Title of Invention

A METHOD OF AND AN APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ONE OR MORE GASES .

Abstract This invention relates to a method of an an apparatus for producing one or more gases, in particular a detonating gas. The inventive method consists in treating by electrolysis a liquid preferably water (9). The liqid (9) contains a substance, in particular an ion exchanger (10); to which a producible gas or gases adhere. The gases to be produced are hydrogen and oxygen.
Full Text The invention relates to a method for the manufacture of one or more gases and to
an apparatus for the carrying out of a method of this type.
In the method, a liquid containing the gas to be produced is treated electrolytically.
One or more gases are formed by the electrolysis. The method in particular serves
to produce hydrogen or hydrogen and oxygen, the latter in particular as a mixture
(oxyhydrogen).
Methods for the manufacture of hydrogen or of hydrogen and oxygen or of
oxyhydrogen are already known. Water is used for this in the typical electrolytic
methods. The water molecules contain hydrogen and oxygen. However, the
efficiency and the reaction rate of the previously known methods are suitable for
improvement.
An apparatus for the electrolytic production of hydrogen and oxygen is known from
US-A 5,879,522 which comprises an anode chamber and a cathode chamber in
which electrically conductive ultramicroelectrode particles are present which are in
each case in contact with the cathode and the electrode and which serve the
improvement of the conductivity and the minimization of overpotentials.
A method for the electrolysis of water is known from JP 2002-322584 A in which the
reaction is supported by a fine jewel powder or rock powder or by a fine powder of
different types of minerals or metals. The fine powders are intended to improve the
conductivity.


DE 100 16 591 C2 discloses a method of generating hydrogen in
which a first electrolyte is provided in the interior space of a
hollow microfiber and a second electrolyte is provided outside
the hollow microfiber. The hollow microfiber bears anode and
cathode separately on its wall surfaces.
US 2001/0050234 A1 discloses an electrolytic cell comprising a
first electrode and a second electrode between which an
electrolytic membrane is arranged. An electron-exchange resin can
be used for the electrolytic membrane
It is the object of the invention to provide an improved method
of the initially recited type.
This object is solved in accordance with the features of the
invention. A substance is present in the liquid to which the or
one of the gases adheres which is to be produced by the
electrolysis. This gas preferably adheres to the substance in an
ionic bond.
Advantageous further developments of the invention are described
in the following paragraphs.


It is advantageous if hydrogen, preferably in an ionic bond*
adheres to the substance present in the liquid.
The gas to be produced is preferably hydrogen.
The gases to be produced can be hydrogen and oxygen. It is
possible in this process to produce hydrogen and oxygen
separately. It is, however, also possible to produce hydrogen and
oxygen in a mixture (oxyhydrogen). The native production of
oxyhydrogen is particularly advantageous. In accordance with the
method in accordance with the invention, the oxyhydrogen can be
produced in the correct (stoichiometric) mixture ratio. It can in
particular be used in this form for the production of energy.


The liquid containing the or a gas to be produced is preferably water.
A further advantageous further development is characterized in that the substance
to which the or a gas to be produced adheres is an ion exchanger. This substance
can in particular be an ion-exchange resin.
The ion exchanger is preferably an acid ion exchanger, in particular a very acid ion
exchanger.
The substance to which the or a gas to be produced adheres or the ion exchanger
can be gel-like.
It is advantageous for the ion exchanger to comprise or consist of a matrix, active
groups and ions to be exchanged. The matrix can in particular be a crosslinked
plastic, in particular crosslinked polystyrene. The active groups are preferably
sulfonic acid groups (SO3). The ions to be exchanged are preferably hydrogen ions
(H). The ion exchanger can in particular have the general chemical formula R - SO3
-H.
A further advantageous further development is characterized in that the substance
to which the or a gas to be produced adheres or the ion exchanger, in particular the
base ion exchanger material, contains catalytically acting substances. The
catalytically acting substances can in particular be conductive substances, in
particular conductive films. The catalytically active substances can be mixed to the
substance or to the ion exchanger or to the base ion exchanger material.
In accordance with a further advantageous further development, the substance to
which the or a gas to be produced adheres or the ion exchanger or the base ion
exchanger material contains catalytically acting and/or gas delivering enzymes.
Organic acids, in particular tartaric acid, are used as such enzymes. The enzymes


can be added to the substance or to the ion exchanger or to the
ion-exchange resin or to the base ion exchanger material.
An apparatus for the carrying out of the method is characterized
by the features of the invention. It includes a container
comprising a liquid as well as a positive electrode and a
negative electrode which can be or are connected to a current
source. A substance is present in the liquid to which the or a
gas to be produced in the electrolysis adheres.
An electrode is preferably tubular in design.
A filler material can be present in the liquid containing the gas
to be produced and a substance to which the gas to be produced
adheres, in particular inside the tubular electrode. This
material is preferably wad material.
An acid preferably present in the filler material. This material
is preferably wetted with an acid. The acid is preferably
hydrochloric acid.


