JP3844226B2

JP3844226B2 - Hydrogen production equipment

Info

Publication number: JP3844226B2
Application number: JP2002212321A
Authority: JP
Inventors: 実鈴木; 克博岩崎; 剛中山
Original assignee: JFE Engineering Corp
Current assignee: JFE Engineering Corp
Priority date: 2002-07-22
Filing date: 2002-07-22
Publication date: 2006-11-08
Anticipated expiration: 2022-07-22
Also published as: JP2004051439A

Description

【０００１】
【発明の属する技術分野】
本発明は、水素製造装置に関する。
【０００２】
【従来の技術】
炭化水素若しくは炭素を含有する反応性粒子を収容する反応室内に水蒸気を供給し、反応室内を高温化して反応性粒子と水蒸気とを反応させて水素含有ガスを生成する水素製造装置は公知である。
【０００３】
一方、所定の反応性物質を収容せる反応室たる管体内のガスを衝撃波で急激圧縮して高温として反応性物質とガスとを反応させて所望のガスを生成する装置が、米国特許第２８３２６６６号に開示されている。この公知の装置は、反応器として回転軸に平行な複数の管体を有しており、一つの管体へ一端側から原料たる反応性物質が供給され、上記回転軸まわりに回転して上記管体が所定位置にくるとそこで管体内に反応性の高圧ガスが瞬間的に供給されて衝撃波を生じ、この衝撃波によってガスを急激圧縮して高温化せしめて反応性物質を反応させ、所望のガスが生成される。他の管体には、その間に、次のガス生成のために反応性物質が供給される。
【０００４】
かかる装置には、複数の管体のそれぞれに、両端で回転軸の回転位置に対応して所定のプロセスを行なうように開閉弁を備え、又その開閉のための制御装置を有している。さらには、複数の管が回転軸周りに回転することを許容しつつ、反応性の高圧ガスや反応性物質の供給、生成ガスの取出そして排気を各管で次々に行なうための機構をも有する。
【０００５】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
しかしながら、上記の公知装置にあっては、反応器が一端から他端まで同一断面で延びる単なる円筒状の管体であるので、管体内を衝撃波による衝撃圧縮によって反応性物質とガスとの反応に充分な高温状態とするために管体を長尺化する必要があり、その結果、大型化を招いてしまう。小型化に際しては、反応器を不用意な形状とすると、管体内を伝播する衝撃波の波面が進行方向に直角な平面とならずに曲面となり、衝撃波による衝撃圧縮にムラが生じ、その結果、温度ムラを招き反応が不均一となってしまう。又、水素ガスを生成するには、どのような装置を構成すればよいのか明らかでない。
【０００６】
更に、多くの管体及びそれぞれ開閉弁を必要とすること、これらを回転させる装置を必要とすること、回転位置に合わせて開閉動作を行なわなくてはならないこと、さらには、管体の回転を許容しつつ原料や高圧ガスの供給そして生成ガスの取出や排気を行なわなくてはならないこと、に起因して、機構が複雑化、大型化し、ひいては装置そして生成ガスのコストアップにつながる。
【０００７】
本発明は、かかる事情に鑑み、構成が簡単で小型化を可能とし、波面の平面化の図られた衝撃波を用いて水素を製造することができる水素製造装置を提供することを目的とする。
【０００８】
【課題を解決するための手段】
本発明に係る水素製造装置は、炭化水素若しくは炭素を含有する反応性粒子と水蒸気との混合体を加熱して高温にすることにより上記反応性粒子と上記水蒸気を反応させて水素含有ガスを生成させ、該水素含有ガスから水素を分離して製造するようになっている。
【０００９】
かかる水素製造装置において、本発明では、一端から他端に延びる管状に形成され反応性粒子及び水蒸気の混合体を衝撃圧縮するべく該混合体を収容する圧縮室と、該圧縮室内に反応性粒子を供給する反応性粒子供給手段と、上記圧縮室内に水蒸気を供給する水蒸気供給手段と、上記圧縮室の一端から上記圧縮室内に高圧ガスを間欠的に供給することにより衝撃波を発生させる衝撃波発生手段とを備え、上記圧縮室は、衝撃波の伝播方向で漸次断面を小さくして延びる収束部と、該収束部の該伝播方向上流側で該収束部の最大径部とほぼ同一断面で延びる管状の誘導部とを有し、上記誘導部は該誘導部の内径の０．５倍以上５倍以下の長さをもって延びていることを特徴としている。
【００１０】
上記衝撃波発生手段が高圧ガスを瞬間的に上記圧縮室内に供給することによって発生する衝撃波を上記圧縮室の誘導部内に伝播させて該誘導部にて該衝撃波の波面を平面化した後に上記圧縮室の収束部で収束させて、上記圧縮室内の混合体を衝撃圧縮して高温に加熱することにより該混合体中の反応性粒子と水蒸気を反応させて水素含有ガスを生成させる。
