JP5676336B2 - Fuel reformer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel reformer for reforming raw fuel gas using steam.

  In order to operate a fuel cell using raw fuel gas containing hydrocarbons such as natural gas, it is necessary to perform fuel reforming by mixing raw fuel gas and water vapor. In order to generate water vapor for use in the reforming treatment, combustion heat obtained by burning a combustible gas is often used. Patent Document 1 describes an evaporator that heats and evaporates supplied water for evaporation using combustion heat transmitted from the combustor. Specifically, in the evaporator described in Patent Document 1, evaporation water is dropped and supplied to the inside of the container while the combustion heat is directly applied to the outside of the container constituting the evaporator and the container is heated. . As a result, the dropped evaporation water is vaporized on the inner surface of the container.

  In addition, in the conventional evaporator which employ | adopts the system which dripping the water for evaporation inside the container as described in patent document 1, there exists a possibility that generation | occurrence | production of stable water vapor | steam cannot be performed. For example, if the amount of evaporating water dripped inside the container of the evaporator increases, only a portion of the evaporating water in contact with the inner surface of the container is first, even if the container is sufficiently heated. Vaporized to form a vapor layer, the remaining evaporation water that did not come into contact with the inner surface of the container did not vaporize because sufficient heat was not transferred, and as a result, the amount of evaporation water supplied The amount of water vapor may not be obtained. Alternatively, a part of the water for evaporation that has been supplied and contacted with the inner surface of the container is instantly vaporized by sudden bumping, and the rest is instantaneously contacted with the inner surface of the container at the point where it was scattered by the bumping. There is a risk that stable vaporization will not be performed. Also, if the amount of evaporating water dripped inside the evaporator vessel is too small, all of the evaporating water is instantly vaporized to generate water vapor, and then until the evaporating water is dripped. May not occur (i.e., pulsation of vapor concentration may occur).

  Patent Document 2 describes an evaporator that can suppress pulsation of vapor concentration, which can be a problem in the invention described in Patent Document 1. Specifically, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, a water storage unit for storing the evaporation water is provided inside the evaporator instead of dropping and supplying the evaporation water, and the evaporation water is temporarily held in the water storage unit. It is vaporized after being preheated.

JP 2008-7349 A JP 2010-238444 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, the amount of water vapor generated in the evaporator and supplied to the reformer is not determined by the amount of evaporation water supplied to the evaporator, but supplied from the combustor to the evaporator. It depends on the amount of combustion heat generated. That is, since the method of vaporizing the evaporation water already stored in the evaporator is adopted, the amount of heat given to the stored evaporation water (that is, the amount of combustion heat given from the combustor to the evaporator) The amount of water vapor generated increases by increasing the amount, and the amount of water vapor generated decreases by reducing the amount of heat given to the evaporation water. Therefore, in order to finely control the increase / decrease in the amount of water vapor to be generated, it is necessary to finely control the amount of combustion heat generated in the combustor, but in reality such fine control is difficult. Furthermore, when the output of the fuel cell fluctuates, the amount of steam supplied to the reformer must be changed immediately, but even if the amount of combustion heat given from the combustor to the evaporator is changed, the desired amount of steam can be obtained immediately. As a result, there arises a problem that the responsiveness is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel reformer capable of stably controlling the amount of water vapor generated by an evaporator.

In order to achieve the above object, the characteristic configuration of the fuel reformer according to the present invention is as follows:
A combustor that combusts a combustible gas to generate combustion heat, and an evaporator that heats and evaporates the supplied evaporating water using the combustion heat transmitted from the combustor;
A fuel reformer comprising a reformer that reforms the supplied raw fuel gas using water vapor generated in the evaporator,
The container constituting the evaporator is located between the outermost structure to which the combustion heat is directly transmitted and the outermost structure between the combustor, and is supplied to the inside of the container. possess an internal structure that water is provided in a position in contact,
The surface of the internal structure that comes into contact with the evaporating water has a flat portion that is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporating water spreads,
The reformer is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator along the supply direction of the evaporation water to the evaporator, adjacent to the evaporator, and the evaporator and the reformer are air permeable. And the steam generated in the planar portion is supplied to the reformer through the partition member .

