplied from the outside of the container, and the hydrogen storage alloy rapidly stores the hydrogen. 3. A method for rapidly releasing hydrogen, wherein a hydrogen storage alloy filled inside a container and storing hydrogen is transported in the container, and the hydrogen storage alloy in the transported state is external to the container. A rapid release method for hydrogen, characterized in that the hydrogen is released from the hydrogen storage alloy by heating with a heat medium supplied from the above and released into the container.