Patent Application
20110214985
The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
The present invention relates to an energy transport and storage system combined with a system of production of products for water treatment.
This invention contemplates a design where the water interconnection is fresh water or effluent. The invention will use water, electricity, and possibly an alternative hydrogen source as inputs to the invention. This invention will use these inputs to produce and store hydrogen gas underground. This invention will also produce oxygen gas, which will be used both for water treatment and as a combustion agent for solid matter, including toxic materials, and can be further oxidized to create ozone gas, which can be used as a disinfectant at water treatment facilities and can also be used to produce electricity. This electricity can be used by an electrolyser or sent to an electric grid.
The idea of electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen is not unique. However, this specific method of combining hydrogen gas storage and use with oxygen gas and ozone gas for use in water treatment is unique and beneficial to humanity.
First, this invention seeks to economically produce and store hydrogen gas. Hydrogen will be needed in large quantities at refineries, as the demand for low-sulfur fuels increases, and as the “sweet” quality of the world's crude oil and petroleum production decreases. Sweet crude is less abundant now than it has been in the past. Refineries will likely need to refine large amounts of tar sand oil or heavy crude in the near future both of which contain large amounts of sulfur. Most hydrogen is created by reforming natural gas or other petroleum products, with, at most, eighty percent efficiency. This reformation process also releases a substantial amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, into the air. Due to regulatory constraints, refineries may need to purchase hydrogen gas in large quantities from alternative sources. In the long term, hydrogen gas may be created in large quantities for many reasons. These reasons include: 1. using hydrogen gas as a supplement of replacement for natural gas and other non-renewable petroleum products as a source of energy for mobile machines and devices. 2. chemical processing, including fertilizers, and 3. clean water creation.
There are many different methods of creating hydrogen gas. Currently, the most economic method is natural gas reformation. This method uses natural gas, a non-renewable resource, and creates substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. There are other experimental processes, such as biological production, which could economically yield large amounts of hydrogen. This invention contemplates creating hydrogen primarily through electrolysis. However, this invention anticipates allowing for the compressed storage of hydrogen gas created by natural gas reformation and biological production in conjunction with water treatment, but is not limited to these methods.
Second, water treatment is an important and growing need in the United States and abroad. This invention would produce oxygen gas, which would be transported to a water treatment facility. At this water treatment facility, the oxygen gas could be used to increase the efficiency of burning solid waste produced from a water treatment process. The pure oxygen gas could also be used in the process of safely disposing of toxic solid and liquid waste produced by water treatment.
Additionally, ozone gas is a powerful disinfectant, which can be used at large scale water treatment plants. However, ozone gas is not effective in controlling biological contaminants in distribution pipes. However, for water treatment facilities, which release water into the ocean or rivers, the process of using ozone gas for water disinfection is preferable to using chlorination. Ozonation is less polluting than chlorination, because chlorinated water can damage wildlife and alter the content of fresh water streams. Since the primary waste product of ozone is atmospheric oxygen, this method is less polluting than chlorinated water. Ozonation is the process of disinfecting water with ozone. Ozonation consists of dispersing ozone gas through water, thereby disinfecting the water. A competing disinfection process, chlorination, is unsuitable for some types of water treatment, because chlorine remains in water and is thus more polluting than ozonation. Chlorination is a better process for treating water that is to be re-distributed.
Since electrolysis creates pure oxygen gas, this oxygen gas could be shipped to a water treatment facility and further oxidized to create ozone. Ozone is not suitable for transport and would have to be created on-site at a water treatment facility. Ozone is more easily and cheaply created with pure oxygen than it is with atmospheric oxygen. This invention would supply pure oxygen gas to the water treatment facility, which would be converted to ozone gas onsite.
Third, this invention could also be used to create electricity and either re-use it or send it to an electric grid. The need for electric production and storage is likely to increase, as the need for smart grid technologies increases, and as the world's dependence of nuclear power, which is necessarily generated at night, because nuclear generation plants are inefficient to shut down at night, increases. This need for electric production and storage is also likely to increase as reliance on wind power or other unreliable and intermittent sources of electric generation increases. This invention will store and compress hydrogen underground. This invention will electrolyze water and compress the hydrogen underground, primarily during the night, when excess wind or nuclear generated electricity is being produced. It will then decompress the hydrogen (generating electricity by turning a turbine when the hydrogen gas is decompressed) and then pump out the hydrogen, thus creating electricity during the day, when the price for electricity is high, because the need for electricity is great.
