A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power plant

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of fixed hydrogen fuel cell power station in the technical field of fuel cell, including several groups of electric piles and a supply source, several groups of electric piles are parallel with each other, each group of electric piles includes: hydrogen inlet pipeline and air inlet pipeline for being connected with supply source, the hydrogen inlet pipeline, air inlet pipeline of each group of electric piles is respectively provided with independent flow regulating device;Supply source at least includes: centralized hydrogen supply system for providing hydrogen for all electric pile reactions, centralized air supply system for providing air for all electric pile reactions;It further includes total control ECU, total control ECU is respectively connected with the operating state detection unit of each group of electric piles, each flow regulating device signal, total control ECU can be according to the operating state of each group of electric piles, to hydrogen supply, air supply, heat supply and electric energy supply Dynamic collaborative control is implemented, to reduce investment cost, reduce installation space, reduce maintenance cost, reduce security risk, improve overall power generation efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of fuel cell technology, specifically to a stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station. Background Technology

[0002] Hydrogen fuel cell systems are widely used in the mobile transportation industry. In recent years, hydrogen fuel cell power generation has also been applied in some stationary power generation facilities, but most of these use vehicle-grade fuel cell systems, often in parallel configurations. Each system has its own independent air supply subsystem, hydrogen supply subsystem, cooling supply subsystem, and electrical control subsystem.

[0003] In existing conventional power generation systems, each system has its own independent subsystem, leading to a larger overall layout space; and each system has its own independent control unit, hydrogen, air, water, and electrical systems, resulting in higher equipment costs.

[0004] High equipment redundancy: Each system is equipped with an independent auxiliary subsystem, resulting in redundant configuration of equipment such as air compressors, water pumps, and controllers, leading to high investment costs and large installation space requirements; Poor operational coordination: Each system is controlled independently, making it difficult to achieve optimal load distribution among multiple stacks, which can easily lead to some stacks operating in an inefficient range and uneven hydrogen utilization. Poor inter-stack consistency: Decentralized thermal management leads to large differences in the operating temperature of each stack, which accelerates inconsistent performance degradation over long-term operation and affects the overall lifespan. High operational complexity: Numerous devices, dispersed layout, numerous potential failure points, and high daily inspection and maintenance costs; Numerous safety hazards: The decentralized hydrogen supply pipeline has many interfaces, increasing the risk of leakage, and the independent protection of each system makes it difficult to form a global safety control.

[0005] Based on this, the present invention designs a stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of existing distributed multi-reactor parallel schemes, such as equipment redundancy, poor coordination, and high operation and maintenance costs. It provides a stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station with a centralized supply architecture and multi-reactor coordinated control capabilities, which can improve overall power generation efficiency and operational safety while reducing investment and operation and maintenance costs.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station includes several sets of fuel cell stacks and a power supply source, wherein the sets of fuel cell stacks are connected in parallel with each other. Each of the described fuel cell stacks includes: The hydrogen inlet pipeline and air inlet pipeline are used to connect to the supply source, and the air outlet pipeline and exhaust gas outlet pipeline are used to discharge by-products. Each hydrogen inlet pipeline and air inlet pipeline of the stack is equipped with an independent flow regulating device. The supply sources include at least: Centralized hydrogen supply system for supplying hydrogen to all fuel cell reactors; Centralized air supply system for supplying air to all fuel cell reactors. All of the hydrogen inlet pipelines are connected to a centralized hydrogen supply system; all of the air inlet pipelines are connected to a centralized air supply system. It also includes a central control ECU, which is connected to the operating status detection unit of each group of fuel cells and each flow regulation device. The central control ECU is configured to: collect real-time operating parameters of each group of fuel cells, and independently adjust the hydrogen and oxygen supply of the corresponding branch according to the load requirements of each fuel cell, so as to realize the coordinated matching of the operating conditions of multiple fuel cell components.

