JP2016037662A - Carbon fiber electrode and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carbon fiber electrode, when HHO gas fine bubbles are generated in an electrolysis tank, in which consumption power is reduced even by long time continuous use, the HHO gas generation quantity is increased and HHO gas generation diffusion is not reduced, excellent in flexibility compared with a carbon electrode of graphite and the electrode is not dissolved, and a method for producing the same.SOLUTION: Provided is a carbon fiber electrode for generating an HHO gas by the electrolysis of water. In the electrode, a base material made of carbon fiber is set with a thermosetting resin mixed with a conductivity imparting agent, and, in the conductivity imparting agent, carbon nanotubes are mixed by 10 to 50% to the weight ratio of the whole of the thermosetting resin.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  In the case of producing a mixed fuel obtained by mixing a liquid fuel of gasoline, light oil or heavy oil supplied to an internal combustion engine, a gaseous fuel of combustion gas, and a fine bubble of HHO gas, the present invention provides a fine HHO gas bubble in an electrolysis tank. It is related with the carbon fiber electrode which can generate | occur | produce a large amount, and its manufacturing method.

  A mixed gas in which hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms are mixed at a mixing ratio of 2 to 1 is called HHO gas or Brown gas, and has attracted attention as a mixed fuel of an internal combustion engine. As an apparatus for generating HHO gas, an HHO gas generator using electrolysis is generally known.

  In order to use a mixed fuel in which fine bubbles of HHO gas are mixed as fuel for an internal combustion engine, power consumption is small and a large amount of HHO gas is required. This is because if the amount of HHO gas generated relative to the power consumption is small, the rate of energy that can be used effectively is low and the loss is high, so that it is not possible to improve the energy conversion efficiency. In addition, in order to mount the HHO gas generator in an automobile, it is necessary to reduce the size of the electrolysis tank.

  Conventionally, in the electrolysis of water, if a metal electrode such as stainless steel is used as the electrode, there is a problem of low energy conversion efficiency and heat generation, and if a graphite carbon electrode is used as the electrode, the energy conversion efficiency is slightly improved. However, there are problems such as heat generation of electrodes and aqueous solutions, breakage of electrodes, and dissolution of electrodes.

In order to improve energy conversion efficiency, a substrate having titanium (Ti) as an electrode and a catalyst layer having iridium (Ir) on the surface of the substrate are formed, and a graphite layer is formed on the catalyst layer. In the proposed electrode and electrolysis tank, a structure in which a plurality of electrolysis chambers are distinguished by a non-conductive partition member has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
However, this method has a problem that the energy conversion efficiency is not sufficiently improved, and the heat generation of electrodes and water has not been solved.

  Since the chemical reaction of electrolysis can be promoted by increasing the surface area of the electrode, there has been proposed a structure in which the electrode is spirally wound on a mesh of plastic or the like to form a cathode (Patent) Reference 2).

JP 2012-122383 A JP 2010-059530 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is to reduce power consumption, increase the amount of HHO gas generated, and increase the amount of HHO gas generated even when water is electrolyzed for a long time. An object of the present invention is to provide a carbon fiber electrode that does not decrease diffusion, has excellent flexibility compared with a graphite carbon electrode, and does not dissolve, and a method for producing the same. That is, the object is to greatly improve the energy conversion efficiency.

  In addition, assuming that the HHO gas generator is mounted on an automobile, the object is to improve the arrangement and configuration of the electrodes in the electrolysis tank, and to reduce the size and weight.

  The present invention is an electrode for generating an amount of HHO gas by electrolysis of water, wherein the electrode is made of a carbon fiber and a base material cured with a thermosetting resin mixed with a conductivity-imparting agent. The conductivity imparting agent is a carbon fiber electrode in which carbon nanotubes are mixed in an amount of 10% to 50% with respect to the weight ratio of the entire thermosetting resin.

  An electrolysis tank containing water, and a plurality of positive electrodes and a plurality of negative electrodes which are disposed in the electrolysis tank and electrolyze the water to generate HHO gas, and the positive electrode and the negative electrode The substrate made of carbon fiber is a material cured with the thermosetting resin mixed with the conductivity-imparting agent, and the conductivity-imparting agent is based on the total weight ratio of the thermosetting resin. The electrolysis tank composed of the carbon fiber electrode, wherein carbon nanotubes are mixed at 10% to 50%.

  The electrolysis tank is characterized in that a pulsed direct current is supplied to the plus electrode and the minus electrode.

  As the material for the carbon fiber electrode, an ordinary commercially available carbon fiber having excellent conductivity and light weight is used. An isotropic pitch-based carbon fiber exhibiting excellent characteristics in terms of dimensional stability, thermal conductivity, wear resistance, heat resistance, acid resistance, and electrical conductivity, and a thickness of about 0.2 mm is desirable.

  In order to produce the hard carbon fiber electrode, an adhesive of a thermosetting resin having superconductivity is manufactured. The raw material of the adhesive is mixed with a highly conductive conductivity imparting agent.

