Fuel cell system and method for controlling fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11069907-B2
Application number	US-201716632609-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2017
Priority date	Aug 1, 2017
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

A fuel cell system includes: a fuel cell; a fuel treating unit configured to treat a raw fuel and generate fuel gas for the fuel cell; an oxidant-gas heater configured to heat oxidant gas for the fuel cell; a combustor configured to combust the raw fuel and generate combustion gas to heat the fuel treating unit and the oxidant-gas heater; and a control unit configured to control supplying of the raw fuel to the fuel treating unit and the combustor at the time of warming-up of the fuel cell. The control unit supplies the raw fuel to both of the fuel treating unit and the combustor when the fuel treating unit is at an operable temperature of the fuel treating unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system comprising:
a fuel cell;
a fuel treating unit configured to treat raw fuel and generate fuel gas for the fuel cell;
an oxidant-gas heater configured to heat oxidant gas for the fuel cell;
a combustor configured to combust the raw fuel and generate combustion gas to heat the fuel treating unit and the oxidant-gas heater;
a first fuel injector configured to adjust a flow rate of the raw fuel supplied to the fuel treating unit;
a second fuel injector configured to adjust a flow rate of the raw fuel supplied to the combustor; and
a control unit configured to control the first fuel injector and the second fuel injector, wherein the control unit is configured to:
execute warming-up of the fuel cell by controlling the first fuel injector and the second fuel injector, and
execute rated operation of the fuel cell wherein rated operation is a power generation of the fuel cell for supplying power to an external device executed by activating the first fuel injector and stopping the second fuel injector after warming-up of the fuel cell;
wherein the control unit is configured to:
set a raw-fuel total flow rate of the flow rate of the raw fuel for the first fuel injector and the flow rate of the raw fuel for the second fuel injector during warming-up of the fuel cell such that the raw-fuel total flow rate is greater than the flow rate of the raw fuel in the first fuel injector during rated operation,
set the flow rate of the raw fuel for the second fuel injector to the raw-fuel total flow rate while the first fuel injector is set to be stopped before the fuel treating unit reaches an operable temperature of the fuel treating unit, and
set the flow rate of the raw fuel for the first fuel injector and the flow rate of the raw fuel for the second fuel injector such that the sum of the flow rate of the raw fuel for the first fuel injector and the flow rate of the raw fuel for the second fuel injector is set to be the raw-fuel total flow rate when the fuel treating unit reaches the operable temperature of the fuel treating unit.

2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein
when a temperature of the fuel treating unit is less than the operable temperature, the control unit supplies the raw fuel only to the combustor between the fuel treating unit and the combustor.

3. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein
the fuel treating unit includes a reformer configured to reform the raw fuel into the fuel gas, and
when a temperature of the reformer is at a temperature enabling reforming of the raw fuel, the control unit supplies the raw fuel to both of the fuel treating unit and the combustor.

4. The fuel cell system according to claim 3 , wherein
the control unit detects, as a temperature of the reformer, a temperature of the fuel gas downstream of the reformer.

5. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein
the fuel treating unit includes an evaporator configured to evaporate the raw fuel in the form of liquid, and
when a temperature of the evaporator is at a temperature enabling evaporation of the raw fuel, the control unit supplies the raw fuel to both of the fuel treating unit and the combustor.

6. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein
the fuel treating unit includes an evaporator configured to evaporate the raw fuel in the form of liquid, and
when a temperature of the combustion gas downstream of the evaporator is at a temperature enabling evaporation of the raw fuel, the control unit supplies the raw fuel to both of the fuel treating unit and the combustor.

Assignees

• Nissan Motor

Inventors

• Noda Tetsushi
• Chikugo Hayato
• Yaguchi Tatsuya

Classifications

• H01M8/04328

  of anode reactants at the inlet or inside the fuel cell · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M8/0618 Primary

  Reforming processes, e.g. autothermal, partial oxidation or steam reforming · CPC title

• H01M8/04022 Primary

  Heating by combustion · CPC title

• H01M8/04753

  of fuel cell reactants · CPC title