JP2698482B2 - Power generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power generator using a bottomed solid oxide fuel cell device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, fuel cells have attracted attention as power generation devices. This is a device that can directly convert the chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy. It is not restricted by the Carnot cycle, so it has essentially high energy conversion efficiency and can diversify the fuel (naphtha, natural gas). ,
(Methanol, coal reformed gas, heavy oil, etc.), low pollution, and power generation efficiency is not affected by the scale of equipment, and is a very promising technology. Especially solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
Operates at a high temperature of 1000 ° C, the electrode reaction is extremely active, does not require expensive precious metal catalysts such as platinum, has a small polarization, and has a relatively high output voltage, so energy conversion efficiency is higher than other fuel cells. Significantly higher than. Further, since all the structural materials are composed of solids, they have a stable and long life.

FIG. 5 shows a power generator using a bottomed cylindrical SOFC element. In FIG. 5, an air electrode 1 is provided on the surface of a cylindrical porous support 17 having a bottom.
8. The solid electrolyte 19 and the fuel electrode 20 are sequentially formed to form the bottomed cylindrical SOFC element 6. This SOFC element 6 is fixed at a predetermined position in the power generation chamber 12. However, usually SOF
A large number of C elements 6 are connected in series and in parallel to form an assembled battery, but in FIG.
Is shown only once. A fuel gas chamber 22 is located below the power generation chamber 12.
And the fuel gas chamber 22 and the power generation chamber 12 are separated by the bottomed partition wall 3. A heat insulating partition 21 is provided below the fuel gas chamber 22. An exhaust gas chamber 8 is provided above the power generation chamber 12, and the exhaust gas chamber 8 and the power generation chamber 12 are separated by an opening-side partition 7. A through-hole 7a is formed in the partition wall 7 on the opening end side.
The opening end of the FC element 6 is inserted. A heat insulating partition 11 is provided above the exhaust gas chamber 8, and an oxidizing gas supply pipe 10 is inserted through the through hole and held. The tip opening of the oxidizing gas supply pipe 10 is SO
The SOFC element 6 opens in the in-cylinder space 15 of the FC element 6 toward the bottomed portion of the SOFC element 6.

When the oxidizing gas is supplied from the oxidizing gas chamber to the oxidizing gas supply pipe 10 as shown by an arrow F during the operation of the power generator, the oxidizing gas flowing out of the oxidizing gas supply port is inverted at the bottomed portion, and the porous gas is supplied. It flows in the in-cylinder space 15 of the quality support 17 and flows out into the exhaust gas chamber 8 as shown by arrow D. On the other hand, when the fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas supply hole 21a of the heat insulating partition 21 at the bottom as shown by the arrow A, the pressure in the fuel gas chamber 22 increases, so that the fuel is supplied through the fuel gas supply port 3a of the bottomed partition 3. Gas is supplied into the power generation chamber 12 as shown by arrow B. When this fuel gas flows along the surface of the fuel electrode 20, the fuel gas and oxygen ions diffused in the solid electrolyte react on the surface of the fuel electrode 20, and as a result, the air electrode 18 and the fuel electrode 20 Current flows during The fuel gas used for power generation passes through the gap between the open end partition 7 and the open end of the SOFC element 6 and flows into the exhaust gas chamber 8 as shown by an arrow E. Since the SOFC element 6 is used at a high temperature of about 1000 ° C., the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 which can be configured without a seal portion can be said to be a preferable embodiment.

[0005]

In order to put an SOFC into practical use, it is necessary to reduce the cost and improve the power density. For this reason, it is required that the SOFC element 6 be lengthened to increase the power generation output per one. However, the SOFC having the configuration as shown in FIG. 5 has a problem that a remarkable temperature gradient is generated particularly due to the concentration gradient of the fuel gas flow. That is, since the fuel content is still large near the fuel gas supply port 3a, the amount of fuel consumed for the electrochemical reaction is large and the temperature rises in this vicinity. This temperature increase further activates the electrochemical reaction between oxygen ions and fuel at the fuel electrode 20.