In contrast to US 2001/0050234 Al, no proton conductive membrane
is required in accordance with the invention. It is possible with
the invention not to integrate the substance to which the or a
gas to be produced adheres, in particular an ion exchanger, into
a membrane. It is possible to arrange this substance or ion
exchanger such that it can be in communication both with the
anode and with the cathode and with the liquid. It is furthermore
possible to use an electrically non-conductive substance to which
the or a gas to be produced adheres, in particular an
electrically non-conductive ion exchanger. It is made possible by
the invention to use a substance to which the or a gas to be
produced adheres, in particular an ion exchanger, in which the
marginal groups adhering thereto by ionic bonding and/or by
van der Waals forces are released in the electrolysis.


An embodiment of the invention will be explained in detail in the followinq with
reference to the enclosed accompanying drawing. In the drawing, the
only Figure shows an apparatus for the production of
oxyhydrogen in a schematic view.
The apparatus shown in the only Figure comprises a container 1 which is designed
rotationally symmetrically around the center axis 2 and consists of a tubular housing
3 which is closed by an upper cover 4 and a lower cover 5. The total apparatus is
preferably made longer than shown.
An annular outer electrode 6 is provided at the inner wall of the housing 3. A tubular
inner electrode 7 is located in the interior of the housing 3. The container 1 is filled
with water 9 up to the water level 8.
An ion exchanger 10, which is present in gel-like form up to the level 11, is present
between the electrodes 6 and 7.
The outer electrode 6 is connected to the plus pole of a power source 13, for
example a 12V car battery, via a switch 12. The minus pole of the power source 13
is connected to the inner electrode 7. The polarity can, however, also be reversed.
In the embodiment shown, the water level 8 is above the level 11 of the gel-like ion
exchanger 10 and above the upwardly open tube of the inner electrode 7. The
electrode 7 can, however, also be made closed. Another possibility consists of the
electrode 7 projecting beyond the water level 8. Furthermore, in the embodiment
shown, the level 11 of the gel-like ion exchanger 10 is just beneath the upper end of
the outer electrode 6. The apparatus can, however, also be designed such that this
level 11 lies above the upper end of the electrode 6. The inner electrode 7 can be
downwardly closed or open. It can furthermore be open at its lower end or sealingly
connected to the lower cover 5.


When the switch 12 is closed, an electrolytic reaction takes place in the container 1
in which negatively charged electrons and ions are attracted by the positive outer
electrode 6. Positive ions migrate to the negative inner electrode 7. In this manner,
oxyhydrogen is produced in the space 14 between the water level 8 and the upper
cover 4, with this being a question of a native production of oxyhydrogen. This
reaction is substantially accelerated by the ion exchanger 10. The oxyhydrogen is
present in a stoichiometric ratio. It can be drawn out (not shown in the drawing) of
the space 14. This can take place discontinuously (batch operation) or
continuously. It is furthermore possible to collect and drain off the hydrogen
produced and the oxygen produced separately by a corresponding design of the
container 1.
The ion exchanger 10 is a highly acid, gel-like ion exchanger with sulfonic acid
groups as the active groups. The ion exchanger has the general chemical formula
R - SO3 - H, where R is a matrix, in particular a crosslinked polystyrene matrix, SO3
is a sulfonic active group and H is hydrogen.
The ion exchanger 10 is preferably kept in motion. This preferably takes place such
that the ion exchanger 10 does not subside. The ion exchanger can be kept in
motion by a fluidized bed process. If the ion exchanger is kept in motion the gas
production and the electron flow are improved.
In accordance with a further advantageous further development, the ion exchanger
is kept in suspension in the liquid. This preferably takes place in that the ion
exchanger or the base ion exchanger material are produced such that they remain
in suspension per se in the liquid, that is in the water 9.
The method can be carried out continuously. For this purpose, the ion exchanger
10 can be supplied and drained off continuously (not shown in the drawing). The
drained off ion exchanger can be regenerated and supplied again.
The method can also be carried out in multiple stages.


