TOKYO GAS Co., Ltd. Technology Development Dept. PEFC Project Group, Mr. Naohiko Fujiwara

The PEFC project group performs evaluation of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) systems for home use, hot water technology development, and development of fuel processing technology for home-use PEFC systems.

As a member of the fuel processing technology development group, I work on development of an integrated fuel processor that makes hydrogen-rich gas from natural gas and water by using catalytic reactions, and do evaluation of the catalysts.

For evaluation testing during continuous operation, the performance of each catalyst is sufficiently confirmed, but the additional step of testing for durability under daily start and stop (DSS) conditions is required. For DSS operation, we wanted a way to automate repetition of thermal history (warming up and cooling off). Coincidentally we were introduced to the DAQSTATION CX2000 Control and Measurement Station.

	CX2000 for catalyst unit testing

When our group discussed automation strategies, we were concerned about the cost and time involved in recreating the reactor and replacing the mass flow meter for automation. But the advantage of the CX2000 is that it enables us to use our preexisting setup, and we can achieve full automation while maintaining the current level of the reliability of our data. Currently we have 6 units, some for controlling the integrated fuel processor and some for unit testing of the catalysts.

The fuel section in the integrated fuel processor raises the catalyst up to the reaction temperature, then adds natural gas and water which starts sequential reactions, and can generate up to 70% hydrogen (hydrogen-rich gas). The CX2000's program operation allowed us to automate cycling through the process of heating the catalyst to the rated conditions (the conditions for making the hydrogen needed to generate 1 kW of electricity), holding for a fixed time, then stopping the natural gas and the water.

Previously if there was a change in alarms or other items, it was very difficult to change the program. But compared to other manufacturer's instruments, programming with the CX2000 is very easy and saves us precious man-hours. We can set alarms and other items any way we need, so even if temperature abnormalities are detected and alarms activate, we can safely stop the process without causing damage to the catalyst. Because of this, we can recover and continue with the experiment. Wiring is also simple, and it's easy to make changes.

We also make use of the Ethernet functions. The 6 CX2000 units are hooked up to our company LAN, and we can monitor experiments from desks at a remote location. Without needing any special software, anyone on the team can use a web browser and easily monitor the conditions in the lab, so our physical presence is not required in the lab at all times. Also, test data is digital so we can save only the data we need thereby reducing our storage requirements and simplifying the management and analysis of data.

With the introduction of the CX2000 we were able to automate durability testing, handle data digitally, and share that data over the network. This has greatly improved our testing efficiency and has been highly advantageous for us. In the initial stages of performance testing the integrated fuel processor, we used the DR230 Hybrid Recorder since we needed even more information than for durability testing (such as temperature and amount of flow).