Patent ID: 9627700
Date: 2017-04-18
CPC Classifications: B01J,C01B,H01M,Y02E

Claim:
1. An integrated liquid fuel CPOX reformer and fuel cell system, the integrated system comprising: an array of spaced-apart CPOX reactor units, each CPOX reactor unit comprising an elongate tube having a gas-permeable wall with an internal surface and an external surface, the gas-permeable wall enclosing an open gaseous flow passageway and defining an inlet and an outlet of the CPOX reactor unit, the open gaseous flow passageway being a hollow bore extending from the inlet to the outlet of the CPOX reactor unit, wherein a CPOX reactor unit is in thermal communication with at least the adjacent CPOX reactor unit(s) in the array, and a CPOX catalyst disposed within and/or comprising the structure of at least a section of the gas-permeable wall; a vaporizer in fluid communication with inlets of the CPOX reactor units; an igniter in thermal communication with the CPOX catalyst of at least one CPOX reactor unit; a fuel cell unit comprising an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte disposed therebetween, wherein the anode is in fluid communication with the outlet of the CPOX reactor unit and the cathode is in fluid communication with an oxygen-containing gas; and a current collector electrically coupled to the anode and the cathode of the fuel cell unit.