JP5463124B2 - Hydrogen production equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hydrogen production apparatus capable of obtaining high-purity hydrogen.

  Conventionally, in a hydrogen production apparatus, a mixed gas composed of a raw material gas such as hydrocarbon and steam is supplied, and mainly hydrogen and carbon dioxide are generated from the mixed gas by a steam reforming reaction, and then hydrogen is selectively used. (For example, patent document 1).

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the entire conventional hydrogen production system.
As shown in FIG. 8, the conventional hydrogen production system 20 includes a hydrogen separation type reformer 21. The reformer 21 is supplied with a mixed gas composed of water vapor and hydrocarbons generated in the boiler 22 via a boiler line 23.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the reformer 21 includes a combustion section 24, a catalyst layer 25 filled with a reforming catalyst, and a metal film 26 that allows only hydrogen to pass through. In this configuration, the mixed gas supplied to the reformer 21 becomes hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide by the steam reforming reaction in the catalyst layer 25. At this time, only hydrogen in these gases is separated into the permeation section 27 through the metal film 26. The hydrogen accumulated in the permeation unit 27 is discharged from the reformer 21 as high-purity hydrogen. The hydrogen discharged from the reformer 21 is cooled through the heat exchanger 28 at the subsequent stage because of high temperature. A part of the combustion exhaust gas discharged from the reformer 21 is returned to the reformer 21 via the circulation blower 29.

FIG. 9 is a schematic front view of a conventional reformer (hydrogen production apparatus).
As shown in FIG. 9, the reformer 21 includes a reaction tube unit 31. The reaction tube unit 31 includes a plurality of rectangular tube-shaped reaction tubes 32, and these reaction tubes 32 are arranged in parallel with a constant interval. The reaction tube 32 includes a catalyst layer (not shown) for performing a steam reforming reaction, a metal film 33 that allows only hydrogen to pass through, a raw material supply tube 34 for supplying a mixed gas, and hydrogen. A hydrogen extraction pipe (not shown) to be taken out is incorporated. Further, a heater 35 for sending combustion gas to the reaction tube unit 31 is provided at one end of the reformer 21, and a header 36 for supplying raw materials and recovering hydrogen is provided at the other end of the reformer. Yes. The header portion 36 is provided with a first connection pipe 37 connected to the raw material supply pipe and a second connection pipe 38 connected to the hydrogen extraction pipe or the like.

Japanese Patent No. 4288105

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, since the steam reforming reaction and the hydrogen separation are simultaneously performed in the reaction tube, both the catalyst layer and the metal film must be incorporated in the reaction tube. Becomes complicated. In particular, when there is a defect in the metal film, it takes time to disassemble the reaction tube, and there is a problem that the burden at the time of manufacturing and maintenance becomes large.
In addition, in the above-described conventional configuration, since the reaction tube is formed in a rectangular tube shape, the number of welded portions is larger than that of the cylindrical tube, and the man-hours for manufacturing the reaction tube are large, resulting in a manufacturing cost. There was a problem that became high.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the object thereof is to be able to replace only a reaction tube having a defect quickly with a simple operation, and to reduce the manufacturing cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen production apparatus capable of producing pure hydrogen.

  In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a combustion chamber provided with a plurality of reaction tubes filled with a reforming catalyst, and a heating unit for heating the plurality of reaction tubes, A hydrogen separation chamber having a plurality of hydrogen separation pipes using a metal membrane that allows only hydrogen to pass through, wherein the plurality of reaction tubes are arranged in parallel from the upstream side to the downstream side, Separation tubes are arranged in parallel from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the most upstream reaction tube among the plurality of reaction tubes is connected to a raw material supply unit for supplying a mixed gas, and the plurality of hydrogen The most downstream hydrogen separation pipe in the separation pipe is connected to an off-gas flow path for discharging the mixed gas, the plurality of reaction tubes and the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes are connected via a gas flow path, The mixed gas supplied to the most upstream reaction tube is the reaction tube and the water. The sequentially circulating the separation tube is made to flow to the most downstream of the hydrogen separation tube.

  Further, according to the present invention, the outlet of each reaction tube is connected to the inlet of the hydrogen separation tube located in the same order counting from the most upstream, and the outlet of each hydrogen separation tube is one downstream from the order. It is connected to the inlet of the reaction tube, and the mixed gas supplied to the most upstream reaction tube sequentially circulates through the reaction tube and the hydrogen separation tube one by one and flows to the most downstream hydrogen separation tube. It is like that.

  According to the invention, the combustion chamber is provided with gas flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the combustion gas heated by the heating unit.

