System and process for generating electrical power

A process for generating electricity, comprising:

• in a pre-reforming reactor, contacting a mixture of steam and a feed precursor, the feed precursor containing a vaporizable hydrocarbon that is liquid at 20° C. at atmospheric pressure and that is vaporizable at temperatures up to 400° C. at atmospheric pressure, with a pre-reforming catalyst at a temperature of at least about 600° C. to produce a feed comprising one or more gaseous hydrocarbons;
• in a reforming reactor, contacting a mixture of the feed and steam with a reforming catalyst at a temperature of at least about 400° C. to produce a reformed product gas containing hydrogen and at least one carbon oxide;
• separating a first gas stream containing at least about 0.6 mole fraction hydrogen from the reformed product gas;
• feeding the first gas stream to an anode of a solid oxide fuel cell;
• mixing the first gas stream with an oxidant at one or more anode electrodes in the anode of the solid oxide fuel cell to generate electricity at an electrical power density of at least about 0.4 W/cm2;
• and
• separating an anode exhaust stream comprising hydrogen and water from the solid oxide fuel cell;
• and
• within the pre-reforming reactor, exchanging heat between the mixture of steam and feed precursor and a heat source selected from the group consisting of the anode exhaust stream, a cathode exhaust stream separated from the fuel cell, and both the anode exhaust stream and the cathode exhaust stream.