Hitachi, Ltd.

Hiromi Tokoi

Shin Takahashi

Akira Gunji

Nariyoshi Kobayashi

Kazuo Takahashi

Toshiya Abe

Akihiko Noie

Tadashi Yoshida

Hidekazu Fujimura

Naohisa Watahiki

Hisashi Souma

The invention provides a solid oxide fuel cell generation system and a start up method thereof which heat up a reformer and a cell main body without any water and nitrogen gas, and start up for a short time until a power generation and without deteriorating a reliability of the cell. In a solid oxide fuel cell generation system having a power generation cell including an anode, a cathode and a solid electrolyte membrane, a mixing portion for obtaining a mixed gas by mixing a used fuel gas discharged from the anode with a raw fuel, a reducing combustion gas generating apparatus, and a reforming portion, the reducing combustion gas generating apparatus has a starting burner generating a reducing combustion gas, and the mixing portion, the reducing combustion gas generating apparatus, the reforming portion and the anode are coupled alphabetically from an upstream side.

Solid oxide fuel cell generation system

The present invention provides a fuel cell power system, in which a combustion exhaust gas having a high temperature and generated by the combustion reaction of unreacted fuel gas and oxidizer gas which are not utilized in a power-generating reaction is introduced into a gas header for distributing the fuel gas or the oxidizer gas to a plurality of fuel cells contained in a fuel cell body, in such a way that a larger amount of heat is transferred to the gas which is to be supplied to the cells disposed in a peripheral area of the fuel cell body by heat exchange, and a smaller amount of the heat is transferred to the gas which is to be supplied to the cells disposed in a central area of the fuel cell body.

Header for supplying gas in fuel cell and fuel cell power system

A temperature adjustment member is arranged to control temperature of a reformer independently of temperature of a fuel cell module. The reformer is structured as a three-fluid heat exchanger into which a fluid is introducible whose temperature is higher or lower than exhaust-gas temperature of the fuel cell module. Then, the temperature of the reformer is controlled independently of operation temperature of the fuel cell by introducing the higher-temperature or lower-temperature fluid into the reformer. Also, a high-temperature or low-temperature gas is mixed with the module's exhaust gas, thereby adjusting temperature of the exhaust gas itself. This also controls the temperature of the reformer independently of the operation temperature of the fuel cell.

Fuel cell power generation system and method of operating thereof

A fuel cell provided with a reforming catalyst is located in a high-temperature portion on the anode side to cool the high-temperature portion by means of heat absorption of reforming reaction, or a combustion catalyst is provided in a low-temperature portion on the anode side to heat the low-temperature portion by means of heat generation of combustion reaction, or both of the catalysts are provided, by which the occurrence of variations in temperature in a cell reaction region of anode is prevented.

Solid oxide fuel cell for a power generation

A flat tube double-sided power generation type fuel cell is comprised of the combination of one or more of the following means (1) and (2). That is,

Fuel cell

In a fuel cells power generation system provided with a power generation module having a plurality of fuel cells, the structure is made such that a cross sectional area of at least one of a fuel flow path and an air flow path is larger in an inner portion of the power generation module and smaller in an outer portion thereof. Accordingly, gas tends to flow through the inner portion of the power generation module, a gas flow rate is quickened, and it is possible to uniformize a molar flow rate of the fuel and the air supplied to the fuel cell, even in a state in which a temperature distribution of the module is not uniform within the power generation module.

Fuel cells power generation system

It is an object to shorten current path between an anode and a cathode in a tube type SOFC and thereby to decrease resistance. The tube type fuel cell contains a tube type electrolyte placed between an anode and a cathode, wherein an auxiliary electrode is provided over the entire region of a cell reaction region on at least one of the anode and cathode. The current path is shortened and resistance is decreased, because the anode auxiliary electrode or cathode auxiliary electrode is provided over the entire peripheral surface of the anode or cathode, and the current path in the auxiliary electrode has a greatly increased cross-sectional area.

Tube type fuel cell to decrease current path length

The present invention provides a fuel cell power system and a power generating method in which the rise of concentration of water vapor and carbon dioxide in the direction of the anode gas flow is controlled to enhance the electromotive force in the downstream region of the anode gas flow, thereby improving the power generating efficiency. A mixed gas of a hydrocarbon and water vapor and/or carbon dioxide or a reformed version of said mixed gas having an oxygen atom/carbon atom ratio (O/C ratio) of 2 or higher is supplied from a spot upstream in the direction of the anode gas flow while a hydrocarbon or a mixed gas of a hydrocarbon and water vapor and/or carbon dioxide having an O/C ratio of lower than 2 is supplied supplementally from a spot downstream, and the gas supplied supplementally from the downstream side is reformed by making use of water vapor and carbon dioxide generated by the electrochemical reactions upstream of the anode gas flow and is utilized for power generation.

Fuel cell power system

In a sodium-sulphur cell, liquid sodium is anodic reactant, sulphur and sodium polysulphide are cathodic reactants and sodium ions are conducted by a solid electrolyte. To increase cell capacity and improve safety, a storage region for cathodic reactants is provided away from said solid electrolyte and containing said cathodic reactants in the form of two contacting layers of immiscible liquids formed by gravitational separation. Liquid sulphur being stored does not contact the solid electrolyte. The sodium may also be stored out of contact with the electrolyte. Capillary-action means for feeding the sodium polysulphide from the two liquid layers to the cathode reaction, and for feeding sodium to the anode reaction are included.

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Tokai, Japan

Hiromi Tokoi