Small fuel cells can achieve power densities five to ten times larger than that of typical batteries. Given the importance of electric
power to modern warfighters, or on-the-move civilians, fuel cells could either greatly expand operation time
or power capability. Since the military would like to operate with a single fuel (JP-8), compact and effective liquid
fuels reformers are needed. Unfortunately, on JP-8 type fuels, existing reformers degrade in performance, as a result
of carbon deposition and sulfur poisoning of catalyst active sites. In addition, these contaminants also carry over to
the fuel cell, greatly shortening fuel cell lifetime. This significant limitation is overcome by an innovative multistep
process, which cleans the fuel, removes sulfur compounds, and reforms the fuel at low
temperature. By following this approach, contaminants and high carbon formation potential
compounds are eliminated, greatly
increasing fuel cell reliability. Besides being very effective, this innovative reforming process can also be minaturized
for personal applications.
Working under DARPA support, Altex and PSU have packaged the innovative reformer for
a 20 Watt fuel cell application, as shown in the prototype equipment picture. It is 3cm in diameter and 9cm tall, making
it smaller than a can of soda. Tests have shown good reformate composition selectivity and consistency over time. The good results achieved for the personal power system reformer,
supports that Altex has the needed expertise to develop and package reformers for any small scale (e.g. battery
charger, robot power) application.