JPH09223510A - Fuel cell power generation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent generation of steam white smoke generated in plant exhaust air discharged in the atmosphere in a package type fuel cell power generation device. SOLUTION: In a package type fuel cell power generation device where a reformer 3 to manufacture hydrogen by reforming reaction by adding steam to hydrocarbon fuel, a fuel cell 2 to obtain electric energy by reacting the hydrogen manufactured by the reformer and oxygen with each other, heat exchangers 3 and 4 to enhance plant efficiency by maintaining a reaction condition and a control system are housed in a single package, a cooling means is arranged to condense and recover steam in plant exhaust air by cooling the plant exhaust air after recovering heat and water from exhaust gas of the reformer and exhaust air of the fuel cell before it is discharged in the atmosphere.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a package type fuel cell power generator in which a reformer and a battery for reacting hydrogen and oxygen produced by the reformer to obtain electric energy are contained in one package.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A fuel cell is a low-pollution and high-efficiency power generation system that directly obtains electric energy by reacting hydrogen generated in a hydrogen generator with oxygen in the air.

By the way, a general fuel cell power generator is
A reformer to obtain hydrogen, a battery to generate electric energy from the produced hydrogen and oxygen in the air, many heat exchangers to maintain the system fluid at an appropriate temperature, and hydrocarbon fuel to hydrogen. It is composed of a device that supplies and recovers the steam required in the process of reforming into.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an exhaust system conventionally used in a package type fuel cell device in which a fuel cell, a reformer and the like are arranged in a package. Hydrogen and air are contained in the package 1. A fuel cell 2, a reformer 3, an exhaust heat recovery device 4, an exhaust gas condenser 5 and the like, which generate electric energy by a reaction with oxygen inside, are housed.

The anode exhaust from the anode 2a of the fuel cell 2 is sent to the reformer 3 and supplied as a high temperature gas generating burner fuel for promoting the reforming reaction which is an endothermic reaction. The fuel gas generated in the burner of the reformer 3 contains a large amount of steam due to hydrogen combustion, and after giving heat to the reformer 3, it passes through the exhaust heat recovery device 4 as the reformer exhaust gas and then the exhaust gas. It is sent to the condenser 5.

On the other hand, water is produced as a by-product in the cathode electrode 2b of the fuel cell 2, and the exhaust air from the cathode electrode 2b is sent to the exhaust gas condenser 5.

In the exhaust gas condenser 5, water is recovered from the exhaust air of the battery and the reformer exhaust gas by using the cooling water, and the plant exhaust gas is continuously discharged from the chimney 6 to the atmosphere outside the package 1. .

[0008]

By the way, the exhaust gas from the reformer contains a large amount of water vapor, and heat is applied for the reforming reaction from a dry state at a high temperature during combustion, and then a heat recovery process is performed. As a result, the temperature drops and the wetness changes to a high level. The reformer exhaust gas is mixed with exhaust air of the fuel cell containing water vapor in the exhaust gas condenser 5, and becomes saturated vapor in the process of condensing and collecting water in the exhaust gas condenser 5,
It is emitted from the chimney 6 into the atmosphere.

However, since the exhaust gas from this plant is rapidly cooled by the atmosphere, a condensation phenomenon of water vapor occurs,
Generates a lot of white smoke. Since the atmospheric temperature varies depending on the season, steam white smoke tends to appear remarkably in winter. The generation of the white smoke has a problem in that it is not preferable in view of a fuel cell facility installed in an urban area, in particular.

In view of the above points, the present invention has an object to obtain a fuel cell power generator capable of preventing the generation of steam white smoke generated in the plant exhaust discharged into the atmosphere.

[0011]

The first aspect of the present invention is to cool the plant exhaust after recovering heat and water from the reformer exhaust gas and the exhaust air of the battery, to cool the plant exhaust into the plant exhaust before releasing it into the atmosphere. It is characterized in that a cooling means for condensing and collecting water vapor is provided.

