JP5532197B2 - Fuel cell system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell system. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement in the structure of an ion exchanger of a fuel cell system.

  Some fuel cell systems are configured to dispose impurities in a cooling medium (for example, cooling water) using an ion exchange resin by disposing an ion exchanger in the cooling system of the fuel cell. An ion exchange resin is a resin having a network structure made of a polymer electrolyte having an ion exchange group, and allows ions adsorbed by ion exchange to enter not only the surface of the resin but also the inside thereof. Impurities eluted from piping parts of fuel cell systems may contain metal ions and fluorine ions, which may cause metal corrosion and fuel cell function degradation. According to the ion exchange resin, it is possible to adsorb and remove ions.

Conventionally, such a fuel cell system is known in which a cartridge type ion exchanger is arranged vertically above a cooling pipe of a fuel cell (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-35519 A

  However, in the fuel cell system configured as described above, the ion exchanger is cooled from the cooling pipe of the fuel cell when the ion exchanger is replaced, compared to the case where the ion exchanger is arranged vertically below the cooling pipe or between the cooling pipes. Although the outflow of the medium can be suppressed to some extent, the outflow of the cooling medium from the cooling pipe cannot be reduced to zero, and air must be removed after the ion exchanger is replaced.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell system that simplifies the coping work when the performance of the ion exchanger is lowered.

  In order to solve this problem, the present inventor has made various studies. When the performance of the ion exchanger is reduced, if the ion exchanger itself is to be replaced, it must be removed from the piping, and fluid flows out at that time. Further, when the performance of the ion exchanger is reduced, the regenerant can be supplied to restore the ion exchange performance. For example, in the case of a fuel cell system mounted on a fuel cell vehicle, the regenerant can be left in the on-board state. It is convenient if it can be supplied. The inventor who has repeatedly studied focusing on these points has come to obtain new knowledge that leads to the solution of such problems.

  The present invention is based on such knowledge, and in a fuel cell system having a fuel cell that generates electric power by an electrochemical reaction of a reaction gas, and a cartridge type ion exchanger disposed in a pipe connected to the fuel cell, A valve for sealing the pipe when the ion exchanger is removed from the pipe is disposed at a connection portion of the pipe with the ion exchanger. In this fuel cell system, piping can be sealed by using a valve. Therefore, when the ion exchanger is removed from the piping of the fuel cell system, it is possible to suppress the fluid from flowing out of the piping.

  Further, in such a fuel cell system, a valve that blocks a communication portion of the ion exchanger with the pipe when the ion exchanger is removed from the pipe is disposed at a connection portion with the pipe of the ion exchanger. It is preferable. In such a case, the fluid in the ion exchanger can be prevented from flowing out of the exchanger at the time of exchanging the ion exchanger.

  The pipe is a cooling pipe in a fuel cell system, for example. The ion exchanger in this case removes impurities contained in the cooling medium for cooling the fuel cell.

  The ion exchanger is preferably connected to the cooling pipe in a state where a cooling medium (hereinafter also referred to as a refrigerant in the present specification) is sealed in the ion exchanger. In such a fuel cell system, air contamination at the time of ion exchanger replacement can be suppressed, and it is not necessary to refill the ion exchanger after the ion exchanger replacement. Man-hours can be reduced and the startability after replacement can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the above-described fuel cell system, it is also preferable to supply a regenerant that regenerates the ion exchange resin in the ion exchanger and restores the processing capacity to the ion exchanger. In such a fuel cell system, the number of ion exchanger replacements can be reduced.

  In this case, a regenerant inlet valve is preferably provided at the supply port of the regenerant to the ion exchanger. Further, if the regenerant inlet valve is, for example, a three-way valve, it can be shared with a valve for opening and closing the fluid in the piping of the fuel cell system.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the valve | bulb arrange | positioned at the connection part with the piping of an ion exchanger opens and closes automatically according to the attachment or detachment operation | movement to the piping of the said ion exchanger. According to such a valve, it is possible to suppress the fluid from flowing out from the ion exchanger removed from the pipe by sealing the opening at the normal time. Further, when the ion exchanger is attached to the pipe, the valve is automatically opened to form a fluid flow path.

