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Abstract

A cryogenic cooling system using hydrogen as a primary refrigerant fluid and oxygen as a secondary refrigerant fluid to precool the hydrogen gas below its inversion temperature. In a first embodiment, the cryogenic cooling system (10) includes an electrochemical compressor (12) operative to compress hydrogen and oxygen gas without any moving parts. Compressed oxygen from the electrochemical compressor passes through a regenerative heat exchanger (24) in heat transfer relationship with low pressure oxygen, and expands through a Joule-Thomson expansion valve (28) absorbing heat from a compressed hydrogen gas stream in a precooler heat exchange (30). The low pressure oxygen provides additional cooling in a parasitic heat exchangeer (36), returning to the electrochemical compressor through the regenerative heat exchanger (24). Compressed hydrogen flows through a regenerative heat exchange (44) in heat transfer relationship with low pressure hydrogen, and is precooled as it passes through the precooler heat exchanger. A second regenerative heat exchaner (50) provides additional heat transfer with the low pressure hydrogen gas stream prior to expansion of the compressed hydrogen in a Joule-Thomson expansion valve (54). The expanding hydrogen cools a load in heat exchanger (58), returning to the electrochemical compressor through regenerative heat exchangers 44 to 50. In the second embodiment, a mechanical water pump is provided to compress water, which is used as an intermediate media between the low pressure and high pressure hydrogen and oxygen gas streams. In both embodiments, the hydrogen and oxygen gas are electrochemically combined into water using a catalytic membrane (124) and then disassociated by electrolysis into their respective oxygen and hydrogen gas streams using another catalytic membrane (144).

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First Claim