According to the above characteristic configuration, the internal structure with which the supplied evaporation water contacts is provided farther from the combustor than the outermost structure to which combustion heat generated in the combustor is directly transmitted. In other words, since the combustion heat is indirectly transmitted to the internal structure via the outermost structure, the combustion heat transmitted to the inner structure is smaller than the combustion heat transmitted to the outermost structure. As a result, the evaporation water can be prevented from being vaporized momentarily compared with the case where the evaporation water is brought into contact with the outermost structure. For example, when evaporating water is brought into contact with the outermost structure, a part of the evaporating water is instantly vaporized, and the rest is instantly vaporized at the point where the water is scattered by the bumping. There is a risk that stable vaporization will not be performed. However, in this feature configuration, since the evaporating water is brought into contact with the relatively low temperature internal structure, the occurrence of bumping of the evaporating water is suppressed, and the evaporating water evaporates stably.
In addition, since evaporation of evaporation water proceeds stably, the amount of water vapor generated in the evaporator can be changed according to the increase or decrease in the amount of evaporation water supplied to the evaporator. That is, when the output of the fuel cell is to be changed, the amount of water vapor generated by the evaporator and supplied to the reformer can be changed quickly.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a fuel reformer that can stably control the amount of water vapor generated in the evaporator.
Further, when the layer of evaporation water staying on the internal structure becomes thick, it becomes difficult for the heat of the internal structure to be evenly transmitted to all the evaporation water (especially to the evaporation water in the upper layer portion).
However, according to the present characteristic configuration, the evaporation water supplied spreads in the planar portion of the internal structure, and therefore the thickness of the evaporation water staying on the internal structure is reduced. That is, heat is easily transmitted from the internal structure to all the evaporation water. In particular, the evaporating water can continue to receive heat from the internal structure satisfactorily in the process of gradually spreading after being supplied onto the internal structure.

  Still another characteristic configuration of the fuel reforming apparatus according to the present invention is a weir capable of damming the water for evaporation existing in the planar portion, all or part of the periphery of the planar portion of the internal structure. The structure is provided.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, by providing the weir structure, it is possible to limit the range in which the evaporation water spreads.

  Yet another characteristic configuration of the fuel reformer according to the present invention is that a surface of the internal structure that is in contact with the evaporating water is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, the evaporation water can easily spread on the surface of the internal structure due to the effect of the hydrophilic treatment. As a result, heat is easily transmitted from the internal structure to the evaporation water supplied to the evaporator, so that evaporation of the evaporation water is stably performed.

  Still another characteristic configuration of the fuel reformer according to the present invention is that the internal structure is formed so that the supplied water for evaporation flows in a direction toward the reformer on the downstream side. .

  According to the above characteristic configuration, the evaporation water can be vaporized while being moved to a position close to the reformer. As a result, the generated steam is easily supplied to the reformer.

  Still another characteristic configuration of the fuel reforming apparatus according to the present invention is that the evaporator supports or forms a member that forms the inner structure on a wall surface inside a container that forms the outermost structure. It is in the point comprised by joining.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, an evaporator can be obtained by providing and supporting or joining an appropriately shaped internal structure inside the container forming the outermost structure. That is, in manufacturing the evaporator, the outermost structure may be diverted in a container similar to the conventional one, and only the inner structure may be newly prepared and installed inside the container (outermost structure). By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to install an internal structure even in an existing evaporator container.

It is a figure showing composition of a fuel cell power generator provided with a fuel reformer of a 1st embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the internal structure of the evaporator with which the fuel reformer of 1st Embodiment is equipped, and the reformer from the side. It is a figure which shows the structure of the evaporator of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the evaporator of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the evaporator of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the evaporator of 4th Embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the internal structure of the evaporator with which the fuel reformer of 5th Embodiment is equipped, and the reformer from the side. It is the partially notched perspective view which looked at the internal structure of the evaporator with which another fuel reformer is equipped, and a reformer from the side. It is the partially notched perspective view which looked at the structure inside the evaporator with which another fuel reformer is provided from the side.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a fuel cell power generator including a fuel reformer R according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the evaporator 2 and the reformer 3 included in the fuel reformer R of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the evaporator 2 as viewed obliquely from above. The fuel cell power generator is a fuel reformer R that generates a reformed gas mainly composed of hydrogen, and a fuel cell that generates power using the reformed gas and oxygen (air) generated by the fuel reformer R. The unit 21 is provided inside the apparatus housing 1. As will be described later, the fuel reformer R of the first embodiment includes a combustor 22, an evaporator 2, and a reformer 3.