On the other hand, as the distance from the fuel gas supply port 3a increases, the fuel concentration in the fuel gas decreases, and as a result, the amount of fuel consumed in the electrochemical reaction decreases. For this reason, the temperature of the fuel electrode 20 does not rise so much, and the electrochemical reaction becomes more inactive. Moreover, the fuel gas having a reduced concentration contains a considerable amount of CO ₂ and water vapor as a result of the electrochemical reaction, and these adhere to the surface of the fuel electrode 20 and hinder the reaction. The reaction becomes inactive. For this reason, a large temperature gradient occurs between the upstream side and the downstream side of the fuel gas flow, which may cause cracks when the power generation device is operated for a long period of time, and also has a bad influence on the power generation efficiency itself. And, this tendency, the SOFC element 6
Become more intense and prominent as the length increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to reduce the gradient of the fuel concentration in the fuel gas flowing through the power generation chamber in a power generation apparatus in which an assembled battery connected to a bottomed cylindrical SOFC element is installed in the power generation chamber to generate power. , To reduce the temperature difference caused by this.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a power generation apparatus having a plurality of bottomed tubular solid oxide fuel cells connected in series and in parallel to each other. This power generation device includes a power generation chamber, a fuel gas chamber, and a combustion chamber, and elements are arranged in the power generation chamber so as to extend substantially parallel to each other. The power generation chamber has an open end side partition provided on the open end side of the element, a bottomed side partition provided on the bottom side of the element so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the element, and an opening. It is surrounded by a side partition provided between the end partition and the bottomed partition so as to be substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the element. The power generation chamber is separated from the combustion chamber by the open end side partition. The power generation chamber is separated from the fuel gas supply chamber by the side partition and the bottomed side partition. A plurality of through holes are formed in the opening end side partition, and the opening end of the element is inserted into each of the through holes. The interconnector of the adjacent element and the fuel electrode are connected in series by metal felt. The fuel electrodes of adjacent elements are connected in parallel by a plurality of mutually separated metal felts, and the elements are arranged such that the arrangement direction of the elements connected in parallel is substantially parallel to the side partition. Have been. An oxidizing gas is supplied to the in-cylinder space of the element and discharged from the opening of the element into the combustion chamber. Fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas supply chamber to the power generation chamber through the side partition and the bottomed side partition, and the fuel gas supplied from the side partition separates a plurality of fuel electrodes of adjacent elements in parallel from each other. It is configured to pass through the gap of the metal felt.

The fuel gas refers to a gas containing a fuel such as hydrogen, reformed hydrogen, carbon monoxide and the like. “Oxidizing gas” refers to a gas containing an oxidizing agent such as oxygen or hydrogen peroxide.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a part of the power generator of FIG. The same reference numerals are given to the same functional members as the members in FIG. 5, and the description thereof may be omitted. Also,
FIG. 3 shows a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.

First, a bottomed tubular SOFC element 6 is connected in series and in parallel to form an assembled battery. At this time, FIG.
In FIG. 2, the number of columns in each of the series and the parallel is four, but the number of columns may be appropriately changed. An air electrode 18 is provided on the outer periphery of the bottomed cylindrical porous support 17, and a solid electrolyte 19 and a fuel electrode 20 are provided along the outer periphery of the air electrode 18. In the upper region in FIG. An interconnector 16 is provided on the electrode 18, and the connection terminal 13 is attached on the interconnector 16. Then, to connect the SOFC elements 6 in series,
The air electrode 18 of the SOFC element 6 and the fuel electrode 20 of the adjacent SOFC element are connected via the interconnector 16, the connection terminal 13, and the metal felt 9. The metal felt 9 and the interconnector 16 extend continuously along the length of the element 6. In order to connect the SOFC elements 6 in parallel, the metal electrodes 14 are connected between the fuel electrodes 20 of the adjacent SOFC elements 6. Each metal felt 14
The metal felts 14 are provided at a constant interval from each other, and there is a gap between the metal felts 14.

