WO2015019375A1

WO2015019375A1 - Process for real time combustible gas production

Info

Publication number: WO2015019375A1
Application number: PCT/IT2014/000197
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anthony GRANDE; John Anthony GRANDE; Gocha SIKHARULIDE; David ALEKSIDZE
Original assignee: UNICENERGY SRL
Current assignee: UNICENERGY SRL
Priority date: 2013-08-09
Filing date: 2014-07-28
Publication date: 2015-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 2016-02-09
Also published as: ITVI20130212A1; WO2015019375A8

Abstract

A process for producing combustible gas by processing molecules of water in a vapor phase by abrupt increase in their kinetic energy and final decomposition thereof under the elevated temperature conditions directly in the combustion process is provided. The process according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of abruptly increasing the kinetic energy of the molecules of water vapor (20) by passing thereof through a converging and diverging nozzle (24) and injecting the vapor promptly into a combustion chamber (10), thereby subjecting it to the action of elevated temperature existing in the combustion chamber. Another aspect of the present invention comprises the step of processing the molecules of water in vapor phase in an electric field (22) prior to passing them through the converging and diverging nozzle.

Description

PROCESS FOR REAL TIME COMBUSTIBLE GAS PRODUCTION

In the modern society energy is an all-important commodity. Achieving the best possible efficiency when producing energy is a challenge. In this respect, the combustion of a fuel, such as hydrocarbons, is a standard method of power generation in the presence of the oxygen sufficient for combustion of the fuel elements.

in the recent past, a variety of technologies for combustion enhancement have been proposed, as mainly applied to combustion- based devices (e.g., heaters, furnaces, incinerators), power generation, vehicles (autos, aircraft, watercraft), aerospace propulsion systems, and coal/waste gasification systems.

"Plasma assisted combustion" is one of the promising technologies to improve combustion processes. This technology consists in creation of plasma in or near the flame to assist the combustion processes. Recently, it has been shown that an efficient way to promote combustion may be in electrical discharges that generate non-thermal plasmas, i.e. regions of ionized gases which are far from local thermodynamic equilibrium and have electron mean energies significantly higher than those of ambient gas molecules. In non-thermal plasmas, electrical energy impact is almost entirely utilized to directly excite, dissociate and ionize the gas.

One prior art method for producing a combustible gas is a process for producing a mixture of hydrogen, oxygen and other water- dissolved gases by application of pulsating and continuous electric current. The process involves treating water included as a dielectric between plates of a capacitor connected in series with a resonant choke circuit. The capacitor is subjected to a pulsating, unipolar voltage, whereby the water molecules within the capacitor are subjected to the electric field. The pulse frequency of the capacitor is chosen corresponding to the natural frequency of the water molecule resonance in the liquid phase. Long-term exposure to pulses in the resonance mode brings about an increase in the level of the vibrational energy of molecules with each pulse, and at some instant the electrical bonding strength in the molecule is so weakened that the strength of the external electric field exceeds the bonding energy, and atoms of oxygen and hydrogen release as separate gases. Then the resultant ready-to-use mixture of oxygen, hydrogen and other gasses dissolved in water is collected as fuel. Another method is also known which involves decomposition of superheated water vapor into hydrogen and oxygen in an electric field. The method comprises producing in an unclosed space superheated vapor with a temperature of 500 - 550°C, which is then passed through a constant high-voltage electric field (6000 v), thereby causing dissociation of water molecules in a vapor state and breaking them down into free atoms of hydrogen and oxygen.

A disadvantage of the method is the need to use a high voltage to ensure dissociation of water molecules, that imparts the safety of implementation of the method in general.

