Patent ID: 8372170

Claim:
A hydrogen generation system ( 1 ) comprising: a fuel reformer ( 2 ) that includes: a vaporizer section ( 12 ) having an H 2 inlet connection ( 40 ), an inlet connection ( 30 ) for fuel and water from a source, a heat exchanger surface ( 18 ), and a vaporization section transfer passage ( 31 ), the vaporizer section being adapted to vaporize and pass a mixture of zero or more fuel and water, the vaporized mixture hereinafter being termed process gas, and zero or more H 2 , in any relative concentration; a reformer catalyst section ( 13 ) having a catalytic reactor in fluid communication with the vaporization section transfer passage and a reformate gas transfer passage ( 32 ), adapted to reform at least a portion of input received from the vaporizer section that includes H 2 and off-gas, off-gas being defined as H 2 , vaporized water, and vaporized fuel in any relative concentration, and output a reformate gas stream via the reformate gas transfer passage; and a combustor section ( 15 ) having connection to an off-gas transfer passage ( 33 ), having a combustion heat generator, and having a combustion product outlet ( 34 ), the combustor section being thermally coupled to the reformer catalyst section by a heat transfer surface ( 17 ) and fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger surface via the combustion product outlet; an H 2 purification unit ( 3 ) having a separator for H 2 and off-gas, having a purified H 2 outlet ( 36 ), and having connection to the off-gas transfer passage, wherein the H 2 purification unit is in fluid communication with the reformer via the reformate gas transfer passage and is adapted to output some portion of entering H 2 to the off-gas passage in an off-gas stream issuing therefrom; an H 2 storage unit ( 4 ) having an inlet ( 37 ) in fluid communication with the H 2 purification unit via the purified H 2 outlet and an outlet ( 38 ) in fluid communication with the vaporizer section via the H 2 inlet connection; and a startup valve ( 21 ) configured to open and an isolation valve ( 22 ) configured to close and selectively establish an H 2 recirculation path comprising, in order: the H 2 storage unit, the outlet ( 38 ), the H 2 inlet connection, the vaporizer section, the vaporization section transfer passage, the reformer catalyst section, the reformate gas transfer passage, the H 2 purification unit, the off-gas transfer passage, and then the combustor section.