JP7129332B2 - Hydrogen production equipment - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a hydrogen production apparatus, and more particularly to a hydrogen production apparatus that reforms a hydrocarbon raw material to produce hydrogen.

Patent Literature 1 describes a hydrogen production apparatus that supplies steam and raw hydrocarbons to a reformer and steam reforms them to produce a reformed gas.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-261306

In such a hydrogen production system, product hydrogen is purified by separating reformed gas into product hydrogen and impurities (off-gas) in a hydrogen purifier. The purity of the hydrogen refined by the hydrogen purifier is improved by compressing the gas (high pressure).

By the way, since the compressor itself is heated by its driving, it is cooled by a circulating refrigerant or the like. If the heat of the refrigerant heated by the compressor is discharged to the outside, there is room for improvement in terms of the thermal efficiency of the entire device.

On the other hand, the water supplied to the reformer is converted into steam by heating and used for steam reforming of hydrocarbons. However, if this water is heated by combustion of fuel supplied from the outside of the device, there is room for improvement in terms of the thermal efficiency of the entire device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hydrogen production apparatus with improved thermal efficiency of the entire apparatus.

A hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a reformer supplied with hydrocarbons and water as raw materials, reforming the hydrocarbons to produce a reformed gas containing hydrogen as a main component; and the reformer. a pre-pressurization water separation unit connected to separate water from the reformed gas; a pre-pressurization water separation unit connected to the pre-pressurization water separation unit to pressurize the reformed gas; a post-pressurization water separation unit for separating water from gas; and a hydrogen purifier connected to the post-pressurization water separation unit for separating the reformed gas into product hydrogen and off-gas, which is an impurity, and purifying the product hydrogen; a heat recovery means for recovering heat of the pressure increasing means with the water separated by the pre-pressurization water separation section and the post-pressurization water separation section and supplied to the reformer.

According to this hydrogen production apparatus, the reformed gas produced by the reformer is compressed by the pressurizing means and supplied to the hydrogen purifier, where it is separated into product hydrogen and off-gas, and the product hydrogen is purified.

By the way, the pressurizing means raises the temperature by compressing the reformed gas. The heat of the pressurizing means is recovered by the heat recovery means in water supplied as a raw material to the reformer (hereinafter referred to as "reforming water"). That is, the reforming water is heated.

In this way, the reforming water is heated by the heat of the pressurizing means before it is supplied to the reformer, so that the amount of heat required to heat the reforming water by other means to generate the reformed gas is reduced. be.

That is, since at least part of the heat of the pressure increasing means is used for heating the reforming water without being discharged to the outside, the thermal efficiency of the entire hydrogen production apparatus is improved.

The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 2 is the hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat recovery means is provided on a refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant that has cooled the pressure increasing means flows, and on the refrigerant flow path. and a first heat exchanger in which heat is exchanged between the water supplied to the qualityr and the refrigerant.

In this hydrogen production apparatus, since the pressurizing means compresses the reformed gas to raise the temperature, the reformed gas is cooled by a refrigerant. The coolant is heated by cooling the pressure increasing means, and flows through the coolant channel in a state of being heated.

A first heat exchanger is arranged on the refrigerant channel. Therefore, heat is exchanged between the refrigerant whose temperature has been raised in the first heat exchanger and the reforming water, and the reforming water is heated.

In this manner, before the reforming water is supplied to the reformer, the reforming water is heated by exchanging heat with the refrigerant heated by cooling the pressurizing means. The amount of heat required to heat the service water by other means is reduced.

That is, since at least part of the heat of the pressure increasing means is used for heating the reforming water via the refrigerant without being discharged to the outside, the thermal efficiency of the entire hydrogen production apparatus is improved.

The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 3 is the hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerant channel is a circulation channel.

In this hydrogen production apparatus, the refrigerant that cools the pressurizing means is of a circulating type, and the refrigerant heated by heat exchange with the reforming water in the first heat exchanger is cooled. Therefore, another means for cooling the heated refrigerant is not required, or the amount of heat required to cool the refrigerant by other means is reduced, and the thermal efficiency of the entire hydrogen production apparatus is improved.

