JP2008001594A - Method for stopping operation of reformer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the reduction of the durability of a catalyst, even when start and stop are repeated, to stop an operation without lowering the durability of a reforming section, and to carry out the stop of operation without energy loss, in a method for stopping the reformer operation. <P>SOLUTION: A control device of the reformer closes an outlet valve of the reformer to fill the reformer with a reforming fuel right before stopping, and stops supplying the reforming fuel to the reforming part while stops supplying reforming water to an evaporating part and burning at a burning part when at stopping. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for stopping operation of a reformer.

  As one form of a method for stopping the operation of the reformer, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. As shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, the method for stopping the polymer electrolyte fuel cell is that after the operation is stopped, the steam is circulated in the reformer system to purge the combustible gas, and then the reforming is performed. When the temperature of the reforming catalyst in the granulator becomes equal to or lower than the oxidation temperature of the reforming catalyst, air is introduced into the reformer and the steam in the reformer system is purged. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 of Patent Document 1, the method for stopping the polymer electrolyte fuel cell introduces the combustion exhaust gas of the reformer into the CO oxidizer instead of introducing air, The reformer system is purged through a CO converter and reformer.

  Moreover, what is shown by patent document 2 is known as another format. As shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 2, the method for stopping the reformer for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell is to reform the temperature of the reforming catalyst layer of the reformer reforming section when the operation is stopped. After purging the reformed gas in the reactor with water vapor, after the temperature of the reforming catalyst layer is lower than the temperature at which the raw material gas is not thermally decomposed and lower than the water vapor condensation temperature, the raw material gas is introduced. The steam in the reformer is purged. Further, the discharged raw material gas is temporarily burned in the reformer combustion section.

  Moreover, what is shown by patent document 3 is known as another format. As shown in FIG. 9 of Patent Document 3, the method for stopping the reformer is performed by circulating and cooling a mixed gas of water vapor and raw material gas until the temperature of the reforming catalyst decreases to 400 ° C. At ~ 300 ° C, water vapor is circulated and cooled while purging the raw material gas, and at 300 ° C or lower, air is circulated and cooled while purging the water vapor.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10 of Patent Document 3, the reformer is stopped by stopping the steam and the raw material gas and cooling them by natural cooling until the temperature of the reforming catalyst decreases to 400 ° C. At 400 to 300 ° C., water vapor is circulated and cooled while purging the source gas, and at 300 ° C. or lower, air is circulated and water vapor is purged and purged.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11 of Patent Document 3, the reformer is stopped by circulating a mixed gas of water vapor and raw material gas until the temperature of the reforming catalyst drops to 400 ° C. At 400 ° C. or lower, cooling is performed while flowing nitrogen and purging water vapor and source gas.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12 of Patent Document 3, the reformer is stopped by stopping the steam and the raw material gas and cooling them by natural cooling until the temperature of the reforming catalyst drops to 400 ° C. At 400 ° C. or lower, cooling is performed while flowing nitrogen and purging water vapor and source gas.
JP 2002-8701 A JP 2002-151124 A JP 2002-93447 A

  In the method for stopping the reformer described in each of the above-mentioned patent documents, the reformed gas is purged with water vapor, air, raw material gas (reforming fuel), etc. Since the supply of oxidizing air for reduction is stopped, there is a problem that carbon monoxide in the reformed gas is exhausted without being treated.

  Moreover, in the reforming apparatus stopping method described in Patent Documents 1 and 3 described above, when the reforming apparatus is finally sealed with air, the catalyst in the reforming apparatus is oxidized to a lesser extent. Further, when the reformer is started, the catalyst in the reformer is reduced by the reformed gas. That is, if the reformer is repeatedly started and stopped, there is a problem that the durability of the catalyst decreases due to repeated reduction and oxidation.

  Further, in the method for stopping the reformer described in Patent Document 2 described above, when purging with the raw material gas, the raw material gas is circulated excessively, and the excessively circulated raw material gas is temporarily stored in the combustor. Because it burns, the surplus becomes energy loss.

  Further, in the method for stopping a reformer described in Patent Document 1 described above, when purging with combustion exhaust gas, the reformer is burned in order to burn in the combustion section, and the durability of the reformer is improved due to thermal deterioration. There was a problem that decreased.

  Further, in the method of stopping the reformer described in Patent Document 3 described above, the steam and the raw material gas are stopped and cooled by natural cooling until the temperature of the reforming catalyst decreases to 400 ° C. Stainless steel is generally used as the structural material of the mass part, and when it is gradually cooled at 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. or higher, the stainless steel has a problem of causing intergranular corrosion and lowering durability.

The present invention has been made to solve the respective problems described above, the reformer smell Te, repeated start and stop to prevent the lowering the durability of the catalyst, also, the reformer The purpose is to stop the operation without reducing the durability and to stop the operation without energy loss.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a reforming unit that generates reformed gas by supplying reforming fuel and steam, and heats the reformed water to boil the steam. An evaporation section to be supplied to the reforming section, and a carbon monoxide reduction section for reducing and deriving carbon monoxide in the reformed gas supplied from the reforming section by oxidizing with the supplied oxidizing air; And a combustion unit that burns combustion fuel with combustion oxidant gas and heats the reforming unit with the combustion gas, and closes the outlet valve of the reformer immediately before the stop. Te a reformer filled with reforming fuel, when stopping, that causes stopping combustion of the feed and combustion portion of the reforming water to the evaporation unit to stop the supply of the reforming fuel to the reforming section Features.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in claim 1, the supply of reforming fuel is stopped and the oxidizing air is circulated for a predetermined time from the time when the supply of reforming water and combustion section combustion is stopped. .

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, at the time of stoppage, the supply of the reforming fuel to the reforming unit is stopped and the supply of the reforming water to the evaporation unit and the combustion of the combustion unit are stopped . Therefore, the residual gas such as the reformed gas in the reformer is purged by evaporating the reforming water remaining in the evaporator using the residual heat of the reformer and supplying it to the reformer. The reforming apparatus can be purged at a low cost with an existing configuration without providing a special configuration such as an apparatus for supplying nitrogen for purging. Furthermore, since the reformer outlet valve is closed immediately before stopping and the reformer is filled with reforming fuel, the reformer is kept at an appropriate pressure after the stoppage of the reformer until the next start-up. Since the state can be maintained, it is possible to reduce the pressure load on the reformer and prevent the durability of the reformer from being lowered. In addition, since the reformer is finally sealed with reforming fuel, the catalyst in the reformer is reliably prevented from being oxidized between the end of the reformer shutdown and the next startup. can do. Therefore, even if the reformer is repeatedly started and stopped, it is possible to prevent the durability of the catalyst from decreasing due to repeated reduction and oxidation. At this time, since the reformer is filled with the reforming fuel, no extra reforming fuel is used, so that the operation can be stopped without energy loss. The charged reforming fuel is used as a combustion fuel at the next start-up, so there is no energy loss.

  In the invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, since the reforming fuel supply is stopped and the reforming water supply and the combustion section combustion are stopped, the oxidizing air is circulated for a predetermined time. In the carbon reduction section, carbon monoxide in the residual gas is oxidized by the oxidizing air, so that the carbon monoxide in the residual gas is reduced and can be exhausted from the reformer. Thus, the operation can be stopped while suppressing the carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas from the reformer to a low concentration.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fuel cell system to which a reformer according to the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of this fuel cell system. This fuel cell system includes a fuel cell 10 and a reformer 20 that generates a reformed gas containing hydrogen gas necessary for the fuel cell 10.

  The fuel cell 10 includes a fuel electrode 11, an air electrode 12 that is an oxidant electrode, and an electrolyte 13 interposed between the electrodes 11 and 12, and supplies the reformed gas supplied to the fuel electrode 11 and the air electrode 12. Electric power is generated using air (cathode air), which is the oxidant gas. Note that air-enriched gas may be supplied instead of air.

  The reformer 20 steam reforms the reforming fuel and supplies a hydrogen-rich reformed gas to the fuel cell 10. The reformer 20 includes a reforming unit 21, a cooling unit 22, a carbon monoxide shift reaction unit (hereinafter referred to as “carbon reforming unit”). , A CO shift unit) 23, a carbon monoxide selective oxidation reaction unit (hereinafter referred to as a CO selective oxidation unit) 24, a combustion unit 25, and an evaporation unit 26. Examples of the reforming fuel include natural gas, gas fuel for reforming such as LPG, and liquid fuel for reforming such as kerosene, gasoline, and methanol. In the present embodiment, description will be made on natural gas.

