JPH04200736A - Combustion device of apparatus for modifying fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a combustion device for a fuel cell reformer that supplies reformed gas to a fuel cell.

[Prior Art] Some electric vehicles equipped with a fuel cell are equipped with a fuel cell reformer, for example, and run using electricity generated by the fuel cell as a driving source.

This fuel cell reacts hydrogen with air (oxygen) to generate water and electricity, and the fuel cell reformer is used to generate the hydrogen necessary for the fuel cell to generate electricity. By passing the raw material gas through a heated catalyst layer, it is converted into a reformed gas consisting mainly of hydrogen gas.

This fuel cell reformer is equipped with a combustion section that heats a catalyst layer, reacts raw material gas with the catalyst layer, and supplies the resulting reformed gas to the fuel cell.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the combustion device used in such a fuel cell reformer is formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape, and the combustion device supplies combustion air to the center of the cylinder to combust the fuel gas. However, when the combustion air blows through the center of the device, the combustion condition may deteriorate and the temperature distribution may become uneven.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a combustion device for a fuel cell reformer in which the combustion state is good and the temperature distribution is uniform.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a combustion section that heats a catalyst layer, and supplies a reformed gas obtained by reacting a raw material gas with the catalyst layer to a fuel cell. In the fuel cell reformer to be supplied, the combustion section is formed in a loop shape, and a combustion air passageway communicating both inside and outside of this loop is provided,
Furthermore, a restriction means for restricting the combustion air passing through the center of the loop is provided at a desired position between the air supply means for supplying combustion air to the combustion air passage and the combustion section. .

[Operation] In this invention, the combustion section is formed in a loop shape, a combustion air passage is provided that communicates with both the inside and outside of this loop, and the combustion air passing through the center of the loop is further restricted by a restriction means.

This restriction means can reduce the amount of air blowing through which fuel air passes through the center of the loop in the combustion section, and also direct combustion air to the outside of the loop, making the supply of combustion air more uniform. This stabilizes the combustion and makes the temperature distribution uniform.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail in Section 1 based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electric vehicle equipped with a fuel cell reformer equipped with the combustion device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fuel cell reformer equipped with the combustion device of the present invention, and FIG. is a sectional view taken along line III-I11 of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the combustion device of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the fuel burner and carburetor assembled, and FIG. A side view viewed from the direction of the arrow, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line -■ in FIG. 5.

A fuel cell device 2 and three storage batteries 3 are arranged on the left and right sides of the electric vehicle 1 at approximately the center in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. A raw material tank 4 and a fuel tank 5 are arranged behind the fuel cell device 2. An exhaust pipe 6.7 led out from the fuel cell device 2 extends toward the rear of the vehicle and opens at the rear of the vehicle. A control device 8 is disposed approximately at the rear of the vehicle body.

The fuel cell 9 of the fuel cell device 2 is disposed near the center in the width direction of the vehicle body, and its longitudinal direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and a fuel cell reformer is located outside the vehicle body in the width direction. 10 are arranged.

This fuel cell reformer is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 to 7.

The fuel cell reformer 10 has a cylindrical upper housing 11, and a lower housing 12 is fastened to the lower part of the upper housing 11. A catalyst layer 13 formed by winding two parallel plates in a spiral shape is provided inside the upper housing 11, and a spiral heating layer 14 is formed parallel to and adjacent to the catalyst layer 13. There is.

A heating gas passage 15 is provided in the center of the catalyst layer 13 and the heating layer 14 and extends vertically through the heating gas passage 15, communicating with a heating chamber 16 formed by the lower housing 12. Further, a spiral heating section 17 is disposed below the upper housing 11, and this heating section 17 penetrates into the heating gas passage 15 and extends upward. A supply pump 31 is provided in the heating section 17.
A raw material is supplied from the raw material tank 4 by the drive of , and is heated in the heating section 17 and vaporized to become a raw material gas. A vibrator 19 is connected to the heating section 17 via a connecting vibrator 18, and this vibrator 19 is communicated with the catalyst layer 3. Vibrator 19
A slit +9a is formed in the slit 1.
9a serves as an opening for the vaporized raw material gas to the catalyst layer 13.

A catalyst filling port 20 is provided in the upper part of the catalyst layer 13, and a reformed gas outlet 21 is provided, and the reformed gas obtained by reacting the raw material gas in the catalyst layer 13 is delivered to the reformed gas outlet. 21 to the fuel cell 9. In this fuel cell 9, hydrogen is reacted with air (oxygen) to generate water and electricity, which drive a load 22 such as a motor and charge the storage battery 3. The storage battery 3 provides a driving voltage to the load 22 and also provides a driving voltage to the control device 8 .

A sensor mounting portion 23 is provided in the upper part of the upper housing 11 at a portion corresponding to the catalyst layer 13.
A temperature sensor 24 is attached to the temperature sensor 24, which detects the temperature of the catalyst layer 13 and sends it to the control device 8 as control information.

