Precision Combustion, Inc.

Saurabh Vilekar

Subir Roychoudhury

Christian Junaedi

Kyle Hawley

Timothy LaBreche

Eric Edward Allocco

Richard Mastanduno

Francesco Macri

Dennis E Walsh

Christopher Howard

Chunming Qi

An integrated power generation system including: a hotbox containing a steam reformer and at least one solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack; a condenser, a combustor, a heater, and a turbomachine comprising a compressor and an expander. The steam reformer is configured to convert a hydrocarbon fuel and steam into a stack fuel. The SOFC stack is configured to convert the stack fuel into a first anode waste gas. The condenser functions to remove water from the first anode waste gas, thereby producing a second anode waste gas of higher fuel energy density. The combustor burns the second anode waste gas with release of exothermic heat. The heater thermally transmits heat from an expanded combustion product to water collected in the condenser, so as to generate steam. A steam line fluidly connects the heater to the steam reformer.

Integrated power generation system

A process for hydrogen recovery from refinery gas system comprising supplying the refinery gas to an inlet manifold fluidly coupled to a conditioning stage, the conditioning stage comprising a reactor having a reforming catalyst deposited on an ultra-short-channel-length metal substrate; supplying oxidant to the conditioning stage via the inlet manifold; supplying steam from a steam generator to the conditioning stage via the inlet , manifold; reacting the refinery gas in the conditioning stage; and discharging a product through a discharge outlet fluidly coupled to the conditioning stage, the discharge outlet configured to flow the product for use by a downstream reformer. The process allows to either increase the H2 production rate or lower the firing rate while maintaining a constant H2 production rate for the downstream steam reformer, independent of the feed compositional variability of the refinery or still gas.

Refinery gas processing method

This invention pertains to methods for controlling thermal aspects during operation of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system, including controlling target cathode and anode inlet stream temperatures and differential temperatures defined by the anode and cathode inlet and outlet streams. In one aspect, thermal management is achieved by controlling a combustion stream temperature and by employing one heat exchanger having two cold side pathways. In another aspect, thermal management is achieved by controlling a temperature of a combustion stream distributed through a cathode feed heat exchanger and an anode feed heat exchanger, optionally with bypassing a portion of the cathode air stream around the cathode feed heat exchanger. In another aspect, thermal management is achieved by employing a cathode feed heat exchanger to heat a cathode air stream and by employing an equalizer heat exchanger to equilibrate temperatures of the resulting heated cathode air stream and an anode fuel stream.

Thermal management of a solid oxide fuel cell system

A thermally integrated hotbox apparatus combining a steam reformer, a plurality of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks, a plurality of oxidant manifolds, and at least one heat extractor. The steam reformer occupies a central position in the hotbox, around which are disposed in spaced-apart relation a plurality of SOFC stacks. A burner may be associated with the steam reformer, either within or outside the hotbox. An oxidant manifold is disposed between each pair of adjacent SOFC stacks. A heat exchanger is incorporated between an SOFC stack and an oxygen manifold. The hotbox design optimally captures thermal heat from the SOFC stacks for use in producing steam and operating the endothermic steam reformer. The apparatus reduces duty cycle of the burner, which produces heat and steam needed for operation of the endothermic steam reformer.

Thermally integrated hotbox combining a steam reformer with SOFC stacks

An individual solid oxide cell (SOC) constructed of a sandwich configuration including in the following order: an oxygen electrode, a solid oxide electrolyte, a fuel electrode, a fuel manifold, and at least one layer of mesh. In one embodiment, the mesh supports a reforming catalyst resulting in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) having a reformer embedded therein. The reformer-modified SOFC functions internally to steam reform or partially oxidize a gaseous hydrocarbon, e.g. methane, to a gaseous reformate of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which is converted in the SOC to water, carbon dioxide, or a mixture thereof, and an electrical current. In another embodiment, an electrical insulator is disposed between the fuel manifold and the mesh resulting in a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), which functions to electrolyze water and/or carbon dioxide.

Regenerative solid oxide stack

An individual solid oxide cell (SOC) constructed of a sandwich configuration including in the following order: an in oxygen electrode, a solid oxide electrolyte, a fuel electrode, a fuel manifold, and at least one layer of mesh. In one embodiment, the mesh supports a reforming catalyst resulting in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) having a reformer embedded therein. The reformer-modified SOFC functions internally to steam reform or partially oxidize a gaseous hydrocarbon, e.g. methane, to a gaseous reformate of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which is converted in the SOC to water, carbon dioxide, or a mixture thereof, and an electrical current. In another embodiment, an electrical insulator is disposed between the fuel manifold and the mesh resulting in a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), which functions to electrolyze water and/or carbon dioxide.

Solid oxide electrolysis cell with internal heater

Solid oxide fuel cell with internal reformer

A process of operating a spark-ignited internal combustion engine (SI-ICE) with improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions including under steady state and under lean-operating conditions at high overall air to fuel (AFR) ratios. A first supply of high octane hydrocarbon fuel, such as gasoline or natural gas, and a first supply of oxidant are fed to a fuel reformer to produce a gaseous reformate with a reforming efficiency of greater than 75 percent relative to equilibrium. The gaseous reformate is mixed with a second supply of oxidant, after which the resulting reformate blended oxidant is fed with a second supply of high octane hydrocarbon fuel to the SI-ICE for combustion. Steady state fuel efficiency is improved by more than 3 percent, when the reformate comprises from greater than about 1 to less than about 18 percent of the total volume of reformate blended oxidant fed to the engine.

Operation of internal combustion engine with improved fuel efficiency

This invention pertains to a thermally-integrated solid oxide fuel cell system, providing for a solid oxide fuel cell stack disposed within a stack hotbox; a heat extractor disposed within the stack hotbox in thermal communication with the fuel cell stack and circumscribed around a full or partial perimeter of the fuel cell stack; a fuel reformer-combustor module disposed within the stack hotbox in thermal communication with the stack and disposed around a full or partial perimeter of the heat extractor; and a manifold fluidly connecting an outlet of the heat extractor to an inlet of a reformer section of the fuel reformer-combustor module.

Thermally integrated solid oxide fuel cell system

A reforming process and apparatus exhibiting improved catalyst longevity towards reforming a high sulfur-containing liquid fuel. The process involves contacting in a first reforming zone a first oxidant and a liquid fuel containing high molecular weight organosulfur compounds with a partial oxidation catalyst under CPOX reaction conditions to form a first reformate stream containing a mixture of unconverted and partially-converted hydrocarbons and one or more low molecular weight sulfur compounds; and then contacting in a second reforming zone the first reformate stream with steam and optionally a second oxidant in the presence of an autothermal reforming catalyst under ATR reaction conditions to form a second reformate stream containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen and one or more low molecular weight sulfur compounds. The low molecular weight sulfur compounds can be readily removed from the first and/or second reformate streams by gas phase adsorption methods.

Growing community of inventors

Woodbridge, CT, United States of America

Saurabh Vilekar