  The fuel cell system according to the present invention is suitable for mounting on a fuel cell vehicle, for example. In this case, if the ion exchanger is mounted in the vicinity of the upper part of the engine room of the fuel cell vehicle, for example, directly under the so-called bonnet hood, it is easy to handle from the outside and supplies the regenerant with the work of replacing the ion exchanger This is preferable in that the work to be performed becomes easy.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to construct | assemble the fuel cell system which simplified the coping work at the time of the performance fall of an ion exchanger.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on an example of an embodiment shown in the drawings.

  1 to 9 show an embodiment of a fuel cell system according to the present invention. A fuel cell system 1 according to the present invention includes a fuel cell 2 that generates electric power by an electrochemical reaction of a reaction gas, and a cartridge type ion exchanger 47 disposed in a cooling pipe (pipe) 46 connected to the fuel cell 2. (See FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, for example, mounted in the fuel cell vehicle FCHV. In the following, the overall configuration of the fuel cell system 1 will be described first, and then the performance of the ion exchanger 47 will be described.) A configuration for simplifying the coping work at the time of decline will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a fuel cell system 1 in the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a fuel cell system 1 supplies a fuel cell 2, an oxidizing gas piping system 3 that supplies air (oxygen) as an oxidizing gas to the fuel cell 2, and hydrogen as a fuel gas to the fuel cell 2. A fuel gas piping system 4, a refrigerant piping system 5 for supplying the refrigerant to the fuel cell 2 to cool the fuel cell 2, a power system 6 for charging / discharging the power of the system, and a control unit 7 for overall control of the entire system, It is equipped with.

  The fuel cell 2 is formed of a solid polymer electrolyte type, for example, and has a stack structure in which a large number of single cells are stacked. A single cell of the fuel cell 2 has an air electrode on one surface of an electrolyte made of an ion exchange membrane, a fuel electrode on the other surface, and a pair of separators so as to sandwich the air electrode and the fuel electrode from both sides. have. The fuel gas is supplied to the fuel gas flow path of one separator and the oxidizing gas is supplied to the oxidizing gas flow path of the other separator, and the fuel cell 2 generates electric power by this gas supply.

  The oxidizing gas piping system 3 includes a gas supply passage 11 through which the oxidizing gas supplied to the fuel cell 2 flows, and a discharge passage 12 through which the oxidizing off-gas discharged from the fuel cell 2 flows. The gas supply flow path 11 is provided with a compressor 14 that takes in the oxidizing gas via the filter 13 and a humidifier 15 that humidifies the oxidizing gas fed by the compressor 14. The oxidizing off-gas flowing through the discharge path 12 is subjected to moisture exchange by the humidifier 15 through the back pressure regulating valve 16, and is finally exhausted into the atmosphere outside the system as exhaust gas. The compressor 14 takes in the oxidizing gas in the atmosphere by driving the motor 14a.

  The fuel gas piping system 4 includes a hydrogen supply source 21, a gas supply passage 22 through which hydrogen gas supplied from the hydrogen supply source 21 to the fuel cell 2 flows, and a hydrogen offgas (fuel offgas) discharged from the fuel cell 2. A hydrogen off-gas circulation line (hereinafter also referred to as a circulation path) 23 for returning to the confluence point A of the gas supply flow path 22, a pump 24 that pumps the hydrogen off-gas in the circulation path 23 to the gas supply flow path 22, and a circulation path And a discharge path 25 branched and connected to 23.

  The hydrogen supply source 21 is composed of, for example, a high-pressure tank or a hydrogen storage alloy, and is configured to be able to store, for example, 35 MPa or 70 MPa of hydrogen gas. When the main valve 26 of the hydrogen supply source 21 is opened, hydrogen gas flows out to the gas supply flow path 22. The hydrogen gas is finally depressurized to about 200 kPa, for example, by the pressure regulating valve 27 and other pressure reducing valves, and supplied to the fuel cell 2.