An opening 12a is formed in the lower part of the lower housing 12, and a fan 25 is connected to this opening 12a. This fan 25 is driven by the control device 8, and secondary air, which is combustion air, is forced into the heating chamber 16 through the opening 12a.
These constitute air supply means A that supplies combustion air to the heating chamber 16.

A combustion section 28 consisting of a hydrogen burner 26 and a fuel burner 27 is arranged in the heating chamber 16, and the combustion section 28 has a loop shape. The hydrogen burner 26 and the fuel burner 27 are arranged concentrically, so that the combustion section 2 is placed in the heating chamber 16.
A combustion air passage B is provided which leads to the inside and outside of the 8 loops.

The fuel burner 27 has a mounting portion 27a at an opposite position inside thereof.
, 27b are formed to protrude, and a mounting portion 27 is also provided on the outside.
c is formed to protrude, and each mounting portion 2
7a to 27c are fixed to a bracket 29 fixed to the lower housing 12. A hydrogen burner 26 is attached above the fuel burner 27 and fitted around its outer periphery.

The hydrogen burner 26 is connected to the fuel cell 9 via a supply vibrator 90, and surplus hydrogen is supplied from the fuel cell 9. An injection hole 26a is formed inside the upper part of this hydrogen burner 26, and hydrogen is injected from this injection hole 26a and burned.

A wire mesh 33 is provided inside the fuel burner 27, and this wire mesh 33 serves as a porous heat transfer promoter that also serves as a partition plate, and serves as a restriction means for restricting secondary air passing through the center of the loop. It constitutes C. That is, the amount of secondary air vented from the central passage 34 that constitutes the combustion air passage B using the wire mesh 33 can be reduced, and the secondary air can also be distributed to the outer peripheral passage 35, thereby increasing the supply of secondary air. The combustion becomes more uniform, the combustion becomes more stable, and the temperature distribution becomes better.

Further, the wire mesh 33 serves as a heat transfer accelerator, receives radiant heat, and prevents heat from escaping to the outside, thereby improving the heat efficiency.

In other words, since the wire mesh 33 transfers heat to the vaporizer 36, it also has the effect of preventing liquefaction.

The wire mesh 33 provided inside the fuel burner 27 is provided on the entire inside of the fuel burner 27, but it may be provided on a part of the inside, and the wire mesh 33 may be double or triple layered. However, it is not limited to a wire mesh, and may be formed of a ceramic plate having a large number of holes, for example. In this case, combustion air is allowed to pass through, and although the heat transfer effect is small, the heat shielding effect is large and it is difficult for heat to escape to the outside.

Further, although the wire mesh 33 is provided on the fuel burner 27, it may be placed at a position where the hydrogen burner 26 is arranged, etc., and between the air supply means A that supplies combustion air to the combustion air passage B and the combustion section 28. It can be provided at any desired position between the two.

The vaporizer 36 is located above the hydrogen burner 26 and the fuel burner 27, and includes a heat receiving part 36a that is bridged between these two cylinders and receives heat from the flame caused by combustion and vaporizes the fuel, and the fuel burner 27.
The vaporized fuel gas is placed at approximately the same level as the fuel burner 2.
7, and a connecting portion 36c that connects the two. This vaporizer 36
The connecting portion 36c is located inside the outer periphery of the loop of the fuel burner 27 in plan view, and the connecting portion 36c of the
b is attached to a bracket 29 fixed to the lower housing 12.

A supply vibrator 37 is connected to the heat receiving part 38a of the vaporizer 36, and fuel, for example, methanol, is supplied from the fuel tank 5 by driving the supply pump 38. Heat receiving part 36a of vaporizer 36
A vaporization heater 40 is provided at the central portion 36g, and the central portion 36g is heated by the vaporization heater 40. This heat receiving part 36a is located above the hydrogen burner 26 and the fuel burner 27 and is bridged to 2yM, which makes the passage longer and allows the fuel to be effectively vaporized by receiving heat from the combustion part 28. I can do it.

The vaporization heater 40 is driven initially when the amount of heat generated by the hydrogen burner 26 and the fuel burner 27 is small, and when the temperature level at this time is detected, a control switch 41 is provided. The heater control switch 41 is made of bimetal, and is connected to the storage battery 3 in series with the vaporizer heater 40, and the heater control switch 4 and its lead wires are arranged in the central passage 34 for secondary air. The discharge part 36b of the carburetor 36 is inserted into the supply port part 27d of the fuel burner 27, and this supply port gfS27d is located around the carburetor 36 and has the lowest temperature and is not directly exposed to flame. A constricted portion 27e is formed in a shape. Now, the discharge part 36b of the carburetor 36 and the supply port part 27 of the fuel burner 27 are connected.
A predetermined gap is formed between the fuel gas and the fuel gas d, and when the fuel gas vaporized by the carburetor 36 is supplied, negative pressure is applied to the supply port 27d side, and primary air is sucked through the gap and mixed.