  Further, according to the present invention, the gas flow rate adjusting means is a partition plate having a plurality of gas passage holes, and the partition plate is disposed between the heating unit and the plurality of reaction tubes, The flow rate of the combustion gas flowing around the plurality of reaction tubes can be adjusted by moving the partition plate.

  According to the invention, the gas flow path is provided with a cooler for adjusting the temperature of the gas flowing from the reaction tube toward the hydrogen separation tube.

  According to the present invention, the downstream hydrogen separation pipe among the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes has a larger permeation area of the metal membrane than the upstream hydrogen separation pipe.

  According to the hydrogen production apparatus of the present invention, a combustion chamber including a plurality of reaction tubes filled with a reforming catalyst, and a heating unit for heating the plurality of reaction tubes, and only hydrogen is permeated. A hydrogen separation chamber having a plurality of hydrogen separation tubes using a metal membrane, wherein the plurality of reaction tubes are arranged in parallel from the upstream side toward the downstream side, and the plurality of hydrogen separation tubes are upstream Arranged in parallel from the side toward the downstream side, and the most upstream reaction tube in the plurality of reaction tubes is connected to a raw material supply unit for supplying a mixed gas, and in the plurality of hydrogen separation tubes A most downstream hydrogen separation pipe is connected to an off-gas flow path for discharging the mixed gas, and the plurality of reaction pipes and the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes are connected via a gas flow path, and the most upstream reaction pipe The mixed gas supplied to the reactor sequentially circulates through the reaction tube and the hydrogen separation tube. Thus, the portion that performs the steam reforming reaction and the portion that separates hydrogen are arranged in separate rooms, so that the structure of the reaction tube is as follows. Simplified. Therefore, since the man-hour at the time of manufacturing the reaction tube is reduced, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. In addition, at the time of manufacturing and maintenance, only a tube having a defect can be exchanged partly by a simple operation.

  Further, according to the hydrogen production apparatus of the present invention, the outlet of each reaction tube is connected to the inlet of the hydrogen separation tube located in the same order counting from the most upstream, and the outlet of each hydrogen separation tube is The mixed gas supplied to the most upstream reaction tube is sequentially circulated through the reaction tube and the hydrogen separation tube one by one sequentially, and is connected to the inlet of the downstream reaction tube. Since it flows to the hydrogen separation tube, the hydrogen acquisition rate can be further increased by increasing the distance of the reaction tube to the mixed gas.

  In the hydrogen production apparatus according to the present invention, the combustion chamber is provided with gas flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the combustion gas heated by the heating unit. The tube temperature can be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

  Moreover, according to the hydrogen production apparatus according to the present invention, the gas flow rate adjusting means is a partition plate having a plurality of gas through holes, and the partition plate is disposed between the heating unit and the plurality of reaction tubes. Since the flow rate of the combustion gas flowing around the plurality of reaction tubes can be adjusted by moving the partition plate, the flow rate of the combustion gas in the combustion chamber with a simpler configuration Can be adjusted.

  In the hydrogen production apparatus according to the present invention, the gas flow path is provided with a cooler for adjusting the temperature of the gas flowing from the reaction tube toward the hydrogen separation tube. The temperature of the gas flowing through the separation tube can be cooled, and deterioration of the metal film due to high temperature can be prevented.

  Further, according to the hydrogen production apparatus of the present invention, the downstream hydrogen separation pipe among the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes has a larger permeation area of the metal membrane than the upstream hydrogen separation pipe. . Since the hydrogen partial pressure becomes lower as it goes downstream in the hydrogen production apparatus of the present invention, there is a possibility that the hydrogen permeation rate in the hydrogen separation pipe may decrease, but by increasing the permeation area of the downstream metal membrane Hydrogen can be effectively separated.

1 is a schematic side view of a hydrogen production apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the flow of operation | movement of the hydrogen production apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the hydrogen production apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic side view of the hydrogen production apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the flow of operation | movement of the hydrogen production apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which looked at the hydrogen production apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention from upper direction. It is the figure which showed the density | concentration of the gas in the entrance of each reaction tube of the hydrogen production apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic diagram which showed the whole conventional hydrogen production system. It is a schematic front view of the conventional reformer (hydrogen production apparatus).

