JPH0971886A - Water electrolysis device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a water electrolysis device capable of efficiently generating a large quantity of a gaseous mixture composed of oxygen and hydrogen with a small size. SOLUTION: This water electrolysis device is constituted by disposing many electrode plates 2 across packings 3 in juxtaposition in an electrolytic cell 1 in which water for electrolysis is contained, passing electrolytic current between these electrode plates 2 and 2 to generate gaseous oxygen and gaseous hydrogen and making the gaseous mixture composed of the oxygen and hydrogen suppliable to the outside of the electrolytic cell 1 from a delivery piping 5. The device is equipped with a power source 6 for supplying pulsation between the electrode plates 2. The pulsation to be supplied by the power source 6 is formed by superposing AC on the DC current of the current value required for the electrolysis of the water and the frequency of the AC component is specified to the resonance frequency of a structural body consisting of the electrolytic cell 1, the electrode plate 2, the packings 3, etc., or near the frequency.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention electrolyzes water to produce an acid,
The present invention relates to a water electrolysis device that generates a hydrogen mixed gas.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are known methods and apparatuses for electrolyzing water or an aqueous electrolyte solution to generate oxygen and hydrogen, and utilizing a mixed gas thereof for combustion. Such a conventionally known water electrolysis device is used as a combustion gas generation device for a HO welder, etc., but a direct current is applied to water or an electrolyte aqueous solution.
However, in the direct current electrolysis method, when an attempt is made to increase the current density and generate a large amount of mixed gas with a compact device, the current efficiency is significantly reduced due to the polarization effect, etc., and the amount of generated gas is a fraction of the theoretical value. There is a problem that it becomes a degree.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a water electrolysis apparatus which is small in size and can efficiently generate a large amount of acid-hydrogen mixed gas. To do.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a water electrolysis apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention has a large number of electrode plates arranged side by side in electrolyzed water in an electrolytic cell. An electrolytic current is passed between them to generate oxygen gas and hydrogen gas,
In a water electrolysis apparatus capable of supplying generated gas to the outside of the electrolytic cell, a power source for energizing a pulsating current is provided between the electrode plates, and the frequency of the alternating component of the pulsating current is set in the electrolytic cell and an electrode plate incorporated therein. It is characterized in that it is set at or near the resonance frequency of the structure made of, for example.

In the water electrolysis apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, the pulsating flow is formed by superimposing an alternating current having a resonance frequency or a frequency in the vicinity thereof on a direct current having a current value required for electrolysis of water. It is characterized by

Further, in the water electrolysis apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention, the electrode plate blocks the inside of the electrolytic cell to separate the electrode plate, and the electrode plate has a through hole which forms a flow path for the generated gas and a circulation path for electrolyzing water. And at least the through hole for the generated gas is provided at a position where adjacent electrode plates do not face each other.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a water electrolysis apparatus according to the present invention, in which a large number of electrode plates 2 ... And packings 3 ... In addition, a supply pipe 4 for electrolyzing water and a delivery pipe 5 for delivering a generated gas, that is, a mixed gas of hydrogen and oxygen are connected to one side of the electrolytic cell 1. A power supply 6 is connected to the electrode plate 2 to enable power supply. In the electrolytic cell 1, an alkaline solution or the like mixed with potassium hydroxide or the like which is generally used as an electrolyte is supplied as electrolyzing water through a supply pipe 4. Of course, other water or aqueous solution may be used. Although not shown in detail, of course, the electrode plate 2 and the electrolytic cell 1 are electrically insulated from each other, and peripheral devices such as a tank for supplying electrolytic water and a pipe for draining water are also provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electrode plate 2 has a through hole (hereinafter referred to as a gas hole) 7 for guiding the generated gas to the delivery pipe 5 and a through hole (hereinafter referred to as a water hole) 8 for refluxing electrolyzing water. Each pair is formed so that a large number of bolts can be connected through a plurality of bolt holes 9 on the periphery through connecting and fixing bolts. A plate material made of stainless steel or the like is used for the electrode plate 2, but other materials such as a thin iron plate having a platinum foil adhered to the surface can also be used. The packing 3 forms a decomposition chamber 10 between the electrode plates 2 and 2 which are located between the electrode plates 2 and are adjacent to each other, but as shown in the figure, a protrusion 3a extending from the lower center of the frame-shaped portion to an upper middle thereof. It has and. Therefore, when the electrode plate 2 and the packing 3 are combined, the decomposition chamber 10 is divided into two parts by the projection 3a leaving a slight gap in the upper part (hereinafter, these divided decomposition parts are referred to as division chambers 10a and 10b). , 1 gas hole 7 and 1 water hole 8
0a and 10b are reached. In addition, the packing 3 has bolt holes 9 at the positions corresponding to the bolt holes 9 of the electrode plate 2.
a is formed.

