Power generation system and fuel supply system
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2023123300
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-07-28
- Publication Date
- 2026-10-13
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-07-28
AI Technical Summary
【0012】 請求項1,2記載の発電システム、および請求項3,4記載の燃料供給システムでは、水素を発生させて第2の気体を生成する生成装置から排出される第2の気体を第2のセパレータに供給する第1の配管と、第2のセパレータを通過させられた第2の気体に含まれている水分を分離させる第1の分離装置と、第1の配管に配設されると共に、流路の有効断面積の縮小によって第2の気体の流速を上昇させることで第2の気体を減圧させる減圧装置と、第1の分離装置において水分を分離された第2の気体を減圧装置によって減圧された第2の気体に合流させる第2の配管とを備えている。
Smart Images

Figure 0007933386000001 
Figure 0007933386000002
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a power generation system configured to generate power by a reaction between a first gas containing an oxidant and a second gas containing hydrogen, and a fuel supply system configured to be capable of supplying the second gas to power generation cells of the power generation system.
Background Art
[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 as fuel to the fuel cell stack. In this case, the fuel supply system (hydrogen tank) is connected to an anode-side inlet of the fuel cell stack via a hydrogen supply pipe. The hydrogen supply pipe is further provided with a main valve that switches supply / stop of hydrogen gas from the hydrogen tank, a pressure reducing valve (regulator) that adjusts hydrogen pressure, an injector that adjusts the supply amount of hydrogen gas, a pressure sensor that measures the pressure of hydrogen gas injected from the injector, and the like.
[0003] Further, a gas-liquid separator that separates exhaust gas (a mixture of unreacted hydrogen gas and water) into hydrogen gas and water is connected to an anode-side outlet of the fuel cell stack. An exhaust drain pipe is connected to this gas-liquid separator via an exhaust drain valve, and by controlling the exhaust drain valve to an open state, a configuration is adopted in which the water stored in the gas-liquid separator (water separated from the exhaust gas) is discharged to the exhaust drain pipe together with gas containing impurities. The gas-liquid separator is connected to a circulation flow path for returning the separated hydrogen gas to the hydrogen supply pipe (to merge with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen tank to the fuel cell stack), and the circulation flow path is provided with a hydrogen pump that pressure-feeds the 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 initiated when the main valve is controlled to be open. This hydrogen gas is then pressure-regulated by a pressure-reducing valve and injected from an injector to be supplied to the anode side of the fuel cell stack. At this time, the control unit adjusts the amount of hydrogen gas supplied to the fuel cell stack (anode side) by controlling the injector according to the measurement results from the pressure sensor.
[0005] Furthermore, exhaust gas discharged from the fuel cell stack (anode side) is separated into hydrogen gas and water in a gas-liquid separator. The separated water is stored in the gas-liquid separator and discharged into the exhaust drain pipe along with impurities when the exhaust drain valve is controlled to be open. The separated hydrogen gas is then pumped to the hydrogen supply pipe via a circulation channel by a hydrogen pump. As a result, the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separator is combined with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen tank to the fuel cell stack, so that unreacted hydrogen gas that did not contribute to power generation is reused as part of the fuel, reducing hydrogen gas consumption. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]
[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-038620 (pages 4-11, Figures 1-7) [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]
[0007] However, the fuel cell system disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document has the following problems that need to be solved. Specifically, in the above-mentioned fuel cell system, hydrogen gas is supplied from the fuel supply system (hydrogen tank) to the fuel cell stack (anode side) via a hydrogen supply pipe to generate electricity, and exhaust gas from the fuel cell stack (a mixture of unreacted hydrogen gas and water) is separated into hydrogen gas and water in a gas-liquid separator, and the separated hydrogen gas is rejoined into the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen supply pipe via a circulation channel for reuse.
[0008] In this case, the fuel cell system employs a configuration in which hydrogen gas separated in a gas-liquid separator is pumped to a hydrogen supply pipe by a hydrogen pump. In other words, while this fuel cell system reduces hydrogen gas consumption by recovering and reusing hydrogen gas that did not contribute to power generation, electricity is consumed by the hydrogen pump that returns the recovered hydrogen gas to the hydrogen supply pipe, which makes it difficult to reduce power generation costs. Furthermore, the price of hydrogen pumps is also high, which further makes it difficult to reduce power generation costs.
[0009] This invention has been made in view of the aforementioned problems to be solved, and its main objective is to provide a power generation system and a fuel supply system that can sufficiently reduce power generation costs. [Means for solving the problem]
[0010] To achieve the above objective, the power generation system according to claim 1 comprises a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidizing agent passes, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen passes, and a device disposed between the first separator and the second separator. membrane A power generation system comprising a power generation cell configured to generate electricity by reacting a first gas with a second gas via the film electrode assembly, wherein a plurality of flat laminated objects, each containing at least an electrode assembly, are stacked and integrated, and the first gas with the second gas is reacted via the electrode assembly, By electrolyzing the water used as raw materialA first pipe supplies the second gas, discharged from the generator that generates hydrogen to produce the second gas, to the second separator, and separates the water contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator. First separation device The following are provided: a pressure reducing device installed in the first piping, which reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow velocity of the second gas through a reduction in the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, and First separation device The system includes a second pipe that allows the second gas, from which moisture has been separated, to be joined with the second gas that has been depressurized by the depressurizing device. 、 The second gas is configured to be supplied to the second separator by the discharge pressure of the second gas from the generating device. It is. Furthermore, the power generation system according to claim 2 is provided with a second separation device for separating the water contained in the second gas discharged from the generating device, which is disposed between the generating device and the pressure reducing device in the first piping.
[0011] Furthermore, claims 3 The fuel supply system described includes a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidizer passes, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen passes, and a device disposed between the first separator and the second separator. membrane A fuel supply system configured to supply a second gas to a power generation cell, which is configured to generate electricity by reacting a first gas with a second gas via a film electrode assembly, wherein a plurality of flat laminated objects, each including at least an electrode assembly, are laminated and integrated, and the second gas is supplied to the power generation cell, By electrolyzing the water used as raw material A generating device that generates hydrogen to produce the second gas; a first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from the generating device to the second separator; and a device that separates the water contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator. First separation device The following are provided: a pressure reducing device installed in the first piping, which reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow velocity of the second gas through a reduction in the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, and First separation device The system includes a second pipe that allows the second gas, from which moisture has been separated, to be joined with the second gas that has been depressurized by the depressurizing device. The second gas is configured to be supplied to the second separator by the discharge pressure of the second gas from the generating device. It is. Furthermore, the fuel supply system according to claim 4 includes a second separation device for separating moisture contained in the second gas discharged from the generating device, which is disposed between the generating device and the pressure reducing device in the first piping. [Effects of the Invention]
[0012] Claim 1 ,2 The power generation system according to any one of the preceding claims, and the claim 3,4 In the fuel supply system described in the above, the first pipe supplies the second gas discharged from the generation device that generates hydrogen to produce the second gas to the second separator, and separates the moisture contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator First separation device , a pressure reducing device that is disposed on the first pipe and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow velocity of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, and First separation device and a second pipe that joins the second gas from which moisture has been separated to the second gas whose pressure has been reduced by the pressure reducing device.
[0013] Therefore, according to claim 1 ,2 The power generation system described, and the claim 3,4 According to the fuel supply system described, by recovering and reusing the unreacted second gas (hydrogen) discharged from the second separator, not only can the consumption of hydrogen for power generation be sufficiently reduced, but also a pump or the like for joining the recovered hydrogen to the second gas discharged from the generation device is not required, and no power consumption for the joining occurs, so that power generation costs can be sufficiently reduced. [Brief Description of the Drawings]
[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a power generation system 1. [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of a pressure reducing device 8. [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]
[0015] 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 Figure 1 is configured to generate electricity by reacting power generation gases (air (atmosphere: oxygen), which is an example of a "first gas containing an oxidizer," and hydrogen gas, which is an example of a "second gas containing hydrogen"). Specifically, the power generation system 1 includes a pump 2, piping 3a-3c, gas-liquid separator 4, piping 5a-5c, gas-liquid separator 6, piping 7, pressure reducing device 8, piping 9a, 9b, fuel cell cell 10, and hydrogen generator 20. In this example, the power generation system 1, excluding the hydrogen generator 20, is configured as a "power generation system equipped with a power generation cell configured to generate electricity by reacting the first gas and the second gas," and the components, excluding the pump 2, piping 3a-3c, and fuel cell cell 10, are configured as a "fuel supply system configured to supply the second gas to the power generation cell."
