U.S. patent application number 11/924063 was filed with the patent office on 2008-11-27 for vehicle for filing a hydrogen storage vessel at enhanced flow rates.
Invention is credited to Frederic Barth, Pascal TESSIER.
Application Number | 20080289591 11/924063 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39885574 |
Filed Date | 2008-11-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080289591 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TESSIER; Pascal ; et
al. |
November 27, 2008 |
Vehicle for Filing a Hydrogen Storage Vessel at Enhanced Flow
Rates
Abstract
A compressed gas delivery vehicle includes a cooling system
designed to cool the interior of a gas storage vessel containing
adsorbent or absorbent material during filling of the vessel.
Inventors: |
TESSIER; Pascal; (Newark,
DE) ; Barth; Frederic; (Annecy-Le-Vieux, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
AIR LIQUIDE;Intellectual Property
2700 POST OAK BOULEVARD, SUITE 1800
HOUSTON
TX
77056
US
|
Family ID: |
39885574 |
Appl. No.: |
11/924063 |
Filed: |
October 25, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60870655 |
Dec 19, 2006 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
123/41.31 ;
141/231; 141/82 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B01D 2253/1126 20130101;
B01D 2259/4525 20130101; F17C 11/007 20130101; B60K 15/07 20130101;
B01D 2257/108 20130101; B01D 2253/104 20130101; B01D 53/0438
20130101; B01D 2253/102 20130101; B01D 2256/16 20130101; F17C
11/005 20130101; B01D 53/0446 20130101; Y02E 60/321 20130101; B01D
2253/106 20130101; Y02E 60/32 20130101; B01D 2259/40001
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
123/41.31 ;
141/82; 141/231 |
International
Class: |
F01P 9/04 20060101
F01P009/04; B65B 3/04 20060101 B65B003/04 |
Claims
1. A vehicle for filling a gas storage tank, comprising: a chassis;
a hydrocarbon fuel tank; an internal combustion engine borne by
said chassis and being adapted and configured to combust
hydrocarbon fuel from said hydrocarbon fuel tank to produce power
for propelling said vehicle; a radiator comprising a pump, a
coolant conduit, and a fan, said radiator pump adapted and
configured to pump coolant through or from said radiator coolant
conduit, said radiator fan being adapted and configured to blow air
at said radiator coolant conduit to remove heat from radiator fluid
flowing therethrough; a compressed gas tank borne by said chassis
and having an outlet valve; and a cooling system borne by said
chassis, said cooling system comprising a pump, a cooling conduit,
and a fan, said cooling system pump being adapted and configured to
pump coolant through or from said cooling system cooling conduit,
said cooling system fan being adapted and configured to blow air at
said cooling system cooling conduit to remove heat from coolant
flowing therethrough.
2. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising: a coolant outlet
conduit having first and second ends, said first coolant outlet
conduit end extending from said cooling system, said second coolant
outlet conduit end being adapted and configured to be coupled with
a coolant fluid inlet of a gas storage vessel with a liquid-tight
seal; and a coolant inlet conduit having first and second ends,
said first coolant inlet conduit end extending from said cooling
system, said second coolant outlet conduit end being adapted and
configured to be coupled with a coolant fluid outlet of a gas
storage vessel with a liquid-tight seal.
3. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising: a compressed gas
dispenser having first and second ends, said first dispenser end
extending from said outlet valve and being in selective fluid
communication with an interior of said compressed gas tank via said
outlet valve, said second dispenser end being adapted and
configured to be coupled with a compressed gas inlet of a gas
storage vessel with a gas-tight seal.
4. The vehicle of claim 1, the cooling system has a cooling power
of 2-500 kW.
5. The vehicle of claim 1, the cooling system has a cooling power
of 50-150 kW.
6. A vehicle for filling a gas storage tank, comprising: a chassis;
a hydrocarbon fuel tank; an internal combustion engine borne by
said chassis and being adapted and configured to combust
hydrocarbon fuel from said hydrocarbon fuel tank to produce power
for propelling said vehicle; a compressed gas tank borne by said
chassis and having an outlet valve; a cooling system borne by said
chassis said cooling system comprising a pump, a cooling conduit
having first and second ends, and a fan, said pump being adapted
and configured to pump coolant through or from said cooling
conduit, said fan being adapted and configured to blow air at said
cooling conduit; first and second valves; a first radiator hose
extending from and in fluid communication with an interior of said
engine and extending to and in selective fluid communication with
said first valve; a second radiator hose extending from and in
fluid communication with an interior of said engine and extending
to and in selective fluid communication with said second valve; a
coolant outlet conduit extending from and in selective fluid
communication with said first valve and terminating at an end that
is adapted and configured to be coupled with a coolant fluid inlet
of a gas storage vessel with a liquid-tight seal; a coolant inlet
conduit extending from and in selective fluid communication with
said second valve and terminating at an end that is adapted and
configured to be coupled with a coolant fluid outlet of a gas
storage vessel with a liquid-tight seal.