The second aspect of the invention is to arrange a plant exhaust pipe for circulating the plant exhaust after recovering heat and water from the reformer exhaust gas and the exhaust air of the battery, in a heat exchange relationship with the exhaust gas condenser. The exhaust gas condenser is characterized by heating the exhaust gas after collecting water to increase the dryness.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the package type fuel cell equipment, forced ventilation is carried out in order to maintain the temperature of the equipment inside the package and the instrumentation equipment or to prevent the accumulation of combustible gas. A ventilation fan 7 is arranged in the package 1. Therefore, the exhaust pipe 8 of the ventilation fan 7 is connected to the plant exhaust pipe 9 that guides the plant exhaust that has exited the exhaust gas condenser 5 to the chimney.

The reformer exhaust gas discharged from the reformer 3 and passing through the exhaust heat recovery device 4 and the exhaust air discharged from the cathode electrode 2b of the fuel cell 2 are sent to the exhaust gas condenser 5. Water is recovered and saturated. Then, the plant exhaust gas emitted from the exhaust gas condenser 5 passes through the plant exhaust pipe 9 and is discharged from the chimney 6 into the atmosphere.

By the way, the package exhaust sent by the ventilation fan 7 is mixed in the plant exhaust flowing through the plant exhaust pipe 9. Therefore, the partial pressure of water vapor in the plant exhaust discharged from the chimney 6 is reduced, the flow rate is increased, and the generation of water vapor white smoke is suppressed by the diffusion promoting action into the atmosphere.

That is, the package exhaust after the forced ventilation inside the package 1 is in a dry state at a higher temperature than the outside air. Therefore, when the package exhaust gas is mixed with the process exhaust gas in a saturated state that is discharged into the atmosphere through the exhaust gas condenser, the partial pressure of water vapor in the process exhaust gas is reduced and the exhaust gas discharged from the chimney is reduced. The flow rate is increased and the diffusion effect to the atmosphere is enhanced.

In this way, the generation of steam white smoke is suppressed by the reduction of the partial pressure of steam in the plant exhaust and the diffusion promoting effect into the atmosphere by the increase in the flow rate.

FIG. 2 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which a heat transfer pipe portion 10 is formed in a part of a plant exhaust pipe 9 for leading the plant exhaust to the outside of the package 1.
A package exhaust pipe 11 is concentrically arranged on the outer periphery of the heat transfer pipe portion 10, and the package exhaust flow passage 1 is formed by an annular gap between the heat transfer pipe portion 10 and the package exhaust pipe 11.
2 are formed. The upper portion of the package exhaust flow passage 12 is opened into the package 1, and the lower portion of the package exhaust flow passage 12 is communicated with the plant exhaust pipe 9 through the opening 13.

During operation of the fuel cell power generation equipment, however, the forcedly ventilated package exhaust flows into the package exhaust flow passage 12 as shown by the arrow and exchanges heat with the plant exhaust flowing in the plant exhaust pipe 9. To cool the plant exhaust. Therefore, the water contained in the plant exhaust is condensed and recovered, while the heat-exchanged package exhaust is further mixed with the plant exhaust through the opening 13 and discharged into the atmosphere through a chimney (not shown). Therefore, as in the first embodiment, the partial pressure of water vapor in the exhaust gas is reduced, and the white vapor of water vapor generated outside the package is suppressed by the effect of increasing the flow rate.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the steam is condensed and recovered by using the package intake air taken in for ventilation inside the package 1.

That is, a package intake pipe 14 opening to the outside of the package 1 is concentrically arranged on the outer periphery of the heat transfer pipe portion 10 provided in a part of the plant exhaust pipe 9, and the package intake pipe 14 is A package air introduction path 15 is formed by an annular gap with the heat transfer tube portion 10. A lower end portion of the package air introduction path 15 is communicated with a hollow package frame 16, and an air outlet (not shown) is formed in a lower portion of the package frame 16.

Thus, the outside air for ventilation inside the package 1 flows into the package frame 16 through the package air introducing passage 15 and is introduced into the package 1 through the air outlet. By the way, the outside air sucked into the package air introduction passage 15 exchanges heat with the plant exhaust flowing through the plant exhaust pipe 9 in the heat transfer pipe portion 10 to cool the plant exhaust. Therefore, the water vapor contained in the plant exhaust is condensed and collected, and the generation of water vapor white smoke is suppressed.

FIG. 4 is a view showing still another embodiment, in which the package intake pipe 14 is connected to the intake port of the intake blower 17 arranged in the package 1.

