WO2013056808A2 - Système de stockage d'hydrogène - Google Patents

Système de stockage d'hydrogène Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2013056808A2
WO2013056808A2 PCT/EP2012/004310 EP2012004310W WO2013056808A2 WO 2013056808 A2 WO2013056808 A2 WO 2013056808A2 EP 2012004310 W EP2012004310 W EP 2012004310W WO 2013056808 A2 WO2013056808 A2 WO 2013056808A2
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Prior art keywords
storage system
storage elements
hydrogen storage
volume
hydrogen
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Ceased
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PCT/EP2012/004310
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WO2013056808A3 (fr
Inventor
Jörg WELLNITZ
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Alset IP SARL
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Alset IP SARL
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Priority to EP12788113.4A priority Critical patent/EP2773897A2/fr
Publication of WO2013056808A2 publication Critical patent/WO2013056808A2/fr
Publication of WO2013056808A3 publication Critical patent/WO2013056808A3/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C1/00—Pressure vessels, e.g. gas cylinder, gas tank, replaceable cartridge
    • F17C1/005—Storage of gas or gaseous mixture at high pressure and at high density condition, e.g. in the single state phase
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2201/00—Vessel construction, in particular geometry, arrangement or size
    • F17C2201/01—Shape
    • F17C2201/0104—Shape cylindrical
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2201/00—Vessel construction, in particular geometry, arrangement or size
    • F17C2201/01—Shape
    • F17C2201/0138—Shape tubular
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2201/00—Vessel construction, in particular geometry, arrangement or size
    • F17C2201/01—Shape
    • F17C2201/0147—Shape complex
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2201/00—Vessel construction, in particular geometry, arrangement or size
    • F17C2201/01—Shape
    • F17C2201/0147—Shape complex
    • F17C2201/0157—Polygonal
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2203/00—Vessel construction, in particular walls or details thereof
    • F17C2203/06—Materials for walls or layers thereof; Properties or structures of walls or their materials
    • F17C2203/0602—Wall structures; Special features thereof
    • F17C2203/0604—Liners
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2203/00—Vessel construction, in particular walls or details thereof
    • F17C2203/06—Materials for walls or layers thereof; Properties or structures of walls or their materials
    • F17C2203/0602—Wall structures; Special features thereof
    • F17C2203/0612—Wall structures
    • F17C2203/0614—Single wall
    • F17C2203/0621—Single wall with three layers
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2203/00—Vessel construction, in particular walls or details thereof
    • F17C2203/06—Materials for walls or layers thereof; Properties or structures of walls or their materials
    • F17C2203/0634—Materials for walls or layers thereof
    • F17C2203/0636—Metals
    • F17C2203/0639—Steels
    • F17C2203/0643—Stainless steels
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2203/00—Vessel construction, in particular walls or details thereof
    • F17C2203/06—Materials for walls or layers thereof; Properties or structures of walls or their materials
    • F17C2203/0634—Materials for walls or layers thereof
    • F17C2203/0636—Metals
    • F17C2203/0646—Aluminium
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2203/00—Vessel construction, in particular walls or details thereof
    • F17C2203/06—Materials for walls or layers thereof; Properties or structures of walls or their materials
    • F17C2203/0634—Materials for walls or layers thereof
    • F17C2203/0636—Metals
    • F17C2203/0648—Alloys or compositions of metals
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2203/00—Vessel construction, in particular walls or details thereof
    • F17C2203/06—Materials for walls or layers thereof; Properties or structures of walls or their materials
    • F17C2203/0634—Materials for walls or layers thereof
    • F17C2203/0658—Synthetics
    • F17C2203/0663—Synthetics in form of fibers or filaments
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2205/00—Vessel construction, in particular mounting arrangements, attachments or identifications means
    • F17C2205/01—Mounting arrangements
    • F17C2205/0123—Mounting arrangements characterised by number of vessels
    • F17C2205/013—Two or more vessels
    • F17C2205/0134—Two or more vessels characterised by the presence of fluid connection between vessels
    • F17C2205/0146—Two or more vessels characterised by the presence of fluid connection between vessels with details of the manifold
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2205/00—Vessel construction, in particular mounting arrangements, attachments or identifications means
    • F17C2205/03—Fluid connections, filters, valves, closure means or other attachments
    • F17C2205/0302—Fittings, valves, filters, or components in connection with the gas storage device
    • F17C2205/0352—Pipes
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2209/00—Vessel construction, in particular methods of manufacturing
    • F17C2209/21—Shaping processes
    • F17C2209/2154—Winding
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2221/00—Handled fluid, in particular type of fluid
    • F17C2221/01—Pure fluids
    • F17C2221/012—Hydrogen
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2223/00—Handled fluid before transfer, i.e. state of fluid when stored in the vessel or before transfer from the vessel
    • F17C2223/03—Handled fluid before transfer, i.e. state of fluid when stored in the vessel or before transfer from the vessel characterised by the pressure level
    • F17C2223/036—Very high pressure (>80 bar)
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2260/00—Purposes of gas storage and gas handling
    • F17C2260/01—Improving mechanical properties or manufacturing
    • F17C2260/018—Adapting dimensions
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2260/00—Purposes of gas storage and gas handling
    • F17C2260/03—Dealing with losses
    • F17C2260/035—Dealing with losses of fluid
    • F17C2260/036—Avoiding leaks
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2270/00—Applications
    • F17C2270/01—Applications for fluid transport or storage
    • F17C2270/0165—Applications for fluid transport or storage on the road
    • F17C2270/0168—Applications for fluid transport or storage on the road by vehicles
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2270/00—Applications
    • F17C2270/01—Applications for fluid transport or storage
    • F17C2270/0165—Applications for fluid transport or storage on the road
    • F17C2270/0168—Applications for fluid transport or storage on the road by vehicles
    • F17C2270/0178—Cars
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F17—STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS
    • F17C—VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES
    • F17C2270/00—Applications
    • F17C2270/05—Applications for industrial use
    • F17C2270/0581—Power plants
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
    • Y02E60/32—Hydrogen storage

Definitions

  • the present invention generally relates to hydrogen storage systems for a defined space and more particularly relates to the architecture, size, shape and positioning of such systems for a defined space in vehicles or in storage areas.
