Power generation system and fuel supply system

Abstract

To provide a power generation system and a fuel supply system that can sufficiently reduce power generation cost.SOLUTION: A power generation system comprises: pipelines 5a, 5b that supply second gas including hydrogen to a separator 12 of a fuel battery cell 10, the second gas being exhausted from a hydrogen generator 20 that generates hydrogen and generates the second gas; a gas-liquid separation tub 6 that separates water content included in the second gas caused to pass through the separator 12; a decompression device 8 that is disposed between the pipelines 5a and 5b, and reduces the effective cross section of a channel to increase the flow rate of the second gas, thereby decompressing the second gas; and a pipeline 7 that joins the second gas from which the water content is separated in the gas-liquid separation tub 6 to the second gas decompressed by the decompression device 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power generation system configured to generate power by reacting a first gas containing an oxidant with a second gas containing hydrogen, and a fuel supply system configured to supply the second gas to a power generation cell of the power generation system. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, the following patent document discloses a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack and a fuel supply system that supplies hydrogen gas to the fuel cell stack as fuel. In this case, the fuel supply system (hydrogen tank) is connected to an inlet on the anode side of the fuel cell stack by a hydrogen supply pipe. The hydrogen supply pipe is also provided with a main valve that switches between supplying and stopping hydrogen gas from the hydrogen tank, a pressure reducing valve (regulator) that adjusts the hydrogen pressure, an injector that adjusts the amount of hydrogen gas supplied, and a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of the hydrogen gas injected from the injector.

[0003] A gas-liquid separator that separates exhaust gas (a mixture of unreacted hydrogen gas and water) into hydrogen gas and water is connected to the anode-side exhaust port of the fuel cell stack. An exhaust drain pipe is connected to this gas-liquid separator via an exhaust drain valve, and a configuration is adopted in which the water stored in the gas-liquid separator (water separated from the exhaust gas) is discharged into the exhaust drain pipe together with gas containing impurities by controlling the exhaust drain valve to an open state. A circulation flow path is connected to the gas-liquid separator to return the separated hydrogen gas to the hydrogen supply pipe (to be merged with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen tank to the fuel cell stack), and a hydrogen pump is disposed in the circulation flow path to pump hydrogen gas from the gas-liquid separator to the hydrogen supply pipe.

[0004] In this fuel cell system, the supply of hydrogen gas from the hydrogen tank is started by controlling the main valve to an open state, and the hydrogen gas is injected from the injector and supplied to the anode side of the fuel cell stack after the pressure is adjusted by the pressure reducing valve. At this time, the control unit controls the injector according to the measurement results by the pressure sensor to adjust the amount of hydrogen gas supplied to the fuel cell stack (anode side).

[0005] Furthermore, the exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell stack (anode side) is separated into hydrogen gas and water in a gas-liquid separator. Here, the separated water is stored in the gas-liquid separator and is discharged into the exhaust drain pipe together with gas containing impurities when the exhaust drain valve is controlled to be in an open state. Furthermore, the separated hydrogen gas is pumped by a hydrogen pump through a circulation flow path to a hydrogen supply pipe. As a result, the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separator is merged with the hydrogen gas being supplied from the hydrogen tank to the fuel cell stack, and the unreacted hydrogen gas that did not contribute to power generation is reused as part of the fuel, thereby reducing the amount of hydrogen gas consumed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-038620 A (Pages 4-11, Figures 1-7) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the fuel cell system disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document has the following problems to be solved. Specifically, the above-mentioned fuel cell system generates electricity by supplying hydrogen gas from a fuel supply system (hydrogen tank) to a fuel cell stack (anode side) via a hydrogen supply pipe, and also separates exhaust gas (a mixture of unreacted hydrogen gas and water) from the fuel cell stack into hydrogen gas and water in a gas-liquid separator, and the separated hydrogen gas is merged with the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen supply pipe via a circulation flow path and reused.

