Apparatus and methods for producing hydrogen

Abstract

An apparatus and method for producing a hydrogen-enriched reformate. The apparatus includes a fuel processor for producing a reformate having fluctuations in a pressure and/or flow rate and means for reducing the fluctuations. The reformate comprises impurities that are removed by a purification unit having a plurality of adsorbent beds. A valve assembly controls the flow of reformate to the adsorbent beds based upon sensed product data generated by a product sensor. A compression unit optionally compresses the reformate prior to entering the purification unit. Means for reducing fluctuations in the pressure and/or flow rate include a buffer and/or a conduit for providing a controlled flow of a supplemental fluid to an inlet of the compression unit. A product valve can control the flow of hydrogen-enriched reformate out of the purification unit. A controller can control the valve assembly, the flow of supplemental fluid and the product valve among other apparatus components to maintain a stable pressure within the purification unit and to produce a desired hydrogen-enriched reformate.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.