KR101138763B1 - Apparatus for load following fuel cell power generation system in a ship and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a load tracking technology for a fuel cell power generation system, and further includes an electrolysis system and a PEMFC mounted on an MCFC mounted on a ship, thereby producing electric power with the MCFC during ship operation, and receiving power with surplus power generated at this time. The system accumulates hydrogen produced by driving the sea system. When additional power is required in addition to the MCFC during voyage, it is characterized by supplying necessary power through load tracking through PEMFC and power generation using hydrogen. According to the present invention, after producing and accumulating hydrogen with surplus power of MCFC during ship operation, if additional power is needed, additional power can be easily supplied by using hydrogen in PEMFC, so a large capacity output is possible, and the advantages of long lifespan Since the MCFC can be mounted on a ship, it is possible to enable high efficiency driving on a ship through the MCFC.

Ships, Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs), Hydroelectric Systems, Load Tracking, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC)

Description

Load tracking device for fuel cell power generation system and its method {Apparatus for load following fuel cell power generation system in a ship and method

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shipboard fuel cell, and in particular, a load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system suitable for mounting on a ship by adding a load tracking function to a molten carbonate fuel cell (hereinafter referred to as MCFC). It is about a method.

In general, a fuel cell refers to a cell that directly converts chemical energy generated by oxidation into electrical energy. Unlike chemical cells, fuel cells are continuously supplied with reactants from outside and reaction products are removed out of the system. The most typical type of fuel cell is a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, and the fuel cell is divided into a high temperature type and a low temperature type (eg, a high temperature type at 300 ° C or higher, and a low temperature type) according to the operating temperature.

Specifically, hydrogen passes through the anode and oxygen passes through the cathode. Hydrogen reacts with oxygen electrochemically to produce water, generating current at the electrodes. As electrons pass through the electrolyte, direct current power is generated and heat is incidentally produced. DC current is used as the power of a DC motor or converted into alternating current by an inverter. The heat generated from the fuel cell can be used to generate steam for reforming or to be used for heating and cooling. If not used, it is discharged as exhaust heat.

In order to improve the power generation efficiency, the second generation of high-temperature MCFC which does not use a noble metal catalyst, and a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) which generates power with higher efficiency, It is called the third generation fuel cell.

In particular, since the MCFC is capable of large-capacity output and has a longer lifespan than other fuel cells, various studies have been made for use as a fuel cell for ships.

In the conventional MCFC operating as described above, since there is no load tracking capability, it is difficult to mount it for ship use. In other words, the MCFC produces power at full loading once the stack is at its end of life.

This can be a problem for ships with large differences in power consumption during voyage and at port. In order to solve this problem, ships with large variations in power consumption may be equipped with additional batteries, but in this case, too much expensive batteries are required, which increases costs and increases weight and volume.

In addition, even when the surplus power produced in the MCFC is stored as a battery, the MCFC has a problem that it is not easy to find a use to use the power stored in the battery because the power is continuously produced in full loading.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system and a method thereof that can be mounted on a ship by adding a load tracking function to a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC).

In addition, the present invention is equipped with a water-receiving system and a PEMFC in the MCFC mounted on a vehicle such as a ship or a vehicle, it is possible to supply additional power required by the load tracking through the PEMFC to the MCFC during ship operation A load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system and a method thereof are provided.

In addition, the present invention, by installing an electrolytic system and a PEMFC in addition to the MCFC mounted on the vessel, to produce electric power to the MCFC during the operation of the vessel, and accumulate hydrogen produced by driving the hydroelectric system with surplus power generated at this time In addition, when additional power is required in addition to MCFC during navigation, it provides a load tracking device and method for fuel cell power generation system that can supply the necessary power through the load tracking through PEMFC and the production of power using hydrogen.

A load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) that generates power by receiving hydrogen generated by extraction from an LNG tank, and receives surplus power of MCFC to supply water. Compares the power capacity of MCFC with the load power capacity and the MCFC power generation system, which can generate hydrogen by electrolysis, and the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) that can receive the hydrogen from the hydrolysis system and produce the required additional power. And determining whether additional power is needed, and controlling the PEMFC to operate when additional power is required.

In one embodiment, a load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system includes: extracting and generating hydrogen from an LNG tank; generating power from hydrogen extracted from a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC); The process of generating hydrogen by electrolysis of water by receiving surplus power of MCFC and comparing the load power capacity with the generation capacity of MCFC through the control unit controlling hydrogen generation and power generation to determine whether additional power is needed. The process and, if it is determined that the additional power is required, the process includes the process of producing additional power by receiving hydrogen from the electrolysis system under the control of the control unit in the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC).

Another embodiment of the present invention is a load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system, comprising: comparing a power generation capacity of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) mounted on a ship to produce power from hydrogen extracted from LNG and a load power capacity in the ship If additional power is needed through the process of following the load and following the load, the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) that receives hydrogen from the electrolytic system that produces hydrogen through electrolysis of water by surplus power of MCFC Generating the necessary additional power.

According to the load tracking device and method for fuel cell power generation system according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above has one or more of the following effects.

According to the load tracking device for fuel cell power generation system and the method according to an embodiment of the present invention, after producing and accumulating hydrogen with surplus power of MCFC during ship operation, if additional power is needed, it is easily added using hydrogen in PEMFC. Since the power can be supplied, a large-capacity long life MCFC can be mounted on a ship, and the MCFC has the effect of enabling high efficiency driving on a ship.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intentions or customs of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

The present invention is to add a load tracking function to a long-life molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) capable of large-capacity output and to be mounted on a vehicle or a vehicle, such as a ship electrolytic system and a PEMFC In addition, the ship produces electric power through the MCFC when the ship is operating, and the hydrogen generated by driving the hydration system with the surplus power generated at this time, and accumulates hydrogen, and if additional power is required in addition to the MCFC during the voyage, the load through the PEMFC It is to supply the necessary power through tracking and power generation using hydrogen.

On the other hand, MCFC and PEMFC described in detail in the following examples may each be one or more fuel cells, a fuel converter for delivering air and fuel to the fuel cell, as well as a fuel cell, a heat exchanger using the heat released, It may be a fuel cell system including an inverter for converting after storing the electric power in a storage battery, a controller for controlling each device, and the like.

1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a fuel cell power generation system including a load tracking device mounted on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a fuel cell power generation system includes an LNG tank 100, an MCFC 102, a battery 104, a motor 106, an electrolytic system 108, a hydrogen tank 110, a PEMFC 112, Control unit 114 and the like.

The LNG tank 100 extracts hydrogen using LNG as a raw material, and the extracted hydrogen flows into the MCFC 100. In this case, the MCFC 100 generates power by using the introduced hydrogen and oxygen in the air. Thereafter, power generated through the MCFC 100 is transferred to the motor 106 to drive the motor 106, and some power is transferred to the battery 104 to charge the power. However, since the fuel cell power generation system including the MCFC 102, the battery 104, and the motor 106 has no load tracking, energy efficiency may be reduced, and as a solution to this, additional power may be used by using the battery 104. In case of supplying, since many batteries 104 must be mounted, there are also problems that may occur due to the cost and the weight and volume of the many batteries 104. And a hydrogen tank 110, a PEMFC 112, a controller 114, and the like.

At this time, the maximum production power of the MCFC 102 is set to the average power production amount of the ship to be mounted in the ship. The electrolytic system 108 generates hydrogen and oxygen by electrolyzing water (H ₂ O) generated during power generation of the MCFC 102 with surplus power generated from the power generated from the MCFC 102. To accumulate hydrogen. At this time, the produced hydrogen is compressed and stored in the hydrogen tank 110, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen tank 110 is later supplied to the PEMFC 112 to generate power through the PEMFC (112). The PEMFC 112 is suitable for use as a backup power source because of its low temperature maneuverability and high reactivity.

The controller 114 controls the respective components, and in particular, the process control for maintaining the pressure and temperature as well as the flow rate control of fuel or air to smoothly perform power generation of the MCFC 102 and the PEMFC 112. Perform

In addition, the surplus power generated through the MCFC 102 is stored in the battery based on the load tracking unit 116 in the controller 114 to track whether the current power required in the ship and the power produced through the MCFC 102 are loaded. In order to control the power supply to the electro-hydraulic system, or if the production power of the MCFC 102 is insufficient, the PEMFC 112 may control additional power production.