  The reforming unit 21 generates and derives a reformed gas from a mixed gas that is a reforming raw material in which steam is mixed with the reforming fuel. The reforming portion 21 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and includes an annular folded channel 21a extending along the axis in the annular cylindrical portion. The reforming part 21 is made of stainless steel.

  The return channel 21 a of the reforming unit 21 is filled with a catalyst 21 b (for example, a Ru or Ni-based catalyst) and introduced from the reforming fuel introduced from the cooling unit 22 and the steam supply pipe 51. The gas mixture with the steam reacts and is reformed by the catalyst 21b to generate hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide gas (so-called steam reforming reaction). At the same time, a so-called carbon monoxide shift reaction occurs in which carbon monoxide generated in the steam reforming reaction reacts with steam to transform into hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide. These generated gases (so-called reformed gas) are led to a cooling unit (heat exchange unit) 22. The steam reforming reaction is an endothermic reaction, and the carbon monoxide shift reaction is an exothermic reaction.

  Further, a temperature sensor 21 c that measures the temperature in the reforming unit 21, for example, the temperature near the wall between the combustion unit 25 (T 1) is provided in the reforming unit 21. The detection result of the temperature sensor 21 c is transmitted to the control device 30.

  The cooling unit 22 is a heat exchanger (heat exchange unit) in which heat exchange is performed between the reformed gas derived from the reforming unit 21 and a mixed gas of reforming fuel and reformed water (steam). The temperature of the reformed gas having a high temperature is lowered by the mixed gas having a low temperature and led to the CO shift unit 23, and the temperature of the mixed gas is raised by the reformed gas and led to the reforming unit 21. Yes.

  Specifically, a fuel supply pipe 41 connected to a fuel supply source (not shown) (for example, a city gas pipe) is connected to the cooling unit 22. The fuel supply pipe 41 is provided with a reforming fuel pump 42 and a reforming fuel valve 43 in order from the upstream. The reforming fuel valve 43 opens and closes the fuel supply pipe 41. The reforming fuel pump 42 supplies reforming fuel and adjusts the supply amount. In addition, a steam supply pipe 51 connected to the evaporation section 26 is connected between the reforming fuel valve 43 of the fuel supply pipe 41 and the cooling section 22. The steam supplied from the evaporation unit 26 is mixed with the reforming fuel, and the mixed gas is supplied to the reforming unit 21 through the cooling unit 22.

  The CO shift unit 23 is a unit that reduces carbon monoxide in the reformed gas supplied from the reforming unit 21 through the cooling unit 22, that is, a carbon monoxide reducing unit. The CO shift unit 23 includes a folded channel 23a extending along the vertical direction. The return channel 23a is filled with a catalyst 23b (for example, a Cu—Zn-based catalyst). In the CO shift unit 23, a so-called carbon monoxide shift reaction in which carbon monoxide and water vapor contained in the reformed gas introduced from the cooling unit 22 react with the catalyst 23b to be converted into hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas. Has occurred. This carbon monoxide shift reaction is an exothermic reaction.

  The CO selective oxidation unit 24 further reduces the carbon monoxide in the reformed gas supplied from the CO shift unit 23 and supplies it to the fuel cell 10, that is, a carbon monoxide reduction unit. The CO selective oxidation unit 24 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and is provided so as to cover the outer peripheral wall of the evaporation unit 26. The CO selective oxidation unit 24 is filled with a catalyst 24a (for example, a Ru or Pt catalyst).

  A connecting pipe 89 connected to the CO shift section 23 and a reformed gas supply pipe 71 connected to the fuel electrode 11 of the fuel cell 10 are connected to the lower and upper side walls of the CO selective oxidation section 24, respectively. ing. An oxidation air supply pipe 61 is connected to the connection pipe 89. As a result, the reformed gas from the CO shift unit 23 and the oxidizing air from the atmosphere are introduced into the CO selective oxidation unit 24. The oxidizing air supply pipe 61 is provided with an oxidizing air pump 62 and an oxidizing air valve 63 in order from the upstream. The oxidizing air pump 62 supplies oxidizing air and adjusts the supply amount. The oxidation air valve 63 opens and closes the oxidation air supply pipe 61.

