Patent Number: 054955114
Section: description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION In the following the present invention will be described with reference to examples of embodiments in which the inerting elements are combined with a catalyst structure to form a protective unit. It should be reemphasized at this point that this combination of a catalyst structure and inerting elements causes additional synergetic effects and that, even though only such examples of embodiments referring to this are described, inerting elements according to the present invention can be employed independently of any catalyst structure. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of a protective unit 1, which is composed of a catalyst plate 2 and inerting elements 3 attached to it. In catalyst plate 2, for example, a carrier plate made of stainless steel is shown, which preferably will be coated on either side with a catalyst material as described, for example, in DE-A-37 25 290. Instead of this, the catalyst plate 2 could also consist entirely of the catalyst material. The inerting elements 3 are each comprised of a box-like receptacle 4 made of a grid-like material of stainless steel wire which is equipped in the region of its bottom with a flange 5 jutting outwardly for attachment to the catalyst plate 2. The box, as will be recognizable in the partially broken open sectional drawing in FIG. 2, is filled with the inerting material 9 in the form, for example, of powder, granules, crystallite or the like. The receptacle 4 of the inerting element 3, as indicated in FIG. 2, can be connected to the catalyst plate with the aid of bolts 7 and nuts or in any other suitable manner. As may be seen in FIG. 2, in the embodiment depicted the bottom of the receptacle 4 is open but a filter layer 8 some 1 mm thick is located between the surface of the catalyst plate 2 and the inerting material. An identical filter layer is provided between the walls of the receptacle 4 and the inerting material located within. The filter layer is a so-called HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. These are filters composed of glass wool and a binding material, which have a high resistance at higher temperatures (up to some 850.degree. C.). These filters will allow hydrogen, oxygen, steam and CO.sub.2 to pass through, but shield off aerosols and fatty particles from the inerting material and, in addition, prevent any direct contact between the catalyst plate and the inerting material which might possibly cause any undesired reactions. If the inerting material is in the form of particles before and/or after disintegration, the filter will then simultaneously prevent it from falling through the grid-like walls of the receptacle 4. One or several of these inerting elements (four are shown in FIG. 1 by way of example) is attached to the catalyst plate 2 in such a manner that some catalyst surface will still be left free for the catalytic reaction. The portion of the surface left free, as well as the number and size of the inerting elements, are determined in dependence upon the place in which the protective unit is to be deployed, more precisely, in dependence upon the supply of hydrogen to be expected and the necessary degree of inerting expected in the respective place where deployed. By increasing the height H of the inerting elements with a corresponding decrease in its breadth B, the portion of free catalyst surface can be increased. In dimensioning it thus, it has to be considered that, given sufficient porosity of the inerting material, the surface of the catalyst plate covered by the inerting elements is not entirely lost for purposes of the catalytic reaction since hydrogen and oxygen can also penetrate the inerting elements through to this surface. This will apply in even greater degree to the condition following disintegration of the inerting material since the porosity of the products remaining after disintegration, with most inerting materials that come into consideration will be much larger than that prior to disintegration. As soon as hydrogen is released into the atmosphere of the compartment containing one or several protective units 1 of this type, the, catalytic transformation of the hydrogen with the oxygen into water will occur and the catalyst plate 2 will heat up. Owing to the good heat conductivity of the catalyst plate 2, the surface areas covered with the inerting elements will also be heated up evenly regardless whether they participate themselves in the catalytic reaction or not. The resulting heat will heat up the inerting material in the receptacles 4 of the inerting elements until the disintegration of the inerting materials and inerting begins to occur through the release of CO.sub.2 and/or steam when the characteristic temperatures of reactions am reached for each respective inerting material. The convection currents forming in the vicinity of the catalyst plate having a higher temperature than the surrounding will carry along the inerting gases that form and mix them with the surrounding atmosphere. It should be emphasized at this point that although in the example of the embodiment described here the inerting elements 3 are arranged only on one side of the catalyst plate 2, a duplicate arrangement of additional inerting elements can be provided on the other side of the catalyst plate. If this is done, the inerting elements on either of the two opposing sides are preferably arranged in staggered order to one another so that a uniform distribution of heat and reaction capacity will be guaranteed for the catalyst plate. To achieve a release of inerting gases staggered in time, it is possible either to place inerting materials having different temperatures of reaction inside each individual inerting element or various inerting elements could contain inerting materials with different temperatures of reaction. In the former case the different inerting materials will be placed in layers preferably parallel to the catalyst plate so that the inerting material with the highest temperature of reaction will be located closest to the surface of the catalyst and that with the lowest temperature of reaction will be situated the most distant. In so doing, the gases forming at the time the inerting material directly adjacent to the surface of the catalyst disintegrates and, by pressing outwardly, will cause the materials situated farther outward to heat up and will cause them to disintegrate, if this has not already happened. The temperature of reaction of the inerting material situated in the immediate vicinity of the catalyst structure should lie at around 200.degree. to 450.degree. C., and preferably in the range of 300.degree. to 350.degree. C., so that the synergistic effect between these two types of protective units will be optimized. Since, as pointed out above, inerting materials are available with a temperature of reaction in the vicinity of 100.degree. C., their use would cause a release of inerting gases at the beginning, even before any notable heating-up of the catalyst plate 2 had occurred. As the catalyst plate 2 heats up and passes on a part of this heat to the inerting elements, the inerting materials with higher temperatures of reaction would start to take their effect as the respective temperature of reaction is reached for each one. The transfer of heat from the catalyst plate 2 to the inerting elements 3 has the beneficial side-effect of limiting the increase in temperature of the catalyst plate. This prevents the catalyst plate from reaching a temperature that in turn could trigger an ignition, at least until the complete inerting process caused by the inerting elements has occurred. If it is anticipated that a great amount of hydrogen will be released within one of the compartments protected by the device in accordance with the present invention, it is preferable to employ for at least part of the inerting materials such a material that has a temperature of reaction of around 100.degree. C. In this manner the desired inerting effect will occur at the beginning phase of an accident, to remove the danger of flame propagation and detonation. Hydrogen is removed by the catalytic transformation before a concentration of hydrogen required for deflagration is reached. FIG. 3 shows a perspective view corresponding to that in FIG. 2 of a variation of an embodiment which differs from the one previously described in that the inerting elements are attached to the catalyst plate 2 with the intervening layer of a bottom 10 and insertion of spacing disks 11 in such a manner that an interspace is created between the inerting element and the surface of the catalyst plate. By means of this interspace, the surrounding atmosphere has free access to the catalyst surface which will be even more enhanced by the convection currents forming as the catalyst plate heats up. The bottom plate 10 and the spacing disks 11 will be made preferably of metal with good heat conductivity to guarantee the desired transfer of heat from the catalyst plate to the inerting element. Provision can be made for holes in the bottom plate 10 through which the inerting gases forming in the region of the bottom of the inerting element 3 can escape. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating of a further embodiment of the present invention in which a catalyst structure and the inerting elements are arranged in the form of a concentric cylinder. A first inerting element 14 is located in the center with a hollow cylinder 15 made of a grid-like material and containing the inerting material. The inerting element 14 is surrounded concentrically by the catalyst structure 16 in the form of a cylindrical casing made of stainless sheet steel coated with the catalyst material. The catalyst structure 16 is surrounded by a second inerting element 17 with an outer cylindrical casing 18 made of grid-like material. The latter is covered on its outer side with a filter layer 19 composed of the HEPA filter material mentioned above. If the cylinder casing of the catalyst structure 16 is coated with the catalyst material only on the inside, its outer surface can simultaneously form the inner border area of the second inerting element, as shown in FIG. 4. If, however, the catalyst cylinder is also coated on the outside, depending on what catalyst surface is desired, then the second inerting element could usefully have an additional inner cylinder casing, not shown in FIG. 4, made of grid-like material which would be situated at a suitable interval from the catalyst cylinder casing to allow for the adequate flow of gases. A bottom 20, also made of a grid-like material, closes off the second inerting element below and serves as a support for the inerting material. The appropriate means for making the mechanical connection between the individual parts of the structure shown in FIG. 4 are not included in this illustration for simplicity's sake. The shaft-like structure of the arrangement seen in FIG. 4 will cause an increased convection current because of a chimney effect, with the result that the inerting gases forming will be quickly distributed. Although not shown in FIG. 4, filter layers similar to the filter layers 8 shown in FIG. 2 and 3 could be placed here between the inerting material and each respective grid enclosing it. FIG. 5 is a diagram relating to a compartment