  • Hydrogen is increasingly becoming a fuel used in all types of vehicles including bi-fuel vehicles where the other fuel is gasoline.
  • the key consideration is the storage of the hydrogen fuel itself; this consideration raises several issues.
  • the size, cost of manufacture, and weight of hydrogen tanks are issues that complicate the design and practicability of such tanks.
  • the storage mass of the Hydrogen is itself a key consideration.
  • a first issue is the size of the tanks relative to the space allocated to them in vehicles.
  • the "pascal” is a well- known defined unit for the measurement of pressure, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus (measure of stiffness of an isotropic elastic material), and tensile strength.
  • the amount of Hydrogen needed to be stored in a Hydrogen tank to be comparable to the energy content of a conventional gasoline tank often makes the size of the Hydrogen tank impractically large and in many cases impossible to install in the space allocated for the tank or in available space in the vehicle.
  • the only available space is the trunk of an automobile and in many cases the size of a 200-350 bar tank would, for many vehicles, use virtually the entire trunk space reducing the overall usefulness of the vehicle.
  • current hydrogen tanks have dimensions that are nearly the same as the dimensions of the space allocated to them. For example, many tanks occupy most if not the entire space of a trunk of a vehicle, which is the space that is usually allocated to such tanks.
  • the stresses experienced by the internal surface of the cylinder in the axial and tangential directions are directly proportional to the inner diameter of the cylinder.
  • D relatively large diameters
  • relatively strong fibers are needed to construct these tanks.
  • the cylindrical tanks are typically constructed using a relatively thin walled metallic cylinder reinforced with relatively strong fibers wound on the surface of the cylinder to which some type of polymer has been applied.
  • the wound fibers are embedded in the polymer applied to the surface of the cylinder to form a FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer), which when cured serves as a strong shell adhered to the outer surface of the metallic cylinder so as to assist the inner metallic surface of the cylinder to withstand the resulting stresses as defined by equations (1) and (2) above.
  • the fibers used to construct the tanks are usually relatively strong fibers (such as carbon fibers), which have the requisite amount of tensile strength and stiffness to withstand the stresses resulting from relatively large diameter dimensions of the tanks. The issue with these relatively strong fibers is their cost. Such fibers although used in many industrial and commercial products are not made in the quantity necessary to provide the benefits of the economies of scale typically provided by parts manufactured en masse in relatively high quantities.
  • Carbon fibers and other fibers with comparable physical characteristics are relatively very expensive and thus the costs of manufacture of conventional hydrogen tanks are accordingly expensive.
  • the 200-350 bar tanks do not have an energy capacity comparable to gasoline tanks. Therefore, in order to increase the energy content of these tanks, the amount of hydrogen per unit volume is increased thus increasing the mass of hydrogen per unit volume and thus the energy content of the tank; this is done by increasing the internal pressure at which the Hydrogen is stored within the tank. For example, tanks having an internal pressure of 700 bars can be used. Such tanks will necessarily have more stress applied to their inner walls because of the increased pressure (See equations 1 and 2 above). With increasing pressure comes the need for strong fibers, which as described above makes the costs of such tanks relatively expensive.
  • the present invention provides a Hydrogen storage system comprising N storage elements coupled to each other to form one or more containers that occupy or fit within boundaries of a defined space with boundaries, dimensions, and shape resulting in a volume V where N is an integer equal to 2 or greater.
  • Each of the storage elements has a volume that is a fraction of (or substantially less than) the volume V resulting in each storage element and the one or more containers having reduced dimensions compared to the dimensions of the defined space of volume V.
  • a fraction of the volume V refers to a volume of space occupied by one of N storage elements such that all N storage elements fit within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V.
  • each of the storage elements has a volume that is substantially less than the overall volume V, the inner surfaces of each of the storage elements experience substantially less stress compared to the stress experienced by inner surfaces of one storage tank of volume V. That is, the volume of each of the storage elements is reduced to a value that allows usage of less costly but adequately strong fibers in the construction of such storage elements. As a result, the reduced stress experienced by the inner surfaces of each of the storage elements allows the usage of fiber material (e.g., Innegra, Basalt or other fiber having similar such properties) having relatively lower tensile strength and stiffness in the construction of each such storage element thus reducing the cost of the storage system.
  • the respective volumes of each of the storage elements are not necessarily equal to each other.
  • each storage element has a volume defined by dimensions and shape that may be the same or different from the other storage elements.
