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EP-4737787-A2 - CONTROL OF LOW ENERGY NUCLEAR REACTIONS IN HYDRIDES, AND AUTONOMOUSLY CONTROLLED HEAT GENERATION MODULE

EP4737787A2EP 4737787 A2EP4737787 A2EP 4737787A2EP-4737787-A2

Abstract

A treatment of a possibly powdered, sintered, or deposited lattice (e.g., nickel) for heat generating applications and a way to control low energy nuclear reactions ("LENR") hosted in the lattice by controlling hydride formation. The method of control and treatment involves the use of the reaction lattice, enclosed by an inert cover gas such as argon that carries hydrogen as the reactive gas in a non-flammable mixture. Hydrogen ions in the lattice are transmuted to neutrons as discussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0206715 (Godes_2007)). Hydrogen moving through the lattice interacts with the newly formed neutrons generating an exothermic reaction.

Inventors

  • GODES, ROBERT E
  • CORREIA, DAVID
  • GREMBAN, Ronald D

Assignees

  • Brillouin Energy Corp.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20140226

Claims (15)

  1. A heat generation apparatus comprising: a reactor core having a layered structure forming a transmission line, the reactor core comprising: a tube having an outer surface; an innermost first layer, disposed over the outer surface of the tube and along a length of the tube, the innermost first layer comprising a metal; a middle second layer disposed on the innermost first layer such that respective end portions of the innermost first layer are exposed, the middle second layer comprising a dielectric; and an outermost third layer disposed on the middle second layer such that at least some of the middle second layer and the respective end portions of the innermost first layer are exposed, the outermost third layer comprising a reactive lattice material, wherein the innermost first layer and the outermost third layer constitute respective conductors of the transmission line; and a gas enclosure to contain the reactor core and allow a reactant gas, when present in the gas enclosure, to be in contact with the reactive lattice material of the outermost third layer of the reactor core, such that interactions between at least some of the reactant gas and the reactive lattice material generate reaction heat.
  2. The heat generation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a phonon generator, coupled to the transmission line via the outermost third layer of the reactor core and at least one end portion of the exposed respective end portions of the innermost first layer of the reactor core, to provide electrical stimulation to the reactive lattice material and thereby facilitate the interactions between the at least some of the reactant gas, when present, and the reactive lattice material.
  3. The heat generation apparatus of claim 2, wherein the phonon generator is configured to provide the electrical stimulation as a pulse signal to propagate along the transmission line formed in part by the reactive lattice material.
  4. The heat generation apparatus of claim 3, wherein the phonon generator is configured to generate the pulse signal at a frequency in a range of from 1 Hz to 100 kHz.
  5. The heat generation apparatus of claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the phonon generator is configured to generate the pulse signal at a voltage in a range of from 1 Volt to 600 Volts.
  6. The heat generation apparatus of any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the transmission line has an impedance of approximately or equal to 3 ohms.
  7. The heat generation apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the reactive lattice material of the outermost third layer of the reactor core is a metal lattice material.
  8. The heat generation apparatus of claim 7, wherein the metal lattice material includes one of nickel, palladium, titanium or tungsten.
  9. The heat generation apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the dielectric of the middle second layer of the reactor core includes a ceramic.
  10. The heat generation apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the dielectric of the middle second layer of the reactor core includes a plasma-sprayed dielectric.
  11. The heat generation apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the metal of the innermost first layer of the reactor core is copper.
  12. The heat generation apparatus of any of the preceding claims, further comprising a reactor vessel surrounding the reactor core to cause a working fluid, when present, to contact at least part of the reactor core so as to draw the reaction heat from the reactor core to the working fluid.
  13. The heat generation apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the reactor vessel is a boiler and the working fluid is water; or the reactor vessel is a boiler steam line or a boiler dome; or the working fluid includes electrons.
  14. The heat generation apparatus of claim 12 or claim 13, wherein: the reactor vessel includes a gas intake port for a core gas including the reactant gas; and the working fluid includes at least some of the core gas.
