Method and system for desulfurizing gasoline or diesel fuel for use in a fuel cell power plant

• Main Authors: ROGER R. LESIEUR, RICHARD A. SEDERQUIST, DONALD F. SZYDLOWSKI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 24.02.2003
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMISTRY; CRACKING HYDROCARBON OILS; ELECTRICITY; FUELS; LUBRICANTS; METALLURGY; MINERAL WAXES; PEAT; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PETROLEUM, GAS OR COKE INDUSTRIES; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; PRODUCTION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBON MIXTURES, e.g. BY DESTRUCTIVEHYDROGENATION, OLIGOMERISATION, POLYMERISATION; PURIFYING OR MODIFYING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COMBUSTIBLEGASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; RECOVERY OF HYDROCARBON OILS FROM OIL-SHALE, OIL-SAND, ORGASES; REFINING MIXTURES MAINLY CONSISTING OF HYDROCARBONS; REFORMING OF NAPHTHA; SEPARATION; TECHNICAL GASES CONTAINING CARBON MONOXIDE; TRANSPORTING

A fuel processing system is operative to remove substantially all of the sulfur present in a logistic fuel stock supply. The fuel stock can be gasoline, diesel fuel, or other like fuels which contain relatively high levels of organic sulfur compounds such as mercaptans, sulfides, disulfides, and the like. The system is a part of a fuel cell power plant. The fuel stock supply is fed through a reformer where the fuel is converted to a hydrogen rich fuel which contains hydrogen sulfide. The hydrogen sulfide-containg reformer exhaust is passed through a sulfur scrubber, to which is added a small quantity of air, which scrubber removes substantially all of the sulfur in the exhaust stream by means of the Claus reaction. The desulfurizing step causes sulfur to deposit on the scrubber bed, which after a period of time, will prevent further sulfur from being removed from the reformer exhaust stream. The sulfur scrubber station is rejuvenated by passing a gas stream containing a relatively small amount (about 1% by volume) of carbon monoxide. The carbon monoxide is converted to carbonyl sulfide which is then burned in power plant burner so as to form sulfur dioxide in the power plant exhaust stream.