  • the one or more containers have architectures defined by their shape and size and dimensions. All of the storage elements when coupled together fit in the defined space of Volume V either by conforming substantially to the shape and dimensions of the defined space or by being able to be disposed totally within the defined space of certain dimensions, boundaries and shape resulting in a volume V.
  • the terms "conforming” or “conform” refer to the one or more containers forming a defined space that has substantially the same shape, dimensions, boundaries and volume, V of the defined space.
  • Each of the storage elements has an inner layer made of a Hydrogen impermeable material and an outer layer adhered to the outer surface of the inner layer.
  • the outer layer may be a composite material made by first applying a resin (e.g., an epoxy resin) onto the outer surface of the inner layer and then winding a fiber onto the outer surface at a certain angle with respect to a defined point(s) of reference (e.g., longitudinal axis of a cylinder) thus embedding the fiber into the resin and allowing the fiber-resin combination to cure to form a relatively hard shell.
  • the fiber can be wound first onto the outer surface of the inner layer and then a resin is applied; the fiber-resin combination is then allowed to cure to form a relatively hard shell.
  • the fiber material can be first weaved as a "sock” that is then snugly fit over the outer surface of the Hydrogen impermeable material. Resin is then applied to the fitted material and allowed to cure to form a relatively hard shell for the storage element. The process of slipping on the "sock” and then adding resin to the sock can be repeated as many times as desired.
  • the "sock” refers to fibers weaved into the shape of a storage element so that a snug fit (i.e., a 'glove' fit) can be achieved when the "sock" is slipped on or over the outer surface of the storage element made from a Hydrogen impermeable material.
  • the Hydrogen impermeable material is aluminum or an aluminum alloy and the fiber is made from Basalt, Innegra, or other material with properties similar to Basalt or Innegra.
  • Basalt, Innegra, or other material with properties similar to Basalt or Innegra may be used.
  • Other Hydrogen impermeable materials and fiber materials that meet design requirements of the storage system of the present invention may be used. It will be readily obvious that the storage system of this embodiment and other embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the Hydrogen impermeable material and the fiber materials mentioned above.
  • all of the storage elements may be coupled to each other to form one or more containers positioned proximate each other within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V where the containers may be different in size, shape and architecture or they may all be the same in size, shape and architecture.
  • the storage elements may be coupled to each other to form one or more containers each of which is positioned within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V. Additionally, one or more other containers—not formed from storage elements— can also be positioned within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V. The containers formed from storage elements and containers not formed from the storage elements all fit within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V.
  • Each of the bent and straight cylinders has a volume that is relatively much less than the volume V of a defined space within which these storage elements are disposed.
  • the dimensions and shapes of the storage elements and/or containers can be varied to construct a storage system in accordance with arbitrary design requirements.
  • One particular set of design requirements puts limits on the size, cost and weight of the storage system.
  • the design requirements may also dictate the shape of the storage elements and the shape of containers made or not made from the storage elements.
  • FIG. 1 shows a serpentine cylindrical container of the Hydrogen storage system of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 shows a straight cylinder section of the serpentine cylindrical container of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG. 2A shows a cross sectional view of FIG. 2 cut along line 2A-2A and also shows the tangential and axial stress lines due to internal pressure from stored Hydrogen;
  • FIG. 3 shows a bent cylinder section of the serpentine cylindrical container of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG. 4 shows the straight cylinder section of FIG. 2 with a hardened shell made of a composite material
  • FIG. 5 shows the straight cylinder section of FIG. 2 with a fiber wound thereon at a particular angle
  • FIG. 5A is a top view of FIG. 5 and shows the angles formed by lines tangential to the wound fiber and the longitudinal axis of the straight cylinder section of FIG. 5;
  • FIG. 6 depicts a graph that shows the relationships between different parameters in designing cylinders made from different fibers, having different diameters, mass and weight, and operated at different internal pressures;
  • FIG. 7 shows a serpentine cylindrical container with certain dimensions
  • FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of the Hydrogen storage system of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the Hydrogen storage system of the present invention where the storage elements are U-shaped
  • FIG. 9A shows a front view of FIG. 9 depicting the angular arrangement of the storage elements with respect to each other;
  • FIG. 10 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention where the storage elements are capsule shaped;
  • FIG. 11 shows a generalized embodiment of the storage system of the present invention having a volume of arbitrary shape and comprising three Sections where each section having three layers;
  • FIG. 12 shows the individual storage elements of one section of the storage system of FIG. 11 ;
  • FIG. 13 shows an exploded view of the three layers of the section depicted in FIG. 12 and all of the individual storage elements of that section;
  • FIG. 13A shows how two adjacently positioned storage elements of the section depicted in FIG. 12 are coupled to each other.
  • the present invention provides a Hydrogen storage system comprising N storage elements coupled to each other to form one or more containers that occupy or fit within boundaries of a defined space with boundaries, dimensions, and shape resulting in a volume V where N is an integer equal to 2 or greater.
  • Each of the storage elements has a volume that is a fraction of (or substantially less than) the volume V resulting in each storage element and the one or more containers having reduced dimensions compared to the dimensions of the defined space of volume V.
  • a fraction of the volume V refers to a volume of space occupied by one of N storage elements such that all N storage elements fit within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V.