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a hydrogen production apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a hydrogen production apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the hydrogen production apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes a combustion chamber 3 in which a plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are arranged, and a plurality of hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, And a hydrogen separation chamber 5 in which 4D is disposed.
The plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D are arranged in parallel in the combustion chamber 3 from the upstream side to the downstream side. A plurality of hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are also arranged in parallel in the hydrogen separation chamber 5 from the upstream side to the downstream side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the most upstream first reaction tube 2A among the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D is a material supply line to a material supply unit 6 for supplying a mixed gas as a material. 7 are connected. The raw material supply unit 6 includes, for example, a boiler and the like, and supplies a mixed gas composed of water vapor and hydrocarbons generated in the boiler to the first reaction tube 2A. Each reaction tube 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D is filled with a reforming catalyst (for example, a granular catalyst) 8 for performing a steam reforming reaction. The reforming catalyst 8 converts part of the mixed gas into hydrogen, and prevents local heating of the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D by absorbing heat.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a heating unit 9 for heating the plurality of reaction tubes 2 </ b> A, 2 </ b> B, 2 </ b> C, 2 </ b> D is provided in the lower part of the combustion chamber 3. For example, the heating unit 9 includes a plurality of line burners arranged in parallel. The heating unit 9 burns the supplied air and fuel to generate combustion gas, and sends the combustion gas to the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D arranged above the heating unit 9. It has become.

  Further, inside the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, a plurality of metal films 10 that allow only hydrogen to pass through are arranged, and in each region partitioned by the metal film 10, hydrogen for extracting hydrogen is extracted. An extraction pipe 11 is connected. The metal film 10 is made of, for example, palladium or a palladium alloy.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D of the combustion chamber 3 and the plurality of hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D of the hydrogen separation chamber 5 They are connected one by one through the flow path 12. The outlets of the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are connected to the inlets of the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D that are positioned in the same order, counting from the most upstream, respectively, and the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, The outlet of 4C is connected to the inlets of reaction tubes 2B, 2C, and 2D that are one downstream from the order. Specifically, the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D are composed of a first reaction tube 2A → first hydrogen separation tube 4A → second reaction tube 2B → second. The hydrogen separation tube 4B, the third reaction tube 2C, the third hydrogen separation tube 4C, the fourth reaction tube 2D, and the fourth hydrogen separation tube 4D are connected in this order.
With such a configuration, the mixed gas supplied to the most upstream reaction tube 2A is circulated sequentially through the reaction tube and the hydrogen separation tube one by one and flows to the most downstream hydrogen separation tube 4D.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the fourth hydrogen separation pipe 4D, which is the most downstream of the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, is an off gas passage 13 for discharging off gas mainly composed of carbon dioxide. It is connected to. The off-gas flow path 13 is connected to the heating unit 9 of the combustion chamber 5, and off-gas discharged from the fourth hydrogen separation pipe 4 </ b> D is introduced into the heating unit 9 together with air and used as fuel for the heating unit 9. It has become so.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the combustion chamber 3 and the hydrogen separation chamber 5 are connected by a combustion gas flow path 14, and the combustion gas generated by the heating unit 9 is supplied to the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, After 2D is heated, it flows into the hydrogen separation chamber 5 through the combustion gas flow path 14. The combustion gas that has flowed into the hydrogen separation chamber 5 is used to keep the temperature inside the hydrogen separation chamber 5, and is discharged out of the hydrogen production apparatus 1 through the exhaust pipe 15.

  Next, the operation of the hydrogen production apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a flow of operations of the hydrogen production apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the hydrogen production apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the following steam reforming reaction is performed in the reaction tubes (first to fourth reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) in step S1. , Producing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from the mixed gas.
CH ₄ + H ₂ O → 3H ₂ + CO (endothermic reaction)
CO + H ₂ O → CO ₂ + H ₂ (exothermic reaction)
Usually, this reaction is performed at 500 ° C. or higher, and is performed under steam rich conditions in which the S / C (steram / carbon ratio), which is a molar ratio of water to methane carbon C, is 2 or more.
Next, in step S3, hydrogen is separated using a metal membrane in a hydrogen separation pipe (first to fourth hydrogen separation pipes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D). The metal film 10 needs to suppress the use temperature to 600 ° C. or lower. Therefore, the steam reforming reaction and the hydrogen separation are performed in the range of 500 ° C to 600 ° C.
The above steps are repeated for the number of reaction tubes and hydrogen separation tubes. That is, in the present embodiment, the above steps are repeated four times. The off gas finally discharged from the fourth hydrogen separation pipe 4D is introduced into the heating unit 9 through the off gas flow path 13.

