Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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4.
VORTEX TUBE REFORMER FOR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION, SEPARATION,
AND INTEGRATED USE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present application relates generally to vortex tube reformers for syngas
production, hydrogen separation and injection to engines and fuel cells.
SUMMARY
An assembly includes at least one vortex tube having an inlet and 4 Hydrogen
outlet.
A reformer mechanism is associated with the vortex tube to remove Hydrogen
from Carbon in
molecules of hydrocarbon fuel input to the inlet The refOrmer mechanism
includes a catalytic
constituent inside the vortex tube, and/or heated water vapor injected into
the vortex tube
along with the hydrocarbon fuel.
In example embodiments, the vortex tube includes a swirl chamber, with the.
inlet of
the vortex tube being into the swirl chamber. Also, the vortex tube can.
include a main tube
segment communicating with the swirl chamber and having an outlet different
from the
hydrogen outlet. A fuel intake of an engine can be in fluid communication with
the outlet that
is different from the hydrogen outlet of the vortex tube. Furthermore, the
outlet that. is
different from the hydrogen outlet can be juxtaposed with an inside surface of
a wall of the
main tube segment. A catalytic constituent may be disposed on the inside
surface of the wall
of the main tube segment
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In some embodiments, a hydrogen-permeable tube is disposed centrally in the
main
tube segment and defines the hydrogen outlet at one end of the hydrogen-
permeable tube.
In some embodiments, plural vortex tubes may be provided and arranged in a
toroidal
configuration, with a first vortex tube in the plural vortex tubes defining
the inlet of the vortex
tube and providing fluid to an inlet of a next vortex tube in the plural
vortex tubes.
The engine may be a turbine or an internal combustion engine such as a diesel
engine.
The inlet of the vortex tube can be in fluid communication with a source of
hydrocarbon fuel. In addition or alternatively, the inlet of the vortex tube
can be in fluid
communication with an exhaust of the engine.
In another aspect, a method includes refianning hydrocarbon fuel using at
least one
vortex .tube. The reforming includes removing Hydrogen front Carbon-based
constituents in
molecules of the hydrocarbon fuel. The vortex is also used to separate the
Hydrogen from the
Carbon-based constituents to render a Hydrogen stream substantially free of
Carbon. The
Hydrogen stream is provided to a hydrogen receiver such as a tank or a.
turbine or an engine.
In another aspect, an assembly includes at least a first vortex tube
configured for
receiving hydrocarbon fuel and separating the hydrocarbon fuel into a first
stream and a
second stream. The first stream is composed primarily of Hydrogen, whereas the
second
stream includes Carbon such as Carbon-based constituents. At. least a first
Hydrogen receiver
is configured fur receiving the first stream. On the other hand, at least. a
second vortex tube is
configured for receiving the second stream from the first vortex tube fur
separating the second
stream into a third stream and a fourth stream. The third stream is composed
primarily of
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Hydrogen for provisioning thereof to the Hydrogen receiver, while the fourth
stream includes
Carbon.
The Hydrogen receiver can include a hydrogen tank. In addition or
alternatively, the
Hydrogen receiver may include a fuel cell. Both the first and third streams
may be provided to the
Hydrogen receiver. The Hydrogen receiver may include a turbine or other
engine.
In some examples, at least one heat exchanger is disposed in fluid
communication between
the vortex tubes and is configured for removing heat from the second stream
prior to the second
stream being input lo the second vortex tube. In addition or alternatively, at
least a first catalytic
constituent can be on an inside surface of the first vortex tube and at least
a second catalytic
constituent can be on an inside surface of the second vortex tube but not on
the inside surface of
the first vortex tube. The second catalytic constituent may include Copper,
and in specific
embodiments Zinc and Aluminum may also be on the inside surface of the second
vortex tube.
In another aspect, a reformer assembly includes at least one vortex tube
comprising a swirl
chamber having an input and a main tube segment communicating with the swirl
chamber and
having a first output juxtaposed with an inside surface of a wall of the main
tube segment. The
first output is for outputting relatively hotter and heavier constituents of
fluid provided at the
input. At least one catalytic constituent is on the inside surface of the wall
of the main tube
segment.
In some examples of this last aspect, at least one hydrogen-permeable tube is
disposed
centrally in the main tube segment and defining a second output at one end of
the hydrogen-
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.4.
permeable tube for outputting at least one relatively lighter and cooler
constituent of fluid
provided at the input. The at least one relatively lighter and cooler
constituent may include
hydrogen and the relatively hotter and heavier constituents of fluid provided
at the input can
include carbon. A fuel cell or engine or .other Hydrogen receiver such as a
tank may be
connected to the second output.
In another aspect, a system includes at least one fuel cell and at least one
vortex tube
assembly for receiving hydrocarbon fuel as input and providing hydrogen
reformed from the
hydrocarbon fuel within the vortex tube to the fuel cell.
The details of the present description, both as to its structure and
operation, can best be
understood in reference to the Accompanying drawings,, in which, like
reference numerals refer
to like parts, and in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example energy generation system;
Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example vortex tube reformer/separator
assembly;
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a toroidal vortex tube assembly;
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a vortex tube in an engine system;
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a vortex tube-based Hydrogen-injection
system for
an engine;
Figure 6 is a schematic diagram from a transverse view of a vortex tube,
illustrating
separation;
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Figures 7-9 are additional schematic diagrams of a vortex tube-based Hydrogen
reformer systems;
Figure 10 is a block diagram of an example electrical component subsystem for
supporting the vortex tube systems shown. in the drawings; and
.Figure 11 is a flow chart of an example process flow of the vortex tube
systems shown
in the drawings, illustrating 14c that may he executed by a processor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Fig= 1 shows an actuation system 10, described further below, that in one
example
imparts energy to a receiver, such as an engine such as an internal combustion
engine for a
vehicle or in the example shown by imparting torque to a rotor of a turbine 12
to rotate an
output shaft of the turbine, The -turbine i 2 may include a compressor
section, a combustion
section, and a turbine section in accordance with. turbine principles and may
also have one or
more rotors or shafts which typically are coupled to each other and which may
he concentric
to each other.
