METHOD FOR HEATING LIQUIDS AND A DEVICE FOR ITS REALIZATION

Abstract

The invention will be applied in industry and households. The method includes performance of an electrolysis process. A first heat-transferring fluid is heated directly in the electrolytic cell (2) by the heated electrolyte (3). A second heat-transferring fluid is heated with the released oxy-hydrogen gas (4) by a gas flame burner (5). Both heat-transferring fluids—through independent from each other circulation circuits (6, 7)—give their heat in an accumulating vessel (8) which contains the liquid (1) to be heated. The method and the device for its realization allow heating the liquid within a short period of time and with low energy consumption. Small-sized devices are designed according to the invention, with high efficiency and safety in use and no harmful environmental emissions are released. The direct use of energy from alternative sources is possible.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method for heating liquids and a device for its realization, which will be applied to heat water or other liquids, including for use in heating systems for industry and households.

STATE OF THE ART

A method is known for heating liquids, in particular water, which method consists in performing an electrolysis process in an electrolytic cell; in the said process the electrolyte is heated and gas is released. The heated electrolyte is led away from the cell through a circulation circuit with a heat-exchanger. The liquid that is to be heated is supplied to the heat-exchanger and passes through it thus being heated. Then the heated liquid is led away for further use. The electrolyte cooled after the heat-exchange is returned to the electrolytic cell.

A device for the realization of this method is also known. It involves an electrolytic cell connected to a circulation circuit, in which a heating element is included. A heat-exchanger is located in close proximity to the heating element. An inlet pipe for cold liquid—in particular cold water—and an outlet pipe for leading away the heated liquid for further use are connected to the heat-exchanger. The heating element in the circulation circuit and the heat-exchanger are mounted in a thermally insulated chamber. Outlets are provided over the electrolytic cell for removal of the gas released in the electrolysis. Control and adjusting appliances are provided to the electrolytic cell and to the circulation circuit. [CA 2 613 931].

The method known provides for movement of the electrolyte along a tube circulation circuit which requires the usage of special tubes. Furthermore, the electrolyte is cooled, which makes it difficult to keep the electrolysis process in optimal limits. In this method for heating water, the electrolyte gets cooled down rather than being able to provide the required effective flow of warm water. The system operates under high pressure, thus creating hazardous working conditions. The electrolyte used in the known method contains poisonous chemical substances and this also increases the risk in the course of operation. The movement of the electrolyte in the process of heating leads to significant losses as well, this requiring constant maintenance of its current level and its concentration in the electrolytic cell. On the other hand, it is not specified what happens to the gas released in the electrolysis process. There is no possibility provided to use alternative energy sources. In general, the method and the device have complicated control, relatively low efficiency and high operating costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problem solved with the invention is to create a method for heating liquids and a device for its realization whereby to enhance the efficiency of heating, to accelerate the process while keeping low energy consumption by avoiding movement of the electrolyte outside the electrolytic cell and to increase security in the course of exploitation, as well as to enable power supply from alternative energy sources.

The method for heating liquids includes an electrolysis process in an electrolytic cell where the electrolyte is heated and oxy-hydrogen gas is released. According to the invention, a first heat-transferring fluid is heated directly in the electrolytic cell by the heated electrolyte while maintaining electrolyte temperature range within 35-65° C. A second heat-transferring fluid is heated with the oxy-hydrogen gas by a gas flame burner. The rate of heating both heat-transferring fluids is regulated. The two heat-transferring fluids—through independent from each other circulation circuits—give their heat in an accumulating vessel which contains the liquid to be heated.

The oxy-hydrogen gas is supplied with adjustable pressure to the flame burner.

It's appropriate the adjustable pressure of the supplied oxy-hydrogen gas to be within the range of 0.2 to 0.5 bars.

Better performance is obtained when the adjustable pressure of the supplied oxy-hydrogen gas is within the range of 0.3 to 0.35 bars.

The rate of heating the second heat-transferring fluid is within the temperature range of 90-120° C.

