Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~038~3Z
1 My invention relates to h~drogen gas generators and
particularly to an improved hydrogen generator for storing the
gas at relatively low pressures.
The production of hydrogen gas by the electrolysis of
water is well known and many designs of apparatus have been pro-
vided for this purpose. The use of hydrogen for the production
of heat by combustion is attractive from the standpoint of minimi-
zing atmospheric pollution, the product of combustion being pure
water vapor. The storage of hydrogen involves the problems of
10 high pressure gas storage and it is desirable to store the gas
at as low a pressure as can be used while storing sufficient gas
in an economical manner and in quantities sufficient for rela-
tively long periods of time. Accordingly, it is an object of my
invention to provide an improved system for the economical genera-
tion and storage of hydrogen gas.
It i8 another object of my invention to provide a hydrogen
gas generating system including a new and improved arrangement for
storing the generated gas in preparation for use.
Briefly, in carrying out the objects of my invention in
20 one embodiment thereof, an electrolysis unit of the U-tube type
is connected to discharge hydrogen to cleaning equipment for
removing acid and water and thence to a storage chamber. The
water input to the electrolysis unit is controlled by a float
valve on the oxygen side of the unit and the discharge of hydrogen
is shut off by a float valve or a predetermined rise of water
in the hydrogen side. Acid is prevented from reaching the storage
tank by a mass of zinc particles in a first cleaning stage and
water is trapped by a mass of granular calcium chloride in a
second cleaning stage. The hydrogen is stored in a reservoir at
30 pressure dependent upon the supply pressure of the water at the
1038332
1 electrolysis unit. The storage reservoir is charged with a
quantity of lanthanum-nickel which absorbs hydrogen without
chemical change and greatly increases the storage capacity of the
reservoir.
The features of novelty which characterize my invention
are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and
orming a part of this specification. My invention itself, however,
both as to lts organization and its method of operation together
with other objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood
1O upon reference to the following description taken in connection
with the accompanying drawing in which the single figure represents
diagrammatically a hydrogen gas generator embodying my invention.
The drawing illustrates a sealed hydrogen generating and
storage system. This system includes a hydrogen generator compri-
sing a U-tube electrolysis unit 10 arranged to receive water
through an inlet 11 under control of an automatic pressure regula-
ting valve 12 and to deliver it to the U-tube under control of a
float valve 13. The valve element, which is indicated diagram-
matically, is preferably of the needle type for fine control and
20 shut-off. The details of the valve are~not shown as they are not
essential to an understanding of the invention. The valve is
actuated by a pair of floats, one on either side of an electrode
14 and connected by a yoke 15, only the near side float appearing
in the drawing as indicated at 16. The electrode 14 extends
through a sealed top cap 17 from which it is insulated by a
bushing 18 of a suitable insulating material. The water pressure
at the valve inlet is indicated by a guage 19 connected to the
inlet 11. The other side of the U includes an electrode 20
mounted in a sealing cap 21 in an insulated bushing 22 and
30 extending downwardly into the right hand leg of the U. The liquid
1(~38332
1 in the U-tube is a suitable electrolyte and in the present
system may be a dilute solution of sulphuric acid. Oxygen is
generated in the left hand leg and hydrogen in the right hand leg
when a current is passed between the electrodes 14 and 20, the
electrode 14 being the anode and the electrode 20 the cathode.
The anode 14 is preferably nickel plated and the cathode 20 is
made of iron without plating. As the gases are produced by
electrolysis in the generator 10, oxygen is removed for use or
dissipated to the atmosphere from the left hand leg of the U-tube
0 through the control valve of a gas pressure regulator 23. Hydrogen
flows from the right hand leg through a conduit 24 and into an
acid removing chamber 25. The chamber 25 is cylindrical and
provided with a sealed top 26 secured by bolts 27 to a flange 28
at the top of the cylinder. The conduit 24 is provided with a
flanged coupling 3Q and manual shut-off valves 31 and 32 which are
closed when the flange 30 is opened for servicing. A check valve 33
is provided in the conduit 24 between the flange 30 and t~he valve
31 for preventing back flow from the chamber 25 to the U-tube. In
the event that the electrolyte rises sufficiently, a float con-
20 trolled valve 34 is closed. This valve is controlled by a pair offloats similar to those of the valve 15, one on either side of the
electrode 20, the near one of which appears at 35. The two
floats are connected by a yoke 36 attached to the valve 34.
The conduit 24, the water inlet conduit 11 and a conduit 43
through which the oxygen is discharged, are all insulated from
the outer metal wall of the U-tube in a manner similar to the
insulation between the electrodes and the top caps 17 and 21. The
insulation between the wall of the U-tube and the conduits is
indicated at 44, 45 and 46 for the conduits 11, 24 and 43,
30 respectively. The U-tube 10 comprises an outer metal wall 47 and
a glass liner 47a.