Figure 1 shows that in one implementation, a fuel tank 14 which contains
hydrocarbon-based fuel such as but. not Jimited to jet fuel can provide fuel
to an intake 16 of
the turbine 12. The fuel typically is injected through injectors in the
turbine, where it mixes
with air compressed by the compressor section of the turbine and ignited in a
so-called "flame
holder" or "can". "Intake" refers generally to these portions of the turbine
that are preliminary
to the turbine blades. The high-pressure mixture is then directed to impinge
on turbine blades
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18 which are coupled to the output abaft. In this way torque is imparted to
the output shaft to
cause it to rotate about its axis. In other implementations the turbine 12
need not he a
combustion turbine, and as alluded to above other receivers such as engines in
vehicles may
be used.
The output shaft of the turbine can be coupled to the rotor of an electrical
generator to
rotate the generator rotor within an electric field and thus cause the
generator to output
electricity. Or, the output shaft of the turbine may be coupled. to the rotor
of an aircraft fan to
rotate the fan and thus cause it to generate thrust for propelling a turbofan
jet plane. Yet
again, the output. shaft of the turbine may be coupled to the rotor of a
propulsion component
such as the rotor of a helicopter, the shaft of a watercraft on which a
propeller is mounted, or a
drive shaft of a land vehicle such as a military tank to rotate the
rotorishaft/drive shaft as the
case may be to propel the platform through the air or water or over land,
depending on the
nature of the conveyance. The propulsion component may include a drive train
that can.
include a combination of components known in the art, e.g., crankshafts,
transmissions, axles,
and so on..
In addition to or in lieu of actuating a receiver such as the turbine 12 with
fuel directly
from the fuel tank 14, the actuation system 10 may include a reformer assembly
20 which
receives fuel from, the fuel tank '14. While some embodiments of the reformer
assembly may
include a reformer and a membrane-type hydrogen separator to separate hydrogen
in the
reformed product of the retbrmer from the carbon-based constituents, a vortex
tube-based
reformer assembly is described further below.
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The reformer assembly .20 produces hydrogen from the fuel, and the hydrogen is
sent
to a fuel cell 22, in some cases through a hydrogen tank 24 first as shown. If
desired, multiple
reformers and/or fuel cells may be used in parallel with each other and/or in
series with each
other.
The fuel cell 22 uses the hydrogen to generate electricity, typically with a
relatively
high efficiency, .by oxidizing the hydrogen with oxygen from, e.g., the
ambient atmosphere.
Without limitation, the fuel cell 22 may be a polymer exchange membrane fuel
cell (PEMFC),
a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), an alkaline fuel cell (AFC), -a molten-
carbonate fuel cell
(MCFC), a phosphoric-acid fuel cell (PAFC), or a direct-methanol fuel cell
(DMFC).
In turn, electricity from the fuel cell 22 may be sent to an electric motor 26
to cause an
output shaft of the motor 26 to turn. The. motor shaft is mechanically coupled
through a rotor
coupling 28 to a rotor of the turbine 12. Typically, the turbine/engine rotor
to which the
motor 26 is coupled is not the same segment of rotor bearing the blades 18,
although in some
implementations this can be the case. Instead, the rotor to which the motor 26
may be
coupled may be a segment of the blade rotor that does not bear blades or a
rotor separate from
the blade rotor and concentric therewith or otherwise coupled thereto. In any
case, the motor
26, when energized by the fuel cell 22, imparts torque (through appropriate
couplings if
desired) through a rotor to the output shalt of the turbine 12, which in some
cases may be the
same shaft as that establishing the rotor. Power from the motor 26 may be
provided to
components other than the receiver embodied by the turbine. Yet agan, the
electrical power
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produced by the fuel cell and turbine/engine may be sent to electrical
storage, such as a
battery system, or to a power load such as the electrical distribution grid of
a municipality.
In addition, to realize further efficiencies, output of the fuel cell such as
water in the
form of steam produced by. the fuel cell 22 may be mixed with. hydrocarbon
that is input to the
reformer assembly 20 in a mixer 30, which may be a tank or simple pipe or
other void in
which the water and carbon can mix, with the mixture then being directed
(through, e.g.,
appropriate piping or ducting) to the turbine intake 16. If desired,
surfactant from a surfactant
tank 32 may also be added to the steam/carbon mixture. Or, the steam from the
fuel cell may
be sent to the reformer assembly described below without mixing the steam with
carbon
and/or without mixing the steam with surfactant.
In any case, it may now be appreciated that the steam/carbon mixture may
supplement
fuel injection directly from the fuel tank 14 to the intake 16, or replace
altogether fuel
injection directly from the fuel tank. 14- to the intake 1-6i.
Still further, electricity produced by the fuel cell 22 may be used not only
to actuate
the electric motor 26 (or provide power to a battery storage or the grid) but
also to provide
ignition current for the appropriate components in the turbine or engine 12.
Also, electricity
from the fuel cell may be used for other auxiliary purposes, e.g., in addition
to actuating- the
electric motor, powering other electrical appliances. In cases where the
reformer assembly 20
generates carbon dioxide and steam, these fluids may also be directed to heat
exchangers
associated with or coupled to the reformer and a steam generator.
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In some embodiments, water can. be returned from the the! cell 22 if desired
to the
reformer assembly 20 through a water line 34. Also if desired, heat from the
receiver (e.g.,
from the turbine 12) may be collected and routed back to the retbrmer assembly
20 through
ductingfpiping 36, to heat the relomier assembly.
Figure 2 illustrates a vortex tube-based reformer assembly 20. As shown, the
assembly
20 may include a steam reservoir 200 and .a fuel reservoir .202. The steam
reservoir 200 and
fuel reservoir 202 may be heat exchangers, schematically depicted by
illustrating a respective
outer heating Chamber 200a, 202a surrounding a respective inner fluid chamber
200b, 202b,
with the heat in each outer heat exchange chamber heating the fluid in the
respective inner
fluid chamber. Heat may he supplied. to each heat exchange chamber 200a, 202a
via the
exhaust line 36 from the exhaust of the receiver of Fig= 1, e.g., the turbine
12.