[Fuel cell part]
The fuel cell unit 21 is electrically connected in series with a plurality of solid oxide cells 26 having a fuel flow part 24 through which reformed gas flows and an air flow part 25 through which air flows. It is composed of a cell stack prepared in the state. Although not shown, the cell 26 is configured in a solid oxide type having a solid electrolyte layer between a fuel electrode and an air electrode. The reformed gas is supplied to the fuel electrode by flowing the reformed gas through the fuel flow portion 24, and the air is supplied to the air electrode by flowing air through the air flow portion 25. The fuel cell unit 21 includes a plurality of cells 26 arranged in a horizontal direction in a posture in which the reformed gas discharge port 24e of the fuel flow unit 24 and the air discharge port 25e of the air flow unit 25 face upward. 1 is installed inside. In addition, as the cell 26, the cell of the various shapes and structures provided with the fuel flow part 24 and the air flow part 25 can be used, About the shape and structure, it is not limited above.

  In addition, the fuel cell unit 21 is provided with a gas manifold 27 that receives the reformed gas supplied from the reformer 3 through the reformed gas supply path 23. The plurality of cells 26 are arranged above the gas manifold 27 as described above, and the gas manifold 27 and a gas introduction port (not shown) at the lower end of the fuel flow portion 24 in the plurality of cells 26 are arranged. Communication connection is established. Then, the reformed gas supplied to the gas manifold 27 is supplied from the gas introduction port at the lower end to the fuel flow portions 24 of the plurality of cells 26 so that each fuel flow portion 24 is moved from the lower side to the upper side. It flows and is used for power generation reaction. The exhaust reformed gas after being subjected to the power generation reaction is discharged from the reformed gas discharge port 24e at the upper end.

  The apparatus housing 1 is provided with an air inlet 28, and an air supply path 29 is connected to the air inlet 28. By the operation of the blower 30, air is supplied into the apparatus housing 1 through the air supply path 29. An air supply hole (not shown) that connects the inside of the apparatus housing 1 and the inside of the air flow portion 25 is provided in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the air flow portion 25 in each of the plurality of cells 26. Air in the device casing 1 is supplied to the air flow portions 25 of each of the plurality of cells 26 through the air supply holes, and each air flow portion 25 flows from the lower side to the upper side to be used for a power generation reaction. Is done. The exhaust air after being subjected to the power generation reaction is exhausted from the upper air exhaust port 25e.

  Above the fuel cell unit 21, exhaust reformed gas discharged from the reformed gas discharge port 24 e of the fuel flow part 24 of each cell 26 and exhaust air discharged from the air discharge port 25 e of the air flow part 25. A combustion space is formed. That is, the combustor 22 is realized by the fuel cell unit 21. In addition, as will be described later, the integrally configured evaporator 2 and reformer 3 are provided adjacent to the combustion space above the fuel cell unit 21 that functions as the combustor 22.

  In the apparatus housing 1, a discharge portion 31 that discharges combustion exhaust gas generated in the combustor 22 to the outside is formed on the lower surface portion or the like. And in the apparatus housing | casing 1, the combustion catalyst part 32 (for example, platinum-type catalyst) which removes the carbon monoxide gas in the combustion exhaust gas discharged | emitted from the discharge part 31 outside is provided.

