Patent ID: 8557456

Claim:
A fuel cell system having: a fuel cell including an electromotive unit comprising a fuel electrode, an oxidant electrode, and an electrolyte sandwiched by said fuel electrode and said oxidant electrode; a fuel supply unit for supplying a fuel to said fuel electrode; and an oxidant supply unit for supplying an oxidant to said oxidant electrode; wherein said fuel is an organic fuel which produces proton by electrochemical oxidation reaction, said fuel supply unit includes: a fuel container; a product reduction mechanism unit for reducing a fuel oxidation product produced at said fuel electrode by power generation of said fuel cell to regenerate a fuel, said fuel oxidation product including at least one of a ketone and a carboxylic acid; a first fuel supply pipe connecting said fuel container and said electromotive unit of said fuel cell; a discharge pipe connecting said fuel cell and said product reduction mechanism unit; and a second fuel supply pipe connecting said product reduction mechanism unit and said fuel container; said fuel is sent from said fuel container to said electromotive unit through said first fuel supply pipe, said fuel oxidation product is sent to said product reduction mechanism unit from said fuel electrode through said discharge pipe, said regenerated fuel is sent to said fuel container from said product reduction mechanism unit through said second fuel supply pipe, said regenerated fuel being an organic fuel which produces proton by electrochemical oxidation reaction, said product reduction mechanism unit includes a reductant for chemically reducing said fuel oxidation product, and said reductant is metal hydride complex compound, metal hydride, metal, or a compound represented by the general formula R—MgBr, wherein in the formula, R is an alkyl group, an aliphatic group, an aromatic group, a hydroxyl group, an alkoxy group, an aldehyde group, or a carboxyl group, and said alkyl group has an open-chain or a ring structure and may include one or more oxygen atom, nitrogen atom, sulfur atom, silicon atom, phosphorous atom, boron atom, or halogen atom.