First considering the steam reservoir 200, initial water or steam fro startup
may be
supplied to the intake side of an optional impeller 204 or other fluid
movement device until
such time as the initial water or steam may be supplemented and preferably
superseded by
steam exhaust from the fuel cell 22 via the line 34 as. shown. initial startup
heat may also be
provided, e.g., from an electric heating element 206 in the heat exchange
chamber 200a of the
fluid reservoir 200, from exhaust heat from the turbine or engine, or from
some other source
of heat until such time as the startup heat may be supplemented and preferably
superseded by
exhaust heat from the receiver (e.g., turbine 12) via the exhaust line 36 as
shown. In any case,
the initial water heated into steam for startup and the steam from the fuel
cell during operation
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are sent to a mixer/injector reservoir 208, under the influence of the
impeller 204 when
provided or simply under steam pressure within the inner fluid chamber 200b.
With respect. to the fuel reservoir 202, hydrocarbon fuel such as but not
limited to
natural gas may be supplied from the fuel tank 14 to the intake side of an
optional impeller
210 or other fluid movement device. Initial startup heat may also be provided,
e.g., from an
electric heating element 212 in the heat exchange chamber 202a of the fuel
reservoir 202 or
from some other source of heat until such time as the startup heat may be
supplemented and
preferably superseded by exhaust heat from the receiver (e.g., turbine 12) via
the exhaust line
36 as shown. In any -case, the heated fuel in the fluid Chamber 202b of the
fuel reservoir 202,
preferably scrubbed of sulfur by desulfurizer sorbent elements 213 that may be
provided on
the inside wall of the fuel chamber, is sent to the mixer/injector reservoir
208, under the
influence of the impeller 210 when provided or simply under fluid pressure
within the inner
fluid chamber 2021,. In some case, the fuel may not be heated prior to
provision to. the
mixer/injector 208.
In some examples, the steam in the steam reservoir 200 and/or fuel in the
file]
reservoir 202 may be heated to six hundred degrees Celsius (600 C) to one
thousand one
hundred degrees Celsius (1100* C) at a pressure of three atmospheres to thirty
atmospheres (3
atm 30 atm). More generally, the reacticm temperatures applied to the
hydrocarbon and
steam mixtures can proceed from a low temperature of 300C up to 1200C. These
temperatures can he optimized Ibr the input hydrocarbon feed type, the duty
transit time of the
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process through the reaction tube, and the applied pressures caused by the
turbulent flow such
the vortex generated in the reaction tube.
The mixer/injector 208 mixes the steam from the steam reservoir 200 with the
fuel
from the fuel reservoir 202. The mixing may be accomplished under the
influence of the
turbidity of the respective fluids as they enter the mixer/injector 208 and/or
by additional
mixing components such as rotating -impellers within the mixer/injector 208
and/or by other
suitable means. The mixer/injector 208 injects the mixed Steam and fuel into a
vortex tube
214, e.g., through fuel injectors or simply through a port and fluid line
under the influence of
-fluid pressure within the mixer.
The vortex tube 214, which also may be known as a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube,
is a
mechanical device that separates a compressed fluid into hot and cold.
streams. It typically has
no moving parts.
As shown, the pressurized mixture of steam and fuel from the mixer/injector
208 is
injected, preferably tangentially, into a swirl chamber 216 of the vortex tube
214, and
accelerated to a high rate of rotation by the cooperation of geometry between
the swirl
chamber 216 and cylindrical wall of a main tube segment 218 that is oriented
perpendicular to
the input axis of the swirl chamber 216 as shown. A first conical nozzle 220
may be provided
at one end of the vortex tube 214 so that only the outer shell of the
compressed as is allowed
to escape at that end. The opening at this end thus is annular with its
central part blocked
by a valve as described further below) so that the remainder of the gas is
forced to -return back
through the main inner tube 218 toward the swirl chamber 216 in an inner
vortex of reduced
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diameter that is substantially coaxial with the main tube segment 218 as
shown. In one
embodiment, the inner vortex can be enclosed in a hydrogen-permeable tube 222
that leads to
a hydrogen output 224,, which may be established by a second conical nozzle,
The hydrogen-
permeable tube 222, when provided, preferably is impermeable to carbon-based
constituents.
The tube 222 may includePalladium.
A catalyzing layer 226 may be formed on or made integral with The inside
surface of at
least the main inner tube 218 to attract. carbon-based constituents to the
outer circumference
of the passageway formed by the main inner tube. The catalyzing layer may
include nickel
and/or platinum and/or rhodium and/or palladium and/or gold and/or copper. The
tube 218
may be composed of the catalyzing layer or the layer 226 may be added to a
tube substrate as
by, e.g., vapor deposition of the catalyzing layer 226 onto the tube
substrate, which may be
ceramic.
The cooperation of structure of the vortex tube 214 forces relatively cooler
hydrogen.
from the input fuel toward the axis of the main tube 218 into the hydrogen-
permeable tube
222 when provided, and la looking down at Figure 2 along the axis of the main
tube .218,
while forcing the relatively heavier and hotter carbon-based constituents of
the fuel outward
against the catalytic layer 226 and right looking down at Figure 2. Owing to
the cooperation
of structure depicted, the fuel is both chemically refOrmed into hydrogen and
carbon-based
constituents and the hydrogen is physically -separated from the carbon-based
constituents for
provisioning to the fuel cell 22.
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If desired, an evacuation mechanism such as a vacuum pump 228 may be provided
to
aid in withdrawing hydrogen from. the hydrogen output 224 of the vortex tube
214. Also, if
desired the hydrogen may be passed through a watergas shift reactor (WSGR) 230
to further
purify the hydrogen, prior to provisioning to the fuel cell 22. Examples of
vortex tube-based
WOSR embodiments are discussed Rather below.
On the other hand, the carbon-based constituents of the fuel are sent out of
the right
side of the main tube 218 of the vortex tube 214 to the receiver, e.g., the
turbine 12, in some
cases via the mixer 30 shown in Figure 1.
Fuel cells typically work better when the hydrogen input to them is relatively
cooler
than that produced by conventional reformers, which consequently may require
cooling.
Moreover, it may be difficult to employ certain hydrogen cooling techniques
such as WGSR
with extremely high temperature hydrogen from a conventional reformer, meaning
the
hydrogen may require significant cooling. By reforming the firel, separating
the hydrogen, and
cooling the hydrogen (relative to the carbon-based constituents) in a single
reformer assembly
as described herein, multiple benefits accrue, including the ability to
produce relatively cool
hydrogen which requires less post-reforming codling and which extends the
life, of the fuel
cell.
