초록 ▼

The reformer is designed for use with a large fuel cell power plant capable of producing megawatts of power, as, for example, would be used by a public utility. The catalyst tubes in the reformer have their upper ends at staggered elevations so as to be capable of having their temperatures individua

The reformer is designed for use with a large fuel cell power plant capable of producing megawatts of power, as, for example, would be used by a public utility. The catalyst tubes in the reformer have their upper ends at staggered elevations so as to be capable of having their temperatures individually monitored by infrared temperature sensors. The catalyst tubes are mounted on a floating support within the reformer housing so as to be free to undergo expansion and contraction during periods of internal temperature variation as the reformer is operated. The floating support is preferably formed from fuel manifolds suspended in the reformer housing. Baffles are included in the reformer housing for evenly distributing heat to the catalyst tube arrays. The reformer has a long burner tube which is approximately the same length as the catalyst tubes.

대표청구항 ▼

For use in a fuel cell power plant, a catalytic reformer assembly for converting raw hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen-rich gaseous fuel, said reformer assembly comprising: (a) a housing having a cylindrical side wall, a first dome-shaped end wall, and a second end wall opposite said first wall; (b) a

For use in a fuel cell power plant, a catalytic reformer assembly for converting raw hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen-rich gaseous fuel, said reformer assembly comprising: (a) a housing having a cylindrical side wall, a first dome-shaped end wall, and a second end wall opposite said first wall; (b) a burner in said housing positioned coaxially with said housing side wall, said burner opening through said housing second wall and including a hot gas tube which extends toward said first wall of said housing; (c) a plurality of catalyst tubes disposed in said housing, each of said catalyst tubes having a first closed end and an opposite second end, and each of said catalyst tubes being provided with a ceramic heat-insulating cover having an annular free edge and overlying said closed end of each catalyst tube, said covers extending a short distance toward said second ends of said catalyst tubes, said catalyst tubes being arranged in a plurality of circular arrays each of which is concentric with said burner, said arrays being disposed in tiers so that the first ends of all of the catalyst tubes in a first tier extend beyond the first ends of all the catalyst tubes in a second tier to the extent that a first imaginary plane containing the endmost point in each ceramic cover in said second tier is closer to said housing second wall than a secondary imaginary plane containing the annular free edges of each ceramic cover in said first tier; and (d) at least one optical temperature sensor means mounted on said housing and focused on the portions of said catalyst tubes in said first tier which lie between said imaginary planes to monitor the temperature of catalyst tubes in said first tier. For use in a fuel cell power plant, a catalytic reformer assembly for converting raw hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen-rich gaseous fuel, said reformer assembly comprising: (a) a housing having a cylindrical side wall, a dome-shaped top wall, and a bottom wall; (b) a burner in said housing positioned coaxially with said housing side wall, said burner opening through said housing bottom wall and being arranged to direct hot gases toward said top wall; (c) a plurality of catalyst tubes disposed in said housing, said catalyst tubes being arranged in a plurality of circular tiers, each of which is concentric with said burner; (d) a plurality of annular gaseous fuel manifolds in said housing proximate said housing bottom wall, each of said catalyst tube tiers being mounted on a respective one of said gaseous fuel manifolds, with the individual catalyst tubes being connected at their bottom ends to the gaseous fuel manifolds so that the hydrogen-rich gaseous fuel produced in said catalyst tubes is exhausted into said gaseous fuel manifolds from said catalyst tubes, said gaseous fuel manifolds being vertically offset one from another to provide the tiers in which said catalyst tubes are disposed; (e) a plurality of radial spoke tubes interconnecting said gaseous fuel manifolds with each other to stabilize the positioning of said gaseous fuel manifolds with respect to each other, and to provide for flow of the gaseous fuel between the gaseous fuel manifolds; and (f) hanger means for flexibly suspending said gaseous fuel manifolds from said housing side wall and above said housing bottom wall, said hanger means being constructed so as to automatically adjust to thermally induced expansion and contraction of said gaseous fuel manifolds during operation of the reformer assembly.