[0008] In this case, the fuel cell system employs a configuration in which hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separator is pumped to a hydrogen supply pipe by a hydrogen pump. In other words, in this fuel cell system, the amount of hydrogen gas consumed is reduced by recovering and reusing hydrogen gas that did not contribute to power generation, but electricity is consumed by the hydrogen pump to return the recovered hydrogen gas to the hydrogen supply pipe, which causes a problem that it is difficult to reduce power generation costs. In addition, the hydrogen pump is expensive, which makes it even more difficult to reduce power generation costs.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems to be solved, and has as its main object to provide a power generation system and a fuel supply system that can sufficiently reduce the power generation cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the power generation system according to claim 1 is a power generation system including a power generation cell configured to generate power by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, the power generation cell including a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidant is passed, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen is passed, and a plurality of flat plate-shaped laminated objects at least including the membrane electrode assembly disposed between the first separator and the second separator, the laminated objects being laminated and integrated together, the first separator generating hydrogen and the second gas, The system includes a first pipe that supplies a second gas discharged from a generation device that generates a second gas to the second separator, a separation device that separates moisture contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator, a pressure reduction device that is disposed in the first pipe and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow rate of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of ​​a flow path, and a second pipe that merges the second gas from which moisture has been separated in the separation device with the second gas that has been reduced in pressure by the pressure reduction device.

[0011] A fuel supply system according to claim 2 is a fuel supply system configured to supply the second gas to a power generation cell configured to generate power by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, the fuel supply system being configured to stack and integrate a plurality of flat plate-shaped laminated objects including at least a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidant is passed, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen is passed, and the membrane electrode assembly disposed between the first separator and the second separator, the fuel supply system being configured to supply the second gas to a power generation cell configured to generate power by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, the fuel supply system being configured to generate hydrogen by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, The system includes a generation device that generates the second gas, a first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from the generation device to the second separator, a separation device that separates moisture contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator, a pressure reduction device that is disposed in the first pipe and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow rate of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of ​​a flow path, and a second pipe that merges the second gas from which moisture has been separated in the separation device with the second gas reduced in pressure by the pressure reduction device. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The power generation system of claim 1 and the fuel supply system of claim 2 include a first pipe that supplies a second gas discharged from a generation device that generates hydrogen to generate a second gas to a second separator, a separation device that separates moisture contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator, a pressure reduction device that is disposed in the first pipe and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow rate of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path, and a second pipe that merges the second gas from which moisture has been separated in the separation device with the second gas reduced in pressure by the pressure reduction device.

[0013] Therefore, according to the power generation system of claim 1 and the fuel supply system of claim 2, by recovering and reusing the unreacted second gas (hydrogen) discharged from the second separator, not only can the amount of hydrogen consumed for power generation be sufficiently reduced, but also a pump or the like for combining the recovered hydrogen with the second gas discharged from the generation device is not required, and no electricity is consumed for the combination, thereby sufficiently reducing the cost of power generation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a power generation system 1. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of a pressure reducing device 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a fuel supply device and a power generation system will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0016] The power generation system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to generate electricity by reacting gases for power generation (air (atmosphere: oxygen), which is an example of a "first gas containing an oxidant," and hydrogen gas, which is an example of a "second gas containing hydrogen"). Specifically, the power generation system 1 includes a pump 2, pipes 3a to 3c, a gas-liquid separation tank 4, pipes 5a to 5c, a gas-liquid separation tank 6, pipe 7, a pressure reducing device 8, pipes 9a and 9b, a fuel cell 10, and a hydrogen generation device 20. In the power generation system 1 of this example, the components other than the hydrogen generation device 20 constitute a "power generation system including a power generation cell configured to be capable of generating power by reacting a first gas with a second gas," and the components other than the pump 2, pipes 3a to 3c, and the fuel cell 10 constitute a "fuel supply system configured to be capable of supplying a second gas to the power generation cell."

[0017] In this case, the fuel cell 10 is an example of a "power generation cell" and includes a power generation stack made up of separator 11, which is an example of a "first separator," separator 12, which is an example of a "second separator," and MEA 13, which is an example of a "membrane electrode assembly," as well as a separator (not shown) for passing a cooling fluid (air or coolant), and end plates (not shown) disposed at both ends in the stacking direction of each laminate. In this example, each plate such as separators 11 and 12, MEA 13, the cooling separator, and the end plates correspond to "plurality of flat plate-shaped laminated objects," and the fuel cell 10 is configured by stacking and integrating these.

