An engine assembly includes a combustor, a fuel cell stack integrated with the combustor, and a pre-burner system fluidly connected to the fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack is configured to direct fuel and air exhaust from the fuel cell stack into the combustor. The pre-burner system is configured to control a temperature of an air flow directed into the fuel cell stack. The combustor is configured to combust the fuel and air exhaust from the fuel cell stack into one or more gaseous combustion products that drive a downstream turbine. The engine assembly can further include a catalytic partial oxidation convertor that is fluidly connected to the fuel cell stack. The catalytic partial oxidation convertor is configured to develop a hydrogen rich fuel stream to be directed into the fuel cell stack.

The embodiment relates to an energy conversion system having: a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) unit (A) having an anode and a cathode side, for receiving a fuel (1) and a steam of oxidant (4) and for converting a fraction of chemical power of the fuel (1) into electric power; a combustor unit (B) to receive unconverted fuel (5) and unconverted oxidant (6), configured for converting the unconverted fuel (5) and the unconverted oxidant (6) into product gas (10); an expander unit (C) to receive the product gas (10) and configured for expanding said product gas (10) into flue gas (12); a cooler unit (E) in thermal relationship with a heat sink (27) and configured for cooling said flue gas (12); a separator (F) for removing condensed species (15) from the cooled gas (14) exiting the cooler unit (E); and a first compression unit (K) for increasing the pressure of said oxidant (26, 4, 8) to a value suitable for the SOFC unit (A) and the combustor unit (B).

The invention provides a hybrid power system, which integrates an internal combustion engine with a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack and provides power for the vehicle through the internal combustion engine at first in the preheating stage of the SOFC stack, thereby solving the problem that an SOFC stack is unable to provide power for the vehicle in the preheating stage. At the same time, the internal combustion engine burns fuel gas, outputs high temperature exhaust gas, heats the heat exchanger with the high temperature exhaust gas, then discharges the exhaust gas from an exhaust turbine and inhales air from the outside of the system. The air first passes through an air preheater, then passes through a heat exchanger and then enters the inside of the SOFC stack, preheats the air preheater through an air pipeline and then is discharged. After multiple cycles, the preheating of the SOFC stack is completed. As the air preheater is connected to the heat exchanger in series to heat the air, the heating speed of the air entering the SOFC stack is raised, the preheating time is shortened and a quick start of the SOFC stack is achieved so that the SOFC stack can be used to achieve the purpose of providing power for the vehicle efficiently.

An air supply system, comprising at least two air blowers and at least two communication valves; wherein one air blower is connected to a main air passage through the corresponding communication valve; and at least one other is connected to a reformer air passage and a stack air passage through at least one other communication valve, respectively. At least two air blowers are provided to connect the at least two communication valves.

The present disclosure relates to a fuel cell system and a method of controlling a heater thereof. A fuel cell system according to the present disclosure includes a cathode oxygen depletion (COD) heater that is disposed on a line through which cooling water flowing into a fuel cell stack circulates and heats the cooling water or consumes residual power of the fuel cell stack, and a controller that determines power consumption according to a target heating amount of the COD heater and controls an operation of the COD heater based on the determined power consumption.

Fuel cell systems configured for efficient byproduct recovery and reuse are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a fuel cell system includes a reformer configured to reform a fuel containing methane (CH.sub.4) with steam to produce a reformed fuel having methane (CH.sub.4), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen (H.sub.2). The fuel cell system also includes a fuel cell configured to perform an electrochemical reaction between a first portion of the reformed fuel and oxygen (O.sub.2) to produce electricity and an exhaust having carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2), water (H.sub.2O), and a second portion of the reformed fuel. The fuel cell system further includes an oxygen enricher configured to generate an oxygen enriched gas and a combustion chamber configured to combust the second portion of the reformed fuel with the oxygen enriched gas.

A reformer and an evaporator of a fuel cell module are provided adjacent to each other. An exhaust gas combustion chamber which combusts a fuel exhaust gas and an oxygen-containing exhaust gas discharged from a fuel cell to produce a combustion exhaust gas includes a first chamber and a second chamber connected to each other, and a combustion chamber outlet for discharging the combustion exhaust gas in the exhaust gas combustion chamber. At least part of an outer wall surface of the first chamber faces the evaporator with clearance. At least part of a wall forming the second chamber is a common wall shared with the reformer.

The present invention provides a methanol solid oxide fuel cell and a power generation system comprising the same, wherein the fuel cell is a tubular SOFC cell stack, the tubular SOFC cell stack comprises a plurality of tubular SOFC single cells, and a side wall of an inner pipe of the tubular SOFC single cell at a fuel inlet is of a porous layer structure; an inner wall of the inner pipe is coated with a methanol pyrolysis catalyst layer, and the thickness of the catalyst layer gradually increases along a moving direction of the fuel in the inner pipe. The methanol solid oxide fuel cell can effectively relieve carbon deposition of the anode of the methanol SOFC, and can ensure that the temperature of the whole cell is more uniform and the cell performance is more stable.

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack, an anode tail gas oxidizer (ATO), an ATO injector configured to mix a first portion of an anode exhaust from the fuel cell stack with a cathode exhaust from the fuel cell stack and to provide a mixture of the first portion of the anode exhaust and the cathode exhaust into the ATO, an anode exhaust conduit which is configured to provide the first portion of the anode exhaust into the ATO injector, and cathode exhaust conduit which is configured to provide at least a portion of the cathode exhaust from the fuel cell stack into the ATO injector. The ATO injector includes injector tubes or injection apertures.

A method of operating a solid oxide fuel cell system may comprise contacting a cathode gas comprising oxygen with a heating element to produce a heated cathode gas, passing the heated cathode gas through a cathode of a solid oxide fuel cell stack to increase the temperature of the solid oxide fuel cell stack to an operation temperature and reduce the oxygen to oxygen anions, and passing an anode gas through an anode of the solid oxide fuel cell stack to initiate the electrochemical oxidation of the oxygen anions within the anode. The passing of the anode gas through the anode of the solid oxide fuel cell stack may be initiated when the solid oxide fuel cell stack is heated to an operational temperature.