Cavitation assisted sonochemical hydrogen production system

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are directed to an electrolyte composition of matter comprising an aqueous solvent, at least one inorganic salt dissolved in said solvent; and at least one organic acid or salt thereof, the acid being substantially soluble in the aqueous solvent and being present at a concentration sufficient to support cavitation-assisted electrolytic combustion. Low molecular weight organic acids and inorganic salts are demonstrated herein as being useful for generating hydrogen.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electrolyte composition of matter comprising:
 an aqueous solvent;   at least one inorganic salt dissolved in said solvent; and   at least one organic acid or salt thereof, said at least one acid being substantially soluble in said aqueous solvent and present in a concentration sufficient to support cavitation-assisted electrolytic combustion.   
     
     
         2 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein the aqueous solvent comprises at least about 50% of said electrolyte on a wt/vol. basis. 
     
     
         3 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein the aqueous solvent comprises from about 50% to about 95% of said electrolyte on a weight to volume basis. 
     
     
         4 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein a noble gas is dissolved in the aqueous solvent. 
     
     
         5 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 4  wherein the noble gas is Argon. 
     
     
         6 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 4  wherein the noble gas saturates the solvent. 
     
     
         7 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one inorganic salt comprises a cation selected from the group consisting of sodium, lithium and potassium. 
     
     
         8 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one inorganic salt comprises an anion selected from the group consisting of fluoride, chloride, bromide and iodide. 
     
     
         9 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one inorganic salt comprises NaCl. 
     
     
         10 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one inorganic salt comprises NaI. 
     
     
         11 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid is present in said electrolyte at a wt/vol concentration of from about 1% to about 10%. 
     
     
         12 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid comprises a plurality of carboxyl groups. 
     
     
         13 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid is substantially soluble in said electrolyte solution. 
     
     
         14 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 12  wherein said at least one organic acid is at least 10 wt. % soluble in said electrolyte solution. 
     
     
         15 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid solubility is from about 10 weight % to about 90 weight % soluble. 
     
     
         16 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid comprises a main carbon chain of from C 1 -C 8 . 
     
     
         17 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid is selected from the group consisting of Acetic acid, Citric acid, Formic acid, Malic acid, Malonic acid, Mandelic acid, Maleic acid, Iso-citric acid, Fumaric acid, Lactic acid, Glycolic acid, Glyceric acid, Hexanoic acid, Heptanoic acid, Octanoic acid, Pentanoic acid, Nonanoic acid, Propanoic acid, 3-Hydroxypropanoic acid and 2-Hydroxypropanedioic acid. 
     
     
         18 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid is citric acid. 
     
     
         19 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 18  wherein said citric acid is present in said electrolyte at a concentration of from about 0.05 M to about 5.0 M. 
     
     
         20 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 19  wherein the citric acid concentration is about 0.1 M. 
     
     
         21 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein the concentration of citric acid is about 0.1M, NaCl is about 0.5 to 5 weight %, and NaI is a trace amount. 
     
     
         22 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 21  wherein the electrolyte is saturated with an amount of Argon sufficient to promote cavitation-assisted electrolytic combustion. 
     
     
         23 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid comprises the structural formula:
   C n H 2n+1 —COOR
 
 wherein R can be individually any of H or any alkaline earth metal; and 
 n is from 2 to 8. 
 
     
     
         24 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid comprises the structural formula:
   ROOC—C n H 2n+1 —COOR
 
 wherein R can be any of H or any alkaline earth metal; and 
 n is from 2 to 8. 
 
     
     
         25 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid comprises the structural formula:
   ROOC—(CHR 2 ) n —C(R 2 ) 2 —(CHR 2 ) n —COOR
 
 wherein R can be any of H or any alkaline earth metal; 
 R 2  can be either OH or COOR; and 
 n may be from 1 to 3. 
 
     
     
         26 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid substantially soluble in water. 
     
     
         27 . The electrolyte composition of  claim 1  wherein said at least one organic acid is a beta-hydroxy acid substantially soluble in water. 
     
     
         28 . A method of generating hydrogen gas from water and a hydrocarbon feedstock, comprising providing a high-temperature electron-rich aqueous environment whereby water is dissociated for reaction with the feedstock and the hydrocarbon is converted to hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         29 . A method of generating hydrogen gas from water and a hydrocarbon feedstock, comprising creating cavitation within and supplying an external source of electrons to an aqueous electrolyte solution containing a hydrocarbon feedstock thereby producing hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide.