Apparatus including electrochemical devices and heat exchanger

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023178761-A1
Application number	US-202218065251-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 13, 2022
Priority date	Dec 20, 2019
Publication date	Jun 8, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

An apparatus can include a housing, a plurality of electrochemical devices disposed within the housing, and a heat exchanger disposed within the housing. The heat exchanger can be faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of at least one of the plurality of electrochemical devices. The electrochemical devices can include a stack of solid oxide fuel cells, a battery, or a solid oxide electrolyzer cell.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
a housing; and a plurality of electrochemical devices disposed within the housing, wherein the plurality of electrochemical devices comprise a first and second electrochemical devices, wherein a heat exchanger is disposed between the first and second electrochemical devices.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with a gas outlet surface of at least one of the first and second electrochemical devices.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of at least one of the first and second electrochemical devices.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the first electrochemical devices and an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the second electrochemical device.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber enclosed in the housing, wherein the oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is in fluid communication with at least one of the first and second electrochemical devices, and wherein the heat exchanger is disposed within the oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the plurality of electrochemical devices are arranged in a row, wherein an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is disposed on one side of the row and in fluid communication with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of each electrochemical device in the row.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrochemical devices are arranged in rows and columns, wherein an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is disposed between and in fluid communication with electrochemical devices in adjacent rows or in adjacent columns.

8 . The apparatus of any one of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises:
a third electrochemical device and a fourth electrochemical device, wherein the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices are arranged in a grid; and a first fuel gas outlet chamber disposed between and in fluid communication with the first and second electrochemical devices; and a second fuel gas outlet chamber disposed between and in fluid communication with the third and fourth electrochemical devices.

9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first and second fuel gas outlet chamber is separated by a central oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber, wherein the heat exchanger is disposed within the central oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the heat exchanger is faced with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of each of the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices.

11 . The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with the first and second electrochemical devices; and a second oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with the third and fourth electrochemical devices.

12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a gas inlet portion of the heat exchanger is adjacent to a surface portion of an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface that has a higher temperature than a remainder of the oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of each of the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices.

13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the first and second oxidant-containing gas inlet chambers.

14 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises a first branch comprising a fluid flow path extending between the oxidant-containing gas outlet surfaces of the first and third electrochemical devices, wherein the first branch is coupled to one of the first oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber or the second oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises a second branch comprising a fluid flow extending between the oxidant-containing gas outlet surfaces of the second and fourth electrochemical devices, wherein the second branch is coupled to the other one of the first oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber or the second oxidant-containing gas inlet chamber.

16 . An apparatus, comprising:
a housing; a plurality of electrochemical devices disposed within the housing comprising a first electrochemical device and a second electrochemical devices; and a heat exchanger disposed within an oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber between the first and second electrochemical devices; and wherein the oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is in fluid communication with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the first electrochemical device and an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the second electrochemical device.

17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of electrochemical devices comprise a third and fourth electrochemical device, and wherein a second oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is disposed between the third electrochemical device and the fourth electrochemical device, wherein the second oxidant-containing gas outlet chamber is in fluid communication with an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the third electrochemical device and an oxidant-containing gas outlet surface of the fourth electrochemical device.

18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth electrochemical devices are disposed in one row.

19 . The apparatus of claim 17 , further comprising a fuel gas inlet chamber in fluid communication with at least one, at least two, or each one of the plurality of electrochemical devices.

20 . The apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising a fuel gas outlet chamber opposite the fuel gas inlet chamber.

Assignees

• Saint Gobain Ceramics
• Fraunhofer Ges Forschung

Inventors

• Loe Claire
• Takagi Yuto
• Feldman Brian P
• Pietras John D
• Megel Stefan
• Schnetter Jens
• Kusnezoff Mihails

Classifications

• C25B9/67

  Heating or cooling means · CPC title

• H01M8/0625

  in a modular combined reactor/fuel cell structure · CPC title

• H01M8/04014 Primary

  Heat exchange using gaseous fluids; Heat exchange by combustion of reactants · CPC title

• H01M8/2484

  characterised by external manifolds · CPC title

• H01M8/249

  comprising two or more groupings of fuel cells, e.g. modular assemblies · CPC title