Methanol Reformers For Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles

Download or read book Methanol Reformers for Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles written by and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fuel cells are being developed for use in automotive propulsion systems as alternatives for the internal combustion engine in buses, vans, passenger cars. The two most important operational requirements for a stand-alone fuel cell power system for a vehicle are the ability to start up quickly and the ability to supply the necessary power on demand for the dynamically fluctuating load. Methanol is a likely fuel for use in fuel cells for transportation applications. It is a commodity chemical that is manufactured from coal, natural gas, and other feedstocks. For use in a fuel cell, however, the methanol must first be converted (reformed) to a hydrogen-rich gas mixture. The desired features for a methanol reformer include rapid start-up, good dynamic response, high fuel conversion, small size and weight, simple construction and operation, and low cost. In this paper the present the design considerations that are important for developing such a reformer, namely: (1) a small catalyst bed for quick starting, small size, and low weight; (2) multiple catalysts for optimum operation of the dissociation and reforming reactions; (3) reforming by direct heat transfer partial oxidation for rapid response to fluctuating loads; and (4) thermal independence from the rest of the fuel cell system. 10 refs., 1 fig.