  Therefore, carbon monoxide in the reformed gas introduced into the CO selective oxidation unit 24 reacts (oxidizes) with oxygen in the oxidizing air to become carbon dioxide. This reaction is an exothermic reaction and is promoted by the catalyst 24a. Thereby, the reformed gas is derived by further reducing the carbon monoxide concentration (10 ppm or less) by the oxidation reaction, and is supplied to the fuel electrode 11 of the fuel cell 10.

  Further, the reformed gas supply pipe 71 is provided with a pressure sensor 90 that measures the pressure in the sealed reformer 20. The measurement result from the pressure sensor 90 is transmitted to the control device 30.

  The combustion section 25 burns combustion fuel with combustion oxidant gas (for example, air) and heats the reforming section 21 with the combustion gas, that is, heats the reforming section 21 and is necessary for the steam reforming reaction. Combustion gas is generated for supplying heat, and the lower end portion is inserted into the inner peripheral wall of the reforming portion 21 and arranged with a space.

  A combustion fuel supply pipe 44 connected to a fuel supply source (not shown) (for example, a city gas pipe) is connected to the combustion unit 25, and an off gas supply pipe 72 having one end connected to the outlet of the fuel electrode 11. Are connected at the other end. At the start of the fuel cell 10, combustion fuel is supplied to the combustion unit 25, and during the startup operation of the fuel cell 10, the reformed gas from the CO selective oxidation unit 24 is supplied to the combustion unit 25 without passing through the fuel cell 10. During the steady operation of the fuel cell 10, anode off-gas (reformed gas containing unused hydrogen at the fuel electrode 11) discharged from the fuel cell 10 is supplied to the combustion unit 25. In addition, the shortage of reformed gas and off-gas is supplemented with combustion fuel.

  Further, a combustion air supply pipe 64 is connected to the combustion section 25, and combustion air for combusting (oxidizing) combustible gas such as combustion fuel, anode off gas, reformed gas, and the like. It is supplied from the atmosphere.

  The combustion fuel supply pipe 44 is provided with a combustion fuel pump 45 and a combustion fuel valve 46 in order from the upstream. The combustion fuel pump 45 supplies combustion fuel and adjusts the supply amount. The combustion fuel valve 46 opens and closes the combustion fuel supply pipe 44. The combustion air supply pipe 64 is provided with a combustion air pump 65 and a combustion air valve 66 in order from the upstream. The combustion air pump 65 supplies combustion air and adjusts the supply amount. The combustion air valve 66 opens and closes the combustion air supply pipe 64.

  When the combustion unit 25 configured as described above is ignited, the supplied combustion fuel, reformed gas or anode off-gas is combusted by the combustion air to generate high-temperature combustion gas. The combustion gas flows through the combustion gas passage 27 and is exhausted as combustion exhaust gas through the exhaust pipe 81. As a result, the combustion gas heats the reforming unit 21 and the evaporation unit 26. The combustion gas flow path 27 is disposed in contact with the inner peripheral wall of the reforming section 21 and is folded and disposed between the outer peripheral wall of the reforming section 21 and the heat insulating section 28 and folded. In other words, the flow path is disposed in contact between the heat insulating portion 28 and the evaporation portion 26.

  The evaporation unit 26 heats and boiles the reformed water to generate water vapor, and supplies the steam to the reforming unit 21 via the cooling unit 22. The evaporation part 26 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is provided so as to cover the outer peripheral wall of the outermost channel of the combustion gas channel 27.

  A water supply pipe 52 connected to a reforming water tank (not shown) is connected to a lower portion (for example, a lower portion of the side wall surface and a bottom surface) of the evaporation section 26. A water vapor supply pipe 51 is connected to the upper part (for example, the upper part of the side wall surface) of the evaporation unit 26. The reformed water introduced from the reformed water tank is heated by the heat from the combustion gas and the heat from the CO selective oxidation unit 24 in the course of flowing through the evaporation unit 26 to become water vapor and the water vapor supply pipe 51. And it leads to the reforming part 22 through the cooling part 22. The water supply pipe 52 is provided with a reforming water pump 53 and a reforming water valve 54 in order from the upstream. The reforming water pump 53 supplies reforming water to the evaporation unit 26 and adjusts the reforming water supply amount. The reforming water valve 54 opens and closes the water supply pipe 52.