Also known is process for producing hydrogen and oxygen gasses from water disclosed in Canadian patent application CA1234773 (A1), which includes having water in a cavity which has a selected resonant frequency and applying of voltage potential to exciter elements in contact with the water in the cavity so that one elements maintains a positive charge and the other a negative charge. The voltage potential is pulsed at a frequency matching the resonant frequency of the cavity. The apparatus includes a spherical shell which is a first exciter element formed of an electrically conductive non-reactive material and defines the boundary of a cavity. The cavity has a pre-determined resonant frequency and a second exciter element of the same material as the first exciter element is located within the cavity in selected spaced relationship therewith. Water can flow into the cavity and gasses produced outflow from the top of the cavity, such gasses being obtained from the water in the cavity when an electrical pulsating potential is applied to the exciter elements.

In general, the prior art methods are providing for breaking down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen in an electric field which is associated with safety concerns because of severe hazardous nature of hydrogen as well as with low efficiency associated with high energy needed to rupture the covalent bonds in water molecules.

The objective of the present invention can be attained by a process for producing combustible gas by processing molecules of water in a vapor phase by abrupt increase in their kinetic energy and final decomposition thereof under the elevated temperature conditions directly in the combustion process. Accordingly, the process according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of abruptly increasing the kinetic energy of the molecules of water vapor by passing thereof through a converging and diverging nozzle and injecting the vapor promptly into a combustion chamber, thereby subjecting it to the action of elevated temperature existing in the combustion chamber.

Another aspect of the present invention comprises the step of processing molecules of water in vapor phase in an electric field prior to passing them through a converging and diverging nozzle.

The essence of the present invention in the standpoint of physics lies in the fact that the inventive process does not in fact generate hydrogen at its initial steps. Rather, it performs abrupt drop of pressure/temperature of the water vapor to the extent of weakening the covalent bonding of the water molecules and subsequently subjecting the water molecules immediately after the pressure/temperature drop to the heat action to the extent sufficient for rupturing the covalent bonds so as to produce combustible gasses - hydrogen and oxygen. The process is preferably done in a non-chemical environment; thus any form of natural water may be utilized without additives or chemicals.

The objectives and advantages mentioned above as well as others that will follow will become more apparent from the following description relating to a preferred embodiment of the process and the combustion plant in accordance with the present invention, provided as an example but not limitative, and from the accompanying drawing (fig. 1), which refers to an overall schematic view of a combustion plant with a high energy yield, according to the present invention.

With reference to figure 1 , 10 indicates a combustion chamber, in which a flame 11 is generated by introduction of a combustible material, such as gas and air 12, within a duct 13.

According to the present invention, it is provided for to use a boiler 14 which is inserted inside the water 15, and a pump 16 and a delivery conduit 17, and a protection valve 18, a series of thermo-heaters or electrical resistors 19 having a specific heating power for the generation of water vapor 20 to a steam temperature of between 130 ° C and 260 ° C and a maximum pressure of steam of about 10 atm.

The boiler 14 is connected, through a special copper pipe 21 , to an electric circuit 22 adapted to produce plasma (low temperature) 23, which is injected into the combustion chamber 10. In particular, the saturated steam 20 which comes from the pipe 21 is introduced into the electric circuit 22, which employs an input voltage of at least 12 volts and a maximum input current of 30 amperes.

The circuit 22 is formed in practice by two individual plates (not connected to each other) of steel or titanium, placed at a distance equal to at least 4 cm, to the heads of which a voltage between 3 and 100 kV, and preferably within the range of 10 and 35 kV, is applied to produce a pulse current having a frequency in the vicinity of or equal to 12.6 kHz.

The phenomenon of resonance occurring within the circuit 22 cause the rupture of the binding molecules of the water present in the saturated steam 20 in the input only to specific physical conditions and, in particular, to a temperature of at least 800 ° C (temperature value that must then be maintained within the combustion chamber 10. The temperature of generation of the plasma 23 is extremely lower than the temperature required for the rupture of the binding molecules water in traditional physical conditions, which is about 2400 °C.