[0017] In this case, the fuel cell cell 10 is an example of a "power generation cell" and comprises a power generation stack consisting of a separator 11 which is an example of a "first separator", a separator 12 which is an example of a "second separator", and an 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 stack. In this example, each plate, such as the separators 11, 12, MEA 13, the cooling separator, and the end plates, corresponds to "multiple flat stacked objects", and the fuel cell cell 10 is constructed by stacking and integrating these.
[0018] Furthermore, the separator 11 has grooves (not shown) for allowing air (atmosphere) to pass through, and the separator 12 has grooves (not shown) for allowing hydrogen gas to pass through. The MEA 13 is sandwiched between the two separators 11 and 12 and stacked together, so that the grooves of the separator 11 and one surface of the MEA 13 form an air passage 11c, and the grooves of the separator 12 and the other surface of the MEA 13 form a hydrogen passage 12c. The MEA 13 is composed of an electrolyte membrane, a catalyst layer, and a gas diffusion layer. In reality, the fuel cell cell 10 is composed of multiple power generation stacks and cooling separators depending on the power generation capacity required for the power generation system 1, but in order to facilitate understanding of the configuration and operation of the power generation system 1, only one power generation stack is shown in the diagram, and the diagrams and explanations of the cooling separators and end plates are omitted.
[0019] Furthermore, the hydrogen generator 20 is an example of a "generator that generates hydrogen to produce a second gas," and as will be described later, water recovered in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6 is supplied as a "raw material," and this water is electrolyzed to generate hydrogen, and the generated hydrogen (hydrogen gas) is supplied to the separator 12 of the fuel cell cell 10 as a "second gas: fuel."
[0020] Meanwhile, pump 2 pumps (supplies) air into the air passage 11c of separator 11. Pipe 3a is connected to the intake port of pump 2, pipe 3b has one end connected to the exhaust port of pump 2 and the other end connected to the pipe connection part 11a (intake port) of separator 11, and pipe 3c has one end connected to the pipe connection part 11b (exhaust port) of separator 11 and the other end connected to the gas-liquid separation tank 4. Note that, instead of the above configuration, pipe 3a can be directly connected to the pipe connection part 11a of separator 11, the other end of pipe 3c can be connected to the intake port of pump 2, and the exhaust port of pump 2 can be connected to the gas-liquid separation tank 4 via other pipes (not shown). When this configuration is adopted, the air in the separator 11 (air passage 11c) is drawn in by the pump 2, thereby drawing (supplying) new air from the piping 3a to the separator 11 (air passage 11c), and the air drawn in by the pump 2 (exhaust from the separator 11) is pressurized and sent 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 flowing in through the piping 3c into air and water. In this case, when generating electricity in the fuel cell cell 10, the air (oxygen) passing through the separator 11 (air passage 11c) reacts with the hydrogen gas passing through the separator 12 (hydrogen passage 12c) to generate water in the air passage 11c, and this water is discharged from the separator 11 together with the exhaust gas (air that has reacted with hydrogen). Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, this water is recovered in the gas-liquid separation tank 4, and the recovered water is supplied to the hydrogen generator 20 as "raw material".
[0022] One end of pipe 5a is connected to the outlet of the hydrogen generator 20 and the other end is connected to the inlet 8a of the pressure reducing device 8. One end of pipe 5b is connected to the outlet 8b of the pressure reducing device 8 and the other end is connected to the pipe connection part 12a (intake port) of the separator 12. One end of 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, pipes 5a and 5b together constitute the "first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from the generator to the second separator."
[0023] The gas-liquid separation tank 6 is, First separation device This is one example of a configuration in which exhaust gas (a mixture of unreacted hydrogen gas and water) that passes through the hydrogen channel 12c of the separator 12 and is exhausted to the pipe 5c from the pipe connection 12b is separated into hydrogen gas and water. In this case, when hydrogen is generated in the hydrogen generator 20, water that has not been electrolyzed is discharged from the hydrogen generator 20 along with the hydrogen, and this water passes through the separator 12 (hydrogen channel 12c) and is discharged from the pipe connection 12b. Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, this water is recovered in the gas-liquid separation tank 6, and the recovered water is supplied to the hydrogen generator 20 as "raw material" for reuse. When the amount of water discharged from the hydrogen generator 20 is large, for example, a gas-liquid separation tank may also be placed between the hydrogen generator 20 and the pressure reducing device 8. (An example of a "second separation device") It is preferable to install (not shown) a device to separate the water so that the large amount of water discharged does not flow into the separator 12.
[0024] Pipe 7 is, First separation device An example of a second pipe that combines the second gas, from which moisture has been separated, with the second gas that has been depressurized by a depressurizing device, with one end connected to the exhaust port of the gas-liquid separation tank 6 and the other end connected to the depressurizing device 8. The depressurizing device 8 is an example of a depressurizing device that depressurizes the second gas by increasing the flow velocity of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, with the inlet 8a connected to the hydrogen generator 20 via pipe 5a and the outlet 8b connected to the fuel cell cell 10 (separator 12) via pipe 5b.
[0025] As shown in Figure 2, the pressure reducing device 8 has a narrowed 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 hydrogen gas introduced from the inlet 8a via piping 5a and moved through the pressure reducing device 8 in the direction of arrow Aa passes through the narrowed diameter section 8c as indicated by arrow Ab, the flow velocity increases, causing a pressure drop (reduced pressure) due to the Venturi effect. Also, as shown in the figure, in this example, piping 7 is connected to this narrowed diameter section 8c, and the hydrogen gas separated (water removed) in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 is combined with the hydrogen gas from the hydrogen generator 20 within the narrowed diameter section 8c. In this example, the end of piping 7 is open toward the downstream side in the direction of passage of hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generator 20 (the rightward direction in the figure) in the pressure reducing device 8. Furthermore, in this example, a configuration is adopted in which the hydrogen gas flow velocity is reduced by expanding the hydrogen flow path downstream of the narrowed diameter section 8c. However, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in the "pressure reducing device" that supplies hydrogen gas to the fuel cell cell 10 without reducing the flow velocity that has been increased (without expanding the diameter downstream of the narrowed diameter section) (not shown).
[0026] Piping 9a is arranged to supply water, which has been separated from the exhaust in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6 and stored in the tanks, to the hydrogen generator 20 as "raw material for hydrogen gas production". In practice, however, there are valve mechanisms to allow / regulate the discharge of water from the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6, and SO4 is removed from the water supplied to the hydrogen generator 20. 2- An anion exchange resin filter and other components that remove sulfate ions are installed in piping 9a, but their illustrations and explanations are omitted to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the power generation system 1. Piping 9b is connected to a gas-liquid separation tank 4 so that the separated air can be released into the atmosphere.
[0027] In this power generation system 1, as described above, electricity is generated by reacting air (atmosphere: oxygen) and hydrogen gas (hydrogen) produced in the hydrogen generator 20 in the fuel cell cell 10. The hydrogen generator 20 also produces hydrogen by electrolysis using water generated in the fuel cell cell 10 (separator 11) during power generation and water generated during hydrogen production in the hydrogen generator 20 (water discharged along with hydrogen) as "raw materials". Therefore, during initial operation immediately after installation of the power generation system 1, or when starting operation after a long period of inactivity (when there is not a sufficient amount of water in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6), water (raw material) necessary to produce the hydrogen required to start power generation is injected into the hydrogen generator 20.
[0028] In this state, when power generation is instructed to start by operating an operation unit (not shown), the hydrogen generator 20 electrolyzes water as a raw material to produce hydrogen, and supplies the produced hydrogen (hydrogen gas) to the separator 12, while the pump 2 starts pumping air (oxygen) and supplies it to the separator 11. As a result, electricity is generated by the reaction between the air (oxygen) passing through the air channel 11c and the hydrogen gas (hydrogen) passing through the hydrogen channel 12c.
[0029] In this case, when generating electricity in the fuel cell cell 10, about 85% of the hydrogen gas introduced from the pipe connection 12a into the hydrogen flow path 12c is consumed by reaction with air (oxygen), but the remaining 15% or so of hydrogen gas is exhausted from the pipe connection 12b into the pipe 5c without reacting with air (oxygen). Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, a configuration is adopted to reduce the overall consumption of hydrogen gas (hydrogen) by recovering the hydrogen gas (unreacted hydrogen) discharged from the pipe connection 12b and reusing the recovered hydrogen gas by combining it with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generator 20 to the separator 12 (pipe connection 12a).