Accordingly, the application of vortex or cyclonic swirling action enables the
elegant
integration of these processes and provides higher energy efficiency, improved
fuel
utilization, and increased hydrogen yield. Additional advantages over
conventional reformers
include shifting of the chemical equilibrium to favor hydrogen production.
This is achieved
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by the placement of a hydrogen permeable membrane separator tube at the low-
pressure site
of the vortex to pull or harvest hydrogen from the evolving hydrocarbon syngas
mixture
during the reforming process in the tube. This process is achieved through the
combination of
a generated vortex or vortexes, which enhances the reforming and vortex gas
separation
simultaneously while also enhancing the harvesting and cooling of the hydrogen
gas.
In the approach described above, the generated vortex provides centrifugal
spinning
action which is applied to the gases in. a circular tube, initially to the
'hydrocarbon and steam,
-which tangentially presses at higher pressures and temperatures against the
walls of the
catalyst-lined main tube 218, enhancing the rate of reforming. This is due to
the higher
0.1nperatures and pressures on the on the more massive molecular gases (the
hydrocarbons
and steam) imposed by the swirling motion contacting the walls of the catalyst
lined tube.
As the reforming process proceeds down the:tube in the vortex, the input
hydrocarbon
gas mixture differentiates or stratifies axially in the tube according to gas
densities. The
hydrocarbons and the steam being the densest congregate at the inside wall of
the tube and the
hydrogen having the lowest density will move towards the center of the vortex.
The higher
momentums are imparted to the heavier gases, the longest chain hydrocarbons
and the steam,
which collide with high force and in high densitit.s with the catalyst-lined
wall of the tube.
This optimizes compliance and the interface between the hydrocarbon, the steam
and the
catalyst for a given pressure.
The hydrogen gases, which are less massive, are pulled toward the center of
the
vortex, toward the lower pressure zone, away from the peripheral. This effect,
moving the
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hydrogen away from the peripheral, improves the access path to the catalyst
for the heavier
hydrocarbons, steam, and carbon oxides. The center of the tube, where the
vortex has its
lowest pressures, contains the hydrogen permeable filter tube 222 with suction
for pulling
hydrogen Therefore hydrogen permeates in to the center and is drawn off from
the reaction
with a negative pressure, thereby harvesting the hydrogen while the reforming
process
proceeds.
The hydrogen is separated and drawn to the center of the vortex due to its
lower
density and it is further drawn into the walls of the hydrogen permeable
separation tube due to
the negative pressure applied to the tube. The drawing off or harvesting of
hydrogen from the
ongoing reforming further improves the dynamic chemical reactions in
conjunction with
catalyst by depleting hydrogen, limiting unfavorable hydrogen reversible
reactions. This
increases the hydrogen to carbon production ratio,
With the above in mind, the product of the retbrmation reaction (syngas) is
continually
tapped during the transit time along the vortex tube providing the purified
output streams and
further changing the equilibrium balance of the ongoing reaction to improve
the amount of
hydrogen produced. The vortex cyclonic action may be applied to the injected
hydrocarbon
and steam .feeds by means of propeller, or pump which a causes the heavy
hydrocarbon base
gases and steam towards the tube walls. This. action causes reforming of some
of the
hydrocarbons impinging on the catalysts, ejecting hydrogen and carbon
monoxide. These two
gases being lighter than the CH4 are propelled towards the center of the
vortex away from the
wall of the vortex tube. The separated output streams consisting. of hydrogen
on the one hand
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and steam, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and trace impurities on the other
are
individually tapped and fed to respective output streams.
The pioducfion and the separation of the output filets streams are both
enhanced by
means of the vortex action in the reaction tube and the progressive removal of
the fractional
products, such as hydrogen, which further provides dynamic optimization due to
the
continuous non equilibrium conditions.
In addition to appropriate sensors, valves, and controller electronics, the
vortex tube
may include fuel and steam injectors, heating inputs, heat exchangers, high
shear turbulent
mixers, filters, and output stream taps. The output hydrogen and some steam
can be fed to the
fuel cell 22, with carbon-based constituents and some steam being fed to the
receiver. In
some implementations most of the steam and heaver fractional hydrocarbons can
be fed hack
into the vortex tube or a plurality of vortex tubes.
Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment in which plural vortex tubes are arranged
in an
endless loop 300, referred to herein as a "toroidal" configuration without
implying that the
endless ioop is perfectly round. Each vortex tube may be substantially
identical in
construction and operation to the vortex tube 214 in Figure 2.
As shown, fuel may be input to an initial vortex tube 302, the hydrogen output
from
the hydrogen permeable tube of which is sent as input to the swirl chamber of
the next vortex
tube 304, whose hydrogen output in turn is provided as input to the next
vortex tube. "N"
vortex tubes may this be arranged in series in the configuration 300, with "N"
being an integer
(in the example shown, and with the hydrogen output of the Nth vortex tube
306 being
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sent to the fuel cell 22. In this way, the hydrogen is successively separated
into ever-more-
pure input for the fuel cell, while the carbon-based constituents output from
each vortex tube
can be individually withdrawn from each tube and sent to the receiver, as
indicated by the "N"
wows 308.
The configuration 300 of Figure 3 may be used in the system shown in Figure 2,
with
the initial vortex tube 302 receiving fuel from the mixer/injector 208 and
sending hydrogen
from the hydrogen output 224 to the swirl chamber input of the next vortex
tube, and with the
hydrogen output of the Nth vortex tube 306 being sent to the fuel cell 22 via
the vacuum pump
228 and WSOR 230. Carbon-based constituents from each vortex tube of Figure 3
may be
sent to the mixer/receiver 30/12.
In other embodiments, the carbon output of each tube is sent to the input of
the next
tube with the hydrogen outputs of each tube being individually directed out of
the toroidal
configuration 300 and sent to the fuel cell.
Figure 4 illustrates a vortex tube 400 that may be established by a vortex
tube or tubes
described above and shown in Figures 2 or 1 The vortex tube 400 of Figure 4
may include at
least one inlet 402 at least one hydrogen outlet 404 as shown, with at least
one engine 406
such as a diesel engine having an input port 408 in fluid communication with
the hydrogen
outlet 404 of the vortex tube 400. In this way, hydrogen produced by the
reforming within the
vortex tube 400 is provided as hydrogen injection or enhancement to the engine
406, in which
the hydrogen may be combined with diesel fuel from a tank 410 and received at
a fuel intake.
