The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is developing innovative
propulsion systems -- based on fuel-cell technology -- that
can efficiently generate electrical power for future hybrid
electric ships. Fuel cells permit the design of a "distributed"
power system, since unlike conventional engines, they can
be dispersed throughout the ship instead of being co-located
with the ship's shaft.
To ensure a quicker transition to this technology, ONR is
funding development of a method to extract hydrogen from diesel
fuel. A diesel reforming system will exploit the relative
low cost of the fuel and the Navy's infrastructure for buying,
storing, and transporting it.
ONR is testing a 500 kW diesel fuel reformer, or "integrated
fuel processor," that is compatible with a proton exchange
membrane (PEM) fuel cell, at the Department of Energy Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Idaho
Falls. The integrated fuel processor heats and vaporizes the
diesel, and converts its sulfur into hydrogen sulfide. The
hydrogen sulfide is then exposed to zinc oxide, oxidizing
the sulfur into sulfur dioxide, and separating it from the
hydrogen.
ONR is looking at design approaches to reduce the size of
the processor, which consists of an arrangement of valves,
water-gas shift reactors, an oxidizer, and other components,
so that it takes up less space on a Navy ship.
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