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US-12623186-B2 - Propane gas removal material

US12623186B2US 12623186 B2US12623186 B2US 12623186B2US-12623186-B2

Abstract

A propane gas-utilizing system includes a housing having propane gas and a propane leakage prevention material having a catalyst, scavenger, and/or oxidizer of the propane gas arranged in the housing and including at least one of (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru 1-x M x O 2 (I), where 0<x≤0.1 and M is Ag, K, Pt, Rh, or Ir, or (b) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Co 3-x M x O 4 (II), where 0<x≤0.3, and M is Pd, Cu, or Sr, or (c) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (III): MM′ x O y (III), where x is a stoichiometric ratio of M′ to M, 0≤x≤1.5, y is a stoichiometric ratio of O to M, 1≤y≤3, M is an alkali metal, and M′ (if x>0) is Y, Ce, Nb, Ta, La, Nd, Mn, Ag, Au, or Cr.

Inventors

  • Mordechai Kornbluth
  • Soo KIM
  • Thomas Weil
  • Sebastian Martens
  • Fabian Schmid
  • Charles Tuffile

Assignees

  • ROBERT BOSCH GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20220223

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . A propane gas-utilizing system comprising: a housing including propane gas; a propane leakage prevention material comprising a catalyst, scavenger, and/or oxidizer of the propane gas arranged in the housing and including at least one of (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru 1-x M x O 2 (I), where: 0<x≤0.1, and M is K, Pt, Rh, or Ir, or (b) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Co 3-x M x O 4 (II), where: 0<x≤0.3, and M is Pd, Cu, or Sr, or (c) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (III): MM′ x O y (III), where: x is a stoichiometric ratio of M′ to M, 0≤x≤1.5, y is a stoichiometric ratio of O to M, 1≤y≤3, M is an alkali metal, and M′ (if x>0) is Y, Nb, Ta, La, Nd, Ag, or Au, wherein the propane leakage prevention material includes an alkali oxide.
  2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the material is configured as a coating on at least one surface of the housing.
  3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the material includes at least one oxide of formula (II) or (III).
  4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the propane gas-utilizing system is a heat pump.
  5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the propane leakage prevention material includes the oxide material having at least one composition of formulas (I) and (III).
  6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the material is structured as a replaceable component of the propane gas-utilizing system.
  7. 7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the material includes at least one compound of the formula (III), where M′ is a transition metal and Mis Na, K, Rb, or Cs.
  8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst, scavenger, and/or oxidizer includes a mixture of at least one composition of formula (II) and at least one composition of formula (III).
  9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the propane leakage prevention material is disposed on a lower internal surface of the housing to intercept gravitationally-accumulated propane.
  10. 10 . A propane gas catalyst comprising: a mixture of (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru 1-x M x O 2 (I), where: 0<x≤0.1, and M is Ag, K, Pt, Rh, or Ir, or (b) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Co 3-x M x O 4 (II), where: 0<x≤0.3, and M is Pd, Cu, or Sr, and (c) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (III): MM′ x O y (III), where: x is a stoichiometric ratio of M′ to M, 0≤x≤1.5, y is a stoichiometric ratio of O to M, 1≤y≤3, M is Na, K, Rb, or Cs, and M′ (if x>0) is Y, Ce, Nb, Ta, La, Nd, Mn, Ag, Au, or Cr, the catalyst being configured to increase a rate of propane gas oxidation without being consumed in the reaction.
  11. 11 . The catalyst of claim 10 , wherein the catalyst is a heat pump system propane gas catalyst.
  12. 12 . The catalyst of claim 11 , wherein the catalyst is a replaceable component of the heat pump system.
  13. 13 . The catalyst of claim 10 , wherein the catalyst forms a nanoparticle layer.
  14. 14 . The catalyst of claim 10 , wherein the catalyst is arranged as a multi-layer coating.
  15. 15 . The catalyst of claim 14 , wherein each layer of the multi-layer coating includes one or more compounds of the same formula (I), (II), or (III).
  16. 16 . The catalyst of claim 10 , wherein the catalyst includes at least one compound of the formula (III), where M′ is a transition metal.
  17. 17 . The catalyst of claim 10 , wherein the catalyst includes a mixture of compounds of the formulas (II) and (III).
