JP2009076334A - Operation method of fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve an operation rate of a fuel cell mounted on a transportation means as an energy source for a driving force of the transportation means. <P>SOLUTION: At the time of operating the fuel cell 12 mounted on the transportation means 11 as the energy source for the driving force of the transportation means 11, electric power and exhaust heat formed by the fuel cell 12 are used for purposes other than a driving source of the transportation means 11 by operating the fuel cell 12 when energy is not supplied to the driving source 13 of the transportation means 11 by the fuel cell 12. It is suitable that, when the transportation means 11 is an automobile 11 which is not running, fuel such as town gas is reformed and refined to be converted into hydrogen, and then stored in an on-vehicle tank 14 and exhaust generated at the time of reforming and refining of the fuel is used for purposes other than a driving source of the automobile 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for operating a fuel cell.

A fuel cell is known that is mounted on an automobile such as a passenger car (Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-161057 A

  However, an in-vehicle fuel cell is used only as an energy source for the driving force of the automobile, and is not operated when the automobile is not used, and the operation rate is not high. .

  On the other hand, household electricity, hot water supply and cooling / heating at home are supplied and operated by dedicated supply systems and operation systems, respectively. For this reason, both initial cost and running cost are high, and installation space for devices constituting each system is also required. Therefore, it cannot be said that efficiency is low and energy saving is high.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the operating rate of a fuel cell mounted on the transportation means as an energy source for driving force of the transportation means.

  In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, when operating a fuel cell mounted on the transportation means as an energy source for driving force of the transportation means, the fuel cell does not supply energy to the driving source of the transportation means. Sometimes, the fuel cell is operated, and the electric power and exhaust heat generated by the fuel cell are used for applications other than the driving source of the transportation means.

  According to the present invention, in the above, when the transportation means is an automobile and the automobile is not running, the fuel such as city gas is reformed and purified to be converted into hydrogen and then stored in the vehicle tank. It is preferable to use the exhaust heat generated during the reforming and refining of the fuel for purposes other than the driving source of the automobile.

  According to the present invention, the fuel cell is operated when the fuel cell does not supply energy to the driving source of the transportation means, such as when the transportation means does not travel with the fuel cell mounted on the transportation means such as an automobile. In order to use the electric power and exhaust heat generated by this fuel cell for purposes other than the driving source of the transportation means, that is, other uses such as power supply, hot water supply and heating at home, The operating rate of the fuel cell mounted on the transportation means can be improved. In addition, since a fuel cell mounted on a transportation means such as an automobile is used, it is not necessary to separately install a fuel cell in a home or the like. For this reason, cost reduction, installation space reduction, and effective use of exhaust heat can be achieved. It is possible to achieve high efficiency and energy saving.

  According to the present invention, when a vehicle as a means of transportation is not running, a fuel such as city gas is reformed and refined and converted into hydrogen and then stored in an on-vehicle tank, and the fuel is refined and refined. The exhaust heat generated at the time can be used for hot water supply and heating at home, etc., so there is no need to refuel after driving the car to the hydrogen supply stand, and the exhaust heat at that time is effective Can be used.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a passenger car, a fuel cell 12, a traveling motor 13 driven by electric power generated in the fuel cell 12, and a hydrogen tank 14 that stores hydrogen serving as fuel for the fuel cell 12. And equipped. The fuel cell 12 generates electric power using hydrogen from the hydrogen tank 14 and oxygen in the atmosphere. The water produced by the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen is discharged from the discharge port 15 to the outside in the form of water vapor or water. Hydrogen is supplied to the hydrogen tank 14 at a hydrogen supply stand 16 or the like.

  Reference numeral 21 denotes a fuel reforming and purifying apparatus provided in the home, which can convert, for example, city gas supplied from the gas pipeline 22 into hydrogen gas and supply it to the hydrogen tank 14 of the automobile 11. The fuel reforming / purifying device 21 generates heat when the city gas supplied from the gas pipeline 22 is converted into hydrogen gas, and 23 is an exhaust heat recovery line from the fuel reforming / purifying device 21. Reference numeral 24 denotes an exhaust heat recovery line from the automobile 11, which can be connected to the exhaust port 15 when the automobile 11 is not running. These exhaust heat recovery lines 23 and 24 are led to an exhaust heat recovery device 25. The exhaust heat recovery device 25 can generate hot water using the recovered exhaust heat. The generated hot water is stored in the hot water storage tank 26 and used for hot water supply or heating in the home.

  Reference numeral 28 denotes a distribution board installed at home, which is connected to the commercial power line 29 and also connected to the home wiring. Reference numeral 30 denotes a generated power supply line, one end of which is connected to the distribution board 28 and the other end can be connected to the output terminal of the fuel cell 12 of the automobile 11.

