Japan Metals & Chemicals Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Co., Ltd.

Takashi Sasai

Kenichi Kobayashi

Hisao Konno

Masashi Takahashi

Tatsuhiko Fujinuma

Koichi Oku

Noboru Hayami

Yutaka Matsubara

Susumu Uoya

Nobuyuki Saito

To provide a hydrogen storage alloy usable as a negative electrode having a long life and good high-discharge characteristics. Hydrogen storage alloy for cell wherein its general expression is as follows:

Hydrogen storage alloy containing iron

High-purity metallic chromium is produced by a method of initially preparing a mixture of chromium oxide, aluminum, carbon and an easily sulfidable metallic powder, and subsequently providing a thermite-reaction with the mixture to produce thermite-crude metallic chromium and a solid solution of carbon and easily sulfidable metal. Residual impurities in the thermite-crude metallic chromium are subsequently removed by heat treating the crude metallic chromium. This method produces high-purity metallic chromium advantageous for preparing corrosion and heat resistant chromium-containing alloys.

Method for producing high-purity metallic chromium

A material for storage of hydrogen, consisting essentially of an alloy represented by the following general formula:

Materials for storage of hydrogen

A fuel tank for a hydrogen vehicle in which a plurality of fuel cylinders are disposed and contained in a casing of the fuel tank for containing hydrogen storage alloy, the fuel cylinders are connected to a header mounted integrally with the casing for containing the fuel cylinders, a conduit for supplying engine exhaust gas is connected to the casing for externally heating the fuel cylinders in the casing. Further, a fuel supplying system which comprises supplying hydrogen gas from a fuel supply conduit connected to a header mounted integrally with the fuel tank, supplying the hydrogen gas from the openings of a plurality of fuel cylinders into the inner cylinder sections of the fuel cylinders to allow the hydrogen gas to be absorbed to hydrogen storage alloy of the respective fuel cylinders, supplying air or water from an engine exhaust gas passage of a fuel tank casing into the casing in case of supplying the hydrogen while cooling the fuel cylinders from the exterior, closing the fuel supply conduit of the header after filling the hydrogen gas of a predetermined amount, and then supplying the exhaust gas through the engine exhaust gas passage to externally heat the fuel cylinders in case of desorbing the hydrogen gas in the fuel tank. Thus, the fuel tank can desorb or absorb hydrogen under a relatively low pressure and can store the hydrogen in the amount corresponding to the running distance of a gasoline vehicle in a compact structure.

Fuel tank for hydrogen vehicle and fuel supplying system

Growing community of inventors

Gunma, Japan

Takashi Sasai