  A shutoff valve 28 is provided on the upstream side of the confluence point A of the gas supply flow path 22. The hydrogen gas circulation system is configured by sequentially communicating a flow path downstream of the confluence point A of the gas supply flow path 22, a fuel gas flow path formed in the separator of the fuel cell 2, and the circulation path 23. Has been. The hydrogen pump 24 circulates and supplies hydrogen gas in the circulation system to the fuel cell 2 by driving the motor 24a.

  The discharge path 25 is provided with a purge valve 29 that is a shut-off valve. By appropriately opening the purge valve 29 when the fuel cell system 1 is operating, impurities in the hydrogen off gas are discharged together with the hydrogen off gas to a hydrogen diluter (not shown). By opening the purge valve 29, the concentration of impurities in the hydrogen off-gas in the circulation path 23 decreases, and the hydrogen concentration in the hydrogen off-gas supplied in circulation increases.

  The refrigerant piping system 5 includes a refrigerant channel 41 communicating with the cooling channel in the fuel cell 2, a cooling pump 42 provided in the refrigerant channel 41, and a radiator 43 that cools the refrigerant discharged from the fuel cell 2. , A bypass flow path 44 that bypasses the radiator 43, a three-way valve 45 that sets a flow of cooling water to the radiator 43 and the bypass flow path 44, and a cooling pipe 46. The cooling pump 42 circulates and supplies the refrigerant in the refrigerant passage 41 to the fuel cell 2 by driving the motor 42a.

  The power system 6 includes a high-voltage DC / DC converter 61, a battery 62, a traction inverter 63, a traction motor 64, and various auxiliary inverters 65, 66, and 67. The high-voltage DC / DC converter 61 is a direct-current voltage converter that adjusts the direct-current voltage input from the battery 62 and outputs it to the traction inverter 63 side, and the direct-current input from the fuel cell 2 or the traction motor 64. And a function of adjusting the voltage and outputting it to the battery 62. The charge / discharge of the battery 62 is realized by these functions of the high-voltage DC / DC converter 61. Further, the output voltage of the fuel cell 2 is controlled by the high voltage DC / DC converter 61.

  The battery 62 is configured such that battery cells are stacked and a constant high voltage is used as a terminal voltage, and surplus power can be charged or power can be supplementarily supplied under the control of a battery computer (not shown). The traction inverter 63 converts a direct current into a three-phase alternating current and supplies it to the traction motor 64. The traction motor 64 is, for example, a three-phase AC motor, and constitutes, for example, a main power source of a vehicle on which the fuel cell system 1 is mounted.

  The auxiliary machine inverters 65, 66, and 67 are electric motor control devices that control driving of the corresponding motors 14a, 24a, and 42a, respectively. Auxiliary machine inverters 65, 66, and 67 convert a direct current into a three-phase alternating current and supply it to motors 14a, 24a, and 42a, respectively. Auxiliary machine inverters 65, 66, and 67 are, for example, pulse width modulation type PWM inverters, which convert a DC voltage output from fuel cell 2 or battery 62 into a three-phase AC voltage in accordance with a control command from control unit 7. The rotational torque generated by each motor 14a, 24a, 42a is controlled.

  The control unit 7 is configured as a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM inside. The CPU executes a desired calculation according to the control program, and performs various processes and controls such as a thawing control of the pump 24 described later. The ROM stores control programs and control data processed by the CPU. The RAM is mainly used as various work areas for control processing. The control unit 7 inputs detection signals from various pressure sensors, temperature sensors, and outside air temperature sensors used in the gas systems (3, 4) and the refrigerant system 5, and outputs control signals to each component.

  Next, the ion exchanger 47 and a configuration for simplifying the coping operation when the performance is lowered will be described (see FIG. 2 and the like).

  In the present embodiment, an ion exchanger 47 is provided in the cooling pipe 46 of the refrigerant piping system 5, and an apparatus (impurity removing apparatus) for removing impurities in the refrigerant (for example, cooling water) circulating through the ion exchanger 47. It is functioning as. The cooling pipe 46 is formed by a pipe connecting the refrigerant flow path 41 and the bypass flow path 44 (see FIG. 2 and the like). The ion exchanger 47 is filled with an ion exchange resin.

