COMBUSTOR FOR A FUEL CELL SYSTEM

• Main Authors: JONES DUANE E, FISCHER BERNHARD A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 03.11.2011
• Subjects: APPLYING LIQUIDS OR OTHER FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL; ATOMISING APPARATUS; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMISTRY; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; INORGANIC CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY; NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; NOZZLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; SPRAYING APPARATUS; SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRANSPORTING

A combustor generates and supplies hot combustion gases to a fuel reformer. The combustor includes a housing defining a combustion chamber. The combustor also includes a fuel vaporizer having a fuel tube with an electric heating element. The fuel tube is positioned such that a portion thereof extends into the combustion chamber and is exposed to the hot combustion gases exiting the combustion chamber. An electric current is supplied to the electric heating element to vaporize the liquid fuel within the fuel tube when the temperature within the combustion chamber is below is a predetermined temperature. Substantially no electric current is supplied to the electric heating element when the temperature within the combustion chamber is at least the predetermined temperature and the hot combustion gases passing over the portion of the fuel tube extending into the combustion chamber vaporize the liquid fuel within the fuel tube.