Patent ID: 7799451

Claim:
A fuel cell system, comprising: a fuel cell having a startup temperature; a reformer structured to reform a fuel into a reformate gas; a plurality of partial oxidation (POX) chambers arranged in series in fluid communication with the reformer, said plurality of POX chambers operable to treat the reformate gas by successive partial oxidation until a temperature at which soot will form in the treated reformate gas is less than the fuel cell startup temperature; and a plurality of heat removal devices in correspondence with said plurality of POX chambers, each heat removal device fluidically coupled to a corresponding POX chamber and structured to remove heat from the gas discharged by said corresponding POX chamber, wherein during start-up operation of said fuel cell, said plurality of POX chambers and said plurality of heat removal devices operate to supply the treated reformate gas to said fuel cell at an oxygen/carbon ratio that yields carbon-free operation at the fuel cell startup temperature.