  15. The heat generation apparatus of any of claims 12 to 14, further comprising a process heat removal component thermally coupled to the reactor vessel, optionally wherein the process heat removal component comprises at least one of a heat exchanger or a condensing unit.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 61/769,643, filed February 26, 2013 for "Control of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions in Hydrides, and Autonomously Controlled Heat Generation Module" (inventors Robert E. Godes, David Correia, and Ronald D. Gremban). This application is related to U.S. Patent Application No. 11/617,632 filed December 28, 2006 for "Energy Generation Apparatus and Method" (inventor Robert E. Godes), published September 6, 2007 as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0206715 (referred to as Godes_2007) The entire disclosures of all the above mentioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the creation of industrially useful heat energy using hydride lattice material, as exemplified by the following references: Godes_2007;U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0005506 for "Method and Apparatus for Carrying out Nickel and Hydrogen Exothermal Reaction" published January 13, 2011 (Andrea Rossi; U.S. Patent Application No. 12/736,193 filed August 4, 2009, referred to as Rossi_2011); andU.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0249783 for "Method for Producing Energy and Apparatus Therefor" published October 13, 2011 (Francesco Piantelli; U.S. Patent Application No. 13/126,247 filed November 24, 2009, referred to as Piantelli_2011). In this area, Godes_2007 describes a regime that is believed to operate on the basis of successive electron capture in protons with subsequent neutron absorption in hydrogen isotopes. Rossi_2011 describes an amount of nickel that is transmuted to copper by proton capture. Rossi has announced the commercialization of a device called the E-Cat (short for Energy Catalyzer). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments generate thermal energy by neutron generation, neutron capture, and subsequent transport of excess binding energy as useful heat for any application. Embodiments provide an improved treatment of a lattice such as those described in Godes_2007 (referred to as a core in Godes_2007), or of a powdered or sintered metal lattice, or a deposited metal surface, (e.g., nickel) for heat generating applications and an improved way to control low energy nuclear reactions ("LENR") hosted in the lattice by controlling hydride formation. The method of control and treatment involves the use of a lattice, which can be solid, finely powdered, sintered, or deposited material as the reaction lattice, immersed in a stream of gas consisting of a possible inert cover gas such as argon along with hydrogen as the reactive gas in a non-flammable mixture. Thermal energy production devices according to embodiments of the present invention produce no noxious emissions and use hydrogen dissolved in transition metals or suitable lattice material. This may include any hydrogen-containing lattice as fuel. It is known that hydrogen is absorbed in nickel and other transition metals given appropriate temperature, pressure and confinement conditions. Further, it is known that intermetallic hydrides form more easily from transition metal powders than from plates or wires or other solid forms of metals. While such high-surface-area lattices are preferred, embodiments of the present invention can make use of solid lattices as well. A hydride reactor includes a solid lattice, or a powdered or sintered lattice or deposited (e.g., spray-coated or electroplated) material - always included here as a possibility when referring to the "lattice" - which can absorb hydrogen nuclei, a gas loading source to provide the hydrogen species nuclei which are converted to neutrons, an inert carrier gas to control the equilibrium point of the saturation of the hydrogen nuclei within the reaction lattice, a source of phonon energy (e.g., heat, electrical, sonic), and a control mechanism to start and stop stimulation by phononic energy and/or the loading / de-loading of reactant (also referred to as fuel) gas in the lattice material. The lattice transmits phonon energy sufficient to influence proton-electron capture. By controlling the level of phononic energy and controlling the loading and migration of light element nuclei into and through the lattice, energy released by neutron captures may be controlled. Selecting the un-powered state of valves within the system makes it possible to have a system with passive shut down on loss of power and to have active control over the rate of reactions in the hydrides enclosed by the system. It is further possible to use a passive thermostatic switch to force shutdown of the reactor if the control system malfunctions. Transmutation of the lattice, which is undesirable as it degrades it over time, can be reduced and perhaps avoided if sufficiently high populations of dissolved hydrogen ions are constantly migrating in the lattice. These hydrogen ions interact in one of two ways: by electron capture or by neutron capture, with th