US 11,682,781 B2
Thermally integrated hotbox combining a steam reformer with SOFC stacks
Subir Roychoudhury, Madison, CT (US); Timothy LaBreche, Woodbridge, CT (US); Saurabh Vilekar, Woodbridge, CT (US); and Francesco Macri, Farmington, CT (US)
Assigned to PRECISION COMBUSTION, INC., North Haven, CT (US)
Filed by PRECISION COMBUSTION, INC., North Haven, CT (US)
Filed on Sep. 8, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/940,096.
Application 17/940,096 is a division of application No. 16/672,663, filed on Nov. 4, 2019, granted, now 11,476,484.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/760,964, filed on Nov. 14, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2023/0006227 A1, Jan. 5, 2023
Int. Cl. H01M 8/0612 (2016.01); H01M 8/1246 (2016.01); H01M 8/04007 (2016.01); H01M 8/2475 (2016.01); H01M 8/04014 (2016.01); B01J 19/00 (2006.01); B01J 23/74 (2006.01); H01M 8/12 (2016.01)
CPC H01M 8/0618 (2013.01) [B01J 19/00 (2013.01); B01J 23/74 (2013.01); H01M 8/04014 (2013.01); H01M 8/04037 (2013.01); H01M 8/1246 (2013.01); H01M 8/2475 (2013.01); H01M 2008/1293 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A process of producing electricity comprising:
(a) providing an apparatus comprising:
(i) a steam reformer comprising a fuel inlet, a steam inlet, a reforming zone disposed in fluid communication with the fuel and steam inlets, and a reformer outlet disposed in fluid communication with the reforming zone;
(ii) a plurality of solid oxide fuel cell stacks disposed around the steam reformer, further disposed in spaced apart relation to each other and to the steam reformer; wherein each solid oxide fuel cell stack comprises a stack fuel inlet disposed in fluid communication with the reformer outlet, and further comprises a fuel exhaust outlet further wherein both the stack fuel inlet and the fuel exhaust outlet are disposed in fluid communication with a fuel side of each of the plurality of solid oxide fuel cell stacks;
(iii) a plurality of oxidant manifolds disposed around the steam reformer, such that each oxidant manifold is disposed in between a pair of adjacent fuel cell stacks; wherein the plurality of oxidant manifolds alternatingly comprise an oxidant inlet but no oxidant outlet and wherein a remaining plurality of oxidant manifolds having no oxidant inlet comprise an oxidant outlet and further wherein each oxidant manifold defines an interior plenum fluidly communicating with an oxidant side of each of the plurality of fuel cell stacks; and
(iv) at least one heat extractor disposed in between one of the solid oxide fuel cell stacks and its adjacent oxidant manifold; the at least one heat extractor having a water-steam inlet and a steam outlet, wherein the steam outlet is disposed in fluid communication with the steam inlet to the steam reformer;
(b) contacting a hydrocarbon fuel and steam in the presence of a reforming catalyst within the reforming zone under conditions sufficient to produce a stack fuel comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide;
(c) feeding oxygen or air into the plurality of oxidant manifolds, from which the oxygen or air is passed to the oxidant side of the plurality of solid oxide fuel cell stacks where oxide ions are produced;
(d) feeding the stack fuel to the fuel side of the plurality of solid oxide fuel cell stacks, and contacting said stack fuel with the oxide ions under conditions sufficient to produce water and carbon dioxide and a flow of electrons;
(e) feeding water into the heat extractor, which extracts heat from the solid oxide fuel cell stacks to produce steam; and
(f) feeding the steam so produced to the fuel reformer.