Process for producing electrical energy with the aid of a fuel cell
Assigneedmc2 Degussa Metals Catalysts Cerdec AG
InventorsJürgen Gieshoff, Helga Vollmer, Barbara Diehl, Egbert Lox, Thomas Kreuzer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for producing electrical energy with the aid of a fuel cell, which includes the steps of reforming an organic fuel, removing carbon monoxide from the reformate, and reacting the hydrogen present in the reformate with oxygen, in a fuel cell, to thereby produce electrical energy. The carbon monoxide is removed from the reformate by treating the reformate in a bioreactor which contains a thermophilic microorganism strain which metabolizes carbon monoxide, under anaerobic conditions, to give carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Claims14
A process for producing electrical energy using a fuel cell, the process comprising:
- reforming an organic fuel to produce a reformate;
- removing carbon monoxide from the reformate by treating the reformate in a bioreactor which contains CO-dehydrogenase or a thermophilic microorganism strain which metabolizes carbon monoxide under anaerobic conditions to give carbon dioxide and hydrogen;
- and
- reacting the hydrogen from the reformate with oxygen in a fuel cell to produce electrical energy.
A polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising:
- a polymer electrolyte membrane, which is coated on a first face with an anode catalyst, and on a second face with a cathode catalyst, wherein the anode catalyst and the cathode catalyst are each covered with a gas distributor structure for electrical contact and for supplying and removing reaction media;
- and
- microorganisms, immobilized as whole cells on the gas distributor structure for the anode.
A polymer electrolyte fuel cell, comprising:
- a polymer electrolyte membrane, which is coated on a first face with an anode catalyst, and on a second face with a cathode catalyst, wherein the anode catalyst and the cathode catalyst are each covered with a gas distributor structure for electrical contact and for supplying and removing reaction media;
- and
- CO-dehydrogenase enzyme, immobilized on the gas distributor structure for the anode.
A process for removing carbon monoxide from a reformate of an organic fuel, the process comprising treating the reformate in a bioreactor which contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of CO-dehydrogenase and a thermophilic microorganism strain which metabolizes carbon monoxide under anaerobic conditions to give carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
A process for producing hydrogen and carbon dioxide from the reformate of an organic fuel, the process comprising removing carbon monoxide from the reformate by treating the reformate in a bioreactor which contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of CO-dehydrogenase and a thermophilic microorganism strain which metabolizes carbon monoxide under anaerobic conditions to give carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
A process for producing electrical energy using a fuel cell, the process comprising:
- reforming an organic fuel to produce a reformate;
- contacting the reformate with CO-dehydrogenase or a thermophilic microorganism strain which metabolizes carbon monoxide under anaerobic conditions to give carbon dioxide and hydrogen;
- and
- reacting the hydrogen from the reformate with oxygen in a fuel cell to produce electrical energy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.