Apparatus, system and method for generating nitrogen gas from fuel-cell exhaust gas
AssigneeMicro Control Systems Ltd.
InventorsKatsumichi Tagami, Soichi Hashiba, Takeshi Kitazawa, Noboru Fujii
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Provided is an apparatus/system for generating a nitrogen-enriched gas reliably and stably using a fuel cell. The nitrogen gas generation apparatus/system comprises: a fuel cell configured to operate by taking in air or a gas containing nitrogen and oxygen, and a fuel gas; and a catalyst combustion mechanism configured to cause an exhaust gas that is extracted from the fuel cell and has a lower oxygen concentration than air to react with the fuel gas on a combustion catalyst, and convert the exhaust gas having a lower oxygen concentration than air into a nitrogen-enriched gas having an increased nitrogen concentration.
Claims10
A nitrogen gas generation apparatus comprising:
- a fuel gas delivering mechanism configured to deliver a fuel gas;
- a fuel cell configured to operate by taking in air or a gas containing nitrogen and oxygen, and the delivered fuel gas, and to emit an exhaust gas having a lower oxygen concentration than air from a fuel cell outlet on an air electrode side;
- an oxygen filtering mechanism including a filter using fibers having different degrees of permeation for nitrogen and oxygen and configured to convert the exhaust gas emitted from the fuel cell outlet on the air electrode side into a gas having an increased nitrogen concentration;
- and
- a catalyst combustion mechanism configured to cause the gas having the increased nitrogen concentration to react with the delivered fuel gas, and/or a fuel gas included in a gas emitted from a fuel cell outlet on a fuel electrode side, on a combustion catalyst, to cause an oxygen concentration of the gas having the increased nitrogen concentration to decrease more, and thus to convert the gas having the increased nitrogen concentration into a nitrogen-enriched gas having a more increased nitrogen concentration.
A nitrogen gas generating method comprising:
- a step of supplying, to a fuel cell, air or a gas containing nitrogen and oxygen, and a fuel gas delivered from a fuel gas delivering mechanism and operating the fuel cell;
- a step of extracting an exhaust gas having a lower oxygen concentration than air from a fuel cell outlet on an air electrode side;
- a step of, by using a filter having fibers with different degrees of permeation for nitrogen and oxygen, converting the exhaust gas emitted from the fuel cell outlet on the air electrode side into the gas having an increased nitrogen concentration;
- and
- a step of causing the gas having the increased nitrogen concentration to react, on a combustion catalyst, with the fuel gas delivered from the fuel gas delivering mechanism, and/or a fuel gas included in a gas emitted from a fuel cell outlet on a fuel electrode side, causing an oxygen concentration of the gas having the increased nitrogen concentration to decrease more, and thus converting the gas having the increased nitrogen concentration into a nitrogen-enriched gas having a more increased nitrogen concentration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.