Multifuel reformer R D

The on-board fuel for fuel cell powered vehicles may be one or more of hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, natural gas, propane, or other liquified petroleum gases. To use hydrogen as the fuel, suitable means of storing, and subsequently delivering, adequate quantities of the gas must be developed. For all other fuels suitable reformers must be developed to convert the fuel to hydrogen or a hydrogen-rich gas mixture at rates corresponding to the varying power demand rates of the automotive system; this is especially true for the lower temperature fuel cells, such as the polymer electrolyte fuel cell which operates at 80{degrees}C and the phosphoric acid fuel cell which operates at 190{degrees}C. This paper discusses the key design and performance characteristics of such hydrogen storage and fuel reformer systems for use in stand-alone fuel cell automotive applications