Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Jx Nippon Oil Energy Corporation

Nippon Oil Corporation

Masataka Kadowaki

Akira Fuju

Yasushi Sato

Masatoshi Ueda

Ken Samura

Yasuo Miyake

Yukinori Akiyama

Keigo Miyai

Osamu Tajima

Takuya Kajita

Kazuhiro Tajima

Kazumi Kobayashi

Kazuaki Nakajima

Ryuji Yukawa

Satoshi Yamamoto

Akira Goto

Nobuyoshi Nishizawa

Takaya Matsumoto

Takeshi Kanai

Tatsuji Hatayama

Koji Shindo

Katsuya Oda

Taketoshi Ouki

Katsuyuki Makihara

Yoshinobu Nishimura

Emi Kato

There are provided a hydrogen production apparatus, a fuel cell system and operation method thereof, which can more reliably suppress degradation due to oxidation of a catalyst in a hydrogen production apparatus even when start-ups and shutdowns are repeated without a purge operation during the shutdowns. The hydrogen production apparatus includes a reforming part, a shift reaction part, and a selective oxidation reaction part having a selective oxidation catalyst bed packed with a selective oxidation catalyst, wherein the hydrogen production apparatus has an oxygen absorbent bed packed with an oxygen absorbent capable of absorbing oxygen and capable of being regenerated by a reducing gas, and the oxygen absorbent bed and the selective oxidation catalyst bed are stacked with the oxygen absorbent bed on the downstream side, and the hydrogen production apparatus has means for opening the downstream of the oxygen absorbent bed to the atmosphere. The fuel cell system has this hydrogen production apparatus. The operation method of this fuel cell system includes opening the downstream of the oxygen absorbent bed to the atmosphere upon shutdown of the fuel cell system, and regenerating the oxygen absorbent using a hydrogen-containing gas during hydrogen production by the hydrogen production apparatus.

Hydrogen production apparatus, fuel cell system and operation method thereof

There are provided a hydrogen production apparatus and a hydrogen producing method that can easily bring the temperature of a gas to be supplied to a preferential oxidation catalyst bed to a proper range without the necessity of flow rate control of a cooling medium, and a fuel cell system which is relatively inexpensive and can easily realize stable operation. The hydrogen producing method includes a reforming step of obtaining a hydrogen-containing gas from a raw material for hydrogen production by utilizing a reforming reaction, a shift reaction step of reducing the concentration of carbon monoxide in the gas obtained from the reforming step by a shift reaction, a cooling step of cooling the gas obtained from the shift reaction step, a heating step of heating the gas cooled in the cooling step and a preferential oxidation reaction step of reducing the concentration of carbon monoxide in the gas heated in the heating step, wherein in the heating step, the gas cooled in the cooling step is heated by heat exchange with the use of heat generated by the preferential oxidation reaction. A hydrogen production apparatus suitable for implementing this method. A fuel cell system provided with the hydrogen production apparatus.

Hydrogen production apparatus and fuel cell system using the same

A reforming apparatus for reforming a raw fuel into a hydrogen-rich reformed gas includes a reformer for generating the reformed gas from the raw fuel, and a steam supply means for supplying the steam to the reformer. The steam supply means has a dry-out heat exchanger that dries out the water by conducting heat exchange with the reformed gas generated when the raw fuel is combusted. The cross-sectional area of passage in the dry-out heat exchanger is larger than that of a pipe connected upstream of the dry-out heat exchanger.

Reforming device with series-connected gas-liquid multiphase and dry-out heat exchangers

In a reforming apparatus, for use in a fuel cell, for reforming a raw fuel into a hydrogen-rich reformed gas, a reformer generates the reformed gas from the raw fuel. A shift reactor reduces carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas through a shift reaction. A selective oxidation unit reduces the carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas that has passed through the shift reactor by performing selective oxidation on the carbon monoxide. A reforming reaction tube houses linearly the reformer, the shift reactor and the selective oxidation unit in this order.

Reforming apparatus for fuel cell

In a reforming apparatus, for use in a fuel cell, for reforming a raw fuel into a hydrogen-rich reformed gas, a reformer generates the reformed gas from the raw fuel. A shift reactor reduces carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas through a shift reaction. A selective oxidation unit reduces the carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas that has passed through the shift reactor by performing selective oxidation on the carbon monoxide. A reforming reaction tube houses linearly the reformer, the shift reactor and the selective oxidation unit in this order. A combustion means produces combustion exhaust gas by combusting the raw fuel. An outer casing is placed around the reforming reaction tube, and the outer casing has a larger diameter than that of the reforming reaction tube. A heated flow passage through which the combustion exhaust gas passes to heat the reforming reaction tube is formed between the reforming reaction tube and the outer casing.