The gas which is formed can be sucked out of the space 14. It is possible for this
purpose to generate a vacuum in this space 14. It can hereby furthermore be
achieved that the gas escaping upwardly takes along the ion exchanger 10 and in
this manner effects a mixing and spreading of the ion exchanger 10.
The pressure and the temperature can be set such that the process operates at an
ideal efficiency.
The measured values shown in the following were determined in practical
experiments:
Example 1:

Experi-
ment No. Amperage
(A) Voltage
(V) Power
(W) Gas
volume
produced
(ml/min) Energy
per time
(W) Efficiency
1 1.0 10.2 10.2 10 1.8 0.176
2 3.0 9.2 27.6 40 7.2 0.260
3 7.5 6.5 48.75 100 18.0 0.370
4 8.1 5.7 46.17 115 20.7 0.448
Experiment No. 1 is a comparative experiment which was carried out in water
without ion exchanger. A low amount of ion exchanger was used in Experiment No.
2. Experiment No. 3 was carried out with a large amount of ion exchanger. In
Experiment No. 4, a low amount of hydrochloric acid was additionally added.
In Experiment No. 1 a current of 1.0 A is supplied at a voltage of 10.2 V so that the
supplied electrical power amounts to 10.2 W. In this process, 10 ml/min
oxyhydrogen is produced, which corresponds to an energy content per time to the
amount of 1.8 W. This results in an efficiency of (1.8 : 10.2 =) 0.176.


By the addition of the ion exchanger, the amperage per added amounts increases
via 3.0 to 7.5 A, while the voltage correspondingly drops via 9.2 V to 6.5 V. The
amount of oxyhydrogen produced increases via 40 ml/min to 100 ml/min. The
efficiency increases via 0.260 to 0.370.
Due to the addition of a low amount of hydrochloric acid in Experiment No. 4, the
amperage increases further to 8.1 A and the voltage drops further to 5.7 V. The
amount of oxyhydrogen produced increases further to 115 ml/min, whereby the
efficiency increases to 0.448.
Example 2:
The experimental arrangement shown in the only Figure was used, but with the
polarity being reversed. The housing 3 forming the minus electrode is designed as
a tube with a length of 116 mm, an internal diameter of 26 mm and an external
diameter of 28 mm. The inner electrode 7 forming the plus electrode is designed as
a tube with a length of 116 mm, an internal diameter of 14 mm and an external
diameter of 16 mm. A battery charger 13 is used as the power source which emits a
DC current with a voltage of 12 V. Styrene-DVB of the company Amberlit was used
as the ion exchanger which is available in the form of dark amber balls. The
functional group of this ion exchanger is formed by sulfonic acid. The interior of the
inner electrode 7 was filled with wadding (without any further additive).
To carry out the experiments, the electrode arrangement is filled with 50 ml drinking
water, which corresponds to an amount of substance of 2.75 mol. The total
arrangement is put completely "under water" so that a liquid exchange can take
place between the interior of the inner electrode 7 and the annular space between
the inner electrode 7 and the housing 3, and indeed both over the upper end of the
inner electrode 7 and over its lower end, that is the intermediate space between the
lower end of the inner electrode 7 and the lower cover 5. The drinking water has a
pH of 7.0, an electrical conductivity of 266 µS/cm (at 25°C) and a water hardness of


5.4 dH°. When the DC voltage is applied, the values shown below result in
dependence on the added amount of ion exchanger for the amperage, the voltage,
the power and the mass of oxyhydrogen (KG) which is formed per time and which is
given as the standard volume, with the already described ion exchanger being
used:

Experi-
ment No. Amperage
(A) Voltage
(V) Power
(W) Gas
volume
produced
(ml/min) Ion
exchanger
(ml)
1 0.70 11.00 7.70 5.0 0
2 0.80 9.90 7.92 10.0 1
3 1.55 9.50 14.72 20.0 2
4 1.67 9.35 15.61 22.0 3
5 1.92 9.20 17.66 24.0 4
6 2.09 9.10 19.02 26.0 5
7 2.27 9.00 20.43 28.0 6
8 2.75 8.80 24.20 30.0 7
9 3.50 8.30 29.05 40.0 10
10 3.85 8.00 30.80 50.0 15
11 4.40 7.80 34.32 60.0 20
12 4.60 7.60 34.96 70.0 25
No ion exchanger was added in the first Experiment. 5.0 ml/min oxyhydrogen was
produced. This amount is doubled by the addition of 1 ml ion exchanger. The
amount of oxyhydrogen produced per minute increases as the amount of ion
exchanger increases.
Example 3:
The same experimental arrangement as in Example 2 was used, but with the length
of the housing 3 and of the inner electrode 7 being increased from 116 mm to 270

mm. The experimental arrangement has otherwise not been changed. The following
measured values resulted:

The method in accordance with the invention can be carried out in the manner such
that a substance to which the gas to be produced adheres, in particular in an ionic
bond, e.g. an acid cation exchanger, is added as a catalyst and donor to a liquid, in
particular water, in the electrolysis so that the decomposition of the substance to be
decomposed, e.g. water, is accelerated by a multiple factor, with the added
substance not being an acid and not being a base and not being an ion exchange
membrane. In a particular aspect, an ion exchanger, in particular a cation exchange
resin and/or an anion exchange resin, is added to the electrolysis procedure known
per se e.g. on the electrolysis of water for the production of hydrogen and oxygen or
oxyhydrogen and serves as a catalyst to increase the current flow and can
simultaneously contribute to the carrying out of the process as a donor of hydrogen
and/or oxygen. In this manner, efficiencies of 0.6 to 0.85 can be achieved in


dependence on the embodiment at an intensity of current of, for example, 3,900
C/min. A corresponding apparatus can produce oxyhydrogen in a quantity of 14.6
l/h. The apparatus for the production of oxyhydrogen can be a component of an
engine and natively produce oxyhydrogen required for the engine. In this manner, a
liquefying and storing of the oxyhydrogen can be made superfluous since it can be
produced continuously in the required amount. It is, however, also possible to
produce and utilize hydrogen and oxygen separately.
A filler material, in particular wadding, can be present in the interior of the tubular
electrode 7. This material or the wadding can be wetted with an acid, preferably
hydrochloric acid. The yield can hereby be substantially increased, as recited in
Example 1, Experiment No. 4.
The electrolytically treated liquid can be water. Other liquids are, however, also
possible which contain the gas to be produced, e.g. hydrogen or another
substance.


WE CLAIM :
----------
1. A method of producing one or mors game in which
liquid (9) is electrolytically treated,
characterized in that
- a substance (10) is present in the liquid (9) to which
one or more of the gases to be produced adheres,
- the gases to be produced are hydrogen and oxygen and
- the substance or the ion exchanger to which a gas to be
produced adheres (10) is supplied continuously.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gas to be
produced is hydrogen.
3. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the liquid (9) containing a gas to be produced
is water.
4. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the substance (10) to which a gas to be
produced adheres is an ion exchanger.


A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the ion
exchanger (10) is an acid ion exchanger.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the substance or the ion exchanger to which a
gas to be produced adheres (10) is of gel-like form.
A method as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 6,
wherein the ion exchanger (10) comprises a matrix,
active groups and ions to be exchanged.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the substance or the ion exchanger to which a
gas to be produced adheres (10) contains catalytically
acting substances.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the substance or the ion exchanger to which a
gas to be produced adheres (10) contains catalytically
acting and/or gas delivering enzymes.
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the substance or the ion exchanger to which a
gas to be produced adheres (10) is kept in motion.


A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the substance or the ion exchanger to which a
gas to be produced adheres (10) is kept in suspension
in the liquid (9).
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims,
wherein the method is carried out in multiple stages.
An apparatus for carrying out the method as claimed in
any one of the claims 1 to 12,
characterized by
a container (1) comprising a liquid (9) in which a
substance (10) is present to which one of the gases to
be produced adheres;
and a positive electrode (6) and a negative electrode
(7) which can be connected to a power source (13).
An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein an
electrode (7) is tubular in design.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claims 13 or 14, wherein a
filler material is present, in particular inside the
tubular electrode (7), in the liquid (9) containing a
gas to be produced and a substance (10) to which a gas
to be produced adheres.
16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein an acid is
present in the filler material.

This invention relates to a method of an an apparatus for
producing one or more gases, in particular a detonating gas. The
inventive method consists in treating by electrolysis a liquid
preferably water (9). The liqid (9) contains a substance, in
particular an ion exchanger (10); to which a producible gas or
gases adhere. The gases to be produced are hydrogen and oxygen.

Documents:

793-KOLNP-2006-(09-11-201)-OTHERS PATENT DOCUMENTS.pdf

793-KOLNP-2006-(25-11-2011)-FORM-27.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-abstract.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-claims.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-correspondence.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-description (complete).pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-drawings.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-examination report.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-form 1.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-form 18.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-form 2.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-form 26.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-form 3.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-form 5.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-reply to examination report.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-specification.pdf

793-kolnp-2006-granted-translated copy of priority document.pdf


Patent Number 227331
Indian Patent Application Number 793/KOLNP/2006
PG Journal Number 02/2009
Publication Date 09-Jan-2009
Grant Date 06-Jan-2009
Date of Filing 31-Mar-2006
Name of Patentee PROF. FRANZ ROINER
Applicant Address AM HEIDERERBERG 6 94372 RATTISZEL
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 PROF. FRANZ ROINER AM HEIDERERBERG 6 94372 RATTISZEL
2 BARBARA GENSCH AM WALDCHEN 2 30657 HANNOVER
3 MARIA ROINER AM HEIDERERBERG 6 94372 RATTISZELL
4 DR. HENNING GENSCH AM WALDCHEN 2 30657 HANNOVER
PCT International Classification Number C25B 1/04
PCT International Application Number PCT/EP2004/013452
PCT International Filing date 2004-11-26
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 103 55 592.7 2003-11-28 Germany
2 103 59 509.0 2003-12-18 Germany