KR101282230B1 - Fuel reformer using liquid fuel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A fuel modifier using liquid fuel is provided to sufficiently vaporize the hydrocarbon-based liquid fuel, and to improve the homogeneity of a reactant. CONSTITUTION: A fuel modifier (100) using liquid fuel comprises: a reactor (110) having a pipe (112a) for supplying the liquid fuel; a porous medium (120) vaporizing the liquid fuel being supplied through the pipe; a fuel separator (130) which separates the liquid fuel, and supplies the same to a porous medium; and an inlet hole (160) which is formed on the side of the reactor, to supply one of air and steam to the side of the reactor, in order to pass through the porous medium and to be mixed with the vaporized liquid fuel. [Reference numerals] (AA) Liquid fuel; (BB) Reactant; (CC) Reformed gas

Description

Fuel reformer using liquid fuel {FUEL REFORMER USING LIQUID FUEL}

The present invention relates to a fuel reformer for producing hydrogen from a hydrocarbon-based liquid fuel.

The fuel reformer used in the fuel cell system refers to a device for producing hydrogen from hydrocarbon-based fuels such as natural gas, methane, gasoline, and diesel. Hydrogen generated in the fuel reformer is supplied to the fuel cell, and the supplied hydrogen reacts with oxygen in the air in the fuel cell stack to generate electricity.

Fuel reformers can be classified into steam reforming, partial oxidation reforming, and autothermal reforming depending on the reaction method. Steam reforming is an endothermic reaction in which a hydrocarbon-based fuel and water are fed to a reactor to cause a catalytic reaction. Therefore, the temperature of the reactor can be maintained only by supplying additional heat from the outside. Partial oxidation reforming is an exothermic reaction in which a hydrocarbon-based fuel and air are supplied to a reactor to cause a catalytic reaction. Therefore, the heat must be removed through an external cooling system to maintain the reactor temperature. Autothermal reforming is a method of mixing the steam reforming and the partial oxidation reforming and catalyzing the reaction by supplying hydrocarbon-based fuel, water and air together to the reactor. Therefore, the heat generated by the catalytic reaction can be controlled by the amount of water and air, so the designer can operate the reactor at the desired temperature.

As described above, autothermal reforming reactions require water and air together with hydrocarbon-based fuels. The fuel, water, and air supplied to the reactor may be expressed as a steam to carbon ratio (SCR), which is a ratio of water to fuel, and an oxygen to carbon ratio (OCR), which is a ratio of air to fuel. Optimum SCR and OCR are required for the autothermal reforming reactor to produce a large amount of hydrogen while maintaining a constant temperature at a desired temperature. Normally air is supplied through the blower to the required amount of air. Water can also be supplied in the desired amount via a pump. Although the optimum reaction temperature of autothermal reformer varies depending on the fuel, it is generally operated at 650 ~ 850 degrees Celsius, and hydrocarbon-based fuel is decomposed into reactants composed of a large amount of hydrogen, a small amount of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, etc. by catalytic reaction.

Liquid fuels, such as gasoline fuels, require more advanced fuel reformer technology than gaseous fuels such as natural gas, methane and the like. In order to effectively introduce gasoline into a reforming reaction, the gasoline must first be sufficiently evaporated to a gaseous state, and vaporized gasoline is homogeneously mixed with air and / or water vapor and then fed to the catalyst bed.

If gasoline is not sufficiently vaporized into the catalyst bed, gasoline is supplied to the reactor in liquid state, and the gasoline droplets suddenly vaporize when they meet the hot catalyst bed, not only causing a pressure change inside the reactor, but also an instantaneous SCR. And OCR changes, making it difficult to keep the temperature of the reactor constant. If this condition persists, the carbon monoxide concentration may be severely shaken and the life of the catalyst bed is shortened.

In addition, if gasoline is not homogeneously mixed with water vapor and / or air after gasification, the reaction may not occur uniformly in the catalyst bed. In particular, when the catalyst used in the reactor is a monolith type rather than a pellet type, the problem due to the heterogeneity of the reactants becomes more serious. This is because the pellet-type catalyst has the possibility of reacting homogeneously as the reactants diffuse through the grains, but in the case of the monolith type catalyst, the mixed state of the inlet side of the monolith structure remains as it is to the outlet side.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel reformer capable of sufficiently vaporizing a hydrocarbon-based liquid fuel prior to reforming reaction and improving homogeneity of the reactants.