【００１１】
このような構成の本発明にあっては、衝撃波発生手段が圧縮室内に高圧ガスを瞬間的に供給することによって衝撃波を生ずる。この衝撃波は、上記圧縮室の誘導部が同一断面で延びているので、上記圧縮室の誘導部内を伝播する際に波面が徐々に平面化される。又、上記誘導部は該誘導部の内径の０．５倍以上５倍以下の長さをもって延びているので、上記衝撃波は十分に上記誘導部にて平面化される。このように、上記衝撃波は、波面が平面化された後に上記圧縮室の収束部で収束されて、炭化水素若しくは炭素を含有する反応性粒子と水蒸気とが混合されてなる混合体を収容する圧縮室内に伝播されて上記混合体を平坦衝撃波面で均一に衝撃圧縮する。平坦な波面で急激に圧縮された上記混合体の温度は均一に上昇して高温となって、上記反応性粒子と上記水蒸気が満遍なく反応して水素含有ガスを生成させる。
【００１２】
本発明においては、圧縮室の一端が入口開口をなし、該圧縮室の入口開口をシリンダ内に配し、該シリンダ内で該圧縮室の入口開口と協働して該圧縮室の入口開口を間欠的に開閉するピストンを上記シリンダ内に配することにより上記衝撃波発生手段を形成すると、装置構成が簡単となる。その際、上記シリンダは上記ピストンに対して上記圧縮室の開口入口側の該シリンダ内部に高圧ガスが供給されるようにする。こうすることにより、上記ピストンが上記圧縮室の入口開口を間欠的に閉状態から開状態へとすることにより高圧ガスを瞬間的に噴出させることによって衝撃波を発生する。更にこの場合、ピストンに該ピストンから該圧縮室の中央部を通って圧縮室内部に向け突出する棒状若しくは略円錐状の突起部を形成すると、圧縮室の入口開口縁部とピストンとの間から圧縮室内へ供給される高圧ガスによる衝撃波の互いの干渉を防止し、衝撃波の波面の平面化が容易となるので誘導部の長さを短縮化でき小型化が図れる。
【００１３】
又、圧縮室は、該圧縮室内の気流を旋回させるように、誘導部及び収束部の少なくとも一方の内壁に旋回羽根が設けられていることが好ましい。こうすることにより、圧縮室への高圧ガスの入り口の位置の影響を受けずに流れを周方向で均一化し、衝撃波の平面化の助長を図ることができ、収束部による昇温効果が向上するので、小型化が図れる。
【００１４】
更に、圧縮室の収束部は、例えば、内径が他端に向けて小さくなるように円錐状、ラッパ状、又はログスパイラル状のいずれかに形成されている。
【００１５】
又、衝撃波発生手段は、高圧ガスとして高圧水蒸気を圧縮室内に瞬間的に間欠噴射することにより衝撃波を発生するようになっていて、水蒸気供給手段を兼ねていると、設備費が安価となるので、好ましい。
【００１６】
【発明の実施の形態】
以下、添付図面にもとづき、本発明の実施形態を説明する。
【００１７】
図１の反応装置１において、軸線ａを中心とする円筒形状のシリンダ２は密閉されており、内部にピストン３が上記軸線ａ方向に摺動自在に配されており、シリンダ２内の空間を加圧空間Ｐと背圧空間Ｂとに区分している。
【００１８】
上記シリンダ２内には加圧空間Ｐに圧縮室たる収束管４が取り付けられている。該収束管４は上記シリンダ２の一方の端壁２Ａを貫通してシリンダ２外へ延出している。この収束管４は、シリンダ２内にある入口開口４Ａから図１右方に同一断面で延びる誘導部４Ｂと、同方向で漸次断面を小さくして延びる収束部４Ｃとを有している。誘導部４Ｂは、入口開口４Ａの内径の０．５倍以上５倍以下の範囲内の長さ（軸線ａ方向の長さ）に設定されている。一方、収束部４Ｃの内壁には、本実施形態では、収束管４内の気流を旋回させるように、旋回羽根４Ｄが設けられている。又、上記収束部４Ｃには、該収束管４内への反応性粒子供給のための供給口５、生成ガス取出口６、排気口７が形成されており、所定時に開閉する制御弁５Ａ，６Ａ，７Ａを備えている。入口開口４Ａの部分はテーパ状になっている。
【００１９】
上記ピストン３は、本実施形態では、金属板をプレス加工して軽量に作られており、シリンダ２に対し瞬時移動するのに好都合な低質量となっている。このピストン３は、シリンダ２の内壁と摺接するスカート部３Ａと、上記加圧空間Ｐと背圧空間Ｂを区分する部分にテーパ部３Ｂとを有している。該テーパ部３Ｂは収束管４の入口開口４Ａのテーパ部分と密に接するように好適なテーパとなっている。さらに、上記ピストン３とシリンダ２の他方の端壁２Ｂとの間には、弾性体としてのコイルばね８が配設されていて、ピストン３に背圧を与え収束管４の入口開口４Ａに圧している。
【００２０】
本実施形態では、ピストン３のスカート部３Ａの外周面には、環状溝３Ｃが形成されていると共に、軸線１方向で該環状溝３Ｃの両側にはＯリング溝３Ｄが形成されていて該溝３ＤにＯリング３Ｅが収められている。一方、シリンダ２には上記環状溝３Ｃに連通する注水孔（図示せず）が形成され、上記環状溝３Ｃ、両Ｏリング３Ｄそしてシリンダ２の内面により形成される閉空間に上記注水孔を経て水が外部から充満されて水シールを形成している。上記環状溝３Ｃの幅、すなわち軸線ａの方向の長さ寸法は、ピストン３が軸線ａ方向に往復動しても、上記環状溝３Ｃの幅内から上記注水孔が外れないように設定されている。かくして、上記水シールは、ピストン３とシリンダ２との間のシール、そして両者間の潤滑、さらには、冷却の機能を併せて発揮する。