[0018] Separator 11 has a groove (not shown) for passing air (atmosphere), and separator 12 has a groove (not shown) for passing hydrogen gas. Both separators 11 and 12 are stacked so that MEA 13 is sandwiched between them, and air flow path 11c is formed by the groove of separator 11 and one surface of MEA 13, and hydrogen flow path 12c is formed by the groove of separator 12 and the other surface of MEA 13. MEA 13 is configured with an electrolyte membrane, a catalyst layer, a gas diffusion layer, and the like. Note that an actual fuel cell 10 is configured with a plurality of the above-mentioned power generation stacks and cooling separators according to the power generation capacity required for power generation system 1, but in order to facilitate understanding of the configuration and operation of power generation system 1, only one power generation stack is illustrated, and illustration and description of cooling separators and end plates are omitted.

[0019] The hydrogen generation device 20 is an example of a "generation device that generates hydrogen to generate a second gas" and is configured to receive water recovered in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4, 6 as described below as a "raw material", generate hydrogen by electrolyzing the water, and supply the generated hydrogen (hydrogen gas) to the separator 12 of the fuel cell 10 as a "second gas: fuel".

[0020] On the other hand, the pump 2 pressure-feeds (supplies) air into the air flow path 11c of the separator 11. The pipe 3a is connected to the intake port of the pump 2, the pipe 3b has one end connected to the exhaust port of the pump 2 and the other end connected to the pipe connection part 11a (intake port) of the separator 11, and the pipe 3c has one end connected to the pipe connection part 11b (exhaust port) of the separator 11 and the other end connected to the gas-liquid separation tank 4. Instead of the above-mentioned configuration of the pump 2 and each of the pipes 3a to 3c, the pipe 3a can be directly connected to the pipe connection part 11a of the separator 11, the other end of the pipe 3c can be connected to the intake port of the pump 2, and the exhaust port of the pump 2 can be connected to the gas-liquid separation tank 4 via another pipe (not shown). When such a configuration is adopted, the pump 2 sucks in the air inside the separator 11 (air flow path 11c), thereby sucking (supplying) new air from the pipe 3a to the separator 11 (air flow path 11c), and the air sucked in by the pump 2 (exhaust air from the separator 11) is pressure-fed to the gas-liquid separation tank 4.

[0021] The gas-liquid separation tank 4 is configured to separate the exhaust gas (a mixture of air and water) discharged from the separator 11 and introduced through the pipe 3c into air and water. In this case, when generating electricity in the fuel cell 10, the air (oxygen) passing through the separator 11 (air flow path 11c) reacts with the hydrogen gas passing through the separator 12 (hydrogen flow path 12c) to generate water in the air flow path 11c, and this water is discharged from the separator 11 together with the exhaust gas (air reacted with hydrogen). Therefore, the power generation system 1 of this example employs a configuration in which this water is recovered in the gas-liquid separation tank 4 and the recovered water is supplied to the hydrogen generation device 20 as a "raw material".

[0022] One end of the pipe 5a is connected to the exhaust port of the hydrogen generation apparatus 20 and the other end is connected to the inlet 8a of the pressure reduction apparatus 8, one end of the pipe 5b is connected to the exhaust port 8b of the pressure reduction apparatus 8 and the other end is connected to the pipe connection part 12a (intake port) of the separator 12, and one end of the pipe 5c is connected to the pipe connection part 12b (exhaust port) of the separator 12 and the other end is connected to the gas-liquid separation tank 6. In this example, the pipes 5a and 5b together constitute "a first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from the generation apparatus to the second separator."

