System for producing dihydrogen, and associated method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10378117-B2
Application number	US-201716068101-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2017
Priority date	Jan 4, 2016
Publication date	Aug 13, 2019
Grant date	Aug 13, 2019

Abstract

The invention relates to a system ( 1 ) for producing dihydrogen, comprising: an electrolyzer ( 2 ) suitable for performing water electrolysis and for producing dioxygen and dihydrogen; a dihydrogen compressor ( 3 ); a dihydrogen cooler ( 4 ); a main circuit ( 10 ) of dihydrogen from the electrolyzer ( 2 ), on which at least the compressor ( 3 ) and the cooler ( 4 ) are successively arranged; and an auxiliary circuit ( 20 ) of dioxygen and residual water vapor from the electrolyzer ( 2 ), the system being characterized in that it also includes: a condenser of said residual steam; the cooler ( 4 ) comprises an expander, an exchanger and a heat-storage module; the condenser, the expander and the exchanger being successively arranged on the auxiliary circuit ( 20 ), the exchanger establishing a heat exchange between the dihydrogen compressed by the compressor ( 3 ), the dioxygen expanded by the expander and the heat-storage module.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for producing dihydrogen comprising:
an electrolyser suitable for implementing water electrolysis and producing dioxygen and dihydrogen;
a dihydrogen compressor;
a dihydrogen cooler;
a main circuit of dihydrogen from the electrolyser, on which at least the compressor and the cooler are successively arranged;
an auxiliary circuit of dioxygen and residual water vapour from the electrolyser, the system being characterised in that:
it further comprises a condenser of said residual vapour;
the cooler comprises an expander, an exchanger and a heat storage module;
the condenser, the expander and the exchanger being successively arranged on the auxiliary circuit, the exchanger operating heat exchange between the dihydrogen compressed by the compressor, the dioxygen expanded by the expander and the heat storage module.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the condenser operates heat exchange between the dioxygen and the residual water vapour from the electrolyser with the dioxygen leaving the exchanger of the cooler.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the exchanger is arranged within the heat storage module.

4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the expander is also arranged within the heat storage module.

5. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the cooler further comprises an insulating wall wrapping the heat storage module.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the heat storage module uses at least one phase change material.

7. The system according to claim 6 , wherein the heat storage module comprises a first zone filled with a first phase change material having a first melting temperature, and a second zone filled with a second phase change material having a second melting temperature higher than the first melting temperature.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the exchanger is arranged within the heat storage module and the exchanger extends within each of the first and second zones so as to be in successive heat exchange with each of the first and second phase change materials.

9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the exchanger is a counter-current exchanger, such that the dioxygen expanded by the expander is in heat exchange with the first phase change material and then the second phase change material, and the dihydrogen compressed by the compressor is in heat exchange with the second phase change material and then the first phase change material.

10. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the first melting temperature is lower than −20° C., and the second melting temperature is between 0 and 20° C.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the first melting temperature is lower than −40° C., a dryer being arranged on the auxiliary circuit between the condenser and the expander.

12. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a piece of management equipment for managing the dihydrogen arranged on the main circuit between the compressor and the cooler, said piece of management equipment being connected to at least one high pressure tank, and configured so as to provide dihydrogen to the cooler intermittently.

13. The system according to claim 12 , comprising at least one piece of distribution equipment arranged on the main circuit downstream of the cooler, the piece of management equipment being configured to provide dihydrogen to the cooler when the piece of distribution equipment is used.

14. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the compressor is also configured so as to provide dihydrogen to the piece of management equipment intermittently, such that the pressure in said high pressure tank is between a minimum threshold and a maximum threshold.

15. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the dioxygen and dihydrogen have at the outlet of the electrolyser pressures of at least 13 bar, advantageously at least 30 bar.

16. A method for producing dihydrogen characterised in that it comprises the steps of:
electrolysing water in an electrolyser so as to produce dioxygen and dihydrogen;
compressing the dihydrogen by a compressor;
condensing residual water vapour mixed with the dioxygen in a condenser;
expanding the dioxygen in an expander;
cooling compressed dihydrogen by heat exchange with the dioxygen expanded via an exchanger in heat exchange with a heat storage module.

Assignees

• Electricite De France

Inventors

• Colomar David

Classifications

• C25B15/08

  Supplying or removing reactants or electrolytes; Regeneration of electrolytes · CPC title

• C25B15/02 Primary

  Process control or regulation · CPC title

• C25B1/12 Primary

  Chemistry & Metallurgy · mapped topic

• Y02E60/366

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• C25B9/05

  Pressure cells · CPC title