【００２１】
さらに、シリンダ２には、上記加圧空間Ｐに通ずる高圧ガス供給口９が、背圧空間Ｂに通ずる背圧ガス供給口１０がそれぞれ形成されている。高圧ガス供給口９には弁９Ａが設けられている。
【００２２】
かかる本実施形態の反応装置１は水素ガスの製造のための他の諸装置と図２のごとく接続されている。
【００２３】
反応装置１の高圧ガス供給口９は、例えばごみ焼却炉等の大型熱プロセス設備からの廃熱を利用する廃熱ボイラ１１に接続されている。本実施形態では、廃熱ボイラ１１が背圧ガス供給口１０にも切換弁１０Ａを介して接続され、背圧ガスとして、廃熱ボイラ１１からの高圧水蒸気の一部を用いるようになっている。高圧ガス供給口９のための弁９Ａは、通常、開放されており、切換弁１０Ａはシーケンスに則り設定時に開となる。この切換弁１０Ａは、廃熱ボイラ１１の高圧水蒸気の供給先を背圧ガス供給口１０又は後述の白煙防止装置１８のいずれかに切り換える。
【００２４】
次に、反応性粒子供給口５には、反応性粒子としての廃プラスチックを他物質と分離後に破砕そして粉砕して廃プラスチック粉とした後に、これを所定時に制御弁５Ａを介して供給する微粉化装置１２が接続されている。
【００２５】
一方、ガス取出口６は制御弁６Ａを介してバッファタンク１３、バグフィルタ１４、そして分離装置１５に接続されている。バッファタンク１３は反応装置１からの高圧な水素含有ガスを一旦収容して圧力緩和するためのものである。バグフィルタ１４は水素含有ガスから未反応の反応性粒子等を除去するものであり、除去された未反応の反応性粒子を帰還させて再利用するため、上述の微粉化装置１２に接続されている。分離装置１５は水素含有ガスを水素ガスとＣＯガスとに分離してそれぞれ取り出すためのものであり、圧力振動吸着（ＰＳＡ）装置が用いられている。又、水素の分離は圧力振動吸着法にかぎらず膜分離等の他の方法を用いてもよい。
【００２６】
又、排気口７は制御弁７Ａを介してバッファタンク１６、排ガス処理装置１７、そして白煙防止装置１８が接続されている。バッファタンク１６は反応装置１の反応後に残留した水蒸気等の排ガスを一旦収容して圧力緩和するためのものである。排ガス処理装置１７はこの排ガスを大気放出する前に可燃成分追い焚き、ダスト除去等の所定の処理をするようになっている。白煙防止装置１８は上述の切換弁１０Ａの切換により廃熱ボイラ１１からの水蒸気が供給されて排ガスの水滴発生を防止する。尚、本実施形態では、排気口７からのガスを利用して低圧ガスタービンを駆動して、エネルギの有効利用がなされている。
【００２７】
次に、衝撃波を用いて水蒸気と反応性粒子としての廃プラスチック粉とを反応させて、所望ガスとして水素ガスを生成する例のもとに、本実施形態についての作動を説明する。
【００２８】
図１において、高圧ガス供給口９からは開状態の弁９Ａを経てシリンダ２の加圧空間Ｐ内に反応性の高圧ガスとしての高圧水蒸気が供給されている。上記弁９Ａは、通常、開のままとなっている。又、図２に示す開状態の切換弁１０Ａを経て上記高圧水蒸気は背圧ガス供給口１０Ａへも供給されている。
【００２９】
▲１▼ かかる状態で、シリンダ２の加圧空間Ｐそして背圧空間Ｂは上記高圧水蒸気で充満しており、ピストン３はコイルばね８の付勢力によって収束管４の入口開口４Ａに圧せられていて、この入口開口４Ａはピストン３によって閉じられている。
【００３０】
▲２▼ 次に、収束管４へ供給口５から原料たる反応性粒子としての廃プラスチック粉を供給充填する。
【００３１】
▲３▼ しかる後、切換弁１０Ａを瞬間的に開放し背圧空間Ｂを減圧する。したがって、加圧空間Ｐの圧力が背圧空間Ｂの圧力及びばね８の付勢力に勝って、ピストン３は背圧に抗して後退し、収束管４の入口開口４Ａとの間に隙間が形成される。この隙間から高圧水蒸気が収束管４内に流入する。この瞬時の高圧水蒸気の流入によって収束管４内では衝撃波が発生する。この衝撃波は収束管４の誘導部４Ｂで波面を平面化され収束部４Ｃで収束される。このとき収束部４Ｃでは旋回羽根４Ｄによる気流の旋回によって衝撃波の波面の平面化がさらに図られる。このようにして収束管４内を伝播された衝撃波が、収束管４内へ入った水蒸気を廃プラスチック粉と共に瞬時に圧縮して昇温せしめ、この瞬時に反応が行なわれ、水素ガスが生成される。
【００３２】
▲４▼ 水素含有ガスが、次の瞬間に生成ガス取出口６から取り出されると共に、背圧として高圧水蒸気が再び背圧空間Ｂへ供給され、ピストン３は再び収束管４の入口開口４Ａを閉じる。又、反応装置１では、収束管４内の水蒸気等の排ガスが排気口７から排出される。ガス取出口６からの水素含有ガスは、バッファタンク１３で圧力緩和された後にバグフィルタ１４で未反応の反応性粒子等を除去され、そして分離装置１５で水素ガスとＣＯガスとに分離される。このときバグフィルタ１４で除去された反応性粒子は微粉化装置１２に帰還されて再利用される。一方、排気口７から排出されたガスは、バッファタンク１６で圧力緩和された後に排ガス処理装置１７で所定の処理をされ、白煙防止装置１８で処理され、大気放出される。
