Fuel cell system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9653742-B2
Application number	US-201214113673-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2012
Priority date	Apr 28, 2011
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

A fuel cell system control device includes a carbon amount determination unit for determining the carbon amount in fuel gas supplied to a fuel cell stack depending on required output of the stack, a temperature detector unit for detecting temperature of a steam reformer and temperature of an evaporator, an S/C determination unit for determining a range of steam/carbon ratio based on the temperature of the steam reformer, a water supply amount determination unit for determining a range of the water supply amount to the evaporator based on the carbon amount and the steam/carbon ratio, an evaporator operating state determination unit for determining whether the temperature of the evaporator is a temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount, and a reformer control unit for controlling the steam reformer and a partial oxidation reformer based on the result of the evaporator operating state determination unit.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fuel cell system including a fuel cell module and a control device;
the fuel cell module comprising:
a fuel cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of fuel cells for generating electricity by electrochemical reactions of a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas;
a partial oxidation reformer for reforming a mixed gas of a raw fuel chiefly containing hydrocarbon and an oxygen-containing gas;
a steam reformer for reforming a mixed gas of the raw fuel and water vapor;
an evaporator for evaporating water and supplying the water vapor to the steam reformer;
an exhaust gas combustor for combusting the fuel gas and the oxygen-containing gas discharged from the fuel cell stack to produce a combustion gas;
a heat exchanger for raising 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,
wherein the exhaust gas combustor is provided integrally in the heat exchanger, the control device comprising:
a temperature detector unit comprising a steam reformer temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the steam reformer and an evaporator temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the evaporator;
a carbon amount determination unit for determining an amount of carbon in the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell stack depending on a required output of the fuel cell stack;
a central processing unit and a memory having a program stored thereon, the program when executed by the central processing unit causing the control device to operate as:
a carbon amount determination unit for determining an amount of carbon in the fuel gas supplied to the fuel cell stack depending on a required output of the fuel cell stack;
an S/C determination unit for determining a range of steam/carbon ratio based on the temperature of the steam reformer;
a water supply amount determination unit for determining a range of the water supply amount to the evaporator based on the amount of carbon and the steam/carbon ratio;
an evaporator operating state determination unit for determining whether or not the temperature of the evaporator is a temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount to the evaporator; and
a reformer control unit adapted to control at least one regulator valve to supply only the raw fuel to the partial oxidation reformer and the water vapor mixed with the raw fuel to the steam reformer when it is determined by the evaporator operating state determination unit that the temperature of the evaporator is equal to or more than the temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount to the evaporator.

2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein execution of the program stored on the memory by the central processing unit further causes the control device to operate as the reformer control unit which includes:
a steam reformer controller for controlling the steam reformer when it is determined that the temperature of the evaporator is a temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount to the evaporator; and
a partial oxidation reformer controller for controlling the partial oxidation reformer when it is determined that the temperature of the evaporator is not the temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount to the evaporator.

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

4. The fuel cell system according to claim 1 , wherein execution of the program by the central processing unit causes the control device to further operate as a reforming preparation determination unit for determining whether or not it is required to prepare for reforming by the partial oxidation reformer when it is determined that the temperature of the evaporator is the temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount to the evaporator.

5. The fuel cell system according to claim 2 , wherein execution of the program by the central processing unit causes the control device to further operate as a reforming preparation determination unit for determining whether or not it is required to prepare for reforming by the partial oxidation reformer when it is determined that the temperature of the evaporator is the temperature determined based on the range of the water supply amount to the evaporator.

Assignees

• Ogawa Tetsuya
• Yokokawa Ayatoshi
• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ogawa Tetsuya
• Yokokawa Ayatoshi

Classifications

• H01M8/04373 Primary

  of auxiliary devices, e.g. reformers, compressors, burners · CPC title

• H01M8/0631

  Reactor construction specially adapted for combination reactor/fuel cell (hydrogen C01B3/00; reactors for physicochemical processes B01J19/00) · CPC title

• H01M8/04492

  Humidity; Ambient humidity; Water content · CPC title

• H01M8/0618

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

• H01M8/04425

  at auxiliary devices, e.g. reformers, compressors, burners · CPC title