# US 11,993,515 B2 · Processes for producing hydrogen

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 11,993,515 B2
- Document ID: US11993515B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/960,961
- Filed: 2022-10-06
- Published: 2023-07-27
- Granted: 2024-05-28
- Earliest claimed: 2021-09-14
- Assignees: Alpha Portfolio LLC
- Applicants: Alpha Portfolio LLC
- Inventors: Christopher J. Nagel; Stephen P. Lemoi; Mark G. Janson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11993515B2

## CPC

- C01B 3/26: using catalysts
- B01J 19/087: {employing electric or magnetic energy}
- C01B 3/02: Production of hydrogen; Production of gaseous mixtures containing hydrogen
- C01B 3/24: of hydrocarbons
- B01J 2219/0801: Controlling the process
- B01J 2219/0803: employing electric or magnetic energy
- B01J 2219/0869: Feeding or evacuating the reactor
- B01J 2219/0875: Gas
- B01J 2219/0892: involving catalytically active material
- B01J 2219/12: Processes employing electromagnetic waves
- C01B 2203/0405: Purification by membrane separation
- C01B 2203/0855: by electromagnetic heating
- Y02E 60/36: Hydrogen production from non-carbon containing sources, e.g. by water electrolysis
- C01B: NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; {METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C}
- B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

The invention includes apparatus and methods for instantiating hydrogen in a nanoporous carbon powder.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A process for producing hydrogen comprising the steps of:
(a) adding a feed gas to a reactor assembly (RA) comprising:
i) a gas inlet and one or more gas outlets;
ii) a reactor chamber containing a nanoporous carbon disposed within a cup and the reactor chamber, optionally, covered with a cap;
iii) a first porous frit defining a floor of the reactor chamber disposed within the cup,
iv) a second porous frit defining the ceiling of the reactor chamber and disposed below the cap; wherein each porous frit has a porosity that is sufficient to allow a gas to permeate into the reactor chamber;
v) a reactor head space disposed above the cap;
vi) one or more reactor assembly (RA) coils surrounding the reactor chamber and/or reactor head space operably connected to one or more power supplies, wherein a computer processing unit is configured to control the one or more power supplies to the one or more RA coils;
vii) a foil disposed between the reactor chamber and the cup, wherein the foil envelops the cup;
(b) powering the one or more RA coils to a first electromagnetic energy level;
(c) subjecting the nanoporous carbon to harmonic patterning to instantiate hydrogen; and
(d) collecting a product gas comprising hydrogen.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the RA further comprises an x-ray source configured to expose the reactor head space to x-rays.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the RA further comprises one or more lasers configured to direct a laser towards the first and/or second frit and/or through the reactor chamber.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the RA further comprises 2, 3, 4, 5 or more reactor assembly (RA) coils each of the RA coils independently comprising a wire winding surrounding the reactor chamber and/or reactor head space operably connected to one or more RA frequency generators and the one or more power supplies.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the RA further comprises 2, 3, 4, 5 or more pairs of RA lamps wherein the pairs of RA lamps are disposed circumferentially around the RA coils and define a space between the pairs of RA lamps and the RA coils.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the cup is composed of graphite.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the reactor cap is composed of graphite, platinum, palladium or ruthenium.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the foil is composed of platinum.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the RA further comprises a pole disposed below the reactor chamber and above the gas inlet.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The process according to claim 9, wherein the pole is composed of quartz.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the reactor chamber is sized to hold about 100 mg of the nanoporous carbon.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein:
the gas inlet is in fluid connection with at least one gas supply selected from the group consisting of air, oxygen, hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and mixtures thereof.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The process according to claim 12, wherein the at least one gas supplies are free of metal salts and vaporized metals.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The process according to claim 12, wherein the at least one gas supply is directed through a gas manifold controlled by mass flow meters.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the nanoporous carbon comprises graphene having at least 95% wt. carbon (metals basis), a mass mean diameter between 1 μm and 5 mm, and an ultramicropore surface area between about 100 and 3000 m2/g.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The process according to claim 15, wherein the nanoporous carbon is characterized by acid conditioning, wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of HCl, HF, HBr, HI, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, carbonic acid, and nitric acid, and a residual water content of less than that achieved upon exposure to a relative humidity (RH) of less than 40% RH at room temperature.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the nanoporous carbon has been degassed.

### Claim 18 (depends on 4)

The process according to claim 4, wherein a first RA coil comprises a copper wire winding, a second RA coil comprises a braiding of copper wire and silver wire, and a third RA coil is a platinum wire winding and wherein the first, second and third RA coil is configured to create a magnetic field and wherein each of the one or more power supplies independently provides AC and/or DC current.

### Claim 19 (depends on 3)

The process according to claim 3, wherein the RA comprises at least two lasers and wherein each laser is characterized by a different wavelength.

### Claim 20 (depends on 5)

The process according to claim 5, wherein a first pair of RA lamps are configured in a first plane defined by a center axis and a first radius of the reactor chamber, a second pair of RA lamps are configured in a second plane defined by the center axis and a second radius of the reactor chamber and a third pair of RA lamps are configured in a third plane defined by the center axis and a third radius of the reactor chamber.

### Claim 21 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the feed gas comprises nitrogen.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The process according to claim 21, wherein the feed gas comprises at least 99% nitrogen.

### Claim 23 (depends on 21)

The process according to claim 21, wherein the feed gas comprises at least about 99.9% nitrogen.

### Claim 24 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the product gas comprises at least about 1% vol. hydrogen.

### Claim 25 (depends on 24)

The process according to claim 24, wherein the product gas further comprises helium, argon, neon and combinations thereof.

### Claim 26 (depends on 25)

The process according to claim 25, wherein the helium, argon, neon and combinations thereof comprise at least 1% vol. of the product gas.

### Claim 27 (depends on 24)

The process according to claim 24, wherein the product gas contains less than about 0.5 vol % CO2, such as less than 100 ppm CO2.

### Claim 28 (depends on 1)

A product gas produced by a process of claim 1.

### Claim 29 (depends on 28)

A product gas according to claim 28, comprising at least 1% vol. hydrogen, nitrogen, and one or more gases selected from the group consisting of helium, argon, and neon.

### Claim 30 (depends on 28)

The product gas according to claim 28, comprising at least 4% vol. hydrogen, nitrogen, and one or more gases selected from the group consisting of helium, argon, and neon.

### Claim 31 (depends on 28)

The product gas according to claim 28, wherein the product gas contains less than about 0.5 vol % CO2, such as less than 100 ppm CO2.

### Claim 32 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein, prior to adding the feed gas to the reactor assembly in step (a) the process comprising:
(a′) adding the feed gas to an electromagnetic embedding enclosure (E/MEE) comprising:
i) a housing having a housing inlet and housing outlet;
ii) an internal gas line in fluid connection with the housing inlet and housing outlet;
iii) at least three (3) E/MEE pencil lamps wherein at least one of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps is positioned below the gas line, at least one of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps is positioned above the gas line and at least one of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps is positioned to the side of the gas line; wherein each of the at least 3 E/MEE pencil lamps is independently rotatably mounted, located along the length of the gas line;
iv) a power supply operably connected to each of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps;
v) a E/MEE computer processing unit configured to independently control powering each of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps and a rotation position of each of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps;
(a″) powering each of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps, thereby subjecting the feed gas to electromagnetic radiation; optionally rotating each of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps; and
(a′″) the directing the feed gas from the E/MEE to the reactor assembly.

### Claim 33 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the housing is closed and opaque, the internal gas line is transparent.

### Claim 34 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the electromagnetic embedding enclosure (E/MEE) comprises at least 5 E/MEE pencil lamps located along the gas line containing the feed gas;
wherein each of the at least 5 E/MEE pencil lamps are independently placed such that its longitudinal axis is (i) parallel to an internal gas line, (ii) disposed radially in a vertical plane to the internal gas line, or (iii) perpendicular to the plane created along the longitudinal axis of the internal gas line or along the vertical axis of the internal gas line; and
wherein each of the at least 5 E/MEE pencil lamps are independently affixed to one or more pivots that permit rotation between about 0 and 360 degrees with respect to the x, y, and/or z axis wherein (i) the x-axis is defined as the axis parallel to the gas line and its vertical plane, (ii) the y-axis defining the axis perpendicular to the gas line and parallel to its horizontal plane, and (iii) the z-axis is defined as the axis perpendicular to the gas line and parallel to its vertical plane.

### Claim 35 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein one of the at least one three E/MEE pencil lamps is a neon lamp, one of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps is a krypton lamp, and one of the at least three E/MEE pencil lamps is an argon lamp.

### Claim 36 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the E/MEE further comprises a short wave lamp and/or a long wave lamp.

### Claim 37 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the E/MEE further comprises an E/MEE coil wrapped around the internal gas line.

### Claim 38 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the internal gas line is between 50 cm and 5 meters or longer.

### Claim 39 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the internal gas line is characterized by a diameter between 2 mm and 25 cm or more.

### Claim 40 (depends on 34)

The process according to claim 34, wherein 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 E/MEE pencil lamps or more are located along the internal gas line.

### Claim 41 (depends on 40)

The process according to claim 40, wherein the E/MEE pencil lamps are independently placed such that its longitudinal axis is (i) parallel to the internal gas line, (ii) disposed radially in a vertical plane to the internal gas line, or (iii) perpendicular to the plane created along the longitudinal axis of the internal gas line or along the vertical axis of the internal gas line.

### Claim 42 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the E/MEE pencil lamps are independently affixed to one or more pivots that permit rotation.

### Claim 43 (depends on 42)

The process according to claim 42, wherein each pivot permits rotation between about 0 and 360 degrees with respect to the x, y, and/or z axis wherein (i) the x-axis is defined as the axis parallel to the gas line and its vertical plane, (ii) the y-axis defining the axis perpendicular to the gas line and parallel to its horizontal plane, and (iii) the z-axis is defined as the axis perpendicular to the gas line and parallel to its vertical plane.

### Claim 44 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the E/MEE further comprises at least one long wave lamp.

### Claim 45 (depends on 32)

The process according to claim 32, wherein the E/MEE further comprises an x-ray source.