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

0034] The fuel oil of the invention can be used both in an internal combustion engine and in a fuel cell. Namely, when used in an internal combustion engine, the fuel oil has a high octane number and can be used effectively without causing knocking, and when it is used in a fuel cell, it can produce hydrogen efficiently, and has no adverse effect on the reforming catalyst and the electrodes of the fuel cell and thus deactivation of the reforming catalyst, etc. can be reduced.

0035] Particularly, the fuel oil of the invention has characteristics that the purity of hydrogen produced therefrom is high, lowering of the partial pressure of hydrogen is small, etc., and is, therefore, suitable for production of hydrogen for a fuel cell.

0036] For producing hydrogen from the fuel oil, the fuel oil is first desulfurized according to necessity. As the desulfurization method, a hydrodesulfurization method is usually used. The hydrodesulfurization is carried out under a pressure of from ordinary pressure to 5 MPa at a temperature of 200 to 400.degree. C. using a hydrodesulfurizing catalyst such as Co--Mo / alumina or Ni--Mo / alumina and an adsorbent of hydrogen sulfide such as ZnO. Then, the desulfurized fuel oil is subjected to steam reforming and / or partial oxidation. According to the invention, a fuel oil free of carbon deposition on the steam reforming catalyst, etc. and capable of efficiently producing hydrogen can be obtained.

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.