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US 8,507,136 B2Granted
Fuel cell system
AssigneePanasonic Corporation
InventorsHiroshi Tatsui, Kiyoshi Taguchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel cell includes a reforming unit, a carbon monoxide decreasing unit, a fuel cell, a burner unit and a raw gas supply device. At the star-up operation of the fuel cell system, an amount of combustion air delivered to the burner unit by an air blower is adjusted according to a total amount of a raw gas to be supplied to the burner unit and an amount of a desorbed raw gas desorbed out of raw gas components adsorbed to at least one of catalysts in a fuel processor.
Claims20
A fuel cell system comprising:
- a reforming unit configured to subject a mixed gas containing a raw gas and steam to a reforming reaction by a reforming catalyst, thereby generating a reformed gas containing hydrogen;
- a carbon monoxide decreasing unit configured to allow the reformed gas generated by the reforming unit to contact a carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst, thereby decreasing carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas;
- a fuel cell coupled to the carbon monoxide decreasing unit by a raw gas channel and configured to generate electric power by hydrogen contained in the reformed gas passed through the carbon monoxide decreasing unit and;
- a burner unit configured to burn at least one of an off-gas containing hydrogen not consumed in the fuel cell, the raw gas and the reformed gas using combustion air supplied by an air blower;
- and
- a raw gas supply device configured to supply the raw gas to the reforming unit and to the burner unit directly or through the reforming unit,
- a controller in communication with the raw gas supply device and the air blower,
- the controller executes a stored startup control program and controls the raw gas supply device and the air blower to set a ratio between a total amount and an amount of combustion air delivered to the burner unit by the air blower and to adjust the ratio to a predetermined ratio at the start-up operation of the fuel cell system, where the total amount is a sum of an amount of raw gas supplied by the raw gas supply device and burnt in the burner unit and an amount of a desorbed raw gas desorbed out of components of the raw gas adsorbed by at least one of the reforming catalyst and the carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst.
5 more elements
A method of operating a fuel cell system, the method comprising:
- providing a fuel cell system comprising:
- a reforming unit configured to subject a mixed gas containing a raw gas and steam to a reforming reaction by a reforming catalyst, thereby generating a reformed gas containing hydrogen;
- a carbon monoxide decreasing unit configured to allow the reformed gas generated by the reforming unit to contact a carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst, thereby decreasing carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas;
- a fuel cell configured to generate electric power by hydrogen contained in the reformed gas passed through the carbon monoxide decreasing unit;
- a burner unit configured to burn at least one of an off-gas containing hydrogen not consumed in the fuel cell, the raw gas and the reformed gas using combustion air supplied by an air blower;
- a raw gas supply device configured to supply the raw gas to the reforming unit and to the burner unit directly or through the reforming unit;
- and
- a heating unit configured to heat at least one of the reforming catalyst and the carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst at the start-up operation of the fuel cell system;
- and
- adjusting a ratio between a total amount and an amount of combustion air delivered to the burner unit by the air blower to a predetermined ratio at a start-up operation of the fuel cell system, where the total amount is a sum of an amount of raw gas supplied by the raw gas supply device and burnt in the burner unit and an amount of a desorbed raw gas desorbed out of components of the raw gas adsorbed by at least one of the reforming catalyst and the carbon monoxide decreasing catalyst.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.