  • each of the storage elements has a volume that is substantially less than the overall volume V, the inner surfaces of each of the storage elements experience substantially less stress compared to the stress experienced by inner surfaces of one storage tank of volume V. That is, the volume of each of the storage elements is reduced to a value that allows usage of less costly but adequately strong fibers in the construction of such storage elements. As a result, the reduced stress experienced by the inner surfaces of each of the storage elements allows the usage of fiber material (e.g., Innegra, Basalt or other fiber having similar such properties) having relatively lower tensile strength and stiffness in the construction of each such storage element thus reducing the cost of the storage system.
  • fiber material e.g., Innegra, Basalt or other fiber having similar such properties
  • each storage element has a volume defined by dimensions and shape that may be the same or different from the other storage elements.
  • the one or more containers have architectures defined by their shape and size and dimensions. All of the storage elements when coupled together fit in the defined space of Volume V either by conforming to substantially the shape and dimensions of the defined space or by being able to be disposed totally within the defined space of certain dimensions, boundaries and shape resulting in a volume V.
  • the terms "conforming” or “conform” refer to the one or more containers forming a defined space that has substantially the same shape, dimensions, boundaries and volume, V of the defined space.
  • Each of the storage elements has an inner layer made of a Hydrogen impermeable material and an outer layer adhered to the outer surface of the inner layer.
  • the outer layer may be a composite material made by first applying a resin (e.g., an epoxy resin) onto the outer surface of the inner layer and then winding a fiber onto the outer surface at a certain angle with respect to a defined point(s) of reference (e.g., longitudinal axis of a cylinder) thus embedding the fiber into the resin and allowing the fiber-resin combination to cure to form a relatively hard shell.
  • the fiber can be wound first onto the outer surface of the inner layer and then a resin is applied; the fiber-resin combination is then allowed to cure to form a relatively hard shell.
  • the fiber material can be first weaved as a "sock” that is then snugly fit over the outer surface of the Hydrogen impermeable material. Resin is then applied to the fitted material and allowed to cure to form a relatively hard shell for the storage element. The process of slipping on the "sock” and then adding resin to the sock can be repeated as many times as desired.
  • the "sock” refers to fibers weaved into the shape of a storage element so that a snug fit (i.e., a 'glove' fit) can be achieved when the "sock" is slipped on or over the outer surface of the storage element made from a Hydrogen impermeable material.
  • the Hydrogen impermeable material is aluminum or an aluminum alloy and the fiber is made from Basalt, Innegra, or other material with properties similar to Basalt or Innegra.
  • Basalt, Innegra, or other material with properties similar to Basalt or Innegra may be used. It will be readily obvious that the storage system of this embodiment and other embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the Hydrogen impermeable material and the fiber materials mentioned above.
  • all of the storage elements may be coupled to each other to form one or more containers positioned proximate each other within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V where the containers may be different in size, shape and architecture or they may all be the same in size, shape and architecture.
  • the storage elements may be coupled to each other to form one or more containers each of which is positioned within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V.
  • one or more other containers— not formed from storage elements— can also be positioned within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V. The containers formed from storage elements and containers not formed from the storage elements all fit within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V.
  • Each of the bent and straight cylinders has a volume that is relatively much less than the volume V of a defined space within which these storage elements are disposed.
  • the dimensions and shapes of the storage elements and/or containers can be varied to construct a storage system in accordance with arbitrary design requirements.
  • One particular set of design requirements puts limits on the size, cost and weight of the storage system.
  • the design requirements may also dictate the shape of the storage elements and the shape of containers made or not made from the storage elements. Referring to FIG.
  • FIG. 1 there is shown a particular implementation of an embodiment of the present invention wherein a serpentine cylindrical container designed to fit within the base area 12 (with corresponding volume V) of the trunk of a 2007 Mitsubishi Evo 9, which is a bi-fuel vehicle able to operate on gasoline and/or Hydrogen.
  • the serpentine cylindrical container design is described in the context of a trunk of a Mitsubishi Evo 9 for illustrative purposes only. It will be readily obvious that such an embodiment is not limited to the space defined by the trunk of the Evo 9 vehicle. It is clear that this embodiment and its variations can be used in different types of spaces within automobiles, or storage spaces of different environments. The boundaries of the base area of the trunk are clearly shown.
  • the serpentine cylindrical container of FIG. 1 comprises six (6) long straight cylinder sections (36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46), four (4) short straight cylinder sections (32, 34, 48, 50) and nine (9) bent cylinder sections (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30).
  • the various long, short and bent cylinder sections are arranged as shown in FIG. 1 to form serpentine cylindrical container 10 that fits within the spatial boundaries of the trunk of the Mitsubishi Evo 9.
  • the inner diameter D, of each of the cylinders (long, short or bent) is 36 mm.
  • Each of the long cylinders is 736 mm in length and the short cylinders are 336 mm long.
  • Each of the bent cylinders has an arc length of 1 13.1 mm and a curve radius (r c ) of 76mm and they are bent to form substantially circular arcs.
  • the curve radius is defined with respect to the longitudinal axis 220 as mentioned in the description of FIG. 3.
  • the serpentine storage system of FIG. 1 thus comprises three types of storage elements, viz., short cylinders, long cylinders and bent cylinders.
  • the thickness, s, of the cylinders is 1 mm for this embodiment and other embodiments discussed herein in which aluminum is used to construct the cylinders or storage elements.
