Patent ID: 7717970

Claim:
A fuel reforming device which generates hydrogen-rich gas from hydrocarbon fuel, comprising: a reformer which generates reformate gas having hydrogen as a main component according to a catalytic reaction of plural materials including a hydrocarbon fuel; a first carbon monoxide oxidizer which decreases a carbon monoxide concentration of the reformate gas by oxidizing carbon monoxide in the reformate gas by a preferential oxidation using oxygen; a heating mechanism which heats any of the plural materials using a preferential oxidation heat of the first carbon monoxide oxidizer; a second carbon monoxide oxidizer which decreases a carbon monoxide concentration of the reformate gas by oxidizing the carbon monoxide in the reformate gas by a preferential oxidation using oxygen, the second carbon monoxide oxidizer being disposed in series with the first carbon monoxide oxidizer; an oxygen supply mechanism which supplies oxygen to the first carbon monoxide oxidizer and the second carbon monoxide oxidizer; an adjusting mechanism which varies an oxygen supply amount to the first carbon monoxide oxidizer and an oxygen supply amount to the second carbon monoxide oxidizer; and a programmable controller programmed to: control the adjusting mechanism to increase a total oxygen supply amount to the first carbon monoxide oxidizer and the second carbon monoxide oxidizer by the oxygen supply mechanism as a fuel reforming requirement of the reformer increases; and control the adjusting mechanism to increase the oxygen supply amount to the first carbon monoxide oxidizer relative to the oxygen supply amount to the second carbon monoxide oxidizer, when the fuel reforming requirement is increasing.