SOFC hot box components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10797327-B2
Application number	US-201815910311-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 2, 2018
Priority date	Jan 6, 2011
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

Various hot box fuel cell system components are provided, such as heat exchangers, steam generator and other components.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger, comprising:
a top enclosure;
a bottom enclosure; and
a corrugated sheet between the top and bottom enclosures,
wherein at least one of the top or bottom enclosures comprises a finger plate comprising finger shaped extensions that only cover every other corrugation of the corrugated sheet, and
wherein the heat exchanger is configured such that a first fluid flows on one side of the corrugated sheet and a second fluid flows on an opposite side of the corrugated sheet.

2. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein:
the top enclosure comprises the finger plate;
the bottom enclosure comprises a finger plate comprising finger shaped extensions that only cover every other corrugation of the corrugated sheet;
the heat exchanger comprises an anode cooler heat exchanger for a solid oxide fuel cell system;
the first fluid comprises a fuel exhaust from a solid oxide fuel cell stack; and
the second fluid comprises an air inlet for the solid oxide fuel cell stack.

3. The heat exchanger of claim 2 , wherein:
the first side of the corrugated sheet is in fluid communication with a fuel exhaust conduit which is connected to the fuel exhaust of the solid oxide fuel cell stack and in fluid communication with an exhaust conduit from an anode recuperator heat exchanger; and
the second side of the corrugated sheet is in fluid communication with an air inlet stream conduit.

4. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein:
the top enclosure comprises the finger plate;
the bottom enclosure comprises an end cap;
the heat exchanger comprises an anode cooler heat exchanger for a solid oxide fuel cell system;
the first fluid comprises a fuel exhaust from a solid oxide fuel cell stack; and
the second fluid comprises an air inlet for the solid oxide fuel cell stack.

5. The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein:
the bottom enclosure comprises the finger plate; and
the top enclosure comprises an end cap;
the heat exchanger comprises an anode cooler heat exchanger for a solid oxide fuel cell system;
the first fluid comprises a fuel exhaust from a solid oxide fuel cell stack; and
the second fluid comprises an air inlet for the solid oxide fuel cell stack.

6. A heat exchanger comprising:
a top finger plate comprising a plate-shaped hollow ring and finger-shaped extensions that extend outside of the ring;
a bottom finger plate comprising a plate-shaped hollow ring and finger-shaped extensions that extend inside of the ring; and
a cylindrical corrugated sheet disposed between the top and bottom finger plates.
wherein the top and bottom finger plates are offset from each other by one corrugation, such that:
the extensions of the top finger plate cover only inward facing corrugations of the corrugated sheet, and extensions of the bottom finger plate cover only outward facing extensions of the corrugated sheet; or
the extensions of the top finger plate cover only the outward facing corrugations of the corrugated sheet, and the extensions of the bottom finger plate cover only the inward facing extensions of the corrugated sheet.

7. A fuel cell system, comprising:
a hot box;
a fuel cell stack located in the hot box; and
at least one uni-shell heat exchanger located in the hot box, the at least one uni-shell heat exchanger comprising a cylindrical corrugated sheet process gas separator,
wherein corrugations of the cylindrical corrugated sheet process gas separator are aligned parallel to an axial direction of the cylindrical corrugated sheet process gas separator, and
wherein the corrugations are wavy and not straight in the axial direction of the cylindrical corrugated sheet.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein:
the heat exchanger is configured to allow a hotter process gas and a cooler process gas to flow on respective opposing surfaces of the gas separator; and
the hotter process gas stream is configured to provide convective heat transfer to the gas separator, conductive heat transfer through a thickness of the gas separator, and convective heat transfer from the gas separator to the cooler process gas stream.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein:
the at least one uni-shell heat exchanger comprises a roughly cylindrical anode cooler uni-shell heat exchanger and a roughly cylindrical cathode recuperator uni-shell heat exchanger;
the anode cooler is configured to allow substantially axial fuel cell stack anode exhaust stream and air inlet stream entry into the anode cooler; and
the cathode recuperator is configured to allow substantially a non-axial anode tail gas oxidizer (ATO) exhaust stream and the air inlet stream entry into the cathode recuperator.

Assignees

• Bloom Energy Corp

Inventors

• Perry Martin
• Weingaertner David
• Basu Nilanjana
• Petrucha Michael
• Lyle William David
• Krishnan Navaneetha
• Gottmann Matthias

Classifications

• H01M8/2432

  Grouping of unit cells of planar configuration · CPC title

• H01M8/12

  operating at high temperature, e.g. with stabilised ZrO2 electrolyte · CPC title

• H01M2300/0074

  Ion conductive at high temperature · CPC title

• H01M8/24

  Grouping of fuel cells, e.g. stacking of fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M8/04074 Primary

  Heat exchange unit structures specially adapted for fuel cell · CPC title