[0008] Preferably, the supply source further includes a centralized thermal management system for providing heat / cold sources for all fuel cell stacks; each group of fuel cell stacks is equipped with heat exchange pipelines, and all heat exchange pipelines are connected to the centralized thermal management system; each group of fuel cell stacks has an independent heat exchange regulating valve on its heat exchange pipelines, and the heat exchange regulating valve is connected to the central control ECU; the centralized thermal management system can meet the low-temperature preheating and high-load cooling requirements of all fuel cell stacks, and the central control ECU can independently adjust the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the heat exchange pipelines according to the temperature feedback of each fuel cell stack, and control the single-stack operating temperature and inter-stack temperature difference within a set threshold within the control power range.

[0009] Preferably, the supply source further includes a centralized electrical system for supplying power to all fuel cell stack equipment; each group of fuel cell stacks is provided with connecting wires, and all connecting wires are uniformly connected to the centralized electrical system through an independent power regulation module; the centralized electrical system integrates a low-voltage power distribution module, a high and low voltage circuit control module, a relay group, and an online insulation detection module; the main control ECU is communicatively connected to the centralized electrical system for controlling the power output and electrical protection of the power plant.

[0010] Preferably, the air output pipeline is a fuel cell stack air output branch pipe, and the air output branch pipes of each fuel cell stack are connected to the air output main pipe; each air output pipeline is fixedly equipped with a back pressure valve, and each back pressure valve adopts a fixed opening structure to establish and maintain the constant back pressure required for the reaction on the air side of each fuel cell stack.

[0011] Preferably, the exhaust gas emission pipeline is used to discharge residual hydrogen, water vapor and exhaust gas generated by the fuel cell stack reaction; each of the exhaust gas emission pipelines is equipped with a solenoid valve; the main control ECU collects the pressure, humidity and hydrogen concentration signals of the anode side of each fuel cell stack, and drives each group of exhaust solenoid valves to perform exhaust and drainage purging actions independently in a time-sharing manner.

[0012] Preferably, the central control ECU centrally manages all electrical components of the power station, and its functions include low-voltage output power regulation, power-on / off sequence logic control of the whole unit, high-voltage relay opening and closing control, and external load power regulation; the central control ECU also has a full system fault diagnosis function and can perform graded protection actions according to the fault level.

[0013] Preferably, the flow regulation device is a hydrogen throttle valve and an air throttle valve, and the heat exchange regulating valve is a coolant throttle valve; the power regulation module is a DC / DC converter; the main control ECU achieves independent dynamic adaptation of each fuel cell stack operating condition by controlling the hydrogen throttle valve, air throttle valve, coolant throttle valve and power regulation module of each branch respectively.

[0014] Preferably, the master control ECU has a built-in multi-stack coordinated control system, specifically including: Load distribution module: Based on the total external load demand, combined with the health status and efficiency MAP of each fuel cell stack, dynamically distribute the output power of each fuel cell stack; Temperature control module: Collects the inlet and outlet temperatures of each fuel cell stack and controls the inter-stack temperature difference within a set range by adjusting the coolant flow rate of each branch. Fault classification and handling module: When a single stack fails, the faulty stack is automatically disconnected and the stack load is redistributed.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. The present invention adopts a centralized hydrogen supply, air supply, heat management and electrical architecture, which eliminates multiple redundant air compressors, hydrogen supply modules, cooling water pumps and controllers, thereby reducing equipment investment and significantly reducing the installation footprint.

[0016] 2. In this invention, the status of each fuel cell stack is collected uniformly by the central control ECU, and the medium flow of each branch is adjusted independently. Combined with the load distribution strategy based on efficiency MAP, all fuel cell stacks are operated in the high-efficiency range, the overall power generation efficiency is improved, and the hydrogen utilization rate is significantly improved. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a system flowchart of the present invention.

[0019] The attached diagram lists the components represented by each number as follows: 1. Centralized hydrogen supply system; 2. Centralized air supply system; 3. Centralized thermal management system; 4. Centralized electrical system; 5. Centralized control ECU; 6. Back pressure valve; 7. Solenoid valve. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] Please see Figure 1 The present invention provides a technical solution: A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station includes several fuel cell stacks and a power source, with the fuel cell stacks connected in parallel. Each stack includes: The hydrogen inlet line and air inlet line are used to connect to the supply source, and the air outlet line and exhaust gas outlet line are used to discharge by-products. Each set of fuel cell stacks is equipped with an independent flow regulating device on the hydrogen inlet line and air inlet line. The supply sources include at least: Centralized hydrogen supply system 1 for supplying hydrogen to all fuel cell reactors; Centralized air supply system 2 for supplying air to all fuel cell reactors. All hydrogen inlet pipelines are connected to a centralized hydrogen supply system 1; all air inlet pipelines are connected to a centralized air supply system 2. It also includes a central control ECU5, which is connected to the operating status detection unit of each fuel cell stack and each flow regulation device. The central control ECU5 is configured to: collect real-time operating parameters of each fuel cell stack, and independently adjust the hydrogen and oxygen supply of the corresponding branch according to the load requirements of each fuel cell stack, so as to achieve coordinated matching of operating conditions of multiple fuel cell stack components.