However, also in this case, as in the case of FIG. 3, the plant exhaust gas is cooled by the intake air for operating the plant equipment sucked by the blower 17, and the steam in the plant exhaust gas is condensed and recovered to generate steam white smoke. Is suppressed.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which the plant exhaust passage after the exhaust gas condenser is provided with a regeneration heat exchange function.

That is, a plant exhaust pipe 18 through which the plant exhaust gas that has passed through the exhaust gas condenser 5 flows is disposed above the exhaust gas condenser in a heat exchange relationship.

Then, the plant exhaust gas in a saturated state that has exited the exhaust gas condenser 5 is reheated by the exhaust gas on the inlet side of the exhaust gas condenser and is discharged to the outside of the package 1.
However, the plant exhaust is emitted in a dry state, and the generation of steam white smoke is suppressed.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided cooling means for cooling the plant exhaust before discharging it into the atmosphere to condense and recover water vapor in the plant exhaust, or to condense the plant exhaust pipe with the exhaust gas. Since it is placed in a heat exchange relationship with the reactor, it can be released into the atmosphere in a state where the partial pressure of water vapor in the plant exhaust is lowered or the plant exhaust is dry, and the generation of steam white smoke is suppressed. You can Moreover, when installing a low-pollution fuel electric power generation device in an urban area, it is possible to make it more environmentally superior by suppressing steam white smoke, which is a problem in the scenery.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial view showing a pair of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic system diagram of an exhaust gas treatment system of a conventional packaged fuel cell power generator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Package 2 Fuel Cell 3 Reformer 4 Exhaust Heat Recovery Device 5 Exhaust Gas Condenser 6 Chimney 7 Ventilation Fan 8 Exhaust Pipe 9 Plant Exhaust Pipe 10 Heat Transfer Pipe Section 11 Package Exhaust Pipe 12 Package Exhaust Flow Path 14 Package Intake Pipe 15 Package Air Introductory path 17 Blower for intake 18 Plant exhaust pipe

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A reformer for producing hydrogen by a reforming reaction by adding steam to a hydrocarbon fuel, a battery for reacting hydrogen produced by the reformer with oxygen to obtain electric energy, and a reaction. Heat and water were recovered from the reformer exhaust gas and the exhaust air of the cell in a packaged fuel cell power generator that contained the heat exchanger and control system in one package to maintain the conditions and enhance plant efficiency. After the plant exhaust,
A fuel cell power generator, comprising cooling means for cooling and condensing and collecting water vapor in the plant exhaust before being discharged into the atmosphere. 2. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein the package exhaust used for ventilation inside the package is mixed with the plant exhaust. 3. A heat transfer pipe part is provided in a part of a plant exhaust pipe through which plant exhaust gas flows, a package exhaust flow passage is formed on the outer periphery of the heat transfer pipe part, and the end portion of the package exhaust flow passage is formed at the end of the plant. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell power generator is connected to an exhaust pipe. 4. A heat transfer pipe part is provided in a part of a plant exhaust pipe through which plant exhaust gas flows, and a package air introduction path for introducing outside air for package ventilation is formed on the outer periphery of the heat transfer pipe part. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 1. 5. A package air flow passage for supplying package air to the lower portion of the package is formed by the package frame, and the package air introduction passage is communicated with the package air flow passage formed by the package frame. The fuel cell power generator according to claim 4. 6. A heat transfer pipe part is provided in a part of a plant exhaust pipe through which plant exhaust gas flows, and an intake passage of a blower for supplying to a battery and a burner is formed on the outer periphery of the heat transfer pipe part. Item 1. A fuel cell power generator according to item 1. 7. A reformer for producing hydrogen by a reforming reaction by adding steam to a hydrocarbon fuel, a battery for reacting hydrogen produced by the reformer with oxygen to obtain electric energy, and a reaction. Heat and water were recovered from the reformer exhaust gas and the exhaust air of the cell in a packaged fuel cell power generator that contained the heat exchanger and control system in one package to maintain the conditions and enhance plant efficiency. A fuel cell power generation device, characterized in that a plant exhaust pipe for circulating the subsequent plant exhaust is arranged in a heat exchange relationship with an exhaust gas condenser.