A CO selective oxidation unit 24 is connected to the inlet of the fuel electrode 11 of the fuel cell 10 via a reformed gas supply pipe 71, and the combustion unit 25 is connected to the outlet of the fuel electrode 11 via an offgas supply pipe 72. Is connected. The bypass pipe 73 bypasses the fuel cell 10 and directly connects the reformed gas supply pipe 71 and the offgas supply pipe 72. The reformed gas supply pipe 71 is provided with a first reformed gas valve 74 between the branch point of the bypass pipe 73 and the fuel cell 10. The off gas supply pipe 72 is provided with an off gas valve 75 between the junction with the bypass pipe 73 and the fuel cell 10. A second reformed gas valve 76 is provided in the bypass pipe 73. The first reformed gas valve 74 and the second reformed gas valve 76 are outlet valves that open and close the outlet side of the reformer 20.

  During the start-up operation, the first reformed gas valve 74 and the offgas valve 75 are closed to avoid the supply of the reformed gas having a high carbon monoxide concentration from the reformer 20 to the fuel cell 10. During the steady operation (power generation operation), the first reformed gas valve 74 and the offgas valve 75 are opened to supply the reformed gas from the reformer 20 to the fuel cell 10 during the steady operation (power generation operation). Is closed.

  A cathode air supply pipe 67 is connected to the inlet of the air electrode 12 of the fuel cell 10, and an exhaust pipe 82 is connected to the outlet of the air electrode 12. Air is supplied to the air electrode 12, and off-gas is exhausted. The cathode air supply pipe 67 is provided with a cathode air pump 68 and a cathode air valve 69 in order from the upstream. The cathode air pump 68 supplies cathode air and adjusts the supply amount. The cathode air valve 69 opens and closes the cathode air supply pipe 67.

  The fuel cell system also includes a control device 30. The control device 30 includes the temperature sensor 21c, the pressure sensor 90, the pumps 42, 45, 53, 62, 65, 68, and the valves 43, 46. , 54, 63, 66, 69, 74, 75, 76 and the combustion section 25 are connected (see FIG. 3). The control device 30 includes a microcomputer (not shown), and the microcomputer includes an input / output interface, a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM (all not shown) connected through a bus. The CPU, based on the temperature from the temperature sensor 21c, the pressure from the pressure sensor 90, and the like, each pump 42, 45, 53, 62, 65, 68, each valve 43, 46, 54, 63, 66, 69, 74. 75, 76 and the combustion section 25 are controlled to stop the fuel cell system. The RAM temporarily stores variables necessary for executing the program, and the ROM stores the program.

  During the power generation operation, the temperature of the reforming unit 21 is 600 to 700 ° C, the temperature of the CO shift unit 23 is 200 to 300 ° C, and the temperature of the CO selective oxidation unit 24 is 100 to 200 ° C.

  Next, the operation of the above-described fuel cell system will be described. When a start switch (not shown) is turned on, the control device 30 starts a start operation. Specifically, the combustion air valve 66 is opened, the combustion air pump 65 is driven, and combustion air is supplied to the combustion unit 25 at a preset flow rate. The combustion fuel valve 46 is opened, the combustion fuel pump 45 is driven, and the combustion fuel is supplied to the combustion unit 25 at a preset flow rate. And the combustion part 25 is ignited and combustion of the fuel for combustion is started. When this combustion is started, when the combustion gas passes through the combustion gas flow path 27, the reforming section 21 and the evaporation section 26 are heated by the combustion gas and the temperature is raised.

  When the evaporation unit 26 is heated and the evaporation unit 26 reaches a predetermined temperature or higher, the reforming water valve 54 is opened, the reforming water pump 53 is driven, and the reforming water is supplied to the evaporation unit 26. When water vapor starts to be supplied from the evaporation unit 26 to the reforming unit 21, the reforming fuel is introduced into the reforming unit 21 at a preset flow rate. The start of supply of water vapor is determined by the outlet temperature of the evaporation unit 26. For example, the supply is determined to start when the temperature reaches 100 ° C. Further, the reforming fuel valve 43 is opened and the reforming fuel pump 42 is driven, and the reforming fuel is supplied to the reforming unit 21 through the cooling unit 22 at a preset flow rate.

