Electrolysis apparatus for the electrolytic production of oxygen from oxide-containing starting material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021123148-A1
Application number	US-202017068079-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 12, 2020
Priority date	Oct 24, 2019
Publication date	Apr 29, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

wherein the electrolysis apparatus has at least one selective oxygen pump which is at least partly realized integrally with the anode.

First claim

1 . An electrolysis apparatus for the electrolytic production of oxygen from oxide-containing starting material, having at least one cathode which at least partly delimits a receiving region that in at least one operation state is configured for receiving the oxide-containing starting material, and having at least one anode, comprising
at least one selective oxygen pump which is at least partly realized integrally with the anode.

2 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the at least one selective oxygen pump has at least one interior electrode which forms the anode.

3 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the at least one selective oxygen pump has at least one solid electrolyte, in particular a zirconium oxide element, which is configured for a selective transfer of oxygen from the receiving region into a pump space.

4 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein
the at least one interior electrode is arranged directly on an inner side of the solid electrolyte.

5 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising
a reactor housing and at least one container for material, which in at least one operation state is arranged in the reactor housing and in at least one operation state is configured for receiving the oxide-containing starting material.

6 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the at least one material container has at least one outer wall which is at least partly formed by the cathode.

7 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the at least one container for material has at least one bottom plate which has at least one electrically insulating alignment element for an alignment of the at least one selective oxygen pump relative to the cathode.

8 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising
at least one coupling unit which is configured for a releasable connection of the container for material with the reactor housing.

9 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising
a reactor housing which has at least one reactor space and at least one electrolyte reservoir which is connected with the reactor space and is configured for receiving an electrolyte.

10 . The electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , further comprising
at least one electrolyte displacer which is configured for displacing at least a portion of the electrolyte from the electrolyte reservoir into the reactor space in at least one operation state.

11 . An oxygen generation system comprising an electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , for the electrolytic production of oxygen from oxide-containing starting material, further comprising
at least one enrichment unit for an enrichment of the oxide-containing starting material for the electrolysis apparatus and at least one oxygen processing unit which is configured for converting the oxygen produced by means of the electrolysis apparatus into water.

12 . The oxygen generation system as claimed in claim 11 , wherein
the oxygen processing unit comprises at least one fuel cell, which is configured for converting the chemical reaction energy from the production of water into electric energy.

13 . A method for operating an electrolysis apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , in which the oxide-containing starting material is brought into contact with an electrolyte in order to leach out oxygen ions (in particular oxygen anions) in a leaching step, further comprising
a pumping step in which the leached-out oxygen ions are pumped from a receiving region into a pump space by means of the selective oxygen pump.

14 . The method as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising
a neutralization step in which the oxygen ions are neutralized at an interior electrode of the selective oxygen pump and oxygen gas is produced.

Assignees

• Airbus Defence & Space Gmbh

Inventors

• Haeming Marc
• Seidel Achim
• Zell Uwe

Classifications

• C25B9/09

  Fused bath cells · CPC title

• C25B13/07

  based on ceramics · CPC title

• C25B9/60

  Constructional parts of cells · CPC title

• C25B1/02 Primary

  Hydrogen or oxygen · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title