-- 3 --
103833Z
. I Hydrog~n ~as ~lQwing through the conduit 24 flows down-
wardly toward the bo~om of the chamber 25, a screen or foraminous
plate 37 bein~ provided at the bottom and extending across the
entire cross section of the chamber except for an opening
accommodating the tube 24. The screen 37 slopes in all directions
away from the outlet of the conduit 24a and supports a mass of
zinc particles generally indicated at 38. The screen 37 prevents
the particles from falling to the bottom of the chamber 25 and
holds them in position so that all the gas which flows through
10 the conduit 24 must flow up through the mass of zinc particles
before it can be discharged from the chamber through the discharge
outlet indicated at 40. In the event that excess water or
electrolyte should be accumulated in the chamber 25 under unusual
conditions of operation, a float 41 is arranged to close a valve 42
to prevent passage of the electrolyte into the conduit 40.
The hydrogen gas which has passed through the chamber 25
and out through the conduit 40 and its downwardly extending
portion indicated at 40a within a second chamber 48. and flows
upwardly in the chamber 48 from the bottom portion after passing
20 through a screen or foraminous plate 50, and passes through a mass
of granular calcil~m chloride 51 for the purpose of removing any
water which may have reached the chamber 48. The two sections of
the conduit 40 between the chambers 25 and 48 are joined by a
detachable flanged coupling 52 and are provided with respective
shut-off valves 53 and 54 for preventing the passage of gas in
or out of the two chambers when the coupling is opened. The
dry hydrogen gas passes out of the chamber 48 through a conduit 55
having therein a filter 56 and a shut-off valve 57. This gas
flows through a detachable flanged coupling 58 and a shut-off
30 valve 60 and thence downwardly through a conduit 61 to a storage
-`` 1038332
1 tank 62. ~ safety or emergen~y float valve comprising a valve 63
and a float 64 is provided in the tank 48 to close the outlet in
the event of flooding of the chamber 48. In the event of such
emergency this prevents the admission of water to the storage
tank 62. The storage tank 62 is provided with an outlet conduit
65 from the top thereof and the conduit is provided with a shut-off
valve 66 and a filter 67. A supply conduit 68 for an appliance
or other utilization device employing hydrogen is connected to ,
the conduit 65 by a flanged coupling 70 and is provided with a
10 manual shut-off valve 71. The pressure within the system as
illustrated in the drawing is controlled by the pressure of the
water entering the electrolysis unit 10 through the inlet 11. The
system throughout is substantially at this pressure except for
differences in pressure due to the flow of the hydrogen gas, and
for differences in pressure due to the water levels in the U-tube.
The combined action of the regulators 12 and 23 serves to control
the pressure in the system and maintain it within selected limits.
For example, with a water supply pressure at say fifty pounds per
square inch, the regulators may be set to maintain a system pres-
20 sure of the order of twenty-five pounds per square inch for the
generation and storage of hydrogen. The pressure maintained in
the system may be somewhat variable over a selected relatively
narrow range in the neighborhood of twenty-five pounds per square
inch during the operation of the system.
It is desirable to store large quantities of gas without
requiring storage at high pressure and for this purpose I provide
in the storage tank 62 a body of lanthanum-nickel alloy indicated
at 72 and which is initially in the form of rods or bars as supplied
by the manufacturer. At the present time this lanthanum-nickel
30 alloy may be purchased from Molybdenum Company of America,
" 1038332
1 White Plains, New York. Over the period of the operation of the
system, lanthanum-nickel ~La2Ni5) disintegrates from its bar form
and forms a mass of powdered material in the lower portion of the
tank 62. This material will last as a storage means over a long
period of time provided water and oxygen or other substances
capable of reacting with the alloy are prevented from reaching it.
The lanthanum-nickel alloy has the property of absorbing large
amounts of hydrogen and the presence of the metal within the tank
makes it possible to charge a substantially greater volume of gas
10 within the tank than can be charged in the tank at the same
pressure without the metal present. As a result, substantial
amounts of hydrogen gas may be stored within the tank 62 for use
as required by the utilization devices connected to the supply con-
duit 68. The electrolysis generator 10 may thus be run substanti-
ally continuously over long periods of time subject to shut-down
in the event of long periods of non-use of a stored gas. The
electrolysis operation is discontinued when the gas in the tank 62
reaches a predetermined pressure which forces the electrolyte
in the U-tube down below the electrode 20 and which disconnects
20 the electric circuit until the electrolyte again rises to contact
the electrode, whereupon the generation of hydrogen is resumed.
The hydrogen generating system as disclosed has the
advantage of providing a gas which is clean in that it burns
without particulate residue, the product of combustion being pure
water vapor.
The electricity for operation of the electrolysis
- generator may be supplied in any suitable manner and for many
installations it is preferable to employ electrical generating
means which do not require the combustion of ordinary fuels. Thus,
30 water wheel generators, windmills and solar generators are suited
`` 1038332
t for use in connection with this system. In all cases the
electrolysis generation may be continued during the operation of
the water wheel, windmill or solar generator to store substantial
amounts of hydrogen during the active period of the power means,
the hydrogen being available over extended periods due to the
increased storage capability of the tank 62 when the generator
is not in operation.
While I have illustrated a specific preferred arrangement
of my hydrogen gas generating system, other applications and
10 modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore,
I do not desire my invention to be limited to the details of the
system illustrated and I intend by the appended claims to cover
all modifications which fall within the spirit and scope of my
invention.
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