  According to the hydrogen production apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D filled with the reforming catalyst 8 and the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D are heated. A combustion chamber 3 provided with a heating unit 9 for the above, and a hydrogen separation chamber 5 provided with a plurality of hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D using a metal film 10 that only transmits hydrogen, A first reaction tube 2A among a plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D is connected to a raw material supply unit 6 for supplying a gas as a raw material, and a plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D. And a plurality of hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D are alternately connected one by one via the gas flow path 12, and the gas supplied from the raw material supply unit 6 is supplied to the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and hydrogen separation pipes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D are configured to circulate alternately Because it is, will be a portion for separating the part and hydrogen which performs steam reforming reaction is arranged to separate rooms, the structure of the reaction tube is more simplified. Therefore, since the man-hour at the time of manufacturing reaction tube 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D will be reduced, manufacturing cost can be held down. In addition, at the time of manufacturing and maintenance, only a tube having a defect can be exchanged partly by a simple operation.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a hydrogen production apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a hydrogen production apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the part similar to what was demonstrated by embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the combustion chamber 3 is provided with a partition plate 16 for adjusting the flow rate of the combustion gas heated by the heating unit 9. The partition plate 16 has a plurality of gas through holes 16a, and is arranged along the horizontal direction between the heating unit 9 and the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D. With this configuration, in this embodiment, when combustion gas is generated in the heating unit 9 of the combustion chamber 3, the combustion gas passes through the gas passage holes 16 a of the partition plate 16 and a plurality of reaction tubes 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B. , 2C, 2D.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the partition plate 16 includes driving means 17 (for example, an actuator or the like) configured to move the partition plate 16 in the vertical direction. And is configured to be movable in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the combustion chamber 3 is provided with a temperature sensor 18 in the vicinity of the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D. The temperature sensor 18 is a temperature control means for adjusting the temperature in the combustion chamber 3. 19 is connected. This temperature control means 19 is connected to the drive means 17 and when the temperature sensor 18 detects the temperature, the drive means 17 is operated to move the partition plate 16 in the vertical direction.

For example, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 is higher than an appropriate temperature, the temperature control means 19 moves the partition plate 16 upward to move around the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D. Reduce the volume of surrounding combustion gas. Thereby, the temperature of reaction tube 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D can be lowered | hung.
On the other hand, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 18 is lower than the appropriate temperature, the temperature control means 19 moves the partition plate 16 downward to surround the plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D. Increase the volume of the surrounding combustion gas. Thereby, the temperature of reaction tube 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D can be raised.
Thus, in this embodiment, it is comprised so that the flow volume of the combustion gas which flows around several reaction tube 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D can be adjusted by moving the partition plate 16 to an up-down direction.

  According to the hydrogen production apparatus according to the second embodiment, the temperature of the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D in the combustion chamber 3 can be maintained at an appropriate temperature. Moreover, according to the present embodiment, the flow rate of the fuel gas can be adjusted with a simple configuration of the partition plate 16, so that the temperature of the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D can be controlled while suppressing the overall cost of the hydrogen production apparatus 1. It can be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

[Third Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a hydrogen production apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a hydrogen production apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the part similar to what was demonstrated by embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the gas flow path 12 is provided with a cooler 20 for adjusting the temperature of the gas. Here, the cooler 20 is disposed in the gas flow path 12 such that the gas flows from the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D toward the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D. The cooler 20 is, for example, a heat exchanger that uses cooling water, and adjusts the temperature of the gas supplied to the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D to a range of 500 to 570 ° C. Yes.

Next, the operation of the hydrogen production apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a flow of operations of the hydrogen production apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, in the hydrogen production apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment, in step S1, a steam reforming reaction is performed in the reaction tubes (first to fourth reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) and mixed. Hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are produced from the gas. The temperature and S / C in this reaction are the same as in the first embodiment. At this time, the temperature of the gas (hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide) after the steam reforming reaction is suppressed to 600 ° C. or less by moving the partition plate 16 up and down.
Next, in step S2, the gas discharged from the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D in the cooler 20 is adjusted to a range of 500 to 570 ° C.
In step S3, hydrogen separation is performed using the metal membrane 10 in the hydrogen separation pipes (first to fourth hydrogen separation pipes 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D).
The above steps are repeated for the number of reaction tubes and hydrogen separation tubes. That is, in the present embodiment, the above steps are repeated four times. The off gas finally discharged from the fourth hydrogen separation pipe 4D is introduced into the heating unit 9 through the off gas flow path 13.