In this way, the SOFC elements 6 are connected in series and in parallel, and as shown in FIG.
An assembled battery in which the elements 6 are arranged is configured. However, FIG.
In FIG. 2, for the sake of convenience, the detailed structure and the like of each SOFC element 6 are not shown.
13 is shown in an integrated manner. The positive electrode and the negative electrode of the assembled battery thus configured were each fitted with a metal felt 9
Is electrically connected to the current collecting plate 5 via the. The current collectors 5 function as a pair of current collectors of the battery pack, and each current collector 5 is connected to a lead wire (not shown). The assembled battery and the current collector plate 5 are integrated into a power generation chamber 12.
To be housed.

Among the partitions forming the power generation chamber 12, an open-end partition 7 is provided at the open end of the bottomed cylindrical SOFC element 6, and the position of the SOFC element 6 is provided on the open-end partition 7. 4 × 4 rows of circular through-holes 7a are provided correspondingly, and the opening end of the SOFC element 6 is inserted into each of the circular through-holes 7a. An oxidizing gas supply pipe 10 is inserted into the in-cylinder space 15 of each SOFC element 6. The oxidizing gas supplied to the in-cylinder space 15 of each SOFC element 6 flows upward in the in-cylinder space 15 in FIG.
Flows into.

Among the partition walls forming the power generation chamber 12, SOFC
The bottomed partition wall 3 provided on the bottomed side of the element 6 is made of SO
It is substantially perpendicular to the length direction of the FC element 6.
In the present embodiment, the bottomed portion of the SOFC element 6 is placed on the bottomed partition 3. Further, among the partition walls forming the power generation chamber 12, the assembled battery including 16 SOFC elements 6 and 2
A pair of side partition walls 4 are provided so as to sandwich the current collector plates 5. These side partition walls 4 are substantially parallel to the length direction of the SOFC element 6, and a pair of side partition walls 4 are arranged substantially parallel to each other. The side partition wall 4 and the current collecting plate 5 face each other with a slight space therebetween. A substantially rectangular parallelepiped can body 1 made of a heat insulating material is formed so as to surround the bottomed side partition wall 3 and the pair of side wall partitions 4, and between the can body 1 and the bottomed side partition wall 3 and the side wall partition 4. Is provided with a fuel gas chamber 2. The fuel gas chamber 2 has a substantially U-shaped cross section in FIG. 1, and the upper end of the fuel gas chamber 2 and the exhaust gas chamber 8 are separated by the can body 1. Can 1
Is provided with a fuel gas supply port 1a at the bottom thereof.

A plurality of fuel gas supply ports 3a are regularly provided in the bottomed partition wall 3 at predetermined intervals. Further, each side partition 4 is provided with a fuel gas supply port 4a vertically and horizontally in the form of a base. Further, through holes 5a are formed in the current collecting plate 5 in a matrix shape in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the through holes 5a and the fuel gas supply ports 4a are aligned in size and position so that the gas passes through both. Make it easy.

When the power generator is operated, fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas supply port 1a to the fuel gas chamber 2 as shown by an arrow A. As a result, the pressure of the fuel gas chamber 2 rises, and fuel gas is supplied from each fuel gas supply port 3a into the power generation chamber 12 as shown by the arrow B. At the same time, the fuel gas is supplied into the power generation chamber 12 as shown by the arrow C through the fuel gas supply port 4a of each side partition 4 and the through hole 5a of each current collector plate 5. The fuel gas flows mainly in the vertical direction in FIG. The reason will be described later. The depleted fuel gas, which is sufficiently used for power generation, finally passes through the gap between each SOFC element 6 and the opening end partition 7 and flows into the exhaust gas chamber 8 as shown by arrow E, where it is mixed with the depleted oxidizing gas. You.

The air electrode 18 may be doped or undoped LaMnO ₃ , CaMnO ₃ , LaNiO ₃ , LaCo
LaMnO ₃ , which can be produced from a conductive perovskite oxide such as O ₃ or LaCrO ₃ and is doped with strontium, is preferred. The solid electrolyte 19 is preferably made of yttria-stabilized zirconia, yttria partially stabilized zirconia, or the like. In general, the fuel electrode 20 is preferably a nickel-zirconia cermet or a cobalt-zirconia cermet. The interconnector 16 may be a doped or undoped perovskite LaCr
O ₃ and LaMnO ₃ are preferred.