[0030] As described above, the hydrogen gas discharged from the pipe connection 12b contains water and other substances that are discharged from the hydrogen generator 20 along with the hydrogen gas and pass through the hydrogen channel 12c. Therefore, if such hydrogen gas is reused as is (supplied to the separator 12 as is), there is a risk that a very large amount of water will flow from the pipe connection 12a into the hydrogen channel 12c. In such a state, the water droplets that have flowed into the hydrogen channel 12c will create resistance to the passage of hydrogen gas, making it difficult to allow a sufficient amount of hydrogen gas to pass through to react with air (oxygen). For this reason, in the power generation system 1 of this example, a configuration is adopted in which the water discharged from the pipe connection 12b along with the hydrogen gas into the pipe 5c is separated into water and hydrogen gas in the gas-liquid separation tank 6, and the hydrogen gas, which contains almost no water in the liquid phase, is combined with the hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generator 20 and supplied to the separator 12.
[0031] In this example, in the power generation system 1, which generates electricity by supplying hydrogen gas produced by electrolysis in the hydrogen generator 20 to the fuel cell cell 10, the pressure of the hydrogen gas in the piping 5a (the discharge pressure of hydrogen gas from the hydrogen generator 20) is low, at about 0.4 MPa. On the other hand, the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separator 6 is reduced to a low pressure, similar to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, because the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generator 20 is at a higher pressure than the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separator 6, it is difficult to directly combine the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separator 6 with the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generator 20. Moreover, depending on the piping connection configuration, there is a risk that the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generator 20 may flow into the gas-liquid separator 6 (resulting in a backflow of hydrogen gas that should be combined from the gas-liquid separator 6).
[0032] Therefore, in the power generation system 1 of this example, a pressure reducing device 8 is installed in the "first piping (piping 5a, 5b in this example)" that connects the hydrogen generator 20 and the separator 12 (piping connection part 12a). The hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen generator 20 to the separator 12 is depressurized in the pressure reducing device 8, and the hydrogen gas separated in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 is then combined with the depressurized hydrogen gas. Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, in the pressure reducing device 8, the hydrogen gas introduced from the inlet 8a via piping 5a and moved within the pressure reducing device 8 in the direction of arrow Aa passes through the narrowed diameter section 8c as shown by arrow Ab, causing the flow velocity to increase. This results in a pressure drop (depressurization) due to the Venturi effect, and the pressure of the hydrogen gas inside the narrowed diameter section 8c decreases.
[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) via the piping 7 as indicated by arrow B, and smoothly merges with the hydrogen gas moving within the reduced diameter section 8c (hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generator 20) as indicated by arrow Ab, and moves towards the outlet 8b as indicated by arrow C. This mixture of hydrogen gas generated by the hydrogen generator 20 and hydrogen gas discharged from the separator 12 and dewatered in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 is supplied to the separator 12 (hydrogen flow path 12c) from the piping connection 12a via piping 5b. As described above, this mixture reacts with the air (oxygen) passing through the separator 11 (air flow path 11c), resulting in a reduction in hydrogen gas consumption by the power generation system 1 by the amount of the merged hydrogen gas (unreacted hydrogen gas discharged from the separator 12).
[0034] Meanwhile, by continuing to generate power in the fuel cell cell 10 as described above, moisture contained in the exhaust from the separator 11 is separated and stored in the gas-liquid separation tank 4, and moisture contained in the exhaust from the separator 12 is separated and stored in the gas-liquid separation tank 6. This water is supplied to the hydrogen generator 20 from the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6 via piping 9a as raw material for hydrogen production in the hydrogen generator 20. As a result, the hydrogen generator 20 continuously generates new hydrogen gas by electrolysis of the supplied water. After this, power generation by the power generation system 1 continues until an instruction to terminate power generation is given.
[0035] Thus, this power generation system 1 includes pipes 5a and 5b that supply hydrogen gas discharged from a hydrogen generator 20 that generates hydrogen and produces hydrogen gas to a separator 12 of a fuel cell cell 10, a gas-liquid separation tank 6 that separates the water contained in the hydrogen gas that has passed through the separator 12, a depressurization device 8 that is installed in the pipes 5a and 5b and depressurizes the hydrogen gas by increasing the flow velocity of the hydrogen gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, and pipes 7 that allow the hydrogen gas from which water has been separated in the gas-liquid separation tank 6 to be joined with the hydrogen gas that has been depressurized by the depressurization device 8.
