JP2001185178A - Co removing unit and solid polymeric fuel cell power generation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a CO removing unit and a solid polymeric fuel cell power generation system using the same, offering small and compact construction. SOLUTION: A CO remover 5 for removing carbon monoxide and a heat exchanger for cooling a reforming gas introduced into the CO remover 5 are interconnected in the axial direction to form an integrated sleeve structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a CO removal unit and a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system suitable as a small household power supply system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a reformer for reforming a fuel gas such as natural gas, city gas or methanol into hydrogen, a CO converter for converting carbon monoxide, and a CO remover for removing carbon monoxide have been proposed. There has been proposed a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system including the above-described fuel cell that generates power using hydrogen. Conventional fuel cell power generation systems are generally large, and in addition to the above-mentioned systems, space is required to install a case that separately houses the control system and auxiliary equipment including water tanks and various pumps. Therefore, it is difficult to apply it to a home power supply system as it is.

[0003]

In the conventional structure, a CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a heat exchanger for cooling the reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are provided separately. Since the CO remover has an independent case, and a combustion device is attached to the case, these devices themselves become large and are compactly housed in a small case like a home power supply system. It was difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide a CO removal unit and a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system using the same, which solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and can be reduced in size and size. is there.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a heat exchanger for cooling reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are connected in the axial direction to form an integral sleeve structure. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a heat exchanger for cooling reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are integrally formed. The integrated CO remover is housed in a single case, a combustion device is provided at a lower portion of the case, and a combustion gas passage of the combustion device is formed inside the case, and the combustion gas is exhausted at an upper portion of the case. It is configured to be exhausted through the mouth.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the heat exchanger is a water heat exchanger.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the integral structure is an integral sleeve structure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reformer for reforming a fuel gas such as natural gas, city gas, methanol or the like into hydrogen by a chemical reaction, a CO converter for converting carbon monoxide,
In a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system including a CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a fuel cell for generating electricity using hydrogen, a CO remover and a reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are cooled. And a heat exchanger to be connected in the axial direction to form an integral sleeve structure.

The invention according to claim 6 is a reformer for reforming a fuel gas such as natural gas, city gas, methanol or the like into hydrogen by chemical reaction, a CO converter for transforming carbon monoxide,
In a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system including a CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a fuel cell for generating electricity using hydrogen, a CO remover and a reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are cooled. And the heat exchanger to be integrated
The CO converter integrated with the heat exchanger is housed in a single case, a combustion device is provided at the lower portion of the case, and the inside of the case forms a passage for combustion gas of the combustion device. The exhaust port is configured to be exhausted through an exhaust port on an upper portion of the panel.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 5 or 6.
In the description, the integral structure is an integral sleeve structure.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, air is supplied upstream of the heat exchanger, and the air and the reformed gas are mixed and cooled. CO
It is characterized in that it is supplied to a remover.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a building. Commercial power is supplied to the building 100 via a low-voltage lamp 101, a watt-hour meter 102, and a distribution board 103. This commercial power is supplied to the air conditioner 105 and the television 106 via the first cable 104 shown by a thin line.
And so on.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system (Polymer Electrolight Fuel Cell: PE) constituting a small household power supply system
FC device) S is installed outside the house 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the small household power supply system S includes a heat recovery device in addition to the PEFC device. This heat recovery device has a hot water storage tank 112 and an ion exchange resin 125, and city water is supplied to the ion exchange resin 125 through a water pipe. This city water is made into pure water by the ion-exchange resin 125, and is supplied to a water tank 21 described later.
(FIG. 3). The PEFC device has a fuel supply device (reformer, CO shift converter, CO remover) 121.

The fuel supply device 121 is supplied with a fuel gas such as natural gas, city gas, methanol, LPG, butane and the like.
Is supplied to produce hydrogen. This hydrogen is supplied to the fuel cell 6, where the hydrogen is chemically reacted with oxygen in the air to generate power. Reference numeral 123 denotes a control device that controls power generation.

