Compact, Highly Efficient Logistics Fuel Desulfurizer

"Mesoscopic Devices proposes to design and demonstrate an advanced, ultra-compact fuel desulfurizer that can utilize sulfur sorbents many times more efficiently than typical fixed-bed, moving-bed, or even fluidized-bed approaches. The improved efficiencydirectly translates into an estimated system size 40 times smaller than a fixed-bed single-use system having similar fuel capacity based on a 5-year, maintenance-free life cycle operating continuously. For a 2 kg/hr fuel stream (enough to fuel a 10 kWefuel cell) containing 700 ppm sulfur, our conservative estimates indicate that the new desulfurizer system resulting from the proposed effort will occupy about 2 liters and weigh about 3 kg. The proposed system utilizes an innovative sorbent geometry withintegrated regeneration subsystems. In Phase I, we will experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach, and through modeling and subsystem experimentation, we will design a complete desulfurization system capable of treating 2 kg/hrof fuel containing 700 ppm sulfur. The desulfurization system developed in this project will significantly reduce the cost and logistics burden of using sulfur-sensitive fuel cell technologies for military power generation. The mobile desulfurizer willallow cleanup of logistics fuels in the field to fuel cell standards, eliminating the requirement for a specific fuel cell fuel. This system is the only desulfurization technology that sc