Fuel oil for use both in internal combustion in engine and fuel cell

Abstract

A fuel oil for use both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell containing 50% by volume or more of an alkylate gasoline, and, optionally, 1 to 50% by volume of isopentane, 1 to 12% by volume of a hydrocarbon having 4 carbon atoms, 7% by volume or less of an oxygen-containing compound, and 1 to 30% by volume of a desulfurized light naphtha; and a fuel oil for use both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell containing 10 to 60% by volume of a desulfurized light naphtha, 40 to 90% by volume of a benzene-free reformed gasoline and 0 to 10% by volume of a hydrocarbon having 4 carbon atoms. Each of the above fuel oils is a fuel oil for a fuel cell which can produce hydrogen with good efficiency, has no adverse effect on reforming catalysts and electrodes for a fuel cell, and is reduced in deactivation of reforming catalysts and the like, and a fuel oil for an internal combustion engine which has a high octane number and can be used without causing knocking or the like.

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a fuel oil usable both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell, and, in more detail, relates to a fuel oil which comprises petroleum hydrocarbon fractions such as a gasoline fraction and is usable both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell.[0002] BACKGROUND ART[0003] Fuel for a fuel cell is generally hydrogen, and it is proposed to use, as the hydrogen, hydrogen gas itself, hydrogen obtained by reforming or decomposing methanol or the like, hydrogen obtained from a town gas containing as a main component methane being gaseous at ordinary temperature and at ordinary pressure, or from an LPG or the like containing propane as a main component, or hydrogen from other sources.[0004] However, when hydrogen gas is used as such, handling of the gas is hard since it is itself a gas. Methanol has problems that its energy density is low, it is expensive, supply equipment is not provided, etc. Town gas and LPG have problems that their u...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] The invention was made for solving the above problems. Namely, the invention aim is to provide a fuel oil usable for both an internal combustion engine and a fuel cell which can efficiently produce hydrogen, has no adverse effect on a reforming catalyst and the electrodes of the fuel cell and less causes deactivation of a reforming catalyst when the fuel oil is used as a fuel oil for the fuel cell, and it has a high octane number and can effectively be used without causing knocking, etc. when it is used as a fuel oil for an internal combustion engine of an automobile.

[0052] As described above in detail, according to the invention, there can be provided a fuel oil for use both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell, which can produce hydrogen with good efficiency, has no adverse effect on a reforming catalyst and electrodes for a fuel cell, and is reduced in deactivation of the reforming catalyst, etc., and which has a high octane number and can be used without causing knocking, etc when it is also used as a fuel oil for an internal combustion engine.

Problems solved by technology

However, despite the above findings, it is practically hard to change all of an internal combustion engine having hitherto been used in automobiles, etc. to a fuel cell engine all at once, and at the transitional period, it is desired to use a fuel oil usable both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell.

There are also problems that in comparison with methanol, etc., gasoline fractions are not easy to reform due to deactivation of the reforming catalyst with coke or poisoning of the catalyst, and the life of the catalyst is comparatively short.

Thus, if a fuel oil generally used in an internal combustion engine is used as such in a fuel cell, problems as mentioned above arise, and on the other hand, if a fuel oil developed for a fuel cell is used in an internal combustion engine, problems of knocking, etc. arise, and in either case, simple diversion thereof was difficult.