  The ion exchange resin is a resin having a network structure made of a polymer electrolyte having an ion exchange group, and has a function of adsorbing ions by ion exchange. For example, the ion exchange resin in the present embodiment has a cation exchange resin and an anion exchange resin. The ion exchange resin is usually in the form of particles, but a fibrous one can also be used.

  Here, it is preferable that a device for sealing the cooling pipe 46 when the ion exchanger 47 is removed from the cooling pipe 46 is provided at a connection portion of the cooling pipe 46 with the ion exchanger 47. For example, in the present embodiment, a valve 48, respectively on the refrigerant inlet side (upstream side of the ion exchanger 47) and the refrigerant outlet side (downstream side of the ion exchanger 47) of the cooling pipe 46 connected to the fuel cell vehicle FCHV side. 49 (see FIG. 3). If the cooling pipe 46 is sealed using these valves 48 and 49, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant from flowing out of the cooling pipe 46 when the ion exchanger 47 is removed from the cooling pipe 46. , It is not necessary to vent the air when replacing. As the valves 48 and 49, for example, ball valves, needle valves or other valves can be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an inlet (supply port) 50 and an outlet 51 for the regenerant to the ion exchanger 47 are provided, and a regenerant inlet valve 52 and a regenerant outlet valve 53 are respectively disposed (see FIG. 3). ). The regenerant is a chemical solution for regenerating the ion exchange resin in the ion exchanger 47 to restore the processing capability. For example, concentrated hydrochloric acid or caustic soda solution can be used as the regenerant to restore the ability to adsorb ionic components. The arrangement of the inlet 50 and outlet 51 of the regenerant is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the regenerator is spread to every corner of the ion exchange resin.

  Thus, in the fuel cell system 1 of the present embodiment in which the regenerant can be supplied to the ion exchanger 47, it is possible to supply cooling water without removing the ion exchanger 47 by appropriately supplying the regenerant. Its performance can be restored without replacement. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of exchanges of the ion exchanger 47. Further, in the ion exchanger 47 having four valves 48, 49, 52, 53 as in the present embodiment, the valves 48, 49 on the cooling pipe 46 side should be closed when supplying the regenerant. Can do.

  Note that the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely an example. In addition to this, for example, three-way valves 54 and 55 may be provided in the cooling pipe 46 so as to be switched when the regenerant is supplied (see FIG. 4). In this case, the number of valves is only two, and the regenerant can be supplied in a state where the flow of the refrigerant is stopped as in the case described above.

  Incidentally, it is preferable that the above-described ion exchanger 47 is accommodated in, for example, an upper front portion of the fuel cell vehicle FCHV (see FIG. 5). If the ion exchanger 47 is disposed in a place where it can be easily handled from the outside such as directly under the hood hood B, both the work of exchanging the ion exchanger 47 and the work of supplying the regenerant are easy to perform.

  In addition, the configuration in which the valve is provided in the cooling pipe 46 and the like has been described so far, but it is preferable that the valve is also provided in the connection portion of the ion exchanger 47 with the cooling pipe 46. According to such a valve, when the ion exchanger 47 is removed from the pipe (in this case, the cooling pipe 46), the communication portion of the ion exchanger 47 with the pipe can be blocked. In such a case, when the ion exchanger 47 is replaced, it is preferable that the fluid in the exchanger can be suppressed from flowing out.

  The ion exchanger 47 includes a type having a refrigerant inlet and outlet separately (see FIG. 6) and a type having a common inlet / outlet (see FIG. 7). As described above, the valve provided in the ion exchanger 47 is preferably applicable to any type. Hereinafter, a suitable example of such a valve will be illustrated and described.