The side partition walls 4 are formed of a heat-resistant metal or ceramic which is resistant to the fuel gas used during the operation of the SOFC element and is stable at the operating temperature of the SOFC element. Such heat-resistant metals include, for example, Ni-
Cr, Ni-Fe-Cr, Ni-Fe-Cr-Al, Co-Ni-Cr, Fe-C
There are alloys of each composition such as r, Fe-Cr-Al.

According to this embodiment, the fuel gas is also supplied to the power generation chamber 12 from the so-called side wall 4 in the unit of a cell unit as shown in FIG. 6 can always be supplied to the side near the open end. Accordingly, the gradient of the fuel concentration in the power generation chamber 12 is reduced and made uniform, so that the temperature gradient in the length direction of the SOFC element 6 can be reduced. As a result, even if the power generation device is operated for a long time, cracks and the like hardly occur in the SOFC element 6, and the unevenness of the electrochemical reaction can be reduced, so that the power generation efficiency in each SOFC element 6 can be improved as compared with the related art. .

Conventionally, since the fuel gas is not supplied from the side partition 4 into the power generation chamber 12, the fuel gas chamber is not shown in FIG.
, Only on the lower side of the bottomed side partition 3, and the side partition 4
Since the outside was, for example, a low-temperature atmosphere, it was necessary to impart a considerable heat insulating effect to the side partition walls 4 themselves. In other words, the side partition 4 was designed as a heat insulating partition. Therefore, the side partition wall 4 must be considerably thick, for example, about several tens mm thick. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the fuel chamber 2 is filled with the high-temperature fuel gas, and a large heat insulating effect is obtained in this portion by the air cooling effect of the fuel gas. Therefore, since it is not necessary to design the side partition walls 4 to be heat-insulated, it is possible to reduce the size of the conventional power generator.

In this embodiment, it is also important that the flow of the fuel gas from the side wall 4 is made to be vertical in FIG. The elements are arranged so that the arrangement direction of the elements 6 connected in parallel is substantially parallel to the side wall 4. In the vertical direction in FIG. 2, that is, in the direction in which the SOFC elements 6 are connected in series, each SOFC element 6 is provided with a strip-shaped interconnector extending in the length direction, and correspondingly, a strip-shaped metal felt 9 is attached to the SOFC element 6. Because the space is closed, fuel gas is difficult to pass. On the other hand, the metal felt 14 for connecting the SOFC elements 6 in parallel is not a strip like the metal felt 9 or the interconnector 16 but at one or two places or at most several places between adjacent SOFC elements 6. , Spaced apart from each other. When the fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas supply chamber 2 to the power generation chamber through the side partition 4, the fuel gas supplied from the side partition 4 is separated from each other by connecting a plurality of fuel electrodes of adjacent elements in parallel. Easily pass through the gap of the metal felt 14. Therefore, if the fuel gas is supplied in the direction of arrow C, the fuel gas can be more easily spread over the entire area of the power generation chamber 12, so that the vicinity of the side wall 4 in the power generation chamber and the central portion of the power generation chamber Can be suppressed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the area and number of the fuel gas supply ports 4a and the through holes 5a are appropriately designed in order to make the fuel concentration more stable and uniform in the longitudinal direction of the SOFC element 6. There is a need.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view similar to FIG. 1, showing a power generator according to another embodiment. In the present embodiment, both the bottomed partition 23 and the pair of side partitions 24 are formed of a porous material. As a result, the fuel gas in the fuel gas chamber 2 flows through the bottomed partition 23 as shown by the arrow B and flows into the power generation chamber 12 due to the pressure difference between the exhaust gas chamber 8 and the fuel gas chamber 2, and the arrow C And flows into the power generation chamber 12 through the side wall 24 as shown in FIG. The fuel gas that has passed through the side partition 24 is
Further, it passes through the through hole 5a and flows along the surface of the fuel electrode. In this embodiment, the same effects as those of the embodiment of FIG. 1 can be obtained. Moreover, since the entire side partition 24 is made of a porous material, it is considered that the fuel gas can be supplied to the entire side partition 24 very uniformly.

