Hydrogen production apparatus and method operable without supply of steam and suitable for fuel cell systems

A fuel cell system comprising:

• a hydrogen production apparatus for generating hydrogen, the hydrogen production apparatus including:
• humidification means for humidifying an oxidizing agent by allowing the oxidizing agent to contact with liquid warm water so that a steam content of the oxidizing agent is close to saturated steam at an operating temperature of the apparatus;
• mixing means for mixing the oxidizing agent humidified by the humidification means with a hydrocarbon fuel to generate a mixed gas of the hydrocarbon fuel, the oxidizing agent, and steam;
• and reforming means for allowing the oxidizing agent to partially oxidize the hydrocarbon fuel and allowing the steam to reform the hydrocarbon fuel;
• and
• a fuel cell for generating electricity using the hydrogen generated by the hydrogen production apparatus, the fuel cell including at least one cell, wherein each cell is a lamination of an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte membrane in between.

A fuel cell system comprising:

• a hydrogen production apparatus for generating hydrogen, the hydrogen production apparatus including:
• humidification means for humidifying a mixture of a hydrocarbon fuel and an oxidizing agent by allowing the mixture to contact with liquid warm water to generate a mixed gas of the hydrocarbon fuel, the oxidizing agent, and steam so that a steam content of the oxidizing agent is close to saturated steam at an operating temperature of the apparatus;
• and reforming means for allowing the oxidizing agent to partially oxidize the hydrocarbon fuel and allowing the steam to reform the hydrocarbon fuel;
• and
• a fuel cell for generating electricity using the hydrogen generated by the hydrogen production apparatus, the fuel cell including at least one cell, wherein each cell is a lamination of an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte membrane in between.

A fuel cell system comprising:

• a fuel cell for generating electricity using hydrogen supplied to each anode and using an oxidizing agent supplied to each cathode, the fuel cell including at least one cell, wherein each cell is a lamination of an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte membrane in between;
• and
• a hydrogen production apparatus for generating hydrogen and supplying the generated hydrogen to each anode of the fuel cell, the hydrogen production apparatus including:
• mixing means for mixing the oxidizing agent drained from each cathode of the fuel cell with a hydrocarbon fuel to generate a mixed gas of the hydrocarbon fuel, the oxidizing agent, and steam;
• and reforming means for allowing the oxidizing agent to partially oxidize the hydrocarbon fuel and allowing the steam to reform the hydrocarbon fuel.

A hydrogen production method comprising:

• a humidification step for humidifying an oxidizing agent by allowing the oxidizing agent to contact with liquid warm water so that a steam content of the oxidizing agent is close to saturated steam at an operating temperature of the humidification step;
• a mixing step for mixing the oxidizing agent humidified in the humidification step with a hydrocarbon fuel to generate a mixed gas of the hydrocarbon fuel, the oxidizing agent, and steam;
• and
• a reforming step for allowing the oxidizing agent to partially oxidize the hydrocarbon fuel and allowing the steam to reform the hydrocarbon fuel.