When assembling the electrode plate 2 and the packing 3 as described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the electrode plates 2 are reversed one by one in the figure. Then, the gas holes 7 and the water holes 8 are located on the opposite sides of the gas holes 7 and the water holes 8 of the electrode plates 2 adjacent to each other on the left and right sides in the figure. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the generated gas and the electrolyzed water can take a bent path in each of the compartments 10a and 10b, that is, a so-called cascade path.

The power source 6 supplies a pulsating current by superimposing an alternating current on a direct current having a voltage necessary for electrolyzing water or an aqueous electrolyte solution. The pulsating current to be supplied is not limited to one in which direct current is superimposed on alternating current, and various types such as offset rectangular waves, triangular waves, and sine waves can be adopted, but the frequency of the alternating current component is the electrolytic cell 1, the electrode plate 2, It is set to a value at or near the resonance frequency of the structure composed of the packing 3 and the like.
In the experiments conducted by the present inventors, it was confirmed that the decomposition efficiency was remarkably improved by doing so. It should be noted that various known circuits may be adopted as the specific circuit configuration of the power supply 6 depending on the pulsating current to be supplied, and thus detailed illustration and description thereof will be omitted.

Although not shown in the drawings, a pressure controller for sending an electrolysis suppressing signal when detecting that the pressure in the electrolytic cell 1 exceeds a certain level due to the generated gas is provided, or a non-twisting liquid is provided inside. Can be stored, and the generated gas delivery pipe 5 can be connected via a combustion prevention tank having a gas retention portion provided above it.

Next, the operation when water electrolysis is carried out by the above-mentioned apparatus will be described. When carrying out water electrolysis, the electrolyzer 1 is slightly tilted as shown in FIG. 5 so that the circumference of the gas hole 7 is wide. To do. When power is supplied from the power supply 6,
Electrolyzed water is electrolyzed in each compartment 10a, 10b,
As a result, oxygen is generated on the anode side and hydrogen is generated on the cathode side.
This generated gas, that is, a mixed gas of hydrogen and oxygen is supplied from the delivery pipe 5. At this time, the generated gas takes a curved path as shown in FIG. 4, and the discharge to the delivery pipe 5 becomes a resistance. The room pressure increases as it goes to the side of the division chamber 10b at the end that serves as the outlet, and this room pressure is applied to the liquid surface of the electrolysis water in the decomposition chamber 10, so that the electrolysis water flows through the water holes 8 in the decomposition chamber 10 inside. Circulate. This operation enhances the disassembly efficiency.

[0013]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. When the water electrolysis apparatus according to the present invention is constructed with the following specifications, 7
A gas generation capacity of ~ 8 liters / minute was obtained. Decomposition chamber capacity 1.8 liters Decomposition chamber number 76 chambers Electrode plate height 142 mm, width 231 mm Number of electrode plates 77 (stainless steel) Electrode plate spacing 2 mm Electrolysis water / potassium hydroxide mixed solution electrolysis water concentration 20% Applied DC 170V , 12 A AC applied 11 to 13 KHz (see FIG. 6 for waveform), 8 to 9 V, device resonance frequency of about 12 KHz For comparison, water electrolysis was performed under the same conditions as above except that no AC was applied. Only a gas generation capacity of about a minute was obtained.

[0014]

As described above, the water electrolysis apparatus according to the present invention is small in size and can produce a large amount of acid-hydrogen mixed gas by performing water electrolysis with extremely high efficiency. There is.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a water electrolysis device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a planar shape of an electrode plate and a packing.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a combined state of an electrode plate and a packing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow path of generated gas and electrolysis water in an electrolytic cell.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a use state of the electrolytic cell when generating gas.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram of alternating current applied from a power source.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrolyzer 2 Electrode plate 3 Packing 4 Supply pipe for electrolyzing water 5 Delivery pipe for generated gas 6 Power supply 7 Gas hole 8 Water hole 9, 9a Bolt hole 3a Packing protrusion 10 Decomposition chamber 10a, 10b Division chamber

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A large number of electrode plates are arranged in parallel in electrolyzed water in an electrolyzer, and an electrolysis current is passed between the electrode plates to generate oxygen gas and hydrogen gas, and the generated gas is supplied to the outside of the electrolyzer. In the possible water electrolysis device, a power source for supplying a pulsating current between the electrode plates is provided, and the frequency of the alternating current component of the pulsating current is set to the resonance frequency of a structure composed of the electrolytic cell and an electrode plate incorporated therein, or the like. A water electrolysis device characterized by being in the vicinity thereof. 2. The pulsating flow is formed by superposing an alternating current having a frequency at or near the resonance frequency on a direct current having a current value required for electrolysis of water. Water electrolysis device. 3. The electrode plate is divided into sections by blocking the inside of the electrolytic cell, and each electrode plate is provided with a through hole which forms a flow path of generated gas and a through hole which forms a circulation path of electrolysis water, 3. The water electrolysis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the through holes for the generated gas are provided at positions where adjacent electrode plates do not face each other.