PLANT AND PROCESS FOR OBTAINING A PREDETERMINED CARBON DIOXIDE/OXYGEN RATIO IN THE ATMOSPHERE

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a plant, in particular power plant, for maintaining and/or balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide/oxygen ratio in atmospheric air, in particular for improving atmospheric air quality, including at least one electrolysis unit for oxygen production, connected to at least one water supply line for receiving a quantity of water and adapted to separate a received quantity of water by electrolysis into a partial quantity of oxygen and a partial quantity of hydrogen; at least one hydrogen transport unit adapted to provide the partial quantity of hydrogen for storage and/or further processing at least one carbon dioxide absorption unit for purifying ambient air of an outside atmosphere surrounding the plant, including at least one air inlet for supplying the ambient air and at least one downstream absorber unit adapted to extract a quantity of carbon dioxide from the ambient air; and at least one carbon dioxide transport unit adapted to provide the carbon dioxide quantity for storage and/or further processing, wherein the electrolysis unit includes at least one oxygen outlet for discharging the partial quantity of oxygen and the carbon dioxide absorption unit includes at least one air outlet for discharging purified ambient air, wherein the oxygen outlet and the air outlet open into the outside atmosphere.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A plant for maintaining and balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide/oxygen ratio in atmospheric air comprising: at least one electrolysis unit configured for oxygen production, the electrolysis unit connected to at least one water supply line for receiving a quantity of water, the electrolysis unit adapted to separate the received quantity of water by electrolysis into a partial quantity of oxygen and a partial quantity of hydrogen; at least one hydrogen transport unit adapted to provide the partial quantity of hydrogen for storage and further processing; at least one carbon dioxide absorption unit for purifying ambient air of an outside atmosphere surrounding the plant, the carbon dioxide absorption unit including at least one air inlet for supplying the ambient air and at least one downstream absorber unit adapted to extract a quantity of carbon dioxide from the ambient air; and at least one carbon dioxide transport unit adapted to provide the carbon dioxide quantity for storage and further processing, wherein the electrolysis unit includes at least one oxygen outlet for discharging the partial quantity of oxygen and the carbon dioxide absorption unit includes at least one air outlet for discharging the purified ambient air, wherein the oxygen outlet and the air outlet open into the outside atmosphere, and wherein a capacity of the oxygen output of the electrolysis unit is higher than the oxygen output capacity of a natural forest relative to a same assumed surface area by at least 5 times.

16. The plant according to claim 15, wherein the oxygen output capacity of the electrolysis unit is higher than the oxygen output capacity of the natural forest relative to the same assumed surface area by at least 10 times.

17. The plant according to claim 15, wherein the electrolysis unit has an output capacity of the partial quantity of oxygen per year of at least 700,000 tons and the carbon dioxide absorption unit has an extraction capacity of the carbon dioxide quantity per year of at least 400,000 tons.

18. The plant according to claim 15, wherein the electrolysis unit is adapted to separate from the water quantity of at least 1.5 kg, the partial quantity of oxygen of at least 1.2 kg, and the partial quantity of hydrogen of at least 0.1 kg.

19. The plant according to claim 15, wherein the carbon dioxide absorption unit is adapted to extract from an ambient air quantity of at least 3300 kg the carbon dioxide quantity of at least 1.1 kg.

20. The plant according to claim 15, wherein the electrolysis unit and the carbon dioxide absorption unit each have at least one mounting area which is connectable to a foundation.

21. The plant according to claim 15, wherein the carbon dioxide absorption unit includes at least one chimney and at least one flow channel which extends transversely to the chimney and is connected to the chimney at a region arranged at a bottom in an installation position, wherein the chimney includes the air outlet and the flow channel includes the air inlet and the absorber unit is arranged therebetween in a flow direction.

22. The plant according to claim 21, wherein the chimney has a diameter of between 20 meters and 30 meters, and a height of between 50 meters and 200 meters.

23. The plant according to claim 21, wherein the flow channel for solar radiation absorption has a surface arranged at a top in the installation position in order to heat the ambient air located in the flow channel by radiant heat.

24. The plant according to claim 23, wherein the arranged surface is part of a planar plant region, on the longitudinal side of which a plurality of chimneys is arranged in series, wherein the flow channel extends below the arranged surface towards each of the chimneys respectively.