【００３３】
ここで、他の実施形態について図３にもとづき説明する。
【００３４】
図３に示すように、ピストンは、ピストンから収束管４４の収束部４４Ｃに該収束管４４の中央部を通って突出する棒状の突起部が形成されているピストン３３としてもよい。こうすることにより、収束管の入口開口の縁部とピストンとの間から収束管内へ高圧水蒸気が噴射されて供給される際に、その噴射による衝撃波同士の衝突を防止できるので、衝撃波の波面の平面化が容易となる。尚、本例では、収束管４４の収束部４４Ｃの内壁形状を図３で実線に示す如くテーパ状としたが、内径が他端に向けて小さくなっていればこれに限らず、他の形状例えば図３で二点鎖線で示す如くラッパ状４４Ｃ１又はログスパイラル状４４Ｃ２であってもよい。
【００３５】
又、本発明装置では、旋回羽根は、収束管内の気流を旋回できれば、誘導部及び収束部の少なくとも一方の内壁に設けることができる。
【００３６】
【発明の効果】
本発明は、以上のごとく、衝撃波は誘導部で波面が平滑化された後に収束部で収束されるので、衝撃波による衝撃圧縮にムラを生じることなく衝撃圧縮による昇温効果を向上させることができ、小型化を図ることができる。誘導部の長さが内径の０．５倍以上であるので、衝撃波発生手段による衝撃波の波面が十分に平面化される。又、誘導部の長さが５倍以下であるので、不要な大型化を招くこともない。従って、構成が簡単で小型化を可能とし、波面の平面化の図られた衝撃波を用いて水素を製造することができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の一実施形態としての水素製造装置のための反応装置の断面図である。
【図２】図１の反応装置を用いた水素製造装置の全体構成を示す図である。
【図３】本発明の他の実施形態として圧縮室とピストンの形状を示す図である。
【符号の説明】
２シリンダ
３ピストン
４収束管（圧縮室）
４Ａ入口開口
４Ｂ誘導部
４Ｃ収束部
１１廃熱ボイラ（水蒸気供給手段）
１２微粉化装置（反応性粒子供給手段）[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hydrogen production apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A hydrogen production apparatus is known in which water vapor is supplied into a reaction chamber containing reactive particles containing hydrocarbons or carbon, and the reaction chamber is heated to react the reactive particles with water vapor to generate a hydrogen-containing gas. .
[0003]
On the other hand, an apparatus for generating a desired gas by reacting a reactive substance and a gas at a high temperature by abruptly compressing a gas in a tube serving as a reaction chamber containing a predetermined reactive substance with a shock wave is disclosed in US Pat. No. 2,832,666. Is disclosed. This known apparatus has a plurality of pipes parallel to a rotation axis as a reactor, and a reactive substance as a raw material is supplied to one pipe from one end side, and rotates around the rotation axis. When the tube reaches a predetermined position, a reactive high-pressure gas is instantaneously supplied into the tube to generate a shock wave. The shock wave rapidly compresses the gas and raises the temperature to react the reactive substance. Gas is generated. In the meantime, the other tubes are fed with reactive substances for the next gas production.
