Patents
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Hydrogen manufacture and recycle
c o n c e n t r a t i o n of h y d r o g e n t h a t
c a n b e i n t r o d u c e d to t h e
d e s u l p h u r l z e r in t h i s w a y is 25%.
At t h a t p o i n t t h e p a r t i a l
p r e s s u r e s a r e equal.
In a c o m p u t e r s i m u l a t i o n , Air
P r o d u c t s c h o s e a cellulose a c e t a t e
m e m b r a n e w i t h a selectivity for
h y d r o g e n relative to n a t u r a l g a s
of 57. The h i g h e r - p r e s s u r e
n a t u r a l g a s s t r e a m in the F i g u r e
w a s fed to t h e h i g h - p r e s s u r e side
of the m e m b r a n e side of the
m e m b r a n e at a r a t e of 100 Ib
mol/hr: the lower-pressure
h y d r o g e n g a s s t r e a m w a s fed to
the l o w e r - p r e s s u r e side of the
m e m b r a n e a t a r a t e of 2 Ib
m o l / h r . The h i g h - p r e s s u r e
p r o d u c t s t r e a m from the
m e m b r a n e u n i t w a s collected at a
r a t e of 101 Ib m o l / h r a n d
c o n t a i n e d t h e r e q u i r e d 1 mol%
hydrogen.
B e c a u s e t h e m e m b r a n e is n o t
a b s o l u t e l y selective for h y d r o g e n ,
t h e r e w a s also a p u r g e s t r e a m
from t h e m e m b r a n e u n i t w h i c h is
u s e d for s u p p l e m e n t a l fuel to the
reformer: t h a t h a d a flow r a t e of 1
Ib m o l / h r a n d c o n t a i n e d 97.6%
hydrogen.
Patent number: US 5 1 3 1 9 3 0
Date: 21 J u l y 1992
Inventor: H.L. Vines
Applicant: Air P r o d u c t s a n d
Chemicals, Inc
10
RECYCLE
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I I n d u s t r i e s Co. Ltd
Bioreactor
M a k i n g oxygen from c a r b o n
dioxide a n d w a t e r via
photosynthesis requires strong
light or sunlight, n e i t h e r of which
a r e available a c r o s s the whole
c r o s s - s e c t i o n of a c o n v e n t i o n a l
c h e m i c a l engineering
s h e l l - a n d - t u b e r e a c t o r design. In
t h i s invention the m a s s t r a n s f e r
efficiency of the r e a c t o r is
available in a p h o t o s y n t h e t i c
reaction. The figure i l l u s t r a t e s the
c o n s t r u c t i o n of the bioreactor: the
s a l i e n t f e a t u r e is t h a t light is
c o n d u c t e d along optical fibres
w h i c h a r e interleaved a m o n g
hollow, g a s - p e r m e a b l e fibres.
lightsc~lrce ~ \ opticalfibres
I_i il'~ shallowfi/bres
cultur._.~
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02
Bloreactor
fed t h r o u g h t h e hollow fibres, a n d
c a r b o n dioxide e n t e r s the shell
side of t h e reactor. It diffuses
a c r o s s t h e hollow fibres into the
culture, a n d b e c a u s e light is
p r e s e n t , oxygen is p r o d u c e d
which diffuses b a c k a c r o s s the
fibre wails a n d o u t of the shell
side.
Patent number: J P 4190782
Date: 9 J u l y 1992
Inventor: H. M a t s u m o t o
Applicant M i t s u b i s h i Heavy
Environmentally
-oriented
membrane
manufacture
M a n u f a c t u r i n g ion e x c h a n g e
m e m b r a n e s c o m m o n l y involves
dissolving a m o n o m e r or
p r e - p o l y m e r in a low-boiling-point
solvent, c o a t i n g a g l a s s plate,
h e a t i n g t h e plate a n d coating
u n t i l p o l y m e r i z a t i o n or d r y i n g
occurred, t h e n w a s h i n g to leach
out r e m a i n i n g solvent. Large
q u a n t i t i e s of volatile solvent are
lost, a n d the d i s c h a r g e or
recycling of w a s h b a t h c o n t e n t s
also h a s to b e controlled.
The a p p a r e n t l y complex
device d e p i c t e d h e r e is i n t e n d e d
to avoid this waste. It is simple in
principle: a s u b s t r a t e is
temporarily sandwiched between
~: ~ ulture
C02
M e m b r a n e T e c h n o l o g y No. 3 7