capacity of 50 m.sup.3 which shows, for four different inerting materials, the calculated steam content that can be achieved as a function of the mass of the inerting material. FIG. 6 is a similar diagram which shows, for four different inerting materials, the calculated CO.sub.2 content that can be achieved as a function of the mass. Reference is now made to FIG. 5. The four inerting materials considered here by way of example release steam at different temperatures of reaction (temperatures of disintegration); thus, the temperature of reaction (temperature of disintegration) of KAl(SO.sub.4).sub.1.12H.sub.2 O is only slightly higher than 100.degree. C. while Na.sub.2 B.sub.4 O.sub.7.10H.sub.2 O needs to be raised to a temperature of reaction of 350.degree. C. The combination of various inerting materials with different temperatures of reaction within various inerting elements causes, as pointed out above, the release of steam staggered in time in accordance with the increase in temperature. If the lowest of the different temperatures of reaction of the various inerting materials lies at about 100.degree. C., which is to say at a temperature which could even be reached without any heating-up caused by catalytic reaction, then the pertinent inerting material will not take away any heat from the catalyst plate; thus, the catalyst plate will then quickly reach a higher temperature that will contribute significantly to the catalytic reaction. The more hydrogen that is catalytically converted per unit time, the more intensely the concentration of hydrogen will be lowered but more inerting will also be achieved because of the steam generated by the catalytic reaction. It is immaterial for inerting by steam whether the steam comes as the result of catalytic transformation of hydrogen or from the inerting material. The steam will need a certain amount of time to reach a cold wall at which it condenses. A high concentration of steam will establish itself, despite its being constantly condensed at the cold walls, because it is steadily produced through catalytic reaction and through the inerting elements. This condensation contributes to avoiding toe, great an increase in pressure caused by the steam being released. After the catalytic reaction is completed, because of the removal of the hydrogen, it is possible that a global relief in pressure will occur; therefore, an active reduction in the pressure of the atmosphere in the reactor containment can possibly be avoided. It may be seen in FIG. 5 that as little as 10 kg of the inerting materials described can contribute 12 to 15% by volume of the steam (related to a compartment capacity of 50 m.sup.3). In FIG. 6 similar conditions prevail for the production of CO.sub.2. At this point it should be pointed out that the chemical substances used as examples of inerting materials have a 40 to 60% portion of water of crystallization or CO.sub.2. If inerting materials with higher portions are employed, it will be possible to work with correspondingly lower masses. FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which various materials used for releasing an inerting gas or inerting gas mixture are employed to react with one another. The embodiment depicted is suitable for cases in which a solid material and a liquid are intended to react with one another. Located in the lower region of a frame 20 is a tub 21 made of a suitable material in which hydrochloric acid, for example, may be placed. A wire basket 22 made of stainless steel is suspended above the tub 21. Calcium carbonate (in this example) is placed in the wire basket. The suspension 23 of the wire basket is constituted so that it will release when reaching a certain pre-determined temperature, whereupon the wire basket will drop into the tub 21 containing the hydrochloric acid. The size of the mesh of the wire basket will be established such that the calcium carbonate with which it is filled will not drop out, but also such that the hydrochloric acid, once the wire basket drops into the tub, can freely penetrate into it and the desired reaction will take place. The suspension can contain, for example, a soldered point with a solder having a melting temperature equal to the temperature desired for the inerting gas mixture to be released. The above embodiment may also be combined in an advantageous manner with a catalyst structure; however, this does not appear in the illustrations. For this purpose it would be necessary only to establish a connection with good heat conductivity between the suspension 23 and a catalyst structure located in close proximity. The above described embodiments of the present invention represent a large variety of forms in which the present invention can be realized. What is important is that the chemical substance(s) employed for passive inerting according to the present invention will be situated in the compartment to be protected in a manner that permits the free exchange of gas with the atmosphere of the compartment. A housing with gas-permeable walls can hold together both the substance prior to its disintegration or the reaction and also the product of the reaction that remains. Wherever an inerting element in accordance with the present invention is used in conjunction with a catalyst structure, care must be taken that the catalytic recombination is not adversely affected and that the desired transport of heat to the inerting element can take place. In addition, it must be guaranteed that once the inerting gas has been released by the inerting element, its remaining product of reaction (which accordingly should preferably not be liquid) is kept away from the catalyst structure to not impede its effect.