7. The vehicle of claim 6, further comprising: a compressed gas
dispenser having first and second ends, said first dispenser end
extending from said outlet valve and being in selective fluid
communication with an interior of said compressed gas tank via said
outlet valve, said second dispenser end being adapted and
configured to be coupled with a compressed gas inlet of a gas
storage vessel with a gas-tight seal.
8. The vehicle of claim 6, the cooling system has a cooling power
of 2-500 kW.
9. The vehicle of claim 6, the cooling system has a cooling power
of 50-150 kW.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/870,655, filed Dec. 19, 2006.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Current methods and equipment for delivering hydrogen gas to
customers include pipelines, compressed gas trucks (tube trailers),
liquid hydrogen tanks, as well as compressed gas cylinders, alone
or packed in cylinder bundles. In the case of pipelines, hydrogen
is transferred from production plants to industrial plants that
consume large amounts of hydrogen. These types of pipelines are
limited to large industrial basins is where this delivery method is
economical. In the case of tube trailers, compressed gas can be
discharged into a compressed gas stationary storage system, such as
a compressed gas tank or a bank of cylinder bundles. In the case of
delivery using cylinders, cylinders or cylinder bundles are simply
unloaded from a vehicle onto the customer storage area. In the case
of liquid hydrogen, the liquid is usually transferred to a
stationary liquid tank at the customer facility.
[0003] A typical compressed hydrogen installation at a customer
facility can be made of two cylinder bundles with 100 to 250
Nm.sup.3 of hydrogen depending on local industrial practice. One
cylinder bundle will typically occupy a surface of 1 meter.times.1
meter, and the installation comprising the two bundles and space
necessary to load them to, and unload them from, a truck will have
a typical footprint of 1 meter.times.4 meters, excluding security
fencing and surface free from any structure according to applicable
regulations.
[0004] Storage of hydrogen in metal hydride (or other
hydrogen-absorbing materials) tanks offers a much higher volumetric
density than compressed gas. This type of storage has been
demonstrated in several research and development efforts, one
application of which includes supplying hydrogen to fuel cells in
military submarines. However, it is not practical to store hydrogen
in metal hydride tanks onboard trucks for delivery because of the
low gravimetric storage density of known hydrogen-absorbing
materials. One of the requirements of these types of storage tanks
is that they include a cooling/heating subsystem for cooling the
hydrogen-absorbing material upon filling and heating it upon
discharge, because the heat of hydrogen absorption must be removed
during filling and the heat of desorption must be provided during
discharge.
[0005] As an example of the storage capacity afforded by metal
hydrides, FeTiH.sub.2 can contain approximately 1000 NM.sup.3 of
hydrogen per cubic meter of material. Even with the cooling path
and heat exchange material inserted, the volumetric density of
stored hydrogen can be much higher. 200 liters of
hydrogen-absorbing material is sufficient to store 200 Nm.sup.3 of
hydrogen. The heat of absorption of hydrogen in FeTi is
approximately 30 kJ/mol H.sub.2 or 0.37 kWh/Nm.sup.3H.sub.2.
[0006] In a scenario where hydrogen in a stationary storage device
using a hydrogen-absorbing material is consumed slowly between
refills but where filling must be done quickly for economical
reasons, cooling rate becomes the limiting factor. There are
several examples of metal hydride storage technologies with means
of heat transfer, including those found in: U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,719
(hydride-dehydride power system); U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,836 (hydride
tank on-board a motor vehicle with heat transfer between the
vehicle's radiator and the hydride tank); U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,717
(process for filling a metal hydride tank on-board a vehicle with
heat transfer between the vehicie's tank and the filling station's
stationary metal hydride tank; U.S. Pat. No. 6,918,430 (on-board
metal hydride storage in vehicles with heat transfer system); U.S.