[0004]
In such a device, each of the plurality of pipes is provided with an opening / closing valve so as to perform a predetermined process corresponding to the rotational position of the rotating shaft at both ends, and has a control device for opening / closing the valve. Furthermore, it has a mechanism for supplying a reactive high-pressure gas and a reactive substance, taking out a generated gas, and exhausting each pipe one after another while allowing a plurality of pipes to rotate around a rotation axis. .
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above known apparatus, the reactor is a simple cylindrical tube extending from one end to the other end in the same cross section, so that the reaction between the reactive substance and the gas is performed in the tube by shock compression with a shock wave. In order to obtain a sufficiently high temperature state, it is necessary to lengthen the tube, resulting in an increase in size. When downsizing the reactor, if the reactor is inadvertently shaped, the wave front of the shock wave propagating in the tube will not be a plane perpendicular to the direction of travel, but will become a curved surface, resulting in uneven shock compression due to the shock wave. Unevenness is caused and the reaction becomes non-uniform. Moreover, it is not clear what kind of apparatus should be configured to generate hydrogen gas.
[0006]
Furthermore, many tubes and their respective open / close valves are required, a device for rotating them is required, the opening / closing operation must be performed in accordance with the rotational position, and the tube is rotated. Due to the fact that raw materials and high-pressure gas must be supplied and the generated gas must be taken out and exhausted while allowing, the mechanism becomes complicated and large in size, which leads to an increase in the cost of the apparatus and the generated gas.
[0007]
In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen production apparatus capable of producing hydrogen using a shock wave that has a simple configuration and can be miniaturized and whose wavefront is flattened.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The hydrogen production apparatus according to the present invention generates a hydrogen-containing gas by reacting the reactive particles with the water vapor by heating a mixture of the reactive particles containing hydrocarbon or carbon and the water vapor to a high temperature. Thus, hydrogen is separated from the hydrogen-containing gas for production.
[0009]
In such a hydrogen production apparatus, in the present invention, a compression chamber that is formed in a tubular shape extending from one end to the other end and accommodates the mixture of reactive particles and water vapor for impact compression, and the reactive particles in the compression chamber Reactive particle supply means for supplying water, steam supply means for supplying water vapor into the compression chamber, and shock wave generation means for generating shock waves by intermittently supplying high-pressure gas from one end of the compression chamber into the compression chamber The compression chamber includes a converging portion extending in a gradually decreasing cross section in the propagation direction of the shock wave, and a tubular portion extending substantially in the same cross section as the maximum diameter portion of the converging portion on the upstream side in the propagation direction of the converging portion. A guide portion, and the guide portion extends with a length of 0.5 to 5 times the inner diameter of the guide portion.
[0010]
After the shock wave generating means instantaneously supplies a high pressure gas into the compression chamber, the shock wave generated in the induction portion of the compression chamber is propagated into the induction portion and the wave front of the shock wave is planarized at the induction portion. The mixture in the compression chamber is caused to converge, and the mixture in the compression chamber is impact-compressed and heated to a high temperature, whereby the reactive particles in the mixture react with water vapor to generate a hydrogen-containing gas.
[0011]
In the present invention having such a configuration, a shock wave is generated when the shock wave generating means instantaneously supplies high-pressure gas into the compression chamber. Since the induction part of the compression chamber extends in the same cross section in the shock wave, the wave front is gradually flattened when propagating through the induction part of the compression chamber. Further, since the guiding portion extends with a length not less than 0.5 times and not more than 5 times the inner diameter of the guiding portion, the shock wave is sufficiently planarized by the guiding portion. As described above, the shock wave is converged at the converging portion of the compression chamber after the wave front is planarized, and the compressed wave containing the mixture of the reactive particles containing hydrocarbon or carbon and water vapor is accommodated. Propagated into the room, the mixture is impact-compressed uniformly with a flat shock wave front. The temperature of the mixture rapidly compressed with a flat wavefront rises uniformly to a high temperature, and the reactive particles and the water vapor uniformly react to generate a hydrogen-containing gas.
[0012]
In the present invention, one end of the compression chamber forms an inlet opening, the inlet opening of the compression chamber is disposed in the cylinder, and the inlet opening of the compression chamber is formed in cooperation with the inlet opening of the compression chamber in the cylinder. If the shock wave generating means is formed by arranging a piston that opens and closes intermittently in the cylinder, the configuration of the apparatus becomes simple. At that time, the cylinder supplies high pressure gas to the inside of the cylinder on the opening inlet side of the compression chamber with respect to the piston. By doing so, the piston intermittently changes the inlet opening of the compression chamber from the closed state to the open state, thereby generating a shock wave by instantaneously ejecting the high-pressure gas. Further, in this case, when a rod-like or substantially conical protrusion protruding from the piston through the center of the compression chamber toward the inside of the compression chamber is formed on the piston, it is from between the inlet opening edge of the compression chamber and the piston. It is possible to prevent the shock waves from interfering with each other by the high-pressure gas supplied into the compression chamber, and to facilitate the flattening of the wave front of the shock wave, thereby reducing the length of the guiding portion and reducing the size.
