Method of gasifying carbonaceous materials
AssigneeUniversity Patents, Inc.
InventorRobert W. Coughlin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Electrochemical method and associated apparatus permit carbonaceous materials to be gasified to carbon oxides under mild conditions with the attendant formation of fuels or high energy intermediates such as hydrogen, or light hydrocarbons and production of electric power.
Claims10
A method of electrochemically oxidizing a carbonaceous material at an anode of an electrolysis cell and simultaneously producing a useful fuel or chemical at the cathode of said cell, the overall energy change accomplished by said electrolysis cell being supplied in part by the oxidation of said carbonaceous material at said anode and in part by electrical energy produced by a fuel cell fueled by at least a portion of said useful fuel or chemical produced at said cathode by said electrolysis cell, said fuel cell and said electrolysis cell being electrically interconnected by virtue of having shared or common electrodes.
A method of obtaining hydrogen comprising the steps of:
- introducing carbonaceous solids and an aqueous electrolyte to an electrolysis cell having a cathode electrode and an anode electrode;
- applying an electromotive force across said electrodes;
- whereby oxides of carbon are produced at the anode of said cell and hydrogen is produced at the cathode of said cell;
- and
- accumulating the hydrogen produced at said cathode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.