This electric power is boosted to 180 V via a DC / DC converter 124, and
11 and from there, through a second cable 107 shown in bold lines in FIG.
It is supplied to the refrigerator 110 and the like. This fuel cell power generation system S is connected to a commercial power supply via a system interconnection inverter 111.

In this small power supply system S, heat is generated in the process of power generation, and this heat is used to generate hot water from city water, and this hot water is stored in a hot water storage tank 112 as shown in FIG.
To store. This hot water is supplied to a bath 11 as shown in FIG.
3. It is supplied to the kitchen 114 and the like. This hot water tank 112
Is installed outside the house 100.

Next, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system (small household power supply system) S according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In this small household power supply system S, fuel gas 1 such as natural gas, city gas, methanol, etc.
Where the sulfur component is removed from the fuel gas. The fuel gas that has passed through the desulfurizer 2 is boosted in pressure by the booster pump 10 and supplied to the reformer 3. In this reformer 3,
A reformed gas containing hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide is produced. The gas that has passed through the reformer 3 is supplied to a CO converter 4
Where the carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas is converted to carbon dioxide.

The gas that has passed through the CO converter 4 is supplied to a CO remover 5, where the unconverted carbon monoxide in the gas that has passed through the CO converter 4 is removed.

The hydrogen from the CO remover 5 from which the carbon monoxide has been removed is supplied to the polymer electrolyte fuel cell 6. The fuel cell 6 includes a fuel electrode (anode) 6
a, an air electrode (cathode) 6b, and a cooling unit 6c, and the hydrogen is supplied to the anode 6a. The hydrogen reacts with the oxygen contained in the air supplied to the cathode 6b via the fan 11 to generate electric power.

The reformer 3 has a burner 12 to which raw fuel is supplied via a pipe 13 and a fan 14.
And the unreacted hydrogen that has passed through the anode 6a via the pipe 15.

When the system is started, the raw fuel is supplied to the burner 12 via the pipe 13 and the fan 14
When the system is stabilized after startup, the supply of raw fuel is cut off, and the unreacted hydrogen via the anode 6 a is supplied to the burner 12 via the pipe 15.

In the reformer 3, the CO converter 4, the CO remover 5, and the fuel cell 6, a chemical reaction having a predetermined reaction temperature is performed. Since the chemical reaction in the reformer 3 is an endothermic reaction, the chemical reaction is performed while constantly heating with the burner 12.

Since the chemical reaction performed in the CO converter 4 and the CO remover 5 is an exothermic reaction, for example, in the CO remover 5, a burner (not shown) is burned only when the system is started, and the combustion gas is burned. Is generated, and the temperature of the CO remover 5 is raised to the reaction temperature by the heat of the combustion gas generated at this time. Is cooled.

In the fuel cell 6, an electrochemical reaction takes place.
Heat is generated by activation overvoltage, concentration overvoltage, and resistance overvoltage during the electrochemical reaction.

Between the reformer 3 and the CO shift converter 4, the CO
Between the transformer 4 and the CO remover 5, the CO remover 5 and the fuel cell 6
Heat exchangers 18, 19, 20, and 27 are connected to the space and the exhaust system 26 of the fuel cell 6, respectively.

The water in the water tank 21 circulates through each of the heat exchangers 18, 19, 20 via pumps 23, 24, 25, and the water is used as the reformer 3, the CO converter 4, CO
The gas passing through the remover 5 is cooled. Heat exchanger 2
7 is supplied with water from the hot water storage tank 112 (FIG. 2).
Circulate through 8.

The cooling section 6c of the fuel cell 6 includes a pump 48
The water in the water tank 21 circulates through the, and the water cools the fuel cell 6.

A heat exchanger 17 is connected to the exhaust system 31 of the reformer 3. When water in the water tank 21 is supplied through a pump 22, the heat is converted into steam by the heat exchanger 17. Steam is mixed with the raw fuel and supplied to the reformer 3.

In addition to the heat exchanger 17, another heat exchanger 32 is connected to the exhaust system 31, and the water in the hot water storage tank 112 is supplied to the heat exchanger 32 via a pump 33. Circulates to recover waste heat.

The present system includes a process gas (PG) burner 34.

When the present system is started, the reformer 3, CO 2
Since the reformed gas that has passed through the transformer 4 and the CO remover 5 is not stable, the reformed gas is transferred to the fuel cell 6 until it becomes stable.
Can not be supplied. Therefore, the gas in an unstable state is guided to the PG burner 34 and burned until each reactor is stabilized. Then, after each reactor is stabilized, it is introduced into the fuel cell 6 to generate power. Unreacted gas that could not be used for power generation in the fuel cell 6 is first guided to the PG burner 34 and burned. After the system of the present system is stabilized, it is introduced into the burner 12 of the reformer 3 and burned.

The control system of the PG burner 34 will be described. After the start-up of the present system, the on-off valve 91 is closed until the temperature of each reactor is stabilized, and the reformed gas passes through the pipeline 35 and the on-off valve 36. Through the PG burner 34. When the temperature of each reactor is stabilized, the on-off valve 91 is opened and the on-off valve 92 is opened until the temperature of the fuel cell 6 is stabilized.
Is closed, the reformed gas is supplied to the PG burner 34 through the pipe 38 and the on-off valve 39, and is burned there.
When the temperature of the fuel cell 6 is stabilized and power is continuously generated, the open / close valves 91 and 92 are opened, the open / close valves 36 and 39 are closed, and the unreacted gas that has passed through the fuel cell 6 passes through the pipe 15. After that, it is supplied to the burner 12.

A heat exchanger 46 is connected to an exhaust system 45 of the PG burner 34, and a pump 47 is connected to the heat exchanger 46.
Circulates through the hot water storage tank 112.

Between the water tank 21 and the hot water storage tank 112,
The heat exchanger 41 is connected, and the water in the water tank 21 circulates through the heat exchanger 41 via a pump 42 and a pump 43
The water in the hot water storage tank 112 circulates through the.

By the heat exchange in the heat exchanger 41, the temperature of the water in the hot water storage tank 112 increases, and the temperature of the water in the water tank 21 decreases.

In the above configuration, since the small household power supply system S takes the form of a cogeneration system, effective use of energy is achieved.

Therefore, a high overall thermal efficiency can be obtained,
Raw fuel consumption is reduced and carbon dioxide emissions are reduced.

FIG. 4 shows the reformer 3, the CO converter 4 and the C
The structure of the O remover 5 is shown.

In the reformer 3, the fuel gas pressurized by the pressurizing pump 10 (FIG. 3) and the steam which is pumped by the pump 22 (FIG. 3) and turned into steam by the heat exchanger 17 are mixed. Supplied. The supplied gas is supplied to the reformer body 3
01, and after being preheated through one pipe 302A of the preheating section 301A, the next reforming section 3
Enter 01B. The gas entering the reforming section 301B is activated by the catalyst layer 303 filled therein to become a reformed gas, and the reformed gas is supplied to the other conduit 3 of the preheating section 301A.
After passing through 02B, it is discharged downstream. Since the fuel supply system and the air supply system to the burner 12 are as described above, the description is omitted.

The fuel gas reformed through the reformer 3 sequentially flows into the downstream CO shift unit 60 and CO removal unit 80.

The CO conversion unit 60 of the present embodiment has a C
The O-transformer 4 and a heat exchanger 18 for cooling the reformed gas introduced into the CO-transformer 4 are vertically connected in the axial direction,
These are integrated by a stainless steel sleeve 61,
The stainless steel sleeve 61 is housed in a single case 62.

A pair of support plates 63 and 64 having a wire mesh or a large number of holes are provided inside the stainless steel sleeve 61, and for example, a copper-based catalyst layer 65 is provided between the pair of support plates 63 and 64. Is filled.

Inside the sleeve 61, the catalyst layer 65
The heat exchanger 18 is provided above the space with a wide space 66 therebetween. This heat exchanger 18 cools the reformed gas.

A combustion device 78 is provided at a lower portion of the case 62. The inside of the case 62 forms a passage for combustion gas of the combustion device 78, and the combustion gas is exhausted through an exhaust port 79 at an upper portion of the case 62. You.

The reformed gas cooled through the heat exchanger 18 is equalized in the wide space 66 and enters the catalyst layer 65 of the CO converter 4. Here, carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas reacts with water vapor to be converted into carbon dioxide,
The concentration of carbon monoxide in the reformed gas is reduced to about 1%.
The activation reaction is abrupt at the entrance of the catalyst layer 65, and if the temperature at the entrance is high, the control of the CO converter 4 becomes difficult.

In this embodiment, a temperature sensor (not shown) is provided in a large space 66, and the temperature here is, for example, 2
The amount of cooling water supplied to the heat exchanger 18 is adjusted so as to be about 00 ° C. The reformed gas that has passed through the CO converter 4 passes through the pipe 50 and passes through the CO removal unit 80 described above.
Sent to

The CO removing unit 80 of the present embodiment comprises the heat exchanger 19 and the CO remover 5 in an integral sleeve structure 8.
8, and the integral sleeve structure 88 is formed as a single case 81.
It is configured to be stored in. In this case 81, the CO remover 5 is located at the upper part, and the heat exchanger 19 for cooling the reformed gas introduced into the CO remover 5 is arranged at the lower part. Have been.

Cooling water is supplied to the heat exchanger 19 via a pump 24 (FIG. 3) to cool the reformed gas entering the CO remover 5.

A pair of support plates 82 and 83 having a wire mesh or a large number of holes are provided inside the CO remover 5, and a noble metal / ruthenium-based catalyst layer 84 is provided between the pair of support plates 82 and 83. Is filled.

Even in the CO remover 5, the catalyst layer 84
The activation reaction is abrupt at the inlet, and if the temperature at the inlet is high, the CO remover 5 runs away.

To prevent this, for example, a CO remover 5
It is desirable to provide a temperature sensor (not shown) in the inlet space 85 of the, and to adjust the amount of cooling water supplied to the heat exchanger 19 so that the temperature here becomes a predetermined temperature.

A combustion device 91 is provided at a lower portion of the case 81. The inside of the case 81 forms a passage for combustion gas of the combustion device 91, and the combustion gas is exhausted through an exhaust port 92 at an upper portion of the case 81. You.

Next, the operation of the CO remover 5 will be described.
In this embodiment, the air pump 5 is provided upstream of the heat exchanger 19.
Air is introduced via 5 (FIG. 3).

This air mixes with the reformed gas that has passed through the CO converter 4, is cooled by the heat exchanger 19, and enters the catalyst layer 84 of the CO remover 5. Here, carbon monoxide in the reformed gas is converted into carbon dioxide by a selective oxidation reaction (exothermic reaction), and the carbon monoxide concentration of the reformed gas is reduced to about 10 ppm. The reformed gas having the reduced carbon monoxide concentration is sent to the fuel cell 6 through the pipe 93.

Since each of the above-mentioned CO treatments is an exothermic reaction, each burner 78, 91 is burned only when the system is started. When the system starts, each burner 78,
91 is supplied with fuel from a fuel supply source 1 (FIG. 3);
Fuel supply is performed until the temperature detected by a temperature sensor (not shown) installed in each of the catalyst layers 65 and 84 reaches 200 to 300 ° C.

