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US 11,773,001 B2Granted
Systems and methods of electrochemical hydrogen generation to provide a reducing ambient for industrial fabrication
AssigneeOhmium International, Inc.
InventorArne Ballantine
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method includes electrolyzing water into hydrogen, combining the hydrogen with nitrogen to generate forming gas, delivering the forming gas to a reducing environment zone, and processing an intermediate material into a product material in the reducing environment zone. The step of processing the intermediate material into the product material may include processing a glass melt into a float glass ribbon on a tin melt and then cooling the float glass ribbon into sheet glass.
Claims18
A system, comprising:
- a nitrogen source for producing a nitrogen stream;
- an electrolyzer for producing a hydrogen stream and an oxygen byproduct;
- a fabrication assembly including:
- an oxidizing environment zone in fluid communication with the electrolyzer operable to convert a raw material into an intermediate material, wherein the oxidizing environment zone includes a furnace and at least a portion of the oxygen byproduct is directed to the furnace;
- a reducing environment zone operable to receive the intermediate material and process the intermediate material into a product material;
- and
- a blending circuit in fluid communication with the nitrogen source, the electrolyzer, and the reducing environment zone, and wherein the blending circuit is configured to combine the nitrogen stream from the nitrogen source with the hydrogen stream from the electrolyzer to mix a forming gas and to flow the forming gas from the blending circuit into the reducing environment zone of the fabrication assembly.
4 more elements
A method, comprising:
- electrolyzing water into hydrogen and oxygen;
- combining the hydrogen with nitrogen to generate forming gas;
- delivering the forming gas to a reducing environment zone;
- providing oxygen generated by the electrolyzing to an oxidizing environment zone;
- and
- processing an intermediate material into a product material in the reducing environment zone.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.