However, if the same flow rate of fuel gas is supplied to the entire side partition 24, it is considered that the fuel concentration slightly increases near the bottomed portion in FIG.
Therefore, it is preferable to gradually increase the porosity from the lower end to the upper end of the side partition wall 24 in FIG. 4 so that the fuel gas permeation amount gradually increases. In addition, the bottomed side partition wall 23 and the side partition wall 24 must be stable against high-temperature fuel gas. In this regard, it is preferable to form them from a porous metal obtained by sintering a reduction-resistant metal powder or a porous cermet obtained by sintering a mixture of a reduction-resistant metal powder and a ceramic powder. Here, examples of the ceramic powder include ceramic powder mainly composed of alumina or zirconia. Ni-
Cr, Ni-Fe-Cr, Ni-Fe-Cr-Al, Co-Ni-Cr, Fe-C
Examples thereof include powders of alloys such as r, Fe-Cr-Al, and powders of Ni, Co, and Fe.

The open porosity of the side partition wall 24 is 10 to 90%.
It is preferable that When the open porosity exceeds 90%, the strength of the side partition wall 24 decreases, and when the open porosity is less than 10%, the permeation amount of the fuel gas decreases.

The following two methods can be used to provide a gradient in the open porosity of the side partition wall 24. (1) When manufacturing the side partition wall 24 made of porous metal or porous cermet by firing, one end of the powder molded body having the shape of the side partition wall is held, and the other end of the powder molded body is evenly distributed. Hang the powder compact with a weight. As a result, a relatively large load is applied to the side near the one end of the powder compact, and the powder compact is slightly elongated, and the open porosity increases. In addition, since a load is not so much applied to the side near the other end of the powder compact, the open porosity is relatively small. (2) Produce a wall-shaped sintered body made of porous metal or porous cermet. Next, the filler is impregnated into the open pores of the sintered body to fill the open pores to some extent, and then the sintered body is dried or heated to fix the filler. On this occasion,
By changing the impregnation amount of the filler in each part of the wall-shaped sintered body, a gradient can be provided in the open porosity of the sintered body.

In order to control the amount of fuel gas permeated from the side partition 24, there are the following methods. That is, the side wall 24
Has a double structure. Specifically, first, a wall-shaped sintered body made of a porous metal is manufactured. In this sintered body, the open porosity is constant. Next, a plurality of rows of the slurry are applied to the sintered body at intervals from each other in a strip shape and sintered. At this time, if the width of the slurry applied in a band shape is increased or the interval between the slurries is reduced, the permeation of the fuel gas can be suppressed. Conversely, if the width of the belt-shaped slurry is reduced or the interval between the slurries is increased, the permeation of the fuel gas is promoted. Furthermore, if the particle diameter of the reduction-resistant metal powder and ceramic powder contained in the slurry is reduced, the penetration of the fuel gas becomes difficult. If the particle diameter is increased, the penetration of the fuel gas becomes easy. In this case, it is preferable that the wall-shaped sintered body is used as a backup material toward the fuel gas chamber side, and the side coated with the slurry and sintered is directed to the power generation chamber.

In each of the above embodiments, each SOFC element 6 is held vertically. That is, the length direction of each SOFC element 6 was vertical. However, it is also possible to hold the respective SOFC elements 6 in the horizontal direction and make the length direction of each of the SOFC elements 6 coincide with the horizontal direction to manufacture the power generation device.

Further, the temperature gradient in the longitudinal direction of the SOFC element was measured using each of the power generators shown in FIGS. However, measurement points a, b, c, d, and e as shown in FIG. 1 were selected as the measurement points, and the distance between the measurement points was 100 mm. The fuel gas used was 96% hydrogen and 4% water vapor, and the oxidizing gas used was air.
A thermocouple was used to measure the temperature of the SOFC element.
Further, the output per SOFC element shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 was also compared. The results are shown below. As can be seen from the above results, according to the power generator of FIG. 1, the temperature gradient between the measurement points a to e can be reduced, and the overall output can be increased.