The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 4 is the hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat recovery means is provided in the pressurizing means, and the water supplied to the reformer and the pressurizing means exchange heat. is the second heat exchanger.

In this hydrogen production apparatus, the pressurizing means compresses the reformed gas to raise the temperature. The pressurizing means is provided with a second heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the reforming water. Therefore, the pressurizing means is cooled by heat exchange with the reforming water in the second heat exchanger.

On the other hand, the reforming water is heated by exchanging heat with the pressurizing means in the second heat exchanger and supplied to the reformer.

Thus, heat is exchanged between the pressurizing means and the reforming water in the second heat exchanger, so that another cooling means for cooling the pressurizing means is not required.

In addition, since the reforming water is heated by exchanging heat with the pressurizing means before being supplied to the reformer, the amount of heat required to heat the reforming water by other means to generate the reformed gas is reduced. be done.

That is, it is possible to improve the thermal efficiency of the hydrogen production apparatus.

Since the hydrogen production apparatus according to the inventions of claims 1 to 4 is configured as described above, the thermal efficiency of the entire apparatus can be improved.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a hydrogen production device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a multi-tube reformer according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a hydrogen production device according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[First embodiment]
An example of a hydrogen production apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

<Hydrogen production equipment>
As shown in FIG. 1, the hydrogen production apparatus 10 includes a multi-cylinder reformer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "reformer") 12 that generates reformed gas by steam reforming hydrocarbons (city gas). , a compressor 80 that compresses the reformed gas, and a hydrogen purifier 90 that removes impurities from the compressed reformed gas to purify the hydrogen gas. In addition, the hydrogen production apparatus 10 includes a pre-pressurization water separation unit 50 and a post-pressurization water separation unit 60 that separate and remove water from the reformed gas on the upstream side and the downstream side of the compressor 80, respectively, and the reformer 12, which will be described later. and a flue gas water separator 70 that separates and removes moisture from the flue gas.

The hydrogen production apparatus 10 produces hydrogen from a hydrocarbon raw material, and in this embodiment, a case where city gas containing methane as a main component is used as an example of the hydrocarbon raw material will be described.

(Multi-tube reformer)
As shown in FIG. 2, the multiple cylindrical reformer 12 has multiple cylindrical walls 21, 22, 23, and 24 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “cylindrical walls 21 to 24”). have. The plurality of cylindrical walls 21 to 24 are formed, for example, in a cylindrical shape or an elliptical cylindrical shape. A combustion chamber 25 is formed inside the first cylindrical wall 21 from the inner side among the plurality of cylindrical walls 21 to 24, and a burner 26 is arranged downward in the upper part of the combustion chamber 25. there is This multiple cylinder reformer 12 is an example of a reformer.

Furthermore, an air supply pipe 40 for supplying combustion air from the outside is connected to the upper end of the combustion chamber 25 . The burner 26 is also connected to a raw material branch pipe 33A branched from a raw material supply pipe 33 for supplying city gas from the outside. An air branch pipe 40A branched from the air supply pipe 40 is connected to the raw material branch pipe 33A. Therefore, the burner 26 is supplied with gas in which air is mixed with city gas.

A flue gas flow path 27 is formed between the first tubular wall 21 and the second tubular wall 22 . A lower end portion of the flue gas channel 27 communicates with the combustion chamber 25, and an upper end portion of the flue gas channel 27 is connected to a gas discharge pipe 28 for discharging gas. The flue gas discharged from the combustion chamber 25 flows upward through the flue gas passage 27 and is sent to the flue gas water separator 70 through the gas discharge pipe 28 .

A first flow path 31 is formed between the second tubular wall 22 and the third tubular wall 23 . An upper portion of the first flow path 31 is formed as a preheating flow path 32. At the upper end of the preheating flow path 32, a raw material supply pipe 33 for supplying city gas from the outside and reforming water are provided. It is connected to a reforming water supply pipe 34 for supplying. Furthermore, a spiral member 35 is provided between the second tubular wall 22 and the third tubular wall 23, and the spiral member 35 forms the preheating flow path 32 in a spiral shape. there is

City gas can be supplied to the preheating flow path 32 from a raw material supply pipe 33 , and reforming water can be supplied from a reforming water supply pipe 34 . The city gas and the reforming water flow through the preheating channel 32 from the upper side to the lower side, and are heat-exchanged with the flue gas through the second cylindrical wall 22 to evaporate the water. In the preheating flow path 32, a mixed gas is generated by mixing the city gas and gas phase reforming water (steam).