  • Cylinder section 200 has a thickness 240 of the Hydrogen impermeable material (e.g., aluminum) with which it is made.
  • the geometry of cylinder 200 is the same or similar to the geometry of the long and short cylinders of FIG. 1 .
  • the cylinder 200 is formed through well- known extrusion processes or other well known cylinder forming or tube forming processes.
  • FIG. 2A shows FIG. 2 cut along lines 2A-2A of FIG. 2 to illustrate the direction of the axial stress a a and tangential stress o t forces acting on the inner surface of cylinder section 200 due to the internal pressure of stored Hydrogen gas.
  • FIG. 3 shows a bent cylinder storage element 300 having the same inner radius (r,), outer radius (r 0 ) and thickness 240 as the straight cylinder storage elements such as cylinder section 200. Bent cylinder storage element 300 has a curve radius r c ; the curve radius is defined with respect to the longitudinal axis 220 as shown.
  • the geometry of bent cylinder storage element 300 is the same or similar to the geometry of the bent cylinder storage elements of FIG.1.
  • Each of the storage elements (bent and straight sections) of the serpentine container is preferably an extruded aluminum section that can be made from Aluminum alloy 6xxx (for example Aluminum 6061 ), which has a certain strength, thickness and density.
  • FIGS. 2, 2A and 3 All have circular cross -section as they are clearly cylindrical in shape and geometry. It will be readily obvious to one skilled in this art that the present invention may also comprise storage elements of the claimed storage system having cross section profiles that are rectangular, elliptical, diamond shaped and various other cross sections that are not circular.
  • the volume V of the available trunk space of the 2009 Mitsubishi Evo 9 is 430 dm 3 .
  • volume for each of the long cylinders is 0.75 dm 3 .
  • the volume for each of the short cylinders is 0.34 dm 3 and for each of the bent cylinders is 0.75dm 3 . It is clear that the volume of the storage elements (i.e., long cylinders, short cylinders, and bent cylinders) are much smaller than the volume V of the defined space, viz., the volume of the trunk of the 2009 Mitsubishi Evo 9.
  • Each of the cylinder storage elements has a hardened shell adhered to its outer surface.
  • the shell is made of a composite material, which includes fibers preferably made from Basalt (C 2 fiber) or Innegra.
  • a cylinder storage element with a hardened shell is depicted in FIG. 4 where cylinder section 200 (made from aluminum) with thickness 240 has a hardened outer shell 280 (i.e., fiber— epoxy resin composite material allowed to cure) of thickness 260 adhered thereon.
  • the thicknesses 240 and 260 of the inner cylinder section 200 and outer shell 280 respectively are not necessarily drawn to scale. The thicknesses may be equal to each other or either thickness may be greater or less than the other.
  • an epoxy resin is first applied to the outer surfaces of the extruded aluminum sections; the resin has a certain tensile strength, stiffness and density.
  • a fiber is then wound (at a certain angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bent or straight cylinder) onto the outer surface at a certain angle (preferably 54.7°) with respect to the longitudinal axis 220 (or some other point of reference) of the cylinder.
  • a fiber is first wound (at a certain angle— preferably 54.7°-- with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bent or straight cylinders) and then the epoxy resin is applied to the outer surfaces of the extruded aluminum sections.
  • the fibers are interwoven with each other creating a thickness of fibers.
  • cylinder section 200 with longitudinal axis 220 and with fiber 232 wound in the direction shown by curved arrow 222.
  • the angle at which the fiber(s) is/are wound is obtained as follows.
  • a portion of longitudinal axis 220 is projected onto the surface of cylinder section 200 resulting in a line 226 defined by at least two points A and B located at the two respective ends of cylinder section 200.
  • Line 226 is the shortest distance between two aligned points at each end of the cylinder sections and thus, line 226 spans exactly the length of cylinder section 200. Therefore line 226 is parallel to and aligned with longitudinal axis 220.
  • line 226 intersects the wound fiber 232 at multiple points, some of which are indicated as intersection points 230.
  • intersection points 230 tangential lines 228 are shown which represent lines drawn tangentially to the intersection points in the direction of winding (as shown by the arrows of lines 228) at those points. Each of the resulting tangential lines thus forms an angle with longitudinal axis 220.
  • FIG. 5A shows a top view of FIG. 5 and fiber 232 is not shown for ease of explanation.
  • the tangential lines 228 in relation to longitudinal axis 220 and line 226 show the angle— labeled a— formed between the tangential lines 228 and longitudinal axis 220.
  • FIG. 5 shows only one fiber 232 wound around cylinder section 200 for ease of explanation and clarity of illustration only. It will be readily understood that a plurality of fibers can be wound around cylinder section 200 to form composite material (i.e., hardened shell) 280 having a certain thickness 260 as shown in FIG. 4.
  • the angle a is preferably 54.7°.
  • Another method that can be used to form the hardened outer shell is to use a fiber tubing process.
  • the fiber is first weaved onto a mandrel to follow the shape and dimensions of the mandrel forming a tube or "sock" or a weaved fiber having the shape of the storage element for which a hardened shell is being constructed.
  • the mandrel has the same shape and dimensions as the storage element.
  • the sock (or weaved fiber shape) is then frictionally and/or snugly fit over the outer surface of the storage element.
  • Resin is then added to the fiber.
  • the process can then be repeated with additional layers of fiber (with the proper adjustments made for the dimensions of the weaved fiber sock or weaved fiber shape) and resin as needed or desired.
