United Technologies Corporation

International Fuel Cells, LLC

Other

Alexander H Levy

Kenneth Lipman

John C Trocciola

Leslie L VanDine

Herbert C Healy

Ronald J Wertheim

Matthew Kolodney

The power section of a phosphoric acid fuel cell power plant is cooled by injection of water droplets or fog into the anode gas stream exhaust, wherein the water droplets are vaporized. The anode exhaust with the water vapor therein is then split with a portion thereof being directed to the burner in the catalytic reformer to be consumed by the reformer burner. The remainder of the anode exhaust is routed to the reformer inlet where it provides the water necessary for the reforming reaction. The fog is produced by condensation of water out of the exhaust from a turbocompressor which compresses the air supply for the cathode side of the power section.

Hydrogen fuel reforming in a fog cooled fuel cell power plant assembly

The cell stack can be operated as a fuel cell stack or as an electrolysis cell stack. The stack consists of a series of alternate fuel cell subassemblies with intervening electrolysis cell subassemblies, and interspersed cooling plates. The water produced and consumed in the two modes of operation migrates between adjacent cell subassemblies. The component plates are annular with a central hydrogen plenum and integral internal oxygen manifolds. No fluid pumps are needed to operate the stack in either mode.

Static regenerative fuel cell system for use in space

A method and apparatus is disclosed for operating a fuel cell 14 which produces electrical energy in combination with an electrochemical cell 12 which uses electrical energy to produce a chemical product. The electrolysis cell produces an oxidant for use in the fuel cell and is linked with the fuel cell by a direct current converter which allows the fuel cell to operate between an upper voltage limit and a lower voltage limit and the electrochemical cell to operate at a voltage which is independent of the fuel cell voltage. In one embodiment, the electrochemical cell produces a fuel and an oxidant for the fuel cell as well as a saleable chemical product such as sodium hydroxide.

Method and apparatus for operating a fuel cell in combination with an

A method and apparatus is disclosed for operating a fuel cell 14 producing electrical energy in combination with an electrochemical cell 12 using electrical energy to produce a chemical product. The electrolysis cell produces hydrogen for use as a fuel in the fuel cell and is linked with the fuel cell by a direct current converter 16 which allows the fuel cell to operate between an upper voltage limit and a lower voltage limit. The direct current converter 16 employs a gated switch means, such as a thyristor 98, to intermittently pass electrical power from the fuel cell to the electrochemical cell such that the voltage drop across the direct current converter is equal to the difference in voltage between the fuel cell and the electrochemical electrolysis cell.

A method and apparatus is disclosed for operating a fuel cell 14 which produces electrical energy using hydrogen in combination with a chlorate electrolysis cell which uses electrical energy to produce a chlorate product and hydrogen. A regulator means employs a direct current converter 16 having a gated switch means, such as thyristor 98, to intermittently pass electrical power from the fuel cell to the chlorate electrolysis cell such that the voltage drop across the direct current converter is equal to the difference in voltage between the fuel cell and the electrolysis cell.

A method and apparatus is disclosed for operating a fuel cell 14 which produces electrical energy in combination with an electrochemical cell 12 which uses electrical energy to produce a chemical product. A direct current converter 16 intermittently passes electrical power from the fuel cell to the electrochemical cell to enable the fuel cell to operate at a desired voltage which is independent of the voltage for the electrochemical cell. This permits the fuel cell to operate within a schedule of desired operating voltages.

A gaseous mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide is used as the fuel cell fuel or anode gas, and air is used as the oxidant or cathode gas in a nonalkaline fuel cell power plant. In feeding the fuel gas through the anode side of the fuel cell, hydrogen is removed during the electrochemical reaction and the fuel gas which is exhausted from the anode side has a much higher proportion of carbon dioxide to hydrogen than the entering fuel gas. The fuel gas exhaust is fed through a carbon dioxide absorber to remove carbon dioxide from the fuel exhaust. The carbon dioxide is recovered from the absorber for useful purposes and the hydrogen gas leaving the absorber is dewatered and burned in a reformer. Carbon dioxide emissions from the power plant are thus greatly reduced benefiting the environment.

Growing community of inventors

Bloomfield, CT, United States of America

Alexander H Levy