Solid oxide fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10629926-B2
Application number	US-201816118058-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2018
Priority date	Apr 25, 2014
Publication date	Apr 21, 2020
Grant date	Apr 21, 2020

Abstract

A solid oxide fuel cell system includes: an igniting portion configured to ignite a raw material when starting up the solid oxide fuel cell system; a raw material supply portion configured to supply the raw material; a reforming air supply portion configured to supply reforming air; and an electric power generation air supply portion configured to supply electric power generation air. When starting up the solid oxide fuel cell system, the raw material supply portion supplies the raw material, and the electric power generation air supply portion supplies the electric power generation air. The igniting portion ignites the raw material. After the ignition, the reforming air supply portion supplies the reforming air. With this, the safety can be increased in consideration of characteristics in respective phases from the start-up of the solid oxide fuel cell system until the electric power generation.

First claim

We claim:

1. A solid oxide fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell module including
a fuel cell stack configured to cause a reaction between a reformed gas and electric power generation air to generate electric power, the reformed gas being generated by reforming a raw material,
a reformer portion configured to reform the raw material to generate the reformed gas,
an igniting portion configured to ignite the raw material when starting up the solid oxide fuel cell system, and
a combustor that is a space where the raw material ignited by the igniting portion is combusted together with the electric power generation air;

a raw material supply portion configured to supply the raw material to the fuel cell module;
an electric power generation air supply portion configured to supply the electric power generation air to the fuel cell module;
a reforming air supply portion configured to supply reforming air to the reformer portion;
a water supply portion configured to supply reforming water to the reformer portion;
an exhaust gas purifying portion configured to purify a flue gas generated by the combustion in the combustor;
a flow rate controller configured to control flow rates of the raw material, the reforming air, the electric power generation air, and the reforming water; and
a purifying portion temperature detector provided at an inlet of the exhaust gas purifying portion and configured to detect a temperature of the inlet of the exhaust gas purifying portion, wherein
after the temperature of the inlet of the exhaust gas purifying portion detected by the purifying portion temperature detector becomes a predetermined temperature after the ignition, the water supply portion and the flow rate controller are configured to supply the reforming water or to increase the flow rate of the reforming water.

2. The solid oxide fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein the exhaust gas purifying portion includes a catalyst for purification.

Assignees

• Panasonic Corp

Inventors

• Sakai Osamu
• Fujita Tatsuo
• Ukai Kunihiro
• Kakuwa Takashi
• Sakamoto Taiichiro
• Ooe Toshiharu

Classifications

• H01M8/04776

  at auxiliary devices, e.g. reformer, compressor, burner · CPC title

• C01B3/382

  Processes with two or more reaction steps, of which at least one is catalytic, e.g. steam reforming and partial oxidation · CPC title

• H01M8/04022

  Heating by combustion · CPC title

• C01B2203/0233

  the reforming step being a steam reforming step · CPC title

• F23N5/003

  using detectors sensitive to combustion gas properties (F23N5/02, F23N5/18 - F23N5/26 take precedence) · CPC title