  The valve 70 illustrated in FIG. 8A is formed so as to automatically block the communication portion with the cooling pipe 46 when it is removed from the cooling pipe 46. Specifically, the valve body 71 provided inside the opening 47a serving as a refrigerant inlet (or outlet or outlet) in the ion exchanger 47 is moved to the opening end of the opening 47a by a biasing means 72 such as a coil spring. Normally, the opening 47a is sealed in close contact with the stepped portion 47b in the opening 47a (see FIG. 8A). The stepped portion 47b may be formed with an annular convex portion that is in contact with the valve body 71. A flange 47c protruding in the radial direction is formed on the outer periphery of the opening 47a.

  On the other hand, the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 is formed to have an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 (see FIG. 8A). An O-ring 73 that is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the opening 47a is provided in the outer peripheral groove of the opening 46a. Further, the opening 46 a is formed so as to protrude to the extent that it contacts and pushes the valve body 71 when the ion exchanger 47 is attached to the cooling pipe 46. For example, four notch-shaped recesses 46b that form a refrigerant flow path are provided at the front end of the opening 46a at equal intervals (see FIG. 8B).

  Furthermore, an annular protrusion (hereinafter referred to as a boss) 46c is formed outside the opening 46a. The opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 is fitted into the gap between the boss 46c and the opening 46a (see FIG. 8A). Further, a threaded portion 46d into which the nut 74 is screwed is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the boss portion 46c.

  In the valve 70 having such a configuration, the urged valve element 71 is normally in close contact with the stepped portion 47b and seals the opening 47a, so that it is removed from the pipe (in this case, the cooling pipe 46). It is possible to suppress the fluid from flowing out of the ion exchanger 47 in the state of being removed. When the ion exchanger 47 is attached to the cooling pipe 46, the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 pushes and moves the valve body 71, so that a refrigerant flow path is automatically formed. For example, the refrigerant flowing from the cooling pipe 46 to the ion exchanger 47 flows through the notch-shaped recess 46 b of the opening 46 a and flows around the valve body 71 to the opening 47 a of the ion exchanger 47. In this state, if the nut 74 is tightened until the flange 47c contacts the end surface of the boss portion 46c, the opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 is fixed to the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 (in actual work, In many cases, the valve body 71 is pushed in along with the tightening operation of the nut 74 and gradually opens to secure the flow path). Further, when the ion exchanger 47 is removed from the cooling pipe 46 by the reverse operation, the valve body 71 comes into contact with the stepped portion 47b again and the opening 47a is sealed (see FIG. 8A).

  In addition, at present, it is necessary to remove the refrigerant once when the ion exchanger 47 is replaced. However, according to the valve 70 having such a configuration, the refrigerant can be connected to the cooling pipe 46 in a state where the refrigerant is sealed in the ion exchanger 47. Is possible. In such a case, air mixing at the time of exchanging the ion exchanger 47 can be suppressed, and since the fluid need not be replenished to the ion exchanger 47 after exchanging the ion exchanger 47, man-hours required for the exchange can be reduced. , The startability after replacement can be improved. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, there is an advantage that the ion exchanger 47 can be attached and detached by a relatively simple operation of turning the nut 74 to be tightened or loosened.

  When the ion exchanger 47 has a refrigerant inlet and outlet separately as shown in FIG. 6, the ion exchanger 47 should be attached to and detached from the cooling pipe 46 without tilting. Is preferred. As a suitable configuration for realizing this, there can be mentioned a flexible structure in which the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 is formed of a flexible material.

  Further, as a modification of the valve 70 described above, a configuration may be adopted in which valves are provided in both the opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 and the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 (see FIG. 9). That is, here, in addition to the valve 70 provided on the ion exchanger 47 side, a valve 75 that interferes with the valve 70 is provided on the cooling pipe 46 side, and both the ion exchanger 47 and the cooling pipe 46 are attached. The valves 70 and 75 interfere with each other and are opened at the same time. The valve body 76 in the valve 75 is formed with, for example, a cylindrical projecting portion 76 a that interferes with the valve body 71 of the valve 70. The valve 75 is biased toward the opening end of the opening 46a by a biasing means 77 such as a coil spring, and is normally in close contact with the step 46e in the opening 46a (see FIG. 9). In this configuration example, the opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 is formed so as to fit inside the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46, and the opening 46a is formed in the groove on the outer periphery of the opening 47a. An O-ring 73 is provided to be in close contact with the inner peripheral surface.

