Electrochemical compressor utilizing an electrolysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10087532-B2
Application number	US-201514712376-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 14, 2015
Priority date	May 14, 2014
Publication date	Oct 2, 2018
Grant date	Oct 2, 2018

Abstract

An electrochemical compression system utilizes an electrolyzer to electrolyze an electrochemically active working fluid, at a first pressure, into decomposition products that are reformed back into said electrochemically active working fluid by a fuel cell, at a higher pressure. Water may be electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen and stored in reservoir tanks at an elevated pressure and subsequently provided to a fuel cell for reforming. The hydrogen is provided to the anode side of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and the oxygen is provided to the cathode side. Water is reformed on the cathode side of the fuel cell at a higher pressure than the inlet to the electrolyzer. This pressure differential enable flow of the electrochemically active working fluid through a conduit from the cathode to the electrolyzer. This flow of fluid may be used in a heat transfer system.

First claim

What claimed is:

1. An electrochemical heat transfer system that conveys heat from a first heat reservoir at a relatively low temperature to a second heat reservoir at relatively high temperature, the heat transfer system defining a closed loop that contains an electrochemically active working fluid, at least part of the working fluid being circulated through the closed loop, the heat transfer system comprising:
a first heat transfer device that transfers heat from the first heat reservoir to the working fluid;
a second heat transfer device that transfers heat from the working fluid to the second heat reservoir;
an expansion valve between the first and second heat transfer devices that reduces pressure of the working fluid;
a conduit system; and
an electrochemical compressor system between the first and second heat transfer devices;

wherein the electrochemical compressor system comprises:
a. an electrical power supply;
b. an electrolyzer that is coupled with the electrical power supply to electrolyze the electrochemically active working fluid at a first pressure into:
i. a first decomposition product, and
ii. a second decomposition product;

c. one or more electrochemical cells, each electrochemical cell comprising:
an anode side comprising an anode and connected to the electrolyzer to receive the first decomposition product;
a cathode side comprising a cathode and connected to the electrolyzer to receive the second decomposition product;
an ion exchange membrane disposed between and in electrical contact with the cathode and the anode to pass the first decomposition product from the anode to the cathode,
wherein the electrochemically active working fluid is reformed on the cathode side at a second pressure; and

wherein the second pressure is higher than the first pressure;
wherein said conduit system receives the electrochemically active working fluid from the cathode side of the one or more electrochemical cells and is coupled with the electrolyzer, wherein the electrochemically active working fluid flows through the conduit system from the cathode side to an inlet to the electrolyzer.

2. The electrochemical heat transfer system of claim 1 , wherein the first heat transfer device is an evaporator and the second heat transfer device is a condenser.

3. The electrochemical heat transfer system of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemically active working fluid comprises water and wherein the first decomposition product is hydrogen and the second decomposition product is oxygen, and wherein the hydrogen is converted by the anode into protons that are passed through the ion exchange membrane to the cathode where the water is reformed.

4. The electrochemical heat transfer system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a. a first reservoir tank to store the first decomposition component produced by the electrolyzer for subsequent introduction to the anode side of the one or more electrochemical cells; and
b. an second reservoir tank to store second decomposition product produced by the electrolyzer for subsequent introduction to the cathode side of the one or more electrochemical cells.

5. The electrochemical heat transfer system of claim 4 , further comprising a control system and an interface with a temperature set point input, wherein the control system controls the flow of the first and second decomposition products to the one or more electrochemical cells as a function of the temperature set point input.

6. The electrochemical heat transfer system of claim 1 , further comprising a control system and wherein the electrochemical compressor system is operated in a cyclical mode, wherein the electrolyzer and the one or more electrochemical cells operate asynchronously.

Assignees

• Xergy Inc
• Xergy Ltd

Inventors

• Bahar Bamdad
• Kienitz Brian
• Parmelee William

Classifications

• Y02E60/366

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H01M8/186

  by electrolytic decomposition of the electrolytic solution or the formed water product · CPC title

• C25B9/10

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic

• C25B1/10

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic

• C25B1/12 Primary

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic