METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYING HYDROGEN FOR USE IN FUEL CELLS

摘要

The present invention provides a method and system for efficiently producing hydrogen that can be supplied to a fuel cell (52). The method and system of the present invention produces hydrogen in a reforming reactor (12) using a hydrocarbon stream (21) and water vapor stream (25) as reactants. The hydrogen produced is purified in a hydrogen separating membrane (14) to form a retentate stream (42) and purified hydrogen stream (40). The purified hydrogen can then be fed to a fuel cell (52) where electrical energy is produced and a fuel cell exhaust stream (76) containing water vapor and oxygen-depleted air is emitted. In one embodiment of the present invention, a means and method are provided for recycling a portion of the retentate stream (42) to the reforming reactor (12) for increased hydrogen yields. In another embodiment, a combustor (94) is provided for combusting a second portion (48) of the retentate stream (42) to provide heat to the reforming reaction or other reactants. In a preferred embodiment, the combustion is carried out in the presence of at least a portion (92) of the oxygen-depleted air stream (76) from the fuel cell (52). Thus, the system and method of the present invention advantageously uses products generated from the system to enhance the overall efficiency of the system.