  18. 18 . The catalyst of claim 10 , wherein the mixture comprises (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru 1-x M x O 2 (I), where: 0<x≤0.1, and M is Ag, K, Pt, Rh, or Ir.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to materials to be utilized for propane oxidation and/or scavenging to prevent unwanted propane accumulation in a propane gas-utilizing device or system, a method of identifying the same, and methods of utilizing the same. BACKGROUND Heat pumps are an energy-efficient alternative to separate furnace and air-conditioning systems. Heat pumps use electricity to transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space, cooling the cool space even further and warming the warmer place even further. Some heat pumps utilize propane gas which, in time, may accumulate and pose a safety hazard due to propane's combustibility. The same risk may be experienced in additional propane-gas utilizing systems. It would be desirable to alleviate the risk. SUMMARY In an embodiment, a propane gas-utilizing system is disclosed. The system may include a housing including propane gas; a propane leakage prevention material comprising a catalyst, scavenger, and/or oxidizer of the propane gas arranged in the housing and including at least one of (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru1-xMxO2  (I), where: 0<x≤0.1, and M is Ag, K, Pt, Rh, or Ir, or (b) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Co3-xMxO4  (II), where: 0<x≤0.3, and M is Pd, Cu, or Sr, or (c) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (III): MM′xOy  (III), where: x is a stoichiometric ratio of M′ to M, 0≤x≤1.5, y is a stoichiometric ratio of O to M, 1≤y≤3, M is an alkali metal, and M′ (if x>0) is Y, Ce, Nb, Ta, La, Nd, Mn, Ag, Au, or Cr. The material may be configured as a coating on at least one surface of the housing. The material may be a scavenger including at least one oxide of formula (II) or (III). The material may form a multi-layer coating, each layer having the same composition. The material may include an alkali oxide. M in the formula (I) or (III) may be K. The material may be structured as a replaceable component of the propane gas-utilizing system. The material may include at least one compound of the formula (III), where M′ may be a transition metal and M is Na, K, Rb, or Cs. In another embodiment, a propane gas catalyst is disclosed. The catalyst may include at least one of (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru1-xMxO2  (I), where: 0<x≤0.1, and M is Ag, K, Pt, Rh, or Ir, or (b) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Co3-xMxO4  (II), where: 0<x≤0.3, and M is Pd, Cu, or Sr, or (c) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (III): MM′xOy  (III), where: x is a stoichiometric ratio of M′ to M, 0≤x≤1.5, y is a stoichiometric ratio of O to M, 1≤y≤3, M is Na, K, Rb, or Cs, and M′ (if x>0) is Y, Ce, Nb, Ta, La, Nd, Mn, Ag, Au, or Cr, the catalyst may be configured to increase a rate of propane gas oxidation without being consumed in the reaction. The catalyst may be a heat pump system propane gas catalyst. The catalyst may form a nanoparticle layer. The catalyst may include only oxides of the formula (I). The catalyst may be arranged as a multi-layer coating. Each layer of the multi-layer coating may include one or more compounds of the same formula (I), (II), or (III). In yet another embodiment, a propane gas scavenger may include at least one of (a) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (I): Ru1-xMxO2  (I), where: 0<x≤0.1, and M is Ag, K, Pt, Rh, or Ir, or (b) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (II): Co3-xMxO4  (II), where: 0<x≤0.3, and M is Pd, Cu, or Sr, or (c) an oxide material having at least one composition of formula (III): MaM′xOy  (III), where: x is a stoichiometric ratio of M′ to M, 0≤x≤1.5, y is a stoichiometric ratio of O to M, 1≤y≤3, M is an alkali metal, and M′ (if x>0) is Y, Ce, Nb, Ta, La, Nd, Mn, Ag, Au, or Cr, the scavenger being configured to selectively react with the propane gas to convert the propane gas into a composition with a lower density than the propane gas. The scavenger may be a heat pump system propane gas scavenger. The scavenger may be a replaceable component of the heat pump system. The scavenger may form a nanoparticle layer. The scavenger may include at least one compound of the formula (III), where M′ may be a transition metal. The scavenger may include a mixture of compounds of the formulas (II) and (III). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A-1C show non-limiting examples of heat pump systems incorporating the material disclosed herein; FIG. 2 shows an example algorithm for stability screening of decomposition products; FIGS. 3A-3C show plots of relative reaction energy ε(x) for several non-limiting examples of the material disclosed herein and the reference material Co3O4; FIGS. 4A-4I show plots of material reactivity evaluation for non-limiting examples of the material disclosed herein, relative to the reference materials of Co3O4 and RuO2, respectively; FIG