A reforming catalyst layer 36 is provided below the preheating channel 32 in the first channel 31, and the mixed gas generated in the preheating channel 32 is supplied to the reforming catalyst layer 36. It is a configuration that The reforming catalyst layer 36 receives heat from the flue gas flowing through the flue gas passage 27, and the mixed gas undergoes a steam reforming reaction to generate a reformed gas containing hydrogen as a main component.

Furthermore, a second flow path 42 is formed between the third tubular wall 23 and the fourth tubular wall 24 . The lower end of the second channel 42 communicates with the lower end of the first channel 31 . A reformed gas channel 43 is formed in the lower portion of the second channel 42 , and a reformed gas discharge pipe 44 is connected to the upper end portion of the second channel 42 .

In addition, a CO transformation catalyst layer 45 is provided above the reformed gas flow path 43 in the second flow path 42, and the reformed gas generated in the reforming catalyst layer 36 passes through the reformed gas flow path After passing through 43 , it is supplied to the CO conversion catalyst layer 45 . In the CO conversion catalyst layer 45, carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas reacts with water vapor to be converted into hydrogen and carbon dioxide (aqueous shift reaction), and carbon monoxide in the reformed gas can be reduced. .

Furthermore, an oxidizing gas supply pipe 46 is connected above the CO transformation catalyst layer 45, and a CO selective oxidation catalyst layer 47 is provided above the CO transformation catalyst layer 45 in the second flow path 42. ing. The oxidant gas (for example, air) introduced through the oxidant gas supply pipe 46 and the reformed gas that has passed through the CO conversion catalyst layer 45 are supplied to the CO selective oxidation catalyst layer 47 . In the CO selective oxidation catalyst layer 47, for example, carbon monoxide reacts with oxygen on a noble metal catalyst such as platinum or ruthenium and is converted into carbon dioxide, so that carbon monoxide can be removed. The reformed gas G<b>1 in which carbon monoxide has been reduced by the CO conversion catalyst layer 45 and the CO selective oxidation catalyst layer 47 is discharged through the reformed gas discharge pipe 44 .

As shown in FIG. 1, the reformed gas generated in the multiple cylinder reformer 12 is passed through the pre-pressurization water separator 50, the compressor 80, the post-pressurization water separator 60, and the hydrogen purifier 90 in this order. flow. That is, from the upstream side to the downstream side in the gas flow direction, the multiple cylinder reformer 12, the pre-pressurization water separation section 50, the compressor 80, the post-pressurization water separation section 60, and the hydrogen purifier 90 are arranged in this order. are placed.

(Pre-pressurization water separator)
The pre-pressurization water separator 50 is connected to the downstream end of a reformed gas discharge pipe 44 into which the reformed gas G1 flows from the multiple cylinder reformer 12 . A water recovery pipe 59 is connected to the bottom of the pre-pressurization water separation section 50 , and a communication channel pipe 56 is connected to the top of the pre-pressurization water separation section 50 . The reformed gas G1 is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger HE1 arranged in the reformed gas discharge pipe 44 upstream of the pre-pressurization water separation unit 50, where water is condensed and separated. Water (liquid phase) can be stored in the lower portion of the separation section 50 . The water (liquid phase) is configured to be delivered to the water recovery pipe 59 . The reformed gas G<b>2 after the water is condensed is sent to the connecting flow pipe 56 . In addition, heat exchanger HE1 is a chiller, for example.

(Compressor)
The compressor 80 has a communication flow pipe 56 through which the reformed gas G2 from the pre-pressurization water separation unit 50 flows, and a communication flow pipe 66 through which the reformed gas G2 supplied to the post-pressurization water separation unit 60 flows. It is connected. The compressor 80 can compress the reformed gas G2 supplied from the pre-pressurization water separation section 50 and supply it to the post-pressurization water separation section 60 .

Further, the compressor 80 is provided with a cooling mechanism 110 , and the cooling mechanism 110 cools the compressor 80 heated by the compression operation. Note that the compressor 80 corresponds to the "boosting means".

(cooling mechanism)
The cooling mechanism 110 has a refrigerant circulation passage 112 through which a refrigerant for cooling the compressor 80, such as cooling water, is circulated. A heat exchanger HE4 capable of exchanging heat with the reforming water in the reforming water supply pipe 34, a pump 114 for circulating the refrigerant, and a radiator 116 are arranged on the refrigerant circulation passage 112. FIG.

The radiator 116 is provided with a fan 118 for cooling the refrigerant heated to a high temperature by heat exchange with the compressor 80 .

That is, in the cooling mechanism 110, the refrigerant heated by cooling the compressor 80 is cooled by heat exchange with the reforming water in the heat exchanger HE4, further cooled in the radiator 116, and then cooled again in the compressor 80. to cool the compressor 80 .

Note that the heat exchanger HE4 and the refrigerant circulation flow path 112 correspond to "heat recovery means". Also, the heat exchanger HE4 and the refrigerant circulation flow path 112 correspond to the "first heat exchanger" and the "refrigerant flow path", respectively.

(Water separator after pressurization)
The post-pressurization water separation section 60 is connected to the downstream end of a communication passage pipe 66 into which the reformed gas G2 flows from the compressor 80 . A water recovery pipe 69 is connected to the bottom of the post-pressurization water separation section 60 , and a communication channel pipe 68 is connected to the top of the post-pressurization water separation section 60 . The reformed gas G2 is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger HE2 arranged in the upstream communication passage pipe 66 of the post-pressurization water separation unit 60, and the water is condensed and separated. Water (liquid phase) can be stored in the lower portion of the portion 60 . The water (liquid phase) is sent to the water recovery pipe 69 . The reformed gas G<b>3 after water is condensed is sent to the connecting flow pipe 68 . In addition, heat exchanger HE2 is a chiller, for example.

(hydrogen purifier)
The hydrogen purifier 90 includes a downstream end of a communication flow pipe 68 through which the reformed gas G3 from the water separation unit 60 after pressurization flows, an upstream end of a hydrogen supply pipe 92 through which purified hydrogen is delivered, and a hydrogen purification unit. It is connected to the upstream end of an offgas recirculation pipe 100 to which the offgas separated by the vessel 90 is delivered.

A PSA device is used as an example of the hydrogen purifier 90 . The hydrogen purifier 90 includes a pair of adsorption tanks, one of which performs an adsorption step of adsorbing impurities to an adsorbent, and the other of which performs a desorption step of desorbing impurities adsorbed to the adsorbent, Next, a desorption process is performed in one adsorption tank, and an adsorption process is performed in the other adsorption tank. By periodically repeating this, the reformed gas G3 is continuously separated into hydrogen and impurities (off-gas OG) containing carbon monoxide, and hydrogen is purified. The purified hydrogen is delivered to the hydrogen supply pipe 92 and stored in a tank (not shown), or can be delivered to the hydrogen supply line.

The off-gas from the hydrogen purifier 90 can be supplied to the burner 26 provided in the combustion chamber 25 of the reformer 12 via the off-gas reflux pipe 100 .

<Off gas tank>
An offgas tank 102 is provided on an offgas reflux pipe 100 that connects the hydrogen purifier 90 and the burner 26 of the reformer 12 . Therefore, the off-gas supplied from the hydrogen purifier 90 is temporarily stored in the off-gas tank 102 , leveled in flow rate and composition, and then supplied to the burner 26 of the reformer 12 .

