A solid-oxide fuel cell system including an integrated reforming unit comprising
a hydrocarbon fuel reformer; an integral tail gas and cathode air combustor and
reformer heat exchanger; a fuel pre-heater and fuel injector cooler; a fuel injector
and fuel/air mixer and vaporizer; a reforming air pre-heating heat exchanger; a
reforming air temperature control valve and means; and a pre-reformer start-up
combustor. The integration of a plate reformer, tail gas combustor, and combustor
gas heat exchanger allows for efficient operation modes of the reformer, both endothermic
and exothermic as desired. The combustor gas heat exchanger aids in temperature
regulation of the reformer and reduces significant thermal gradients in the unit.