[0023] The gas-liquid separation tank 6 is an example of a "separator" and is configured to separate the exhaust gas (a mixture of unreacted hydrogen gas and water) that is passed through the hydrogen flow path 12c of the separator 12 and discharged from the pipe connection part 12b to the pipe 5c into hydrogen gas and water. In this case, when hydrogen is generated in the hydrogen generation device 20, water that has not been electrolyzed is discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20 together with hydrogen, and this water passes through the separator 12 (hydrogen flow path 12c) and is discharged from the pipe connection part 12b. Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, a configuration is adopted in which this water is recovered in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 and the recovered water is supplied to the hydrogen generation device 20 as a "raw material" for reuse. When a large amount of water is discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20, it is preferable to provide a gas-liquid separation tank (not shown) between the hydrogen generation device 20 and the pressure reduction device 8 as an example to separate the water so that a large amount of discharged water does not flow into the separator 12.

[0024] The pipe 7 is an example of "a second pipe that merges the second gas from which moisture has been separated in the separation device with the second gas depressurized by the depressurization device", and has one end connected to the exhaust port of the gas-liquid separation tank 6 and the other end connected to the depressurization device 8. The depressurization device 8 is an example of "a depressurization device that depressurizes the second gas by increasing the flow rate of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path", and as described above, the inlet 8a is connected to the hydrogen generation device 20 via the pipe 5a, and the outlet 8b is connected to the fuel cell 10 (separator 12) via the pipe 5b.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the pressure reducing device 8 is provided with a reduced diameter section 8c (a section where the effective cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path is gradually reduced) between the inlet 8a and the outlet 8b. When the hydrogen gas introduced from the inlet 8a through the piping 5a and moved in the pressure reducing device 8 in the direction of the arrow Aa passes through the reduced diameter section 8c as shown by the arrow Ab, the flow rate increases, and a pressure drop (pressure reduction) occurs due to the Venturi effect. As shown in FIG. 2, the piping 7 is connected to the reduced diameter section 8c in this example, and the hydrogen gas separated (from which moisture has been removed) in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 is joined to the hydrogen gas from the hydrogen generating device 20 in the reduced diameter section 8c. In this example, the end of the piping 7 is opened toward the downstream side in the "passing direction of the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generating device 20 (direction toward the right in FIG. 2)" of the pressure reducing device 8. In addition, in this example, a configuration is adopted in which the flow rate of hydrogen gas is reduced by expanding the hydrogen flow path downstream of the narrowing section 8c, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration (not shown) in which hydrogen gas is supplied to the fuel cell 10 without reducing the flow rate increased in the "pressure reducing device" (without expanding the flow path downstream of the narrowing section).

[0026] The pipe 9a is disposed so that the water separated from the exhaust gas in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4, 6 and stored in the tanks can be supplied to the hydrogen generation device 20 as a "raw material for hydrogen gas generation." Note that in practice, a valve mechanism that permits / restricts the discharge of water from the gas-liquid separation tanks 4, 6 and a valve mechanism that restricts the discharge of SO4 from the water supplied to the hydrogen generation device 20 are also provided. 2- An anion exchange resin filter for removing (sulfate ions) and the like are disposed in the pipe 9a, but illustrations and descriptions thereof are omitted in order to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the power generation system 1. The pipe 9b is connected to the gas-liquid separation tank 4 so that the separated air can be released into the atmosphere.

[0027] As described above, in this power generation system 1, air (atmosphere: oxygen) and hydrogen gas (hydrogen) generated in the hydrogen generation device 20 are reacted in the fuel cell 10 to generate electricity. In the hydrogen generation device 20, hydrogen is generated by electrolysis using, as "raw materials," water generated in the fuel cell 10 (separator 11) during power generation and water generated during hydrogen generation in the hydrogen generation device 20 (water discharged together with hydrogen). Therefore, during initial operation immediately after installation of the power generation system 1, or when starting operation after a long period of suspension (when there is not a sufficient amount of water in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4, 6), water (raw material) for generating hydrogen required to start power generation is injected into the hydrogen generation device 20.

[0028] In this state, when an instruction to start power generation is given by operating an operation unit (not shown), the hydrogen generation device 20 generates hydrogen by electrolyzing water as a raw material and supplies the generated hydrogen (hydrogen gas) to the separator 12, and the pump 2 starts pumping air (oxygen) to supply it to the separator 11. As a result, electricity is generated by the reaction between the air (oxygen) passed through the air flow passage 11c and the hydrogen gas (hydrogen) passed through the hydrogen flow passage 12c.

