METHOD OF OPERATING A FUEL CELL SYSTEM ON LOW QUALITY BYPRODUCT GASES

摘要

A method of operating a fuel cell system with a byproduct gas comprising a fuel component is provided. The fuel cell system includes a fuel reformer for forming a reformer stream, a combustor for supplying thermal energy to the fuel reformer, and a fuel cell stack. The method comprises separating a by-product gas into a purified gas stream and a residual stream using a gaseous fuel purifier, feeding the purified gas stream to a fuel reformer configured to convert the purified gas stream to produce a reformer stream. And feeding the residual gas stream with a combustor configured to provide thermal energy to the fuel reformer. The purified gas stream comprises higher concentrations of preferred fuel components and lower concentrations of contaminants than the residual gas stream.