Reforming chamber with constant electric discharge to generate hydrogen

Abstract

A circuit applies an electric field to a reforming chamber housing a hydrocarbon-water mixture to cause molecular breakdown and create a feed of hydrogen and carbon and dioxide that can be supplied to fuel cells. The circuit includes a DC-to-DC converter, a DC-to-AC inverter and a transformer to transform available input voltage to a control voltage that can be used to apply the electric field to the mixture in the reforming chamber. The signal supplied to the DC-to-AC inverter is monitored to determine whether enough voltage is supplied to create an electrical discharge in the reforming chamber. If an electrical discharge exists, the variables to the circuit is left alone or decreased until the signal indicates the electrical discharge is no longer present. If no electrical discharge exists, the variable input voltage is increased until an electrical discharge is detected.

1 . An apparatus for maintaining an electrical discharge inside a reforming chamber that contains a chemical mixture, comprising:
 a voltage supply configured to generate a variable voltage;   a converter configured to reduce the variable voltage and provide an intermediary signal;   a sensor configured to detect an operational parameter from the converter in the intermediary signal; and   a processing device configured to determine if an electrical discharge is occurring in the reforming chamber based on the operational parameter detected by the sensor changing over time and control a setting of the variable voltage to maintain the occurrence of the electrical discharge based on the operational parameter changing over time.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processing device is configured to decrease the variable when the changing of the operational parameter is positive and increase the variable voltage when the time rate of change of the detected current or power is negative. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the converter comprises a buck converter. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the converter further comprises a DC-to-AC inverter that receives an intermediary signal and supplies a corresponding AC voltage, and a transformer receiving the AC voltage and generating a control signal for application to the reforming chamber. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fuel cell configured to receive a supply of hydrogen produced in the reforming chamber and use the received hydrogen to generate power; and   an additional converter configured to receive the generated power and produce an output voltage.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the operational parameter comprise a detected voltage, current, or power. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the hydrocarbon comprises at least one of ethanol, methane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, decane, isobutene, methanol, glycerol, dimethyl ether, formaldehyde, acetone, acetic acit, ethyl acetate, and E-85. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the additional converter comprises a full-bridge converter, a half-bridge converter, a flyback converter, or a forward converter. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to detect the operational parameter intermediary signal from the converter, and the processing device is configured to determine a time rate of change of the operational parameter over a timeframe and to use the time rate of change during the timeframe to determine whether the electrical discharge is occurring in the reforming chamber. 
     
     
         10 . A method for maintaining an electrical discharge in a reforming chamber housing a gaseous mixture, the method comprising:
 detecting an operational parameter in a converter;   determining a changing of the operational parameter over time;   using the changing of the operational parameter over time to determine whether the electrical discharge is present in the reforming chamber; and   signaling a change of the input variable voltage based on the determination of the presence of the electrical discharge in the reforming chamber.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the input variable voltage is increased when the electrical discharge is not present in the reforming chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the operational parameter comprises a measure of voltage, current, power, frequency, duty or cycle associated with a signal of the converter. 
     
     
         13 . A system, comprising:
 a plurality of reforming chambers that each house a chemical mixture;   a multi-port power electronics interface (MPPEI) configured to receive operational parameters detected from a plurality of circuits configured to maintain electrical discharges in the reforming chambers; and   one or more processing devices configured to receive the input signals from the MPPEI and control voltage supplies coupled to the plurality of circuits based on the operational parameters indicating whether electrical discharges are occurring in the reforming chambers.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to decrease variable voltages supplied to the reforming chambers that are experiencing an electrical discharge. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of reforming chambers comprise a first reforming chamber with a first mixture that includes a first hydrocarbon and a second reforming chamber with a second mixture comprising a second hydrocarbon. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising optimizing application of the input variable voltage by applying the input variable voltage at a first voltage for a first timeframe and then reducing the input variable voltage to a second voltage for a second timeframe. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the changing of the operational parameter comprises a difference between a sensed voltage, current, power, or frequency of the converter relative to a set voltage, current, power, or frequency value. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing device is configured to signal a reduction of the variable when the operational parameter remains unchanged over a second timeframe. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the operational parameter comprises a frequency or duty cycle associated with the transformer. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operational parameter comprises a frequency or duty cycle associated with the converter.