JPH04237965A - Power generating device with built-in fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the damage of a cell when it is taken in or out and facilitate the power feed to an external load by surrounding the periphery of the fuel cell constituted of multiple cell elements with a current collecting plate, and exposing the side end section from a housing. CONSTITUTION:The first electrode layer 52, a solid electrode layer 53 and the second electrode layer 54 are formed on the surface of the porous supporter 51 of a cell element 50. An exposure portion is provided at part of the layer 52, it is connected to a current collecting plate 12 via a conductive connecting material 11, another current collecting plate 13 is connected to the layer 54 via the connecting material 11, and the periphery of the fuel cell 5 is surrounded by the current collecting plates 12, 13. Side end sections of the current collecting plates 12, 13 are exposed to the outside via notches formed on side plates of a housing. The occurrence of the damage of the fuel cell 5 is prevented when it is taken in or out from the housing, the power feed to an external load is facilitated, and the inside of a power generation chamber can be kept at a high temperature.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power generation device incorporating a fuel cell that directly converts the chemical energy of fuel into electrical energy.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art A power generating device incorporating a fuel cell is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 113561/1983. In this power generation device, a power generation chamber is defined in the housing by a partition wall, and a fuel cell housed in the power generation chamber is composed of a plurality of cell elements, each of which has a first electrode on the surface of a cylindrical porous support. An electrode layer, a solid electrolyte layer, and a second electrode layer are stacked and formed, and the electrodes of adjacent fuel cells are connected in parallel or in series, and finally connected to a current collector plate on one side. There is.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional power generation device, some of the plurality of battery elements constituting the fuel cell are exposed to the outside, so it is difficult to incorporate them into the housing or pull them out from the housing. The battery element is easily damaged. Furthermore, since the current collector plate is completely housed within the housing, it is difficult to extract the generated electricity.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention surrounds a fuel cell consisting of a plurality of battery elements with a current collector plate, and exposes the side end portions of the current collector plate from the housing. Ta.

[0005]

[Operation] A porous support is produced by extruding a ceramic compound and then firing it, and a first electrode layer, a solid electrolyte layer, and a second electrode layer are sequentially formed on the surface of this porous support. A fuel cell is used, and a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer of a battery element constituting this fuel cell are connected to a current collector plate disposed around the fuel cell via a conductive connecting material.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is an overall perspective view of a power generation device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one unit constituting the power generation device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of one unit constituting the power generation device, and FIG.
5 is an enlarged view of essential parts of the fuel cell, FIG. 6 is a front view of the fuel cell, and FIG. 7 is a side view of the fuel cell.

[0007] The power generation device 1 is made up of a large number of power generation units 2 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, partition walls 4 are provided in the housing 3, and these partition walls 4 define an oxidizing agent introduction chamber S1 such as air, a combustion preheating chamber S2, a power generation chamber S3, and a hydrogen gas introduction chamber S4 as a fuel gas. , a fuel cell 5 is housed in a power generation chamber S3.

An oxidizing agent introduction pipe 7 such as air is connected to the lid plate 6 that closes the upper end opening of the housing 3, and a hydrogen gas introduction pipe 9 is connected to the bottom plate 8 that closes the lower end opening of the housing 3. Furthermore, a reactant (H2O) discharge pipe 1 is provided on the side plate of the housing 3 at a position corresponding to the combustion preheating chamber S2.
0 is connected.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the fuel cell 5 is made up of a plurality of battery elements 50 integrally assembled in two vertical columns and five horizontal columns, and each battery element 50 is made of a gas made of zirconia or the like. A porous first electrode layer 52 made of a conductive composite oxide or the like is formed on the surface of a permeable porous support 51, and a gas-tight solid made of stabilized zirconia or the like is formed on the surface of this first electrode layer 52. The electrolyte layer 53 and the second electrode layer 54 are formed on the surface of the solid electrolyte layer 53 by dip method or CVD.
It is formed by laws, etc.