[0022] This invention differs from previous integrated methods for single, independent hydrogen fuel cell systems. Instead, each independent hydrogen fuel cell system has its own independent air compressor, hydrogen supply system, and thermal management system. It adopts an architecture of "multiple stacks in parallel + centralized supply + independent branch control + overall control coordination," mainly comprising n parallel fuel cell stacks (stack 1, stack 2... stack n), a centralized supply unit, and a central control ECU 5. Each stack is equipped with four main pipelines: a hydrogen inlet pipeline, an air inlet pipeline, an air outlet pipeline, and an exhaust gas pipeline. The pipelines of the same type from each stack are merged and connected to the corresponding system of the centralized supply unit, forming a topology of "centralized supply and independent branch control." This eliminates the need for multiple redundant air compressors, hydrogen supply equipment, thermal management equipment, and electrical equipment, thereby saving installation space, reducing investment costs, reducing maintenance costs, reducing safety hazards, improving overall power generation efficiency, reducing hydrogen consumption in hydrogen fuel cell power plants, and improving generator cooling efficiency and energy consumption.

[0023] This invention adopts a centralized integrated structure, with centralized equipment layout and unified management, which greatly reduces the manpower and time costs of subsequent equipment inspection and maintenance. The public centralized supply system, combined with the independent control structure of each stack branch, can achieve coordinated matching of multiple stack operating conditions, avoiding the problem of inconsistent operating conditions in distributed systems, significantly improving the overall cooling efficiency of the generator set and reducing system operating energy consumption. Through the central control ECU5, the dynamic coordinated control of hydrogen, air, heat, and electricity in multiple dimensions is precisely matched to the operating needs of each stack, effectively improving hydrogen utilization, reducing hydrogen loss, and significantly improving the overall power generation efficiency of the power plant. The centralized integrated structure simplifies the pipeline layout and electrical circuits, and with the independent branch pressure control, purging and exhaust, and fault protection mechanisms, it effectively avoids the instability risks of distributed equipment operation, greatly reduces the safety hazards of power plant operation, and improves the overall operational stability and safety of the equipment.

[0024] The supply source also includes a centralized thermal management system 3 for providing heat / cold sources for all fuel cell stacks; each fuel cell stack is equipped with heat exchange pipelines, and all heat exchange pipelines are connected to the centralized thermal management system 3; each fuel cell stack has an independent heat exchange regulating valve on its heat exchange pipelines, and the heat exchange regulating valve is connected to the main control ECU 5; the centralized thermal management system 3 can meet the low-temperature preheating and high-load cooling requirements of all fuel cell stacks, and the main control ECU 5 can independently adjust the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the heat exchange pipelines according to the temperature feedback of each fuel cell stack, and control the single-stack operating temperature and inter-stack temperature difference within the set threshold within the control power range. In this invention, a large tube bundle vehicle can be used as the specific equipment of the centralized hydrogen supply system 1, which maintains the fuel cell stack pressure and flow rate requirements during centralized hydrogen supply. A large compressed air unit can be used as the specific equipment of the centralized air supply system 2, where the air pressure and flow rate input to the fuel cell stack can be controlled via valves on the pipeline. The thermal management system 3 consists of a cooling tower and a chiller / heater unit. The cooling tower cools the fuel cell stack, and the temperature of the fuel cell stack is adjusted through the cooperation of the cooling tower and the chiller / heater unit. In the specific implementation's startup phase, the main control ECU 5 controls the centralized thermal management system 3 to preheat all fuel cell stacks. Once the temperature of each stack reaches the startup threshold, the centralized hydrogen supply system 1 and the centralized air supply system 2 are started sequentially. The branch throttle valves are opened gradually according to the startup sequence, and the fuel cell stacks are connected to the grid one by one.

