Hydrogen reactor for therapeutic medical purpose

• Grant number: 23/05831-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Medical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Régis Claudio da Silva
• Grantee: Régis Claudio da Silva
• Company: Succi Avila Ltda
• CNAE: Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• City: Mogi Guaçu
• Pesquisadores principais: Marco Antonio Succi
• Associated researchers: Moacir Fernandes de Godoy
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/16322-9 - Hydrogen reactor for therapeutic medical purpose, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Currently, Asian countries, mainly China and Japan, have adopted the administration of hydrogen gas as an inhalation therapy for the treatment of respiratory diseases and others, such as Covid and pneumonia. Initially, in vitro studies proved the potential of using this gas to combat free radicals and oxidative stress. More recently, the specialized literature reports some clinical studies demonstrating the safety of this therapy and the good results for other illnesses such as stroke, heart attack and anaphylactic shock. In this way, the motivating point for the development of this innovation proposal was to design, implement and develop a hydrogen gas generator using the electrical resonance process, breaking with one of the main techniques used for the production of hydrogen, the electrolysis of water. As main challenges there is the conception and elaboration of the entire project for the construction of the generator, encompassing from the metallic structure, going through the entire development of the electronic circuits and adjustments of voltage, amperage and power capable of breaking the water molecule for the formation of the gases. As an additional challenge, there is the development of a filter/separator of the gases formed from the decomposition of the water molecule. Unlike what happens with electrolysis where gases are formed in the electrodes, in this proposed technology, gases are formed concomitantly within the electrical resonance cell. In this sense, some available membranes will be tested, such as nafion®, and if necessary, zeolites and molecular sieves will be researched or even hybrid metal-organic compounds (MOFs) to be used. The electronic design, consists of the design of the electronic circuit and printed circuit board, which will be done by analyzing the operating requirements of the equipment through a flowchart. After the operation analysis, the electrical circuit will be designed, which may have a microcontroller to manage the equipment functions, and, later, the design of the printed circuit board, both made with CAD software, specifically for this purpose, as, for example, Altium Designer® or Eagle®. The final product of this step is a printed circuit board, where all the electronic components will be mounted so that the equipment works according to the initial requirements. The entire operation of the electronic project will be validated when it is integrated into the hydrogen gas generator, analyzing the results of the final product, whether they will comply with the initial requirements of the project. For a second phase of the project, it is intended to submit the equipment to validation tests at INMETRO, based on the standards of the ABNT NBR IEC 60601-1 series. For the investigation of the gases formed in the proposed generator, the technique of mass spectrometry will be used to identify and quantify the gases that are formed. The same technique will be used to monitor the efficiency of the materials applied in the separation of the gases formed. Based on the results obtained, the efficiency and good functioning of the hydrogen gas generator will be proven, making it ready to undergo the next stages of validation before regulatory bodies and the commercial validation of the new technology. (AU)