High-temperature fuel cell system having a start burner

Abstract

The invention relates to a high-temperature fuel cell system having a start burner. Such fuel cell systems are in particular operated at temperatures between 650° C. and 1000° C. due to the ion-conductive properties of the electrolytes used. It is necessary for this reason to carry out a heating before the actual operation of the systems, which takes place by an external supply of energy. The exhaust gas of a start burner of the high-temperature fuel cell system is supplied to a heat exchanger or to two heat exchangers in a series connection for the preheating of an oxidizing agent which can be supplied to at least one fuel cell at the cathode side. In this respect, the oxidizing agent and the exhaust gas of the start burner are conducted over the total surfaces of the one heat exchanger or of the two heat exchangers available for the heat exchange and hot, returned exhaust gas from the total system is conducted over one heat exchanger of the two heat exchangers arranged in series or in a second zone B of a single heat exchanger having two zones A and B over a part region of the surface available for the heat exchange.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.