[0030]

According to the present invention, among the partition walls forming the power generation chamber accommodating the assembled battery and the current collector, the bottomed cylindrical SO is used.
Since the fuel gas is supplied to the power generation chamber from the side partition provided substantially parallel to the length direction of the FC element,
Fresh and less depleted fuel gas can also be constantly supplied to the side near the open end of each SOFC element. Therefore, the gradient of the fuel concentration in the power generation chamber is reduced and uniformized,
The temperature gradient in the length direction of the SOFC element can be reduced. As a result, even if the power generator is operated for a long time, the SOFC
Since cracks and the like are less likely to occur in the element and unevenness of the electrochemical reaction can be reduced, the power generation efficiency of each SOFC element can be improved as compared with the conventional one.

In addition, since the high-temperature fuel gas is supplied from the outside of the side partition to the power generation chamber, the side partition is provided with a heat insulating function as in the prior art, and the heat in the power generation chamber is reduced. There is no need to keep them from escaping. Therefore, even if the side wall is thinned, the power generation chamber can be sufficiently maintained at the operating temperature of the SOFC element, so that the power generation device can be downsized. Moreover, when the fuel gas is supplied from the fuel gas supply chamber into the power generation chamber through the side partition, the fuel gas supplied from the side partition is separated from each other by connecting the fuel electrodes of the adjacent elements in parallel. Easily passes through gaps in metal felt. Therefore, the fuel gas can be more easily spread over the entire area of the power generation chamber, so that the temperature difference between the vicinity of the side partition and the center of the power generation chamber can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view schematically showing a power generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the power generator of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the assembled battery shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing a power generator according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional power generator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Can body 2, 22 Fuel gas chamber 3, 23 Bottom side partition 3a, 4a Fuel gas supply port 4, 24 Side partition 5 Current collecting plate 5a Through hole 6 Bottom cylindrical SOFC element 7 Open end side partition 7a Through hole through which the open end of the SOFC element is inserted 9 Strip-shaped metal felt 10 Oxidizing gas supply pipe 12 Power generation chamber 16 Strip-shaped interconnector A, B, C, E, G Fuel gas flow D, F Oxidation gas flow

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A power generation device comprising a plurality of bottomed tubular solid oxide fuel cells connected in series and in parallel to each other, comprising a power generation chamber, a fuel gas chamber, and a combustion chamber. In the power generation chamber, the elements are arranged so as to extend substantially parallel to each other, and the power generation chamber has an opening end side partition provided on an opening end side of the element and a length direction of the element. A bottomed partition provided on the bottomed side of the element so as to be substantially perpendicular to the element, and substantially parallel to the length direction of the element between the open end partition and the bottomed partition. And the power generation chamber is separated from the combustion chamber by the opening end side partition, and the power generation chamber is separated by the side partition and the bottomed side partition. Is separated from the fuel gas supply chamber, A plurality of through-holes are formed in the opening-end-side partition, and the opening ends of the elements are inserted into the respective through-holes, and the interconnector and the fuel electrode of the adjacent element are formed by metal felt. The fuel electrodes of adjacent elements are connected in parallel, and the fuel electrodes of the adjacent elements are connected in parallel by a plurality of mutually separated metal felts, and the arrangement direction of the elements connected in parallel is substantially equal to the side partition wall. Each element is arranged so as to be parallel, and oxidizing gas is supplied to the in-cylinder space of the element and discharged from the opening of the element to the combustion chamber. And supplying fuel gas into the power generation chamber through the bottomed side partition, and at this time, the fuel gas supplied from the side partition connects the fuel electrodes of the adjacent elements in parallel. Characterized by being configured to pass through a gap between a plurality of metal felts separated from each other. 2. The power generator according to claim 1, wherein said side partition walls are made of a porous material. 3. A current collecting plate electrically connected to positive electrodes of the plurality of elements and a current collecting plate electrically connected to negative electrodes of the plurality of elements are housed in the power generation chamber. 3. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein each of the current collecting plates is disposed substantially parallel to the side partition wall, and a fuel gas passage hole is formed in each of the current collecting plates. A power generator as described.