SULFUR-TOLERANT HIGH-TEMPERATURE FUEL CELL SYSTEM WITH INTERNAL WATER-GAS SHIFT CATALYST

摘要

The invention relates to a fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack with a plurality of cathodes (30) and anodes (34), wherein an oxidizing gas containing oxygen can be fed to the stack on the cathode side and a combustion gas can be fed to the stack on the anode side. The fuel cell system also comprises a reformer for generating the combustion gas from a fuel. The fuel cell stack comprises a catalytically active material (42) which is arranged in each anode-side region such that the combustion gas upstream of the anode (34) can flow through said material, said catalytically active material catalyzing the reaction of carbon monoxide and water into carbon dioxide and hydrogen. It has been found that the tolerance of the anode (34) to sulfur compounds is increased by increasing the hydrogen content in the combustion gas flow by means of a preceding shift reaction using said catalytically active material such that even fuels with an increased sulfur content, such as diesel fuel from example, can be reformed and electrochemically converted.