Patent ID: 7736399

Claim:
A method for operating a catalytic hydrocarbon reformer, comprising the steps of: a) providing the hydrocarbon reformer, said reformer comprising: a reactor having a longitudinal axis, said reactor defining a chamber about the axis; a reforming catalyst disposed in said chamber, said reforming catalyst adapted to be heated during reformer operation; a fuel injector defined upstream from said reforming catalyst in said chamber for injecting hydrocarbon fuel into said chamber; an air inlet defined in the reactor allowing air to flow into said chamber upstream from the reforming catalyst; an igniter disposed in the reactor to initiate combustion in said chamber; an outlet defined in the reactor disposed downstream from the reforming catalyst allowing hot exhaust gases to exit the reactor; and a vaporizer disposed within said chamber between said fuel injector and said reforming catalyst, said vaporizer being in a parallel, spaced relationship to the axis, said vaporizer being formed of an electrically-conductive material, and the vaporizer further including an electric circuit for imposing a voltage across said electrically-conductive material causing said electrically-conductive material to be resistively heated to a vaporization temperature to vaporize hydrocarbon fuel impinged thereupon; wherein the vaporizer disposed in the chamber is configured as an axial vaporizer having an axial length, and the axial vaporizer has a thickness generally perpendicular to the axis, and the chamber includes an axial wall having an axial length, and the axial length of the axial vaporizer being less than the axial length of the axial wall of the chamber and greater than the thickness of the vaporizer generally perpendicular to the axis, said vaporizer being located along said axial wall; b) injecting the hydrocarbon fuel from said fuel injector onto said vaporizer to vaporize said fuel; c) forming the first mixture of the air admixed with the vaporized fuel in the chamber; d) igniting said first vaporized fuel/air mixture in the chamber, and passing the ignited first fuel/air mixture through the heated reforming catalyst to form hot exhaust gases that exit through the outlet; and e) energizing said electric circuit to cause said vaporizer to become heated to a vaporization temperature at a desired point between the providing the hydrocarbon reformer step and the igniting the first fuel/air mixture.