[0013]
The compression chamber is preferably provided with a swirl vane on the inner wall of at least one of the guiding portion and the converging portion so as to swirl the airflow in the compression chamber. By doing so, the flow can be made uniform in the circumferential direction without being affected by the position of the entrance of the high-pressure gas to the compression chamber, the flattening of the shock wave can be promoted, and the temperature rise effect by the converging part is improved. Therefore, the size can be reduced.
[0014]
Furthermore, the converging part of the compression chamber is formed in any one of a conical shape, a trumpet shape, or a log spiral shape so that the inner diameter becomes smaller toward the other end, for example.
[0015]
Further, the shock wave generating means generates a shock wave by instantaneously intermittently injecting high pressure steam as a high pressure gas into the compression chamber. ,preferable.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0017]
In the reaction apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, a cylindrical cylinder 2 centering on an axis a is sealed, and a piston 3 is slidably disposed in the direction of the axis a so that a space in the cylinder 2 is provided. The pressure space P and the back pressure space B are divided.
[0018]
A converging tube 4 as a compression chamber is attached to the pressure space P in the cylinder 2. The converging tube 4 extends through the one end wall 2A of the cylinder 2 to the outside of the cylinder 2. This converging tube 4 has a guiding portion 4B extending in the same cross section from the inlet opening 4A in the cylinder 2 to the right in FIG. 1 and a converging portion 4C extending in the same direction with a gradually decreasing cross section. The guiding portion 4B is set to a length (length in the direction of the axis a) that is not less than 0.5 times and not more than 5 times the inner diameter of the inlet opening 4A. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, swirl vanes 4D are provided on the inner wall of the converging portion 4C so as to swirl the airflow in the converging tube 4. The converging part 4C is provided with a supply port 5, a product gas outlet 6 and an exhaust port 7 for supplying reactive particles into the converging tube 4, and a control valve 5A that opens and closes at a predetermined time. 6A, 7A. The portion of the inlet opening 4A is tapered.
[0019]
In the present embodiment, the piston 3 is made light by pressing a metal plate, and has a low mass that is convenient for instantaneous movement with respect to the cylinder 2. The piston 3 has a skirt portion 3A that is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the cylinder 2, and a tapered portion 3B at a portion that divides the pressure space P and the back pressure space B. The tapered portion 3B has a suitable taper so as to be in close contact with the tapered portion of the inlet opening 4A of the converging tube 4. Further, a coil spring 8 as an elastic body is disposed between the piston 3 and the other end wall 2B of the cylinder 2, and applies a back pressure to the piston 3 to press the inlet opening 4A of the converging tube 4. ing.
[0020]
In the present embodiment, an annular groove 3C is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the skirt portion 3A of the piston 3, and an O-ring groove 3D is formed on both sides of the annular groove 3C in the axis 1 direction. O-ring 3E is stored in 3D. On the other hand, a water injection hole (not shown) communicating with the annular groove 3C is formed in the cylinder 2, and the closed space formed by the annular groove 3C, both O-rings 3D and the inner surface of the cylinder 2 passes through the water injection hole. Water is filled from the outside to form a water seal. The width of the annular groove 3C, that is, the length dimension in the direction of the axis a is set so that the water injection hole does not come out of the width of the annular groove 3C even if the piston 3 reciprocates in the direction of the axis a. Yes. Thus, the water seal exhibits a function of sealing between the piston 3 and the cylinder 2, lubrication between the two, and cooling.
[0021]
Further, the cylinder 2 is formed with a high-pressure gas supply port 9 that communicates with the pressurized space P and a back-pressure gas supply port 10 that communicates with the back-pressure space B. The high-pressure gas supply port 9 is provided with a valve 9A.
[0022]
The reaction apparatus 1 of this embodiment is connected to other apparatuses for producing hydrogen gas as shown in FIG.
[0023]
The high-pressure gas supply port 9 of the reactor 1 is connected to a waste heat boiler 11 that uses waste heat from a large thermal process facility such as a waste incinerator. In the present embodiment, the waste heat boiler 11 is also connected to the back pressure gas supply port 10 via the switching valve 10A, and a part of the high pressure steam from the waste heat boiler 11 is used as the back pressure gas. . The valve 9A for the high-pressure gas supply port 9 is normally opened, and the switching valve 10A is opened at the time of setting according to the sequence. This switching valve 10A switches the supply destination of the high-pressure steam of the waste heat boiler 11 to either the back pressure gas supply port 10 or the white smoke prevention device 18 described later.
[0024]
Next, after the waste plastic as reactive particles is separated from other substances and crushed and pulverized into a waste plastic powder, the reactive powder supply port 5 is supplied with fine powder supplied via the control valve 5A at a predetermined time. The digitizing device 12 is connected.
