Hydrogen generation system and pelletized fuel

Abstract

A demand type portable hydrogen generation system operated to replenish hydrogen gas to a storage tank or vessel as hydrogen is drawn therefrom. The system employs electrical and mechanical arrangements for opening an outer coating of a pellet that has been formed over a reactive material, such as sodium, to expose that pellet reactive material to water, and generate hydrogen gas from a chemical reaction between which reactive material and water. An electrical system variation of the system employs a bank of cells where each cell is electrically connected through a controller to a power source with the vessel to contain a measured volume of a light salt and water solution with an aluminum coated sodium pellet or pellet coated with another appropriate metal positioned therein, and provides for passing an electrical current to a select cell to break down the aluminum coating of a pellet contained therein and expose the pellet reactive material to the water, generating hydrogen. In a mechanical system variation of the system, sodium pellets are individually coated with a water impervious soft plastic, or like material, and are maintained in water contained in the vessel and including an arrangement for opening the pellet water impervious coating a when hydrogen gas pressure in the vessel falls below the pressure of a static source to open a pellet to the vessel water and chemical react therewith to generate hydrogen gas to restore system pressure to a pressure that is greater than that of the static source.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.