[Fuel reformer]
The fuel reformer R includes a combustor 22, an evaporator 2, and a reformer 3 realized by the fuel cell unit 21.
The combustor 22 burns combustible gas and generates combustion heat. Specifically, as described above, the combustor 22 includes the exhaust reformed gas (combustible gas) discharged from the reformed gas discharge port 24 e of the fuel flow part 24 of each cell 26 and the air flow part 25. The exhaust air discharged from the air discharge port 25e is combusted to generate combustion heat.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the container C1 constituting the evaporator 2 and the container C2 constituting the reformer 3 are constituted by a single casing C. That is, the evaporator 2 and the reformer 3 partition the internal space of the single casing C into an upstream area and a downstream area using a partition member 33 having air permeability, and evaporate the upstream area. The downstream section is formed as the reformer 3. In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the internal space of the casing C in the portion of the evaporator 2 in the upstream section and the cross-sectional area of the internal space of the casing C in the portion of the reformer 3 in the downstream section are the same. Is formed. A raw fuel gas supply pipe 7 to which the raw fuel gas (G) is supplied and an evaporation water supply pipe 6 to which evaporation water is supplied are drawn into the internal space of the evaporator 2 from the outside of the container C1. The raw fuel gas and the evaporating water are supplied into the upstream area used as the evaporator 2.

  The evaporator 2 evaporates the supplied evaporation water by heating it using the combustion heat transmitted from the combustor 22. The evaporation water supplied to the evaporator 2 is water stored in the evaporation water tank 8. That is, the evaporation water stored in the evaporation water tank 8 is supplied to the evaporator 2 through the evaporation water supply pipe 6 connected to the evaporation water tank 8. Specifically, when the evaporation water pump 9 is operated, the evaporation water stored in the evaporation water tank 8 flows through the evaporation water supply pipe 6 and flows into the evaporator 2.

  The reformer 3 reforms the supplied raw fuel gas using the steam generated by the evaporator 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the reformer 3 is filled with a reforming catalyst 3a, and the raw fuel gas is reformed by the catalytic action of the reforming catalyst 3a. A raw fuel gas is supplied to the reformer 3 through a raw fuel gas supply pipe 7. The raw fuel gas supply pipe 7 is provided with a booster pump 10. Further, the raw fuel gas supply pipe 7 on the downstream side of the booster pump 10 is provided with a desulfurizer 11 for removing sulfur compounds contained in the raw fuel gas (for example, city gas). When the booster pump 10 is operated, the raw fuel gas flows through the raw fuel gas supply pipe 7 and is desulfurized by the desulfurizer 11 and then flows into the evaporator 2.

[Evaporator configuration]
Next, the configuration of the evaporator 2 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the container C <b> 1 constituting the evaporator 2 has an outermost structure between the outermost structure 2 a to which combustion heat generated in the combustor 22 is directly transmitted and the combustor 22. It has an internal structure 2b that is located across the body 2a and is provided at a position where the evaporating water supplied to the inside of the container C1 comes into contact. 3A is a perspective view for explaining the internal configuration of the evaporator 2, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the evaporator 2. FIG. The raw fuel gas supply pipe 7 and the evaporation water supply pipe 6 are drawn into the container C1 constituting the evaporator 2, and the tips of the supply pipes are opened inside the container C1. Then, the evaporating water supplied to the inside of the container C1 through the evaporating water supply pipe 6 flows out from the tip of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 onto the inner structure 2b, so that the surface of the inner structure 2b, the evaporating water, Touch. In the present embodiment, the height of the tip of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 is slightly higher than the internal structure 2b. That is, since the tip of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 is opened at a position close to the internal structure 2b, the evaporating water flowing out from the tip of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 is dropped intermittently. Instead, it can be supplied in such a state that it continuously reaches the surface of the internal structure 2b while staying together. As a result, a constant amount of evaporation water can be continuously and stably supplied to the surface of the internal structure 2b.

  In addition, the evaporator 2 is configured by supporting or joining a member forming the internal structure 2b with a wall surface inside the container C1 forming the outermost structure 2a. Specifically, the internal structure 2b is produced, for example, by bending a metal plate-like member, pressing, cutting, joining, or the like. The surface of the internal structure 2b that comes into contact with the evaporation water is formed in a basin shape for receiving the evaporation water supplied from above.

