Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Having living matter – e.g. – microorganism – etc.
Patent
1996-02-23
1998-01-13
Nuzzolillo, M.
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Having living matter, e.g., microorganism, etc.
429 17, H01M 806
Patent
active
057077622
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a national phase of PCT/EP 94/02614 filed 6 Aug. 1994 and based, in turn, upon German National application P 43 283 79.9 of 24 Aug. 1993 under the International Convention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a Modular Power Plant for the generation of electrical energy from solar energy. A modular Power Plant is a power plant that consists of several modules with different functions, and from which the Power Plant as a whole is constructed. The modules are made in serial production. The modules are connected by functional and control lines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A Modular Power Plant for the production mainly of hydrogen from solar energy is unknown. However, Solar Power Plants consisting of several similar modules, so called sun collectors, for the absorption of solar energy are known, in which a thermal effect aided by thermal heat engines or a photoelectric effect, converts solar into electrical energy. Furthermore Power Plants containing at least one gasification reactor for the gasification of fossil fuel and biological raw material into fuel gas are known, in which the fuel gas is converted into electricity by a thermal heat engine.
Biological raw material generally refers to all regenerative raw material, i.e. such raw material which can be biologically. restored depending on the vegetation cycle of a region. Biological raw material differs therefore from fossile fuel which takes considerably longer to form than to be used. Biological material can principally be provided with intact cell structures or disintegrated structures i.e. as fine powder. The main elements contained in biological raw material are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen with little protein and sulphur. With regards to the invention, biological raw material refers to fast growing plants, especially perennial plants and plants high in lignin. Biological raw material in this context refers to preferably C.sub.4 -plants, C.sub.4 -reeds and C.sub.4 -grass. The protein and sulphur contents can be influenced by fertilization.
Furthermore the direct generation of electricity from hydrogen using fuel cells is well known and especially suited for a relatively low performance in the region of 1 to 5 MW. Compared to thermal heat engines, fuel cells have the advantage of not being subject to the thermodynamic efficiency limitations of the Carnot cycle. Theoretically, fuel cells can achieve a near perfect conversion of combustion heat into electrical energy from by the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen to form water. In operation fuel cells can therefore easily attain considerably higher efficiencies than thermal heat engines. This, however, assumes that the catalysts are not poisoned by catalytic poison potentially contained in hydrogen.
Molecular hydrogen is not naturally as raw material for the generation of electrical energy, but must be produced from hydrogen containing raw material. The generation of hydrogen from water using normal electrolysis uses more electricity than is generated by the hydrogen and is therefore not a feasible option. The catalytic water fission in hydrogen and oxygen is extremely slow and yields despite high expenditure only low quantities making it commercially unattractive.
The generation of so called synthesis gas from coal, principally containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide and the systems required for this process, have been known for some time, the process being called coal gasification. In a so called water shift reaction, the carbon monoxide of the synthesis gas can be converted into hydrogen and carbon dioxide by adding water vapor and applying heat.
In principle synthesis gas can be used for fuel cells although in operation this has been shown to have considerable disadvantages. Firstly coal normally contains sulphur which is dragged along as gaseous sulphur compounds in synthesis gas. Sulphur compounds, however, are normally strong catalytic poisons which can irreversibly deactivate the catalyst of a fuel cell and cons
REFERENCES:
patent: 4117202 (1978-09-01), Beck
patent: 4988580 (1991-01-01), Ohsaki et al.
Fuel Cell Energy Recovery From Landfill Gas by Sandelli et al., Journal of Power Sources 37 (1991) 255-254 Chemical Abstracts, vol. 90 1979 p. 174 (month N/A).
Energy Biomass Wastes No. 9 (1985) Technical and Economic Assessment of Biomass-Based Fuel Cell Power Systems, by E.I. Wan. Sicily's Electric Power Production . . . by V. Alderucci et al. Applied Energy vol. 45 No. 3, 1993 (month N/A).
Dubno Herbert
Hannelore Binsmaier Nee Gallin-Ast
Nuzzolillo M.
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