  • the layers of fibers and resin are then allowed to cure to form the hardened shell.
  • a fiber primarily made from volcanic rock such as Basalt rock is preferably used in the storage system of the present invention.
  • a Basalt fiber referred to as C 2 fiber having a mineralogical composition comprises at least is 52% Si0 2 , 17% Al 2 0 3 , 9%CaO, 5% MgO and 17% of various other substances typically found in volcanic rock.
  • the fiber can also be an Innegra fiber.
  • fibers not as strong as the strongest fibers e.g., carbon, steel or silicon carbide
  • which have acceptable mechanical and chemical properties such as the properties of Basalt and Innegra
  • Basalt and Innegra the properties of Basalt and Innegra
  • the strongest fibers listed in the table above are those with the highest stiffness and tensile strength, viz., Dyneema, Silicon carbide, and Carbon. These fibers also have some of the highest specific strengths (or strength per density) in the table.
  • the strength per density is the ratio of tensile strength to density, which is highest for Carbon and Dyneema.
  • Basalt and Innegra fibers yield the highest value for the fibers in the table (specific strength per cost for Basalt is 159 and Innegra 176); this is because Basalt and Innegra are the least expensive fibers per unit weight (4 Euros per Kg for Innegra and 5 Euros per Kg for Basalt) of any of the fibers in the table. Therefore, Basalt, Innegra and other fibers with similar strength per cost values become excellent candidates for the storage system of the present invention because the sizes of the storage elements relative to conventional Hydrogen tanks allow the use of fibers that are not as strong as Carbon or Silicon carbide.
  • the three main considerations for the Hydrogen storage system of the present invention are its weight, size and cost.
  • Some of the parameters that directly impact the weight, size and cost of the storage system of the present invention include choice of fiber material, thickness of the aluminum cylinders (or thickness of Hydrogen impermeable material), fiber fraction, (i.e., the ratio of amount of fiber to the amount of composite material made from fiber and epoxy resin) fiber angular positioning on the inner layer, the pressure at which the Hydrogen is stored and the dimension (in this case, the diameter of the cylinders) of the storage elements.
  • one approach is to vary a dimension (say for example diameter, D) of a storage element.
  • D dimension
  • the varying parameter will determine the value of the parameters that are related to the size, weight and cost of the storage elements.
  • varying one key parameter such as increasing the diameter of the storage elements will decrease the weight of the storage element per Hydrogen unit and increase the mass of the Hydrogen that can be stored. This is because the increase in D increases the volume in a square relationship and increases the stresses in a linear relationship. For example, if D is doubled, the stresses increase by a factor of 2, but the volume increases by a factor of 2 2 or 4.
  • FIG. 6 is a chart showing the interrelationships between the diameter of cylinder storage elements, the mass of the cylinders (thus their weight) and the mass of the stored Hydrogen.
  • FIG. 7 there is shown the maximum length of a serpentine cylindrical container that can fit within the footprint (and also within the volume) of the trunk of the 2007 Mitsubishi Evo 9.
  • a modified version of the already discussed design approach for the storage system of the present invention is to define ranges for an acceptable minimal mass of Hydrogen and a maximum weight of the storage system.
  • the diameter of the storage elements can then be calculated or determined to meet these design requirements. It is easily seen that the value of the diameter will determine the weight of the storage system, the size of the storage system. Further, the diameter value will determine the stress and thus the choice of fiber for the storage elements, which is a significant factor in the overall cost of the storage system.
  • one container is made from the coupling of storage elements (i.e., straight cylinders and bent cylinders) to each other to form a serpentine cylindrical container 600 and the other two containers 602, 604 are spherical containers not formed from storage elements.
  • the storage elements are not necessarily limited to cylinders or elements having circular profiles.
  • Storage elements having rectangular, square, triangular, elliptical, arbitrarily configured profiles and other profiles can be considered as tubes (of various lengths) which can be coupled to each other to form containers that conform to the particular shape and contours of a defined space (with defined boundaries) having a volume V and which fit within the boundaries of the defined space.
  • These tubes may be bent or shaped in various ways so that they fit within a particular defined space delineated by boundaries.
  • each of the storage elements is a U-shaped element 702 that is constructed using a bent cylinder section as in FIG. 3 and two short cylinder sections (similar to FIG. 4) or constructed with an integral one-piece U-shaped section.
  • the cylindrical sections are manufactured in the same or similar fashion (and made with the same materials) as the cylindrical sections described with respect to FIGS. 2-5A.
  • Each of the U-shaped storage elements 702 has the same shape and dimensions. However, one can easily conceive a storage system where all of the storage elements are U-shaped but some or all are of different sizes.
  • Each of the U-shaped storage elements 702 is connected to a common distribution conduit 704 (which may be a cylinder or a pipe or other shape), which serves as a coupling member to all of the U-shaped storage elements 702. Thus, all of the storage elements are coupled to each other via this common conduit.
  • Another conduit 706 is coupled to the distribution conduit 704 as shown.
  • Conduit 706 (similar to conduit 704) can be made and/or manufactured with the same materials and in the same or similar fashion as the storage elements described with respect to FIGS. 2-5A.
  • Conduits 704 and 706 can also be made from any appropriate Hydrogen impervious material; preferably conduits 704 and 706 can be made from stainless steel or the hydrogen impervious material and composite material shell described with respect to the serpentine containers discussed above.