(Combustion exhaust gas water separator)
A downstream end of a gas discharge pipe 28 that guides the flue gas from the flue gas flow path 27 of the reformer 12 is connected to the flue gas water separator 70 . A water recovery pipe 78 is connected to the bottom of the flue gas water separator 70 , and a gas discharge pipe 76 is connected to the upper part of the flue gas water separator 70 . The combustion exhaust gas discharged from the combustion chamber 25 is cooled by heat exchange with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger HE3 arranged in the gas discharge pipe 28 upstream of the combustion exhaust gas water separation section 70, and water is condensed and separated. Water (liquid phase) can be stored in the lower portion of the combustion exhaust gas water separation section 70 . The water (liquid phase) is configured to be delivered to the water recovery pipe 78 . The combustion exhaust gas after the water has been condensed is discharged from the gas discharge pipe 76 into the outside air. In addition, heat exchanger HE3 is a chiller, for example.

(supply pipe for reforming)
A downstream end of each of the water recovery pipes 59 , 69 , 78 is connected to the reforming water supply pipe 34 . The reforming water supply pipe 34 is provided with a water treatment device (ion exchange resin) 34A for removing dissolved ion components. An external water supply unit 17 is connected to the reforming water supply pipe 34 . Pure water or city water, for example, is supplied from the external water supply unit 17 to the reforming water supply pipe 34 .

Further, the reforming water supply pipe 34 is provided with a pump P1. The water separated by the pre-pressurization water separation unit 50, the post-pressurization water separation unit 60, and the combustion exhaust gas water separation unit 70, or the water supplied from the external water supply unit 17 is supplied to the multiple cylinder reformer 12 by the pump P1. It is the configuration supplied.

Furthermore, a heat exchanger HE4 is disposed on the downstream side of the pump P1 of the reforming water supply pipe 34 and the water treatment device 34A, and closest to the reformer 12 side. That is, the reforming water supplied to the reformer 12 is heated in advance by exchanging heat with the heated refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circulation passage 112 in the heat exchanger HE4.

(action)
Next, the action of the hydrogen production device 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2 , city gas is supplied from a raw material supply pipe 33 and reforming water is supplied from a reforming water supply pipe 34 to the preheating flow path 32 of the multiple cylinder reformer 12 . The city gas supplied to the multiple cylinder reformer 12 is heated while being mixed with the reforming water in the preheating passage 32 of the multiple cylinder reformer 12 to form a mixed gas, which is supplied to the reforming catalyst layer 36. be done. The reforming catalyst layer 36 receives heat from the flue gas flowing through the flue gas passage 27, and a reformed gas containing hydrogen as a main component is generated from the mixed gas by a steam reforming reaction. This reformed gas is supplied to the CO conversion catalyst layer 45 through the reformed gas channel 43 . In the CO conversion catalyst layer 45, carbon monoxide contained in the reformed gas reacts with water vapor to be converted into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, thereby reducing carbon monoxide.

Furthermore, the reformed gas that has passed through the CO conversion catalyst layer 45 is supplied to the CO selective oxidation catalyst layer 47 together with the oxidant gas (air) supplied from the oxidant gas supply pipe 46, and carbon monoxide is produced on the noble metal catalyst. It reacts with oxygen to convert to carbon dioxide and removes carbon monoxide. The reformed gas G1 whose carbon monoxide has been reduced by the CO selective oxidation catalyst layer 47 is sent to the reformed gas discharge pipe 44 .

At this time, in the combustion chamber 25 of the multi-cylinder reformer 12, the burner 26 burns a mixture of city gas and air supplied from the raw material branch pipe 33A and the air branch pipe 40A. The flue gas is supplied from the combustion chamber 25 to the flue gas water separator 70 via the flue gas passage 27 and the gas discharge pipe 28 . As shown in FIG. 1, the water (steam) contained in the flue gas is cooled and condensed by heat exchange in the heat exchanger HE3, the water is stored in the flue gas water separator 70, and is transferred to the water recovery pipe 78. sent out. The combustion exhaust gas from which the water has been separated is discharged from the gas discharge pipe 76 into the outside air.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the reformed gas G1 of a predetermined quality sent from the reformer 12 is supplied to the pre-pressurization water separation section 50 via the reformed gas discharge pipe 44 . In the pre-pressurization water separation unit 50 , water condensed by cooling due to heat exchange in the heat exchanger HE<b>1 is stored and sent to the water recovery pipe 59 . The reformed gas G2 from which water has been separated is supplied to the compressor 80 from the communication flow pipe 56 and compressed by the compressor 80 .

