Method for operating a fuel cell system, and control device

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a fuel cell system, wherein hydrogen from a tank and recirculated hydrogen are fed as anode gas to at least one fuel cell via an anode circuit (1), and water (6) contained in the anode gas is separated by means of a water separator (2) integrated into the anode circuit (1), is collected in a container (3), and is removed from the system by intermittently opening a drain valve (4). According to the invention, the following steps are carried out to detect whether the container (3) is full: opening a purge valve (5) on the container (3), acquiring the point in time of a sudden change in the opening cross-section of a hydrogen metering valve integrated into the anode circuit (1) to maintain a set pressure in the anode circuit (1), and comparing said point in time with the point in time the purge valve (5) opened. The invention further relates to a control device for carrying out the method or individual method steps.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.