Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Utc Fuel Cells, LLC

Toshiba Fuel Cell Power Systems Corporation

Bridgestone Corporation

Hiroshi Chizawa

Yasuji Ogami

Michael L Perry

Kazuo Saito

Thomas D Jarvi

Tommy Skiba

Timothy W Patterson

James A Leistra

Michio Hori

Mitsushi Ueno

Hisashi Mori

Atsushi Ooma

Yasushige Shigyo

Ping Yu

Tsutomu Aoki

Tadashi Kuwabara

Tadashi Yokohama Plant Bridgestone Corp Kuwabara

Hisashi Yokohama Plant Bridgestone Corp Mori

Yasushige Yokohama Plant Bridgestone Corp Shigyo

A fuel cell power system includes a fuel cell stack prepared by stacking a plurality of electric cells, each having an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween, a fuel supply line and an oxidant supply line that respectively supply a fuel and an oxidant to the fuel cell stack, and a fuel exhaust line and an oxidant exhaust line that respectively exhaust the fuel and oxidant supplied to the fuel cell stack. A method for retaining a power generation-suspended state of the fuel cell power system in a process of bringing the fuel cell power system into the power generation-suspended state and retaining the suspended state includes the steps of: closing the oxidant supply line in the course of bringing the fuel cell power system into the power generation-suspended state; applying a direct current from the cathode to the anode through an external circuit with the oxidant supply line closed by the step of closing the oxidant supply line until the electric cell voltage with reference to the anode comes to a level of more than &#x2212;1.2 V to less than 0.1 V; closing the oxidant exhaust line after the start point of the step of applying a direct current; and closing the fuel exhaust line and the fuel supply line after the termination point of the step of applying a direct current.

Fuel cell power generation system, its stopping/safekeeping method and program

A decontamination procedure for a fuel cell power plant () includes operating the plant to produce electrical power for an operating period, and then terminating operation of the plant () for a decontamination period, and then, whenever optimal electrical production of a plant fuel cell () is reduced by at least 5% by contaminants adsorbed by fuel cell electrodes (), decontaminating the fuel cell () of the plant () during the decontamination period by oxidizing contaminants adsorbed by electrodes () of the fuel cell. Oxidizing the contaminants may be accomplished by various steps including exposing the electrodes () to flowing oxygen; to heated flowing oxygen; to a sequence of start-stop cycles; and, to varying controlled potentials.

Decontamination procedure for a fuel cell power plant

In a polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack using a latent heat cooling system, a plurality of first reactant gas flow paths formed in one plate surface of each separator are made substantially linear in the vertical direction, and an arrangement capable of supplying water to the first reactant gas flow paths includes a water manifold formed to extend through the separator, a water supply path branched from the water manifold and horizontally formed in a surface in which second reactant gas flow paths are formed, and communication holes horizontally formed in a first reactant gas flow path introducing portion to allow the water supply path to communicate with the first reactant gas flow paths, and present above the lowermost portion in the vertical direction of the water manifold. With this arrangement, stable power generation can be performed regardless of, e.g., the stack installation angle or vibrations.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack

A polymer electrolyte fuel cells system wherein a reacted gas that has been passed through a cell stack is enabled to be contacted with an unreacted gas to be passed through the cell stack, thereby carrying out a temperature/humidity exchange for the purpose of preventing the drying of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The temperature of the unreacted gas is made lower than the temperature of the reacted gas.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells system

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Yokohama, Japan

Hiroshi Chizawa