The other two components are the fuel processor and the power conditioner. Figure 5 shows these components. Block diagram of fuel cell power plant. The fuel processor or reformer extracts hydrogen-rich gas from natural gas or other fuel, emitting carbon dioxide and trace amounts of carbon monoxide. There are three common methods of processing fuels to create the hydrogen required by the fuel cells.
Steam reforming is a simple process involving the reaction of light hydrocarbon fuels with steam.
Partial oxidation is the incomplete burning of a fuel and is used to process heavier hydrocarbon liquids. Finally, the power conditioner section of a fuel cell power plant most often consists of an invertor, which converts the DC electricity to AC electricity. The power conditioner can also regulate the voltage and current output from the fuel cells to accommodate variations in load requirements. All of these elements combined form the fuel cell power plant as we know it today. Stay tuned for the next article in this series which will summarize the operation and performance of the fuel cells installed under the DoD Fuel Cell Demonstration Program.