# US 7,740,811 B2 · Hydrogen generator having double burners and method of operating the same

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- Number: US 7,740,811 B2
- Document ID: US7740811B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 11/507,548
- Filed: 2006-08-22
- Published: 2007-07-05
- Granted: 2010-06-22
- Earliest claimed: 2005-12-30
- Assignees: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Tae-sang Park; Dong-woo Lee; Soon-ho Kim; Doo-hwan Lee; Hyun-chul Lee
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7740811B2

## CPC

- B01J 8/0442: {the beds being placed in separate reactors}
- B01J 8/062: {being installed in a furnace}
- C01B 3/384: with external heating of the catalyst
- C01B 3/48: followed by reaction of water vapour with carbon monoxide
- B01J 2208/00495: using insulating materials or refractories
- B01J 2208/00504: by means of a burner
- B01J 2208/0053: Controlling multiple zones along the direction of flow, e.g. pre-heating and after-cooling
- C01B 2203/0227: containing a catalytic reforming step
- C01B 2203/0283: containing a CO-shift step, i.e. a water gas shift step
- C01B 2203/066: with fuel cells
- C01B 2203/0811: by combustion of fuel
- B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- C01B: NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; {METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C}

## Abstract

A hydrogen generator having double burners and a method of operating the samewhere the hydrogen generator includes a housing, a barrier wall to divide a space in the housing into a first chamber and a second chamber, a fuel reformer installed in the first chamber, a first burner installed in the first chamber to heat a fuel reformer, a shift reactor installed in the second chamber, a second burner mounted in the barrier wall to heat the shift reactor, and a first igniter and a second igniter respectively ignite the first burner and the second burner.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A hydrogen generator having double burners, comprising:
a housing;
a barrier wall to divide a space in the housing into a first chamber and a second chamber;
a fuel reformer installed in the first chamber;
a first burner installed in the first chamber to heat the fuel reformer;
a shift reactor installed in the second chamber;
a second burner formed in the barrier wall to heat the shift reactor; and
a first igniter and a second igniter that respectively ignite the first burner and the second burner.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The hydrogen generator of claim 1, wherein the second burner comprises a plurality of holes formed in a region of the barrier wall that corresponds to the shift reactor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The hydrogen generator of claim 2, wherein the holes of the second burner respectively have a diameter of less than about 3 mm.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The hydrogen generator of claim 1, wherein a gas inlet/outlet for passing gases from the first chamber into the second chamber is formed in the barrier wall.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The hydrogen generator of claim 1, wherein the second igniter is an ignition plug.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A method of operating the hydrogen generator having double burners according claim 1, comprising:
heating the shift reactor using the second burner by burning fuel supplied to the first burner; and
heating the fuel reformer by igniting the first burner when a temperature of the shift reactor is at or higher than a predetermined temperature, wherein the second burner is turned off by cutting off a fuel supply to the second burner when the first burner ignites.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein
the heating of the shift reactor further comprises closing a gas inlet/outlet formed in the barrier wall, and
the heating of the fuel reformer further comprises opening the gas inlet/outlet.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the fuel supply to the second burner is cut off by closing a gas inlet/outlet formed in the barrier wall.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, further comprising passing the fuel from the first chamber into the second chamber without burning the fuel in the first chamber.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the heating of the shift reactor occurs prior to heating the fuel reformer.

### Claim 11 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the predetermined temperature is about 100° C.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The hydrogen generator of claim 1, further comprising:
a first pipe to supply hydrocarbon gas and water from the outside of the housing to the fuel reformer;
a second pipe to convey reformed hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and/or water vapor from the fuel reformer to the shift reactor; and
a third pipe to discharge hydrogen gas from the shift reactor to the outside of the housing.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The hydrogen generator of claim 12, further comprising:
a first heat exchanger is installed between the first pipe and the third pipe; and
a second heat exchanger is installed between the first pipe and the second pipe.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The hydrogen generator of claim 1 further comprising only one fuel supply line to supply fuel to both the first and second burners.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The hydrogen generator of claim 1, wherein the second chamber is positioned down stream of the first chamber.