Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Yoshio Tamura

Kiyoshi Taguchi

Koichi Kusumura

Shigeki Yasuda

Akira Maenishi

Yoshikazu Tanaka

Yuji Mukai

Hideo Ohara

Tomonori Asou

Masataka Ozeki

Akinari Nakamura

Kunihiro Ukai

Hirofumi Kokubu

Yoshihiro Mori

Yoshihiro Sato

Junji Morita

Akinori Yukimasa

Motohiro Suzuki

Hiroshi Tatsui

Hiroki Fujioka

Yutaka Yoshida

Naoki Muro

Hiroaki Kaneko

Susumu Hatano

Takanori Shimada

Hisanori Ishino

Manabu Takahashi

Hiroki Ogura

Akihisa Yoshimura

Yoichi Midorikawa

Kouhei Tsuyuguchi

Akiko Taniyama

Akiko Nakamura

Takaaki Fujikawa

Yuri Mukai

A solid oxide fuel cell system includes a solid oxide fuel cell that produces electricity by using a hydrogen-containing gas and an oxidant gas, an exhaust-gas path via which an exhaust gas discharged from the solid oxide fuel cell flows, a circulation path via which a coolant circulates, a first heat exchanger that is disposed on the exhaust-gas path and the circulation path and enables heat exchange between the exhaust gas and the coolant, a second path, via which condensed water produced when the exhaust gas is cooled in the first heat exchanger flows, that branches from the exhaust-gas path and is connected to the circulation path, a second tank that stores reservoir water, and a second heat exchanger that is disposed in the second tank and on the circulation path and enables heat exchange between the reservoir water and the coolant.

Solid oxide fuel cell system including heat exchanger disposed of exhaust-gas and loop circulation paths

Provided are a fuel cell system capable of shortening the wait time of an observer who confirms set points of a system interconnection protective device before starting a system interconnection operation, and a method for operating the fuel cell system. A fuel cell systemincludes: a hydrogen generating unitconfigured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas by using a raw material; a heaterconfigured to heat the hydrogen generating unit; an electric power generation start command unitconfigured to receive a command of start of an electric power generating operation of the fuel cell system, the command being input by a manual operation of an operator, the electric power generating operation being interconnected with an electric power system; and a controllerconfigured to: execute electric power generation stand-by, in which the fuel cell system stands by for the start of the electric power generating operation interconnected with the electric power system, while executing a temperature maintaining process of the hydrogen generating unit by the heater after completion of a temperature increasing process of the hydrogen generating unit by the heater; and when the electric power generation start command unit receives the command of the start of the electric power generating operation, stop the electric power generation stand-by and start the electric power generating operation interconnected with the electric power system.

Fuel cell system and method for operating the same

A hydrogen generator includes: a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas by a reforming reaction using a material gas; a hydro-desulfurizer configured to remove a sulfur compound in the material gas; a material gas passage through which the material gas supplied to the reformer flows; a recycled gas passage connected between a first connection portion of a gas passage located downstream of the reformer and a second connection portion of the material gas passage located upstream of the hydro-desulfurizer; a first on-off valve disposed on the recycled gas passage; a second on-off valve disposed on the material gas passage between the second connection portion and the hydro-desulfurizer; and a controller configured to open the first on-off valve, after generation stop of the hydrogen-containing gas, to supply the material gas to the recycled gas passage, and to close the second on-off valve when the controller opens the first on-off valve.

Hydrogen generator, fuel cell system, and method of operating hydrogen generator

A hydrogen generator includes: a reformer operative to generate a hydrogen-containing gas by using a raw material gas; a hydro-desulfurizer operative to remove a sulfur compound in the raw material gas; a recycle passage through which the hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the raw material gas before the raw material gas flows into the hydro-desulfurizer; an ejector which is disposed on a raw material gas passage provided upstream of the hydro-desulfurizer and into which the hydrogen-containing gas flows from the recycle passage; and a heater operative to heat the ejector.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system

A hydrogen generation apparatus includes: a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas by using a raw material; a hydrodesulfurizer configured to remove a sulfur compound from the raw material; a recycle passage through which the hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the hydrodesulfurizer; a condenser provided on the recycle passage or on a gas passage upstream from the recycle passage; a drain passage through which water condensed in the condenser is drained; a heating medium passage through which a heating medium that recovers heat from the condenser flows; a delivery device configured to cause the heating medium to flow through the heating medium passage; and a controller configured to cause the delivery device to operate when the hydrogen-containing gas is not flowing through the recycle passage at at least one of start-up and stopping of the hydrogen generation apparatus.

Hydrogen generation apparatus and fuel cell system

A hydrogen generator comprises a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas through a reforming reaction using a raw material; a hydrodesulfurization unit configured to remove a sulfur compound from the raw material; a recycle passage configured to flow therethrough the hydrogen-containing gas to be added to the raw material in a state before the raw material flows into the hydrodesulfurization unit, the recycle passage having a downward slope; and a water drain passage configured to discharge condensed water generated in the downward slope of the recycle passage.

A hydrogen generator includes: a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas by using a raw material; a hydro-desulfurizer configured to remove a sulfur compound in the raw material; a recycle passage through which the hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the raw material before the raw material flows into the hydro-desulfurizer; a booster configured to supply the raw material to the reformer; a raw material supply passage through which the raw material to be supplied to the reformer flows; and an ejector which is disposed on the raw material supply passage provided downstream of the booster and upstream of the hydro-desulfurizer and into which the hydrogen-containing gas flows from the recycle passage.

