Patent Application
20130233699
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of energy. More specifically, the invention comprises a method and apparatus for modifying the structure of substances such as hydrocarbon fuels in order to convert low-value fuels into high-value fuels and other useful byproducts. The structural modification may also be employed to convert dangerous or undesirable substances into more desirable substances.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention will most often be employed for the production of desirable combustion fuels, and the background will accordingly be discussed with respect to this field of application. Fuels used for energy production are most commonly used as a gas, a liquid, or a finely-particulated solid. Combustion processes for such materials are well-understood and may be well regulated with suitable equipment. Of course, long-chain hydrocarbon fuels are not normally found in this state. The most common fuels include hydrocarbon chains of varying lengths, with coal being a good example.
Fuels containing long-chain hydrocarbons must be significantly processed before they may be efficiently used. A common application is the processing of coal into a particulated fuel that is suitable for combustion in a large and stationary power plant. Long-chain hydrocarbon-containing solids are an abundant energy source, and it is desirable to use such fuels in areas beyond electric power plants. As an example, it is desirable to make such a fuel source available for motor vehicles. Unfortunately, the transport and handling of a particulated solid is impractical for use in vehicles.
Coal contains a substantial mass fraction of impurities and a substantial variation in the molecular chain length of the hydrocarbons it contains. These factors require the use of significant “scrubbing” technology (such as required to remove sulfur compounds and carbon dioxide from the exhaust products). The equipment required for scrubbing is complex and heavy, making it undesirable for a vehicle.
On the other hand, some hydrocarbons can be stored as a gas or liquid. Methane and propane are good examples of hydrocarbons which can be stored as either a gas or a liquid. Both these compounds have been established as suitable fuels for a motor vehicle. It is even possible to use such hydrocarbons as an energy source without combustion (such as via the use of a fuel cell).
Some shorter chain hydrocarbons may only be practically stored as a liquid (light oils), but even these are useful in the field of transportation. It is therefore desirable to provide an apparatus which can convert the long hydrocarbon chains found in low-value fuels to short hydrocarbon chains such as found in methane, propane, or light oils. Such a conversion has traditionally been performed by a “cracking” process (where the term “cracking” refers to breaking some of the carbon-carbon bonds in a long-chain hydrocarbon to form shorter chains). Traditional cracking requires the addition of a substantial amount of heat and produces many unwanted byproducts. Thus, it is desirable to achieve the end result of a traditional cracking process while reducing the amount of energy required and reducing the production of unwanted byproducts such as carbon dioxide. The present invention proposes such a device.
The present invention comprises an apparatus and method for the manipulation of selected substances—such as long chain hydrocarbons—to generate more desirable substances having shorter chain lengths. The method also produces heat and electricity as desirable byproducts. Significantly, the chain length reduction is accomplished without an oxidation-reduction reaction such as found in combustion. Thus, no significant amounts of greenhouse gasses are produced.
A fuel stock with additives is prepared by scrubbing and sizing to produce a suitable particle size distribution and overall viscosity. The prepared fuel stock is then injected into a first stage of an accelerator chamber—where it is subjected to high energy electrical pulses or arc furnace. The preparation, injection, heating, acceleration, and recovery of the products are all performed in the absence of oxygen or other oxidizers (other than those which may be released by the fuel itself).
The accelerator chamber is operated at high pressure. The fuel injector feeds the fuel into the first stage of the accelerator chamber without allowing any backflow and without allowing oxygen contamination. In the first stage of the accelerator chamber, the fuel is subjected to variable frequency electrical pulses (an arc furnace). The arc furnace converts the fuel into a gaseous form.
The gaseous fuel leaves the first stage and accelerates through the accelerator chamber. It is next subjected to microwave (or higher frequency) electromagnetic energy. The microwave energy breaks the long chain hydrocarbon bonds, liberating the bond energy. This liberated energy heats and accelerates the gaseous fuel stream to a velocity sufficient to form a plasma.
The fuel stream then enters a constricting throat area which will further accelerate the stream. At least one stationary target is provided in the throat area. The rapidly flowing plasma reacts with this target. At this point the plasma contains sufficient hydrogen ions and free electrons to be conductive. Just prior to reacting with the target, the fuel stream is aligned or polarized by passing additional microwave energy through the plasma. An electron removal circuit is connected to the target, or possibly to conductive probes in the vicinity of the target. This circuit removes a significant portion of the free electrons found in the flowing plasma.
Downstream from the target, a magnetohydrodynamic generator (MHG) is preferably employed to harvest more of the remaining free electrons. Prior to the flow entering the MHG, an additional microwave generator may be used to align the plasma with the poles of the MHG.
The electrons removed from the fast moving plasma may be used to provide power to electrical devices. Waste heat may also be harvested from the accelerator chamber, since the chamber must be cooled to maintain continuous operation. The heat removed may be used to drive a turbine or other waste heat recovery device.
