A hydrogen generating apparatus includes a reformer generating hydrogen-containing gas through a reforming reaction, a raw material supplier supplying a raw material to the reformer, a reaction gas supplier supplying reaction gas other than the raw material to the reformer, a hydro-desulfurizer removing a sulfur compound in the raw material supplied to the reformer, a recycle flow passage through which part of the hydrogen-containing gas generated by the reformer is supplied to the hydro-desulfurizer, a closing device that closes the recycle flow passage, and a controller that, when stopping operation, closes the closing device and controls the raw material supplier and the reaction gas supplier such that the raw material and the reaction gas are supplied to the reformer, before a temperature of the reformer drops down to a temperature at which deposition of carbon from the raw material on a reformation catalyst disposed inside the reformer is suppressed.

A hydrogen generation system including: a reformer generating hydrogen-containing gas using a raw material and reforming water; a combustor combusting hydrogen-containing gas and air and generating exhaust gas; a first channel passing cooling water; a condenser generating condensed water by heat exchange between exhaust gas and cooling water; a tank storing condensed water as cooling water; a pump supplying cooling water from the tank to the condenser; a second channel branching at a branch between the pump and condenser in the first channel, and passing some cooling water to the reformer as reforming water; a heater provided downstream of the branch, and heating the first channel; a temperature detector detecting the temperature of the first channel; and a controller, in an activation operation mode, determining whether the second channel is filled with reforming water, based on the temperature detected by the temperature detector after the heater has operated.

A fuel cell module includes a first area where an exhaust gas combustor and a start-up combustor are provided, an annular second area around the first area where a heat exchanger is provided, an annular third area around the second area where a reformer is provided, an annular fourth area around the third area where an evaporator is provided. A plurality of heat exchange pipes are provided in the heat exchanger around a first partition plate. At least one of the heat exchange pipes has at least one constricted portion.

Provided are methods for preparing hydrogen and solid carbon. Illustrative methods comprise providing a feedstock comprising gaseous hydrocarbons to a microwave-inert reaction vessel and/or a radio wave-inert reaction vessel. The reaction vessel has solid carbon, about 0% water and about 0% molecular oxygen inside the reaction vessel and the carbon inside the reaction vessel is operable to heat the feedstock comprising gaseous hydrocarbons. The carbon is then exposed to microwaves and/or radio waves until the solid carbon is at a temperature of at least 1200 Kelvin, thereby forming hydrogen and solid carbon. Once formed, the hydrogen and solid carbon are separated.

A hydrogen production supply system that produces hydrogen gas to be supplied to a hydrogen storage tank, the hydrogen production supply system including a control circuit configured to control an operation load ratio of the hydrogen production apparatus to a predetermined operation load ratio, to increase the operation load ratio of the hydrogen production apparatus to a first operation load ratio larger than the predetermined operation load ratio at first timing, and to decrease the operation load ratio of the hydrogen production apparatus to the predetermined operation load ratio from the first load operation ratio at second timing, wherein an increase in the operation load ratio at the first timing takes precedence over a decrease in the operation load ratio at the second timing.

A method can be utilized to startup into a normal operating state a steam reformer arrangement for the production of hydrogen, methanol, or ammonia. A plurality of burners that are coupled to at least one reactor having reformer tubes may be controlled and regulated. In particular, startup may be performed out and regulated in an automated manner by the burners ensuring normal operation, in particular non-startup burners, being ignited indirectly as a function of temperature by means of burners provided specifically for startup, in particular pilot burners and startup burners, as a function of automatically evaluated flame monitoring at least at the pilot burners. This method provides time savings and savings of outlay in terms of personnel and also high operational reliability.

A heat and hydrogen generation device comprising a burner combustion chamber (3), a burner (7) for feeding fuel and air into the burner combustion chamber (3), and a reformer catalyst (4). The target value of the O.sub.2/C molar ratio of air and fuel which are made to react in the burner combustion chamber (3) is preset as the target O.sub.2/C molar ratio. The actual O.sub.2/C molar ratio at the time of warm-up operation is estimated from the rate of temperature rise of the reformer catalyst (4) etc., when performing warm-up operation. When the estimated actual O.sub.2/C molar ratio deviates from the target O.sub.2/C molar ratio at the time of warm-up operation, the ratio of feed between the amount of feed of air for burner combustion and the amount of feed of fuel for burner combustion is corrected, in a direction making the estimated actual O.sub.2/C molar ratio approach the target O.sub.2/C molar ratio at the time of warm-up operation.

A hydrogen production apparatus including a desulfurized, a reformer, a CO transformer a gas flow path, and a purge gas supply path which is provided where a purge gas is supplied to an upstream side of a pressure feeding apparatus in the gas flow path, prior to a stopping operation, a purging step of replacing gas within the gas flow path with the purge gas and filling the purge gas into the gas flow path is performed, and in a start-up operation in which a heating means is operated to increase the temperature of the gas within the gas flow path, which is performed prior to a hydrogen purification operation, a pressure increasing step of supplying the purge gas from the purge gas supply path to the closed circulation circuit and increasing the pressure within the closed circulation circuit is performed.

Combined reformer and fuel cell systems, and their methods of operation, are described in which air is introduced to the system to produce additional water by reacting with hydrogen produced from the reformer during the reformer's startup partial oxidation mode of operation.

The present invention provides a method for starting up a reactor for producing a hydrogen containing gas and subsequently maintaining the reactor at a working temperature, wherein a fuel cell is fluidly connected to the reactor downstream thereof and to a catalytic afterburner upstream thereof, the method comprising storing a hydrogen containing gas in a vessel; opening the vessel and releasing the hydrogen containing gas from the vessel; reacting the released hydrogen containing gas intermixed with an oxygen containing gas, preferably air, in a catalytic afterburner to create heat and a heated exhaust gas; introducing the heat and/or the heated exhaust gas to the reactor in order to heat the reactor to the working temperature; when the temperature of the reactor is higher than or equal to a predetermined temperature, feeding fuel to the reactor to generate hydrogen containing gas and introducing the generated hydrogen containing gas to the catalytic afterburner to further heat the reactor, wherein during start-up hydrogen containing gas bypasses the fuel cell and subsequently when the reactor has reached the working temperature the hydrogen containing gas flows through the fuel cell prior to being introduced into the catalytic afterburner. It furthermore provides a system for reforming a fuel.