Patent
Systems and methods for electrochemical power generation
| العنوان: | Systems and methods for electrochemical power generation |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 7,883,802 |
| تاريخ النشر: | February 08, 2011 |
| Appl. No: | 12/333049 |
| Application Filed: | December 11, 2008 |
| مستخلص: | Electrochemical power generation systems in which the oxidizable reactant is non-carbon constituents of a fossil fuel are provided. The fossil fuel may be coal, which is contacted with an aqueous electrolyte medium used in the systems. The electrolyte may, in certain aspects, be acid mine drainage. Aspects of the invention include systems and methods for remediation of acid mine drainage, where the systems are configured to raise the pH of acid mine drainage. Aspects of the invention also include regenerating the electrolyte using an external electricity source and recirculating the electrolyte to the system. |
| Inventors: | Levine, R. Paul (Palo Alto, CA, US); Danziger, Robert (Carmel, CA, US) |
| Assignees: | Danziger, Robert (Carmel, CA, US) |
| Claim: | 1. An electrochemical power generation system comprising: an anode; a cathode; an electrical conductor connecting the anode and the cathode; and a housing for containing an aqueous electrolyte medium in contact with at least a portion of the anode and the cathode, wherein the aqueous electrolyte medium comprises oxidizable non-carbon constituents of a fossil fuel, and wherein the system is configured to obtain energy from the oxidizable non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel at a temperature below the oxidation temperature of carbon. |
| Claim: | 2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising the aqueous electrolyte medium in the housing. |
| Claim: | 3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the pH of the aqueous electrolyte medium is 6 or less. |
| Claim: | 4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the aqueous electrolyte medium comprises acid mine drainage. |
| Claim: | 5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an aqueous electrolyte medium processor, wherein the aqueous electrolyte medium processor is configured to produce the aqueous electrolyte medium with a standardized energy density. |
| Claim: | 6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the standardized energy density ranges from 6,000 btu per gallon to 135,000 btu per gallon. |
| Claim: | 7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel comprise pyrite. |
| Claim: | 8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the pyrite comprises framboidal pyrite. |
| Claim: | 9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel comprise greigite. |
| Claim: | 10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the fossil fuel comprises coal. |
| Claim: | 11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a reactor configured to regenerate the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel, wherein the reactor contains a regeneration medium contacted with a source of energy. |
| Claim: | 12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the reactor is configured to regenerate the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel chemically. |
| Claim: | 13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the regeneration medium comprises at least one species of microorganism for regenerating the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel. |
| Claim: | 14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the energy is electrical energy. |
| Claim: | 15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to produce hydrogen. |
| Claim: | 16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the temperature is ambient temperature. |
| Claim: | 17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system is a continuous flow system. |
| Claim: | 18. A method for obtaining energy from non-carbon constituents of a fossil fuel, the method comprising: contacting the fossil fuel with an aqueous medium to produce an aqueous electrolyte medium comprising oxidizable non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel; oxidizing the aqueous electrolyte medium in an electrochemical power generation system according to claim 1 at a temperature below the oxidation temperature of carbon to obtain energy. |
| Claim: | 19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the aqueous medium comprises acid mine drainage. |
| Claim: | 20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising regenerating the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel. |
| Claim: | 21. The method of claim 18 , further comprising processing the aqueous electrolyte medium before oxidizing to produce an aqueous electrolyte medium with a standardized energy density. |
| Claim: | 22. A system for generating power, the system comprising one or more electrochemical power generation systems comprising: an anode; a cathode; an electrical conductor connecting the anode and the cathode; and a housing for containing an aqueous electrolyte medium in contact with at least a portion of the anode and the cathode, wherein the aqueous electrolyte medium comprises oxidizable non-carbon constituents of a fossil fuel, and wherein the one or more electrochemical power generation systems are configured to obtain energy from the oxidizable non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel at a temperature below the oxidation temperature of carbon. |
| Claim: | 23. The system of claim 22 , further comprising the aqueous electrolyte medium in the housing, wherein the aqueous electrolyte medium comprises acid mine drainage. |
| Claim: | 24. The system of claim 22 , further comprising one or more aqueous electrolyte medium processors, wherein the aqueous electrolyte medium processors are configured to produce the aqueous electrolyte medium with a standardized energy density. |
| Claim: | 25. The system of claim 22 , further comprising one or more reactors configured to regenerate the non-carbon constituents of the fossil fuel, wherein the reactors contain a regeneration medium contacted with a source of energy. |
| Current U.S. Class: | 429/401 |
| Patent References Cited: | 4622275 November 1986 Noguchi et al. 6190428 February 2001 Rolison et al. 6929858 August 2005 Zguris et al. 2005/0255345 November 2005 Gerritse et al. 2007/0212584 September 2007 Chuang 2006121981 November 2006 |
| Other References: | Bajpai et al., “Nature and composition of pyrite framboids and organic substrate from degraded leaf cuticles of late Tertiary sediments, Mahuadanr Valley, Palamu, Bihar”, Current Science, (2001), 81(1):102-106. cited by other Cheng et al., “Electricity Generation from Synthetic Acid-Mine Drainage (AMD) Water using Fuel Cell Technologies”, Environ. Sci. Technol., (2007), 41:8149-8153. cited by other |
| Primary Examiner: | Maples, John S |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Ng, Rudy J. Bozicevic, Field & Francis LLP |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.07883802 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |