KR-20260065697-A - A FUEL SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR FUEL CELL AND A FUEL CELL PROPULSION SHIP USING THE SAME

KR20260065697AKR 20260065697 AKR20260065697 AKR 20260065697AKR-20260065697-A

Abstract

The present invention provides a fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising: a reforming unit for reforming ammonia supplied from an ammonia tank in a ship; a fuel cell unit for receiving the reformed gas from the reforming unit to produce electricity and supplying electricity for ship propulsion; a fuel pretreatment unit for vaporizing or heating the ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank to control it to conditions required by the reforming unit; a compressor for pressurizing the evaporated gas generated from the ammonia tank; and a pressure tank for receiving and accommodating the evaporated gas pressurized by the compressor and supplying it to the reforming unit or the fuel pretreatment unit.

Inventors

김창식

Assignees

삼성중공업 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20241101

Claims (11)

A reforming unit that reforms ammonia supplied from an ammonia tank on board a ship; A fuel cell unit that receives the gas reformed from the above reforming unit to produce electricity and supplies electricity for ship propulsion; A fuel pretreatment unit that vaporizes or raises the temperature of ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank above and adjusts it to the conditions required by the reforming unit; A compressor for pressurizing the evaporated gas generated in the above ammonia tank; and A fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising a pressure tank that receives and accommodates evaporated gas pressurized by the cargo compressor and supplies it to the reforming unit or the fuel pretreatment unit.
In Article 1, The above pressure tank is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell that stores liquefied ammonia and receives evaporated gas that has been pressurized and heated by the cargo compressor to increase the amount of evaporated gas generated inside.
In Paragraph 2, The above pressure tank is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell that supplies the stored ammonia to the fuel pretreatment unit as needed.
In Article 1, The above pressure tank is, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell installed on the upper deck of a ship to receive external heat.
In Article 1, A first evaporative gas line that introduces evaporative gas discharged from the ammonia tank into the pressure tank via the compressor; and A fuel supply system for a fuel cell further comprising a second evaporative gas line that supplies evaporative gas discharged from the pressure tank to the reforming unit or the fuel pretreatment unit.
In Paragraph 5, A fuel supply system for a fuel cell further comprising a control valve configured to open and close an outlet formed in the pressure tank or the second evaporative gas line, and to supply evaporative gas to the reforming unit or the fuel pretreatment unit or to regulate the amount of evaporative gas supplied as needed.
In Paragraph 5, The above fuel pretreatment unit is, A vaporizer that vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the cooling water discharged from the fuel cell unit; and A fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising a heater that raises the temperature of ammonia vaporized by the above vaporizer to a temperature required by the reforming section using the waste heat of the exhaust gas discharged from the above reforming section.
In Article 7, The second evaporative gas line is connected between the pressure tank and the heater to introduce evaporative gas discharged from the pressure tank into the heater, and The above heater is a fuel supply system for a fuel cell that raises the temperature of the incoming evaporated gas to the temperature required by the reforming section.
In Article 1, It further includes a thermoelectric power generation unit that performs thermoelectric power generation using waste heat from exhaust gas generated during the ammonia reforming process of the above-mentioned reforming unit, and The above fuel pretreatment unit is, A vaporizer that vaporizes ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank using waste heat from the cooling water discharged from the fuel cell unit; and A fuel supply system for a fuel cell comprising a heater that operates with power provided from the thermoelectric power generation unit and raises the temperature of ammonia vaporized by the vaporizer to the temperature required by the reforming unit.
In Article 9, 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.
Ammonia tank for storing ammonia; A reforming unit that reforms ammonia supplied from the above ammonia tank; 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 fuel pretreatment unit connected between the ammonia tank and the reforming unit, which adjusts the ammonia supplied from the ammonia tank to the conditions required by the reforming unit using the waste heat of the fuel cell unit or the reforming unit; A compressor for pressurizing the evaporated gas generated in the above ammonia tank; and A fuel cell propulsion vessel comprising a pressure tank that receives and accommodates evaporated gas pressurized by the above compressor and supplies it to the above reforming unit or the above fuel pretreatment 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. More specifically, the invention relates to a fuel supply system for a fuel cell and a fuel cell propulsion vessel using the same, which can adjust liquefied ammonia supplied from an ammonia tank and evaporated gas to conditions required by the reforming unit by utilizing waste heat from the fuel cell unit or the reforming unit and a compressor within the vessel. 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. In addition, in the case of evaporated gas generated by the natural vaporization of liquefied gas fuel in the storage tank (11), the evaporated gas was re-liquefied by passing through a compressor (15), a cooler (16), a condenser (17), and a gas-liquid separator (18) in sequence and then being introduced back into the storage tank (11). However, there was a problem in that a large amount of power was consumed during the re-liquefaction process, which increased operating costs, and additional costs were incurred due to the addition of re-liquefaction equipment, and it was difficult to secure space on board because large re-liquefaction equipment had to be installed in the limited space of the ship. 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 a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an ammonia fuel treatment structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates the configuration of a fuel supply system for a fuel cell and a fuel processing process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 illustrates the configuration of a fuel supply system for a fuel cell and a fuel processing process according to a second 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 of a fuel cell propulsion vessel according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an ammonia fuel treatment structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 illustrates the configuration and fuel treatment process of a fuel supply system (100) for a fuel cell according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Before explaining, the fuel cell propulsion vessel according to an embodiment of 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 the first embodiment of the present inventi