The porous support 51 is formed by extrusion molding a ceramic compound and then firing it by a method such as hanging firing, and its shape is made up of a plurality of mutually parallel cylindrical parts 51a.
... and hollow connecting portions 51b that connect adjacent cylindrical portions of these cylindrical portions 51a, forming a three-dimensional framework as a whole. By doing so, bending and deflection during firing can be minimized.

As described above, the first electrode layer 52, the solid electrolyte layer 53, and the second electrode layer 54 are sequentially formed on the surface of this porous support 51.
When forming the solid electrolyte layer 53 and the second electrode layer 54, the solid electrolyte layer 53 and the second electrode layer 54 are partially coated along the length direction.
After forming the first electrode layer 52, the first electrode layer 52 is exposed from that part.

As shown in FIG. 4, a current collecting plate 12 is connected to the exposed portion of the first electrode layer 52 via a conductive connecting material 11, and the outermost layer of each battery element 50 is connected to the current collecting plate 12. Another current collector plate 13 is connected to the second electrode layer 54 via the conductive connecting material 11, and the fuel cell 5 is surrounded by these current collector plates 12 and 13, and the sides of the current collector plates 12 and 13 are The end portion is exposed to the outside through a notch 3a formed in the side plate of the housing 3.

With such a configuration, the fuel cell 5
It is possible to prevent the power generating unit from being damaged when it is assembled into the housing 1 or taken out from the housing, and it is also possible to easily supply power to an external load, and furthermore, it is possible to maintain the inside of the power generation chamber S3 at a high temperature.

[0014] Also, a fuel cell 5 disposed within the power generation chamber S3
A conduit 14 is inserted into each element 50 . The base end of this conduit 14 is spherically supported by the partition wall 4 that defines the oxidizing agent introduction chamber S1 and the combustion preheating chamber S2, and the tip of the conduit 14 faces the bottom of the battery element 50. Air containing oxygen is blown out inside the chamber.

In the above, when oxygen gas (air) is flowed inside the porous support 5 and hydrogen gas is flowed outside each battery element 50 through the hydrogen gas introduction chamber S4, the oxygen gas flows through the first electrode. The hydrogen gas permeates into the second electrode layer 5
4, and the following reactions occur in the first and second electrode layers.

First electrode; H2O+1/2O2
+2e→2OH− second electrode; H2 +2OH−
→2H2 O+2e

2e is supplied to the load. Furthermore, O
H- moves in the solid electrolyte layer 53.

[0018]

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, since the fuel cell consisting of a plurality of cell elements is surrounded by a current collecting plate, the fuel cell is not damaged when the fuel cell is inserted into or removed from the housing. This can be prevented. Furthermore, by surrounding the fuel cell with a current collector plate, the heat retention effect is enhanced, making it suitable for operation at high temperatures using a solid electrolyte. Furthermore, by exposing the side end portions of the current collector plate from the housing, it becomes easier to supply power to an external load.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Fig. 1] Overall perspective view of a power generation device according to the present invention

[Figure 2] Exploded perspective view of one unit that makes up the power generation device

[Figure 3] Cross-sectional view of one unit constituting the power generation device

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a fuel cell incorporated into the power generation device according to the present invention.

[Figure 5] Enlarged view of main parts of fuel cell

[Figure 6] Front view of fuel cell

[Figure 7] Side view of fuel cell

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Power generation device, 2...1 unit configuring the power generation device, 3
...Housing, 5...Fuel cell, 11...Conductive adhesive, 1
2, 13... Current collector plate, S3... Power generation room.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A power generation device in which a power generation chamber is defined within a housing by a partition wall, and a fuel cell is disposed within the power generation chamber, wherein the fuel cell is composed of a plurality of cell elements, and the periphery of these battery elements is 1. A power generation device incorporating a fuel cell, characterized in that the fuel cell is surrounded by a current collecting plate, and a side end of the current collecting plate is exposed from the housing.