412. of the engine. Note that the hydrogen inlet 408 of the engine 406 may be
separate from
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the fuel intake 412 or it may be the same or in the same mechanical assembly
as the fuel
intake 412.
It will he appreciated in light of preceding disclosure that the vortex tube
400 may
typically include a swirl chamber into which hydrocarbon is provided through
the inlet 402
and a main tube segment communicating with the swirl chamber and having an
outlet 414 that
is different from the hydrogen outlet 404. in some embodiments such as the one
illustrated,
the fuel intake 412 of the engine 406 is in fluid communication with the
outlet 4:14 to receive
hydrogen-depleted. reformate from the vortex tube 400. According to the above
disclosure, the
outlet 414 typically is juxtaposed with an inside surface of a wall of the
main tube segment,
onto which at least one catalytic constituent may be disposed.
Likewise, the vortex tube 400, as described above in the case of the preceding
vortex
tubes, may include a hydrogen-permeable tube disposed centrally in the main
tube segment
and defining the hydrogen outlet 404-at one end of the hydrogen-permeable
tube.
As mentioned above, the vortex tube 400 in Figure 4 may represent an assembly
established by the plural. vortex tubes arranged in a toroidal configuration
of Figure 3,
In the example shown, a vortex tube outlet conduit 416 communicates with the
vortex
tube outlet 414 to convey hydrogen-depleted refomiate to an engine fuel supply
conduit 418
that connects the fuel tank 410 to the fuel intake 412 of the engine. In this
way, only a single
input opening need be provided in the fuel intake. However, in alternate
embodiments the
vortex tube outlet conduit 416 extends from the vortex tube outlet 414
directly to the fuel.
intake 412 of the engine 406 without joining the fuel supply conduit 418,
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In the example shown, the inlet 402 of the vortex tube 400 can be in fluid
communication with the fuel tank. 410 through a fuel tank supply conduit 420,
to receive
hydrocarbon fuel to be reformed. In addition or alternatively, the inlet 402
of the vortex ttibe
400 may be in fluid communication with the exhaust system 422 of the engine
406 to receive,
through a vehicle exhaust conduit 424, a hydrocarbon stream to be reformed-In
the example
shown, when two sources of hydrocarbon to be reformed are provided (engine
exhaust and
fuel tank), the vehicle exhaust conduit 424 can join the fuel tank supply
conduit 420 so that
only a single inlet opening need be provided in the vortex tube 400. However,
in alternate
embodiments using two vortex tube input sources, the vehicle exhaust conduit
424 can extend
from the vehicle exhaust 422 directly to the inlet 402 and similarly the fuel
tank supply
conduit 420 can extend from the Mel tank 410 directly-to the inlet 402.
Figure 4 also illustrates optional valves that are depicted in Figure 4 as
being
electronically-operated valves that can be controlled by the engine control
module (ECM) 426
of the engine 406 (twically a component of the engine 406 but not housed
within combustion
portions of the engine 406). Alternatively, .one or more of the valves shown
may be check
valves that permit one-way flow only in the directions indicated .by the
respective arrows next
to the respective valves.
In greater particularity, a hydrogen outlet valve 428 may be disposed in a -
hydrogen
outlet conduit 430 that extends from the hydrogen outlet 404 of the vortex
tube 400. In the
example shown, the hydrogen outlet valve 428 is upstream of an outlet assembly
432 that may
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include, e.g., the pimp 228 and WGSR 230 shown in Figure 2. In other
embodiments the
hydrogen outlet valve 428 may be downstream of the assembly 432.
An engine exhaust vortex tithe supply valve 434 may be provided in the vehicle
exhaust conduit 424 as shown, preferably upstream of where the fuel tank
supply conduit 420
joins the exhaust conduit 424. Likewise, a fuel tank vortex tube supply valve
436 may be
provided in the fuel tank supply conduit 420. The vortex tube supply valves
434, 436 may be
controlled by the ECM 426 to selectively control which source or sources of
hydrocarbon are
provided to the vortex tube 400,
To control what fuel is received by the engine 406, first and second engine
supply
valves 438, 440 may be respectively provided in the vortex tube outlet conduit
416 and fuel
supply conduit 418. In the non-limiting example shown, the second engine
supply valve 440
in the fuel supply conduit 418 is provided downstream of where the fuel tank
supply conduit
420 that provides fuel to the vortex tube taps into the fuel supply conduit
418, so that the
second engine supply valve 440 and the fuel tank vortex tube supply valve 436
can he shut to
isolate their respective conduits as desired without affecting the other
conduit.
It may now be appreciated that in operation, the vortex tube 400 reforms
hydrocarbon
fuel and/or exhaust from an engine, separating hydrogen from carbon-based
constituents
during the reforming, with hydrogen separated as a result of the reforming
being provided to
the engine 406.
Figure 5 shows a specific system in which the discussion above is
incorporated. A
vortex tube 500 receives, through a mixer 502, hydrocarbon fuel such as
gasoline or diesel
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from a fuel tank 504, e.g., from the gas tank of a vehicle in which the system
shown in Figure
is disposed.. Any of the -above-described vortex tubes may be used.
The steam mixer/injector 502 mixes the steam with the hydrocarbon and injects
the
mixture at a high-pressure into the vortex tube inlet. Located behind the
vortex inlet is the
vortex generator established by the vortex tube 500, which causes the input
mixture to swirl at
a high rate and travel (right, looking down on Figure 5) toward the Carbon end
of the tube
500, swirling along the inside peripheral of the tube at a high rate,
pressure, and temperature
in contact with the catalyst coating the inside surface of the tube as
described above for the
catalyzing layer 226 in Figure 2. This swirling action of the syngas causes
the mixture closest
to the outer periphery of the interior chamber of the vortex tube 500 to both
increase in
temperature and to apply high centripetal forces to the catalyst lining inside
the tube,
increasing the reforming reaction rate and preventing carbon buildup on the
catalyst.
