Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Yuji Mukai

Akira Maenishi

Kunihiro Ukai

Tomonori Asou

Yoshio Tamura

Yutaka Yoshida

Kiyoshi Taguchi

Shigeo Suzuki

Yukimune Kani

Motohiro Suzuki

Yuji Yoshida

Kazuo Nakatani

Toru Nakamura

Masataka Ozeki

Masatoshi Kitagawa

Takashi Hirao

Akihisa Yoshida

Yasuhito Takahashi

Hiroki Fujioka

Tomoya Takeuchi

Munehiro Shibuya

Shingo Nagatomo

Akira Nakazawa

Takumi Imoto

Youji Kawaguchi

Masaya Tsujimoto

Akira Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd Maenishi

A hydrogen generator includes: a desulfurizer including a desulfurization catalyst that removes a sulfur compound in a raw material by a desulfurization reaction, the desulfurization catalyst being arranged so as to be heated by a first heat source; a reformer configured to generate a hydrogen-containing gas using the raw material having flowed through the desulfurizer; a first temperature detector configured to detect a temperature of a predetermined portion of the desulfurization catalyst; a second temperature detector configured to detect the temperature of a portion of the desulfurization catalyst, the portion being located such that a distance between the portion and the first heat source is longer than a distance between the predetermined portion and the first heat source; and a controller configured to control an operation of heating the desulfurization catalyst by the first heat source, based on detection results of the first temperature detector and the second temperature detector.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system including same

A hydrogen generation apparatusincludes: an evaporating part; a reforming reaction partA connected to the downstream side of the evaporating part; a carbon monoxide reducing partprovided downstream from the reforming reaction part; and a gas guiding partdisposed between the reforming reaction part and the carbon monoxide reducing part and configured to guide a gas that has passed through the reforming reaction part to the carbon monoxide reducing part. The evaporating part and the carbon monoxide reducing part are arranged to be adjacent to each other such that, at least, a part of the evaporating part and a part of the carbon monoxide reducing part are heat exchangeable with each other. The evaporating part is configured such that a heat exchange amount at a portion of the evaporating part, the portion corresponding to the carbon monoxide reducing part, is less than a heat exchange amount at a portion of the evaporating part, the portion not corresponding to the carbon monoxide reducing part.

Hydrogen generation apparatus and fuel cell power generation system

A hydrogen generator of the present invention includes: a raw material supplying device () configured to supply a raw material; a water supplying device () configured to supply water; an evaporator () configured to evaporate the water supplied from the water supplying device () to generate steam; a reformer () having a reforming catalyst which generates a hydrogen-containing gas by a reforming reaction using the raw material and the steam; a valve () disposed on a gas passage to cause the reformer () to be communicated with an atmosphere and block the reformer () from the atmosphere, the gas passage being located downstream of the reformer (); and a controller () configured to stop supplying the water from the water supplying device (), then continue to supply the raw material from the raw material supplying device () with the valve () open, and stop supplying the raw material from the raw material supplying device () and close the valve () before an inside of the reformer () is purged with the raw material.

Hydrogen generator, fuel cell system including hydrogen generator, and method for operating hydrogen generator

A hydrogen generator is described, which comprises: a material supply device (); a water supply device (); an evaporator (); a reforming catalyst layer () for generating reformed gas; a CO removing catalyst layer () configured to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas generated by the reforming catalyst layer (); a combustor () for heating the reforming catalyst layer () and the CO removing catalyst layer (); a reforming temperature detector () for detecting the temperature of the reforming catalyst layer (); a heater () for heating the CO removing catalyst layer (); a CO removing temperature detector () for detecting the temperature of the CO removing catalyst layer (); and a controller () configured to perform control such that the heater () heats the CO removing catalyst layer at the time of start-up and such that if the temperature detected by the CO removing temperature detector () becomes greater than or equal to a first specified value, the combustor () heats the reforming catalyst layer () and the CO removing catalyst layer (), and if the temperature detected by the reforming temperature detector () becomes greater than or equal to a second specified value, the water supply device () starts supplying of water.

