Patent GB-694020-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to carbon consuming or gas fuel cells
IPC: H01M8/06
Filed: 1952-01-16
Abstract: 694,020. Batteries. PITTSBURGH CONSOLIDATION COAL CO. Jan. 16, 1952 [Aug. 31, 1951], No. 1254/52. Class 53. A carbon-consuming battery is supplied with air and a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which is obtained from the reaction of steam and carbon dioxide on a carbon-containing material, for example finely-divided coal, the battery operating at a higher temperature than the gas-producing vessel. The waste gases from the battery contain carbon dioxide and steam which are fed back into the gas-producing vessel. Fig. 1 shows the layout of the gas plant and the connections to and from the battery 40 which is enclosed in the gas-producing vessel 10 and completely immersed in the bed 16 of carbonaceous material which thus receives waste heat from the battery. The material 16 is supplied from a hopper 20 and carbon dioxide and steam escaping from the battery pass through a pipe 42 and are fed through a pipe 18 to the lower end of the vessel 10. The mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen thus produced passes into a conduit 28 through a separator 24 which returns entrained solids to the vessel 10 through a pipe 26. Steam is also introduced into the vessel 10 through a pipe 62. The pipe 42 has a branch 44 which leads to a heat exchanger 46 from which carbon dioxide and steam pass to a removal unit 50 which discharges a part of the gases through pipes 52, 54 and returns a part to the battery through conduits 56, 28. Air is supplied to the battery through a pipe 58 which passes through the heat exchanger 46 and spent air is withdrawn through a pipe 60. The carbon monoxide and hydrogen passing from the vessel 10 through the pipe 28 is circulated by a pump 36 through heat exchangers 30, 32, the exchanger 30 providing heat exchange between two sections of the pipe 28 and the exchanger 32 providing heat exchange between pipe 28 and a water line 34. Fig. 3 shows a modified apparatus in which a number of gas-producing devices 201 to 204 are enclosed in a vessel 200, carbonaceous material being fed to the top device 201 and overflowing into the other devices through conduits 205 to 207. Carbon dioxide and steam are passed into the lowest device through a conduit 210, the carbon monoxide and hydrogen produced passing through a pipe 212 into the battery 214 from which the oxidation products and any unburnt gases are delivered through a pipe 216 to the device 203. The sequence of operations is continued through the stack of gasproducing devices and a corresponding number of batteries 214, 218, 226 and 232, the gases produced in the device 201 being conducted into battery 232 through a pipe 230. Air is supplied to the batteries through a conduit 240 and spent air is removed through a conduit 248 which passes through a heat exchanger 258 to pre-heat the incoming air. Excess of carbon dioxide is removed from the system through a pipe 260 and loss of water is made up by passing water or steam into the feed conduit 210 from a pipe 262. The steam may be produced by passing water in heat exchange relation with hot spent air drawn through a pipe 264 from the conduit 248. The cells of the battery are similar to those described in Specification 680,982.