[0025]
On the other hand, the gas outlet 6 is connected to a buffer tank 13, a bag filter 14, and a separation device 15 through a control valve 6 </ b> A. The buffer tank 13 is for temporarily storing the high-pressure hydrogen-containing gas from the reactor 1 and for relaxing the pressure. The bag filter 14 is used to remove unreacted reactive particles and the like from the hydrogen-containing gas. The bag filter 14 is connected to the above-described pulverization apparatus 12 in order to return the removed unreacted reactive particles for reuse. Yes. The separation device 15 is for separating the hydrogen-containing gas into hydrogen gas and CO gas and taking out them separately, and a pressure vibration adsorption (PSA) device is used. The hydrogen separation is not limited to the pressure vibration adsorption method, and other methods such as membrane separation may be used.
[0026]
The exhaust port 7 is connected to a buffer tank 16, an exhaust gas treatment device 17, and a white smoke prevention device 18 through a control valve 7A. The buffer tank 16 is for temporarily storing exhaust gas such as water vapor remaining after the reaction of the reaction apparatus 1 to relieve pressure. The exhaust gas treatment device 17 performs a predetermined treatment such as purging combustible components and removing dust before releasing the exhaust gas to the atmosphere. The white smoke prevention device 18 is supplied with water vapor from the waste heat boiler 11 by switching the switching valve 10A described above, and prevents the generation of water droplets in the exhaust gas. In the present embodiment, energy is effectively used by driving the low-pressure gas turbine using the gas from the exhaust port 7.
[0027]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described based on an example in which water vapor is reacted with waste plastic powder as reactive particles using shock waves to generate hydrogen gas as the desired gas.
[0028]
In FIG. 1, high-pressure steam as a reactive high-pressure gas is supplied from a high-pressure gas supply port 9 into a pressurized space P of the cylinder 2 through an open valve 9A. The valve 9A is normally left open. Further, the high-pressure steam is also supplied to the back-pressure gas supply port 10A through the open switching valve 10A shown in FIG.
[0029]
(1) In this state, the pressurized space P and the back pressure space B of the cylinder 2 are filled with the high-pressure steam, and the piston 3 is pressed against the inlet opening 4A of the converging tube 4 by the biasing force of the coil spring 8. The inlet opening 4A is closed by the piston 3.
[0030]
{Circle around (2)} Next, waste plastic powder as reactive particles as a raw material is supplied and filled into the converging tube 4 from the supply port 5.
[0031]
(3) Thereafter, the switching valve 10A is momentarily opened to reduce the back pressure space B. Therefore, the pressure in the pressurizing space P overcomes the pressure in the back pressure space B and the biasing force of the spring 8, the piston 3 moves backward against the back pressure, and a gap is formed between the inlet opening 4 </ b> A of the converging tube 4. It is formed. High-pressure steam flows into the converging tube 4 from this gap. A shock wave is generated in the converging tube 4 by the instantaneous inflow of high-pressure steam. The shock wave is planarized by the guiding portion 4B of the converging tube 4 and converged by the converging portion 4C. At this time, in the converging unit 4C, the wave front of the shock wave is further flattened by the swirling of the airflow by the swirl blade 4D. The shock wave propagated in the converging tube 4 in this way instantaneously compresses and raises the temperature of the water vapor entering the converging tube 4 together with the waste plastic powder, and the reaction is performed instantaneously to generate hydrogen gas. The
[0032]
(4) The hydrogen-containing gas is taken out from the product gas outlet 6 at the next moment, and high-pressure steam is supplied again to the back pressure space B as a back pressure, and the piston 3 closes the inlet opening 4A of the converging pipe 4 again. . In the reaction apparatus 1, exhaust gas such as water vapor in the converging pipe 4 is discharged from the exhaust port 7. The hydrogen-containing gas from the gas outlet 6 is subjected to pressure relaxation in the buffer tank 13, unreacted reactive particles and the like are removed by the bag filter 14, and separated into hydrogen gas and CO gas by the separation device 15. . At this time, the reactive particles removed by the bag filter 14 are returned to the micronizer 12 and reused. On the other hand, the gas discharged from the exhaust port 7 is subjected to a predetermined treatment by the exhaust gas treatment device 17 after being pressure-reduced by the buffer tank 16, treated by the white smoke prevention device 18, and released into the atmosphere.