Heating the first heat-transferring fluid is performed by a “water-water” type heat-exchange element of any known kind.

Heating the second heat-transferring fluid is performed with an “air-water” type heat-exchange element of any known kind.

The device for heating liquids realizing the said method includes an electrolytic cell with outlets for oxy-hydrogen gas and with controlling and adjusting appliances. According to the invention, a “water-water” type heat exchange element is located in the electrolytic cell. This heat exchange element contains the first heat-transferring fluid and is connected to a first circulation circuit linked to a heat exchanger mounted in an accumulating vessel. The accumulating vessel contains the liquid to be heated. The outlets for the oxy-hydrogen gas are connected through a pressure regulator to the gas flame burner. The gas flame burner is located in a combustion chamber, where an “air-water” type heat exchange element is mounted and is connected to a second circulation circuit, to which a second heat exchanger is attached. The second heat exchanger is also mounted in the accumulating vessel. Control and temperature regulating devices are mounted to the first and second circulation circuits.

The advantages of the invention are that the created method for heating liquids allows obtaining the desired temperature in a short period of time and with low energy consumption. It allows the implementation of high efficiency small-sized devices, such as the device according to the invention. There is safety in use and also no harmful environmental emissions are released. There is no need to use special materials for the heat-transferring elements. High-pressure is avoided, thus operation security is increased. For the power supply of the electrolysis process direct use of energy from alternative sources is possible. The method is applicable for the creation of devices and appliances for heating liquids, which can be connected to any water heating system using liquids heated up to 100 C°.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached drawings show an example embodiment of the invention where:

FIG. 1 is a Basic Scheme illustrating the method according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a Block Diagram of the device for realization of the method according to the invention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows the embodiment of the invention as follows:

The method for heating liquids 1 includes an electrolysis process performed in an electrolytic cell 2, where electrolyte 3 is heated and oxy-hydrogen gas 4 is released. According to the invention, a first heat-transferring fluid is heated directly in the electrolytic cell 2 with the heated electrolyte 3 while maintaining the temperature of the electrolyte 3 in the range of 35-65° C. A second heat-transferring fluid is heated with the oxy-hydrogen gas 4 by using a gas flame burner 5. The rate of heating the first and second heat-transferring fluids is regulated. Both heat-transferring fluids—through independent from each other circulating circuits 6, 7—give their heat in an accumulating vessel 8 containing liquid 1 to be heated.

The electrolytic cell 2 may include one or a sequence of connected electrolytic cells depending on the volume of the liquid to be heated.

The oxy-hydrogen gas 4 is supplied with adjustable pressure to the gas flame burner 5 so as to secure the process to be efficient. The adjustable pressure of the supplied oxy-hydrogen gas 4 is within the range of 0.2 to 0.5 bars. It is recommended that the adjustable pressure of the supplied oxy-hydrogen gas 4 is within the range of 0.3 to 0.35 bars.

The rate of heating the second heat-transferring fluid is regulated within the temperature range of 90-120° C.

Heating the first heat-transferring fluid is performed through a “water-water” heat exchange element 9 of any known type. Heating the second heat-transferring fluid is performed through an “air-water” heat exchange element 10 of any known type.