At this time, although the temperature of the compressor 80 is raised by driving (compressing operation), it is sufficiently cooled by the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant circulation passage 112 of the cooling mechanism 110, and the performance is maintained. On the other hand, the refrigerant heated by the cooling of the compressor 80 is cooled by heat exchange with the reforming water in the heat exchanger HE4 arranged on the refrigerant circulation flow path 112, further cooled by the radiator 116, It is supplied to the compressor 80 and used to cool the compressor 80 again.

The reformed gas G2 compressed by the compressor 80 is supplied to the water separation section 60 after being pressurized through the communication passage pipe 66 . In the post-pressurization water separation section 60 , the water condensed by cooling through heat exchange in the heat exchanger HE<b>2 is stored and sent to the water recovery pipe 69 . The reformed gas G3 from which water has been separated is supplied to the hydrogen purifier 90 through the communication flow pipe 68 .

Water sent from the pre-pressurization water separation unit 50 , the post-pressurization water separation unit 60 , and the flue gas water separation unit 70 to the water recovery pipes 59 , 69 , 78 respectively is returned to the reforming water supply pipe 34 . By driving the pump P1, the reforming water is supplied from the reforming water supply pipe 34 to the multiple cylinder reformer 12 as reforming water.

At this time, the reforming water flowing through the reforming water supply pipe 34 is heated by heat exchange with the refrigerant whose temperature has been raised in the heat exchanger HE4, and then supplied to the reformer 12. FIG. Therefore, the amount of heat required to convert (vaporize) the reforming water into a mixed gas with city gas in the preheating flow path 32 of the reformer 12 is reduced.

On the other hand, the hydrogen purifier 90 employs a pressure swing method, in which impurities other than hydrogen are adsorbed by the adsorbent in one of the pair of adsorption tanks, and the impurities adsorbed by the adsorbent are desorbed in the other adsorption tank. ing. In the hydrogen purifier 90, the adsorption process and the desorption process are repeated in each adsorption tank at a constant cycle, thereby continuously separating hydrogen and impurities from the reformed gas G3 to purify hydrogen.

Hydrogen as a product purified by the hydrogen purifier 90 is delivered to a hydrogen supply pipe 92 and stored in a tank (not shown) or sent to a hydrogen supply line.

On the other hand, the offgas OG discharged from the hydrogen purifier 90 is supplied to the reformer 12 through the offgas reflux pipe 100 . That is, after being temporarily stored in the offgas tank 102 provided on the offgas recirculation pipe 100 , the offgas is supplied to the burner 26 of the reformer 12 .

As described above, in the hydrogen production apparatus 10, heat is exchanged between the reforming water and the refrigerant heated to cool the compressor 80 in the heat exchanger HE4. Since cooling and heating of the reforming water are performed, the thermal efficiency of the hydrogen production device 10 can be improved.

In addition, in the refrigerant circulation type cooling mechanism 110, the refrigerant is cooled by heat exchange with the reforming water in the heat exchanger HE4, so the load on the radiator 116 and the fan 118 for cooling the refrigerant can be reduced. can be done.

Note that if the amount of heat exchanged (cooling amount of refrigerant) in the heat exchanger HE4 is sufficiently large, the radiator 116 and the fan 118 can be eliminated.

Furthermore, since the reforming water heated in the preheating flow path 32 of the reformer 12 is heated by the heat exchanger HE4 before being supplied to the reformer 12, the preheating flow path 32 of the reformer 12 , the amount of heat required to vaporize the reforming water is suppressed.

In particular, when part of the reforming water is vaporized by heating in the heat exchanger HE4, the refrigerant can be further cooled by the heat of vaporization.

Further, since the refrigerant in the cooling mechanism 110 is cooled by heat exchange with the reforming water in the heat exchanger HE4, the compressor 80 can be sufficiently cooled by the refrigerant, and the performance of the compressor 80 can be maintained.

[Second embodiment]
A hydrogen production device 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, since the hydrogen production apparatus 200 differs only in that the cooling mechanism 110 of the hydrogen production apparatus 10 is changed to a heat exchanger HE5, only the configuration and action of this part will be described, and the same effects as those of the first embodiment will be described. detailed description is omitted.

