JPS5843139B2 - photochemical reactor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a highly efficient photochemical reactor that performs photochemical reactions such as hydrogen generation using light energy such as sunlight.

Conventionally, the method of carrying out a photochemical reaction using light energy such as sunlight or ultraviolet rays has been to simply pour a reaction solution into a transparent container such as glass and cause the reaction to occur by irradiating it with light. Although the temperature of the liquid rises slightly due to the absorption of light by the liquid, it is not enough, and therefore the photochemical reaction is not thermally assisted and the reactivity is low. Therefore, in order to obtain the required amount of reaction products, the reaction vessel must be quite large. The problem was that it was necessary.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it increases the efficiency of photochemical reactions by injecting light energy and thermal energy into the same place. Furthermore, by expanding the reaction surface area, it can dramatically increase the efficiency of photochemical reactions in a small reactor. This provides high performance.

Examples of the photochemical reactor of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the photochemical reactor of the present invention.

Reference numeral 1 is a mirror for condensing light, 2 is a cylindrical container made of a light-transmitting material such as glass, quartz, plastic, etc., and 3 is a light-absorbing porous material provided in the container 2. be.

The light is reflected by the mirror 1 (some directly), passes through the container 2 and is absorbed by the light-absorbing porous material 3.

4 is a cavity that serves as a passage for the gas or vapor of the photochemically reactive substance or the gas or vapor of the photochemically reactive product.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the light-absorbing porous material 3 in FIG.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one embodiment.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 indicates a material such as glass fiber or metal fiber such as copper, bronze, brass, nickel, or aluminum having a fine mesh structure, and reference numeral 12 indicates the fiber material 110.
Black metal compound (Cub, N) coated on the surface
iS, CrO2, MnO2, etc.) or a light-transmitting material such as carbon or silicon.

13 is a catalyst (for example, an n-type semiconductor such as TiO2, chloroplast, etc.) that promotes a photochemical reaction.

When a photochemically reactive liquid or gas is brought into contact with the light-absorbing porous material shown in FIG. 2 and irradiated with light 10, the light is absorbed by the black metal compound 12 and heats the catalyst 13, causing a photochemical reaction in contact with the catalyst 13. At the same time, the liquid or gas is irradiated with light, where a photochemical reaction occurs and the reaction products are quickly released.

In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, if a catalyst with strong light absorption ability such as silicon or black and white is used as a catalyst, the fiber material 11
The light-absorbing catalyst may be directly coated on the fiber, or the catalyst may be coated on a light-absorbing fiber such as black glass or carbon fiber.

Furthermore, the light-absorbing catalyst itself may be made into fibers, or a combination of catalytic fibers (catalyst-coated fibers and catalyst fibers) and light-absorbing fibers may be used, or reactions that do not require a catalyst may be used. In this case, only light-absorbing fibers or fibers coated with a light-absorbing material may be used.

Since the photochemical reactor of the present invention has the above-described configuration, it has the following excellent characteristics.

That is, (1) Since light energy and thermal energy are obtained at the same location, the probability of photochemical reactions is extremely high, and reactivity is significantly improved.

@ Since the reaction occurs near the surface of the porous material, the reaction surface area is very large, and the device can be made smaller.

When an O catalyst is used, it has a large specific surface area and can supply sufficient thermal energy to the catalyst, making it extremely excellent as a catalyst carrier.

@ When gas (including steam) is generated by a photochemical reaction of a liquid (e.g. hydrogen generation), the porous shape promotes gas generation from the surface.

■ In the case of a hollow structure as shown in Fig. 1, the porous material 3 is impregnated with the reaction liquid, similar to a heat pipe, and the gas produced by the reaction can pass through the central cavity 4; Elimination is fast and the gas produced does not adversely affect the reaction.

In addition, since relatively high-temperature product gas and reaction liquid vapor can be obtained, this thermal energy can be recovered and used for assisting thermochemical reactions, producing hot water, and the like.

In the above embodiments, the light-absorbing porous material was described as having a net shape, but it may have any shape such as a bundle of fine wires, a web, or a particulate shape.

Further, the shape of the light-transmitting container and the installation shape of the porous material are also arbitrary. For example, the light-absorbing porous material may be installed in a flat plate shape inside a rectangular parallelepiped container.

Furthermore, in FIG. 1, the condensing mirror 1 is not necessarily necessary, and a Fresnel lens or the like may be used to condense the light, or the condensing mirror 1 may not be condensed at all.

As explained above, the photochemical reactor of the present invention uses a light-absorbing porous material to simultaneously supply light energy and thermal energy, dramatically increasing reactivity, and has many other excellent points not found in the past. This makes it possible to obtain a small photochemical reactor with high reaction efficiency, and to obtain high economic efficiency in numerous applications such as hydrogen generators using photochemical reactions, photoregenerative fuel cells, and photoreducible dye cells. can be expected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the photochemical reactor of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a material having a network structure as an embodiment of the light-absorbing porous material according to the present invention. 2...Container, 3...Light-absorbing porous material, 4...Cavity, 11...Fibre material, 12...Light Absorbent material, 13...Catalyst.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A photochemical reactor characterized in that a light-absorbing porous material is provided in a container made of a light-transmitting material. 2. Claim 1 in which part or all of the light-absorbing porous material is composed of a catalyst that promotes a photochemical reaction.
Photochemical reactor described in section. 3. The photochemical reactor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light-absorbing porous material is composed of thin fibers. 4. The photochemical device according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the container has a cavity that serves as a passage for the gas or vapor of the photochemical reactant or the gas or vapor of the photochemical reaction product. reactor.