Furthermore, the plasma 23 in the outlet from the circuit 22, which is composed for the most part of water at ambient temperature, is transferred into the combustion chamber 10 via a converging and diverging nozzle 24 in such a way that the ratio between the intermediate diameter of the nozzle 24 in outlet from the circuit 22 is at least 10 times the diameter of the said nozzle end 24; thus, the pressure of the plasma 23 ijected into the combustion chamber 10 is between 2 and 25 bar and preferably is equal to 6 bars, while the optimum temperature inside the combustion chamber 10 for a good operation of the plant is equal to 1200 ° C.

Experimental tests have revealed that the addition of the plasma 23 within the combustion chamber 10 raises the temperature within said chamber 10 of at least twice the temperature measured in the initial conditions (without the addition of plasma), while the measured temperature of the plasma 23 within the conduit 24, during the placing of the same plasma 23 in the combustion chamber 10, remains virtually unchanged or even decreases.

Furthermore, following the placing of the plasma in the combustion chamber 10, it generates a drain 25 of water vapor, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide at a temperature of about 400-700 ° C. As can be seen from the above described, the present invention provides for utilizing ultra-rapid thermal quench processing of high temperature vapor through a boundary layer converging-diverging nozzle. For this purposes, the water vapor is continuously fed to a converging- diverging nozzle and using the principle of Joule-Thompson adiabatic expansion it is quenched at rates of from about 1000°C to about 1000000°C per second or even greater than10000000C per second.

The above described higher quench rates enable to weaken the covalent bonds of water molecules in the vapor to the extent that when they are fed to a combustion chamber immediately after exiting the nozzle, wherein they are subjected to the heat treatment at a temperature of at least 800°C, the water molecules break down into separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms to further favor the intensification the combustion process within the chamber.

Thus assumed higher quench rates and subsequent exposure to heat lead to efficiently rupture the water molecules with minimum energy expenditures on the one hand, and to eliminate the hazard of explosion of the highly explosive gasses such as hydrogen and oxygen on the other hand.

It should be understood that the dimensions of the nozzle are key to its performance as a quenching device. By way of an example, the intermediate diameter of the nozzle (24) is at least 10 times the diameter of said nozzle end.

Advantages of the process of the present invention are in particular as follows:

- Reduction of fuel consumption, compared to the prior art, for the same energy and / or power produced and the temperature reached in the combustion chamber;

- Reduction in the issue of harmful gases in the air and low consumption of electric power supply, compared to the prior art;

- Use of plain water at room temperature;

- Best mode of combustion and lower operating temperatures, compared to the prior art;

- High energy efficiency, compared to the prior art.

It should be clear that many other variations may be made to the plant in question and to the relative process performed by use of such a plant, without departing from the principles of novelty inherent to the inventive idea, as it is clear that, in practical implementation of the invention, the materials, the shapes and dimensions of the illustrated details can vary depending on requirements, and can be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

Claims

1. A process for producing combustible gas comprising the steps of:

providing water vapor;

providing a converging-diverging nozzle;

providing a combustion chamber;

subjecting said water vapor to rapid thermal quench processing by passing it through said converging-diverging nozzle;

subjecting the water vapor to a heat exposure by injecting it into said combustion chamber.

2. A process for producing combustible gas in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the ratio between the intermediate diameter of said nozzle is at least 10 times as much as the diameter of said nozzle end.

3. A process for producing combustible gas in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the water vapor is subjected to a heat exposure at a temperature of at least 800 °C within said combustion chamber.

4. A process for producing combustible gas in accordance with claim 1, further comprising the step of processing molecules of water vapor in an electric field prior to passing them through a converging and diverging nozzle.

5. A process for producing combustible gas in accordance with claim 4, wherein the step of processing molecules of water vapor in an electric field is performed by passing them through an electric circuit adapted to produce a plasma.

6. A process for producing combustible gas in accordance with claim 5, wherein said electric circuit is formed by at least two independent plates made of steel or titanium and spaced apart at a certain distance, on the heads of which a voltage between about 3 and 100 kV and a current pulse having a frequency of about 12.6 kHz are applied.

7. A process for producing combustible gas in accordance with claim 6, wherein the voltage is in the range of from about 10kv to about 35kv