Exiting the target and the magnetohydrodynamic generator, the contents will be decelerated and cooled (still in the absence of oxygen). The removal of the free electrons while the contents are in the plasma state modifies the reformation of longer hydrocarbon chains upon cooling. Thus, the cooled and decelerated fuel stream will contain modified substances such as shorter hydrocarbon chains than the substance or substances that entered the process. The cooled and decelerated gas preferably undergoes a separation and refining process to extract desired solids, liquids, and gasses.
Once the fuel is suitably prepared it is fed into fuel injector 16. The injector must deliver the fuel mixture into accelerator chamber 18 under pressure (generally a pressure greater than that within the accelerator chamber). However, the injector preferably does not allow unwanted oxidizers (typically air) to enter the accelerator chamber, nor does it allow any backflow. In order to accomplish this objective, it may be necessary to employ a suitable gas—such, as argon—as a shield during the injection process.
Numerous approaches are available to achieve the desired injection. One approach would be to use a mechanical feeding mechanism (such as a screw auger or positive displacement pump) to force the fuel into the pressurized accelerator chamber. Another approach would be to simply load all the required and prepared fuel into a separate pressurized chamber which is then pressurized to a level greater than the accelerator chamber itself in order to produce the desired flow.
The accelerator chamber 18 includes several stages.
The fuel mixture accelerates to the right in the orientation shown in
Sufficient energy is added (or liberated via bond breaking) to heat and accelerate the fuel mixture until a significant percentage can transition to a plasma state. As the fuel stream accelerates toward the right end of accelerator chamber 18 it is subjected to additional microwave energy to accelerate the fuel stream. Microwave generators 34 provide this energy.
Throat 36 may be provided to constrict and accelerate the flow further. One or more target systems 20 are provided in a region referred to as the electron removal area. If a constriction is provided—such as throat 36—the constriction is preferably located just before the flow enters the electron removal area.
The inventor has discovered that a flowing plasma under certain conditions may be highly conductive and easily oriented in the presence of a microwave source. The invention seeks to take advantage of this phenomenon. Additional microwave generators 38 are provided to polarize the plasma according to the orientation of the target systems.
Returning to
The target systems are shown in a very simplified depiction. In reality, it is more appropriate to speak of a fast moving plasma as “interacting with” a target rather than striking it. Once the flow exceeds the local speed of sound, normal and oblique shock waves will form ahead of the target. The system for removing free electrons may need to utilize probes placed at suitable locations within the flow (adjacent to the target) rather than electrically connecting the target itself.
The plasma downstream of the target will have a reduced amount of free electrons. It is also possible to remove even more electrons by encircling this part of the chamber with a MHG (magnetohydrodynamic generator).
When a fuel decelerates and cools from a plasma state it normally reforms most of the original constituents. However, under the inventive process, the removal of a large portion of the available bonding electrons prevents the reformation of the original constituents. As an example, the free hydrogen ions will consume many of the remaining free electrons to reform as diatomic hydrogen gas. Likewise, the relative lack of free electrons will cause the alteration of chain lengths in the hydrocarbon chains. Further, the resulting products can be somewhat “adjusted” by the amount of free electrons removed during the plasma phase. In other words, the system might be operated to remove fewer electrons than the target systems and MHG are capable of removing.
Heat and velocity reduction 24 reduces the temperature and velocity to a desired state before the mixture enters refinery 26. The refinery separates the constituents into solids, liquids, and gasses (or in some instances some subset of these three possibilities). The refinery components are conventional and include such things as filters, sedimenters, etc.
The fuel transitions from a plasma state to a non-plasma state (“non-plasma state” meaning one or more of a solid, liquid, or gaseous phase of matter) after passing out of the electron removal area.
It may be conventional to think of the acceleration chamber, throat, and other structures as being radially symmetric (such as would be the case for a rocket nozzle). However, this need not be the case for every embodiment. A rectangular cross section analogous to the geometry of a wave guide used in microwave antennas may be used. Another analogous geometry is that used for supersonic combustion ramjets. These resemble wave guides, but often allow for a portion of the geometry to be selectively altered. This selective alteration allows the flow characteristics to be changed, which may provide advantages.
The reader will thereby appreciate that the inventive process alters a hydrocarbon-containing fuel via the use of an intermediate plasma state and the removal of free electrons. Significantly, no combustion process is employed and the production of unwanted greenhouse gasses is thereby eliminated or at least greatly reduced.
The preceding description contains significant detail regarding the novel aspects of the present invention. It is should not be construed, however, as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. For example, although the use of a constricting throat area has been illustrated, this need not be present in every embodiment of the invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be fixed by the claims presented, rather than by the examples given.