This carburetor 36 and fuel burner 2f are fixed to a one-piece bracket 29, which ensures the gap accuracy between the discharge part 36b and the supply port part 27d, and as a result, the intake amount of primary air can be reduced. It is easy to ensure accuracy.

The fuel burner 27 is 'i! As shown in Figures 5 to 7, a partition plate 4 is inserted between the upper case 42 and the lower case 43.
4 are joined to form an upper passage 45 and a lower passage 46. A support wire mesh 47 is further provided inside the upper case 42, and this support wire mesh 47 is used to control the nozzle wire w4.
48 is supported on the upper case 42, and this nozzle wire mesh 4
Fuel gas is discharged from 8. The lower passage 46 and the upper passage 4 correspond to the position of the nozzle wire mesh 48 of the partition plate 44.
A communication hole 49 that communicates with 5 is formed.

An ignition device 50 is provided above the fuel burner 27 and the hydrogen burner 26, and a temperature detection sensor 51 for detecting combustion temperature is provided.
The device is controlled using temperature information from the

In this F-well device of the fuel cell reformer, the fuel in the fuel tank 5 is supplied to the heat receiving part 36a of the vaporizer 36 via the supply vibrator 37 by the drive of the supply pump 38, and the heat receiving part 36a is vaporized into fuel gas by heating in a combustion section 28 consisting of a hydrogen burner 26 and a fuel burner 27. The fuel gas flows from the connection part 36c of the carburetor 36 to the discharge part 36b, is discharged to the fuel burner 27, and is mixed with primary air and combusted.

On the other hand, excess hydrogen from the fuel cell 9 is supplied to the hydrogen burner 26 from the supply vibrator 90 and is burned. As described above, the heating section 17 and the catalyst layer 13 are heated by the combustion of the hydrogen burner 26 and the fuel burner 27, and the heating gas generated in the heating chamber 16 by this combustion enters the heating layer 14 through the heating gas passage 15. The catalyst layer 13 is heated as it flows spirally from the center outward, and is finally discharged to the atmosphere from the discharge section 52 on the outer periphery.

A raw material is supplied to this heating section 17 from the raw material tank 4 by driving the supply pump 31, and this raw material is vaporized in the heating section 17 to become a raw material gas, and is transferred from the vibrator 19 to the catalyst layer 13 via the connecting vibrator 18. Supplied. This catalyst layer 1
In step 3, the raw material gas reacts to obtain reformed gas, and this reformed gas is sent from the reformed gas outlet 21 to the fuel cell 9, where hydrogen is reacted with air to generate water and electricity. This generates energy, drives a load 22 such as a motor, and charges the storage battery 3.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of roughly another embodiment of the combustion apparatus of the present invention.

In this embodiment, four independent burners 70 are arranged in a loop shape, thereby forming a combustion section 71 in a loop shape. The connecting portion 728 of the vaporizer 72 is arranged to be located inside the outer periphery of the loop in plan view, the discharge portion 72b of the vaporizer 72 is connected to the burner 70, and the heat receiving portion 72c is located above the burner 70. ing. The combustion section 71 is formed by arranging these four independent burners 70 in a loop, and a combustion air passage is provided that communicates both inside and outside the loop.
A wire gauze 80 is provided to restrict combustion air passing through the center of the loop.

In addition to the above-mentioned loop shape, the combustion part can be formed in a loop shape such as an elliptical shape or a square shape.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention forms the combustion section in a loop shape, provides a combustion air passageway communicating both inside and outside the loop, and further includes means for restricting the combustion air passing through the center of the loop. By using this restriction means, the amount of air vent through which fuel air passes through the center of the loop of the combustion section can be reduced, and the combustion air is also guided to the outside of the loop. The supply of fuel becomes more uniform, combustion becomes more stable, and the temperature distribution becomes more uniform.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electric vehicle equipped with a fuel cell reformer equipped with the combustion device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fuel cell reformer equipped with the combustion device of the present invention, and FIG. is a sectional view taken along III-II+ of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the combustion device of the present invention, FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 1--2 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of still another embodiment of the combustion apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, symbol A is an air supply means, B is a combustion air passage, C is a restriction means, 1 is an electric vehicle, 2 is a fuel cell device, 3 is a storage battery, 4 is a raw material tank, 5 is a fuel tank, 8 is a control device,
9 is a fuel cell, 10 is a fuel cell reformer, 16 is a heating chamber, 17 is a heating section, 36 is a vaporizer, 36a is a heat receiving section, 3
6b is a discharge part, and 36c is a connecting part. Patent Applicant: Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Toshi Tsuruwaka Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a fuel cell reformer that includes a combustion section that heats a catalyst layer and supplies reformed gas obtained by reacting a raw material gas in the catalyst layer to a fuel cell, the combustion section is formed in a loop shape, and A combustion air passage communicating both inside and outside of this loop is provided, and further at a desired position between the air supply means for supplying combustion air to this combustion air passage and the combustion section,
A combustion device for a fuel cell reformer, characterized in that a restriction means is provided for restricting combustion air passing through a central portion of the loop.