  • the conduits 704 and 706 may be coupled to each other via a threaded T-connector or other well known threaded connector.
  • FIG. 9A shows a front view of the storage system of FIG. 9 positioned on or adhered to a flat surface 705.
  • Each of the storage elements 702 defines a plane 703 with its U-shape geometry.
  • each of the storage elements forms an angle ⁇ defined by plane 703 and surface 705.
  • the particular value of ⁇ will depend on any number of factors including volume V within which the resulting container (comprising a plurality of U-shaped containers coupled to each other via conduit 704) is disposed.
  • FIGS. 9 and 9A is an example of what is referred to as a "straight pipe” design where each of the storage elements is coupled to a common conduit (e.g., a pipe) through which Hydrogen gas is delivered to the various storage elements.
  • a common conduit e.g., a pipe
  • Hydrogen gas is delivered to the various storage elements.
  • each of the storage elements and the common conduit can be made from material similar to the storage elements used in the serpentine containers discussed above.
  • the assembly of the individual storage elements to the common conduit can also be achieved in an automated fashion making the manufacture of such straight pipe designs more efficient and thus relatively less costly than other types of designs.
  • the "straight pipe" design is a modular design approach because one set of storage elements coupled to a common conduit can be coupled to another similar set.
  • the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 can be replicated K times (K is an integer equal to 2 or greater) and each of the K straight pipe designs can be coupled to another similarly configured straight pipe design forming a modularized embodiment of the storage system of the present invention.
  • K is an integer equal to 2 or greater
  • different types of "straight pipe" designs can be coupled to each other to form yet another type of modularized embodiment of the storage system of the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 shows another straight pipe embodiment of the storage system of the present invention where the storage elements 802 are shaped as capsules and are coupled to a conduit 804 via straight connectors 810.
  • the storage elements 802 are shaped as capsules and are coupled to a conduit 804 via straight connectors 810.
  • the storage system may contain any number of capsules as necessary to meet a particular design requirement.
  • the storage elements are coupled to conduit 804 via right-angled connectors 808.
  • Each of the storage elements is shaped as a capsule; that is, each element is cylindrical in form, but the ends of the cylinder are semi-spherical in shape.
  • Another conduit 812 is coupled to conduit 804 with the use of a T-connector 806 as shown.
  • Conduit 804, straight connector 810, right angle connector 808 and T-connector 806 can all be made from stainless steel or other appropriate Hydrogen impermeable material; these parts can also be made from the same materials used to construct the serpentine containers discussed above.
  • FIGS. 9 and 10 are referred to as "straight pipe” systems because each such system has a conduit (704 in FIG. 9 and 804 in FIG. 10) to which the storage elements are coupled. Such an arrangement or configuration of storage elements is more conducive to automated assembly. Further, storage systems using the "straight pipe" configuration or arrangement can be modified more quickly.
  • the various embodiments described above all comprise storage elements that are cylindrical in shape and appropriately sized and dimensioned such that their relatively small volumes allow the use of relatively inexpensive materials having relatively lower tensile strength and stiffness to construct them.
  • the following embodiment depicts a storage system in which the storage elements are not cylindrical but are arbitrary in shape and dimension and but they have relatively small volumes that allow the use of inexpensive materials in their construction.
  • Hydrogen of pressure equal to 700 bars or greater can be stored in such storage systems.
  • FIG. 1 1 shows a storage system 900 of the present invention having a volume V of arbitrary shape and dimensions divided into N different storage elements, which when coupled to each other as shown form the storage system shown in FIG. 11.
  • Arbitrary shape and dimensions mean any space of volume V, which can be defined by a particular shape with particular dimensions where such shape and dimensions are created in arbitrary fashion or are created for any conceivable purpose.
  • the storage system of FIG. 11 comprises N storage elements (N is an integer equal to 2 or greater) each having a volume Vj which allows the use of a Hydrogen impermeable material (such as Aluminum) with a fiber-resin shell where the fiber can be made from such materials as Innegra, Basalt or materials with properties similar to those of Innegra and Basalt.
  • a Hydrogen impermeable material such as Aluminum
  • a fiber-resin shell where the fiber can be made from such materials as Innegra, Basalt or materials with properties similar to those of Innegra and Basalt.
  • the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 11 has a shape that conforms to the shape of the volume V within which this storage system is disposed; that is, the storage system of the present invention has substantially the same or similar shape and has substantially the same dimensions as the available space of volume V so that the storage system can fit within the defined space or the storage system defines a space that is similar to or is exactly the shape and dimensions of the defined space. Because this embodiment of the storage system of the present invention conforms to the shape of the volume within which it occupies, an efficient use of the volume space can be achieved.
  • the various storage elements are shaped and dimensioned such that when they are all coupled to each other and positioned as shown, the resulting storage system conforms to the shape of the available volume V.
  • Such an embodiment can be used to replace previous tanks having arbitrary shapes that were used to contain other fuels such as natural gas, gasoline, liquid fuels and/or other matter.
  • the same space can now be used to store Hydrogen at relatively high pressures (e.g., 700 bars or higher) for various applications such as a vehicle storage system, storage system for generating electricity, storage system for home heating, storage system for industrial applications, storage systems used to transport Hydrogen and other types of storage systems.