  In the case of such a configuration, normally, the energized valve body 71 is in close contact with the stepped portion 47b and seals the opening 47a, so that the fluid is prevented from flowing out from the ion exchanger 47. . Similarly, in the cooling pipe 46, since the biased valve body 76 is in close contact with the step 46e and seals the opening 46a, the opening of the cooling pipe 46 with the ion exchanger 47 removed is opened. The fluid is prevented from flowing out from the portion 46a. Further, when the ion exchanger 47 is attached to the cooling pipe 46, the valve body 71 and the valve body 76 interfere with each other and are pushed back to each other, so that the refrigerant flow path is automatically formed. . In this state, if the nut 74 is tightened until the flange 47c comes into contact with the opening end face of the opening 46a, the opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 is fixed to the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46. Similar to the above-described embodiment, in actual work, the valve body 71 and the valve body 76 are gradually retracted as the nut 74 is tightened, and a flow path is often secured. Further, if the ion exchanger 47 is removed from the cooling pipe 46 by the reverse operation, the valve body 71 again contacts the stepped portion 47b, the opening 47a is sealed, and the valve body 76 is again moved to the stepped portion 46e. And the opening 46a is sealed (see FIG. 9). When the valves 71 and 75 are provided in both the opening 47a of the ion exchanger 47 and the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 as described above, the ion exchanger 47 is positioned below the cooling pipe 46. It is also possible to apply to this.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the valve 70 and the like that can be connected to the cooling pipe 46 in a state where the refrigerant is sealed in the ion exchanger 47 has been described. However, the configuration for filling the refrigerant is limited to this. Otherwise, it may be sealed with a seal 78 (see FIG. 10). The ion exchanger 47 in which the seal 78 is pasted on the opening 47a after injecting the refrigerant is a cartridge-type exchanger in which the seal 78 is peeled off during use and fitted into the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 for use. It can be used as On the other hand, the opening 46a of the cooling pipe 46 can be opened and closed by a valve such as a ball valve 79 (see FIG. 10).

In the above-described embodiment, the regenerant is supplied to the ion exchanger 47 using the regenerant inlet (supply port) 50, the outlet 51, the regenerant inlet valve 52, and the regenerant outlet valve 53. (Refer to FIG. 3) It is also possible to reduce the conductivity of the refrigerant and clean it by using these. For example, if the inlet 50 and the outlet 51 are connected to the ion exchange cleaning device 80 via the circulation path 81 , the refrigerant in the ion exchanger 47 can be circulated to perform ion exchange and cleaning (see FIG. 11). In such a case, it is possible to suppress an increase in ions in the refrigerant and to extend the refrigerant exchange cycle. In addition, this can improve the life of the ion exchanger 47 itself.

  Further, when the refrigerant is circulated in this way, it is possible to reduce the conductivity and improve the cleaning efficiency by avoiding that some of the refrigerant circulates locally and circulating the whole refrigerant. For example, in the fuel cell system 1 mounted on the fuel cell vehicle FCHV, if the vehicle is started and then sent to the ion exchange cleaning device 80 while circulating the coolant (cooling water), Conductivity reduction and cleaning can be performed on the entire refrigerant in the refrigerant piping system 5.

  From the viewpoint of circulating the entire refrigerant as described above, changing the position of the outlet 51 (or inlet 50) of the regenerant is one of the means that can be adopted. For example, if the position of the outlet 51 is provided at a location different from the ion exchanger 47 (for example, the upper stage of the cooling pump 42, the vicinity of the radiator 43, etc.), the circulation amount of the refrigerant is increased so that not only the inside of the ion exchanger 47 but also the refrigerant Conductivity reduction and cleaning can be performed on the entire refrigerant of the piping system 5.

