Air and Fuel Supply Module for Balanced Fuel Cell Stack Inlet Temperatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel cell systems face challenges in stably supplying a fuel cell stack with reformed fuel gas and air while maintaining a small temperature deviation, which affects electricity generation efficiency and system stability.
Innovation Solution
A fuel cell system incorporating a fuel reforming module, combustor, and air/fuel supply module that heats and balances the temperature of air and reformed fuel gas using high-temperature combustion gas, with a heat balance adjustment unit to reduce temperature differences before supplying them to the fuel cell stack.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If hydrocarbon fuel is reformed to generate hydrogen for fuel cell, then electricity generation efficiency is improved, but temperature control stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A heat exchange unit is introduced as an intermediary component between the fuel reforming module and the fuel cell stack. This heat exchange unit transfers heat between the reformed fuel gas and the air supply, enabling temperature balancing without direct thermal contact, thus improving temperature control stability while maintaining high electricity generation efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts temperature parameters of both the reformed fuel gas and air supply through controlled heat exchange. By changing the temperature parameters of these supplies to match each other, the system achieves stable temperature control while maintaining efficient hydrogen generation from hydrocarbon fuel
2Loss of energy
If high-temperature combustion gas is used to heat air and fuel gas, then thermal efficiency is improved, but temperature deviation between air and fuel increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange unit acts as a mediator that distributes heat from the high-temperature combustion gas to both the air and fuel gas supplies in a controlled manner. This intermediary mechanism ensures that thermal energy is efficiently transferred while maintaining balanced temperatures between the two streams, thus improving thermal efficiency without increasing temperature deviation
3Volume of moving object
If fuel reforming module and combustor are integrated, then system compactness is improved, but heat balance control difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange unit serves as a modular intermediary component that can be integrated into the compact fuel reforming system. This standardized intermediary module simplifies the overall heat balance control by providing a dedicated interface for thermal energy transfer, thereby maintaining system compactness while reducing heat balance control difficulty
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system improves thermal efficiency and power generation stability by optimizing the arrangement of the fuel reforming module, air/fuel supply module, and combustor, ensuring thermally balanced air and reformed fuel are supplied to the fuel cell stack.
Implementation Method 1
heats preheated air supplied from the preheating unit by using high-temperature combustion gas supplied from the combustor
Implementation Method 2
induces heat exchange between heated air supplied from the heating unit and reformed fuel gas supplied from the fuel reforming module to reduce a temperature difference therebetween
Implementation Method 3
preheats air supplied from the air supply source through heat exchange with the high-temperature combustion gas provided via the heating unit
Implementation Method 4
a combustor that combusts unreacted fuel gas discharged from the fuel cell stack
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5A~5C
AI summary
A fuel cell system is disclosed. The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack that generates electrical energy by reacting oxygen and hydrogen; a fuel reforming module that generates hydrogen-containing reformed fuel gas by steam-reforming hydrocarbon fuel; a combustor that combusts unreacted fuel gas discharged from the fuel cell stack; and an air/fuel supply module that heats air supplied from an external air supply source by using the high-temperature combustion gas supplied from the combustor and heat-exchanges the air with reformed fuel gas supplied from the fuel reforming module to reduce a temperature difference therebetween, and supplies the reformed fuel gas and the air after the heat exchange to the fuel cell stack.