Patent ID: 8123826

Claim:
A process for generating electricity by a solid oxide fuel cell, the process comprising the steps of: desulfurizing a hydrocarbon fuel selected from the group consisting of gasoline, naphtha, diesel, and mixtures thereof to produce a desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel; combining the desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel with an anode exhaust gas recycled from the solid oxide fuel cell; supplying the desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel and anode exhaust gas through a pre-reformer at an hourly spaced velocity, the pre-reformer having a catalyst; contacting the desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel and the anode exhaust gas with the catalyst in the pre-reformer for a pre-reformer residence time and at a pre-reformer temperature to form a methane-rich catalyzed hydrocarbon fuel, the methane-rich catalyzed hydrocarbon fuel including methane and one or more gases selected from hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide gas, and combinations thereof; adjusting the conversion of the desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel to increase electrical power output from the solid oxide fuel cell by increasing the hourly spaced velocity of the desulfurized hydrocarbon fuel and anode exhaust gas through the pre-reformer such that conversion of the hydrocarbon fuel by the pre-reformer is decreased; transporting the methane-rich catalyzed hydrocarbon fuel directly from the pre-reformer to a solid oxide fuel cell reformer at the hourly spaced velocity, the solid oxide fuel cell reformer having an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte disposed between the anode and the cathode; contacting the methane-rich catalyzed hydrocarbon fuel with the anode for an anode residence time and at an anode temperature such that electricity is generated by the solid oxide fuel cell; and supplying the cathode gas and at least a portion of the anode gas to a combustor and combusting said gases.