Pat. No. 6,860,923 (on-board metal hydride storage in vehicles with
heat transfer system); US 2005-0139493 (on-board metal hydride
storage in vehicles with heat transfer system); and US 2004-0042957
(thermal hydrogen compressor using metal hydrides).
SUMMARY
[0007] There is disclosed a first embodiment of a vehicle for
filling a gas storage tank that includes: a chassis; a hydrocarbon
fuel tank; an internal combustion engine borne by the chassis and
being adapted and configured to combust hydrocarbon fuel from the
hydrocarbon fuel tank to produce power for propelling the vehicle;
a radiator including a pump, a coolant conduit, and a fan, the
radiator pump adapted and configured to pump coolant through or
from the radiator coolant conduit, the radiator fan being adapted
and configured to blow air at the radiator coolant conduit to
remove heat from radiator fluid flowing therethrough; a compressed
gas tank borne by the chassis and having an outlet valve; and a
cooling system borne by the chassis, the cooling system comprising
a pump, a cooling conduit, and a fan, the cooling system pump being
adapted and configured to pump coolant through or from the cooling
system cooling conduit, the cooling system fan being adapted and
configured to blow air at the cooling system cooling conduit to
remove heat from coolant flowing therethrough.
[0008] The first embodiment may include one or more of the
following aspects: [0009] a coolant outlet conduit having first and
second ends, the first coolant outlet conduit end extending from
the cooling system, the second coolant outlet conduit end being
adapted and configured to be coupled with a coolant fluid inlet of
a gas storage vessel with a liquid-tight seal; and a coolant inlet
conduit having first and second ends, the first coolant inlet
conduit end extending from the cooling system, the second coolant
outlet conduit end being adapted and configured to be coupled with
a coolant fluid outlet of a gas storage vessel with a liquid-tight
seal. [0010] a compressed gas dispenser having first and second
ends, the first dispenser end extending from the outlet valve and
being in selective fluid communication with an interior of the
compressed gas tank via the outlet valve, the second dispenser end
being adapted and configured to be coupled with a compressed gas
inlet of a gas storage vessel with a gas-tight seal. [0011] the
cooling system has a cooling power of 2-500 kW. [0012] the cooling
system has a cooling power of 50-150 kW.
[0013] There is disclosed a second embodiment of a vehicle for
filling a gas storage tank that includes: a chassis; a hydrocarbon
fuel tank; an internal combustion engine borne by the chassis and
being adapted and configured to combust hydrocarbon fuel from the
hydrocarbon fuel tank to produce power for propelling the vehicle;
a compressed gas tank borne by the chassis and having an outlet
valve; a cooling system borne by the chassis, said cooling system
comprising a pump, a cooling conduit having first and second ends,
and a fan, said pump being adapted and configured to pump coolant
through or from the cooling conduit, said fan being adapted and
configured to blow air at the cooling conduit; first and second
valves; a first radiator hose extending from and in fluid
communication with an interior of the engine and extending to and
in selective fluid communication with the first valve; a second
radiator hose extending from and in fluid communication with an
interior of the engine and extending to and in selective fluid
communication with the second valve; a coolant outlet conduit
extending from and in selective fluid communication with the first
valve and terminating at an end that is adapted and configured to
be coupled with a coolant fluid inlet of a gas storage vessel with
a liquid-tight seal; a coolant inlet conduit extending from and in
selective fluid communication with the second valve and terminating
at an end that is adapted and configured to be coupled with a
coolant fluid outlet of a gas storage vessel with a liquid-tight
seal.
[0014] The second embodiment may include one or more of the
following aspects: [0015] a compressed gas dispenser having first
and second ends, the first dispenser end extending from the outlet
valve and being in selective fluid communication with an interior
of said compressed gas tank via said outlet valve, said second
dispenser end being adapted and configured to be coupled with a
compressed gas inlet of a gas storage vessel with a gas-tight seal.
[0016] the cooling system has a cooling power of 2-500 kW. [0017]
the cooling system has a cooling power of 50-150 kW.
[0018] One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the
chassis is not intended to be limited to only unitary structures.
As an example, the chassis may also be a multi-part chassis such as
those used by reticulated trailers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the
present invention, reference should be made to the following
detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which like elements are given the same or analogous
reference numbers and wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic of one embodiment of the disclosed
vehicle during a filling operation including heat transfer between
the storage tank and an auxiliary radiator.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a schematic of another embodiment of the vehicle
during a filling operation including heat transfer between the
storage tank and a radiator of the vehicle.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic of a portion of the embodiment of FIG.
