Fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12308488-B2
Application number	US-202017776253-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 9, 2020
Priority date	Dec 9, 2019
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

The invention relates to a fuel cell system (10) comprising at least one fuel cell stack (11) having an anode section (12) and a cathode section (13), an ejector (14), a fuel mixture line (15) for conveying a fuel mixture—containing primary fuel and secondary fuel—from the ejector (14) to the anode section (12), a primary fuel line (16) for supplying the primary fuel to the ejector (14), and a recirculation line (17) for returning the secondary fuel from the anode section (16) to the ejector (14), wherein at least sections of the primary fuel line (16) extend through a heat exchange volume (18) within the recirculation line (17) for a heat-transmitting connection between the secondary fuel and the primary fuel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) comprising at least one fuel cell stack ( 11 ) having an anode section ( 12 ) and a cathode section ( 13 ), an ejector ( 14 ), a fuel mixture line ( 15 ) for conveying a fuel mixture containing primary fuel and secondary fuel from the ejector ( 14 ) to the anode section ( 12 ), a primary fuel line ( 16 ) for supplying the primary fuel to the ejector ( 14 ), and a recirculation line ( 17 ) for returning the secondary fuel from the anode section ( 16 ) to the ejector ( 14 ),
characterised in that
at least sections of the primary fuel line ( 16 ) extend through a heat exchange volume ( 18 ) within the recirculation line ( 17 ) for a heat-transmitting connection between the secondary fuel and the primary fuel upstream of a suction nozzle section ( 27 ) via a wall of the primary fuel line ( 16 ) prior to intermixing.

2. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , characterised in that
the primary fuel line ( 16 ) within the heat exchange volume ( 18 ) is, at least in sections, meander-formed and/or curved.

3. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , characterised in that
the primary fuel line ( 16 ) has a first primary fuel conveying section ( 35 ) and a second primary fuel conveying section ( 36 ), wherein the first primary fuel conveying section ( 35 ) and the second primary fuel conveying section ( 36 ) are designed to carry the primary fuel in parallel within the at least two primary fuel conveying sections ( 35 , 36 ) in the heat exchange volume ( 18 ).

4. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , characterised in that
the primary fuel line ( 16 ) has, at least in a region of the heat exchange volume ( 18 ), a pipe diameter which is multiple times smaller than the recirculation line ( 17 ) in this region.

5. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , characterised in that
the primary fuel line ( 16 ) within the heat exchange volume ( 18 ) has a counterflow section ( 19 ) for conveying the primary fuel in a counterflow direction that is opposite or substantially opposite to a flow direction of the secondary fuel in the heat exchange volume ( 18 ).

6. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 5 , characterised in that
the counterflow section ( 19 ) is, at least in sections, spiral-formed.

7. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , characterised in that
the ejector ( 14 ) has a nozzle ( 20 ) and the primary fuel line ( 16 ) within the heat exchange volume ( 18 ) extends up to the nozzle ( 20 ).

8. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 1 , characterised in that
the recirculation line ( 17 ) has a recirculation line wall ( 21 ) in which a first inlet opening ( 22 ) through which the primary fuel line ( 16 ) enters the heat exchange volume ( 18 ), an outlet opening ( 23 ) through which the primary fuel line ( 16 ) emerges again from the heat exchange volume ( 18 ) into the environment of the recirculation line ( 17 ) and a second inlet opening ( 24 ) through which the primary fuel line ( 16 ) re-enters the heat exchange volume ( 18 ).

9. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 8 , characterised in that,
downstream of the outlet opening ( 23 ) and upstream of the second inlet opening ( 24 ), the primary fuel line ( 16 ) extends, at least in sections in surface contact, along an outer circumferential surface ( 25 ) of the recirculation line wall ( 21 ).

10. Fuel cell system ( 10 ) according to claim 8 , characterised in that
the recirculation line ( 17 ) has a pipe bend section ( 26 ) and the primary fuel line ( 16 ) extends at least partially through the heat exchange volume ( 18 ) in the pipe bend section ( 26 ).

Assignees

• Avl List Gmbh

Inventors

• Neubauer Raphael
• Soukup Nikolaus
• Lerch Matthias
• Pöschl Robert
• Makinson Julian

Classifications

• H01M2008/1293

  Fuel cells with solid oxide electrolytes · CPC title

• H01M8/04097

  with recycling of the reactants (H01M8/04119, H01M8/04104 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01M8/04074 Primary

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

• F28F2250/106

  with cross flow · CPC title

• F28D7/1607

  with particular pattern of flow of the heat exchange media, e.g. change of flow direction (F28D7/1623, F28D7/1638, F28D7/1661, F28D7/1676, F28D7/1692 take precedence) · CPC title