Jet fuel based high pressure solid oxide fuel cell system

A process for generating aircraft based electric power, comprising the steps of:

• providing a system comprising a fuel cell, a fuel reformer, a heat exchanger, and a desulfurizer;
• feeding jet fuel, an oxygen source and heat to the fuel reformer to produce a hydrogen rich fuel at a reformer temperature;
• feeding the hydrogen rich fuel and a cooling stream to the heat exchanger to provide the hydrogen rich fuel at a fuel cell inlet temperature;
• feeding the hydrogen rich fuel through the desulfurizer to reduce sulfur content of the fuel to less than 1 ppm;
• and
• feeding the hydrogen rich fuel at the fuel cell inlet temperature to an anode of the fuel cell while feeding oxygen to a cathode of the fuel cell so as to generate power from the fuel cell, wherein the reformer temperature is a temperature greater than 750° C., and wherein the fuel cell inlet temperature is less than 725° C.