A fuel reformer using a liquid fuel according to an embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above object is a reactor having a pipe to which a hydrocarbon-based liquid fuel is supplied, and the liquid fuel introduced through the pipe is vaporized. And a fuel disperser disposed on the porous medium and configured to disperse the liquid fuel and to supply the porous medium.

According to an example related to the present disclosure, the fuel disperser may include a shielding portion formed to cover at least a portion of the porous medium so that the liquid fuel may collide with and be dispersed therein, and the dispersed liquid fuel may flow into the porous medium. It includes a plurality of holes formed in the periphery of the blind portion.

The covering part may be formed at a portion facing the pipe.

In the above configuration example, the size of the plurality of holes may be formed to be smaller as the closer to the blind portion so that the dispersion degree of the liquid fuel can be improved.

In addition, the shielding portion may be formed with a through hole for passing at least a portion of the liquid fuel.

The fuel disperser may further include a jaw that is formed to protrude from an edge portion and is supported on the upper inner side wall of the reactor so as to form a predetermined gap between the screening portion and the fuel pipe.

According to another embodiment related to the present invention, the fuel disperser is formed with a plurality of holes for passing the liquid fuel, the size of the plurality of holes facing the pipe so that the dispersion of the liquid fuel can be improved The further away from the part is formed to become larger.

According to another example related to the present invention, the porous medium may have a porosity of 35 to 65% and a particle size of 20 to 300 μm.

According to another example related to the present invention, the fuel reformer further includes an electric heater formed to surround the porous medium to heat the porous medium.

According to another example related to the present invention, the fuel reformer further includes a snap ring inserted into a groove formed in the inner wall of the reactor and configured to cover the rear surface of the porous medium.

According to another example related to the present invention, the fuel reformer is provided on the side of the reactor such that air and / or water vapor is supplied to the side of the reactor and mixed with the liquid fuel vaporized through the porous medium. It further comprises an inlet hole is formed.

The inflow direction of the air and / or water vapor may be formed to intersect the flow direction of the vaporized liquid fuel so that the air and / or water vapor may be mixed with the vaporized liquid fuel.

The fuel reformer may further include a side jacket formed to surround the outer circumferential surface of the reactor and forming a flow path through which the air and / or water vapor is supplied. It may be provided may be formed along the outer circumferential surface of the reactor, respectively.

The fuel reformer may include a catalyst bed installed at a rear end of the reactor and formed to generate hydrogen using the mixed liquid fuel and the air and / or water vapor, and the reactor having the catalyst bed installed therein. It may further comprise a connecting pipe is configured to wrap and is connected to the pipe and the liquid fuel supplied to the pipe to absorb the heat generated from the catalyst bed.

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the liquid fuel is made to be dispersed in a larger area of the porous medium by the fuel disperser before the liquid fuel is supplied to the porous medium to be vaporized, the liquid fuel can be sufficiently vaporized before the reforming reaction.

As the jaw is supported on the upper inner wall of the reactor, the fuel disperser is formed to form a predetermined gap between the screening portion and the fuel pipe, and the fuel disperser is configured so that the snap ring inserted into the inner wall groove of the reactor covers the rear surface of the porous medium. And an easy attachment / removal of the porous medium.

In addition, since air and / or water vapor is supplied through an inlet hole formed at the side of the reactor to mix with the vaporized liquid fuel to generate turbulence, the homogeneity of the reactants can be improved before entering the catalyst bed, and the mixing chamber The spontaneous fire phenomenon in the can be prevented.