Hydrogen generator and startup method thereof

A hydrogen generator () includes: a heater () which combusts a mixture gas of combustion fuel and combustion air to generate a combustion gas; a preheat evaporator () which heats a raw material and water by the combustion gas generated by the heater to generate a mixture gas of the raw material and the water; a reformer () which generates a hydrogen-containing gas by causing the mixture gas generated by the preheat evaporator to pass through a reforming catalyst () heated by the combustion gas; and a shift converter () which incorporates a shift catalyst () which reduces, by a shift reaction, carbon monoxide contained in the hydrogen-containing gas generated by the reformer, and further includes a water trapping portion () which traps liquid water discharged from the preheat evaporator, and the hydrogen generator () is configured to carry out heat exchange between the hydrogen-containing gas supplied from the reformer to the shift converter and the water in the water trapping portion.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system including the same

A hydrogen generator according to the invention comprises: a combustion gas passage () configured to flow combustion gas coming from a combustor; a preheat-evaporator () which is supplied with a material gas and water and configured to evaporate the water and heat the material gas by heat transmitted from the combustion gas passage and a carbon monoxide reducer () through partition a wall; a reformer () configured to generate reformed gas from the material gas and steam fed from the preheat-evaporator by using a reforming catalyst () and heat transmitted from the combustion gas passage through the partition wall; the carbon monoxide reducer () configured to remove carbon monoxide from the reformed gas fed from the reformer by a carbon monoxide removing catalyst (); a cylindrical body () closed at both ends thereof having an internal space is divided by the partition walls (), (), (), () to form the combustion gas passage, preheat-evaporator, reformer and carbon monoxide reducer within the cylindrical body (), wherein a heat transmission buffering section () is formed between the preheat-evaporator and the carbon monoxide reducer such that the partition wall () that defines the preheat-evaporator and the partition wall () that defines the carbon monoxide reducer are opposed to each other with a space therebetween.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system

Provided is a hydrogen generator capable of suppressing degradation in capability of a hydrogen generator which is caused by crush of particulate reforming catalyst and of suppressing decrease in reforming efficiency due to decrease in heat transfer efficiency of a catalyzing portion which is caused by the crush of the particulate reforming catalyst. A hydrogen generator comprises a catalyzing portionhaving particulate reforming catalyst P, and a combusting portionfor heating the catalyzing portion, the hydrogen generator being configured to generate a reformed gas containing hydrogen while flowing a material gas containing steam in a direction in which the catalyzing portionextends. The catalyzing portionincludes a separating member. The separating memberis disposed on a separating cross-section which is a cross-section of the catalyzing portionin a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the catalyzing portionextends. A plurality of air holesD having a shape to inhibit passage of the particulate reforming catalyst P are provided on the separating member. An opening having a shape to permit passage of the particulate reforming catalyst P is provided on the separating cross-section.

A hydrogen generator of the invention includes: a reformer for generating a hydrogen-rich gas from a feed gas and water by a reaction using a reforming catalyst body and sending it out from an outlet port; a material feed system for feeding the feed gas to the reformer; a burner for supplying, to the reforming catalyst body, heat generated by mixing a fuel gas with air and burning it; and an air supply system for supplying air to the burner; wherein, when purging an interior of the reformer using the feed gas in shutting down the hydrogen generator, an amount of the air supplied is increased to put out a flame of the burner, and a purge gas sent out from the outlet port by the purging is mixed and diluted with the air in the burner and is discharged outside.

Hydrogen generator, method of shutting down operation of hydrogen generator, and fuel cell system

A fuel cell power generation system includes a reforming catalyst body configured to generate a reformed gas containing hydrogen from a feed gas and water, a fuel cell configured to generate electric power by consuming the reformed gas, and a burner configured to combust an off gas containing hydrogen from the fuel cell as a fuel gas to generate the combustion gas used for heating the reforming catalyst body. The off gas from which steam has been separated is heated, and the heated off gas is fed to the burner as the fuel gas, the separated steam being condensed into water which is discharged outside the system.

