Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6527832?dq=U.S.+patent+number+7,325,728&ei=Y93TTteOAe702wW6uqi1BQ
Timestamp: 2014-07-10 06:06:00
Document Index: 790591422

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 26', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'arts 26', 'arts 28', 'arts 28']

Patent US6527832 - Device for recovery of hydrogen - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsThe new hydrogen-recovering device 10 has a box-shaped frame 11 made of stainless steel having a takeout pipe 12 attached to its one side. A plurality of spacers 13 are arranged inside the box-shaped frame 11 along a lengthwise direction of the device 10. A perforated metal plate 14 is fixed to each...http://www.google.com/patents/US6527832?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6527832 - Device for recovery of hydrogenAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6527832 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/891,231Publication dateMar 4, 2003Filing dateJun 25, 2001Priority dateJun 27, 2000Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCA2351873A1, EP1167284A2, EP1167284A3, US20020011152Publication number09891231, 891231, US 6527832 B2, US 6527832B2, US-B2-6527832, US6527832 B2, US6527832B2InventorsManabu Oku, Kouichi Kawatani, Takeshi Utsunomiya, Tsutomu SekiOriginal AssigneeNisshin Steel Co., Ltd., Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (19), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (10), Classifications (10), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetDevice for recovery of hydrogenUS 6527832 B2Abstract The new hydrogen-recovering device 10 has a box-shaped frame 11 made of stainless steel having a takeout pipe 12 attached to its one side. A plurality of spacers 13 are arranged inside the box-shaped frame 11 along a lengthwise direction of the device 10. A perforated metal plate 14 is fixed to each surface of the box-shaped frame 11, and a hydrogen-permeating membrane 16 cladded with a membrane holder 15 is further fixed to the perforated metal plate 14. Hydrogen gas as a decomposition product of hydrocarbon selectively passes through the hydrogen-permeating membrane 16 and flows through the takeout pipe 12 to the outside. A tubular device, which has the structure that a hydrogen-permeable membrane is fixed to a perforated metal plate wound around a tubular frame, is also proposed. The device 10 is light and strong, so that it is installed in a gas-reforming plant without use of a fixing jig.
What is claimed is: 1. A box-shaped device for recovery of hydrogen gas generated by decomposition of hydrocarbon, which comprises:
a box-shaped frame made of stainless steel having a takeout pipe attached to its one side; a plurality of spacers arranged along a lengthwise direction inside said box-shaped frame; perforated metal plates fixed to both surfaces of said box-shaped frame; a hydrogen-permeating membrane clad with a membrane holder fixed to each of said perforated metal plates, wherein hydrogen gas selectively passes through said hydrogen-permeating membrane and flows through said takeout pipe to the outside. 2. The box-shaped device defined in claim 1, wherein the spacers and the perforated metal plate are made of stainless steel.
a pair of upper and lower discs each of which has an opening for passage of hydrogen at its center; a plurality of reinforcement members, which extend between said upper and lower discs and locate with the same intervals along a circumferential direction; perforated metal plates, each of which is fixed to a cylindrical surface defined by curved surfaces and end faces of said reinforcement members and is coated with a hydrogen-permeating membrane; and a takeout pipe coupled to one or both of said upper and lower discs; wherein hydrogen selectively passes through said hydrogen-permeating membrane into a cavity inside said perforated plates and flows through said takeout pipe to the outside. 4. The tubular device defined in claim 3, wherein the upper and lower discs, the reinforcement members and the perforated plates are made of ferritic stainless steel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for recovering hydrogen generated by decomposition of hydrocarbon gas with steam.
A conventional method of removing subspecies uses a hydrogen-permeating membrane made of such a catalytic element as Pd�Ag or Ta selectively permeable to hydrogen. The hydrogen-permeating membrane has been formed so far as a thin layer on a heat-resistant perforated body, as disclosed in JP 63-294925 A1 and JP 1-164419 A1. Recently, feasibility of a perforated metal body, in which a plurality of holes are formed for passage of hydrogen has been studied instead of a conventional heat-resistant perforated body.