The connecting pipe connected to the pipe is configured to absorb the heat generated from the catalyst bed by enclosing the reactor in which the catalyst bed is installed. The liquid fuel is preheated to vaporize the liquid fuel more efficiently and economically. You can.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a fuel reformer using a liquid fuel according to the present invention.
2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the porous medium shown in FIG.
3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the fuel disperser illustrated in FIG. 1.
4 is a conceptual view illustrating a modification of the fuel disperser of FIG. 1.
5 is a graph showing the temperature of the catalyst bed rear stage and the mixing chamber according to the catalyst reaction time.
6 is a conceptual view showing another example of a fuel reformer using a liquid fuel according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, a fuel reformer using liquid fuel according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the present specification, the same or similar reference numerals are given to different embodiments in the same or similar configurations. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a fuel reformer 100 using liquid fuel according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the porous medium 120 illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual view illustrating an example of the fuel spreader 130 illustrated in FIG. 4, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual view illustrating a modified example of the fuel spreader 130 illustrated in FIG. 1.

1 to 4, the fuel reformer 100 is formed to cause a reforming reaction using liquid fuel and water and / or air. Water may be excluded from the reactant when the fuel reformer 100 is configured to cause a partial oxidation reforming reaction, and air may be excluded from the reactant when the fuel reformer 100 is configured to cause a steam reforming reaction.

In this figure, it is shown that the fuel reformer 100 is composed of an auto-thermal reformer (ATR). However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the fuel reformer 100 may be configured as a steam reformer (SR) or a partial oxidation reformer (POR).

The fuel reformer 100 using liquid fuel includes a reactor 110, a porous medium 120, and a fuel disperser 130. The liquid fuel of the present invention may be gasoline, diesel or the like. In particular, since gasoline vaporizes at a lower temperature than diesel, the present invention of vaporizing liquid fuel through the porous medium 120 may be more effective when gasoline is a liquid fuel.

The reactor 110 has a space in which fluid flows. In this figure, the reactor 110 includes a main body 111 in which the head 112 in which the vaporization of the liquid fuel occurs and the mixture and the reforming reaction of the reactant occur. The head 112 is coupled to an upper portion of the main body 111, and a gasket 113 may be installed between the head 112 and the main body 111.

The front end of the reactor 110 is provided with a pipe 112a for supplying a hydrocarbon-based liquid fuel. The pipe 112a may be configured in the form of a pipe having a cross-sectional area smaller than the internal cross-sectional area of the reactor 110.

A porous medium 120 is installed on the inner upper end of the reactor 110 and is formed to vaporize the liquid fuel introduced through the pipe 112a. Referring to FIG. 2, the porous medium 120 may be formed in a plate shape having a predetermined thickness and may be formed of a metal material, for example, stainless steel.

As the porous medium 120, a porosity of 35% to 65% and a particle size of 20 μm to 300 μm are preferably used. If the porosity is less than 35% or the particle size is less than 20㎛, the liquid fuel is difficult to pass through and subjected to a lot of pressure upon inflow may cause problems in durability. In addition, if the porosity is greater than 65% or the particle size is larger than 300㎛, the problem that the liquid fuel is discharged without passing through the porous medium 120 without any difficulty, there is a low heat transfer rate due to high porosity Losing problems can occur.

If the liquid fuel passing through the pipe 112a is supplied directly to the porous medium 120, the liquid fuel may be concentrated in one portion (the center portion facing the pipe 112a in this figure). In this case, since the liquid fuel passes through the porous medium 120 too quickly, there is not enough time for vaporization, and since only one part is intensively cooled, it is difficult to supply sufficient heat for vaporization.

In order to achieve efficient and sufficient vaporization of the liquid fuel, the fuel disperser 130 may be installed on the porous medium 120. The fuel disperser 130 is formed to disperse the liquid fuel introduced through the pipe 112a to supply the porous medium 120.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, the fuel spreader 130 may include a cover 131 and a plurality of holes 132.

The shielding portion 131 is formed to cover at least a portion of the porous medium 120 so that the liquid fuel may collide with and be dispersed. The shielding portion 131 may be formed at a central portion facing the pipe 112a so as to more efficiently disperse the liquid fuel introduced through the pipe 112a.

A plurality of holes 132 are formed in the periphery of the shielding portion 131, so that the liquid fuel dispersed by the shielding portion 131 may be dispersed and introduced into the entire area of the porous medium 120. In this figure, it is shown that the three holes are formed to surround the obstruction (131).