  The basal part P of the internal structure 2b is provided with a front end part Pf, a rear end part Pr, and a side part Ps around the bottom part Pb when the direction from the evaporator 2 toward the reformer 3 is the front. Consists of states. In addition, the internal structure 2 b is formed in a longitudinal shape along the direction from the evaporator 2 toward the reformer 3. The bottom part Pb of the basin-shaped part P of the internal structure 2b is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporation water is spread. In other words, the surface of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporation water contacts has a flat surface portion (that is, the bottom portion Pb). On the bottom portion Pb as the flat portion, the supplied evaporation water spreads, so the thickness of the evaporation water layer staying on the internal structure 2b is reduced. That is, when the evaporation water layer staying on the internal structure 2b becomes thick, the heat of the internal structure 2b becomes difficult to be transmitted uniformly to all the evaporation water (especially to the evaporation water in the upper layer portion). When the thickness of the evaporating water layer staying on the internal structure 2b is reduced as in the present embodiment, heat is easily transferred from the internal structure 2b to all evaporating water equally. In particular, the evaporating water can continue to receive heat from the internal structure 2b satisfactorily in the process of flowing on the bottom Pb and gradually spreading after being supplied to the internal structure 2b.

  More specifically, since the front end portion of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 in the evaporator 2 opens toward the downstream reformer 3, the evaporating water passes through the rear end portion Pr of the internal structure 2b. Outflow from the side toward the front end Pf. And since the bottom part Pb as a plane part is installed so that it may become horizontal, the evaporating water supplied toward the direction of the front-end part Pf with respect to the bottom part Pb near the rear-end part Pr of the internal structure 2b Spreads thinly while flowing on the bottom Pb in the direction of the front end Pf. The evaporation water evaporates while the evaporation water flows while continuously receiving heat from the internal structure 2b. In this way, on the bottom Pb of the internal structure 2b, evaporation water is supplied to the rear (rear end Pr side), and the amount of water decreases by evaporation as it goes to the front (front end Pf). The evaporating water supplied to 2b flows in a direction toward the downstream reformer 3 on the internal structure 2b.

  Furthermore, a front end portion Pf, a rear end portion Pr, and a side portion Ps as a weir structure capable of blocking the evaporation water existing in the bottom portion Pb are provided around the entire bottom portion Pb (planar portion) of the internal structure 2b. Is provided. As a result, it is possible to limit the range in which the evaporation water spreads. In particular, the evaporation water can be prevented from overflowing from the internal structure 2b. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front end portion Pf close to the reformer 3 has a lower height from the bottom portion Pb than the rear end portion Pr away from the reformer 3. Yes. Therefore, even if evaporating water is stored in the basin-shaped portion P of the internal structure 2b, the stored evaporating water overflows from the lower front end portion Pf of the weir.

  As described above, the internal structure 2b with which the supplied evaporation water contacts is provided farther from the combustor 22 than the outermost structure 2a to which the combustion heat generated in the combustor 22 is directly transmitted. That is, since the combustion heat is indirectly transmitted to the internal structure 2b through the outermost structure 2a, the combustion heat transmitted to the internal structure 2b is smaller than the combustion heat transmitted to the outermost structure 2a. As a result, it is possible to prevent the evaporation of the evaporation water from being instantaneously intense as compared with the case where the evaporation water is brought into contact with the outermost structure 2a. For example, when evaporating water is brought into contact with the outermost structure 2a, a part of the evaporating water is instantly vaporized and the rest is instantly vaporized at the point where the water is scattered by the bumping. There is a risk that stable vaporization will not be performed. However, in this embodiment, since the evaporating water is brought into contact with the relatively low temperature internal structure 2b, the occurrence of bumping of evaporating water is suppressed, and the evaporating water evaporates stably.

  In addition, the combustion heat generated in the combustor 22 is transmitted to the internal structure 2b via the outermost structure 2a. After being relaxed by the outer structure 2a, it is transmitted to the inner structure 2b. In other words, even if the combustion state in the combustor 22 fluctuates, the heat transmitted to the internal structure 2b changes gently without following the fluctuation sensitively, so the amount of water vapor generated in the internal structure 2b is reduced. It can be prevented from changing sensitively.

  Further, the surface of the internal structure 2b that comes into contact with the evaporating water may be subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. Due to the effect of the hydrophilization treatment, the evaporation water does not gather so as to have a small surface area at a specific portion of the surface of the internal structure 2b, but the evaporation water is more easily spread on the surface of the internal structure 2b. As a result, heat is easily transmitted from the internal structure 2b to the evaporation water supplied to the evaporator 2, so that the evaporation water can be stably vaporized.