A fuel cell system () of the present invention comprises a fuel cell (); a water circulating path () through which water associated with an operation of the fuel cell () circulates; a water circulator () for circulating water in the water circulating path (); a heater () for heating the water circulating path (); a first abnormality detector () for detecting a first abnormality which is an abnormality relating to leakage of water from the water circulating path (); and a controller (); the fuel cell system being configured to cause the water circulator () to perform a water circulating operation for circulating the water in the water circulating path () and cause the heater () to perform a heating operation for heating the water circulating path (), to suppress freezing in the water circulating path, wherein the controller () is configured to inhibit the water circulating operation for suppressing freezing and not to inhibit the heating operation for suppressing freezing, in a case where the fuel cell system () is shut down in response to detection of the first abnormality by the first abnormality detector ().

Fuel cell system

A fuel cell system of the present invention comprises a fuel cell (); a first heat medium path through which a first heat medium for cooling the fuel cell () flows; a first flow control device () configured to flow the first heat medium in the first heat medium path; an abnormality detector configured to detect an abnormality; and a controller () configured to control the first flow control device () such that the fuel cell () after shut-down of power generation is cooled with a higher rate in an abnormal shut-down process performed after the abnormality detector detects the abnormality, than in a normal shut-down process.

Fuel cell system for performing normal and abnormal shut-down processes

A hydrogen generator associated with the invention comprises a hydro-desulfurizer () configured to remove sulfur compounds from a raw material; a reformer () configured to generate hydrogen-containing gas with use of the raw material that has passed through the hydro-desulfurizer (); a raw material supply device () configured to supply the raw material to the reformer (); a recycle flow passage () configured to supply a portion of the hydrogen-containing gas, discharged from the reformer (), to the raw material before the raw material flows into the hydro-desulfurizer (); an on-off valve () provided in the recycle flow passage (); a pressure detector () located at a position upstream of the on-off valve () in the recycle flow passage (); and an abnormality detector () configured to detect an abnormal clogging in the recycle flow passage () based on a pressure detected by the pressure detector (), in a state in which the raw material supply device () is supplying the raw material to the reformer () with the on-off valve () closed.

Hydrogen generator, operating method of hydrogen generator, and fuel cell system

A hydrogen generator includes: a reformer () configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas by a reforming reaction using a raw material; a combustor () configured to heat the reformer; an air supplying device () configured to supply combustion air to the combustor; a first heat exchanger () configured to recover heat from a flue gas discharged from the combustor; a first heat medium passage () through which a first heat medium flows, the first heat medium receiving the heat recovered from the flue gas in the first heat exchanger; a first pump () configured to cause the first heat medium in the first heat medium passage to flow; a heat accumulator () configured to store the heat recovered by the first heat medium; and a controller () configured to cause the first pump to operate in a cooling step that is a step of cooling down at least the reformer by supplying the air from the air supplying device to the combustor in a state where the combustor is not carrying out combustion during a stop processing

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system including same

A hydrogen generator of the present invention includes a reformer () for generating a hydrogen-containing gas through a reforming reaction using a raw material; a combustor () for heating the reformer (); a combustion air supplier () for supplying combustion air to the combustor (); and an abnormality detector () for detecting an abnormality; and a controller () configured to control the combustion air supplier () such that the reformer () is cooled with a higher rate in an abnormal shut-down process executed after the abnormality detector () detects the abnormality, than in a normal shut-down process.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system comprising the same

A fuel cell system according to the present invention includes: a deodorizing device () configured to remove an odor component contained in a raw material gas; a reformer () configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas through reforming reaction using the raw material gas that is discharged from the deodorizing device; a fuel cell () configured to generate power by using the hydrogen-containing gas that is discharged from the reformer; at least one on-off valve () provided on the combustible gas passage which is downstream from the deodorizing device and which extends through the reformer; and a stuck-state checker () configured to perform a stuck-state check on the on-off valve by supplying the raw material gas to the combustible gas passage.

Method of operating a fuel cell

A hydrogen generator comprises a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas through a reforming reaction in an internal space thereof using a material gas and steam; a material gas supply passage through which the material gas is supplied to the reformer; a material gas supplier which is provided at the material gas supply passage to supply the material gas to the reformer; a first valve configured to open and close the material gas supply passage; an evaporator configured to generate a steam supplied to the reformer; a water supplier configured to supply water to the evaporator; a communicating passage for allowing the reformer to communicate with atmosphere; a second valve configured to open and close the communicating passage; and a controller configured to stop the material gas supplier and the water supplier and close the first valve and the second valve at shutdown of the hydrogen generator; and open the second valve prior to opening the first valve when the material gas supplier resumes supply of the material gas to the reformer after the shutdown.

Hydrogen generator, fuel cell system comprising hydrogen generator, and operation method of hydrogen generator, and operation method of fuel cell system

A hydrogen generating apparatus of the present invention includes a controller () configured to, during a stop period, control a material gas feeding device () to feed a material gas to a gas passage which is located between the material gas feeding device () and a valve () to perform a maintaining process for maintaining a pressure in an interior of the gas passage at value which is not smaller than a first threshold which is an atmospheric pressure or larger. When the controller () detects there is an abnormality in the maintaining process, the controller () controls the material gas feeding device () and an ignition device (A) to feed the material gas with an amount which is larger than an amount in a case where the controller detects there is no abnormality in the maintaining process, during a period which lapses from when the controller detects the abnormality until the ignition device starts an ignition operation in a start-up process.

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Yoshio Tamura