Fuel cell module

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016064747-A1
Application number	US-201514837208-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 27, 2015
Priority date	Aug 29, 2014
Publication date	Mar 3, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A fuel cell module includes a first casing containing the fuel cell stack, and a second casing containing the first casing, an exhaust gas combustor, and a heat exchanger. The exhaust gas combustor has a combustion gas discharge opening opened to a combustion gas chamber formed between the first casing and the second casing.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A fuel cell module comprising:
a fuel cell stack including a plurality of stacked fuel cells configured to generate electrical energy by electrochemical reactions of a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas; a first casing containing the fuel cell stack; an exhaust gas combustor configured to combust the fuel gas discharged from the fuel cell stack as a fuel exhaust gas and the oxygen-containing gas discharged from the fuel cell stack as an oxygen-containing exhaust gas to produce a combustion gas; a heat exchanger configured to increase a temperature of the oxygen-containing gas by heat exchange with the combustion gas and supplying the oxygen-containing gas to the fuel cell stack; a reformer configured to reform a raw fuel chiefly containing hydrocarbon to produce the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell stack; and a hydrodesulfurizer configured to remove a sulfur component contained in the raw fuel, wherein the fuel cell module includes a second casing containing at least the first casing, the exhaust gas combustor, and the heat exchanger; and the exhaust gas combustor has a combustion gas discharge opening opened to a combustion gas chamber formed between the first casing and the second casing.

2 . The fuel cell module according to claim 1 , wherein the exhaust gas combustor and the heat exchanger are provided below the first casing;
a combustion gas discharge port is formed at an upper position of the second casing and is configured to discharge the combustion gas flowing through the combustion gas chamber; and the exhaust gas discharge port and the combustion gas discharge opening are provided at diagonal positions across the first casing.

3 . The fuel cell module according to claim 1 , wherein the reformer and the hydrodesulfurizer are provided outside and below the second casing.

4 . The fuel cell module according to claim 1 , further comprising a fuel gas supply channel having the reformer and the hydrodesulfurizer and being configured to supply the fuel gas to the fuel cell stack;
wherein the fuel exhaust gas is discharged from the fuel cell stack into a fuel exhaust gas channel, and a recycling channel is connected to the fuel exhaust gas channel and is configured to circulate some of the fuel exhaust gas to return to a position of the fuel gas supply channel, the position provided upstream of the reformer and the hydrodesulfurizer.

5 . The fuel cell module according to claim 4 , wherein an ejector is provided at a merging section of the recycling channel and the fuel gas supply channel and is configured to control a flow rate of the fuel exhaust gas flowing through the recycling channel by negative pressure resulting from supply of the raw fuel to the reformer or the hydrodesulfurizer.

6 . The fuel cell module according to claim 4 , wherein a control valve is provided at a diverging section of the recycling channel and the fuel exhaust gas channel and is configured to control a flow rate of the fuel exhaust gas flowing through the recycling channel.

7 . The fuel cell module according to claim 1 , wherein the fuel cell module is a solid oxide fuel cell module.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsukamoto Keiji
• Toda Shigeru
• Homma Hiroki
• Yamamura Hideichi

Classifications

• H01M8/0618

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

• H01M8/04022 Primary

  Heating by combustion · CPC title

• H01M8/2475

  Enclosures, casings or containers of fuel cell stacks · CPC title

• H01M8/04097

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

• H01M2008/1293

  Fuel cells with solid oxide electrolytes · CPC title