Gas bubble storage
US8181941B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 20, 2007 |
| Grant date | May 22, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 23, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E60/32
- WIPO fieldMaterials, metallurgy
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A quasi-liquid of gas in bubbles of nanometer-scale, and devices and processes for making the quasi-liquid. A device includes a channel plate (30) through which an operating gas flows to form micrometer-sized bubbles in a liquid. The bubbles are compressed to nanometer scale by action of cooling and pressure in a hydrophobic liquid (20) or are further fragmented to nanometer scale by a laser. Alternatively, a device has vertical water column having a bottom insertion tube, a bottom exit port, a top extraction port, and a water inflow tube; and, a centrifuge adjoining the top extraction port. A storage gas is diffused into pores of a low-density, solid-content material such as aerogel. The material is then introduced through the bottom insertion tube into an underwater environment creating cavities and a quasi-liquid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.