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US 8,263,274 B2Granted
Steam reformer with recuperative heat exchanger
AssigneeClearEdge Power, Inc.
InventorsBrian Sonnichsen, Bob Sorensen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments are disclosed that relate to temperature distribution in a reaction chamber of a steam reformer. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a steam reformer, comprising a central chamber through which feed gas flows, a reaction chamber surrounding the central chamber and having an inner wall and an outer wall, and a recuperative heat exchanger disposed between the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the central chamber.
Claims18
A steam reformer, comprising:
- a central chamber through which feed gas flows;
- a water-gas shift reaction chamber, configured to generate a reformate via a water-gas shift reaction, surrounding the central chamber and having a first inner wall and a first outer wall;
- and
- a recuperative heat exchanger extending from above a top portion of the reaction chamber past a bottom portion of the reaction chamber and disposed interior to the reaction chamber and having a second outer wall, the first inner wall and second outer wall forming a shared wall.
1 more element
A steam reformer, comprising:
- a central chamber through which feed gas flows;
- a water-gas shift reaction chamber comprising a catalyst, configured to generate a reformate via a water-gas shift reaction, surrounding the central chamber and having an inner wall and an outer wall;
- a recuperative heat exchanger extending from above a top portion of the reaction chamber past a bottom portion of the reaction chamber and disposed between the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the central chamber;
- and
- an expansion region disposed at an outlet of the recuperative heat exchanger and configured to create a uniform distribution of gas at an inlet of the reaction chamber.
2 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a fuel cell stack;
- a main reformer operable to generate a feed gas;
- and
- an auxiliary reformer operable to generate a reformate fuel for the fuel cell stack, comprising:
- a cylindrical central chamber through which the feed gas from the main reformer flows;
- an annular reaction chamber, configured to generate a reformate via a water-gas shift reaction, surrounding the central chamber and having an inner wall and an outer wall;
- an annular recuperative heat exchanger extending from above a top portion of the reaction chamber past a bottom portion of the reaction chamber and disposed between the inner wall of the reaction chamber and the central chamber, the heat exchanger having a smaller thickness than the reaction chamber;
- and
- an expansion region disposed at an outlet of the heat exchanger at a bottom portion of the auxiliary reformer and configured to create a uniform distribution of gas at an inlet of the reaction chamber, and wherein a thickness of the heat exchanger increases in the expansion region.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.