[0025] The power supply also includes a centralized electrical system 4 for powering all the fuel cell stack's supporting equipment. Each fuel cell stack is equipped with connecting wires, all of which are connected to the centralized electrical system 4 via independent power regulation modules. The centralized electrical system 4 integrates a low-voltage power distribution module, a high- and low-voltage circuit control module, a relay group, and an online insulation detection module. The central control ECU 5 is communicatively connected to the centralized electrical system 4 for managing the power output and electrical protection of the power plant. In this invention, the centralized hydrogen supply system 1, centralized air supply system 2, and centralized thermal management system 3 are connected in parallel to the circuit through the centralized electrical system 4. The centralized electrical system 4 provides unified adjustment of hydrogen supply, air supply, and cooling / heating control, enabling the equipment to be rationally planned and adjusted.

[0026] The air output pipelines are fuel cell stack air output branch pipes, and the air output branch pipes of each fuel cell stack are connected to the main air output pipe. Each air output pipeline is fixedly equipped with a back pressure valve 6, which has a fixed opening degree structure and is used to establish and maintain the constant back pressure required for the reaction on the air side of each fuel cell stack. In this invention, each air output branch pipe is equipped with a fixed opening degree back pressure valve 6, which utilizes the throttling effect to establish a constant back pressure on the cathode side of each fuel cell stack, ensuring stable reaction pressure.

[0027] The exhaust gas emission lines are used to discharge residual hydrogen, water vapor, and exhaust gas generated by the fuel cell reactor reaction. Each exhaust gas emission line is equipped with a solenoid valve 7. The central control ECU 5 collects the pressure, humidity, and hydrogen concentration signals on the anode side of each fuel cell reactor and independently drives each set of exhaust solenoid valves 7 to perform exhaust and drainage purging actions. In this invention, each fuel cell reactor's exhaust gas emission line is independently equipped with an exhaust solenoid valve 7 to discharge residual hydrogen, liquid water, and inert gases accumulated on the anode side. The central control ECU 5 independently controls the opening sequence and duration of each exhaust solenoid valve 7 based on the anode pressure, humidity, and hydrogen concentration signals of each fuel cell reactor, achieving on-demand purging and reducing hydrogen waste.

[0028] The central control ECU5 centrally manages all electrical components of the power station, including low-voltage output power regulation, power-on / off sequence logic control, high-voltage relay opening and closing control, and external load power regulation. The central control ECU5 also possesses full-system fault diagnosis capabilities and can execute graded protection actions based on fault levels. In this invention, electrical control employs a centralized ECU or PLC control method, and the number of ECUs or PLCs can be flexibly expanded according to requirements.

[0029] The flow regulation devices include hydrogen throttling valves and air throttling valves, while the heat exchange regulating valve is a coolant throttling valve. The power regulation module is a DC / DC converter. The main control ECU5 independently and dynamically adapts the operating conditions of each fuel cell stack by controlling the hydrogen throttling valves, air throttling valves, coolant throttling valves, and power regulation modules of each branch. In this invention, the throttling valves can control the input of gas and liquid, thereby adjusting the actual operating efficiency of the fuel cell stack.

[0030] The main control ECU5 incorporates a multi-stage coordinated control system, specifically including: Load distribution module: Based on the total external load demand, combined with the health status and efficiency MAP of each fuel cell stack, dynamically distribute the output power of each fuel cell stack; Temperature control module: Collects the inlet and outlet temperatures of each fuel cell stack and controls the inter-stack temperature difference within a set range by adjusting the coolant flow rate of each branch. Fault classification and handling module: When a single stack fails, the faulty stack is automatically disconnected and the stack load is redistributed.