  If the regeneration effect of the regenerant is high enough to restore the ion exchange performance of the ion exchanger 47 by injecting a certain amount of the regenerant, the regenerator outlet (51) is provided in the ion exchanger 47. Alternatively, only the inlet 50 may be provided (see FIG. 12). Even if the regenerant remains in the refrigerant, there is no particular problem. The regenerant inlet 50 is provided with a regenerant inlet valve 52 such as a check valve.

  Although the case where the present invention is applied to the ion exchanger 47 of the refrigerant piping system 5 has been described so far, the above-described structure and configuration can also be applied to ion exchangers in other parts. As another ion exchanger, for example, there is an impurity removing device 30 including a gas-liquid separator 31 and an ion exchange resin 32 provided in a hydrogen off-gas circulation line (circulation path) 23 of the fuel gas piping system 4 ( (See FIG. 1).

It is a figure which shows the structure of the fuel cell system in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the refrigerant | coolant piping system in a fuel cell system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the ion exchanger of a refrigerant | coolant piping system, and its periphery. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure of the ion exchanger of a refrigerant | coolant piping system, and its periphery. It is a figure of the front part of the fuel cell vehicle which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of an ion exchanger. It is the schematic which shows the ion exchanger which has the inlet_port | entrance and exit of a refrigerant | coolant separately. It is the schematic which shows the ion exchanger which has a common entrance and exit of a refrigerant | coolant. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the valve | bulb provided in both the opening part of an ion exchanger, and the opening part of cooling piping, (A) Both valves and sectional drawing of the periphery, (B) The top view of the opening part of cooling piping It is. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structural example of the valve | bulb provided in both the opening part of the ion exchanger, and the opening part of cooling piping. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of a structure of the opening part of the cooling pipe in which the ion exchanger with which the refrigerant | coolant was enclosed, and this ion exchanger is attached. It is a figure which shows the structural example in the case of performing the ion exchange and washing | cleaning by circulating the refrigerant | coolant in an ion exchanger. It is a figure which shows the structural example at the time of providing only the inlet_port | entrance without providing the exit of a regenerant in an ion exchanger.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fuel cell system, 2 ... Fuel cell, 46 ... Cooling piping (pipe), 47 ... Ion exchanger, 48 ... Valve on cooling piping 46 side, 49 ... Valve on cooling piping 46 side, 50 ... Regeneration Agent inlet (supply port), 52... Regenerant inlet valve, 70... (Ion exchanger 47 side) valve, 75... (Cooling pipe 46 side) valve, FCHV.

Claims (5)

In a fuel cell system having a fuel cell that generates electricity by an electrochemical reaction of a reaction gas, and a cartridge type ion exchanger disposed in a cooling pipe connected to the fuel cell,
The fuel cell system further includes:
A valve disposed at a connection portion of the cooling pipe with the ion exchanger, and sealing the cooling pipe when the ion exchanger is removed from the cooling pipe;
A valve disposed at a connection portion of the ion exchanger with the cooling pipe and sealing the communication portion of the ion exchanger with the cooling pipe when the ion exchanger is removed from the cooling pipe; In addition, a valve that automatically opens and closes according to the attachment / detachment operation of the ion exchanger to the cooling pipe,
An ion exchange cleaning device that is connected to the ion exchanger via a circulation path and circulates the cooling medium in the ion exchanger to perform ion exchange and cleaning of the cooling medium;
Have
Note and the ion exchanger, the provided cooling a seal is affixed to be connected to piping, is intended to be connected to the cooling pipe in a state of enclosing a cooling medium to the ion exchanger, the fuel cell system.   The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein a valve is provided at a connection portion between the circulation path and the ion exchanger.   The fuel cell system according to claim 1 or 2, which is mounted on a fuel cell vehicle.   The fuel cell system according to claim 3, wherein the ion exchanger is mounted near an upper portion in an engine room of the fuel cell vehicle.   The fuel cell system according to claim 3, wherein the fuel cell vehicle is sent to the ion exchange cleaning device while circulating a cooling medium in a state where the fuel cell vehicle is activated.

Images