The present invention relates to an electrode, more particularly to a new type of electrode capable of oxidizing nitrogen-containing compounds, electrolyzing, for example, the oxidative decomposition of urea in animal urine to obtain hydrogen, and subsequently providing for power generation technology.
The primary application of the electrode provided in the present invention is to oxidize and electrolyze the urea in animal urine or wastewater to obtain hydrogen for power generation technology, but the present invention is not limited to the practice of electrolyzing only animal urine, other similar substances which contain nitrogen compounds that can be decomposed by electrolysis method should be within the scope of the technical field of the present invention.
Hydrogen (H2) is considered to be one of the world's most important energy sources for the future, not only as a source for most chemical production but also as a reactant for fertilizers production. Therefore, the technology of hydrogen production has been the main topic of recent scientific research.
Animal excrement (such as urine) from cattle, sheep, or pig is the most widely produced waste on earth, causing not only environmental pollution but also a heavy burden on farmers in terms of disposal costs. However, urine contains a large amount of urea, an organic component that is rich in hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. If the urea in urine can be converted by an appropriate method to produce hydrogen and energy which can be used, it will be of great benefit to these wastewater and waste discharges as well as the environmental impact.
To effectively electrolyze urea and convert it into hydrogen, the electrode in the electrolysis apparatus is one of the most important factors. At present, the electrodes are mainly made of precious metals such as platinum, iridium, or rhodium, but the high price makes it difficult to realize the practical application of these precious metal electrodes. Although there are some aluminum electrodes in commercial use, aluminum is not suitable for electrolyzing urea to produce hydrogen due to its oxidation problem. Therefore, there is a lack of a new type of electrode that has been considered for both cost and electrolytic efficiency.
In order to solve the problems that the cost of existing precious metal electrodes is too high and commercial aluminum electrodes are not suitable for use in urea electrolysis and hydrogen production technology, the present invention provides an electrode for oxidizing nitrogen-containing compounds. The electrode comprises a porous nickel foam carrier having multiple dendritic or flower-like structures, each dendritic or flower-like surface being distributed with modified inorganic and/or organic functional groups containing cobalt oxide fluoride, cobalt phosphide, hydroxide nickel fluoride, phosphorus, or a combination thereof.
In accordance, the present invention also provides a method to prepare electrodes for oxidization of nitrogen-containing compounds. The method comprises steps of: i) providing a nickel foam electrode; ii) immersing the nickel foam electrode in a precursor solution containing precursors; stirring or evenly dispersing the precursor solution containing the nickel foam electrode and precursors; iii) irradiation of the precursor solution containing the nickel foam electrode and precursors in a microwave oven after completion of the dispersion; iv) drying the microwave-treated nickel foam electrode; and v) annealing the dried nickel foam electrode to obtain a nitrogen-containing compound oxidation electrode.
By the above description, it can be seen that the present invention has the following beneficial effects and advantages:
Many of the attendant features and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying figures and drawings.
The steps and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. It is not intended to limit the method by the exemplary embodiments described herein. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to attain a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” may include reference to the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the terms “comprise or comprising”, “include or including”, “have or having”, “contain or containing” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.
<Electrode>
The present invention provides an electrode capable of oxidizing nitrogen-containing compounds, which is a porous nickel foam carrier, the surface of which is distributed with modified inorganic and/or organic functional groups comprising cobalt oxide fluoride (Co(OH)F), cobalt phosphide (Co—P), nickel hydroxide fluoride (Ni(OH)F), phosphorus (P), or a combination of the four.
Please refer to
The SEM image shows the surface of the unmodified nickel foam electrode in
<Electrode Preparation Method Embodiment 1>
The present invention further provides a preparation method for the electrode above, with reference to
Step 2-1) Providing a nickel foam electrode;
Step 2-2) Immersing the nickel foam electrode in a solution containing precursors;
Step 2-3) Placing the precursor solution containing the nickel foam electrode and precursors in an ultrasonic washing machine for 30 minutes to completely disperse contents in the precursor solution;
Steps 2-4) Microwave irradiating the precursor solution containing the nickel foam electrode and precursors in a microwave oven with a power of 700˜1000 W for 10 seconds each time for a total of 20 minutes;
Steps 2-5) Drying of the microwave-treated nickel foam electrode in an oven to remove the excess of the solvent, preferably at 120° C. for 8 hours to remove the excess liquid or water; and
Steps 2-6) Introducing argon to anneal the dried nickel foam electrode at 320° C. for 2.3 hours in a high-temperature tube furnace to obtain an electrode capable of oxidizing nitrogen-containing compounds (or a nitrogen-containing compound oxidation electrode).
The present invention uses the microwave method to make the nickel foam electrode in the precursor solution, providing advantages of quick and homogeneous chemical synthesis reaction. Microwave energy has the advantage of being fast and uniform, compared with the traditional direct heating method. Microwave can make the components in the precursor solution interact with each other and enhance the reaction rate.