[0029] In this case, during power generation in the fuel cell 10, about 85% of the hydrogen gas introduced from the pipe connection part 12a to the hydrogen flow path 12c is consumed by reaction with air (oxygen), but the remaining hydrogen gas of about 15% does not react with air (oxygen) and is discharged from the pipe connection part 12b to the pipe 5c. Therefore, the power generation system 1 of this example employs a configuration in which the hydrogen gas (unreacted hydrogen) discharged from the pipe connection part 12b is recovered and the recovered hydrogen gas is merged with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generation device 20 to the separator 12 (pipe connection part 12a) for reuse, thereby reducing the amount of hydrogen gas (hydrogen) consumed by the entire system.

[0030] Here, as described above, the hydrogen gas discharged from the pipe connection part 12b contains water and the like that is discharged together with the hydrogen gas from the hydrogen generation device 20 and passed through the hydrogen flow path 12c. Therefore, when such hydrogen gas is reused as it is (when it is supplied to the separator 12 as it is), there is a risk that the amount of moisture flowing from the pipe connection part 12a into the hydrogen flow path 12c will be very large. In such a state, the water droplets that flow into the hydrogen flow path 12c may become a resistance to the passage of the hydrogen gas, and it may be difficult to pass a sufficient amount of hydrogen gas to react with air (oxygen). Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, a configuration is adopted in which the moisture discharged together with the hydrogen gas from the pipe connection part 12b to the pipe 5c is separated into water and hydrogen gas in the gas-liquid separation tank 6, and the hydrogen gas that contains almost no moisture in the liquid phase is merged with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generation device 20 and supplied to the separator 12.

[0031] In this case, in the power generation system 1 of this example, in which hydrogen gas generated by electrolysis in the hydrogen generation device 20 is supplied to the fuel cell 10 to generate power, the pressure of the hydrogen gas in the pipe 5a (discharge pressure of hydrogen gas from the hydrogen generation device 20) is a low pressure of about 0.4 MPa. On the other hand, the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 is in a state of being reduced in pressure to a low pressure equivalent to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, since the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20 is at a higher pressure than the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separation tank 6, it is difficult to directly merge the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 with the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20. On the contrary, depending on the connection mode of the pipes, there is a risk that the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20 will flow into the gas-liquid separation tank 6 (the hydrogen gas that should be merged from the gas-liquid separation tank 6 will flow back).

[0032] Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, a pressure reducing device 8 is provided in the "first pipe (pipes 5a, 5b in this example)" connecting the hydrogen generation device 20 and the separator 12 (piping connection portion 12a), hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generation device 20 to the separator 12 is reduced in pressure reducing device 8, and hydrogen gas separated in gas-liquid separation tank 6 is merged with the hydrogen gas with reduced pressure. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, in the pressure reducing device 8, the flow rate of hydrogen gas introduced from inlet 8a via pipe 5a and moved within the pressure reducing device 8 in the direction of arrow Aa increases when the hydrogen gas passes through reduced diameter portion 8c as shown by arrow Ab, and this causes a pressure reduction (reduced pressure) due to the Venturi effect, thereby reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas within reduced diameter portion 8c.

[0033] As a result, the low-pressure hydrogen gas in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 flows into the pressure reducing device 8 (reduced diameter section 8c) through the piping 7 as shown by arrow B, smoothly merges with the hydrogen gas (hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20) moving in the reduced diameter section 8c as shown by arrow Ab, and moves toward the outlet 8b as shown by arrow C. As a result, a mixture of the hydrogen gas generated by the hydrogen generation device 20 and the hydrogen gas discharged from the separator 12 and from which moisture has been removed in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 is supplied from the piping connection section 12a through the piping 5b to the separator 12 (hydrogen flow path 12c), and as described above, is reacted with the air (oxygen) passing through the separator 11 (air flow path 11c). As a result, the amount of hydrogen gas consumed by the power generation system 1 is reduced by the amount of the merged hydrogen gas (unreacted hydrogen gas discharged from the separator 12).