  When the reforming fuel is introduced, the reforming unit 21 generates the reformed gas by the steam reforming reaction and the carbon monoxide shift reaction described above, and the reformed gas is derived from the CO selective oxidizing unit 24. However, since there is still a large amount of carbon monoxide, the fuel cell 10 is bypassed and supplied to the combustion unit 25. Simultaneously with the introduction of the reforming fuel, the air valve 64 is opened, the air pump 63 is driven, and preset oxidizing air is supplied to the CO selective oxidation unit 24. The reformed gas is derived from the CO selective oxidation unit 24 after further reducing the carbon monoxide in the CO selective oxidation unit 24.

  When the carbon monoxide concentration in the reformed gas becomes lower than a predetermined value, the start-up operation ends, the reformed gas from the CO selective oxidation unit 24 is supplied to the fuel cell 10, and power generation is started. That is, the power generation operation (steady operation) is started. The start of power generation is determined by the temperature of a predetermined portion of the reformer 20 (for example, the catalyst temperature of the CO shift unit 23).

  Next, operation stop of the fuel cell system will be described with reference to FIG. In the fuel cell system during power generation operation, for example, when a stop switch (not shown) is turned on (time t0), the control device 30 starts operation stop control.

  At time t0, the control device 30 stops driving the reforming fuel pump 42 and the reforming water pump 53 that have been supplied at the flow rate Nc1 and the flow rate Nd1, and stops the supply of reforming fuel and reforming water. At the same time, the reforming fuel valve 43 and the reforming water valve 54 are closed. In addition, the second reformed gas valve 76 is opened, the first reformed gas valve 74 and the offgas valve 75 are closed, and the reforming unit 21 includes the cooling unit 22, the CO shift unit 23, the CO selective oxidation unit 24, the combustion It communicates with the outside (atmosphere) via the part 25, the combustion gas flow path 27 and the exhaust pipe 81. Further, the control device 30 stops the driving of the combustion fuel pump 45 that has been supplied at the flow rate Nb1, stops the supply of the fuel for combustion, and closes the fuel valve 46 for combustion.

  As a result, nothing is supplied to the reforming unit 21 and combustion in the combustion unit 25 is stopped. However, since the power generation operation of the fuel cell system is stopped, the reforming device 20 is in a high temperature state. The residual water in the evaporator 26 is evaporated by the residual heat, and the residual gas in the reformer 20 is purged to the outside by the water vapor.

  Further, at time t0, the control device 30 changes the oxidation air pump 62 that has been supplied at the flow rate Ne1 to the flow rate Ne2 (for example, 0.5 L / min (standard state)), and the CO selective oxidation unit 24. The supply of oxidizing air is continued for a predetermined time T1. That is, the oxidizing air is circulated for a predetermined time T1 from time t0. As a result, when carbon monoxide in the residual gas remaining at least between the reforming unit 21 and the CO shift unit 23 passes through the CO selective oxidation unit 24, it is oxidized by the oxidizing air and its concentration is reduced. Reduced and derived from the reformer 20.

  The predetermined time T1 is a value set in consideration of the flow rate of water vapor from the evaporation unit 26 and the volume between the reforming unit 21 and the CO shift unit 23. That is, the predetermined time T1 is preferably set to a time sufficient to purge the residual gas remaining between the reforming unit 21 and the CO shift unit 23 with water vapor from the evaporation unit 26.

  The flow rate Ne2 is preferably lower than the flow rate Ne1. The flow rate Ne2 is set to an amount sufficient to process the residual gas remaining between the reforming unit 21 and the CO shift unit 23, and is set to an amount that does not oxidize the catalyst 24a more than necessary.

  Further, at time t0, the control device 30 changes the combustion air pump 65 that has been supplied at the flow rate Na1 to the flow rate Na2, and changes the temperature of the reforming unit 21 to supply the oxidizing air to the combustion unit 25. Until the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature (for example, 200 ° C.) or lower (time t4). The predetermined temperature is set to a temperature equal to or lower than the temperature at which the stainless steel forming the reformed portion 21 is susceptible to intergranular corrosion. The flow rate Na2 is preferably higher than the flow rate Na1.