Claims

1. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station, comprising several fuel cell stacks and a power supply source, characterized in that: Several groups of the aforementioned fuel cells are connected in parallel with each other. Each of the described fuel cell stacks includes: The hydrogen inlet pipeline and air inlet pipeline are used to connect to the supply source, and the air outlet pipeline and exhaust gas outlet pipeline are used to discharge by-products. Each hydrogen inlet pipeline and air inlet pipeline of the stack is equipped with an independent flow regulating device. The supply sources include at least: A centralized hydrogen supply system (1) for supplying hydrogen to all reactor reactors and a centralized air supply system (2) for supplying air to all reactor reactors. All of the hydrogen inlet pipelines are connected to a centralized hydrogen supply system (1); all of the air inlet pipelines are connected to a centralized air supply system (2). It also includes a central control ECU (5), which is connected to the operating status detection unit of each group of fuel cells and the signal of each flow regulation device. The central control ECU (5) is configured to: collect the real-time operating parameters of each group of fuel cells, and independently adjust the hydrogen and oxygen supply of the corresponding branch according to the load requirements of each fuel cell, so as to realize the working condition coordination and matching of multiple fuel cell components.

2. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supply source also includes a centralized thermal management system (3) for providing heat / cold sources for heat exchange of all the electric stacks; each group of electric stacks is equipped with heat exchange pipelines, and all the heat exchange pipelines are connected to the centralized thermal management system (3); each group of electric stacks has an independent heat exchange regulating valve on its heat exchange pipelines, and the heat exchange regulating valve is connected to the main control ECU (5) by signal; the centralized thermal management system (3) can meet the low-temperature preheating and high-load cooling requirements of all electric stacks, and the main control ECU (5) can independently adjust the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the heat exchange pipelines according to the temperature feedback of each electric stack, and control the single stack operating temperature and the inter-stack temperature difference within the power range within the set threshold.

3. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 2, characterized in that: The supply source also includes a centralized electrical system (4) for supplying power to all the fuel cell stack equipment; each fuel cell stack is equipped with a connecting wire, and all the connecting wires are connected to the centralized electrical system (4) through an independent power regulation module; the centralized electrical system (4) integrates a low-voltage power distribution module, a high and low voltage circuit control module, a relay group and an online insulation detection module; the main control ECU (5) is communicatively connected to the centralized electrical system (4) for controlling the power output and electrical protection of the same power plant.

4. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air output pipeline is a fuel cell stack air output branch pipe, and the air output branch pipes of each fuel cell stack are connected to the air output main pipe; each air output pipeline is fixedly equipped with a back pressure valve (6), and each back pressure valve (6) adopts a fixed opening structure to establish and maintain the constant back pressure required for the reaction on the air side of each fuel cell stack.

5. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 1, characterized in that: The exhaust gas emission pipeline is used to discharge residual hydrogen, water vapor and exhaust gas generated by the fuel cell reactor reaction; each exhaust gas emission pipeline is equipped with a solenoid valve (7); the main control ECU (5) collects the pressure, humidity and hydrogen concentration signals of the anode side of each fuel cell reactor, and drives each group of exhaust solenoid valves (7) to perform exhaust and drainage purging actions independently in time.

6. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 3, characterized in that: The main control ECU (5) centrally manages all electrical components of the power station. Its functions include low-voltage output power regulation, power-on and power-off sequence logic control, high-voltage relay opening and closing control, and external load power regulation. The main control ECU (5) also has a full system fault diagnosis function and can perform graded protection actions according to the fault level.

7. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 3, characterized in that: The flow regulation device is a hydrogen throttle valve and an air throttle valve, and the heat exchange regulating valve is a coolant throttle valve; the power regulation module is a DC / DC converter; the main control ECU (5) controls the hydrogen throttle valve, air throttle valve, coolant throttle valve and power regulation module of each branch respectively to achieve independent dynamic adaptation of each group of fuel cell stack operating conditions.

8. A stationary hydrogen fuel cell power station according to claim 7, characterized in that: The main control ECU (5) has a built-in multi-stack coordinated control system, specifically including: Load distribution module: Based on the total external load demand, combined with the health status and efficiency MAP of each fuel cell stack, dynamically distribute the output power of each fuel cell stack; Temperature control module: Collects the inlet and outlet temperatures of each fuel cell stack and controls the inter-stack temperature difference within a set range by adjusting the coolant flow rate of each branch. Fault classification and handling module: When a single stack fails, the faulty stack is automatically disconnected and the stack load is redistributed.

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