A conventional hydrogen-recovering device uses a thick plate as a structural member in order to inhibit thermal deformation caused by heat cycles between high and ordinary temperatures. As a result, the device is heavy, and a special fixing jig is necessarily used for fixing the device in a reforming plant at a predetermined position. The thick plate is processed by etching, machining or electric discharge machining to form holes for passage of hydrogen and a header, and then a hydrogen-permeating membrane such as a Pd�Ag alloy is laser-welded to an external surface of the thick plate. Such processing is troublesome and inappropriate for mass-production at a low cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims at provision of a new hydrogen-recovering device, which is light and strong, easy to manufacture by using a thin steel sheet press-worked to a predetermined shape as a structural member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a bird eye's view for explaining fabrication of a box-shaped hydrogen-recovering device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A box-shaped hydrogen-recovering device 10 has a box-shaped frame 11, as shown in FIG. 1. The frame 11 is fabricated from a stainless steel sheet pressed to a predetermined rectangular shape by welding, as a structural member. The box-shaped frame may be a unitary body as shown in FIG. 1 or a body separable to upper and lower parts at a position of a takeout pipe 12.
A tubular hydrogen-recovering device 20 has a tubular frame 21, as shown in FIG. 2B. which is fabricated by press-working and welding a stainless steel sheet, as a structural member. A perforated plate metal 22, on which a hydrogen-permeating membrane 23 is laminated, is wound around the tubular frame 21. Caps 24 u and 24 d are attached to a top and a bottom of the tubular frame 21. A takeout pipe 25 is coupled to the upper cap 24 u, to take out hydrogen gas, which passes through the hydrogen-permeating membrane 23 into the device 20. The takeout pipe 25 may be coupled to the lower cap 24 d or to both of the caps 24 u and 24 d. The hydrogen-permeating membrane 23 is the same film as the hydrogen-permeating membrane 16 shown in FIG. 1. The perforated metal plate 22 is made of stainless steel or the like excellent in heat resistance for reinforcement of the hydrogen-permeating membrane 23. The perforated metal plate 22 made of stainless steel has nearly the same thermal expansion coefficient as that of the hydrogen-permeating membrane 23, so that the hydrogen-permeating membrane 23 is prevented from peeling-off caused by heat cycles of heating and cooling.
Openings 26 a and 27 a for passage of hydrogen are formed in the upper disc 26 and the lower disc 27, respectively, at their centers. Notched parts 26 b and 27 b for insertion of top and bottom ends of the reinforcement members 28 are formed with the same intervals along the circumferences of the upper disc 26 and the lower disc 27, respectively, as shown in FIG. 2D. Each reinforcement member 28 has a curved part 28 a matching to a periphery of the upper disc 26 or the lower disc 27 and an inward part 28 b bent with a right angle from the curved part 28 a. That is, the reinforcement member 28 has an L-shaped cross section composed of the curved part 28 a and the inward part 28 b, so as to enhance its deformation resistance along a circumferential direction. The curved part 28 a and the inward part 28 b are partially cut off with a length corresponding to thickness of the discs 26 and 27 at the top and the bottom of the reinforcement member 28, to form projections 28 c. When the projections 28 c are inserted into the notched parts 26 b, 27 b of the discs 26 and 27, the inward parts 28 b direct to a center of the tubular frame 21, and the curved parts 28 a compose parts of the cylindrical surface. Since a plurality of the reinforcement members 28 are installed between the upper disc 26 and the lower disc 27 with the same intervals along the circumferential direction, the tubular frame 21 is fabricated in a state good of strength and sufficiently resistant to deformation caused by vertical and circumferential stresses. In case of a long tubular frame 21, one or more intermediate discs 29 (shown in FIG. 2B) having the same configuration as the discs 26, 27 may be interposed between the upper disc 26 and the lower disc 27, in order to surely protect the reinforcement members 28 from deformation for maintenance of a predetermined space for passage of hydrogen gas.
Since hydrogen is separated from the reacting zone, equilibrium in the reaction of CH4+2H2=4H2+CO2 is destroyed, and the reaction is promoted to the rightwards. Consequently, hydrogen is produced with sufficient reaction efficiency even at a relatively lower temperature of 500-550� C.
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