Hydrogen generator and fuel cell using the same
OwnerDo-young Kim, Ho-jin Kweon +2inventors
InventorsDo-young Kim, Ho-jin Kweon, Won-hyouk Jang, Sung-jin Kim
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Abstract
A hydrogen generator using a chemical hydride includes a reactor which stores an aqueous solution of chemical hydride, a catalyst which catalyzes the reaction of the aqueous solution of chemical hydride and water to generate hydrogen, a transferring device for transferring the catalyst into the aqueous solution of chemical hydride and after bring the catalyst into contact with the aqueous solution of chemical hydride within a predetermined time, separating them, and a temperature controller to maintain temperature of the aqueous solution of chemical hydride at a predetermined temperature.
Claims23
A hydrogen generator, comprising:
- a reactor containing an aqueous solution of chemical hydride;
- a catalyst to generate hydrogen by a chemical reaction between the chemical hydride and water;
- a transferring device capable of transferring the catalyst into the aqueous solution of chemical hydride and transferring the catalyst out of the aqueous solution of chemical hydride;
- and
- a temperature controller maintaining temperature of the aqueous solution of chemical hydride at a predetermined temperature.
A hydrogen generator, comprising:
- a fuel tank storing an aqueous solution of chemical hydride;
- a reactor connected to the fuel tank to receive the aqueous solution of chemical hydride from the fuel tank;
- a catalyst packed in the reactor to generate hydrogen by a reaction between the chemical hydride supplied from the fuel tank and water;
- and
- a temperature controller maintaining temperature of the reactor at a predetermined temperature.
A fuel cell comprising:
- a hydrogen generator comprising a reactor containing an aqueous solution of chemical hydride, a catalyst catalyzing the reaction of the chemical hydride and water to generate hydrogen, a temperature sensor detecting temperature of the aqueous solution of chemical hydride in the reactor, and a temperature controller maintaining the temperature of the aqueous solution of chemical hydride in the reactor at a predetermined temperature;
- an electricity generator generating electric energy by an electrochemical reaction between the hydrogen supplied from the hydrogen generator and oxidizer;
- a detector detecting an output current and an output voltage of the electricity generator and outputting a signal of the detected output current and the output voltage;
- and
- a controller controlling the amount of hydrogen generated from the hydrogen generator based on the signal transferred from the detector and controlling the temperature controller based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.
A method of regulating an amount of a chemical reaction in a hydrogen generator comprising:
- measuring a temperature of the hydrogen generator;
- communicating a signal of the measured temperature to a control circuit;
- determining whether the temperature is at a predetermined temperature range;
- and
- decreasing an amount of the chemical reaction between a catalyst and an aqueous solution of chemical hydride when the temperature of the hydrogen generator is higher than the predetermined temperature range.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.