US4472176A — Apparatus and method for the production of pure h…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 144 words

A method of controlling an apparatus for the production of pure hydrogen by passing a hydrogen-containing crude gas through a passage defined at least in part by a palladium-containing wall, from an inlet to an outlet, inducing hydrogen at elevated temperature and pressure to diffuse through said wall into a receiving space, and withdrawing pure hydrogen from said space, said method comprising the steps of: (a) automatically blocking flow of said gas to said inlet upon an interruption of the supply of power to the apparatus; (b) permitting the pressure in said passage to drop to a level at most equal to that of a source of purge gas; and (c) automatically connecting said purge gas source to said inlet upon and solely as the result of the drop in pressure in said passage to said level whereby said purge gas transverses said passage.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 144 words

A method of controlling an apparatus for the production of pure hydrogen by passing a hydrogen-containing crude gas through a passage defined at least in part by a palladium-containing wall, from an inlet to an outlet, inducing hydrogen at elevated temperature and pressure to diffuse through said wall into a receiving space, and withdrawing pure hydrogen from said space, said method comprising the steps of: (a) automatically blocking flow of said gas to said inlet upon an interruption of the supply of power to the apparatus; (b) permitting the pressure in said passage to drop to a level at most equal to that of a source of purge gas; and (c) automatically connecting said purge gas source to said inlet upon and solely as the result of the drop in pressure in said passage to said level whereby said purge gas transverses said passage.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 28 words

The method defined in claim 1, step (a), wherein the blocking of flow of the gas to said inlet is effected by denergizing a normally closed automatic valve.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 42 words

The method defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of: (d) permitting flow from said outlet through a manually set bleed valve while blocking a by-pass thereof with a normally open controlled valve, and deenergizing said by-pass valve in step (b).

Claim 5

Independent Claim 208 words

An apparatus for the production of pure hydrogen from a hydrogen-containing crude gas, said apparatus in the event of an interruption in power, easily and rapidly purged of hydrogen, which comprises: (a) a passage defined at least in part by a palladium-containing wall; (b) an inlet opening into said passage permitting said hydrogen-containing crude gas to diffuse through said palladium-containing wall; (c) a first outlet positioned on the opposite side of the palladium-containing wall from said inlet, to permit removal of the pure hydrogen; (d) a second outlet from said passage on the same side of the palladium-containing wall as said inlet, to permit removal of bleed gas; (e) means for heating the hydrogen-containing gas to a temperature of at least 600° F.; (f) means for automatically blocking flow of hydrogen-containing crude gas through said inlet upon an interruption in the supply of power; (g) means for introducing flow of a purge gas to the inlet automatically and only in the event of an interruption of the supply of power; and (h) means communicating with said second outlet to permit bleed gas passing through said second outlet to by-pass a manually set bleed valve, in the event of an interruption of power, to rapidly remove the bleed gas.

Claim 6

Independent Claim 208 words

An apparatus for the production of pure hydrogen from a hydrogen-containing crude gas, said apparatus in the event of an interruption in power, easily and rapidly purged of hydrogen, which comprises: (a) a passage defined at least in part by a palladium-containing wall; (b) an inlet opening into said passage permitting said hydrogen-containing crude gas to diffuse through said palladium-containing wall; (c) a first outlet positioned on the opposite side of the palladium-containing wall from said inlet, to permit removal of the pure hydrogen; (d) a second outlet from said passage on the same side of the palladium-containing wall as said inlet, to permit removal of bleed gas; (e) means for heating the hydrogen-containing gas to a temperature of at least 600° F.; (f) means for automatically blocking flow of hydrogen-containing crude gas through said inlet upon an interruption in the supply of power; (g) means for introducing flow of a purge gas to the inlet automatically and only in the event of an interruption of the supply of power; and (h) means communicating with said second outlet to permit bleed gas passing through said second outlet to by-pass a manually set bleed valve, in the event of an interruption of power, to rapidly remove the bleed gas.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 26 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the passage defined at least in part by a palladium-containing wall forms a tube-in-shell reactor of the inside-out type.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 26 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the passage defined at least in part by a palladium-containing wall forms a tube-in-shell reactor of the outside-in type.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 46 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the means for automatically blocking the flow of hydrogen-containing crude gas through said inlet upon an interruption in the supply of power is a solenoid valve normally closed in the event of an interruption in the supply of power.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 66 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the means for introducing flow of a purge gas to the inlet automatically and only in the event of an interruption in the supply of power is a pressure-operated check valve, said check valve permitting introduction of said purge gas only when the absolute pressure of the hydrogen-containing crude gas drops below the absolute pressure of the purge gas.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 25 words

The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein the pressure-operated check valve has a predetermined cracking pressure substantially below the absolute pressure of the purge gas.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 38 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein the means communicating with the second outlet to by-pass the manually set bleed valve is a solenoid valve normally open in the event of an interruption in the supply of power.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 40 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4 wherein said first outlet is provided with a first two-position valve connecting a process using the purified hydrogen with said opposite side of said palladium-containing wall and with a source of said purge gas.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 33 words

The apparatus defined in claim 4, further comprising a second two-position valve for selectively connecting a source of said purge gas to said second outlet and to a process using the purified hydrogen.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1987-09-18	1988-03-19	1988-09-18	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1991-09-18	1992-03-19	1992-09-18	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1995-09-18	1996-03-19	1996-09-18	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Apparatus and method for the production of pure hydrogen from a hydrogen-containing crude gas

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag