JP2003119002A - Fuel reformer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel reformer having a simple structure, reducible in size and weight and easy to mass-produce. SOLUTION: The fuel reformer for producing hydrogen from fuel and steam has a structure obtained by stacking in multi-stages a repeating unit comprising flat plate-shaped fuel reforming catalyst bed in which hydrogen is produced by steam reforming of fuel, a flat plate-shaped hydrogen permeable membrane which selectively passes hydrogen in a hydrogen-base gas generated by the steam reforming, a flat plate-shaped carbon monoxide conversion catalyst bed in which when carbon monoxide is contained in hydrogen passed through the permeable membrane, the carbon monoxide is converted to methane, and a flat plate-shaped hydrogen permeable membrane which selectively passes hydrogen in a hydrogen-base gas generated by steam reforming in the next stage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a fuel reformer,
In particular, it relates to a reformer for a fuel cell.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A fuel reformer for producing hydrogen and carbon dioxide from a fuel such as methane or methanol and water (steam) is known as a device for supplying a fuel gas to a fuel cell. In the fuel cell, a fuel gas containing hydrogen is supplied to the cathode side, an oxidizing gas containing oxygen is supplied to the anode side, and an electromotive force is obtained by an electrochemical reaction occurring at both electrodes.

Fuel reformers for these fuel cells have hitherto been known.
A packed bed reactor for reforming reaction, a combustion device for reaction heating, and a carbon monoxide converter are usually adopted, and they are larger and heavier than the fuel cell body. Although the development of such a fuel cell has made rapid progress in recent years, a simpler structure that is smaller and lighter and is easy to be mass-produced is required not only for mobile bodies but also for reformers.

[0004]

Therefore, the present inventor has made various studies in order to obtain a reformer having a simple structure that can be made smaller and lighter than conventional ones and can be easily mass-produced, and arrived at the present invention. did.

[0005]

That is, the gist of the present invention is a fuel reformer for producing hydrogen from a fuel and steam, which is a flat-plate fuel reforming catalyst for producing hydrogen by steam reforming a fuel. A layer, a flat plate-type hydrogen permeable membrane that selectively permeates hydrogen from a gas containing hydrogen as a main component produced by the steam reforming, and one of the cases where carbon monoxide is contained in hydrogen that permeates the permeable membrane. A repeating unit consisting of a flat-plate carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer that converts carbon oxide into methane, and a flat-plate hydrogen permeable membrane that selectively permeates hydrogen from a gas containing hydrogen as a main component produced by steam reforming in the next stage. The fuel reformer is characterized by having a multi-layered structure.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, the fuel to be reformed is methane, a methane-containing gas such as natural gas, gasoline,
Although naphtha, light oil, hydrocarbons such as LP gas, and methanol are common, the following description will be given by taking a methanol steam reformer as an example. Methanol steam reforming proceeds by the following endothermic reaction.

CH ₃ OH + H ₂ O → 3H ₂ + CO ₂ ΔH = + 49.9 kJ / mol (1) Actually, it proceeds via the following sequential reactions. And
CO is generated as an intermediate.

CH ₃ OH → 2H ₂ + CO (2) CO + H ₂ O → H ₂ + CO ₂ (3) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the reformer configuration of the present invention.
This reformer has a structure in which the flat sheet fuel reforming catalyst layer 1, the flat sheet hydrogen permeable membrane 2, the flat sheet carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer 3, and the flat sheet hydrogen permeable membrane 2 are laminated in multiple steps. It has a flow path structure similar to that of a plate heat exchanger. Both of the two catalyst layers are preferably subjected to undulating treatment to increase the surface area. As the undulating process, for example, a mesh, a saw, a comb, or a porous shape can be used. In the flat plate type of the fuel reforming catalyst layer and / or the carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer, it is preferable that the catalyst is supported on a flat plate type base material. The flat plates (plates) may be laminated in a cylindrical shape (not necessarily the entire circumference). The reforming catalyst is not particularly limited, and the substrate is usually surface-treated by a conventional method, and then a metal catalyst such as palladium or nickel is supported. The carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer may be the same as the above-mentioned reforming catalyst. The base material is preferably a metal base material such as aluminum, stainless steel or copper. As a result, the thermal conductivity can be increased, so that the temperature of the catalyst surface can be kept uniform, hot spots hardly occur, and uniform and stable reaction performance can be obtained. For example, when aluminum is used, it is particularly preferable to form an integral structure in which the catalyst-supporting portion is anodized, the peripheral portion thereof serves as an adhesion site during lamination, and serves as a spacer that secures a gas flow. . On the other hand, the hydrogen permeable membrane is preferably made of metal or ceramic. As the metal, those based on a palladium alloy or the like are preferable in terms of vibration durability, bondability with the metal substrate of the catalyst, and workability, but the outer peripheral portion is another metal, for example, aluminum, It is also possible to join the permeable membrane portion by welding or the like. On the other hand, examples of the ceramic include oxides such as alumina and titania, and porous silica glass such as "Vycor" (trademark) glass manufactured by Corning.

When stacking the repeating units described above, the number of layers can be increased and the area can be increased according to the required hydrogen production amount.

Comparing this reformer with a plate heat exchanger, the permeable membrane corresponds to the heat exchange plate, the source gas flow passage is the flow passage on one side of the heat exchange plate, and the recovered hydrogen flow passage is the other flow passage. Become. An undulating plate catalyst with integrated spacers (that is, a flat fuel reforming catalyst layer) is installed on the side of the raw material gas flow path. Here, the spacer refers to a flange-shaped gasket for securing flow passages on both sides of the heat exchange plate in the plate heat exchanger.
The raw material gas reacts on the catalyst side. An undulating plate catalyst with integrated spacers (that is, a flat-plate carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer) is also installed on the recovered hydrogen side. Since the recovery side has a negative pressure with respect to the raw material side, the recovery side catalyst layer also serves to hold the separation membrane and secure the flow path. In FIG. 1, when the raw material is supplied from the left side surface of the apparatus, the reforming reaction proceeds on the raw material side catalyst surface, and the hydrogen produced through the permeable membrane is separated and moved to the recovery side. The heat of reaction at that time can be supplied by itself by the following partial oxidation exothermic reaction (that is, the external heating mechanism can be omitted).

CH ₃ OH + 1 / 2O ₂ → 2H ₂ + CO ₂ ΔH = −193 kJ / mol (4) That is, some of the raw material methanol is oxidized and the reaction heat is supplied to the endothermic reaction (1). The reaction layer is started and the temperature is maintained by controlling the degree of oxidation reaction according to the amount of oxygen supplied.

The reforming reaction including the partial oxidation reaction is represented by CH ₃ OH + 1 / 2xO ₂ + (1-x) H ₂ O → (3-x) H ₂ + CO ₂ (5). Here, the coefficient x indicates the proportion of methanol used in the partial oxidation reaction.

On the hydrogen recovery side, the recovered hydrogen may contain a small amount of carbon monoxide. This CO poisons the fuel cell catalyst downstream. Therefore, in the recovery side catalyst, CO is converted to methane and detoxified by the following methanation reaction.

CO + 3H ₂ → CH ₄ + H ₂ O (6) A similar mechanism progresses in each stage, and finally purified hydrogen and off-gas containing CO ₂ as main components flow out separately from the left side surface.

FIG. 2 shows details of the reformer and an example of the flow passage structure ((a) to (e)). This figure corresponds to the structure of the section A in FIG. Raw materials such as methanol, water, and oxygen are supplied from the upper portion of the undulating plate reforming catalyst (a) and pass through the plate catalyst, at which time the reforming reaction proceeds. In addition, the partial oxidation reaction can proceed in parallel and the heat of reaction can be utilized for the reforming reaction. The generated hydrogen sequentially moves to the recovery side flow path through the hydrogen permeable membrane (b). The carbon monoxide in the recovered hydrogen is detoxified by being methanated on the catalyst surface 9 of the undulating plate carbon monoxide conversion catalyst (c) on the recovery side. If the carbon monoxide entrained in the hydrogen is at a sufficiently low concentration, this conversion catalytic function is eventually unnecessary, but in this case, the catalyst layer will have a negative pressure with respect to the reforming side. It will play the role of a reinforcing material for securing roads. The purified hydrogen moves from the upper and lower channels to the outlet. In the hydrogen permeable membrane (d), a gas containing hydrogen as a main component, which is generated on the catalyst surface 9 of the plate reforming catalyst (e) at the next stage, passes in the direction shown in the figure. Further, only CO ₂ remains in the downstream of the raw material flow path and is discharged from the outlet as off gas.

3 (a) to (c) show the structure of each layer, 4 is an outer peripheral portion, 5 is a space, 6 is a raw material gas passage, 7 is a recovered hydrogen passage, 8 is an off-gas passage, 9 is a catalytic surface and 10
Is a hydrogen permeable surface. If, for example, aluminum is used as the base material for the raw material gas side film, the gas contact surface is anodized with aluminum and then carries the catalyst, and the outer peripheral portion 4 (spacer, gasket portion) necessary for adhesion during lamination is in the initial aluminum state. By keeping the above, the spacer and the catalyst are integrated. Since the base material can be processed arbitrarily, it may have a shape depending on the flow rate and the catalytic activity, for example, a undulating shape such as the above-mentioned mesh shape, sawtooth shape, comb shape, or porous shape. For example, by supporting a catalyst on a metal base material such as aluminum, the following advantages are obtained. That is, (1) the temperature of the catalyst surface becomes uniform due to the high thermal conductivity of the base material, the hot spot phenomenon seen in the packed bed catalyst can be avoided, and the reaction proceeds uniformly and stably. (2) By processing the catalyst surface 9 into an undulating shape, the flow of the reaction gas in the vicinity of the catalyst surface becomes a turbulent flow, and the substance / heat transfer on the gas-catalyst surface is promoted, so that the apparent reaction activity is improved. (3) By sequentially separating hydrogen by the hydrogen permeable membrane, the reaction nonequilibrium state on the catalyst surface is maintained to the downstream side, so that the reforming reaction proceeds further and the hydrogen yield is improved. And (4) since the reaction is improved, the reaction temperature and the reaction pressure can be advanced under mild conditions closer to the environmental conditions (therefore, high molecular weight organic compounds which conventionally require high temperatures, such as kerosene and gasoline) It can be expected to accelerate the reforming reaction of, and lower the temperature.),
(5) The heat and mechanical load of the device can be reduced, the device can be simplified, and low cost can be expected.

As described above, a spacer-integrated catalyst having the same structure as the raw material side is arranged on the recovery side, and CO is methane-detoxified on the catalyst surface. FIG. 3 shows the flow of each gas. The contact time of each gas with each catalyst layer and permeable membrane is an important design requirement. To ensure the required contact time here,
The positional relationship of each film is shown by a, b, c, d [m]. This distance depends on reaction conditions, catalyst and membrane performance. The distance a is a distance required for hydrogenation of the initial raw material, the distance b is a distance required for hydrogen separation produced by the reforming reaction to be membrane-separated, and c and d are methanized trace amounts of CO in the recovered hydrogen gas. It is the distance required to detoxify. These distance relationships are merely examples, and the distance relationships are changed by changing the contact time by, for example, meandering the flow path.

4 to 7 show a reciprocating flow channel plate type non-equilibrium reformer. This is an applied type of reformer (basic type) in FIGS. The purpose is the same reforming reaction using the same raw material. In the above basic type, the reaction gas once passes through the reaction surface in one direction, whereas in this applied type, the reaction gas passes back and forth between the front and back surfaces of the catalytic reaction surface. As a result, the heat of partial oxidation reaction can be transferred to both the front and back surfaces of the plate, and the heat of the partial oxidation reaction can be used to efficiently proceed the reforming reaction. The outline is shown in FIG. The stacking is a plate stacking type similar to the above basic type, and (1) raw material gas flow path side spacer integrated catalyst plate, (2) hydrogen permeable membrane, (3) recovered hydrogen flow path side spacer integrated catalyst plate )-(2)-(3)-(2) repeating units, which are sequentially stacked. The manifold (flow path) consists of three systems: raw material, recovered hydrogen, and off gas (exhaust gas).
The plate used for the reformer is a spacer integrated type whose both surfaces are catalyzed. The plate structure is shown in FIG. Both sides are catalyzed, and the process gas is allowed to flow through the catalyst surface by opening one passage of the upper three manifolds. Gas flows in from above,
It flows down while contacting the catalyst surface. A "return channel" is provided in the lower portion, and the gas that has flowed down moves to the back surface of the catalyst surface, reverses, and rises. During this time, the catalyst contacts the back surface and the reaction proceeds. The gas reaching the top of the tower is discharged to the outside through one of the open manifolds.

FIG. 5B and FIG. 6 show details of these flow path configurations. Raw material side plate: Explaining with the raw material side plate A1, only the manifold for the reaction raw material is opened to the surface of this plate. The reaction raw material passes through this opening from the manifold, and proceeds from the top to the bottom in front of the catalyst surface. First, the partial oxidation reaction mainly proceeds, and the catalyst plate and the gas itself are heated. The reforming reaction proceeds further downstream (downward). The reaction heat generated by the partial oxidation is transferred to the plate catalyst substrate portion or is transferred as the sensible heat of the reaction gas, and is used for the partial oxidation reaction in the entire plate. The hydrogen gas generated during this time passes through the hydrogen permeable membrane M1 and is separated. The gas reaching the lower end passes through the return flow passage port and rises on the back surface. When the temperature rises, the reforming reaction mainly proceeds further. The partial oxidation heat generated on the front surface is transferred to the plate base material portion and transferred to the back surface, and is used for the reforming reaction on the back surface side. The produced hydrogen permeates the hydrogen permeable membrane M2. Only the off gas manifold is opened on the back surface of the raw material plate catalyst. The offgas containing carbon dioxide as the main component after hydrogen separation proceeds to the offgas manifold. Recovery side plate: The recovery side plate B1 will be described. There is no manifold opening at the front. The recovered hydrogen manifold is open on the back side. The recovered hydrogen moves to the outside of the system by a differential pressure (if it is difficult to move by the differential pressure, a fourth manifold is installed and used as a circulating hydrogen inflow channel.
Only the circulating hydrogen manifold is opened in front of the recovery side plate. The circulation of the circulating hydrogen causes the hydrogen to be transported to the outlet. The circulating hydrogen can be a residue that has not been consumed by the fuel cell and can be transported by a compressor or the like. ). On the front surface, the hydrogen generated on the back surface of the raw material side plate A1 flows through the hydrogen permeable membrane M2. In the front, the separated gas moves from the upper part to the lower part. Since carbon monoxide (CO) may be entrained through the membrane, the CO conversion reaction is promoted by the catalyst in front. The gas flow reaching the lower end passes through the return flow port and rises on the back surface. Hydrogen gas that has permeated the hydrogen permeable film M3 and is generated in front of the raw material side plate A2 flows in. The entrained CO undergoes a conversion reaction to methane on the catalyst surface on the back surface of the recovery side plate, and hydrogen purification proceeds.
The purified hydrogen flows out of the system as recovered hydrogen via the recovered hydrogen manifold. Catalytic position: The catalyzed position on each plate is shown by a dotted square line in FIG. 5 (b) (9). In the raw material side plate, no catalyst portion is provided on the upper front side which is the raw material inlet.
The reaction side back surface catalyzes the entire surface. An enlarged view of the catalyst portion of this raw material plate is shown in FIG. The partial oxidation reaction is expected to proceed faster than the reforming reaction, and mainly proceeds on the catalyst surface at the raw material inlet. Therefore, a temperature distribution is generated on the catalyst surface, and heat loss is likely to occur through the outer peripheral portion of the catalyst. Therefore, on the raw material inlet side, the catalyst portion is placed downstream from the vicinity of the center of the plate surface. Then, the partial oxidation reaction is allowed to proceed in advance in this central portion. The generated heat is intended to be transferred to the plate base material and to the entire plate. As a result, the heat is used for the reforming reaction on both sides of the catalyst section (white arrow). Also,
The amount of heat transferred to the gas inlet is used for heating the raw material gas (arrows with diagonal lines). This makes it possible to effectively utilize the heat of oxidation.

On the other hand, the opposing recovery plates catalyze both sides. This is to promote the CO conversion reaction as much as possible.

This aspect is characterized in that the reaction gas reciprocates on both sides of the catalyst. As a result, the heat transfer and reaction states of FIG. 7 are formed. Therefore, the following effects can be expected. (A) The partial oxidation reaction that first proceeds near the inlet of the reaction raw material can proceed at the center of the plate by changing the catalyst distribution. (B) Reaction heat generated by the partial oxidation reaction is uniformly transferred from the plate center to the entire catalyst surface. This partial oxidation heat causes the reforming reaction to proceed on the entire front and back surfaces. (C) Part of the partial oxidation heat can be used for heating the gas. (D) The partial oxidation heat can be utilized for the reforming reaction without waste, and the reforming efficiency can be improved.

[0023]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples. Example 1 (1) The structure of each layer used shown in FIG. 3 is as follows. The raw material gas side layer is made by punching and undulating the surface of the aluminum as a base material, the gas contact surface is anodized with aluminum and then catalyzed, and the outer peripheral part is kept in the initial aluminum state, so that the spacer and the catalyst are integrated. It became the composition which became. The anodization was carried out using a 4 wt% oxalic acid solution at 15 to 25 ° C. and a current density of 15 to 50 A / m ² , 1
It was carried out under the condition of 6 hours. The catalyst was supported by masking the outer peripheral portion, immersing the catalyst in a 2 × 10 ⁶ mol / cm ³ palladium acetate / acetone solution for 24 hours, and then firing at 400 ° C. for 3 hours. The hydrogen permeable membrane was an integral type made of Pd alloy of the same material as the outer peripheral portion. Further, a spacer-integrated catalyst having the same structure as the above-mentioned catalyst on the raw material side was also used on the recovery side. (2) Effect of non-equilibrium hydrogen separation reaction Table 1 shows the results of chemical equilibrium theoretical calculation of the effect of non-equilibrium hydrogen separation reaction. In the flow used here, this reformer is simulated by connecting an equilibrium reactor and a separator (flow path 1 →
1 Equilibrium reactor → Flow path 2 → Separator. Here, it is divided into a lower flow path 3 and an upper flow path 4, and the flow path 4 → the second equilibrium reactor → the flow path 5). The first equilibrium reactor calculates the equilibrium reaction amount of the raw material side reforming catalyst. The separator simulates a hydrogen separation membrane. The second equilibrium reactor shows the next equilibrium amount of the reaction in the non-equilibrium state after hydrogen separation. Considering partial oxidation as the initial condition, equation (5)
In the case of x = 0.5, CH ₃ OH + 1/40 ₂ + 1 / 2H ₂ O → 5 / 2H ₂ + CO ₂ (7) is assumed, and the amounts of the raw material methanol, oxygen and water are 10 respectively.
It was set to 0, 25, 50 kmol / s. Further, the reaction temperature was 280 ° C. and the pressure was 10.0 bar, which was based on the value of the practical reformer.

Table 1 shows the calculation balance result. The value of the flow path 2 is the equilibrium amount of the reforming reaction when there is no hydrogen separation. Hydrogen is produced at 230.3 kmol / s. CO, which is a competing component, is produced at 18.3 kmol / s, while oxygen is completely consumed by oxidation. The result is an exothermic reaction (Q
Since <0), external heating is unnecessary. The hydrogen separation membrane was then assumed to separate 80% of the hydrogen. After hydrogen separation, the non-equilibrium concentration again occurs in the channel 4, and the equilibrium reaction amount in the channel 5 is reached again in the second reactor. Hydrogen is produced again and CO
Is almost halved to 9.6 kmol / s.

By maintaining the non-equilibrium by the membrane separation in this way, the amount of CO produced can be reduced and the amount of hydrogen produced can be increased. Actually, since the reforming reaction proceeds continuously in a non-equilibrium state, the reduction of CO can be further promoted.

[0026]

[Table 1]

(3) Effect of CO methanation reaction The reaction progress direction when hydrogen and CO are mixed together with hydrogen in the hydrogen separation membrane was examined from reaction equilibrium calculation (flow path 1 → third equilibrium reactor → flow path 2). ). The results are shown in Table 2. As initial conditions, CO is 10 kmol for 100 kmol / s of hydrogen.
/ S mixing, reaction temperature 280 ° C, pressure 5.0 ba
r. The equilibrium amount was determined in the third equilibrium reactor. In addition,
The pressure was determined in consideration of the pressure difference between the membranes. The balance results of the equilibrium calculations show that almost all CO reacts with hydrogen to methanate.

[0028]

[Table 2]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a reformer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a layer structure and a flow path in the reformer of a portion corresponding to the section A in FIG. 1 ((a) to (e)).

FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of each layer of the reformer of the present invention ((a) to (c)).

FIG. 4 shows an outline of a reciprocating flow channel plate type non-equilibrium reformer of the present invention.

5A shows an example of a plate structure of a reciprocating flow channel type plate non-equilibrium reformer of the present invention, and FIG. 5B shows a plate configuration and a substance flow.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the flow path configuration of the reciprocating flow path plate type non-equilibrium reformer of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a heat conduction state of partial oxidation heat in the reciprocating flow channel plate type non-equilibrium reformer of the present invention.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) // H01M 8/06 H01M 8/06 GF term (reference) 4D006 GA41 HA43 JA02A JA02C JA04A JA04C JA30A KA31 KA53 KD30 MA03 MB04 MC02 MC02X MC03 PA05 PB18 PB66 PC80 4G040 EA02 EA03 EA06 EA07 EB23 EB32 EB42 EB44 EB46 EC08 4G069 AA03 AA08 BA01A BA01B BC72B CC17 DA06 EA12 FA01 FA04 FA06 FB14 FB42 AFB02 5A02

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A fuel reformer for producing hydrogen from a fuel and steam, wherein a flat fuel reforming catalyst layer for producing hydrogen by steam reforming a fuel, wherein hydrogen produced by the steam reforming is mainly used. A flat plate hydrogen permeable membrane that selectively permeates hydrogen from a gas as a component, and a flat plate carbon monoxide that converts carbon monoxide to methane when the hydrogen that has permeated the membrane contains carbon monoxide. It has a structure in which a conversion catalyst layer and a flat-plate hydrogen permeable membrane that selectively permeates hydrogen from a gas containing hydrogen as a main component generated by steam reforming in the next stage are laminated in multiple stages as a repeating unit. A fuel reformer characterized by the above. 2. The fuel reformer according to claim 1, wherein the flat plate type of the fuel reforming catalyst layer and / or the carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer has a catalyst supported on a flat plate type base material. 3. The fuel reformer according to claim 2, wherein the surface of the base material is undulating. 4. The fuel reformer according to claim 3, wherein the undulating process is a mesh, a drain, a comb or a porous shape. 5. The fuel reformer according to claim 2, wherein the base material is a metal base material. 6. The fuel reformer according to claim 5, wherein the metal substrate is aluminum, stainless steel or copper. 7. The fuel reformer according to claim 6, wherein aluminum is anodized. 8. The fuel according to claim 7, wherein the catalyst-supporting portion of aluminum is anodized, and the peripheral portion thereof serves as an adhesion site during lamination, and forms a spacer that secures a gas flow. Reformer. 9. The fuel reformer according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogen permeable membrane is made of metal or ceramic. 10. A fuel reforming method for producing hydrogen from fuel and steam, wherein the fuel reformer according to claim 1 is used. 11. The fuel reforming method according to claim 10, wherein the flat plate-shaped fuel reforming catalyst layer and / or the carbon monoxide conversion catalyst layer has a catalyst supported on a flat plate-shaped substrate. 12. The fuel reforming method according to claim 11, wherein the surface of the base material is undulating. 13. The fuel reforming method according to claim 12, wherein the undulating process is a mesh, a drain, a comb or a porous shape. 14. The fuel reforming method according to claim 11, wherein the base material is a metal base material. 15. The fuel reforming method according to claim 14, wherein the metal base material is aluminum, stainless steel or copper. 16. The fuel reforming method according to claim 15, wherein aluminum is anodized. 17. Aluminum has an anodized catalyst-supporting portion, and its peripheral portion serves as an adhesion site during lamination,
17. The fuel reforming method according to claim 16, wherein the fuel reforming method forms an integral structure that serves as a spacer for securing a gas flow. 18. The fuel reforming method according to claim 10, wherein the hydrogen permeable membrane is made of metal or ceramic. 19. The fuel reforming method for producing hydrogen from the fuel and steam according to claim 10, wherein the reforming fuel gas further contains oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas to carry out a partial oxidation reaction together with a reforming reaction. A method for reforming fuel, characterized in that the heat of reaction is generated in parallel and the reaction heat is used for the reforming reaction.