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US 6,893,755 B2Granted
Method and system for controlling the operation of a hydrogen generator and a fuel cell
AssigneeCellex Power Products, Inc.
InventorDavid Leboe
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AssigneeCellex Power Products, Inc.
InventorDavid Leboe
Estimating the term…
This application relates to a method and system for controlling the supply of fuel to a dead-ended hydrogen fuel cell. The invention may be utilized, for example, to more efficiently integrate the operation of a hydrogen fuel cell and a hydrogen generator, such as a reformer coupled with a hydrogen separation unit. The invention ensures that the production and consumption of hydrogen are effectively balanced to avoid negative feed line pressure fluctuations. The fuel supply control subsystem and hydrogen consumption control subsystems are, however, “decoupled” and hence independently operable. The invention may include an accumulator disposed in a flow path between the hydrogen generator and the fuel cell for storing hydrogen under pressure. The accumulator is sufficiently large in volume such that the pressure of hydrogen in the flow path does not deviate substantially from a target pressure, even during the waste purging sessions. The system enables the use of low-cost pressure transducers in place of mass flow meters. In one aspect of the invention raffinate flow from the hydrogen separator can be controllably adjusted to regulate the temperature or other operating parameters of the reformer.
A method of regulating the current output of a dead-ended hydrogen fuel cell receiving a supply of hydrogen produced by a hydrogen generator comprising:
A system for regulating the current output of a dead-ended hydrogen fuel cell receiving a supply of hydrogen produced by a hydrogen generator comprising:
A fuel cell control system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.