Patent ID: 6875007

Claim:
A method of starting a catalytic process within a tailgas combustor with a liquid fuel until a sufficient flow of an anode effluent is available, the method comprising the steps of: supplying a liquid fuel flow to the combustor in a quantity sufficient to meet a heat demand of a known magnitude placed on the combustor; supplying an oxidant feed stream to the combustor; mixing said liquid fuel and oxidant feed stream together in the combustor to form a fuel/oxidant flow; vaporizing said fuel/oxidant flow with a heating element within the combustor as said fuel/oxidant flow passes therethrough; reacting said vaporized fuel/oxidant flow in a primary catalyst as said vaporized fuel/oxidant flow passes through said primary catalyst so that the combustor generates heat to meet said heat demand; exhausting said reacted fuel/oxidant flow from the combustor and maintaining the supplying of said liquid fuel flow to the combustor until the combustor is supplied with an anode effluent flow of a magnitude capable of allowing the combustor to meet said heat demand without said liquid fuel flow.