Although not shown in the drawing, the sizes of the plurality of holes 132 may be formed to be smaller as they become closer to the obstruction portion 131. According to the above structure, the liquid fuel that is hit by the screening unit 131 and dispersed is first flowed in a large amount into the hole close to the screening unit 131 but passes only a part due to the size of the relatively small hole, and to the hole far from the screening unit 131. Although a small amount of liquid fuel flows due to the relatively large hole size, a larger amount of liquid fuel passes through, so that the liquid fuel can be more effectively dispersed and introduced into the porous medium 120.

In addition, the shielding portion 131 may have a through hole for passing at least a portion of the liquid fuel, and may be configured to allow some liquid fuel to flow into a portion corresponding to the shielding portion 131 of the porous medium 120.

In addition, a raised spot 133 may protrude from an edge portion of the fuel distributor 130. The jaw 133 is supported on the upper inner wall of the reactor 110 and is configured to form a predetermined gap (eg, 1 to 2 mm) between the shielding portion 131 and the fuel pipe 112a.

As another example, referring to FIG. 4, only a plurality of holes 132 ′ through which liquid fuel is passed may be formed in the fuel disperser 130 ′ without a separate cover 131 having a predetermined area. At this time, the size of the plurality of holes 132 ′ may be configured to increase as the distance from the portion facing the pipe 112a so that the dispersion of the liquid fuel can be improved.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the reactor 110 is provided with an electric heater 140 formed to heat the porous medium 120. In this figure, it is shown that the electric heater 140 is configured to surround the porous medium 120. The porous medium 120 is formed to vaporize the liquid fuel that is heated by the electric heater 140 and passes through the porous medium 120.

The porous medium 120 and the fuel disperser 130 disposed on the porous medium 120 may be fixed to the reactor 110 by the snap ring 150. Specifically, the snap ring 150 is inserted into the groove (110a) formed in the inner wall of the reactor 110, the protruding portion is configured to cover the back of the porous medium 120. According to the above structure, the fuel disperser 130 and the porous medium 120 are sequentially inserted into the head 112, and then the fuel disperser 130 and the porous medium are simply inserted into the groove 110a by the snap ring 150. 120 may be mounted / removed to the reactor 110.

The vaporized liquid fuel passing through the porous medium 120 is mixed with air and / or water vapor before entering the catalyst bed 180 to form a reactant. The internal space of the reactor 110 in which the vaporized liquid fuel and air and / or water vapor are mixed may be understood as a mixing chamber 110b. At this time, if the liquid fuel and air and / or water vapor is not homogeneously mixed, the reforming reaction occurs in the catalyst bed 180 and soon after the spontaneous fire occurs in the mixing chamber (110b) of the mixing chamber (110b) The temperature can rise rapidly.

This spontaneous phenomenon is caused by non-uniform mixing of the reactants. That is, it does not occur when the liquid fuel is sufficiently vaporized and then mixed homogeneously with air and / or water vapor. Since the liquid fuel is sufficiently vaporized by the above-described structure, spontaneous ignition may be prevented if the vaporized liquid fuel is homogeneously mixed with air and / or water vapor.

To this end, an inlet hole 160 through which air and / or water vapor is supplied is formed at the side of the reactor 110. According to the above structure, since the inflow direction of the air and / or water vapor crosses (substantially perpendicular) to the flow direction of the vaporized liquid fuel, the air and / or water vapor may be mixed with the vaporized liquid fuel to generate turbulence. Therefore, more homogeneous mixing of the reactants can be expected, whereby the occurrence of spontaneous phenomena can be prevented.

As shown in the graph showing the rear end of the catalyst bed 180 and the temperature of the mixing chamber 110b according to the catalyst reaction time of FIG. 5, the temperature of the mixing chamber 110b suddenly increases after the reforming reaction occurs in the catalyst bed 180. It may be confirmed that spontaneous combustion does not occur in the mixing chamber 110b because it is not raised. Therefore, it can be expected that no physical damage occurs to the catalyst bed 180, and it can be derived that the reactants are homogeneously mixed.