To implement the method according to the invention, a device for heating liquids has been designed, schematically shown in FIG. 2. It includes an electrolytic cell 2 with outlets 11 for wry-hydrogen gas 4. Control and temperature adjusting appliances are provided to the electrolytic cell 2, (not shown in the figures to keep them simple). In the electrolytic cell 2 a “water-water” heat exchange element 9 is located containing the first heat-transferring fluid and connected to an independent first circulation circuit 6, which is connected to the heat exchanger 12 mounted in the accumulating vessel 8. The liquid 1 to be heated is contained in the accumulating vessel 8. The outlets 11 are connected through a pressure regulator 13 and the corresponding reduction valves (RV) to a gas flame burner 5. The gas flame burner 5 is located in a combustion chamber 14 which is insulated for high temperatures up to 2000° C. In the combustion chamber 14 an “air-water” heat exchange element 10 is mounted and connected to an independent second circulation circuit 7, to which a second heat exchanger 15 is attached. The second heat exchanger 15 is also mounted in the same accumulating vessel 8. The gas flame burner 5, itself, may have one or more nozzles, as shown in FIG. 2, which does not go beyond the scope of the invention and is determined by the volume of the heated liquid in the performance of a particular design. Moreover, control and temperature regulating devices 16 are mounted to the first circulation circuit 6 and to the second circulation circuit 7. Adjusting the heating rate of the first and second heat-transferring fluids is carried out after measuring the temperature of the heat-transferring fluid by the temperature regulating devices, and if the temperature is higher than expected, a signal is sent to the corresponding pump which accelerates the circulation of the heat-transferring fluid and thus the temperature regulation is to be effected. If the measured temperature of the heat-transferring fluid is low, respectively - through a signal sent to the pump - the circulation is slowed down and the temperature enters within the limits determined. Furthermore, adjusting the heat of the first and second heat-transferring fluids is performed also with the control and adjusting appliances of the electrolytic cell itself, as well as by controlling and regulating the quantity of the oxy-hydrogen gas produced in the cell.

Usually, both—the first 6 and second 7 circulation circuits include pumps 17. The heat exchange elements, themselves—“water-water” 9 and “air-water” 10—as well as the heat exchanger 12 and the second heat exchanger 15 located in the accumulating vessel 8 may be selected from among the known types, and be made compliant with the corresponding amount of the ongoing heat-transferring fluid and with the consequently required sizes of the electrolytic cell 3, the accumulating vessel 8 and the combustion chamber 14. In the case of FIG. 2 the above described heat exchange elements 9, 10 and heat exchangers 12 and 15 of pipe (coil) type are shown. This does not restrict the use of other types of heat-exchangers and heat exchange elements, depending on the specific project.

The heated by the implementation of this method liquid 1, which is located in the accumulating vessel 8, can be used directly or be connected to any water heating system using liquids with temperature up to 100° C. This makes the method and the device in any of its modifications applicable with heating systems for the industry and for households.

Claims

1. A method for heating liquids, including an electrolysis process in an electrolytic cell where the electrolyte is heated and oxy-hydrogen gas is released and the method is characterized in that a first heat-transferring fluid is heated directly in the electrolyte cell by the heated electrolyte while maintaining the temperature of the electrolyte within the range of 35-65° C. and a second heat-transferring fluid is heated with the oxy-hydrogen gas by a gas flame burner, whereas the rate of heating both heat-transferring fluids is regulated and the two heat-transferring fluids—through independent from each other circulation circuits—give their heat in the accumulating vessel which contains the liquid to be heated.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the oxy-hydrogen gas is supplied with adjustable pressure to the gas flame burner.

3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the adjustable pressure of the supplied oxy-hydrogen gas is within the range of 0.2 to 0.5 bars.

4. A method, according to claim 3, characterized in that the adjustable pressure of the supplied oxy-hydrogen gas is within the range of 0.3 to 0.35 bars.

5. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the rate of heating the second heat-transferring fluid is within the temperature range of 90-120° C.

6. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the heating of the first heat-transferring fluid is performed by a “water-water” type heat exchange element of any known kind.

7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that heating the second heat-transferring fluid is performed with an “air-water” type heat exchange element of any known kind.

8. A device for heating liquids, including an electrolytic cell with outlets for oxy-hydrogen gas and with controlling and adjusting appliances, characterized in that a “water-water” heat exchange element located in the electrolytic cell, and containing the first heat-transferring fluid is connected to a first circulation circuit, to which a heat exchanger is attached and is mounted in an Accumulating vessel containing the liquid to be heated while the outlets are connected through a pressure regulator to a gas flame burner located in a combustion chamber where an “air-water” heat exchange element is mounted and connected to a second circulation circuit, to which a second heat exchanger is attached and is mounted in the same accumulating vessel, and where control and temperature regulating devices are mounted to the first circulation circuit and to the second circulation circuit.