Nissan Motor Company Limited

Emi Kawasumi

Yasukazu Iwasaki

Hiroyuki Ichikawa

A fuel cell system is provided which performs simple control of the time until warm-up of the reformer () is completed. This fuel cell system comprises a reformer () which generates a reformate gas, and a fuel cell () which generates power from an oxidizing agent and the reformate gas supplied from the reformer (). The fuel cell system is provided with a temperature sensor () which performs a detection at one position of the temperature immediately before starting or re-starting the reformer () and a controller () estimating the time to warm-up the reformer () based on the detected temperature of the reformer ().

Fuel cell system

High temperature reducing gas is supplied to a reforming catalyst ( ) of a reformer ( ) and a CO removal catalyst ( ) of a CO removal device ( ) from a start-up combustor ( ). By supplying the high temperature reducing gas from the start-up combustor ( ), there is no need to provide an additional device for supplying reducing gas, and the heat required for the reaction may be supplied simultaneously.

Fuel cell drive system

Disclosed is a fuel cell system comprising a fuel tank for storing fuel; an evaporator for evaporating the fuel to generate fuel gas; a reforming reactor for generating reforming gas containing hydrogen from the fuel gas; a combustor for burning any one of the fuel and the reforming gas to supply heat to the evaporator and a fuel cell portion for generating electricity by use of the hydrogen contained in the reforming gas generated in the reforming reactor wherein a boiling point temperature of the fuel in the evaporator is estimated based on an operation pressure of the evaporator a vapor temperature of the fuel gas in the evaporator is measured, and when a value obtained by subtracting the boiling point temperature from the vapor temperature becomes below a predetermined value, a flow rate of any one of the fuel and the reforming gas burnt in the combustor is increased.

A fuel cell system includes an evaporator composed of a cross type heat exchanger adapted to produce fuel containing steam and methanol vapor that are evaporated with heating gas exhausted from a combustor . The evaporator has first and second heat exchanger sections and having respective evaporating heat transfer surfaces, and first and second liquid sump sections and formed in the vicinities of the respective heat transfer surfaces and having variable volumes, respectively. The evaporator includes first and second volume control devices and that control the volumes of the liquid sump sections and such that fuel vapor is produced at a demanded amount to meet load variations of a vehicle.

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Yokohama, Japan

Emi Kawasumi