Abstract: The speed of coal gas desulfurization is improved and the total size of the apparatus can be made compact. The apparatus comprises a sulfide-ion-producing portion (54), which reacts with a sulfur compound being supplied by the coal gas and produces sulfide ion S2− in molten carbonate. A sulfur compound discharge portion (53) discharges a sulfur compound produced by a reaction with sulfur discharge gas (56).

Abstract: An electrode includes a porous catalyst layer having a thickness of about 0.1 mm and a porous diffusion layer having a thickness of about 1.6 mm. The catalyst layer includes a large number of agglomerate portions and a large number of gap portions which are alternately and almost parallelly arranged in a stripe-like manner. The agglomerate portion has a porous body having a porosity of 50% or more and consisting of fine carbon powder particles on which an alloy catalyst containing platinum as a main component is dispersed and carried, and an aqueous phosphoric acid solution serving as an electrolyte held in the pores of the porous body. The gap portion is formed of a large number of water-repellent PTFE fibers having a porosity of 20% or more to connect the agglomerate portions, thereby providing an electrode of a fuel cell having a higher output density than a conventional case with the same amount of catalyst.