  When the automobile 11 travels outside the home, the fuel in the hydrogen tank 14 is consumed by the fuel cell 12 to generate power in the fuel cell 12, and the generated power is supplied to the travel motor 13. At this time, the person riding in the automobile 11 is not at home, and the electric power generated by the fuel cell 12 is consumed for the automobile 11 without being used at home.

  When a person is at home, the car 11 is not in the car 11 and the car 11 is stopped. Therefore, the generated power supply line 30 is connected to the fuel cell 12, and the exhaust heat recovery line 24 is connected to the exhaust port 15. Then, the city gas from the gas pipe line 22 is sent to the fuel reforming and purifying device 21 to be converted into hydrogen, and the completed hydrogen is stored in the tank 14. As a result, hydrogen as a fuel is charged in the tank 14 to prepare for the next driving of the automobile. In addition, the fuel cell 12 is operated using hydrogen in the tank 14, and the electric power generated thereby is sent to the distribution board 28 via the supply line 30, and is connected to the grid for use at home. Provided. Surplus power is sold through the commercial power line 29, including the later-described photovoltaic power generation.

  When the fuel reforming / purifying device 21 is operated, heat is generated. Water vapor or water generated by operating the fuel cell 12 also retains heat. These heats are guided to the exhaust heat recovery device 25 by the recovery lines 23 and 24, and the device 25 generates hot water using this heat. This hot water is sent to the hot water storage tank 26 and used for hot water supply and heating in the home.

  In this way, the fuel cell 12 mounted on the automobile 11 can be operated for power supply and hot water supply in the home. Therefore, the operating rate can be improved. Further, since hydrogen is generated by the fuel reforming and purifying device 21 and this hydrogen is charged into the tank 14 of the automobile 11, it is possible to generate hydrogen at home and fill the tank 14 without going to the hydrogen gas station. it can. For this reason, cost reduction, installation space reduction, and effective use of exhaust heat can be achieved, and high efficiency and energy saving can be realized.

  The present invention can be applied not only to automobiles as described above but also to transportation means such as airplanes and ships. In an aircraft or a ship that uses a fuel cell as a power energy source, it is possible to cover the in-machine or in-board infrastructure according to the present invention.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of use of the system shown in FIG. Reference numeral 31 denotes a household line, which includes electric lines 30 and 32, a hot water supply line 33, and an air conditioning line 34.

  In the electric lines 30 and 32, the home interconnection 36 can be connected to the grid connection board 27 so that the power generated by the fuel cell of the automobile 11 can be used for home use. The electric line 32 can be configured to include a power supply system 38 from the solar power generation device 37 with a rainwater sensor.

  The hot water supply line 33 can supply hot water to the washroom 39, the kitchen 40, and the bathroom 41. The hot water storage tank 26 is provided with an auxiliary heat source part 42, and this auxiliary heat source part 42 can be used for the purpose of remembrance in the bathroom 41 or the use of bathroom drying / bathroom heating as shown in the figure. The hot water supply line 33 can also be used for roof snow melting using the roof sprinkler 43. In summer, the roof can be cooled if low temperature water from the water supply pipe 45 is sent to the roof sprinkler 43 by the switching valve 44. The switching operation of the switching valve 44 can be reasonably performed according to the output of the solar power generation device 37 with a rainwater sensor.

  The air conditioning line 34 is driven by electric power from the electric lines 30 and 32. 46 is an outdoor unit. The air conditioning line 34 can supply refrigerant and heat medium to the indoor unit 47 and can be used for applications such as a floor cooling / heating 48, a bed panel 49, and a load heater 50.

It is a figure which shows the system for enforcing the operating method of the fuel cell of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the usage example of the system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Automobile 12 Fuel cell 13 Motor 14 Hydrogen tank 21 Fuel reforming refiner 22 Gas line 23 Waste heat recovery line 24 Waste heat recovery line 25 Waste heat recovery device 26 Hot water storage tank 30 Power generation supply line

Claims (2)

  An operation method of a fuel cell mounted on the transportation means as an energy source for driving force of the transportation means, wherein the fuel cell is operated when the fuel cell does not supply energy to the driving source of the transportation means The fuel cell operating method is characterized in that the electric power and exhaust heat generated by the fuel cell are used for applications other than the driving source of the transportation means.   When the transportation means is an automobile and the automobile is not running, the fuel such as city gas is reformed and refined and converted into hydrogen and then stored in an on-vehicle tank, and the fuel is reformed and refined. 2. The method of operating a fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein the generated exhaust heat is used for a purpose other than the driving source of the automobile.

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