Novel Fuel Reformer for Undersea Applications

The major drawback to the use of fuel cells as electric generators in unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) is their inability to directly use battlefield fuels. In order to efficiently use heavy hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., JP-8, diesel, dodecane) in an air independent environment, the fuel must first be reformed to a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas stream in a highly energy intensive process which is inherently inefficient. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) proposes to develop a novel fuel processor that allows the heat generated in the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stacks to be utilized to drive the endothermic steam reforming process. Due to the better heat management by coupling the reformer with the SOFC stacks, TDA's fuel processor operates very efficiently and minimizes the amount of fuel and oxidant storage needed to support the operation of the fuel cell. In Phase I, we will carry out a comprehensive design of a novel fuel processor that could convert dodecane and JP8 (with the proper desulfurization option) to a synthesis gas mixture that could run a 3 kWe SOFC. We will also demonstrate the key aspects of the proposed technology in bench-scale.