25. The plant according to claim 24, wherein the planar plant region has at least one photovoltaic unit which is arranged on the arranged surface and is connected to the electrolysis unit and the carbon dioxide absorption unit for self-sufficient power supply.

26. A method for obtaining and balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide/oxygen ratio in atmospheric air comprising: receiving a quantity of water by at least one electrolysis unit for oxygen production through at least one water supply line, the received quantity of water separated by electrolysis into a partial quantity of oxygen and a partial quantity of hydrogen; providing, by at least one hydrogen transport unit, the partial quantity of hydrogen for storage and further processing; purifying ambient air of an outside atmosphere surrounding the plant by at least one carbon dioxide absorption unit, wherein the ambient air is supplied through at least one air inlet to a downstream absorber unit; subsequently extracting a carbon dioxide quantity from the supplied ambient air by the absorber unit; and providing, by at least one carbon dioxide transport unit, the carbon dioxide quantity for storage and further processing, wherein the partial quantity of oxygen after separation and the purified ambient air are discharged into the outside atmosphere, and wherein a capacity of oxygen output of the electrolysis unit is higher than the oxygen output capacity of a natural forest relative to a same assumed surface area by at least 5 times.

27. A system for regulating a quantity of air constituents of an atmosphere comprising: at least one plant for maintaining and balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide/oxygen ratio in atmospheric air; and at least one power generation unit for self-sufficient power supply of the plant, wherein the power generation unit is electrically connected to the plant and uses one or more regenerative energy sources for power generation.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein the power generation unit comprises at least one buffer storage for storing energy.

29. The system according to claim 27, wherein the power generation unit is one of at least one photovoltaic unit for converting solar energy into electricity, at least one wind power unit for converting wind energy into electricity, at least one hydro power unit for converting hydro energy into electricity, or at least one thermal unit for converting thermal energy into electricity.

Description

[0056] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. The embodiments shown represent examples of how the plant or system according to the invention can be designed.

[0057] In these show,

[0058] FIG. 1 perspective view of a system for maintaining and/or balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide/oxygen ratio in atmospheric air according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0059] FIG. 2 perspective view of a system for maintaining and/or balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide/oxygen ratio in atmospheric air according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0060] FIG. 3 top view of a planar plant section of the system according to FIG. 2; and

[0061] FIG. 4 schematic cross-section through the planar plant area of the system according to FIG. 3.

[0062] In the following, the same reference numerals are used for identical and identically acting parts.

[0063] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a system 30 for maintaining and/or balancing a predetermined carbon dioxide-oxygen ratio in atmospheric air according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The system 30 comprises a plant 10 having an electrolysis unit 11 for producing oxygen and a carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 for purifying ambient air UL of an outside atmosphere surrounding the plant 10. Further, the system 30 comprises a power generation unit 31 for providing self-sufficient power to the plant 10, which will be discussed in more detail later.

[0064] The electrolysis unit 11 is designed to separate a quantity of water M.sub.H2O by electrolysis into a partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 and a partial quantity of hydrogen. The electrolysis unit 11 thus forms a unit for water electrolysis. The electrolysis unit 11 is connected to a water supply line 13 for receiving the quantity of water M.sub.H2O. As can be seen in FIG. 1, a pump unit 25 is arranged between the electrolysis unit 11 and the water supply line 13. The pump unit 25 has at least one pump for conveying water from a water reservoir 26. The water reservoir 26 may be a sea with sea water. Alternatively, the water reservoir 26 may be a lake with fresh water. It is also possible that the water supply line 13 is connected to a river to draw fresh water for water electrolysis. In the case of the plant 10 shown in FIG. 1, the water supply line 13 is connected to a sea for taking sea water. The plant 10 is located near the coast to keep the distance to be covered to the water supply, in particular the water supply line 13 short.

[0065] The pump unit 25 is designed to pump seawater from the sea and make it available to further plant parts or units for further processing. In order to prepare the seawater for the electrolysis process by the electrolysis unit 11, the plant 10 has a seawater desalination unit 27. The seawater desalination unit 27 is connected to the pump unit 25 by at least one pipeline. The seawater desalination unit 27 is adapted to separate out a certain amount of salt from the pumped seawater M.sub.H2O, so that the seawater has a reduced salt content after the desalination process by the seawater desalination unit 27. The desalinated seawater amount M.sub.H2O corresponds to the quantity of water M.sub.H2O, which is separated into a partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 and a partial quantity of by the electrolysis unit 11. The electrolysis unit 11 is connected to the desalination unit 27 by at least one pipe. In order to convey the desalinated seawater from the seawater desalination unit 27 to the electrolysis unit 11, at least one further pump may be interposed.