Fuel cell power generation system including an off-gas heating heat exchanger used to heat anode stream off-gas containing hydrogen

[OBJECT] A hydrogen generator is provided which includes a lightweight, small-heat-capacity, high-performance gas mixer and is good in hydrogen generating efficiency and response. [MEANS OF SOLVING] A hydrogen generator comprising: a mixed gas passage () configured to flow a mixed gas containing two or more components; first and second passages configured to branch off, at their leading ends, from the mixed gas passage and join to each other at their trailing ends; first turning means () to () formed in the first passage to turn the mixed gas flowing in the first passage in a first direction; second turning means () to () formed in the second passage to turn the mixed gas flowing in the second passage in a second direction opposite to the first direction; and a hydrogen generating section configured to generate hydrogen by causing a chemical reaction of the mixed gas which flows out from the joined trailing ends of the first and second passages.

Hydrogen generating apparatus

A body of a hydrogen generator includes a reformer configured to generate a reformed gas mainly containing hydrogen, a material passage configured to supply a reforming material, which is a material for a reforming reaction, to the reformer, a shifter configured to convert CO contained in a reformed gas obtained from the reformer into CO2, a reformed gas passage configured to supply the reformed gas obtained from the reformer to the shifter, and a passage for the shifted gas obtained from the shifter. The shifted gas passage and the material passage are adjacent to each other with a shared horizontal wall interposed therebetween, and thereby, heat from the shifted gas and radiant heat from the downstream end face of the shifter are transferred to the reforming material that travels in the material passage.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell power generation system

A hydrogen generator comprises therein a reformer, a Shifter, a material flow passage with first evaporator through which a material is supplied to the reformer, a reformed gas flow passage for leading the reformed gas derived from the reformer to the Shifter, a shifted gas flow passage through which a shifted gas derived from the Shifter is taken out, and second steam flow passage formed adjacent to the reformed gas flow passage to be located at upstream side of the Shifter. The second evaporator is provided within the second steam flow passage. A part of heat of the reformed gas is recovered as latent heat by the second evaporator. Thereby, temperature of the Shifter is controlled.

A hydrogen generator comprises a burner for generating a combustion gas, a reformer provided around the burner to generate a reformed gas containing hydrogen by a steam reforming reaction based on a feed material comprising a compound containing at least carbon and hydrogen and a steam, using heat transmission from a combustion gas generated by the burner, and an evaporator having an inner tube provided around the burner, an outer tube provided around the inner tube, and a bottom plate that closes a lower portion of a tubular space formed between the inner tube and the outer tube, the evaporator being configured to evaporate water supplied to the tubular space to generate a steam to be supplied to the reformer, wherein a water absorbing member having a water absorbing capability is provided in the tubular space.

Hydrogen generator and fuel cell system comprising the same

A hydrogen generation system may include a burner unit that generates combustion gas and a combustion gas passage through which the combustion gas generated by the burner unit flows. A reformer, having a reforming catalyst, generates a reformed gas containing hydrogen by steam reforming a feed material and steam using the heat from the combustion gas. An evaporator evaporates water into steam using the heat from the combustion gas, flowing through the combustion gas passage, and supplies the steam to the reformer. The combustion gas passage is arranged to cover at least a portion of an outer surface of the reformer, and the evaporator is arranged to cover at least a portion of an outer surface of the combustion gas passage.

Hydrogen generation system and fuel cell system having the same

The present invention provides a compact-sized reservoir with small power consumption. It suppresses possible oxidation of articles and growths of putrefactious aerobic organisms such as bacteria, fungi and the like, by storing the articles under an atmosphere of reduced oxygen concentration created by an oxygen pump device which makes use of an oxygen ion-conductive film. In a case of storing foods, the disclosed reservoir makes their long-term storing possible. The reservoir in accordance with the present invention uses an oxygen pump device provided with an oxygen ion-conductive electrolyte film and a pair of electrodes formed on the both surfaces thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yuji Mukai