Patent ID: 8178062

Claim:
A reforming apparatus, for use in a fuel cell, for reforming a raw fuel into a hydrogen-rich reformed gas, the apparatus comprising: a reformer which generates the reformed gas from the raw fuel; a shift reactor which reduces carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas through a shift reaction; a selective oxidation unit which reduces the carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas that has passed through said shift reactor by performing selective oxidation on the carbon monoxide; a reforming reaction tube which houses linearly said reformer, said shift reactor and said selective oxidation unit in this order; a combustion means which produces combustion exhaust gas by combusting the raw fuel; and an outer casing, disposed around said reforming reaction tube, having a larger diameter than that of said reforming reaction tube, wherein a heated flow passage through which the combustion exhaust gas passes to heat said reforming reaction tube is formed between said reforming reaction tube and said outer casing, and wherein said combustion means is placed in the flow passage at one end of a reformer side of said reforming reaction tube.