Toto Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Morimura Sofc Technology Co., Ltd.

Toshiharu Otsuka

Katsuhisa Tsuchiya

Toshiharu Ooe

Takuya Matsuo

Tsukasa Shigezumi

Kiyotaka Nakano

Shigenori Onuma

Yousuke Akagi

Hiroshi Shirahama

Toshio Eki

Naoki Watanabe

Kunihiro Ukai

Yoshiyuki Kawamura

Taiichiro Sakamoto

Takeshi Saito

Shuhei Tanaka

Takuya Hoshiko

Toshiya Abe

Yasushi Kaneko

Yosuke Akagi

Akemi Kuroda

Osamu Sakai

Akinori Yukimasa

Noboru Taniguchi

Akira Kawakami

Tatsuo Fujita

Hiromi Kita

Takashi Kakuwa

Yuichi Mikami

Koji Omoshiki

Yoshinobu Uchimura

Hidetaka Miyahara

Toru Sukawa

Megumi Shimazu

Chihiro Kobayashi

Akemi Takeshita

Kazuyuki Enomoto

Fumio Tsuboi

Tomohiro Nishi

Takafumi Oshima

Sigeru Ando

Mitsunobu Shiono

Hajime Omura

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell; a reformer to generate a hydrogen-containing gas; an electric power generation raw material supply unit; a reforming material supply unit configured to supply at least one of reforming water and reforming air, to the reformer; an oxidizing gas supply unit to supply an oxidizing gas to a cathode of the fuel cell; a combustor to ignite an exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell; and a controller. In an operation stop process of the fuel cell system, the controller causes the oxidizing gas supply unit to supply the oxidizing gas, causes the electric power generation raw material supply unit and the reforming material supply unit to intermittently supply the electric power generation raw material and at least one of the water and the air to the reformer, and causes the ignitor to perform an ignition operation.

Fuel cell system

To provide a fuel cell stack device that is applicable to miniaturization of the device and does not require a pipe for discharging off-gas up to a combustion section. A fuel cell stack device including: a first manifoldfor supplying fuel gas supplied from a reformerto a plurality of fuel cells provided in a first cell stack from above, the first manifold being connected to upper ends of the plurality of fuel cells provided in the first cell stack; and a second manifoldfor recovering fuel gas discharged from the first cell stack, and supplying the recovered fuel gas to the plurality of fuel cells provided in the second cell stack from below, the second manifold being connected to lower ends of the plurality of fuel cells provided in the second cell stack

Fuel cell stack device and fuel cell device

To provide a solid oxide fuel cell system capable of avoiding the reduction of air electrodes. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell system including: a fuel cell module, a fuel supply apparatus, a water supply apparatus, an oxidant gas supply apparatus, a reformer, and a control section for controlling the extraction of power, whereby the controller having a shutdown stop circuit for executing a shutdown stop when the fuel cell stack is above the predetermined temperature, and after a shutdown stop, during a period when pressure on the fuel electrode side is sufficiently higher than pressure on the air electrode side, and no reverse flow of oxidant gas to the fuel electrode side is occurring, a temperature drop operation is executed whereby high temperature oxidant gas remaining on the oxidant gas electrode side is discharged.

Solid oxide fuel cell system

A solid oxide fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell unit including a solid oxide fuel cell and a mixer, the solid oxide fuel cell including an anode gas passage and a cathode gas passage, the mixer mixing an anode off gas discharged from the anode gas passage and a cathode off gas discharged from the cathode gas passage; a power-generating raw material supply device operative to supply a power-generating raw material to the fuel cell unit; a combustible gas passage, which extends from the power-generating raw material supply device to a downstream end of the anode gas passage; an oxidizing gas supply device operative to supply an oxidizing gas to the cathode gas passage; and a controller operative to, after electric power generation by the fuel cell unit is stopped, control the power-generating raw material supply device to supply the power-generating raw material in a volume more than or equal to a volume of the combustible gas passage to the combustible gas passage, and concurrently control the oxidizing gas supply device to supply the oxidizing gas to the cathode gas passage.

Solid oxide fuel cell system and method of stopping the same

A fuel cell system includes: a reformer generating a reformed gas using a raw material; a fuel cell generating electric power; a raw material supply passage; a hydro-desulfurizer operative to remove sulfur component in the raw material; a recycle passage through which the reformed gas is supplied to the raw material supply passage provided upstream of the hydro-desulfurizer; a temperature detector detecting a temperature of the hydro-desulfurizer; and a controller, wherein: when the temperature of the hydro-desulfurizer reaches a predetermined temperature, the controller increases a flow rate of the raw material from a predetermined flow rate by a flow rate corresponding to a flow rate of the recycled gas, and then, the controller starts supplying the recycled gas to the recycle passage; and after the recycled gas reaches an upstream end of the recycle passage, the controller returns the flow rate of the raw material to the predetermined flow rate.

To provide a fuel cell device capable of extending the years of service life of a reformer by suppressing thermal runaways. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell device, including a fuel cell module having fuel cell units; a reformer disposed above the fuel cell units, for producing hydrogen by a partial oxidation reforming reaction and a steam reforming reaction; a vaporizing chamber disposed adjacent to the reformer; a combustion chamber for heating the vaporization chamber; a water supply device; an electrical generation oxidant gas supply device; and a controller for raising the fuel cell units to a temperature at which electrical generation is possible; whereby over the entire period of the startup step, the reforming oxidant gas supply device and water supply device are controlled so that partial oxidation reforming reactions do not occur independently in the reformer.

Solid oxide fuel cell device

The present invention provides a solid oxide fuel cell system capable of preventing excess temperature rises while increasing overall energy efficiency. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell system, including: a fuel cell module, a fuel supply device, a heat storing material, and a controller which, based on power demand, increases the fuel utilization rate when output power is high and to lower it when output power is low, and changes the electrical power actually output at a delay after changing the fuel supply amount. The controller has a stored heat estimating circuit for estimating the surplus heat based on fuel supply and on power output at a delay relative thereto. When a utilizable amount of surplus heat is accumulated in the heat storage material, the fuel supply is reduced so that the fuel utilization rate increases relative to the same electrical power.

Solid oxide fuel cell system for producing variable generated power based on power demand

The present invention is to provide a solid oxide fuel cell capable of improving the overall energy efficiency. The present invention is directed to a solid oxide fuel cell and comprising: a fuel cell module; a fuel supply device; a combustion chamber for burning excess fuel and heating; a heat storing material, a power demand detecting sensor; a temperature detection device, and a control device for controlling so that the fuel utilization rate is high when generated power is large, and also for changing output power at a delay to the fuel supply rate; whereby the control device comprises a stored heat amount estimating circuit, and when it is estimated that a utilizable heat amount has accumulated in the heat storing material, the fuel supply rate is reduced so that the fuel utilization rate increases vs. the same generated power.

The invention is to provide a solid oxide fuel cell system including: a fuel cell module, a fuel flow regulator unit, a first power demand detection device, a control section for controlling a fuel supply amount and setting the current value extractable from the fuel cell module, an inverter for extracting current in a range not exceeding the extractable current value, and a power state detecting sensor for detecting actual extracted current value; whereby if actual extracted current value declines, then under circumstances where power demand begins to rise in a state of extra margin in the fuel supply amount after the controller suddenly decreases the extractable current value and suddenly reduces the electrical collector, the controller increases the extractable current value at a high current rise rate of change.

To provide a fuel cell system with which degradation of fuel cells can be suppressed by avoiding the ill effects caused by bumping of water used for steam reforming during the electrical generation. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell system including: a fuel cell module, a fuel flow regulator unit, a reformer for reforming supplied fuel, a vaporizing section for supplying steam to the reformer, a water flow regulator unit, and a controller for controlling the fuel supply device and water supply device, and for controlling the power extracted from the fuel cell module; whereby the controller is furnished with: a bumping determination circuit for determining the occurrence of excessive vaporization of water in a vaporizing chamber, and an extracted power limiting circuit for limiting the power when the bumping determination circuit has determined excessive bumping of water.

Solid oxide fuel cell system responsive to explosive vaporization of water in reformer to control power

A solid oxide fuel cell system is disclosed. The solid oxide fuel cell system includes a cell stack having multiple adjacent fuel cells; a reformer that reforms raw gas and produces fuel gas supplied to the fuel cells; a combustion section that causes combustion of the fuel gas discharged from the fuel cells and heats the reformer with combustion heat of the fuel gas; an ignition device that ignites the combustion section; a combustion state confirmation device that senses that heating of the entire reformer has started using the advancement of flame transfer between fuel cells in the combustion section; and a controller programmed to start an operation of the system heating the reformer by using combustion heat from the combustion section and reaction heat from the partial oxidation reforming reaction (POX) in the reformer. During the period until the combustion state confirmation device senses that the heating of the entire reformer has started after the ignition device ignited the combustion section, the controller suppresses the amount of heat emitted by the partial oxidation reforming reaction in the reformer more than the amount of heat emitted after heating of the entire reformer has started.

To provide a solid oxide fuel cell system capable of efficiently and simply controlling a low speed fuel cell module and a high speed inverter. The invention is a solid oxide fuel cell system, comprising: a fuel cell module, a fuel flow regulator unit, a control section comprising a first power demand detection circuit for controlling the fuel supply amount and for setting the value of current extractable from the fuel cell module; an inverter for extracting current from fuel cell module; and a second power demand detection circuit; and having an inverter control section for controlling the inverter independently from the fuel cell controller so that a current responsive to power demand is extracted from the fuel cell module in a range not exceeding the extractable current value input from the fuel cell controller.

To provide a fuel cell device capable of extending the years of service life of a reformer by suppressing thermal runaways. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell device, including a fuel cell module having multiple fuel cell units; a reformer disposed above the fuel cell units, for producing hydrogen by a partial oxidation reforming reaction and a steam reforming reaction; a vaporizing chamber disposed adjacent to the reformer; a combustion chamber for heating the vaporization chamber; a water supply device; a supply device for oxidant gas for electrical generation; and a controller for raising the fuel cell unit to a temperature at which electrical generation is possible; wherein fuel electrodes in each individual fuel cell unit are constituted to act as catalysts for a shift reaction, and the controller executes only the ATR step and SR step in the reformer.

To provide a solid oxide fuel cell device capable of smooth transition from a startup state to an electrical generating state. The present invention is a solid oxide fuel cell device () for generating electricity, having a fuel cell module (); a reformer (), a fuel supply device (); a water supply device (), a generating oxidant gas supply device (), and a controller () for controlling the fuel supply device and water supply device at the time of startup when the fuel cell module solid oxide fuel cell unit is raised to a temperature at which electrical generation is possible; whereby the controller controls the fuel supply device during the SR operation such that electrical generation is started after reducing the fuel supply flow rate prior to starting electrical generation.

Growing community of inventors

Nakama, Japan

Toshiharu Otsuka