[0033]
Here, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 3, the piston may be a piston 33 in which a rod-like protrusion that protrudes from the piston to the converging part 44C of the converging pipe 44 through the central part of the converging pipe 44 is formed. In this way, when high-pressure steam is injected and supplied into the converging tube from between the edge of the inlet opening of the converging tube and the piston, collision of shock waves due to the injection can be prevented. Planarization becomes easy. In this example, the shape of the inner wall of the converging portion 44C of the converging tube 44 is tapered as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this as long as the inner diameter decreases toward the other end. For example, a trumpet shape 44C1 or a log spiral shape 44C2 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
[0035]
In the device of the present invention, the swirl vane can be provided on the inner wall of at least one of the guiding portion and the converging portion as long as the air flow in the converging tube can be swirled.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the shock wave is converged at the converging part after the wave front is smoothed at the induction part, so that the temperature rise effect by the shock compression can be improved without causing unevenness in the shock compression by the shock wave. Therefore, the size can be reduced. Since the length of the guide portion is 0.5 times or more of the inner diameter, the wave front of the shock wave by the shock wave generating means is sufficiently flattened. Moreover, since the length of the guiding portion is 5 times or less, unnecessary increase in size is not caused. Therefore, hydrogen can be produced using a shock wave that has a simple configuration and can be miniaturized, and whose wavefront is flattened.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a reaction apparatus for a hydrogen production apparatus as one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a hydrogen production apparatus using the reaction apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the shape of a compression chamber and a piston as another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Cylinder 3 Piston 4 Converging pipe (compression chamber)
4A Inlet opening 4B Guide part 4C Converging part 11 Waste heat boiler (water vapor supply means)
12 Micronizer (Reactive particle supply means)

Claims

A mixture of reactive particles containing hydrocarbons or carbon and water vapor is heated to a high temperature to cause the reactive particles to react with the water vapor to generate a hydrogen-containing gas, and hydrogen is generated from the hydrogen-containing gas. In a hydrogen production apparatus manufactured separately, a compression chamber formed in a tubular shape extending from one end to the other end and containing a mixture of reactive particles and water vapor for shock compression, and reactive particles in the compression chamber Reactive particle supply means for supplying water, steam supply means for supplying water vapor into the compression chamber, and shock wave generation means for generating shock waves by intermittently supplying high-pressure gas from one end of the compression chamber into the compression chamber The compression chamber includes a converging portion extending in a gradually decreasing cross section in the propagation direction of the shock wave, and extending in substantially the same cross section as the maximum diameter portion of the converging portion on the upstream side in the propagation direction of the converging portion. A tubular guiding portion, and the guiding portion extends with a length not less than 0.5 times and not more than 5 times the inner diameter of the guiding portion, and the shock wave generating means instantaneously sends high-pressure gas to the compression chamber. The shock wave generated by supplying the gas to the inside of the compression chamber is propagated in the induction portion of the compression chamber, and the wave front of the shock wave is planarized by the induction portion, and then converged at the convergence portion of the compression chamber. A hydrogen production apparatus characterized in that the reactive particles in the mixture react with water vapor to produce a hydrogen-containing gas by impact compression and heating to a high temperature.

A mixture of reactive particles containing hydrocarbons or carbon and water vapor is heated to a high temperature to cause the reactive particles to react with the water vapor to generate a hydrogen-containing gas, and hydrogen is generated from the hydrogen-containing gas. In a hydrogen production apparatus manufactured separately, a compression chamber that is formed in a tubular shape that extends from one end to the other end that forms an inlet opening and that contains the mixture of reactive particles and water vapor for impact compression, and the compression chamber Reactive particle supply means for supplying reactive particles to the water, steam supply means for supplying water vapor into the compression chamber, and shock waves are generated by intermittently supplying high-pressure gas into the compression chamber from one end of the compression chamber The compression chamber includes a converging portion extending in a gradually decreasing cross-section in the propagation direction of the shock wave, and a maximum diameter portion of the converging portion upstream of the converging portion in the propagation direction. A tubular guide portion extending in the same cross section, and the guide portion extends with a length not less than 0.5 times and not more than 5 times the inner diameter of the guide portion, and the inlet opening of the compression chamber is arranged in the cylinder. The shock wave generating means is formed by arranging in the cylinder a piston that intermittently opens and closes the inlet opening of the compression chamber in cooperation with the inlet opening of the compression chamber in the cylinder. The cylinder is supplied with high-pressure gas toward the opening inlet side of the compression chamber with respect to the piston, and the piston changes the inlet opening of the compression chamber from the closed state to the open state, thereby instantaneously supplying the high-pressure gas to the compression chamber. The shock wave generated by supplying the gas to the inside of the compression chamber is propagated in the induction portion of the compression chamber, and the wave front of the shock wave is planarized by the induction portion, and then converged at the convergence portion of the compression chamber. The impact compression is high Hydrogen production apparatus characterized by being adapted to produce a hydrogen-containing gas by the reaction of the reactive particles and water vapor in the admix by heating to.

3. The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the piston is formed with a rod-like or substantially conical protrusion protruding from the piston through the center of the compression chamber toward the inside of the compression chamber.

The compression chamber is provided with swirl vanes on at least one inner wall of the guide portion and the converging portion so as to swirl the airflow in the compression chamber. Hydrogen production equipment.

5. The converging portion of the compression chamber is formed in any one of a conical shape, a trumpet shape, or a log spiral shape so that the inner diameter becomes smaller toward the other end. The hydrogen production apparatus described in 1.

The shock wave generating means generates a shock wave by instantaneously intermittently injecting high pressure steam as a high pressure gas into the compression chamber, and also serves as a water vapor supply means. The hydrogen production apparatus according to any one of the above.