For example, if the power capacity required for the entire ship is 100%, the MCFC 102 sets about 70% as the maximum capacity and mounts it on the ship. Due to the nature of the ship's operation, the full power 100% loading state only accounts for a portion of the voyage. Most loads are 70-80% and power consumption is significantly lower near port of call.

Even when arriving at the port of call or when the power consumption is low, the MCFC 102 constantly generates 70% of the power, so that the surplus power generated at this time is supplied to the receiving system 108, and the receiving system 108 The water generated from the MCFC 102 is electrolyzed to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen produced in this way is stored and supplied directly from the hydrogen, using the PEMFC 112 to supply an additional 30% of the power that is insufficient for the MCFC 102 to produce a 100% power load. Done.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a power generation procedure of a fuel cell power generation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the MCFC 102 in the fuel cell power generation system mounted on the ship in step 200 generates power using hydrogen supplied from the LNG tank 100, and the generated power requires power in the ship. Delivered (eg, motor 106). However, since the MCFC 102 produces a constant power without increasing or decreasing the power production according to the required power, if surplus power is generated in addition to the current power required in the ship at step 202, the MCFC 102 proceeds to step 204 and surplus power of the preset capacity. To be stored in the battery 104.

If surplus power is generated in addition to the surplus power stored in the battery 104 in operation 206, the surplus power generated is supplied to the electrolysis system 108 to transmit the surplus power to the MCFC 102 in operation 208. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis on the water discharged from), and the produced hydrogen is compressed and stored in the hydrogen tank 110.

Thereafter, in step 210, the stored hydrogen is supplied to the PEMFC 112 later under the control of the controller 114 to allow generation of additional power in the PEMFC 112.

As such, the surplus power is stored in the battery 104 firstly because it is disadvantageous in terms of energy efficiency to produce hydrogen using the electrolysis system 108 and then produce electricity using the PEMFC 112. The power of the set capacity or% is stored directly in the battery 104, and when additional power is needed later, the power stored in the battery 104 is implemented first.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a load tracking procedure of a fuel cell power generation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the load follower 116 of the controller 114 periodically checks the load power capacity, that is, the required power value in the ship, and performs comparison with the capacity currently generated through the MCFC 102. If the load power capacity is greater than the power generation capacity, the process proceeds to step 304 to compensate for the insufficient power generation capacity through the additional power production of the PEMFC 112, and then proceeds to step 306.

However, if the load power capacity is less than or equal to the power generation capacity in step 302, the process proceeds to step 306 to determine whether the load power capacity and the power generation capacity are the same, and in this case, proceeds to step 308 to maintain the current operation state. Done. However, in step 306, when the load power capacity and the power generation capacity are not the same, that is, when the load power capacity is smaller than the power generation capacity, surplus power may occur. In step 310, surplus power generated through the MCFC 102 is received. Transfer to system 108 to generate hydrogen.

As such, since the PEMFC 112 has good load followability, the PEMFC 112 can be easily operated whenever needed to produce power, so that additional power can be supplied quickly if there is only hydrogen stored therein.

4 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a fuel cell power generation system including a load tracking device mounted on a ship according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the fuel cell power generation system includes an LNG tank 400, an external reformer 402, a hydrogen tank 404, an MCFC 406, an electrolytic system 408, a PEMFC 410, and a hydrogen controller 412. ), A power control unit 414, a motor, a battery 418, and the like.

LNG is delivered from the LNG tank 400 in which LNG is stored, and hydrogen is obtained through reforming in the external reformer 402, and the obtained hydrogen is stored in the hydrogen tank 404.

Hydrogen stored in the hydrogen tank 404 delivers hydrogen to the MCFC 406 and the PEMFC 410 through flow control of the hydrogen control unit 412 connected to the hydrogen tank 404. In this case, the MCFC 406 generates power by using the introduced hydrogen and oxygen in the air. At this time, the predetermined amount of power is transmitted to the system 408 by receiving a predetermined amount of power generated through the MCFC 406. Normally, surplus power remaining after driving the motor 416 and storing the battery 418 is transmitted to the system 408.

Accordingly, the electrolytic system 408 electrolyzes the transferred power and water (H ₂ O) generated during the power generation of the MCFC 406 to produce hydrogen and oxygen, and the produced hydrogen is returned to the hydrogen tank 404. To be stored.

In the PEMFC 410, power is generated by hydrogen introduced from the hydrogen tank 404 under the control of the hydrogen controller 412, and the motor 416 is driven by the generated power.

The power controller 414 controls the power generated by being connected to the MCFC 406 and the PEMFC 410, and requests the hydrogen inflow control according to the power information and the required power generated through the hydrogen controller 412. The motor 416 is driven by the power generated through the MCFC 406 and the PEMFC 410.

For example, if the power capacity required for the entire ship is 100%, the power control unit 414 sets the power generation rate at 70% of the MCFC 406 and 30% of the PEMFC 410, and the power when the ship starts to operate. Supplies 30% first to the PEMFC 410, which has good load followability, and gradually increases the power supply ratio of the MCFC 406 so that when the ship leaves the port and becomes a steady state of long-term operation, the power currently required 70% of the phosphorus may be controlled to be supplied by the MCFC 406.

As such, the power control unit 414 first supplies the power generation capacity of the PEMFC 410 to the place where power is needed, and gradually increases the power generation capacity of the MCFC 406 at a predetermined ratio, so that the MCFC 406 is fully loaded. While rising until then, the PEMFC 410 may control the power generation capacity to be stepped down in inverse proportion to the MCFC 406.

In addition, the MCFC 406 composed of each stack is controlled so that the supply of power is divided by 10%, MCFC 406 40%, PEMFC 410 30% when additional power is required in the state, MCFC By controlling 406 by 10% and performing power generation, MCFC may only use 30% of additional power if the ship continues to drive at 70% in the long run.

That is, when the entire capacity of the MCFC 406 is mounted as a single control system, it may be very inefficient to start and stop a large amount of power at once, so that the control is divided by the stack by 10% of the total power and the like. . Such power control is economical because it can reduce the use rate of the expensive and short-lived battery 418.

The battery 418 serves as a buffer for receiving and storing power from the MCFC 406 and may be powered from the PEMFC 410 in an implementation manner.

The motor 416 is a driving device for driving a ship by receiving power, and may refer to all devices that require power in the ship.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a power generation and load tracking procedure of a fuel cell power generation system according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step 500, the external reformer 402 receives hydrogen from the LNG tank 400 to reform hydrogen to generate hydrogen, and the generated hydrogen is stored in the hydrogen tank 404.

In step 502, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen tank 404 is transferred to the MCFC 406 and the PEMFC 410 through the hydrogen control unit 412, and the MCFC 406 and the PEMFC 410 transfer power through the delivered hydrogen. The power generation is to control the power generation rate for the MCFC 406 and PEMFC 410 through the power control unit 414.

MCFC 406 and PEMFC 410 are MCFC 406 if the power capacity required for the entire ship is 100% to compensate for the shortcomings of MCFC 406 performing full loading when the ship is on board. ) Sets about 70% at maximum capacity, and PEMFC 410 sets about 30% at maximum capacity and mounts it on a ship.

When the vessel starts to operate in step 504, in step 506, the power control unit 414 supplies power to the PEMFC 410 having good load followability, and in step 508, increases the power generation rate of the MCFC 406 step by step. Supply sequentially.

That is, the power supply in each stack of the MCFC 406 is controlled to be generated by dividing by 10%, for example. The power control unit 414 controls the power generation rate for each stack, or controls the power supply rate by controlling the hydrogen supply amount through interworking with the hydrogen control unit 412.

In operation 510, the ship enters a fixed state of long-term operation. If the required operating power is fixed at, for example, 70% of the total production power, in step 512, the power control unit 414 of the MCFC 406 is configured. In step 514, if power control is performed in step 514, the MCFC 406 generates power in steps of 10% and operates 40% first, and the remaining 30% of power is produced by the PEMFC (410). ) So that it can be supplied through

Then, when more than 70% of the power is required for ship operation, additional power is produced and supplied to the ship through power control of the MCFC 406.

Meanwhile, the MCFC 406 may provide surplus power generated through full loading or step-by-step power generation to the electrolysis system 408 and the battery 418 at a predetermined ratio.

