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US 6,805,846 B2Granted
Compact reactor capable of being charged with catalytic material for use in a hydrogen generation/fuel cell system
AssigneeHonda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorCory Phillips
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A reactor module having one or more than one heat exchanger, a chamber block capable of being charged with a catalyst, and a platform are assembled in a unit in which separate fluid flows of reactants and heat media are directed by manifolds and ducts intrinsically formed in the module. Multiple reactor modules may be interconnected to form a further reactor module unit and the interconnected reactor units may in turn be configured for a large system with a high power rating.
Claims33
A reactor comprising:
- an upper heat exchanger having first and second opposite sides for fluid flow on each side and an inlet and an outlet for fluid flow on each opposite side thereof, said upper heat exchanger being aligned with a chamber block in a relationship in which an outlet of the upper heat exchanger is in communication with a fluid flow inlet for a chamber block;
- a chamber block having an inlet on one side for the introduction of a fluid flow therein, an outlet on the opposite side for the exit of a fluid flow therefrom, and a plurality of longitudinally cavities extending therethrough from the inlet on one side to the outlet on the other side, the cavities being charged with a catalyst;
- a lower heat exchanger having first and second opposite sides for fluid flow on each side and an inlet and an outlet for fluid flow on each opposite side thereof, said lower heat exchanger being aligned with the chamber block in a relationship in which an outlet of the lower heat exchanger is in communication with a fluid flow inlet for the chamber block;
- a platform securing the upper heat exchanger, the chamber block, and the lower heat exchanger in a serial alignment;
- orifices for fluid flow in operative correspondence with the inlets and outlets of the heat exchangers;
- and
- a channel for fluid flow operatively disposed with respect to the platform to allow fluid flow from the outlets of the heat exchangers to the inlet of the chamber block.
4 more elements
A reactor comprising:
- a chamber block having an inlet for the introduction of reactants therein and an outlet for the exit of reactant products therefrom and one or more one than one longitudinal cavity, capable of being charged with a catalyst, extending therethrough from the inlet to the outlet;
- one or more than one heat exchanger having first and second opposite sides with micro channel pathways for fluid flow on each side, each heat exchanger having an inlet and an outlet in communication with the pathways on each opposite side thereof, said one or more than one heat exchanger being aligned with the chamber block in a relationship in which an outlet of the one or more than one heat exchanger is in communication with an inlet of the one or more than one cavity in the chamber block;
- a “U” shaped platform in which opposite sides of the “U” include orifices in operative correspondence with an inlet and an outlet of a heat exchanger, the platform securing the one or more than one heat exchanger and the chamber block in alignment and in which the bottom side of the “U” is spaced apart from the chamber block to define a closed interior channel operatively disposed to allow fluid flow from an outlet of the one or more than one heat exchanger to the inlet of the one or more than one cavity in the chamber block.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.