2.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] For convenience, Table I recites descriptions of all the
reference characters in the Figures.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE I Reference Characters Used in Figures 1
vehicle 3 compressed gas container 4 compressed gas container
outlet conduit 5a cooling system outlet valve 5b cooling system
outlet conduit 5c chilled coolant fitting 5e gas storage vessel
coolant inlet valve 6 chilled coolant outlet conduit 7a cooling
system inlet valve 7b cooling system inlet conduit 7c warm coolant
fitting 7e gas storage vessel coolant outlet valve 8 warm coolant
inlet conduit 9a compressed gas outlet valve 9b compressed gas
outlet conduit 9c compressed gas fitting 9e hydrogen storage vessel
inlet valve 11 gas storage vessel heat exchange conduit 13 gas
storage vessel 15 cooling system heat exchange conduit 17 cooling
system 19 internal combustion engine 20 hydrocarbon fuel tank 21
radiator 25 second radiator valve 27 radiator heat exchange conduit
31 first radiator valve 32 second radiator hose 33 first radiator
hose
[0024] In the field of gas storage, adsorption is a process that
occurs when a gas accumulates on the surface or in pores of a
solid, forming a molecular or atomic film (the adsorbate). On the
other hand, absorption is a physical or chemical phenomenon or a
process in which atoms, molecules, or ions enter some bulk phase of
gas, liquid or solid material. Absorption is a different process
from adsorption, since the molecules are taken up by the volume,
not by surface. Either of these two processes will release heat of
enthalpy because the atoms, molecules, or ions reach a lower energy
state when absorbed or adsorbed. Conversely, energy must be
supplied to the sorptive material in order to desorb the atoms,
molecules, or ions.
[0025] When gas is supplied to a sorptive material within a storage
vessel, the heat of enthalpy released increases the temperature of
the material. As the temperature of the material increases,
continued sorption of the gas by the material becomes more
difficult. For practical purposes, it is desirable to fill such a
vessel relatively quickly. So, the pressure of the gas being
supplied to the vessel must be increased over time in order to
maintain a desired rate at which the vessel is filled with the gas,
as the temperature inside the vessel increases over time. Thus,
heat transfer to the outside of the vessel often serves as the
limiting factor in achieving a desirable filling time and filling
rate.
[0026] One solution is to remove heat from the vessel being filled.
This is typically achieved by flowing coolant fluid through a heat
exchange conduit within the sorptive material and some sort of
cooling device permanently associated with the vessel. However,
this necessitates that a cooling device be provided with each
storage vessel thereby increasing the capital cost. Additionally,
the footprint of the vessel would also be increased, thereby
requiring additional costs for civil engineering, concrete pad
construction and fencing, depending on local requirements.
[0027] In order to avoid both of these problems, there is disclosed
a vehicle for transporting compressed gas and filling a gas storage
vessel with the compressed gas, wherein the vehicle includes a
cooling system. One important advantage of such a solution is that
a single cooling system on the vehicle can be used for frequent
filling operations at several customer locations on a delivery
route. Thus, there would be no need to invest in one cooling system
for each and every storage vessel. If the vessel is infrequently
refilled, such as in a fuel cell system for electrical power
backup, removing the need to invest in a cooling system only for
use when refilling the storage vessel is especially economical.
[0028] Generally, the storage vessel may use any combination of
adsorbent material and gas that exhibits reversible adsorption. One
of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the patent
literature is replete with descriptions of adsorbents that
reversibly adsorb gases and their details need not be replicated
here in full. However, non-limiting examples of adsorbent material
include activated carbon, zeolite materials, activated alumina,
aluminosilicates, silica gel, and porous glass. Non-limiting
examples of gases used with an adsorbent include hydride and halide
gases, such as silane, diborane, propane, methane, natural gas,
germane, ammonia, stibine, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen selenide,
hydrogen telluride, and corresponding and other halide (chlorine,
bromine, iodine, and fluorine) gaseous compounds such as NF.sub.3,
and organometallic Group V compounds such as
(CH.sub.3).sub.3Sb.
