Sk Energy Co., Ltd.

Sk Innovation Co., Ltd.

Il Su Kim

Seong Ho Lee

Young Seek Yoon

Tae Woo Woo

Keun Seob Choi

Myung Jun Kim

Young Dae Kim

The present invention provides a hydrogen generator for generating hydrogen through a steam-reforming process using hydrocarbons as a raw material and a method of operating the same, and, more particularly, provides a hydrogen generator for generating hydrogen through a steam reforming process, which can be stably operated because water is introduced into the hydrogen generator in the form of single phase vapor, and which can achieve high thermal efficiency using a proper heat exchanging method, and to a method of operating the same. According to the present invention, there is provided a heat exchanger network, in which heat necessary for a reforming reaction are obtained by the heat exchange of high-temperature exhaust gas or reformed gas, and in which, in a water gas converting reaction and a PSA reaction conducted at low temperatures compared to the reforming reaction, heat exchange is performed by low-temperature air or water, and the heat-exchanged air and the residual gas in the PSA reaction are used as a heat supply source for the reforming reactor together with fuel hydrocarbons, thereby minimizing the thermal loss of the hydrogen generator.

Hydrogen generating apparatus using steam reforming reaction

A small cylindrical reformer having at least a combustion reaction unit and a fuel-converting catalytic reaction unit wherein the combustion reaction unit and the fuel-converting catalytic reaction unit are structured as six cylindrical pipes to realize optimal heat exchange efficiently, a route supplying a water gas shift reformate to a preferential oxidation reactor and a route supplying feed and water into reforming reaction parts from the feed/water inlet overlap each other at a lower portion of the reformer so as to increase heat transfer efficiency, and a preferential oxidation reactor provided outside the fuel-converting catalytic reaction unit to decrease the concentration of carbon monoxide in the water gas shift reformate to a predetermined level or lower and increase heat transfer efficiency with an air/fuel preheating passage communicating with the air/fuel inlet.

Small cylindrical reformer

A reformer having a combustion unit including a combustion part to burn air and fuel, a combustion gas distributor to distribute the burned combustion gas, and first and second combustion gas passages to guide the distributed combustion gas into an outlet. A fuel-converting catalytic reaction unit includes two reforming reaction parts preparing a reforming reaction reformate, each having a reforming catalyst to reform feed and water supplied from a feed/water inlet, and a water gas shift reaction part preparing a water gas shift reformate, between the two reforming reaction parts to decrease a concentration of carbon monoxide in the reforming reacting reformate. The two units are structured as six cylindrical pipes to realize optimal heat exchange efficiency, and preferential oxidation reactor is provided between first air fuel preheating passages in the combustion part to decrease the concentration of carbon monoxide in the water gas shift reformate to a predetermined level or lower.

A small cylindrical reformer according to the embodiments of the present invention are suitable for use in the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels for a small fuel cell power plant. In the small cylindrical reformer, a reforming reactor, a water gas shift reactor (high temperature or low temperature), a combustor, a heat exchanger, a steam generator, etc., may be integrated in a single container to form an optimal heat exchanging network, minimize heat loss and optimize heat exchange efficiency. Thereby, the reformer is designed to be easily processed and manufactured and to have a compact size, thus realizing high efficiency, light weight and ease of mass production.

Growing community of inventors

Daejeon, South Korea

Il Su Kim