This invention contemplates using electrolysis of either fresh water or effluent water (water previously used in agricultural, industrial, or residential uses) and electricity to produce oxygen gas, hydrogen gas, and electricity. The invention will produce oxygen gas to be used in water treatment. The oxygen gas will be sent to water treatment facilities and be used for the safe combustion of material and toxic waste. The oxygen gas may also be used to create ozone gas, which will be used for the disinfection of water. This invention contemplates storing compressed hydrogen, created by electrolysis and other methods of hydrogen gas creation underground and generating electricity, while decompressing hydrogen gas.
Further features, properties, and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description and embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The described features are advantages alone and in combination with each other.
One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
(1) This invention will import fresh water or used water (also known as effluent). The effluent water may previously have been used for agricultural, industrial, or residential purposes. This fresh water or effluent water may be provided by a water utility interconnection or a connection to a large user of water, but is not limited to these providers.
(2) This invention will import electricity from an electric grid or other power source or sources. The energy needs of this invention will be substantial. An electric transmission line interconnection of 50 to 500 kilovolts is anticipated.
(3) This invention may filter and de-mineralize the water if necessary. Filtration or de-mineralization of this water may be required depending on the type of water input which is imported. If effluent is used, additional filtration or other processes may be required.
(4) This invention will contain an electrolyser, which may be a high pressure electrolyser. This electrolyser will use electricity to power an anode and cathode and will convert water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas.
(5) This invention includes a self-contained heat recovery system connected to the electrolyser. The heat will be used to facilitate electrolysis, as shown in (4). Loss of heat is undesirable, because loss of heat will decrease the efficiency of the electrolysis process. Heat created in the electrolysis process will be recycled. The excess heat may be collected and used to heat incoming water to facilitate electrolysis of this water.
(6) This invention may use an electrolyte compound or multiple compounds to facilitate the electrolysis process mentioned, and shown, in (4). This electrolytic compound will be monitored, recycled, and re-used in the electrolysis process.
(7) This invention will contain a pipe input to compress and store hydrogen gas underground, which is produced from methods other than electrolysis. The methods contemplated by this invention, as the sources of hydrogen gas, include, but are not limited to, natural gas reformation (or another type of petroleum reformation) and biological hydrogen production in conjunction with water treatment. The biological process of hydrogen production contemplated in this invention is the use of a biological agent, such as algae, to produce large amounts of hydrogen as a useful byproduct in the process of water treatment.
(8) This invention will contain an air compressor, which will compress hydrogen gas into an underground cavern.
(9) This invention will store compressed hydrogen in an underground cavern. This cavern may be lined and reinforced with concrete and steel both above and below ground. The underground storage unit contemplated by this inventor may consist of, but is not limited to, an empty natural gas or petroleum cavern, an empty salt mine, and empty aquifer, or another type of empty underground storage cavern.
(10) This invention will contain a safety valve to release and/or burn off hydrogen gas in case of maintenance or catastrophic failure.
(11) This invention will produce electricity when compressed hydrogen is decompressed and released for use. Electricity will be generated by the compressed gas turning a turbine, which generates electricity through an electric generator. The electricity can be sent to an electric grid or be used for the electrolysis process, as shown in (4).
(12) One purpose of the invention is to produce, store, and timely distribute hydrogen gas. This gas will be exported to a hydrogen pipeline or directly to end users.
(13) and (15) The oxygen produced by the electrolyser (4) may be transported to a water treatment facility and then be converted into ozone gas at the water treatment facility. The ozone would then be used to disinfect water. The pure oxygen gas produced by the electrolyser (4) would be converted onto ozone gas by a corona discharge process or other similar process.
(14) The oxygen produced by the electrolyser (4) may, additionally or alternatively, be used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of the burning process of solid waste and hazardous waste produced at a water treatment facility.
