Institute of Gas Technology

Terry D Claar

Randy J Petri

Leonard G Marianowski

High temperature fuel cell wet seal strips around the periphery of a separator plate fabricated utilizing powder metallurgy technique. The material composition of said wet seal may be variably graded to afford ease of bonding of said wet seal with the separator plate on one side and provide corrosion inhibition on the other side in communication with an electrolyte. Similar wet seals may be formed from a single metal powder with surface treatment of the surface adjacent the electrolyte to provide resistance to corrosion by the electrolyte.

High temperature fuel cell wet seal

A high-temperature direct-contact thermal energy storage element for use in a system for storage and retrieval of thermal energy in the range of about 400.degree. to about 3000.degree. F. The thermal energy is directly stored, without heat exchange tubes in composite latent/sensible heat thermal energy storage media utilizing the heat of fusion and high-temperature stability of alkaline metal and alkaline earth carbonates, chlorides, nitrates, nitrites, fluorides, hydroxides and sulfates and metal, metallic alloys and mixtures thereof maintained within a porous support-structure material which itself is capable of storage as sensible heat. The thermal energy storage according to the invention may be effectively utilized for storage of thermal energy derived from solar, industrial waste, process heat, and high-temperature gas reactor energy sources and retrieved for a wide variety of uses such as combustion air preheating, drying, space heating, heating of process gases, power generating heat engines and the like.

High-temperature direct-contact thermal energy storage using

A high-temperature direct-contact thermal energy storage element for use in a system for storage and retrieval of thermal energy in the range of about 400.degree. to about 2000.degree. F. The thermal energy is directly stored, without heat exchange tubes in composite latent/sensible heat thermal energy storage media utilizing the heat of fusion and high-temperature stability of alkaline metal and alkaline earth carbonates, chlorides, nitrates, nitrites, fluorides, hydroxides, sulfates, and mixtures thereof maintained within a porous support-structure material which itself is capable of storage as sensible heat. The thermal energy storage according to the invention may be effectively utilized for storage of thermal energy derived from solar, industrial waste, process heat, and high-temperature gas reactor energy sources and retrieved for a wide variety of uses such as combustion air preheating, drying, space heating, heating of process gases, and the like.

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Lisle, IL, United States of America

Terry D Claar