[0066] As described above, the electrolysis unit 11 is designed to separate the absorbed quantity of water M.sub.H2O into a partial quantity of hydrogen and a partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2. Specifically, the electrolysis unit 11 has a output capacity of the partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 per year of at least 700000 tons. To achieve this output capacity, the electrolysis unit 11 is adapted to separate a partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 of at least 1.2 kg from an absorbed quantity of water M.sub.H2O of at least 1.5 kg. Preferably, the electrolysis unit 11 is adapted to separate a partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 of at least 1.5 kg from a quantity of water M.sub.H2O of at least 1.7 kg. For discharging the produced partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2, the electrolysis unit 11 has an oxygen outlet 16, which opens into the outside atmosphere. It is possible that the electrolysis unit 11 has one or more oxygen outlets 16 for delivering the generated partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2. To achieve an annual output of 700000 tons of oxygen from the electrolysis unit 11, at least 500000 tons of desalinated seawater are required. To increase the quantity of water for the electrolysis process, other water supply sources are also possible.

[0067] The plant 10 further comprises at least one hydrogen transport device, not shown, which is adapted to provide the partial quantity of hydrogen separated from the quantity of water M.sub.H2O for storage and/or for further processing. It is possible that the plant 10 comprises a hydrogen storage device for this purpose, which is connected to the hydrogen transport device. After the electrolysis process, the hydrogen transport device feeds the separated partial quantity of hydrogen from the electrolysis unit 11 to the hydrogen storage device. Alternatively, it is possible that the hydrogen transport device feeds the partial quantity of hydrogen to another part of the plant, which is not shown, for further processing.

[0068] Referring to FIG. 1, the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 has an air inlet 14 for supplying ambient air UL and a downstream absorber unit 15. It is possible that the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 comprises one or more air inlets 14. The absorber unit 15 is connected to the air inlet 14. The absorber unit 15 is adapted to extract a quantity of carbon dioxide from the ambient air UL. The carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 further comprises an air outlet 17 oriented upward in a vertical direction. The air outlet 17 is for discharging the ambient air UL purified from carbon dioxide. The air outlet 17 is part of a chimney 19.

[0069] Specifically, the absorber unit 15 is arranged between the air inlet 14 and the air outlet 17. In operation, the ambient air UL flows through the air inlet 14 to the absorber unit 15, which separates, in particular filters, a certain amount of carbon dioxide from the air UL, the purified ambient air UL flowing after the absorber unit 15 through the air outlet 17 into the outside atmosphere. Generally, it is possible that a plurality of air inlets 14, a plurality of absorber unit 15 and a plurality of air outlets 17 are provided.

[0070] Specifically, FIG. 1 shows a single chimney 19 with a height H of 200 meters, which exemplifies the external structure of the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12. The air outlet 17 opens into the outside atmosphere, as shown in FIG. 1, also like the oxygen outlet 16.

[0071] The plant 10 further comprises a carbon dioxide transport device configured to provide the carbon dioxide quantity separated from the ambient air UL to a carbon dioxide storage and/or to a further plant part of the plant 10 for further processing. It is possible that the extracted carbon dioxide quantity is processed with the separated partial quantity of hydrogen to form a common end product.

[0072] The carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 has an extraction capacity of a carbon dioxide quantity per year of at least 400000 tons, in particular 600000 tons. In other words, the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 is adapted to purify an amount of ambient air per year of at least 1500 megatons. Specifically, the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 is adapted to extract a carbon dioxide quantity of at least 1.4 kg from an ambient air quantity of at least 3300 kg.