[0029] Also generally speaking, the current method and system may
be performed with any combination of absorbent material and gas
that exhibits reversible absorption. One of ordinary skill in the
art will recognize that the patent and non-patent literature is
replete with descriptions of absorbents that reversibly absorb
gases and their details need not be replicated here. However, one
particularly preferred combination of gas and absorbent material is
that of hydrogen and a metal hydride. Non-limiting examples of
metal hydrides include Mg.sub.2NiH.sub.4, NaAlH.sub.4,
LaNi.sub.5H.sub.6, MgH.sub.2, FeTiH.sub.2, Na.sub.3AlH.sub.6,
CaNi.sub.5H.sub.6, and LaNi.sub.4H.sub.6, and other advanced metal
hydrides believed to reversibly absorb hydrogen such as
Li.sub.3AlH.sub.6, LiMg(AlH.sub.4).sub.3, LiNH.sub.2--MgH.sub.2,
and K.sub.2LiAlH.sub.6.
[0030] In the case of hydrogen, the storage vessel may itself be
part of a more complex energy system at a customer location where
it is connected to a stationary hydrogen consumption device not
borne by the vehicle. One example is a regenerative energy system
comprising photovoltaic(s) panel(s) and/or wind mill(s) for
supplying electricity, an electrolyzer, and a fuel cell. Hydrogen
produced by the electrolyzer is stored in the storage vessel. When
the electrical power output of the photovoltaic(s) panel(s) and/or
the wind mill(s) is insufficient for the demand, the fuel cell
consumes hydrogen and air (or oxygen) to produce a supplemental or
alternative supply of electricity.
[0031] As best illustrated in FIG. 1, in one embodiment a vehicle
(1) has an onboard compressed gas container (3) and an onboard
cooling system 17. During a filling operation, gas from compressed
gas container 3 flows through compressed gas container outlet
conduit 4, compressed gas outlet valve 9a and into compressed gas
outlet conduit 9b. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize
that fitting 9c (as well as fittings 5c, 7c) comprises the
combination of devices permanently attached to the end of conduit
5b and inlet valve 5e that are adapted to provide a gas-tight seal
between conduit 5b and valve 5e. As the gas is sorbed on sorbent
material contained in gas storage vessel 13, heat is generated.
[0032] In order to achieve a relatively fast fill rate, a cooling
system 17 is employed with the gas storage vessel 13. A coolant
fluid is chilled at cooling system 17 while traversing cooling
system heat exchange conduit 15. Chilled coolant is pumped out of
the cooling system 17 via cooling system outlet valve 5a and into
cooling system outlet conduit 5b. A chilled coolant fitting 5c
connects cooling system outlet conduit 5b and gas storage vessel
coolant inlet valve 5d. The chilled coolant flows past gas storage
vessel coolant inlet valve 5e and into gas storage vessel heat
exchange conduit 11.
[0033] As best shown in FIG. 1, heat generated by filling gas
storage vessel 13 with the gas is removed by coolant fluid
traversing conduit 11. The warmed coolant fluid returns to cooling
system 17 via gas storage vessel coolant outlet valve 7d, warm
coolant fluid fitting 7c, cooling system inlet conduit 7b, and
cooling system inlet valve 7a. The cooling system also includes a
pump, which one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that a
pump may be located anywhere along the coolant fluid path, and an
expansion tank serving as a reservoir for coolant fluid and buffer
for moderating pressure fluctuations in the coolant fluid path.
[0034] In the FIG. 1 embodiment, coolant fluid from the internal
combustion engine 19 is separately cooled by radiator 21.
[0035] In an alternative embodiment and as best illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle 1 need not have an onboard cooling
system 17. Rather, the coolant fluid may be chilled with vehicle
radiator 21, In this case, chilled coolant fluid is pumped from
radiator 21 through chilled coolant outlet conduit 6 and warmed
coolant fluid returns to radiator 21 via warm coolant inlet conduit
8.
[0036] As more particularly shown in FIG. 3, during a filling
operation second radiator valve 25 is actuated to prevent flow of
coolant from second radiator hose 32 to radiator 21 while allowing
coolant flow from warm coolant inlet conduit 8 to radiator 21.
Also, first radiator valve 31 is actuated to prevent flow of
coolant from radiator 21 to first radiator hose 33 while allowing
coolant flow from radiator 21 to chilled coolant inlet conduit 6.
In this manner, warm coolant from the gas storage vessel 13 flows
through warm coolant inlet conduit 8 and into radiator heat
exchange conduit 27 where it is cooled with the fan. Chilled
coolant then flows to the vessel 13 via coolant inlet conduit
6.