However, when the power control unit 414 controls to fully load the MCFC 406 in step 512, 70% power required for long-term operation is supplied through the MCFC 406 in step 516. Control to be supplied through the PEMFC (410).

Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the MCFC to the total power consumption is set to 70% or the power is produced in steps of 10%, but the power output ratio is described in the embodiment of the present invention. It can be changed according to the implementation method, and the power production rate of the PEMFC can also be changed according to the capacity change of the MCFC.

As described above, the load follower and method for a fuel cell power generation system according to an embodiment of the present invention are mounted on a ship by adding a load tracking function to a long-life molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) capable of large-capacity output. It is intended to produce an electric power system and an additional PEMFC on the MCFC mounted on the ship, and produce electric power to the MCFC during the operation of the ship, and accumulate hydrogen produced by driving the electric power system with surplus power generated at this time. In addition, if additional power is needed in addition to the MCFC during voyage, it provides the necessary power through load tracking through PEMFC and power generation with hydrogen.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is capable of various modifications within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined by the scope of the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.

1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a fuel cell power generation system including a load tracking device mounted on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a power generation procedure of a fuel cell power generation system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a load tracking procedure of a fuel cell power generation system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a fuel cell power generation system including a load tracking device mounted on a ship according to another embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a power generation and load tracking procedure of a fuel cell power generation system according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings>

100: LNG tank 102: MCFC

104: battery 106: motor

108: hydroelectric system 110: hydrogen tank

112: PEMFC # 114: control unit

116: load follower

400: LNG tank 402: external reformer

404: hydrogen tank 406: MCFC

408: hydroelectric system 410: PEMFC

412: hydrogen control unit 414: power control unit

416: motor 418: battery

Claims (14)

A molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) for producing electric power by receiving hydrogen generated by extraction from an LNG tank; A hydrolysis system for generating hydrogen by electrolyzing water by receiving surplus power of the MCFC; A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) that receives hydrogen from the hydroelectrolysis system and generates necessary additional power; Control unit for comparing the load power capacity and the generation capacity of the MCFC to determine whether additional power is required, and to control the PEMFC to operate when additional power is required Load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system comprising a. The method of claim 1, The load tracking device for the fuel cell power generation system, And a hydrogen tank for compressing and storing the hydrogen generated from the hydroelectrolysis system. The method of claim 1, The control unit, When the generation capacity of the MCFC is larger than the load power capacity, the predetermined amount of excess surplus power is stored in the battery, A load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system, characterized by supplying surplus surplus power to the hydroelectric system. The method of claim 1, The load power capacity is, A load tracking device for a fuel cell power generation system, characterized in that the power used in a vehicle such as a ship or a vehicle. Extracting and generating hydrogen from the LNG tank; Producing electric power from the extracted hydrogen in a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC); Generating hydrogen by electrolyzing water by receiving surplus power of the MCFC in a hydrolysis system; Comparing the load power capacity with the power generation capacity of the MCFC through a control unit controlling hydrogen generation and power generation to determine whether additional power is needed; When additional power is needed based on the determination, a process of producing additional power by receiving hydrogen from the electrolytic system under the control of the controller in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) Load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system comprising a. The method of claim 5, The load tracking method for the fuel cell power generation system, The process of compressing and storing the hydrogen generated from the hydroelectrolysis system in a hydrogen tank Load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 5, The determining process, When the generation capacity of the MCFC is greater than the load power capacity, storing a predetermined amount of capacity in excess of surplus power in a battery; The process of supplying the surplus surplus power to the hydroelectrolysis system Load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system comprising a. A process of following the load by comparing the power generation capacity of the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) installed in the ship to generate power from hydrogen extracted from LNG and the load power capacity in the ship; If additional power is required through the following of the load, the excess power of the MCFC is used to control a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) supplied with hydrogen from an electrolysis system that produces hydrogen through electrolysis of water to provide additional power. Process of generating Load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system comprising a. The method of claim 8, The process of following the load, When the generation capacity of the MCFC is greater than the load power capacity, storing a predetermined amount of capacity in excess of surplus power in a battery; Supplying surplus power remaining in the battery to the receiving system Load tracking method for a fuel cell power generation system comprising a. delete delete delete delete delete

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