Second Embodiment
The fuel reformer of the second embodiment is the same as that shown in the first embodiment except that the shape of the internal structure of the evaporator is different from the shape shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, only the shape of the internal structure of the evaporator according to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the evaporator 2 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the evaporator 2 according to the second embodiment.
Also in this embodiment, the internal structure 2b is located with the outermost structure 2a sandwiched between it and the combustor 22, and is provided at a position where the evaporation water supplied to the inside of the container C1 comes into contact. Then, the evaporating water supplied to the inside of the container C1 through the evaporating water supply pipe 6 flows out from the tip of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 onto the inner structure 2b, so that the surface of the inner structure 2b, the evaporating water, Touch. In addition, the evaporator 2 is configured by supporting or joining a member forming the internal structure 2b with a wall surface inside the container C1 forming the outermost structure 2a. Specifically, the internal structure 2b is produced, for example, by bending a metal plate-like member, pressing, cutting, joining, or the like. The surface of the internal structure 2b that comes into contact with the evaporation water is formed in a basin shape for receiving the evaporation water supplied from above.

  When the direction from the evaporator 2 toward the reformer 3 is the front, the tray-like portion P of the internal structure 2b of the present embodiment has a front end portion Pf, a rear end portion Pr, and a side portion Ps around the bottom portion Pb. It is comprised in the state provided. Also in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the bottom portion Pb of the basin-shaped portion P of the internal structure 2b is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporation water is spread. In other words, the surface of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporation water contacts has a flat surface portion (that is, the bottom portion Pb). Furthermore, the side part Ps of the internal structure 2b is composed of an upward ascending side part Ps1 and a downwardly facing down side part Ps2 with respect to the bottom part Pb. The bottom portion Pb is connected between the two ascending side portions Ps1, and the two descending side portions Ps2 are supported or joined in contact with the inner wall surface of the container C1. For example, the side portion Ps formed of a single metal plate-like member can be configured to be bent into an ascending side portion Ps1 and a descending side portion Ps2.

<Third Embodiment>
The fuel reformer of the third embodiment is the same as that shown in the first embodiment except that the shape of the internal structure of the evaporator is different from the shape shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, only the shape of the internal structure of the evaporator according to the third embodiment will be described.

Fig.5 (a) is a perspective view explaining the structure inside the evaporator 2 of 3rd Embodiment, FIG.5 (b) is sectional drawing of the evaporator 2 of 3rd Embodiment.
When the direction from the evaporator 2 to the reformer 3 is the front, the tray-like portion P of the internal structure 2b of the present embodiment has a front end Pf and a rear end Pr in front and rear of the bottom Pb, respectively. It is configured in the provided state. Also in this embodiment, as in the above embodiment, the bottom portion Pb of the basin-shaped portion P of the internal structure 2b is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporation water is spread. In other words, the surface of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporation water contacts has a flat surface portion (that is, the bottom portion Pb). And the left-right side part of the bottom part Pb is directly joined with respect to the inner wall face of the container C1. That is, in the present embodiment, the periphery of the bottom portion Pb (planar portion) of the internal structure 2b is only partially surrounded by the front end portion Pf and the rear end portion Pr as the dam structure. However, the portion of the bottom Pb of the internal structure 2b that is not surrounded by the front end portion Pf and the rear end portion Pr is directly joined by the inner wall surface of the container C1, so that the inner wall surface of the container C1 is the water for evaporation. Substantially function as a dam structure that can dampen the dam. As a result, the periphery of the bottom portion Pb of the internal structure 2b is surrounded by the front end portion Pf, the rear end portion Pr, and the inner wall surface of the container C1, and the spread of the evaporation water is limited in the surrounded portion.

<Fourth embodiment>
The fuel reformer of the fourth embodiment is the same as that shown in the first embodiment except that the shape of the internal structure of the evaporator is different from the shape shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, only the shape of the internal structure of the evaporator of the fourth embodiment will be described.