[0034] Meanwhile, by continuing power generation in the fuel cell 10 as described above, moisture contained in the exhaust gas from the separator 11 is separated and stored in the gas-liquid separation tank 4, and moisture contained in the exhaust gas from the separator 12 is separated and stored in the gas-liquid separation tank 6. This water is supplied from the gas-liquid separation tanks 4, 6 to the hydrogen generation device 20 via the pipe 9a as a raw material for hydrogen generation in the hydrogen generation device 20. As a result, new hydrogen gas is continuously generated in the hydrogen generation device 20 by electrolysis of the supplied water. Thereafter, power generation by the power generation system 1 continues until an instruction to end power generation is given.

[0035] Thus, this power generation system 1 includes pipes 5a, 5b that supply hydrogen gas discharged from a hydrogen generation device 20 that generates hydrogen gas by generating hydrogen to the separator 12 of the fuel cell 10, a gas-liquid separation tank 6 that separates moisture contained in the hydrogen gas that has passed through the separator 12, a pressure reduction device 8 that is disposed in the pipes 5a, 5b and reduces the pressure of the hydrogen gas by increasing the flow rate of the hydrogen gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path, and a pipe 7 that merges the hydrogen gas from which moisture has been separated in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 with the hydrogen gas reduced in pressure by the pressure reduction device 8.

[0036] Therefore, according to this power generation system 1, by recovering and reusing the unreacted hydrogen gas discharged from the separator 12, not only can the amount of hydrogen gas consumed for power generation be sufficiently reduced, but also a pump or the like is not required to combine the recovered hydrogen gas with the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generation device 20, and no electricity is consumed to combine the gases, thereby significantly reducing power generation costs.

[0037] The configurations of the "power generation system" and the "fuel supply system" are not limited to the example configuration of the power generation system 1 described above.

[0038] For example, the configuration of the power generation system 1 including the hydrogen generation device 20 (hydrogen gas supply source) has been described as an example, but the configuration of the present invention can also be applied to a "power generation system" that generates power using hydrogen gas supplied from a "generation device" as an external device instead of the hydrogen generation device 20. The configuration of the present invention can also be applied to a "fuel supply system" that supplies hydrogen gas as fuel to a power generation unit as an external device similar to the pump 2, the pipes 3a to 3c, and the fuel cell 10. Furthermore, the hydrogen generation device 20 that generates hydrogen by electrolyzing the water recovered in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6 as a raw material has been described as an example, but a "generation device" configured to generate hydrogen without using the water discharged from the separators 11 and 12 can also be adopted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1. Power generation system 2. Pump 3a~3c, 5a~5c, 7, 9a, 9b Piping 4,6 Gas-liquid separation tank 8 Pressure reducing device 8a Introduction 8b Outlet 8c Reduced diameter part 10 Fuel Cell 11,12 Separator 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b Piping connection parts 11c Air passage 12c Hydrogen flow path 13 MEA 20 Hydrogen Generator

Claims

1. A power generation system including a power generation cell which is configured to generate power by stacking and integrating a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidant is passed, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen is passed, and a plurality of flat plate-like laminated objects including at least the membrane electrode assembly disposed between the first separator and the second separator, and which is capable of generating power by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, a first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from a generator that generates the second gas by generating hydrogen to the second separator; a separation device that separates moisture contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator; a pressure reducing device that is disposed in the first pipe and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing a flow velocity of the second gas by reducing an effective cross-sectional area of ​​a flow path; a second pipe for allowing the second gas from which moisture has been separated in the separation device to merge with the second gas whose pressure has been reduced by the pressure reduction device.

2. A fuel supply system comprising a plurality of flat plate-like laminated objects, each of which includes at least a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidant is passed, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen is passed, and a membrane electrode assembly disposed between the first separator and the second separator, stacked and integrated together, and configured to supply the second gas to a power generation cell configured to generate power by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, A generator that generates the hydrogen to generate the second gas; a first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from the generator to the second separator; a separation device that separates moisture contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator; a pressure reducing device that is disposed in the first pipe and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing a flow velocity of the second gas by reducing an effective cross-sectional area of ​​a flow path; a second pipe for allowing the second gas from which moisture has been separated in the separation device to merge with the second gas whose pressure has been reduced by the pressure reduction device.

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