[0073] Furthermore, the plant 10 according to FIG. 1 comprises a carbon dioxide transport device not shown, which is adapted to provide the separated carbon dioxide for storage and/or for further processing. For this purpose, the plant 10 may comprise a carbon dioxide storage device.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 1, the plant 10 has a planar plant area 23. The planar plant area 23 is directly connected to the electrolysis unit 11. A power generation unit 31, which is a photovoltaic unit 24, is arranged on the planar plant area 23. The photovoltaic unit 24 is connected to the respective units of the plant 10 for power supply. The photovoltaic unit 24 is adapted in such a way that the entire plant 10 or the entire system 30 can be operated self-sufficiently in terms of energy. This is to be understood as meaning that the electrical power for operating the entire plant 10 is provided exclusively by solar energy by means of the photovoltaic unit 24. In other words, no fossil energy sources are used for the operation of the plant 10.

[0075] The planar plant area 23 has a longitudinal extension 32 of about 5000 meters and a transverse extension 33 of about 2000 meters. In other words, the two-dimensional plant area of plant 10 covers an area of 10 square kilometers. The plant area shown in FIG. 1 containing the electrolysis unit 11 can have a partial longitudinal extension 29 of approximately two kilometers. Other partial longitudinal, longitudinal and transverse extents 29, 32, 33 are possible.

[0076] Assuming a total area of the system 30 or the plant 10 of approximately twelve square kilometers, the plant 10 produces at least 580 tons of oxygen per hectare (0.01 square kilometer) per year. Compared to a conventional natural forest, which releases an annual quantity of oxygen of 15 to 30 tons per hectare, the plant 10 has an oxygen output into the atmosphere that is 5 times to 40 times higher. The plant can therefore be described as an artificial forest, which has a higher oxygen output rate than a natural forest.

[0077] The seawater desalination unit 27 described above is connected to a water return line 28 through which a recirculated quantity of seawater M.sub.H2O with increased salinity is returned to the sea. Specifically, a certain salinity is extracted from the extracted quantity of seawater and then returned to the sea with a part of the extracted seawater quantity as a recirculated quantity of water M.sub.H2O. This provides a water cycle that is harmless to nature.

[0078] The preferred installation location of the system 30 or the plant 10 is near the coast of a sea. Particularly preferably, the plant 10 is set up in a desert. The plant 10 according to FIG. 1 is a large-scale power plant. The plant 10 comprises at least one mounting area 18 connected to a foundation of a building and/or a structure. Generally, it is possible that the electrolysis unit 11 and/or the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 are arranged in a common building or in separate buildings.

[0079] The power supply unit 31 preferably includes a power storage unit, not shown, adapted to supply power to the plant 10 during nighttime operation. FIG. 2 shows, in contrast to the system 30 according to FIG. 1, a plant 10 in which the single carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 is replaced by several carbon dioxide absorption units 12. The respective carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 according to FIG. 2 has a chimney 19 and a flow channel 21 extending transversely to the chimney 19. This is clearly visible in FIG. 4, for example. The flow channel 21 is connected to the chimney 19 at a region of the chimney arranged at the bottom in the installation position. An absorber unit 15 is arranged between the flow channel 21 and the chimney 19, which is designed to extract a quantity of carbon dioxide from ambient air UL. The absorber unit 15 is formed by an amine exchanger. Other types of absorber units are possible.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 2, the chimneys 19 are arranged along the longitudinal extension 32 of the planar plant area 23. The planar plant area 23 has a surface 22 arranged at the top in the installation position. The surface 22 arranged at the top is dark-colored, at least in sections, in order to absorb solar energy. The flow channels 21 are arranged below the surface 22 arranged at the top in the installation position. A plurality of air inlets 14 are formed in the upper arranged surface 22 for supplying ambient air UL into the flow channels 21. The air inlets 14 form through openings through the upper surface 22, which are shown in FIG. 4 only at the first flow channel 21 for the sake of clarity. Likewise, the number of air inlets 14 is variable.

[0081] In operation, ambient air flows through the air inlets 14 into the flow channel 21 and then through the absorber unit 15. After the absorber unit 15, the purified ambient air UL flows into the chimney 19 and through the air outlet 17 into the outside atmosphere. Due to the dark-colored surface 22 arranged at the top, the ambient air located below the surface 22 in the flow channel 21 heats up during operation. The temperature of the ambient air UL in the flow channel 21 is preferably about 60 C. When the outside temperature of the ambient air UL is about 40 C., natural ventilation is generated by the arrangement of the chimney with the flow channel 21 as well as the dark-colored surface 22. In other words, no chimney or blower is necessary for the supply of the ambient air UL into the flow channel 21 as well as for the flow through the absorber unit 15 and the outflow of the purified ambient air UL from the chimney 19.