Fig.6 (a) is a perspective view explaining the structure inside the evaporator 2 of 3rd Embodiment, FIG.6 (b) is sectional drawing of the evaporator 2 of 3rd Embodiment.
When the direction from the evaporator 2 toward the reformer 3 is the front, the tray-like portion P of the internal structure 2b of the present embodiment has a front end portion Pf, a rear end portion Pr, and a side portion Ps around the bottom portion Pb. It is comprised in the state provided. Also in this embodiment, as in the above embodiment, the bottom portion Pb of the basin-shaped portion P of the internal structure 2b is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporation water is spread. In other words, the surface of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporation water contacts has a flat surface portion (that is, the bottom portion Pb). Further, two leg portions Pl are connected to the bottom of the bottom portion Pb to support the bottom portion Pb from below. The two legs Pl are joined to the inner wall surface of the container C1.

<Fifth Embodiment>
The fuel reformer of the fifth embodiment is the same as that shown in the first embodiment except that the structure of the evaporator is different from that shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, only the structure of the evaporator of the fifth embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the internal structures of the evaporator 2 and the reformer 3 provided in the fuel reformer R of the fifth embodiment when viewed from the side, and FIG. 7B is the fifth embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the evaporator 2 of a form.
In this embodiment, the container C1 of the evaporator 2 has a double bottom structure. Then, the inner side of the double bottom structure functions as the inner structure 2d, and the outer side functions as the outermost structure 2c. In addition, the internal structure 2 b is formed in a longitudinal shape along the direction from the evaporator 2 toward the reformer 3. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7B, a U-shaped metallic or ceramic member (that is, the outermost structure 2c) is joined to the outer bottom surface of the internal structure 2d in a cross-sectional view. Thus, the outermost structure 2c is configured to cover the lower part of the internal structure 2d. As a result, the combustion heat of the combustor 22 is directly transmitted to the outermost structure 2c, and the combustion heat of the combustor 22 is not directly transmitted to the internal structure 2d.

  Thus, the evaporation water supplied into the container C1 through the evaporation water supply pipe 6 flows out from the tip of the evaporation water supply pipe 6 onto the internal structure 2d, thereby evaporating the surface of the internal structure 2d and the evaporation. Contact with water. The internal structure 2d that comes into contact with the supplied evaporation water is provided farther from the combustor 22 than the outermost structure 2c to which combustion heat generated in the combustor 22 is directly transmitted. That is, since the evaporation water is brought into contact with the relatively low temperature internal structure 2d, the occurrence of bumping of the evaporation water is suppressed, and the amount of water vapor generated in the evaporator 2 can be stably changed. .

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the above-described embodiment, the bottom 2e of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporation water contacts is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporation water spreads. That is, the surface of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporating water contacts has a flat surface portion (that is, the bottom portion 2e). In the evaporator 2, the tip of the evaporation water supply pipe 6 opens toward the downstream reformer 3, so that the evaporation water flows out in the direction of the front reformer 3. And since the bottom part 2e as a plane part is installed so that it may become horizontal, the water for evaporation supplied toward the direction of the front reformer 3 with respect to the bottom part 2e of the internal structure 2b is the bottom part 2e. It spreads thinly while flowing forward. The evaporation water evaporates while the evaporation water flows while continuously receiving heat from the internal structure 2b. Thus, on the bottom 2e of the internal structure 2b, evaporating water is supplied to the rear and evaporates in the front to reduce the amount of water. Therefore, the evaporating water supplied to the internal structure 2b It flows in the direction toward the reformer 3 on the downstream side on 2b.

Furthermore, the double bottom structure illustrated in FIG. 7 (particularly, the structure of the outermost structure 2c and the inner structure 2d) may be changed to another structure. For example, FIG. 8A is a partially cutaway perspective view of the internal configuration of the evaporator 2 and the reformer 3 provided in another fuel reformer R, as viewed from the side, and FIG. It is sectional drawing of the evaporator 2. FIG.
Also in this example, the container C1 of the evaporator 2 has a double bottom structure, the inside of the double bottom structure functions as the internal structure 2d, and the outside functions as the outermost structure 2c. Also in this example, the bottom 2e of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporating water contacts is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporating water spreads. That is, the surface of the internal structure 2b with which the evaporating water contacts has a flat surface portion (that is, the bottom portion 2e). Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, a metallic or ceramic member (that is, the outermost structure 2c) to be the outermost structure 2c is joined to the outer side surface of the inner structure 2d. The outermost structure 2c is configured to cover the side from the lower side of the internal structure 2d. As a result, the combustion heat of the combustor 22 is directly transmitted to the outermost structure 2c, and the combustion heat of the combustor 22 is not directly transmitted to the internal structure 2d.