During the reforming process, syngas is generated at the catalyzing layer, and
the
Hydrogen component of the syngas then moves toward the center of the swirl in
the vortex
tube since the Hydrogen is lighter than the carbon/steam mixture, which. is
urged toward the
outer part of the swirl. Thus, one output stream of the vortex tube is
composed primarily of
Hydrogen, and is output (if desired, through intervening components such as
the below-
described pump 527) to -a Hydrogen -receiver, such as a Hydrogen tank or, in
the non-limiting
example shown, a fuel cell 520. The second output of the vortex tube includes
primarily
Carbon-based constituents and in some cases water and residual Hydrogen.
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A fuel pump 506 may be provided with a suction on the fuel tank 504 and
discharge
into the mixer 502 to pump fuel into the mixer 502. Also, the vortex. tube 500
receives,
through the mixer 502, water or steam from a water tank 508. A water pump 510
may be
provided with a suction on the water tank 508 and discharge into the mixer 502
to pump water
into the mixer 502. Thus, the vortex tube may receive a mixture of fuel and
water from the
mixer 502.
A file line valve 512 may be provided in the communication path between the
fuel
tank 504 and mixer 502. Likewise, a water line valve 514 may be provided in
the
communication path between the water tank 508 and the mixer 502. In general,
the valves
herein may be processor-controlled and thus may include solenoids. An example
processing
circuit is described further below.
The position of one or both valves 512, 514 may be established based. on
signals from
one or more mixer sensors 516 (only a single sensor shown for clarity). The
mixer sensor(s)
516 may be one or more of a fuel sensor or Oxygen sensor or Carbon sensor or
temperature
sensor or pressure sensor other appropriate sensor that senses the composition
(and/or
temperature and/or pressure) of the mixture within the mixer 502. For example,
if the ratio of
water to fuel is too high. the fuel valve 512 may be caused to open one or
more valve position
increments and/or the water valve may be caused to shut one or more
increments. Similarly, if
the ratio of water to fuel is too low., the fuel valve 512 may be caused to
shut one or more
valve position increments and/or the water valve may be caused to open one or
more
increments.
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Furthermore, heat may be applied to the mixer 502 as shown at 518, and when
the
sensor 516 includes a temperature sensor, the signal from the sensor can be
used to adjust the
heat input to optimize the temperature of the mixture in the mixer 502. The
heat application
518 may be an electrical heater thennally engaged with the mixer 502 and/or a
conduit for
conducting heat from the below-described heat exchanger to the mixer 502.
At its hydrogen output end, the vortex tube $00 outputs Hydrogen to a fuel
cell 520.
The fuel cell 520 may be used to provide electricity to an electric propulsion
motor 522 in the
-vehicle. The fuel cell 520 may also output water via a line 524 to a water
tank 526 and/or
direct to the previously-described water tank 508 and/or directly into the
mixer 502 as shown.
A Hydrogen pump 527 may be provided with a suction on the vortex tube 500 and
a discharge
into the fuel cell 520.
At its Carbon output end, the vortex tube 500 may output water as well as
Carbon-
based constituents including Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to
a first heat
exchanger 528. The first heat exchanger may warm or cool the fluid supplied to
it using a
water circulation pump pumping water from any of the water tanks described
herein through a
water jacket or using air cooling. Heat from the fuel cell 520 and/or any of
the engines in the
system may be applied to the heat exchanger to heat it. Heat from the first
heat exchanger
may be provided through an outlet $30 to one or more of the components shown
herein, e.g.,
to a heat element 532 of the mixer 502 and/or to heating element 534 thermally
engaged with.
the vortex tube 500 nearer the Hydrogen end than. the Carbon end. Note that an
electric heater
536 also may be thermally engaged with the vortex tube 500 for providing beat
thereto until
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such time as one of the heat exchangers herein is warm enough to supply heat
to the vortex
tube 500.
Output from the heat exchanger 528 may be supplied, through an outlet control
valve
53.8 to an engine 540, which may be implemented by a turbine, a diesel engine,
or a gasoline
engine to propel the vehicle. A second heat exchanger 542 may be provided to
extract heat
from the engine 540, with heat from the second heat exchanger 542 being
supplied as
necessary to one or more of the mixer 502 and vortex tube 500 through.
respective conduits
544, 546. Note that the first and second heat exchangers 528, 542 may be
combined into a
single unit if desired.
Also, some output from the fuel tank 504 may flow through a fuel line 548 in
which a
hydrocarbon valve 550 may he provided to provide fuel to the engine 540 in a
startup mode.
In the startup mode the valve 550 is opened, connecting the hydrocarbon tank
to the
engine/turbine to supply fuel and startup the engine/turbine, which in turn
supplies heat to the
beat exchanger, which in turn heats up the vortex. tube-based
reformer/separator structure
shown.
One or more sensors 552 may be provided to sense parameters in the output of
the
Carbon. end of the vortex tube 500. These one or more sensors may sense
temperature, CO2,
CO, water, Hydrogen etc. and may input signals to a processor to control a
throttle control
valve 554 in the Carbon outlet of the vortex tube 500 upstream of the
sensor(s) 552 as
necessary to ensure parameters may stay within predetermined ranges.
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With greater specificity, at the Carbon end of the vortex tube 500, the
swirling syngas
encounters the partial blockage created by the throttle control valve 554. The
position of the
throttle control valve 554 may be adjusted by the below-described processor
based on one or
more input signals from the sensors described herein such that the heavier
carbon-rich mixture
passes through the peripheral gap of the control valve 554. In an example, the
below-
described processor determines, from sensor signals, the hydrogen/carbon ratio
and adjusts
the position of the throttle control valve 554 accordingly.
On the other hand, the center of the syngas swirl, mostly Hydrogen, is
reflected off of
the center of the throttle control valve 554. This prevents the Hydrogen from
escaping through
the valve 554 and to travel back (left, looking down on Figure 5) toward the
Hydrogen end of
the vortex tube 500, where it exits,the tube and is input into the litel cell
520: The hydrogen
stream, which is concentrated at the Center of the vortex tube, exits the
vortex tube at a lower
temperature than both the peripheral swirl and the initially injected
hydrocarbon steam
mixture. This lower temperature hydrogen is well suited for use in the fuel
cell.
