A power generation system includes: a combustor operative to combust a fuel; a power generator operative to utilize energy obtained from the combustor when generating electric power; a fuel supplier operative to supply the fuel to the combustor; an air supplier operative to supply combustion air to the combustor; a discharged gas passage through which a discharged gas from the combustor flows; a CO detector operative to detect CO in the discharged gas; a temperature detector operative to detect a temperature of the discharged gas; and control circuitry operative to, when the discharged gas is flowing through the discharged gas passage, perform at least one of an operation of detecting a structural abnormality of the discharged gas passage based on a difference between detected temperatures of the temperature detector relative to a difference between heated amounts of the discharged gas heated by a heater and an operation of detecting the structural abnormality of the discharged gas passage based on the difference between the detected temperatures of the temperature detector relative to a difference between outputs of at least one of the fuel supplier and the air supplier.

A fuel reformer 20 producing a reformed gas by catalysis by using a fuel gas includes a combustion chamber 24, a combustion nozzle 30, an exhausting pipe 15, a gas distribution gap 25, an outer reforming portion 43, a fuel gas introduction pipe 10, and a reformed gas outlet pipe 11. The combustion nozzle 30 is located in the combustion chamber 24. A columnar protruding portion 40 is provided in the combustion chamber 24.

A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, an evaporator for evaporating a mixture of methanol and water to be forwarded through a catalytic reformer for producing portions of free hydrogen. The fuel cell stack being composed of a number of proton exchange membrane fuel cells each featuring electrodes in form of an anode and a cathode for delivering an electric current. The system provides an enhanced system for evaporating the liquid fuel using a pre-evaporator, which partly evaporates the fuel, followed by a nozzle, which atomizes the fuel into a fine mist, before being passed to the final evaporation zone. This configuration ensures minimal fuel accumulation in the system and fast load transition's.

The present teachings provide multi-reformable fuel delivery systems and methods that can deliver, without the use of a liquid pump, any hydrocarbon fuel, i.e., a liquid or gaseous reformable fuel, for example, to at least one of a reformer, a vaporizer, a fuel cell stack, an afterburner and other assemblies and components of a fuel cell unit or system, More specifically, gas pressure can be used to control and deliver gaseous reformable fuels and/or liquid reformable fuels in the delivery systems and methods of the present teachings. The delivery systems and methods also can apply to the delivery of a liquid reactant such as water and gaseous reactants such as an oxygen-containing gas (e.g., air) and steam.

A process and apparatus for producing a hydrogen-enriched product and recovering CO.sub.2 from an effluent stream from a hydrogen production process unit are described. The process utilizes a CO.sub.2 recovery system integrated with a PSA system that produces at least two product streams to recover additional hydrogen and CO.sub.2 from the tail gas stream of a hydrogen PSA unit in the hydrogen production process.

A process and apparatus for producing a hydrogen-enriched product and recovering CO.sub.2 from an effluent stream from a hydrogen production unit are described. The effluent from the hydrogen production unit, which comprises a mixture of gases comprising hydrogen, carbon dioxide, water, and at least one of methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and argon, is sent to a PSA system that produces at least two product streams for separation. The PSA system that produces at least two product streams separates the gas mixture into a high-pressure hydrogen stream enriched in hydrogen, optionally a second gas stream containing the majority of the impurities, and a low-pressure tail gas stream enriched in CO.sub.2 and some impurities. The CO.sub.2-rich tail gas stream is compressed and sent to a CO.sub.2 recovery unit, where a CO.sub.2-enriched stream is recovered. The CO.sub.2-depleted overhead gas stream is recycled to the PSA system that produces at least two product streams.

A reformer of the present disclosure includes a reformer body having a cylindrical shape that carries out a reforming reaction by a raw fuel gas and water supplied thereto, the reformer body including therein a vaporization portion which generates steam and a reforming portion which reacts the steam generated in the vaporization portion with the raw fuel gas to generate a reformed gas, at least one of a convex portion and a rough portion having a higher degree of surface roughness than that of other portions, being disposed on at least one of an inner circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface of the reformer body.

A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, an evaporator for evaporating a mixture of methanol and water to be forwarded through a catalytic reformer for producing portions of free hydrogen. The fuel cell stack being composed of a number of proton exchange membrane fuel cells each featuring electrodes in form of an anode and a cathode for delivering an electric current. The liquid fuel using a. pre-evaporator, which. partly evaporates the fuel, followed by a. nozzle, which atomizes the fuel into a fine mist, before being passed to the final evaporation zone. This configuration ensures that liquid fuel for producing thermal, neat is converted into a form that facilitates a burner to achieve a quick heating up of the fuel, cell system into production mode.

A reactor for steam-methane reforming is adapted to be received in a tube on a focal axis of a parabolic trough. The reactor may comprise an array of micro-reactors interconnected by a water manifold, a gas manifold, a syngas manifold, and at least one steam-methane reforming chamber configured for reforming steam and methane into syngases, the micro-reactors having a vaporization portion for producing steam. Radiation plates may extend on sides of the array of micro-reactors Glazing may face and be spaced apart from a portion of the array of micro-reactors including at least one steam-methane reforming chamber, the glazing being conductively connected to the radiation plates for heat transfer therebetween, the at least one glazing allowing light from the parabolic trough to pass therethrough to reach the array of micro-reactors.

Hydrogen purification devices and their components are disclosed. In some embodiments, the devices may include at least one foil-microscreen assembly disposed between and secured to first and second end frames. The at least one foil-microscreen assembly may include at least one hydrogen-selective membrane and at least one microscreen structure including a non-porous planar sheet having a plurality of apertures forming a plurality of fluid passages. The planar sheet may include generally opposed planar surfaces configured to provide support to the permeate side. The plurality of fluid passages may extend between the opposed surfaces. The at least one hydrogen-selective membrane may be metallurgically bonded to the at least one microscreen structure.