  • This particular embodiment of the storage system of the present invention can take on the exact shape or a similar shape of the tanks used to store these various fuels.
  • the storage system shown in FIG. 1 1 can be described as having three layers U, L 2 , and L 3 and three sections S 2 and S 3 as shown.
  • the storage elements are coupled to each other to form a container comprising one or more sections.
  • Section S comprises three layers 902, 904 and 906, which are portions of layers L 2 , and L 3 respectively.
  • each of the layers (902, 904 or 906) comprises seven (7) storage elements coupled together via openings in the same or similar manner as the storage elements of the serpentine storage elements discussed above.
  • Layer 902 of section comprises storage elements 902A, 902B, 902C, 902D, 902E, 902F and 902G.
  • Layer 904 of section S comprises storage elements 904A, 904B, 904C, 904D, 904E, 904F and 904G.
  • Layer 906 of section Si comprises storage elements 906A, 906B, 906C, 906D, 906E, 906F and 906G.
  • FIG. 13 an exploded perspective view of section ST is shown. More particularly, FIG. 13 illustrates how each of the layers forms a portion of section ST .
  • FIG. 13A there is shown how storage element 902A is coupled to 902B via openings 903A and 903B.
  • the openings at which the storage elements 902A and 902B are coupled can be tapered in complementary fashion (not shown) to promote coupling.
  • Another embodiment of this storage system may have a circular opening (not shown) at the side where openings 903A and 903B are located and a cylindrical tube can then be used to couple the two storage elements 902A and 902B together.
  • Various other methods and techniques can be used to properly couple the storage elements to each other.
  • each of the storage elements of each layer has at least one opening to allow the coupling of each such storage element to adjacently positioned storage elements of that layer.
  • each of the storage elements 902B-902G has two openings.
  • storage element 902G couples to storage elements of different layers and is thus a layer coupling storage element as its opening 1000A aligns with an opening 1000B of storage element 904G of layer 904.
  • Layer 904 comprises storage elements 904A-904G. Similar to layer 902, each of the storage elements of layer 904 has two openings.
  • Storage element 904A is also a layer coupling storage element as its opening 2000A is aligned with opening 2000B of storage element 906A of layer 906.
  • Layer 906 comprises storage elements 906A-906G.
  • section S can be coupled to section S 2 via openings (not shown) at particular adjacently positioned storage elements from sections ST and S 2 .
  • section S 2 can then be coupled to section S 3 also via openings (not shown) at particular adjacently positioned storage elements from these two sections.
  • the three sections can be coupled as described above and positioned in close proximity to each other (or attached to each other) to form the storage system of the present invention as depicted in FIG. 1 1 .
  • a plurality of the N storage elements are coupled to each other to form one or more sections each of which is coupled to another section and can be attached or positioned in relatively close proximity to each other so that all the sections fit within the space of volume V having an arbitrary shape and dimensions that conform to the shape of the embodiment of the storage system of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1 1.
  • the coupled sections Si , S 2 , and S 3 form a container, which conforms to the shape and dimensions of the defined space of volume V.
  • the coupled sections may form more than one container all of which when coupled together may conform to the shape and dimensions of the defined space of volume V and/or may fit within the boundaries of the defined space of volume V.
  • the storage system of the present invention has been described in terms of storage elements that are coupled to each other to form containers within which Hydrogen is stored to power vehicles. It will be readily obvious however that the Hydrogen storage system of the present invention can be used for storage systems for various other applications such as storage systems for vehicles used to distribute Hydrogen to refill stations. These vehicles transport large amounts of Hydrogen in large tanks; the storage system of the present invention can be used to replace these large tanks. The transported Hydrogen is delivered to refill stations for vehicles and is stored in storage tanks at those locations.
  • the transported Hydrogen can be delivered to households or places of business, which use the delivered Hydrogen for heating systems and electricity generating systems.
  • the storage system of the present invention can thus be used to transport Hydrogen to distribute the Hydrogen to refill stations.
  • the present invention can be used to store Hydrogen at the refill stations.
  • the storage system of the present invention can be used to store Hydrogen in households or commercial buildings for heating or for generating electricity.
  • containers built in accordance with the storage system of the present invention and which are located at power stations can be used to generate electricity.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système de stockage d'hydrogène comprenant des éléments de stockage couplés les uns aux autres pour former un ou plusieurs contenants disposés dans un espace ayant un volume V, le volume de chacun des éléments de stockage étant bien plus petit que le volume V, ce qui permet de réduire les contraintes placées sur les éléments de stockage au niveau de leurs surfaces intérieures. De l'hydrogène peut ainsi être stocké à une pression relativement élevée dans ces éléments de stockage en raison des contraintes réduites au niveau de leurs surfaces intérieures. Par conséquent, des matériaux présentant une résistance à la traction et une rigidité relativement plus faibles peuvent être utilisés pour construire les éléments de stockage du système de stockage d'hydrogène. Par ailleurs, les éléments de stockage peuvent être façonnés et dimensionnés pour se conformer à un volume d'espace ayant une forme et des dimensions arbitraires.
PCT/EP2012/004310 2011-10-18 2012-10-16 Système de stockage d'hydrogène Ceased WO2013056808A2 (fr)

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US13/275,493 US20130092561A1 (en) 2011-10-18 2011-10-18 Hydrogen Storage System

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US20130092561A1 (en) 2013-04-18
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