Method for production of carbon dioxide and apparatus therefor

• US 8,522,573 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2012
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ergenics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ergenics Corporation
• Inventors: Golben, P. Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Griffin, Walter D
• Assistant Examiner(s): YOUNG, NATASHA E
• Application Number:
  US13/372,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20120198884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 568 Days
• Field of Search: 422/129, 422/168, 422/187, 422/198, 422/600, 422/630, 422/631, 626/15, 518/702, 204/242, 204/232, 423/220, 423/644, 423/648.1, 423649-654
• US Class Current: 62/615
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/0005 Reversible uptake of hydrogen by an appropriate medium, i.e. based on physical or chemical sorption phenomena or on reversible chemical reactions, e.g. for hydrogen storage purposes purification of hydrogen C01B3/508; Reversible gettering of hydrogen; Reversible uptake of hydrogen by electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2/32 with the use of catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/04 essentially based on blends of hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/42 Fischer-Tropsch steps
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 3/08 Production of synthetic natural gas
• CPC Class Codes: C25B 1/04 by electrolysis of water
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/32 Hydrogen storage
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/36 Hydrogen production from non-carbon containing sources, e.g. by water electrolysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/133 Renewable energy sources, e.g. sunlight

Abstract

A system for conversion of waste and solar heat energy into a carbon sequestration device, including as a collector for collecting carbon dioxide gas from a carbon dioxide gas source, such as ambient air. The Joule Thompson effect is used to cool and thereby refrigerate/liquefy ambient air and then extracting carbon dioxide therefrom, comprising steps of and means for providing a hydride heat engine, operating the hydride heat engine utilizing hydride thermal compression technology to compress hydrogen gas and thereby to cool ambient air to a temperature rendering air into a refrigerated/liquefied state by use of a Joule-Thompson type process, and extracting carbon dioxide from the refrigerated/liquefied ambient air and collecting the carbon dioxide.

Claims

1. A method of producing carbon dioxide comprising:

a) providing a hydride heat engine including desorbing chambers and a hydride compressor;

b) operating said hydride heat engine by directing a hydrogen stream to a heat exchanger wherein the hydrogen is decompressed thereby providing cooling to a cooling vessel, cooling ambient air in a series of counter flow heat exchangers producing a low pressure hydrogen in at least one of the desorbing chambers, returning the low pressure hydrogen to the hydride compressor in a continual process;

c) extracting carbon dioxide from the liquefied ambient air by using the hydride cooling capacity of the desorbing chambers adapted to cool an appropriate separation temperature at which liquid carbon dioxide is separated from the ambient air; and

d) sending the extracted carbon dioxide to a converter unit for collecting the carbon dioxide.

2. The method of producing carbon dioxide according to claim 1 further comprising:

e) sequestering the collected carbon dioxide in a cooling vessel.

3. The method of producing carbon dioxide according to claim 2 wherein the collected carbon dioxide is sequestered by burying in the ground.

4. A system for producing carbon dioxide comprising:

a) a hydride heat engine including desorbing chambers capable of adiabatically compressing hydrogen gas in a first desorbing chamber and depressurizing the compressed hydrogen gas in a second desorbing chamber in fluid interconnection with each the first desorbing chamber;

b) a heat exchange mechanism capable of using the decompression of the hydrogen gas within the first or second desorbing chamber to cool ambient air external to the heat engine to an appropriate carbon dioxide separation temperature rendering air into a refrigerated/liquefied state;

c) a converter unit for extracting cooled, refrigerated/liquefied carbon dioxide from the refrigerated/liquefied ambient air; and

d) a cooling vessel for collecting the cooled carbon dioxide.

5. A method of producing carbon dioxide comprising:

a) providing a hydride heat engine including a series of first and second desorbing chambers;

b) operating said hydride heat engine through a heat exchange mechanism to compress hydrogen gas in a first chamber of the series of first or second chambers, and decompressing the compressed hydrogen gas in the second chamber of the series of first or second chambers, thereby cooling ambient air adjacent the hydride heat engine to a temperature rendering air into a refrigerated/liquefied state;

c) returning the decompressed hydrogen gas to the first of the of the series of first or second chambers to recompress the hydrogen gas in a continual process;

d) extracting carbon dioxide from the liquefied ambient air; and

e) sending the extracted carbon dioxide to a converter unit for collecting the carbon dioxide.

6. The method of producing carbon dioxide according to claim 5 further comprising:

e) sequestering the collected carbon dioxide in a cooling vessel.

7. The method of producing carbon dioxide according to claim 6 wherein the collected carbon dioxide is further sequestered by burying in the ground.