Generating and controlling magnetic fields for electrolyzer stacks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025146156-A1
Application number	US-202418941919-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 8, 2024
Priority date	Nov 8, 2023
Publication date	May 8, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electrochemical reactor, including: a first magnetic field source; a second magnetic field source; and an electrochemical cell between the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source, the electrochemical cell comprising an anode and a cathode, wherein the anode and the cathode are in a channel configured to contain an electrolyte stream comprising an iron-containing feedstock, and wherein the anode and the cathode are configured to contact the electrolyte stream, and wherein the electrochemical reactor is configured to electrochemically reduce at least a portion of the iron-containing feedstock to iron metal at the cathode and in a magnetic field provided by the first magnetic field source, the second magnetic field source, or a combination thereof.

First claim

1 . An electrochemical reactor, comprising:
a first magnetic field source; a second magnetic field source; and an electrochemical cell between the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source, the electrochemical cell comprising an anode and a cathode, wherein the anode and the cathode are in a channel configured to contain an electrolyte stream comprising an iron-containing feedstock, and wherein the anode and the cathode are configured to contact the electrolyte stream, and wherein the electrochemical reactor is configured to electrochemically reduce at least a portion of the iron-containing feedstock to iron metal at the cathode and in a magnetic field provided by the first magnetic field source, the second magnetic field source, or a combination thereof.

2 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source are each independently a field generating device,
wherein the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source each independently comprises a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, or an electropermanent magnet, wherein the magnetic field has a magnetic flux density of at least 250 gauss, wherein the magnetic field has a gradient ranging from 10 to 1×106 gauss per meter, or a combination thereof.

3 .- 5 . (canceled)

6 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source are each an electromagnetic coil and are arranged in a Helmholtz coil configuration,
wherein the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source are each an electromagnetic coil and are arranged in an anti-Helmholtz coil configuration, wherein the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source are each an electromagnetic coil and are arranged in a two-coil Maxwell coil configuration, or wherein the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source are each an electromagnetic coil, and wherein an axis common to the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source is transverse to a surface of the cathode at which the at least a portion of the iron-containing feedstock is reduced to iron metal when the electrochemical reactor is in operation.

7 .- 9 . (canceled)

10 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the first magnetic field source is a field generating device, and the second magnetic field source is a field propagating device.

11 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 10 , wherein the first magnetic field source comprises a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, or an electropermanent magnet.

12 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 ,
wherein the iron metal comprises an iron metal powder, wherein the iron-containing feedstock comprises hematite, machemite, magnetite, goethite, limonite, pyrite, red mud, siderite, ankerite, turgite, bauxite, or a combination thereof, wherein the electrolyte stream comprises an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, an organic hydroxide, or a combination thereof, wherein the electrolyte stream comprises an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, an organic hydroxide, or a combination thereof and wherein the alkali metal hydroxide, the organic hydroxide, or the combination thereof is present in the aqueous solution in an amount of 20 to 50 weight percent, or 30 to 40 weight percent, based on a total weight of the aqueous solution, wherein the electrolyte stream comprises from 0.1 to 30 weight percent of the iron-containing feedstock, wherein the electrochemical reactor is operated at a temperature of 50° C. to 140° C. or a combination thereof.

13 .- 17 . (canceled)

18 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein each cathode independently comprises aluminum, carbon, copper, molybdenum, nickel, titanium, iron, an alloy thereof, or a combination thereof,
wherein each anode independently comprises carbon, titanium, lead, nickel, iron, platinum, iridium, ruthenium, tantalum, niobium, zirconium, vanadium, hafnium, aluminum, cobalt, antimony, tungsten, an alloy thereof, an oxide thereof, or a combination thereof, or a combination thereof.

19 . (canceled)

20 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the iron-containing feedstock is not subjected to electrochemical reduction before the electrochemical reduction in the magnetic field.

21 . The electrochemical reactor ofany of claim 1 , wherein
the channel is separated by a separator to provide a catholyte channel and an anolyte channel, the catholyte channel is configured to contain a catholyte stream comprising the iron-containing feedstock, and the anolyte channel is configured to contain an anolyte stream.

22 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 21 , wherein the catholyte stream comprises an aqueous solution of an alkali hydroxide, an organic hydroxide, or a combination thereof,
wherein the catholyte stream comprises an aqueous solution of an alkali hydroxide, an organic hydroxide, or a combination thereof and wherein the alkali metal hydroxide, the organic hydroxide, or the combination thereof is present in the aqueous solution in an amount of 20 to 50 weight percent, or 30 to 40 weight percent, based on a total weight of the catholyte stream excluding the iron-containing feedstock, wherein the catholyte stream comprises from 0.1 to 30 weight percent of the iron-containing feedstock, based on a total weight of the catholyte stream, wherein the anolyte comprises an aqueous solution comprising a mineral acid; and optionally a supporting electrolyte compound, wherein the anolyte comprises an aqueous solution comprising a mineral acid; and optionally a supporting electrolyte compound and wherein the mineral acid comprises HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, HClO4, H3PO4, or a combination thereof, wherein the anolyte comprises a supporting electrolyte compound, and the supporting electrolyte compound comprises a compound of the formula MClO4, MNO3, M2SO4, MF, MCl, MBr, MI, or a combination thereof, wherein M is Li, Na, or K, or tetra-n-butylammonium X, wherein X is F, CI, Br, I, or hexafluorophosphate, or a combination thereof, or a combination thereof.

23 .- 27 . (canceled)

28 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 21 ,
wherein at least one of the anode or the cathode is directly in contact with the separator, or wherein a first distance between a surface of the anode and the separator is 0.001 cm to 2 cm; a second distance between a surface of the cathode and the separator is 0.001 cm to 2 cm; or a combination thereof.

29 . (canceled)

30 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical cell is a plurality of electrochemical cells between the first magnetic field source and the second magnetic field source, and
wherein the plurality of electrochemical cells comprises 2 to 500 electrochemical cells.

31 . (canceled)

32 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 30 , further comprising a bipolar plate between a pair of adjacent electrochemical cells.

33 . The electrochemical reactor of claim 32 ,
wherein the electrochemical reactor comprises (n−1) bipolar plates, wherein n is the number of electrochemical cells in the plurality of electrochemical cells, wherein the bipolar plate comprises: an anode side in electrical contact with an anode of a first electrochemical cell; and a cathode side in electrical contact with a cathode of a second electrochemical cell, wherein the first electrochemical cell an

Assignees

• Form Energy Inc

Inventors

• Agarwal Kostubh
• Rathert Janna
• Manser Joseph Stephen
• Sokol Julia

Classifications

• C25C7/00

  Constructional parts, or assemblies thereof, of cells; Servicing or operating of cells (for the production of aluminium C25C3/06 - C25C3/22) · CPC title

• C25C7/04

  Diaphragms; Spacing elements · CPC title

• C25C5/02

  from solutions · CPC title

• C25C7/06 Primary

  Operating or servicing · CPC title