  The conductivity imparting agent is a first step in which carbon nanotubes are mixed at 10% to 50% with respect to the weight ratio of the entire thermosetting resin to produce a thermosetting resin adhesive, and a plurality of carbon fibers are stacked, A second step of impregnating and coating the thermosetting resin adhesive; a third step of irradiating infrared rays to solidify the carbon fiber; and putting the solidified carbon fiber in a high-temperature furnace; The pressure is a method of producing a carbon fiber electrode substrate having superconductivity comprising a fourth step of heating at 30 Mpa or more for 5 to 6 hours to complete carbonization and curing.

Compared with metal electrodes, the carbon fiber electrode consumes less power, increases the amount of HHO gas generated, and generates less heat during electrolysis of water, so it is possible to suppress the heat generation of the aqueous solution. Greatly improved.
As a specific example, when the carbon fiber electrode and the metal electrode have the same area, the hydrogen and oxygen gas generated per 1 W of power consumption increase to 15 cc, which is tripled, and the power consumption is reduced from 1/3 to 1/5. Was verified.

  Further, since Joule heat is generated during use of the metal electrode, the temperature of the electrolytic cell rises from 50 ° C. to 60 ° C., but the carbon fiber electrode can maintain the temperature of the electrolytic cell usage environment. This means that cooling is not required even when the electrolytic cell is placed in the isolation chamber.

  Since the HHO gas generated according to the present invention is fine bubbles, it has good compatibility with gaseous fuel (for example, LP gas), so that reduction in fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine can be expected.

  Since carbon fiber is excellent in flexibility, it can secure a large surface area, can be manufactured with a free design, and can be mass-produced. Moreover, since it is reduced in size and weight, it can be easily mounted and handled in the fuel device of the internal combustion engine.

It is a side view which shows the state which immersed the carbon fiber electrode by this invention in the electrolysis tank. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the carbon fiber electrode by this invention. It is a side view which shows the example of an internal structure of the electrolysis tank using the carbon fiber electrode by this invention. The relationship between the HHO gas emission amount measured in the electrolysis tank which has the carbon fiber electrode by this invention, and power consumption is shown. 3 shows the change in water temperature measured in an electrolysis tank having a carbon fiber electrode according to the present invention.

<Carbon fiber electrode and manufacturing method thereof>

  As a material for the carbon fiber electrode, an ordinary commercially available carbon fiber having excellent electrical conductivity and light weight is used. An isotropic pitch-based carbon fiber exhibiting excellent characteristics in terms of dimensional stability, thermal conductivity, wear resistance, heat resistance, acid resistance, and electrical conductivity, and a thickness of about 0.2 mm is desirable.

  In order to produce a hard carbon fiber electrode, a superconductive thermosetting resin adhesive is manufactured. A highly conductive conductivity imparting agent is mixed with the thermosetting resin that is the raw material of the adhesive.

  The conductivity imparting agent is produced by mixing carbon nanotubes in an amount of 10% to 50% with respect to the weight ratio of the entire thermosetting resin to produce an adhesive for the thermosetting resin. By mixing a conductivity imparting agent, a thermosetting resin close to superconductivity can be produced at a low cost.

  A plurality of carbon fibers excellent in flexibility are superposed, impregnated and coated with a superconductive thermosetting resin adhesive mixed with a conductivity imparting agent, and irradiated with infrared rays to solidify the carbon fibers.

  The solidified carbon fiber is put in a high temperature furnace, heated at a temperature of 300 ° C. or higher and a pressure of 30 Mpa or higher for 5 to 6 hours, completely carbonized and cured. After curing, the surface is polished and finished to produce a carbon fiber electrode bonded polymer.

<Structure of electrolytic cell using carbon fiber electrode>
Using the carbon fiber electrode according to the present invention, electrolysis can be performed by efficiently generating HHO gas by applying a small amount of electric power to an aqueous solution having good electrical conductivity, thereby greatly improving energy conversion efficiency. Providing equipment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a carbon fiber electrode according to an embodiment of the present invention. An anode 1 and a cathode 2 of a carbon fiber electrode are disposed so as to be immersed in an aqueous solution 3 of an electrolysis tank, and the anode 1 and the cathode 2 are electrically connected to a power source.

  By supplying a direct current power source to the anode 1 and the cathode 2 in the aqueous solution 3 having a good electrical conductivity, oxygen gas is generated from the anode 1 and hydrogen gas is generated from the cathode 2. As a result, HHO gas composed of oxygen gas and hydrogen gas is generated.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view seen from directly above showing a structural example composed of a plurality of carbon fiber electrodes 4.

  A plurality of carbon fiber electrodes 4 are arranged in parallel at intervals of about 1.5 mm, and are formed using an insulating rod 6, an insulator 7, and a nut 8 so as not to contact each other. The carbon fiber electrodes 4 are configured not to be electrically connected to each other.

  A plurality of carbon fiber electrodes 4 and negative electrodes are coupled to one end of the carbon fiber electrode 4 using a conductive bolt 5 to be electrically connected. Moreover, the other end of the carbon fiber electrode 4 is electrically connected by being coupled to the plurality of carbon fiber electrodes 4 and the plus electrode using the conductive bolt 5. Therefore, a plurality of plus electrodes and minus electrodes are formed so that adjacent carbon electrodes 4 alternate between plus and minus.

  FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of the internal structure of the electrolysis tank.

  The aqueous solution 3 is accommodated in the electrolysis tank, a plurality of carbon fiber electrodes 4 are immersed in the aqueous solution 3 and arranged, and the plus electrode and the minus electrode are electrically connected to the power source 9. The power source 9 is a DC 24V power source, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the power source 9 can also supply a square-wave pulsed direct current to the plus electrode and the minus electrode of the carbon fiber electrode 4. The supplied current value is 2A to 20A. If the direct current is smaller than 2A, the electrolysis efficiency of water decreases, so the amount of HHO gas generated decreases. If the direct current is larger than 20A, the amount of HHO gas generated increases but the power consumption increases, which is not suitable.

  The frequency of the pulsed direct current is suitably in the range of 1000 kHz to 4000 kHz. If the frequency is less than 1000 kHz, the power consumption increases. If the frequency is greater than 4000 kHz, the amount of current increases, which is not suitable. A frequency that is n times or 1 / n times the natural frequency of the carbon fiber has the highest energy conversion efficiency (n is a positive integer).

  Compared with the case where a constant DC current is supplied, if the pulsed DC current is supplied, the temperature of the water in the electrolyzer can be greatly increased. For this reason, it is not necessary to install a cooling device in the electrolysis tank.

<Experimental data>
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the required current and the amount of HHO gas generated when the carbon fiber electrode 4 according to the present invention is used and when the metal electrode (Ti + Ir) is used. Each electrode has the same size of 10 cm × 18 cm.
As is apparent from the graph, the carbon fiber electrode 4 can generate a large amount of HHO gas with low power consumption.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the required current and the amount of HHO gas generated when the carbon fiber electrode 4 according to the present invention is used, and when the metal electrode (Ti + Ir) and the metal electrode (stainless steel) are used. Although the size of each electrode is the same, the DC current supplied is 4A for the carbon fiber electrode 4, 10A for the metal electrode (Ti + Ir), and 18A for the metal electrode (stainless steel).
Considering from this experimental data, when the carbon fiber electrode 4 is used, the water temperature in the electrolysis tank can be greatly increased, and the power consumption is the smallest.

  Since it can be applied to electrochemical cells and any fuel engine, it can be effectively used industrially as a fuel reformer. Moreover, since it is a highly conductive carbon fiber electrode, it can also be used as an electric substrate for a fuel cell.

1 Anode 2 Cathode 3 Aqueous Solution 4 Carbon Fiber Electrode 5 Conductive Bolt 6 Insulating Rod 7 Insulator 8 Nut 9 Power Supply

The present invention is an electrode for Ru generates the HHO gas by electrolysis of water, be one wherein the electrode substrate made of carbon fibers cured with a thermosetting resin mixed with conductive agent In addition, the conductivity imparting agent is a carbon fiber electrode in which 10% to 50% of carbon nanotubes are mixed with respect to the weight ratio of the entire thermosetting resin.

It is a side view which shows the state which immersed the carbon fiber electrode by this invention in the electrolysis tank. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the carbon fiber electrode by this invention. It is a side view which shows the example of an internal structure of the electrolysis tank using the carbon fiber electrode by this invention. It is a schematic diagram which supplies a pulsed direct current to an electrode plate. The relationship between the HHO gas emission amount measured in the electrolysis tank which has the carbon fiber electrode by this invention, and power consumption is shown. 3 shows the change in water temperature measured in an electrolysis tank having a carbon fiber electrode according to the present invention.

Claims (4)

An electrode for generating an HHO gas generation amount by electrolysis of water, wherein the substrate is made of carbon fiber and is cured with a thermosetting resin mixed with a conductivity-imparting agent, The carbon fiber electrode, wherein the imparting agent is a mixture of 10% to 50% of carbon nanotubes with respect to the weight ratio of the entire thermosetting resin. The carbon fiber electrode according to claim 1, comprising an electrolysis tank for containing water, a plurality of positive electrodes for generating HHO gas in the electrolysis tank, and a plurality of negative electrodes, wherein the positive electrode and the negative electrode are An electrolysis tank characterized by being configured. The electrolysis tank according to claim 2, wherein a pulsed direct current is supplied to the plus electrode and the minus electrode. The first step of producing a thermosetting resin adhesive by mixing 10% to 50% of the carbon nanotube as a conductivity imparting agent with respect to the weight ratio of the entire thermosetting resin, and superposing a plurality of carbon fibers, A second step of impregnating and coating the adhesive of the thermosetting resin, a third step of irradiating infrared rays to solidify the carbon fiber, and putting the solidified carbon fiber in a high-temperature furnace at a temperature of 300 A method for producing a superconducting carbon fiber electrode substrate characterized by comprising a fourth step of heating at 5 ° C. or higher at a temperature of 30 ° C. or higher and completely carbonizing and curing.

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