DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONVERTING THERMAL ENERGY INTO CHEMICAL ENERGY AND CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY WITH INTERMEDIATE CHEMICAL STORAGE

• Main Authors: MEUTZNER, FALK, SCHEITHAUER, DAVID, SCHMID, ROBERT, CHERKOUK, CHARAF, NENTWICH, MELANIE, STÖCKER, HARTMUT, HERRMANN, MARCO, NESTLER, TINA, WUNDERWALD, ULRIKE, ZSCHORNAK, MATTHIAS, FORMAN, CLEMENS, MEHNER, ERIK, MÜNCHGESANG, WOLFRAM, LEISEGANG, TILMANN, SONNTAG, MAXIMILIAN, MURITALA, IBRAHIM, MEYER, DIRK C, GOOTZ, MATTHIAS, HANZIG, JULIANE, STÖRR, BIANCA, URENA DE VIVANCO, MATEO
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 16.03.2016
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRICITY; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY

The invention relates to a device (20, 29, 36, 38, 40) for converting thermal energy into chemical energy and chemical energy into electrical energy, comprising at least of a fuel cell unit (19), to which there belong at least an anode (21) made of a first gas-permeable current collector (2) and an anode-side catalytic converter (1), a cathode (22) made of a second gas-permeable current collector (4) and a cathode-side catalytic converter (5), an electrolyte (3) located between anode (21) and cathode (22), wherein at least the anode (21), the cathode (22), and the electrolyte (3) are located in a chamber (47), and an oxygen inlet (23) to the chamber (47) for the supply of oxygen or an oxygen mixture to the cathode-side catalytic converter (5), a fluid reservoir (17), to which there belong at least one pyro-catalytically active material (13) having at least one polar axis, a first thermal energy carrier (24) having a high temperature (TH), a second thermal energy carrier (25) having a low temperature (TK), and a gas diffusion channel (18), wherein the chamber (47) of the fuel cell unit (19) is connected to the fluid reservoir (17) via the gas diffusion channel (18), wherein the fluid reservoir (17) contains at least the pyro-catalytically active material (13), which is subjected to temperature changes (ΔΤ/Δt) over time, wherein the temperature change (ΔΤ/Δt) is implemented by means of an alternating transfer of heat via a first thermal energy carrier (24) having a high temperature (TH) and a second thermal energy carrier (25) having a low temperature (TK) on the pyro-catalytically active material (13) for the conversion of thermal energy into chemical energy, wherein, at a high temperature (TH) an adjustable maximum temperature (Tmax) of the pyro-catalytically active material (13) lies below the Curie temperature ( ) of the same, wherein, on the pyro-catalytically active material (13), reduction or oxygenation of a fluid (12) in the fluid reservoir (17) to at least hydrogen as chemical energy carrier takes place, wherein at least the hydrogen in the gas diffusion channel (18) flows from the fluid reservoir (17) to the anode-side catalytic converter (1), on which, in order to convert the chemical energy into electrical energy, oxidation of the hydrogen takes place, and wherein, at least in the gas diffusion channel (18), intermediate chemical storage is possible as part of an arrangement (42, 43, 44, 45, 46) for intermediate storage.