The object is to provide a simplified but highly efficient fuel cell system, permitting to perform the flame off detection and so on without supplying the burner with additional raw fuel, even if a flame rod system flame detection means is adopted as burner for reformer. The invention concerns a fuel cell system, comprising a reformer for reforming a hydrocarbon base fuel such as natural gas into hydrogen, a CO transformer, a CO eliminator, a fuel cell for generating electricity from hydrogen, and a burner for reformer for burning hydrogen gas discharged from the fuel cell and supply the reformer with heat necessary for reforming reaction, wherein the burner for reformer is provided with a flame rod system flame detection means and, at the same time, supplied with hydrogen gas containing a flame detectable amount of fuel gas.

Fuel cell system

Fuel cell system having a burner with a flame detection rod therein

The CO remover of this invention includes an air mixer for mixing air with hydrogen-rich gas including carbon monoxide and a selective oxidative catalytic device in which a selective oxidative catalyst bed is formed by filling selective oxidative catalyst into a gas passing tube. The selective oxidative catalytic device includes a gas blending unit for blending gas passing through the central part of the gas passing tube with gas passing through the peripheral part at a point in the selective oxidative catalyst bed in the direction of gas flow. As a result, the reaction apparatus and the CO remover have simple structures. In addition, gas passing through the central part upstream is blended with gas passing through the peripheral part upstream to uniformize the temperature of gas in the gas blending unit, so that high CO selectivity is obtained.

CO remover that is simple in structure and performs a selective reaction of CO at a high CO selectivity

A fuel reformer for reforming hydrocarbon base fuel into hydrogen rich gas, with one embodiment comprised of material containing at least 15 to 25% by mass Cr, 8 to 35% by mass Ni, 2 to 4% by mass Si and the remainder Fe and inevitable impurities (C, Mn, P, S or others). The material provides sigma brittleness resistance and cementation resistance, and provides a reformer that is lightweight, low-cost, highly reliable and durable. A second embodiment adds to the composition 0.05 to 1% by mass Nb, providing improved oxidation resistance, cementation resistance, intergranular corrosion resistance, with further improved reliability and durability.

Fuel reformer

A plurality of distributed power generation systems are connected via the Internet to a managing apparatus in a managing company. A power company communicates with the managing apparatus via another line. At peak times of power consumption in the midsummer and so forth, the power company requests the managing company to supply the power. The managing company controls to remotely set generation capacity of the distributed generation systems at maximum so as to reverse surplus power therefrom to a power system. A normal power rate is discounted for a user of the distributed generation system for his/her cooperation with the power company. The managing company charges the power company based on the surplus electric energy supplied to the power company.

Distributed power generation system, and power supply system and power supply method utilizing the same

Proton-exchange membrane fuel-cell power generating equipment includes a heat exchanger coupled to a process burner and, therethrough, to a fan. When water needs to be heated, such as during startup, the water is circulated through the heat exchanger and the process burner is operated (ignited) to heat the water. When the water needs to be cooled, such as when a hot water reserving tank is full, the water is circulated through the heat exchanger and the fan is operated, but the process burner is not operated, to cool the water. Water is circulated through part or all of a water system to prevent freezing while the system is stopped. Optionally, the process burner is operated to heat the circulated water. The heat exchanger and other heat exchangers in the system are arranged to efficiently recover heat from burners, a fuel-cell cooling system and exothermic processes.

Solid high polymer type fuel cell power generating device

The present invention concerns a fuel reformer for reforming a hydrocarbon base fuel in to a hydrogen rich gas and a manufacturing method thereof, and the fuel reformer of the present invention wherein a Cr oxide layer is formed on at least a part of the surface of steel material making the reformer produces no red scale through water vapor oxidation of the surface of steel material making the reformer, even when exposed to an atmosphere of low oxygen concentration and/or high water vapor concentration under a high temperature and has an extremely important industrial utility value because it is highly heat resistant, light, low cost and cheap, highly reliable and long life, and moreover a cheap, highly reliable and long life fuel reformer can be manufactured at a low cost and easily by the manufacturing method of the present invention.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Masataka Kadowaki