[0036] Therefore, with this power generation system 1, by recovering and reusing the unreacted hydrogen gas discharged from the separator 12, the amount of hydrogen gas consumed for power generation can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, since there is no need for pumps or other equipment to combine the recovered hydrogen gas with the hydrogen gas discharged from the hydrogen generator 20, and no electricity is consumed for the combination, power generation costs can be significantly reduced.
[0037] The configurations of the "power generation system" and the "fuel supply system" are not limited to the example configuration of power generation system 1 described above.
[0038] For example, the configuration of a power generation system 1 equipped with a hydrogen generator 20 (a source of hydrogen gas) was used as an example in the explanation, but the configuration of the present invention can also be applied to a "power generation system" that generates electricity using hydrogen gas supplied from an external "generator" instead of the hydrogen generator 20. Also, 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, which is an external device similar to the pump 2, piping 3a-3c, and fuel cell cell 10. Furthermore, although the hydrogen generator 20, which generates hydrogen by electrolyzing water recovered in the gas-liquid separation tanks 4 and 6, was described as an example, a "generator" configuration that generates hydrogen without using water discharged from separators 11 and 12 can also be adopted. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0039] 1. Power generation system 2 pumps Piping 3a~3c, 5a~5c, 7, 9a, 9b 4,6 Gas-liquid separation tank 8. Pressure Reducing Device 8a Inlet 8b Outlet 8c Reduced diameter part 10 fuel cell cells 11,12 Separator 11a, 11b, 12a, 12b Pipe connection section 11c air passage 12c Hydrogen channel 13 MEA 20 Hydrogen generator
Claims
1. A power generation system comprising a power generation cell configured to generate electricity by reacting the first gas and the second gas via the film electrode assembly, wherein a plurality of flat laminates, each including at least a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidizing agent passes, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen passes, and a film electrode assembly disposed between the first and second separators, are stacked and integrated, and the first gas and the second gas are reacted via the film electrode assembly, A first pipe supplies the second gas, which is discharged from a generating device that generates the second gas by electrolyzing raw water to produce hydrogen, to the second separator, A first separation device for separating the water contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator, A pressure reducing device is installed in the first piping and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow velocity of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, The first separation device includes a second pipe that allows the second gas, from which moisture has been separated, to merge with the second gas, which has been depressurized by the depressurizing device, A power generation system configured to supply the second gas to the second separator by the discharge pressure of the second gas from the generating device.
2. The power generation system according to claim 1, wherein a second separation device for separating water contained in the second gas discharged from the generating device is disposed between the generating device and the pressure reducing device in the first piping.
3. A fuel supply system configured to supply the second gas to a power generation cell configured to generate electricity by reacting the first gas with the second gas via the membrane electrode assembly, wherein a plurality of flat laminates are stacked and integrated, each including at least a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidizing agent passes, a second separator through which a second gas containing hydrogen passes, and a membrane electrode assembly disposed between the first and second separators, the system comprising a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidizing agent passes, a second separator through which a second gas contains hydrogen passes, and a membrane electrode assembly disposed between the first and second separators, the system comprising a first separator through which a first gas containing an oxidizing agent passes, a second separator through which a second gas contains hydrogen passes, A generating apparatus that generates the hydrogen by electrolyzing the raw water to produce the second gas, A first pipe that supplies the second gas discharged from the generating device to the second separator, A first separation device for separating the water contained in the second gas that has passed through the second separator, A pressure reducing device is installed in the first piping and reduces the pressure of the second gas by increasing the flow velocity of the second gas by reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the flow path, The first separation device includes a second pipe that allows the second gas, from which moisture has been separated, to merge with the second gas, which has been depressurized by the depressurizing device, A fuel supply system configured to supply the second gas to the second separator by the discharge pressure of the second gas from the generating device.
4. The fuel supply system according to claim 3, wherein a second separation device for separating water contained in the second gas discharged from the generating device is disposed between the generating device and the depressurizing device in the first piping.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Fuel cell system
JP2002231278A
Fuel gas manufacturing power generation system
JP2005285626A
Fuel recovering device of fuel cell
JP2006092758A
Fuel cell system
JP2008198406A
Water electrolysis system
JP2013053321A