  At time t1, which is the time when a predetermined time T1 has elapsed from time t0, the control device 30 closes the second reformed gas valve 76 and seals the reforming device 20. In the sealed reforming apparatus 20, the reforming apparatus 20 is still at a high temperature, and thus the evaporation in the evaporation unit 26 continues, and the pressure P1 in the reforming apparatus 20 increases due to the water vapor pressure. On the other hand, when the pressure P1 in the reforming apparatus 20 is detected by the pressure sensor 90 and the pressure P1 in the reforming apparatus 20 reaches a predetermined value (for example, 5 kPaG (gauge pressure)) (time t2), the second modification is performed. Pressure relief is performed by opening the gas valve 76 for a few seconds.

  This depressurization process is performed until no water vapor is generated due to the absence of the reforming water in the evaporation section 26 or the temperature of the reforming apparatus 20 being lowered, that is, the pressure P1 in the reforming apparatus 20 reaches a predetermined value. It is done until it does not exceed. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the reforming water in the evaporation unit 26 runs out between time t2 and time t3. On the other hand, as will be described later, since the reforming unit 21 and thus the reforming device 20 are cooled by the combustion air supplied to the combustion unit 25, the pressure P1 in the reforming device 20 is negative after time t3. Turn to pressure.

  The control device 30 opens the reforming fuel valve 43 and drives the reforming fuel pump 42 for a predetermined time T2 immediately before the end of the operation stop (time t4), thereby causing the reforming fuel to pass through the reforming device 20. Fill with. The predetermined time T2 is a value set in consideration of the flow rate of the reforming fuel pump 42 and the volume between the reforming unit 21 and the CO selective oxidation unit 24. That is, it is preferable that the predetermined time T2 is set to a time necessary and sufficient to fill the space between the reforming unit 21 and the CO selective oxidation unit 24 with the reforming fuel. Thereby, the reforming fuel does not flow out of the reforming device 20 excessively.

  At time t4, the control device 30 closes the combustion air valve 66 and stops driving the combustion air pump 65. The control device 30 closes the reforming fuel valve 43 and stops driving the reforming fuel pump 42 when the predetermined time T2 has elapsed from the time t4 (time t5), and terminates the operation stop.

  In addition, the reformer 20 is further cooled to negative pressure after the end of the shutdown of the reformer 20 (time t5) until the next start-up, but the reformer is reformed immediately before the end of the shutdown (time t4). Since the inside of the apparatus 20 is filled with reforming fuel at almost atmospheric pressure, the reforming apparatus 20 can be maintained at an appropriate pressure state, the pressure load on the reforming apparatus 20 is reduced, and the durability of the reforming apparatus 20 is reduced. Can be prevented. Further, since the reforming fuel is filled at almost atmospheric pressure, it is possible to prevent air from entering the reforming device 20 and to prevent the durability of the catalyst in the reforming device 20 from being lowered.

  As is apparent from the above description, in this embodiment, the supply of reforming fuel to the reforming unit 21 is stopped and the supply of reforming water to the evaporation unit 26 is stopped, so that the reforming device 20 is stopped. The residual gas such as the reformed gas in the reformer 20 is purged by evaporating the reformed water remaining in the evaporation section 26 using the residual heat and supplying it to the reforming section 21. The reforming apparatus 20 can be purged at a low cost with an existing configuration without providing a special configuration such as an apparatus for supplying nitrogen.

  Here, the residual heat of the combustion gas flow path 27 of the combustion section 25 and the heat that the combustion oxidant gas supplied to the combustion section 25 carries to the combustion gas flow path 27 due to the residual heat of the reforming section 21 are generated in the reformer 20. Residual heat. In the case of a reforming section using a partial reforming reaction that is an exothermic reaction, the combustion section is not necessarily required, and in this case, the residual heat of the reforming section acts as the residual heat of the reformer.

  Further, since the oxidizing air is circulated for a predetermined time T1 from the time when the purge is started (time t0), the carbon monoxide in the residual gas is oxidized by the oxidizing air in the CO selective oxidation unit 24 that is the carbon monoxide reduction unit. Thus, carbon monoxide in the residual gas is reduced and can be exhausted from the reformer 20. Thereby, the operation can be stopped while suppressing the carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas from the reformer 20 to a low concentration. Further, since no combustion exhaust gas is used, the reforming section 21 is prevented from being blown, and it is possible to prevent the durability of the reforming section 21 from being lowered due to thermal degradation.