<Another embodiment>
<1>
In the above embodiment, the way in which the evaporating water supply pipe 6 is drawn into the internal space of the evaporator 2 may be changed. For example, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the internal configuration of the evaporator 2 as viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 9A, the evaporating water supply pipe 6 may be drawn so as to penetrate the side wall of the container C1 obliquely. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the evaporating water supply pipe 6 may be bent obliquely downward after being drawn so as to vertically penetrate the side wall of the container C1. In any of the examples shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the evaporating water supply pipe 6 is opened from the front end of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 because the front end of the evaporating water supply pipe 6 is opened very close to the internal structure 2b. The evaporated water can be supplied not in a state where droplets are dropped intermittently, but in a state in which the droplets are continuously gathered and reach the surface of the internal structure 2b.

<2>
In the said embodiment, although the shape of outermost structure 2a, 2c and the internal structure 2b, 2d was illustrated, you may comprise in shapes other than having mentioned above.

<3>
In the above embodiment, the example in which the bottom portions Pb and 2e as the planar portion of the internal structure 2b are installed to be horizontal has been described. For example, the bottom portion Pb is inclined toward the downstream side (that is, the reformer It may be installed so that the side close to 3 is lowered). By thus inclining the bottom portions Pb and 2e toward the downstream side, the supplied evaporation water can be forced to flow in the direction toward the reformer 3 on the downstream side.

<4>
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the surface of the internal structure 2b that comes into contact with the evaporation water has a planar portion (the above-described bottom portions Pb and 2e) that is formed into a planar shape in which the supplied evaporation water spreads has been described. These bottom parts Pb and 2e may not be a perfect plane. For example, the bottoms Pb and 2e may be slightly curved with a downwardly convex shape. Alternatively, there may be fine irregularities on the surfaces of the bottoms Pb and 2e.

<5>
In the above embodiment, the rear end portion Pr of the internal structure 2b may not be provided, and the role of the rear end portion Pr may be shared by the side wall of the container C1 constituting the evaporator 2. Specifically, the side wall of the container C1 evaporates by joining the bottom Pb of the internal structure 2b to the upstream side wall of the container C1 (that is, the side wall through which the evaporation water supply pipe 6 is drawn). You may comprise so that it may function as a dam structure which can dam water.

  The present invention can be used to provide a fuel reformer capable of generating stable water vapor in an evaporator.

2 evaporators 2a, 2c outermost structures 2b, 2d internal structures 3 reformer 22 combustor 33 partition member C casing C1 container (evaporator)
Pb bottom (plane part)
R Fuel reformer

Claims (5)

A combustor that burns combustible gas to generate combustion heat;
An evaporator that heats and evaporates the supplied water for evaporation using the combustion heat transmitted from the combustor;
A fuel reformer comprising a reformer that reforms the supplied raw fuel gas using water vapor generated in the evaporator,
The container constituting the evaporator is located between the outermost structure to which the combustion heat is directly transmitted and the outermost structure between the combustor, and is supplied to the inside of the container. possess an internal structure that water is provided in a position in contact,
The surface of the internal structure that comes into contact with the evaporating water has a flat portion that is formed in a planar shape in which the supplied evaporating water spreads,
The reformer is provided on the downstream side of the evaporator along the supply direction of the evaporation water to the evaporator, adjacent to the evaporator, and the evaporator and the reformer are air permeable. A fuel reformer that is partitioned by a partition member having a flow rate, and in which the steam generated in the planar portion is supplied to the reformer through the partition member . 2. The fuel reformer according to claim 1 , wherein a dam structure capable of damming the water for evaporation existing in the planar portion is provided around or partially around the planar portion of the internal structure. . The fuel reformer according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a surface of the internal structure that is in contact with the evaporation water is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. The fuel reformer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the internal structure is formed so that the supplied water for evaporation flows in a direction toward the downstream reformer. The evaporator, the member forming the inner structure, according to claim 1 any one of 4 constructed above bonded to the support or the wall surface inside of the container wall forming the outermost structure The fuel reformer described in 1.

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