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US 4,892,142 AGranted
Device and method for removing gaseous impurities from a sealed vacuum
AssigneeLuz Industries Israel, Ltd.
InventorIsaac J. Labaton
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AssigneeLuz Industries Israel, Ltd.
InventorIsaac J. Labaton
Estimating the term…
A container is disposed within a vacuum insulation jacket which surrounds a vessel or pipe which contains or through which flows a hydrogen containing medium. The container holds oxygen under pressure or holds a material which liberates oxygen when exposed to heat and/or reacts with water to liberate oxygen. The container is sealed by means of a membrane of palladium or palladium alloy. A water absorbing material is disposed inside the container. The palladium membrane is thus exposed on its first side facing the interior of the container to a region of relatively high oxygen pressure produced by the oxygen inside the container and low hydrogen partial pressure inside the container, and is exposed on its other side to the vacuum (low oxygen pressure, and higher hydrogen partial pressure as a result of the outgassing or permeation of hydrogen from the medium in contact with the vacuum chamber walls). The palladium acts as a catalyst for the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to form water when hydrogen flows from the vacuum jacket into the container following the hydrogen pressure gradient. The water thus formed is absorbed inside the container using a suitable water absorber, such as a molecular sieve. The method of using the device includes placing it within a vacuum chamber or between two concentrically arranged pipes constituting a vacuum chamber so that the palladium or palladium alloy membrane is in thermal communication with a high temperature surface, such as the surface of the wall of the pipe containing steam or a heat transfer fluid.
A device for removing hydrogen from a vacuum insulation jacket for a vessel or pipe which holds or through which flows a hydrogen-containing medium at temperatures such that hydrogen permeates into the vacuum insulation jacket, comprising a container which contains oxygen or an oxygen generating material, and a palladium or palladium alloy membrane closing the container such that a first side of said palladium membrane facing the interior of the container is exposed to a region of relatively high oxygen pressure and relatively low hydrogen partial pressure, and a second side of said palladium or palladium alloy membrane is exposed to the vacuum having a relatively low oxygen partial pressure and a relatively higher hydrogen partial pressure, whereby the palladium membrane acts as a catalyst for the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to form water when hydrogen flows from the vacuum jacket into the container which contains oxygen following the hydrogen pressure gradient.
A device for removing hydrogen from a vacuum insulation jacket for a vessel or pipe which holds or through which flows a hydrogen-containing medium at temperatures such that hydrogen permeates into the vacuum insulation jacket, comprising a container which contains oxygen or an oxygen generating material and a water absorbing material, and a palladium or palladium alloy membrane closing the container such that a first side of said palladium membrane facing the interior of the container is exposed to a region of relatively high oxygen pressure and relatively low hydrogen partial pressure, and a second side of said palladium or palladium alloy membrane is exposed to the vacuum having a relatively low oxygen partial pressure and a relatively higher hydrogen partial pressure, whereby the palladium membrane acts as a catalyst for the combination of hydrogen and oxygen to form water when hydrogen flows from the vacuum jacket into the container which contains oxygen following the hydrogen pressure gradient.
A method for removing hydrogen from a vacuum insulation jacket for a vessel or pipe which holds or through which flows a hydrogen-containing medium at temperatures such that hydrogen permeates into the vacuum insulation jacket, comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.