  Further, after the flow of the oxidizing air is stopped (time t1), when the internal pressure of the reformer 20 increases, depressurization is performed, and when the increase of the internal pressure of the reformer 20 ends, Since the reforming device 20 is sealed, the pressure load on the reforming device 20 due to the pressure of water vapor generated from the evaporation unit 26 is reduced, and the durability of the reforming device 20 is prevented from being lowered and reforming is performed. A decrease in the internal pressure of the apparatus 20 can be suppressed, air can be prevented from entering the reforming apparatus 20, and the durability of the catalyst in the reforming apparatus 20 can be prevented from decreasing.

  Further, since the reformer 20 is finally sealed with the reforming fuel, the catalyst in the reformer 20 is oxidized after the shutdown of the reformer 20 until the next start-up. It can be surely prevented. Therefore, even if the reforming apparatus 20 is repeatedly started and stopped, it is possible to prevent the durability of the catalyst from decreasing due to repeated reduction and oxidation. At this time, since the reformer 20 is filled with the reforming fuel, no extra reforming fuel is used, so that the operation can be stopped without energy loss. The charged reforming fuel is used as a combustion fuel at the next start-up, so there is no energy loss.

  Further, during the purge, only the combustion oxidant gas is supplied to the combustion unit 25 until the reforming unit 21 drops to a predetermined temperature, so that the reforming unit 21 can be rapidly cooled by the combustion oxidant gas. it can. Therefore, when stainless steel is used as the structural material of the reforming portion, the stainless steel can be rapidly cooled to a temperature lower than the temperature at which the intergranular corrosion is likely to occur, thereby preventing the durability of the reforming portion 21 from being lowered. be able to.

  In the above-described embodiment, a blower may be used instead of the pump in the pump that supplies gas.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of an embodiment of a fuel cell system to which a reformer according to the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the reforming apparatus shown in FIG. It is a time chart which shows the operation | movement stop operation | movement of the reformer by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Fuel cell, 11 ... Fuel electrode, 12 ... Air electrode, 20 ... Reformer, 21 ... Reformer, 21c ... Temperature sensor, 22 ... Cooling part (heat exchange part), 23 ... Carbon monoxide shift reaction part (CO shift part), 24 ... carbon monoxide selective oxidation reaction part (CO selective oxidation part), 25 ... combustion part, 26 ... evaporation part, 27 ... combustion gas flow path, 28 ... heat insulation part, 41 ... fuel supply pipe, 42 ... Reforming fuel pump, 43 ... Reforming fuel valve, 44 ... Combustion fuel supply pipe, 45 ... Combustion fuel pump, 46 ... Combustion fuel valve, 51 ... Steam supply pipe, 52 ... Water supply pipe, 53 ... reforming water pump, 54 ... reforming water valve, 61 ... oxidation air supply pipe, 62 ... oxidation air pump, 63 ... oxidation air valve, 64 ... combustion air supply pipe, 65 ... combustion air pump, 66 ... Combustion air valve, 67 ... Cathode air supply pipe, 68 Cathode air pump, 69 ... cathode air valve 71 ... reformed gas supply pipe, 72 ... offgas supply pipe, 73 ... bypass pipe, 74 ... first reformed gas valve (outlet valve), 75 ... off valve 76 ... Second reformed gas valve (outlet valve) 81, 82 ... exhaust pipe, 89 ... connecting pipe, 90 ... pressure sensor.

Claims (2)

A reforming section that is supplied with reforming fuel and steam to generate reformed gas;
An evaporating section that heats and boiles the reforming water and supplies the steam to the reforming section;
A carbon monoxide reducing section that reduces and derives carbon monoxide in the reformed gas supplied from the reforming section by oxidizing with the supplied oxidizing air;
A combustion unit that burns combustion fuel with a combustion oxidant gas and heats the reforming unit with the combustion gas ;
Immediately before stopping, the outlet valve of the reformer is closed to fill the reformer with the reforming fuel, and when the stop is stopped, the supply of the reforming fuel to the reforming unit is stopped and the evaporation unit the shutdown method of the reformer to supply the reforming water and the combustion of the combustion unit, characterized in that the make stop to. 2. The operation of a reformer according to claim 1, wherein the reforming fuel supply is stopped and the oxidizing air is circulated for a predetermined time from the time when the reforming water supply and the combustion section combustion are stopped. How to stop.

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