[0082] According to FIG. 3, a top view of the planar plant area 23 of the plant 10 according to FIG. 2 is shown. The numbering from 1 to 40 shown along the longitudinal extension 32 represents the number of chimneys 19 arranged along the longitudinal extension 32. The lines running transversely to the longitudinal extension 32 show schematic separations between the individual flow channels 21. The individual flow channels 21 are each assigned to a chimney 19. In each case, an absorber unit 15 is arranged between the flow channel 21 and the chimney 19. The longitudinal extent 32 of the two-dimensional plant area 23 is approximately 5000 meters and the transverse extent 33 of the two-dimensional plant area 23 is approximately 2000 meters. A total of forty chimneys 19 with a total of forty flow channels 21 are provided in the areal plant area 23. These have a combined output of purified ambient air UL of at least 1800 megatons per year.

[0083] To achieve this, the chimneys 19 have a diameter D which is 25 meters. The diameter D refers to that area of the chimney 19 in which the air outlet 17 is formed. The air outlet 17 is formed at a free end of the chimney 19. Furthermore, the respective chimney 19 has a height H of 100 meters. Thus, an optimal shape for the chimney effect for natural ventilation is formed. Other dimensions of the chimneys 19 are possible.

[0084] Furthermore, more or less than forty chimneys 19, each with an associated flow channel 21, may be arranged in the planar plant area 23. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the planar plant area 23 is provided with a photovoltaic unit 24 on the surface 22 arranged at the top. In other words, a photovoltaic unit 24 is arranged on the top arranged surface 22 of the planar plant area 23. The photovoltaic unit 24 preferably has an output of 1.5 gigawatts per year. In the system 30 according to FIG. 2, the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12 and the photovoltaic unit 24 thus spatially form a common unit. The photovoltaic unit 24 forms a power supply unit 31 for energy-autonomous operation of the entire plant 10.

[0085] It should be noted that the plants 10 described above, as well as systems 30 according to FIGS. 1 and 2, are identical except for the differences described. In the following, the method for improving atmospheric air quality by maintaining and/or balancing a carbon dioxide-oxygen ratio in atmospheric air by the plant 10 according to FIG. 1 and/or according to FIG. 2 is described in more detail.

[0086] In a first method step, a quantity of water M.sub.H2O is received by means of the electrolysis unit 11 for oxygen production through the water supply line 13. Subsequently, the absorbed quantity of water M.sub.H2O is separated by an electrolysis process into a partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 and a partial quantity of hydrogen. The partial quantity of hydrogen is provided by at least one hydrogen transport device for storage or further processing.

[0087] In a second method step, ambient air UL of an outside atmosphere surrounding the plant 10 is purified by the carbon dioxide absorption unit 12. The ambient air UL is introduced, in particular sucked, into the flow channels 21 through a plurality of air inlets 14 and supplied to the downstream absorber units 15. Subsequently, the absorber units 15 extract a quantity of carbon dioxide from the supplied ambient air UL. The quantity of carbon dioxide is provided by the carbon dioxide transport device for storage or further processing. Then, the extracted partial quantity of oxygen M.sub.O2 is discharged to the outside atmosphere after the separation process and the purified ambient air UL is discharged to the outside atmosphere after the extraction of the carbon dioxide amount. This increases the oxygen content in the air and reduces the CO.sub.2 content in the air.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0088] 10 plant [0089] 11 electrolysis unit [0090] 12 carbon dioxide absorption unit [0091] 13 water supply line [0092] 14 air inlet [0093] 15 absorber unit [0094] 16 oxygen outlet [0095] 17 air outlet [0096] 18 mounting area [0097] 19 chimney [0098] 21 flow channel [0099] 22 top arranged surface [0100] 23 planar plant area [0101] 24 photovoltaic unit [0102] 25 pump unit [0103] 26 water reservoir [0104] 27 sea water desalination unit [0105] 28 water return line [0106] 29 partial longitudinal extension [0107] 30 system [0108] 31 power generation unit [0109] 32 longitudinal extension [0110] 33 transverse extension [0111] UL ambient air [0112] UL purified ambient air [0113] D diameter [0114] H height [0115] M.sub.H2O quantity of water [0116] M.sub.H2O recirculated quantity of water [0117] M.sub.O2 partial quantity of oxygen