(Constitution)
As shown in FIG. 3, in the hydrogen production apparatus 200, a heat exchanger HE5 is provided on the reforming water supply pipe . The heat exchanger HE5 is a water jacket type formed around the compressor 80, and the reforming water and the compressor 80 exchange heat.

That is, in the heat exchanger HE5, heat is exchanged between the reforming water and the compressor 80, whereby the reforming water is heated and the compressor 80 is cooled. The heat exchanger HE5 corresponds to "heat recovery means" and "second heat exchanger".

(action)
In the hydrogen production device 200, the compressor 80 heated by driving is cooled by heat exchange with the reforming water in the heat exchanger HE5.

Further, in the reforming water supply pipe 34, after the reforming water is heated by heat exchange with the compressor 80 in the heat exchanger HE5, it is supplied to the preheating flow path 32 of the reformer 12 and heated. , and mixed gas with city gas.

In this manner, in the hydrogen production apparatus 200, heat is exchanged between the compressor 80 and the reforming water in the heat exchanger HE5, thereby cooling the compressor 80 and heating the reforming water. Therefore, the thermal efficiency of the hydrogen production device 200 can be improved.

In particular, in the heat exchanger HE5, heat is directly exchanged between the compressor 80 and the reforming water without a refrigerant interposed therebetween.

In addition, since it is only necessary to provide the water jacket type heat exchanger HE5 to cool the compressor 80, the configuration of the hydrogen production apparatus 200 is simplified.

[others]
In the hydrogen production apparatuses 10 and 200, the reformer 12 is a multi-cylinder reformer, but it is not limited to this. Any gas can be used as long as it can be reformed from city gas into a reformed gas containing hydrogen as a main component.

Further, in the hydrogen production apparatuses 10 and 200, the case where the hydrogen purifier 90 is a PSA apparatus has been described, but the hydrogen purifier 90 is not limited to this as long as it can purify hydrogen from the reformed gas G3.

Furthermore, although the cooling mechanism 110 of the hydrogen production apparatus 10 is of a refrigerant circulation type in which the refrigerant circulates, it may be of a refrigerant non-circulation type in which the refrigerant does not circulate. In this case, the heat exchanger HE4 may be arranged downstream of the compressor 80 in the refrigerant flow path. Even in this case, since the reforming water can be heated by the heat of the refrigerant (compressor 80), the thermal efficiency of the entire hydrogen production apparatus 10 is improved.

10, 200 Hydrogen production device 12 Multi-cylinder reformer (reformer)
80 compressor (boosting means)
90 Hydrogen purifier 112 Refrigerant circulation flow path (heat recovery means, refrigerant flow path)
HE4 heat exchanger (heat recovery means, first heat exchanger)
HE5 heat exchanger (heat recovery means, second heat exchanger)

Claims (4)

a reformer supplied with hydrocarbons and water as raw materials and reforming the hydrocarbons to produce a reformed gas containing hydrogen as a main component;
a pre-pressurization water separation unit connected to the reformer and separating water from the reformed gas;
a pressurizing means connected to the pre-pressurization water separation unit for pressurizing the reformed gas;
a post-pressurization water separation unit connected to the pressurization means for separating water from the reformed gas;
a hydrogen purifier connected to the post-pressurization water separation unit for separating the reformed gas into product hydrogen and off-gas, which is an impurity, and purifying the product hydrogen;
heat recovery means for recovering the heat of the pressurization means with the water separated by the pre-pressurization water separation section and the post-pressurization water separation section and supplied to the reformer;
A hydrogen production device comprising a The heat recovery means includes a refrigerant channel through which a refrigerant cooled by the pressure increasing means flows;
a first heat exchanger that is provided on the refrigerant flow path and exchanges heat between the water supplied to the reformer and the refrigerant;
The hydrogen production device according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the refrigerant channel is a circulation channel. 2. The hydrogen production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said heat recovery means is a second heat exchanger provided in said pressurizing means for exchanging heat between water supplied to said reformer and said pressurizing means.

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