In the above configuration, when these are applied to a small household power supply system S, a reformer 3, a CO converter 4 for converting carbon monoxide, and a C converter for removing carbon monoxide are used.
O remover 5, fuel cell 6 that generates power using hydrogen, its control system, water tank 21, and various heat exchangers 18, 19
As shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the auxiliary equipment including the pumps and the auxiliary equipment be collectively housed in one outer case.

In this embodiment, the CO conversion unit 60
However, the CO transformer 4 and the heat exchanger 18 are connected in the axial direction,
These are integrated by a sleeve 61, and the sleeve 61 is housed in a single case 62, so that C
The O shift unit 60 can be made compact and compact. Further, since the CO removing unit 80 is configured by housing the CO remover 5 having the heat exchanger 19 integrated in the single case 81, the size and size of the CO removing unit 80 can be reduced. Therefore, the heat exchanger 18 and the CO transformer 4 and the heat exchanger 19 and the CO remover 5 can be efficiently stored in the outer case, and the small household power supply system S can be designed compact.

Although the present invention has been described based on one embodiment, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited to this.

[0063]

According to the present invention, CO is used to remove carbon monoxide.
Since the remover and the heat exchanger that cools the reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are connected in the axial direction to form an integrated structure, these can be reduced in size and size.

Therefore, the heat exchanger and the CO remover can be efficiently stored in, for example, an outer case, and the small household power supply system can be downsized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram when a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system according to the present invention is installed at home.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an outdoor part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing one embodiment of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structures of a reformer, a CO shift converter, and a CO remover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 reformer 4 CO shifter 5 CO remover 18, 19 Water heat exchanger 60 CO shift unit 61 Sleeve 62 Case 78 Combustion device 79 Exhaust port 80 CO removal unit 81 Case 91 Combustion device 92 Exhaust port S Solid polymer type Fuel cell power generation system

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Katsuyuki Makihara 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Keigo Miyai 2-5-2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 4G040 EA02 EA03 EA06 EB14 EB33 EB35 5H026 AA06 5H027 BA01 BA16 KK41 KK42 MM12

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a heat exchanger for cooling reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are connected in the axial direction to form an integral structure. CO removal unit. 2. A CO remover having an integrated structure of a CO remover for removing carbon monoxide and a heat exchanger for cooling reformed gas introduced into the CO remover. Is housed in a single case, a combustion device is provided at a lower portion of the case, and the inside of the case forms a passage of combustion gas of the combustion device, and the combustion gas is exhausted through an exhaust port at an upper portion of the case. A CO removal unit characterized by the following. 3. The CO removal unit according to claim 2, wherein the heat exchanger is a water heat exchanger. 4. The CO removal unit according to claim 1, wherein said integral structure is an integral sleeve structure. 5. A reformer that reforms hydrogen by chemically reacting a fuel gas such as natural gas, city gas, or methanol, a CO converter that converts carbon monoxide, and a CO remover that removes carbon monoxide. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system, comprising: a CO remover; and a heat exchanger that cools reformed gas introduced into the CO remover. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system, which is connected integrally in a direction to form an integrated structure. 6. A reformer for reforming a fuel gas such as natural gas, city gas, methanol or the like into hydrogen by a chemical reaction, a CO converter for converting carbon monoxide, and a CO removal for removing carbon monoxide. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system comprising a fuel cell and a fuel cell that generates power using hydrogen, wherein the CO remover and a heat exchanger that cools reformed gas introduced into the CO remover are integrated. The heat exchanger is integrated into a single case, and the CO remover is housed in a single case. A combustion device is provided at the bottom of the case, and the inside of the case forms a passage for combustion gas of the combustion device. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system, wherein gas is exhausted through an exhaust port at an upper part of a case. 7. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system according to claim 5, wherein said integral structure is an integral sleeve structure. 8. The air supply system according to claim 5, wherein air is supplied upstream of the heat exchanger, and the air and the reformed gas are mixed and cooled, and supplied to a CO remover. 4. The polymer electrolyte fuel cell power generation system according to item 1.