Further, prior to the above step 1, the nickel foam electrode may optionally be pretreated to remove impurities from the large specific surface area thereof, see
Step 3-1) Cutting the nickel foam electrode to a workable size;
Step 3-2) Using acetone to remove the impurities from the nickel foam electrode by an ultrasonic oscillator;
Step 3-3) Adding 50 ml of 3M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ultrasonic oscillation for 30 minutes; the hydrochloric acid can completely remove the impurities from the surface and pores of the nickel form electrode; and
Steps 3-4) Cleaning the residual acidic components with deionized water (DI) and drying them in an oven at 80° C. to obtain a clean nickel foam electrode ready for the aforementioned surface-modification step.
Please refer to the following Table 1 for several embodiments of the ingredients contained in the aforementioned precursor solution.
<Electrode Preparation Method Embodiment 2>
The present invention further provides a second preparation method for the electrode above, with reference to
Step 4-1) Adding 1.32 g of sodium hypophosphite to a crucible (or a porcelain crucible canoe) and setting it as upstream;
Step 4-2) Placing the nickel foam electrode in another crucible and setting it as downstream; and
Step 4-3) Introducing argon from the upstream crucible into the downstream crucible and sintering and annealing at 350° C. for 2.30 hours, heating at a rate of 2° C./min, sodium hypophosphite will generate phosphorus gas and form a thin film on the metal surface of the nickel foam electrode to obtain the Ni—P phosphate-treated nickel foam electrode (embodiment 4 of the present invention).
<Design of Electrolysis Reaction Apparatus>
Referring to
More specifically, the continuous electrolytic bath 10 of the present invention includes a cathode reaction tank 11 and an anode reaction tank 13 which are separated from each other by an ion-permeable membrane 12, and the cathode reaction tank 11 is electrically connected to the anode reaction tank 13. The cathode reaction tank 11 may also be referred to as the negative reaction tank, and the anode reaction tank 13 may also be referred to as the positive reaction tank.
The cathode reaction tank 11 preferably comprises a cathode inlet 111, a cathode outlet 112, and a cathode gas outlet 113, the cathode reaction tank 11 comprises a nitrogen-containing compound reaction solution 114, the above-mentioned modified nickel form electrode 115 immersed in the nitrogen-containing compound reaction solution 114, and a reaction solution concentration monitor 116.
As shown in
The anode reaction tank 13 preferably comprises an anode inlet 131, an anode outlet 132, and an anode gas outlet 133. The anode reaction tank 13 preferably comprises an anode reaction solution 134, an anode electrode 135 immersed in the anode reaction solution 134, and likewise a reaction solution concentration monitor 136.
Similarly, for achieving continuous reaction, preferably the anode outlet 132 is set above the anode inlet 131, and the anode inlet 131 is connected in series externally with another pump 14 and an anode reaction raw material solution 16. The pump 14 sucks up the anode reaction raw material solution 16 and supplies it into the anode reaction tank 13.
The reaction process of the continuous electrolytic bath 10 of the present invention comprises: the nitrogen-containing compound reaction solution 114 in the cathode reaction tank 11 is oxidized with the nickel form electrode 115, and the reaction equation is as follows:
6H2O(l)+6e−→3H2(g)+6OH−
The reaction solution concentration monitor 116 continuously monitors the concentration of nitrogen-containing compounds or level of the electrolyte precursor solution in the nitrogen-containing compound reaction solution 114. When the concentration or the level falls below a preset value, the pump 14 will be activated to suck the nitrogen-containing compound raw material solution 15 or the electrolyte precursor solution and supply new nitrogen-containing compound raw material solution 15 or fresh electrolyte precursor solution from the cathode inlet 111 into the cathode reaction tank 11 and continue the electrolytic reaction. The reaction product contains hydrogen, which is collected through the cathode gas outlet 113 for subsequent hydrogen production and power generation applications. When the nitrogen-containing compound reaction solution 114 is too low in concentration in the cathode reaction tank 11, it will be discharged from the cathode outlet 112. The nitrogen-containing compound reaction solution 114 and the nitrogen-containing compound raw material solution 15 are preferably a urea solution in this embodiment.
In the anode reaction tank 13, a preferred embodiment of the anode reaction solution 134 may also be a urea solution, conducting a reaction with the following reaction equation in the anodic reaction tank 13:
CO(NH2)2(aq)+6OH−→N2(g)+5H2O(l)+CO2(g)+6e−
The reaction solution concentration monitor 136 continuously monitors the concentration of the required reaction compound in the anode reaction solution 134, and when the concentration falls below a preset value, the pump 14 will be activated to suck the anode reaction raw material solution 16 and to supply a new anode reaction raw material solution 16 into the anode reaction tank 13 from the anode inlet 131 to continue the electrolytic reaction. The reaction product contains nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas, which is discharged and collected from the anode gas outlet 133. When the anode reaction solution 134 is too low in concentration in the anode reaction tank 13, it will be discharged from the anode outlet 132. In this embodiment, the anode reaction solution 134 and the anode reaction raw material solution 16 are preferably the same as the urea solution.
The ions reacted in the cathode reaction tank 11 and the anode reaction tank 13 will pass through the ion-permeable membrane 12 and react with each other.
<Electrical Efficiency Tests for Electrolysis Reaction Apparatus>
Referring to
Referring to the curves of the linear scanning voltammetry of Embodiments 1˜4 in
The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the present disclosure and use of exemplary embodiments. Although various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those with ordinary skill in the art could make numerous alterations or modifications to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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111119154 | May 2022 | TW | national |