KR-20260062165-A - A FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR FUEL CELL AND A FUEL CELL PROPULSION SHIP USING THE SAME

KR20260062165AKR 20260062165 AKR20260062165 AKR 20260062165AKR-20260062165-A

Abstract

The present invention provides a fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising: a reforming unit that reforms ammonia supplied from an ammonia tank in a ship and discharges exhaust gas generated during the reforming process; a fuel cell unit that receives the reformed gas from the reforming unit, produces electricity, and supplies electricity for ship propulsion; a thermoelectric power generation unit that performs thermoelectric power generation using waste heat from the exhaust gas; and a fuel pretreatment unit connected between the ammonia tank and the reforming unit, which vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the fuel cell unit or the reforming unit, generates thermal energy using electricity provided from the thermoelectric power generation unit, and raises the temperature of the vaporized ammonia to control it to the conditions required by the reforming unit.

Inventors

김창식

Assignees

삼성중공업 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241025

Claims (10)

A reforming unit that reforms ammonia supplied from an ammonia tank on board the ship and discharges exhaust gas generated during the reforming process; A fuel cell unit that receives the gas reformed from the above reforming unit to produce electricity and supplies electricity for ship propulsion; A thermoelectric power generation unit that performs thermoelectric power generation using the waste heat of the exhaust gas; and A fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising a fuel pretreatment unit connected between the ammonia tank and the reforming unit, which vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the fuel cell unit or the reforming unit, and generates thermal energy using power provided from the thermoelectric power generation unit to raise the temperature of the vaporized ammonia, thereby controlling it to the conditions required by the reforming unit.
In Article 1, The above thermoelectric power generation unit is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell that is provided on an exhaust line through which exhaust gas is discharged from the above-mentioned reforming section, and performs thermoelectric power generation based on the waste heat of the exhaust gas and the external temperature difference.
In Article 1, The above thermoelectric power generation unit is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell that includes a battery and stores the remaining power supplied to the fuel pretreatment unit in the battery.
In Article 1, The above fuel pretreatment unit is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising a vaporizer that vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the cooling water discharged from the fuel cell unit.
In Paragraph 4, The above fuel pretreatment unit is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell that operates with power provided from the thermoelectric power generation unit and further includes a heater that raises the temperature of ammonia vaporized by the vaporizer to the temperature required by the reforming unit.
In Paragraph 4, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell further comprising a waste heat line connected between the fuel cell unit and the vaporizer, which introduces cooling water that is used in the fuel cell unit and discharged with a high temperature into the vaporizer, and introduces cooling water that is used to vaporize the ammonia in the vaporizer and has a lower temperature into the fuel cell unit.
In Paragraph 6, The above waste heat line is connected to the above reforming unit, and The above vaporizer is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell that optionally vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the cooling water discharged from the reforming unit.
In Paragraph 5, The above vaporizer utilizes the waste heat of the cooling water discharged from the fuel cell to vaporize the ammonia while simultaneously raising the temperature to 55 to 60°C in a first step. The above heater is a fuel supply system for a fuel cell that secondarily raises the temperature of the vaporized ammonia to 70 to 75°C, which is the temperature required by the reforming section.
In Article 1, The above reforming unit is a fuel supply system for a fuel cell that recovers excess gas remaining after power production in the above fuel cell unit and uses it for the burning operation of a combustion device provided inside.
Ammonia tank for storing ammonia; A reforming unit that reforms ammonia supplied from the above ammonia tank and discharges exhaust gas generated during the reforming process; A fuel cell unit that produces electricity by receiving the gas reformed from the above reforming unit; A propulsion unit that propels the hull by receiving power from the above-mentioned fuel cell unit; A thermoelectric power generation unit that performs thermoelectric power generation using the waste heat of the exhaust gas; and A fuel cell propulsion vessel comprising a fuel pretreatment unit connected between the ammonia tank and the reforming unit, which vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the fuel cell unit or the reforming unit, and generates thermal energy using power provided from the thermoelectric power generation unit to raise the temperature of the vaporized ammonia, thereby controlling it to the conditions required by the reforming unit.

Description

A fuel supply system for a fuel cell and a fuel cell propulsion ship using the same The present invention relates to a fuel supply system for a fuel cell and a fuel cell propulsion vessel using the same, and more specifically, to a fuel supply system for a fuel cell capable of utilizing waste heat discharged from a fuel cell unit or a reforming unit and a fuel cell propulsion vessel using the same. Generally, fuel cells are devices that generate electrical energy by electrochemically reacting fuel and an oxidant; due to their excellent environmental compatibility, they are currently being applied and used in ships. As an example, a fuel cell propulsion vessel can propel itself by using liquefied gas, such as LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), to generate electricity in a fuel cell and supplying the generated electricity to a propeller to operate the propeller. FIG. 1 illustrates a fuel cell propulsion vessel (10) according to the prior art. Referring to FIG. 1, the fuel cell propulsion vessel (10) may be equipped with a plurality of storage tanks (11) in which liquefied gas fuel is stored, and the liquefied gas fuel supplied from the storage tanks (11) may be compressed and vaporized to a pressure required by the fuel cell (14) in a compressor or vaporizer (12), and then heated to a temperature required by the fuel cell (14) in a heater (13) and supplied to the fuel cell (14). At this time, since the compressor or vaporizer (12) and the heater (13) are each equipped with a device for controlling the pressure and temperature required by the fuel cell (14), there was a problem of having to use separate power or power produced from the fuel cell. Figure 1 illustrates a fuel cell propulsion vessel according to the prior art. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a fuel supply system of a fuel cell propulsion vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the waste heat utilization structure of a fuel supply system for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates a structure for utilizing waste heat in a vaporizer and heater according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The detailed description disclosed below, together with the attached drawings, is intended to describe exemplary embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiment in which the present invention can be practiced. In order to clearly explain the invention in the drawings, parts unrelated to the explanation may be omitted, and the same reference numerals may be used for identical or similar components throughout the specification. In embodiments of the present invention, expressions such as “or”, “at least one”, etc. may represent one of the words listed together or a combination of two or more. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a fuel supply system for a fuel cell propulsion vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a waste heat utilization structure of a fuel supply system (100) for a fuel cell according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a waste heat utilization structure in a vaporizer (131) and a heater (132) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Before explaining, the fuel cell propulsion vessel according to the present invention is a fuel cell propulsion vessel that produces electricity in a fuel cell unit (120) using hydrogen produced by reforming ammonia and propels itself with the produced electricity, and can be provided as an ammonia carrier that transports liquefied ammonia or as various vessels that store ammonia as fuel. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, a fuel cell propulsion vessel according to one embodiment of the present invention may include an ammonia tank (200), a fuel supply system for a fuel cell (100), and a propulsion unit (not shown). Here, the fuel supply system (100) for a fuel cell may include a reforming unit (110), a fuel cell unit (120), a fuel pretreatment unit (130), a first waste heat line (140), a second waste heat line (150), and a thermoelectric power generation unit (160), and the fuel pretreatment unit (130) may include a vaporizer (131) and a heater (132). In addition, the fuel supply system (100) for the fuel cell may further include an emergency discharge unit (170) and a nitrogen supply unit (180). Specifically, the ammonia tank (200) stores liquefied ammonia and may be provided with at least one or more tanks within the vessel. The ammonia tank (200) may be formed as a low-temperature tank or a pressurized tank for storing liquid ammonia (e.g., -33°C), and may be equipped with a supply pump (111) to supply the liquid ammonia stored inside to a vaporizer (131) described later through the supply pump (111). The re