The outer circumferential surface of the reactor 110 may be provided with a side jacket 170 forming a flow path through which air and / or water vapor is supplied. In this figure, it is shown that the side jacket 170 is formed to surround the outer peripheral surface of the reactor (110). The inlet hole 160 may be provided in plural in the side jacket 170 and may be formed along the outer circumferential surface of the reactor 110, respectively. According to the above structure, since air and / or water vapor is uniformly introduced into the reactor 110, a more homogeneous mixing with the vaporized liquid fuel can be expected.

6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating another example of a fuel reformer 200 using liquid fuel according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a catalyst bed 280 is installed at a rear end of the reactor 210 to form a reformed gas containing hydrogen using a mixed liquid fuel and air and / or water vapor. The catalyst bed 280 maintains a high temperature during the reforming reaction. At this time, the catalyst may be wrapped by the heat insulator 290, so as to reduce the heat transfer from the catalyst.

Reactor 210 may be heated by heat transfer from catalyst bed 280. In order to use this heating heat for vaporization of the liquid fuel, the connection pipe 212b connected to the pipe 212a may be configured to surround the reactor 210 in which the catalyst bed 280 is installed. According to the above structure, the liquid fuel is made to absorb heat generated from the catalyst bed 280 before being supplied to the pipe 212a. The liquid fuel is preheated to vaporize the liquid fuel more efficiently and economically.

The fuel reformer using the liquid fuel described above is not limited to the method and configuration of the embodiments described above. The present invention can be applied variously within a range in which technical ideas are protected.

Claims (14)

A reactor having a pipe for supplying a hydrocarbon-based liquid fuel;
A porous medium formed to vaporize the liquid fuel flowing through the pipe;
A fuel disperser disposed on the porous medium and formed to disperse the liquid fuel to supply the porous medium; And
And an inlet hole formed in the side of the reactor such that at least one of air and water vapor is supplied to the side of the reactor to be mixed with the liquid fuel vaporized through the porous medium,
At least one of the air and water vapor is formed so as to intersect the flow direction of the vaporized liquid fuel so that at least one of the air and water vapor can be mixed while generating turbulent flow with the vaporized liquid fuel. A fuel reformer using liquid fuel. The method of claim 1,
The fuel disperser,
A shielding portion formed to cover at least a portion of the porous medium so that the liquid fuel may collide with and be dispersed; And
A fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of holes formed in the periphery of the screen so that the dispersed liquid fuel flows into the porous medium. The method of claim 2,
The shielding part is a fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that formed in the portion facing the pipe. The method of claim 3,
To improve the dispersion of the liquid fuel, the fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that the size of the plurality of holes is formed so as to get closer to the blind portion. The method of claim 2,
The screening unit is a fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that the through-holes for passing at least a portion of the liquid fuel is formed. The method of claim 2,
The fuel disperser,
It is formed to protrude from the edge portion, the fuel using a liquid fuel characterized in that it further comprises a raised spot which is supported on the upper inner wall of the reactor and configured to form a predetermined gap between the blind portion and the pipe; Reformer. The method of claim 1,
The fuel disperser is formed with a plurality of holes for passing the liquid fuel,
To improve the dispersion of the liquid fuel, the fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that the size of the plurality of holes are formed so as to be farther away from the portion facing the pipe. The method of claim 1,
The porous medium is a fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that the porosity is 35 to 65% and the particle size is 20 to 300㎛. The method of claim 1,
A fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that it further comprises an electric heater formed to surround the porous medium to heat the porous medium. The method of claim 1,
And a snap ring inserted into a groove formed in the inner wall of the reactor, the snap ring being configured to cover the rear surface of the porous medium. delete delete The method of claim 1,
It is formed to surround the outer peripheral surface of the reactor, and further comprises a side jacket for forming a flow path for supplying at least one of the air and water vapor,
The inlet hole is provided with a plurality in the side jacket, the fuel reformer using a liquid fuel, characterized in that each formed along the outer peripheral surface of the reactor. The method of claim 1,
A catalyst bed installed at a rear end of the reactor, the catalyst bed being configured to generate hydrogen using at least one of the mixed liquid fuel, the air and water vapor; And
It is configured to surround the reactor in which the catalyst bed is installed, characterized in that it further comprises a connection pipe is connected to the pipe is formed so that the liquid fuel supplied to the pipe absorbs the heat generated from the catalyst bed Fuel reformers using liquid fuel.

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