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A high temperature electrochemical converter provides regenerative heating of electrochemical converter reactants to an operating temperature using an exhaust flow. Additionally, a radiant thermal integration configuration transfers heat from an electrochemical converter assembly to power a bottomin

A high temperature electrochemical converter provides regenerative heating of electrochemical converter reactants to an operating temperature using an exhaust flow. Additionally, a radiant thermal integration configuration transfers heat from an electrochemical converter assembly to power a bottoming plant, thereby achieving flexible and efficient system design. In a fuel cell operating mode, for example, it facilitates the recovery of waste heat of the fuel cell reaction for integration with bottoming thermodynamic devices, such as a gas or steam turbine. The radiant thermal integration is accomplished by efficient radiative heat transfer between the external columnar surface of the converter assembly and the heat transfer assembly containing the working medium of a heat sink or a heat source device, and by a regenerative process where incoming reactants are heated to the converter operating temperature by outgoing exhaust.

대표청구항 ▼

A high efficiency electrochemical converter system, said system comprising: an electrochemical converter assembly having a plurality of converter elements disposed in columns, said converter assembly including reactant supply means for supplying reactants to said electrochemical converter assembly,

A high efficiency electrochemical converter system, said system comprising: an electrochemical converter assembly having a plurality of converter elements disposed in columns, said converter assembly including reactant supply means for supplying reactants to said electrochemical converter assembly, and exhaust means for removing exhaust gases, electricity extraction means for extracting an electrical current from said assembly, regenerative heat exchange means coupled to one end of said converter assembly for heating said reactants prior to introduction to said converter assembly to a selected operating temperature while simultaneously cooling said exhaust to effectuate a balanced thermal energy transfer between said incoming reactants and said outgoing exhaust gases such that the heat energy transferred from said exhaust to said incoming reactants is approximately equal to the heat absorbed by said reactants, and an integrated heat transfer assembly having a plurality of heat transfer elements for transport of a working medium, said heat transfer elements being disposed between said electrochemical converter elements without contacting said converter elements to provide efficient temperature regulation thereof and serving to remove waste heat by radiant heat transfer from said columnar converter elements to said heat transfer elements, said heat transfer assembly being adapted to couple said waste heat to a bottoming thermodynamic device thereby substantially reducing the need for applying a supplemental cooling mass flow through said electrochemical converter elements to remove waste heat therefrom.