According to the hydrogen production apparatus according to the third embodiment, the temperature of the gas flowing from the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D to the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D is adjusted in the gas flow path 12. Since the cooler 20 is provided, the temperature of the gas flowing through the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D can be cooled, and deterioration of the metal film 10 due to the high temperature can be prevented.
Furthermore, according to the hydrogen production apparatus according to the third embodiment, since the gas temperature can be adjusted using the cooler 20, there is no need to provide a circulation blower as in the conventional configuration (FIG. 8). In addition, the configuration of the hydrogen production apparatus 1 can be further simplified.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a hydrogen production apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a hydrogen production apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above. In addition, about the part similar to what was demonstrated by embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the combustion chamber 3 is provided with nine reaction tubes, and the hydrogen separation chamber 5 is provided with nine hydrogen separation tubes. A plurality of reaction tubes 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 2H, 2I and a plurality of hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4I are gasses. One by one is alternately connected through the flow path 12.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing the gas concentration at the inlet of each reaction tube of the hydrogen production apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the partial pressure of hydrogen is smaller in the downstream reaction tube (for example, in the order of 2B → 2C → 2D → 2E → 2F → 2G → 2H → 2I). Therefore, there is a possibility that the hydrogen permeation rate in the hydrogen separation tubes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H, and 4I decreases as it goes downstream. In consideration of the result of FIG. 7, in the fourth embodiment, the downstream hydrogen separation pipe among the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes has a permeation area of the metal membrane 10 as compared with the upstream hydrogen separation pipe. It is getting bigger. For example, the permeation area of the second hydrogen separation pipe 4B is larger than that of the first hydrogen separation pipe 4A. In this case, for example, the permeation area of the metal membrane 10 can be set large by stacking more metal membranes 10 in the hydrogen separation tube 4B than in the hydrogen separation tube 4A.

  According to the hydrogen production apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the hydrogen partial pressure becomes lower in the hydrogen production apparatus 1 of the present invention as it goes downstream. Therefore, the hydrogen separation pipes 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F , 4G, 4H, 4I may decrease the permeation rate of hydrogen, but hydrogen can be effectively separated by increasing the permeation area of the downstream metal film 10.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the heating unit 9 is provided in the lower part of the combustion chamber 3, but it is not necessary to provide it integrally in the lower part, and the combustion gas produced in the separately provided combustion chamber is used as the reaction tubes 2A, 2B, You may make it guide | induced to 2C and 2D. The heating unit 9 is not limited to a line burner, and various burners such as a high flow rate burner can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hydrogen production apparatus 2 Reaction tube 3 Combustion chamber 4 Hydrogen separation tube 5 Hydrogen separation chamber 6 Raw material supply part 7 Raw material supply line 8 Reforming medium 9 Heating part 10 Metal film 11 Hydrogen extraction pipe 12 Gas flow path 13 Off-gas flow path 14 Combustion gas flow path 15 Exhaust pipe 16 Separation plate (gas flow rate adjusting means)
17 Drive means 18 Temperature sensor 19 Temperature control means 20 Cooler

Claims (6)

A combustion chamber provided with a plurality of reaction tubes filled with a reforming catalyst, and a heating unit for heating the plurality of reaction tubes;
A hydrogen separation chamber having a plurality of hydrogen separation pipes using a metal membrane that allows only hydrogen to pass through,
The plurality of reaction tubes are arranged in parallel from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the plurality of hydrogen separation tubes are arranged in parallel from the upstream side to the downstream side, An upstream reaction tube is connected to a raw material supply unit for supplying a mixed gas, and a most downstream hydrogen separation tube among the plurality of hydrogen separation tubes is connected to an off-gas flow path for discharging the mixed gas, The plurality of reaction tubes and the plurality of hydrogen separation tubes are connected through a gas flow path, and the mixed gas supplied to the most upstream reaction tube circulates sequentially through the reaction tube and the hydrogen separation tube. The hydrogen production apparatus is configured to flow to the most downstream hydrogen separation pipe.   The outlet of each reaction tube is connected to the inlet of the hydrogen separation tube located in the same order from the most upstream, and the outlet of each hydrogen separation tube is connected to the inlet of the reaction tube one downstream from the above order. The mixed gas supplied to the most upstream reaction tube is circulated sequentially through the reaction tube and the hydrogen separation tube one by one to flow to the most downstream hydrogen separation tube. The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1.   The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the combustion chamber is provided with a gas flow rate adjusting means for adjusting a flow rate of the combustion gas heated by the heating unit.   The gas flow rate adjusting means is a partition plate having a plurality of gas through holes, and the partition plate is disposed between the heating unit and the plurality of reaction tubes, and the partition plate is moved. The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the flow rate of the combustion gas flowing around the plurality of reaction tubes can be adjusted.   5. The cooler for adjusting the temperature of the gas flowing from the reaction tube toward the hydrogen separation tube is provided in the gas flow path. The hydrogen production apparatus as described.   The downstream hydrogen separation pipe among the plurality of hydrogen separation pipes has a larger permeation area of the metal membrane than an upstream hydrogen separation pipe. The hydrogen production apparatus according to one item.

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