Similarly, one or more sensors 556 may be provided to sense parameters in the
Hydrogen output of the vortex tube. These one or more sensors 556 may sense
temperature,
CO2, CO, water, Hydrogen etc. and may input signals to a processor to control
one or more of
the valves or other components herein as necessary to ensure parameter; may
stay within
predetermined ranges. Thus, temperature Within the vortex tube 500 may be
sensed through a
temperature sensor and can be regulated by the below-described processor to
maintain proper
temperature for reforming.
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It may now be appreciated that Figure 5 illustrates an integrated vortex tube-
based
reformer and hydrogen separator connected to a fire cell 520 and to an
engine/turbine 540 to
establish a hybrid fuel cell turbine. The structure of Figure 5 provides the
capability of
immediately starting up for a vehicle such as a car or truck having onboard
reforming by
means of porting fuel from the tank 504 through the line 548 to the engine
540. In this
instance, when the system is cold, the engine/turbine 540 is powered up first
by means fiiel
ported through the valve 550 so that the vehicle can operate immediately and
in turn heat up
the reformer separator prior to switching to hydrogen operation.
Once warm enough to operate in. the hydrogen operating mode, the generated
hydrogen -stream from the vortex tube 500 is supplied to the fuel cell 520,
and the Carbon
stream from the vortex tube 500 is supplied to the turbine/engine 540. The
system of Figure 5
includes two front end supply tanks, namely, the water tank 508 and
hydrocarbon tank 504
that supply product to the steam mixer/injector 502 via the above-described
control valves
512, .514. These control valves 512, 514 advantageously may be regulated based
on sensed
parameters, such as power demand and reaction rates, temperatures, gas
mixtures sensed by
the sensors shown in Figure 5 and controlled by the processor shown and
described below.
Figure 6 illustrates schematically gas separation in the vortex tube 500. The
central
Hydrogen-permeable tube 600 receives relatively cool Hydrogen while relatively
warm
Carbon constituents are drawn toward the catalytic lining 602 on the inner
surface of the outer
wall of the vortex tube 500. Arrows 602 represent the steam/Hydrocarbon swirl
of the gases
in the vortex tube. Figure 6 thus illustrates the swirling action. of the
hydrocarbon steam
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mixture, the reforming, and the stratification of the syngas with the Hydrogen
moving towards the
center.
In Figure 6, the reformer vortex rube is illustrated with the catalyst lining,
such as a
nickel-based catalyst with the integrated heaters and heat exchangers proving
energy to the
reforming reaction. Figure 6 (as indicated at 604) shows the swirling action
of the hydrocarbon
steam mixture, the reforming, and the stratification of the syngas with the
hydrogen moving
towards the center and the heavier gases in contact with the peripheral tube.
The hydrocarbon
steam mixture is reformed into syngas through contact with die catalyst-lined
tube. This breaks
the methane component of the natural gas into carbon monoxide (CO) and H2 gas.
Figures 7-9 illustrate additional systems in which vortex tubes are used as
reformers for
separating Hydrogen from fuel for a variety of purposes, including any of the
purposes mentioned
above (e.g., injection of Hydrogen into engines) as well as in Hydrogen
production for petro
chemical installations, and other purposes.
Figure 7 illustrates an integrated reformer and hydrogen separator connected
to an
integrated water gas shift and hydrogen separator for producing hydrogen and
carbon dioxide
from hydrocarbons. In Figure 7, a first stage vortex tube 700 receives a
heated fuel and water
mixture from a mixer 702, with the relevant sensor, pumping, valving, and
heating
components disclosed in Figure 5 also being provided in the example shown and
labeled in
Figure 7. However, in contrast to the system of Figure 5, the Carbon output of
the first stage
vortex tube 700 in Figure 7 is sent through a heat exchanger 704 if desired to
the inlet 706 of a
second stage vortex tube 708. The second stage vortex rube 708 extracts
residual Hydrogen
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in the Carbon output of the first stage vortex tube 700. Effectively, the
second stage vortex
tube 708 may be regarded as a water gas shift separator. The second stage
vortex tube 708
may be internally coated with a catalyzing layer (similar to the layer 226
shown in Figure 2)
that. is made of different constituents than the catalyzing layer used to coat
the interior of the
first stage vortex tube 700. For example, the first stage vortex tube 700 may
include nickel in
the catalyzing layer whereas the second stage vortex tube 708 may include
copper in its
catalyzing layer. In specific embodiments, the catalyzing layer of the second
stage vortex tube
708 corresponding to the layer 226 shown in Figure: 2 may be composed of
Copper Oxide,
Zinc Oxide, and Aluminum Oxide. In non-limiting specific examples, the
catalyzing layer
may be made of 32-33% CuO, 34-53%2n0, and 15-33% A1203.
The heat exchanger 704 extracts heat from the Carbon output of the first stage
vortex
tube 700 To this end, the heat exchanger may include a cool water jacket or it
may include
air cooling fins or other air cooling structure. It may also be a
thermoelectric heat exchanger.
Preferably, the heat exchanger cools the input fluid to 200C - 250*C.
In any case, the second stage vortex tube 708, owing to the combination of
structure
shown, may be regarded as a vortex tube-based WGSR in. which residual Hydrogen
in the
Carbon output of the first stage vortex tube 700 is extracted through the
combining of Carbon
Monoxide with water vapor from the Carbon output of the first stage vortex
tube 700 to
produce Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen (in the form of Hz).
The Hydrogen. outputs of both vortex tubes 700, 708 can be sent through one or
respective Hydrogen filters 710, 712 to further purify the Hydrogen by
filtering out non-
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Hydrogen material. The outputs 714, 716 of the Hydrogen filters may
communicate with the
intake of an engine such as any of the engines described herein to provide,
for instance,
Hydrogen-assisted combustion.
A condenser 718 may be provided at the outlet of the second stage vortex tube
708 to
separate CO2 from water, with water being sent to the illustrated water tank
and M vented
from the top of the condenser as shown to atmosphere.
Figure 8 illustrates an integrated reformer and hydrogen separator connected
to an
integrated water gas shift and hydrogen separator connected to a hydrogen and
hydrocarbon
file mixer to inject into an engine, turbine, or burner to provide hydrogen
assisted
combustion.