[0037] Conversely, in between fills the engine may be cooled by
actuating second radiator valve 25 to allow flow of coolant from
second radiator hose 32 to radiator 21 and prevent flow of coolant
from warm coolant inlet conduit 8 to radiator 21. Also, first
radiator valve 31 is actuated to allow flow of coolant from
radiator 21 to first radiator hose 33 while preventing coolant flow
from radiator 21 to chilled coolant inlet conduit 6. With first and
second valves 25, 31 in these latter orientations, coolant from
engine 19 may be cooled at radiator 21.
[0038] For obvious reasons, one of ordinary skill in the art will
recognize that, in the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the conduits,
valves, and fittings on the vehicle associated with the coolant
path of the gas storage vessel need not be specifically disposed in
the locations illustrated by the Figures. Rather, they may be
located anywhere on the vehicle 1 so long as they suitably perform
their functions.
[0039] While not depicted, a temperature control system is
advantageously used to activate the coolant fluid pump and coolant
fluid flow in order to provide the proper cooling rate while
filling the storage tank.
[0040] Both refrigeration system and radiators are suitable for use
as the cooling system. The heat exchange surface area and
cross-sectional dimension of the cooling conduit of the cooling
system (or radiator in the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 2-3),
the diameter of the cooling system outlet and inlet conduits, and
the heat exchange surface area and cross-sectional dimension of the
gas storage vessel heat exchange conduit may be sized to
accommodate the cooling capacity required for filling a gas storage
vessel at a certain mass flow rate. It is well within the knowledge
of one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize existing heat
exchange models in engineering texts in designing the cooling
system. In the case of the heat exchange conduit of the gas storage
vessel, it is also well within the knowledge of one of ordinary
skill in the art to utilize existing teachings on heat exchangers
for use with gas adsorbent or absorbent systems.
[0041] For hydrogen storage vessels containing metal hydride
absorbent material in particular, the patent literature is replete
with teachings of suitable vessel and heat exchanger designs such
that their details need not be duplicated herein. Representative
ones include published U.S. patent application US 2005/0211573,
published Japanese patent application JP63-035401 A, and U.S. Pat.
Nos. 4,609,038; 6,709,497; 6,708,546; 6,666,034; 6,638,348;
6,530,233, 6,432,379; 6,267,229; and 6,015,041.
[0042] For silane storage vessels containing a zeolite material as
an adsorbent, one of ordinary skill in the art may advantageously
utilize the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,063.
[0043] Alternatively, the required cooling capacity of the gas
storage vessel may be empirically determined and the cooling system
selected according to the determined capacity. In such a case,
empirical testing may be designed according to an estimated
required cooling capacity. The estimated required cooling capacity
may be roughly calculated by multiplying the molar heat of enthalpy
of the sorption reaction between the gas and the sorbent material
(which is well known in the art) by the mass flow rate (in moles
per unit time) of the gas. Based upon this rough estimate of the
cooling capacity of the gas storage vessel, an off-the-shelf
refrigeration system or radiator with rated cooling capacity may be
selected. The suitability of such a selected cooling system may be
easily and empirically determined by filling the gas storage vessel
while monitoring its temperature. As an example, filling a 200
Nm.sup.3 FeTi hydride storage tank in one hour would require a
cooling power of 75 kW. As further examples, filling a 10, 800, or
1,300 Nm.sup.3 FeTi hydride storage tank in one hour would require
a cooling power of 4, 300, or 500 kW, respectively. This is well in
the ability of current radiators used in trucks having a 150-250 kW
power engine. In the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 2-3, the
vehicle radiator may be over-sized to accommodate the required
cooling capacity of both the internal combustion engine while
running and the gas storage vessel during filling. Preferably, the
cooling system (or radiator in the embodiment of FIGS. 2-3) has a
cooling power of about 2-500 kW, and more preferably about 50-150
kW.
[0044] It should be noted that in each of the embodiments, the
vehicle 1 is propelled by combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel in fuel
tank 20 by internal combustion internal combustion engine 19.
[0045] Preferred processes and apparatus for practicing the present
invention have been described. It will be understood and readily
apparent to the skilled artisan that many changes and modifications
may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing
from the spirit and the scope of the present invention. The
foregoing is illustrative only and other embodiments of the
integrated processes and apparatus may be employed without
departing from the true scope of the invention defined in the
following claims.
* * * * *