With greater specificity. Figure 8 shows a first stage vortex tube 800
receiving a water
and fuel mixture from a mixer 802 according to principles above and outputting
from its
Carbon end input to a second stage vortex tube 804. The difierenee between the
system of
Figure 8 compared to the system of Figure 7 is that the hydrogen outputs of
both vortex tubes
800, 804 in Figure 8 may be combined with fuel from the fuel tank 806 that
also supplies fuel
to the inlet of the first stage vortex tube 800 in a file/Hydrogen mixer 808.
The mixture in the
fuel/Hydrogen mixer 808 may be sent to an engine 810 as shown.
A condenser 812 may be provided at the outlet of the engine 810 to separate
CO2 from
water, with water being sent to the illustrated water tank and C:02 vented
from the top of the
condenser as shown to atmosphere. A separate condenser 8/4 may be provided at
the outlet of
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the second stage. vortex tube 804 according to prior disclosure with respect
to Figure 7. In
some embodiments the condensers may be implemented by a single condenser.
Figure 9 illustrates an integrated reformer and hydrogen separator connected
to an
integrated water gas shift and hydrogen separator powering a hybrid fuel cell
system. With
greater specific, as shown in Fig= 9, a system includes first stage and second
stage vortex
tubes 900, 902 substantially as described above, but with the Hydrogen outputs
of each vortex
tube being supplied to a Hydrogen receptacle 904, which communicates with a
fuel cell 906
and engine 908 to provide Hydrogen to both. The, fuel cell 906 may establish
the Hydrogen
receptacle 904, in which case excess Hydrogen not used by the fuel cell is
sent to the engine
908. Both the engine 908 and fuel cell 906 can be used to provide propulsive
power to a
vehicle.
Figure 10 illustrates an example processing circuit for controlling the pumps,
valves,
and other components in the preceding figures. A contmller 1000 such as a
processor receives
input from any of the above-described sensors (shown at 1002) and may also
receive valve
position signals from the actuators of any of the above-described valves
(shown at 1004) as
well as a demanded load signal from a demanded load signal source 1006 such as
a vehicle
accelerator. The controller uses the inputs to control one or more of the heat
exchangers and
attendant components (shown at 1008) and throttle valves (Shown at 1010). The
controller
1000 also communicates with or established by control components in any of the
above-
described fuel cells and engines (shown at 1012 and1014, respectively).
Thus, a control system herein may include computers and processors connected
over a
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network such that data may be exchanged between the client and server
components. The client
components may include one or more computing devices such as engine control
modules (ECMs),
portable computers such as laptops and tablet computers, and other mobile
devices including
smart phones. These computing devices may operate with a variety of operating
environments.
For example, some of the client computers may employ, as examples, Linux
operating systems,
operating systems from Microsoft, or a Unix operating system, or operating
systems produced by
Apple Computer or Google, or VxWorks embedded operating systems from Wind
River.
Information may be exchanged over a network between the components. To this
end and
for security, components can include firewalls, load balancers, temporary
storages, and proxies,
and other network infrastructure for reliability and security.
As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps for
processing
information in the system. Instructions can be implemented in software,
firmware or hardware and
include any type of programmed step undertaken by components of the system,
A processor may be any conventional general purpose single- or multi-chip
processor that
can execute logic by means of various lines such as address lines, data lines,
and control lines and
registers and shift registers.
Software modules described by way of the flow charts and user interfaces
herein can
include various sub-routines, procedures, etc. Without limiting the
disclosure, logic stated to be
executed by a particular module can be redistributed to other software modules
and/or combined
together in a single module and/ or made available in a library.
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Present principles described herein can be implemented as hardware, software,
firmware, or combinations thereof; hence, illustrative components, blocks,
modules, circuits,
and steps are set forth in terms of their functionality.
Further to what. has been alluded to above, logical blocks, modules, and
circuits
described below can be implemented or performed with a general
parpse.processor, a digital
signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate away (FPGA) or other
programmable logic
device such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete
gate or transistor
logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to
perform the
functions described herein. A processor can be implemented by a controller or
state machine
or a combination of computing devices.
The functions and methods described below, When implemented in software, can
be
written in an appropriate language such as but not limited to Java, C# or Of+,
and can be
stored on or transmitted through. a computer-readable storage medium such as a
random
access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable
progranunable read-
only memory (EEPROM),, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical
disk
storage such as digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk storage or other
magnetic storage
devices including removable thumb drives, etc. .A connection may establish a
computer-
readable medium. Such connections can include, as examples, hard-wired cables
including
fiber optic and coaxial wires and digital subscriber line (DU) and twisted
pair wires. Such
connections may include wireless communication connections including infrared
and radio.
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The operating logic of Figure 11 is specifically directed to the system shown
in Figure
5, although its principles may apply where relevant to the other systems shown
herein.
The logic commences at state 1100 and proceeds to block 1102õ wherein the
hydrocarbon, fuel valve 550 is opened to port hydrocarbon fuel to the engine
540 pursuant to
starting the engine. The heat exchanger 520 is started and the electric
heaters of the mixer 502
and vortex tube 500 are energized at block 1106 to initialize the reforming of
the vortex tube.
Once the heat exchanger is hot enough to supply heat to the mixer and vortex
tube, the heat
from the heat exchanger may replace the heat from the electric heaters, which
may be
deene4zed.
Decision diamond 1108 indicates that one or more of the sensors described
above
embodied as a temperature sensor is sampled and when its signal indicates that
the vortex tube
has readied a sufficient temperature for reforming the hydrocarbon from the
mixer 502, the
vortex tube is actuated at block 1.110, and the fuel cell 520 initialized.
Input may be received
at decision diamond 1112 indicating that the driver is ready to transition
from hydrocarbon
propulsion from the engine 540 to electric propulsion from the fuel cell 520,
at which point
the logic 111(WeS to block 1.114 to shut the fuel valve 550 and transition to
electric drive at
Kuck 1116.
Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodiments in any
appropriate combination. For example, any of the various components described
herein
and/or depicted in the Figures may be combined, interchanged or excluded from
other
embodiments.
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"A system having at least one of A, B, and C" (likewise 'a system having at
least one
of A, B, or C" and "a system having at least one of A, B, C") includes systems
that have A
alone, B alone, .0 alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C
together, and/or A, B,
and C together, etc.
While the particular systems and methods are herein shown and described in
detail,
the scope of the present application is limited only by the appended claims
