Utc Fuel Cells, LLC

International Fuel Cells, LLC

Utc Power Corporation

Doosan Fuel Cell America, Inc.

United Technologies Corporation

Paul R Margiott

Glenn W Scheffler

Michael L Perry

Carl Anthony Reiser

Zakiul Kabir

Leslie L Van Dine

Michael E Gorman

Ryan J Balliet

Vincent M Callaghan

Carl Rohrbach, Jr

Francis R Preli, Jr

Galen W Kulp

Sean Haggerty

Joshua D Isom

Paul A Grubb

Peter A Golovchenko

Richard D Breault

Paul R Hanrahan

Albert P Grasso

John C Trocciola

Bruce P Biederman

John H Whiton

Sitaram Ramaswamy

Deliang Yang

Thomas J Corrigan

Herbert J Setzer

Lili Zhang

Robert P Roche

Robert R Fredley

Margaret M Steinbugler

Thomas F Fuller

George Vartanian

Robert J Misage

Alfred P Meyer

Edmund K Parenti, Jr

Mithun Kamat

Thomas M Clark

James Davies

Michael L Vukovinsky

John A Ferro

Valerie A Maston

Christopher W Callahan

Ha-Anh H Pho

Bryan Murach

Karen L Parenti

Edward J Bludnicki

An illustrative example reformer includes a housing having an inlet plenum, a reforming section, and an outlet. The inlet plenum includes a catalyst situated where a source fluid passing through the inlet plenum will be exposed to the catalyst prior to entering the reforming section.

Reformer including catalyst in an inlet plenum

An illustrative example electrical power generating system includes a fuel cell power plant that is configured to generate electrical power. The fuel cell power plant includes a cell stack assembly including a plurality of fuel cells that are configured to generate electrical power based on a chemical reaction. A coolant network is configured to carry fluid toward the cell stack assembly where fluid in the coolant network can become heated by absorbing heat from the fuel cell power plant. The coolant network includes a thermal hydraulic engine that is configured to generate electrical power. The coolant network is configured to carry the heated fluid to the thermal hydraulic engine where the heated fluid can be used for generating electrical power. The coolant network is configured to carry a reduced temperature fluid from the thermal hydraulic engine back toward the cell stack assembly.

Fuel cell power plant cooling network integrated with a thermal hydraulic engine

A thermal priority fuel cell power plant includes a cell stack assembly for generating an electrical power output. The cell stack assembly includes an anode, a cathode, and a waste heat recovery loop. The waste heat recovery loop is configured to remove waste heat generated from the electrochemical reaction and is thermally coupled to the cell stack assembly for managing the waste heat of the cell stack assembly and for supplying thermal power to a thermal load demand. The waste heat recovery loop includes a heat exchanger in heat exchange relationship with the coolant outlet conduit and the thermal load demand. A controller is operatively associated with the cell stack assembly and the waste heat recovery loop. The controller controls the operation of the cell stack assembly by adjusting a fuel cell power plant parameter responsive to the thermal load demand.

System and method for thermal priority operation of a fuel cell power plant

An Organic Rankine Cycle system is combined with a fuel cell system, with the working fluid of the Organic Rankine Cycle system being integrated directly into the cooling system for the fuel cell. The waste heat from the fuel cell is therefore applied directly to preheat and evaporate the working fluid in the Organic Rankine Cycle system to thereby provide improved efficiencies in the system.

Integration of an organic rankine cycle with a fuel cell

A method for operating a fuel cell power plant to provide end-use electricity, end-use heat and end-use reformate includes the steps of providing a fuel cell power plant that consumes reformate to provide electricity and heat, said fuel cell power plant having a nominal reformate flow rate and including a fuel processor system for generating reformate from a hydrocarbon fuel; operating the fuel processor system so as to provide a reformate flow at a rate greater than the nominal reformate flow rate; operating the fuel cell power plant using a first portion of the reformate flow to generate the electricity and the heat, the first portion being less than or equal to the nominal reformate flow rate; and providing a second portion of the reformate flow as the end-use reformate.

Fuel cell power plant used as reformate generator

The invention is a hydrogen passivation shut down system for a fuel cell power plant (). An anode flow path () is in fluid communication with an anode catalyst () for directing hydrogen fuel to flow adjacent to the anode catalyst (), and a cathode flow path () is in fluid communication with a cathode catalyst () for directing an oxidant to flow adjacent to the cathode catalyst () of a fuel cell (). Hydrogen fuel is permitted to transfer between the anode flow path () and the cathode flow path (). A hydrogen reservoir () is secured in fluid communication with the anode flow path () for receiving and storing hydrogen during fuel cell () operation, and for releasing the hydrogen into the fuel cell () whenever the fuel cell () is shut down.

Hydrogen passivation shut down system for a fuel cell power plant

A method for operating a fuel cell power plant to supply power to an internal load and an external load, includes the steps of evaluating power needs of the internal and external loads to determine a fixed IDC value sufficient to supply the needs; providing auxiliary power to the internal load and output power to the external load so as to maintain operation of the fuel cell power plant at the fixed IDC value; and adjusting at least one of the auxiliary power to the internal load and output power to the external load so as to maintain operation of the fuel cell power plant at the fixed IDC value. Operation within a preselected voltage range is also provided.

Fixed IDC operation of fuel cell power plant

Fuel cell power plants () include recycle fuel from a fuel exit () of the last fuel flow field () of a series of flow fields (----) labeled M&#x2212;N through M, applied either to the Mth flow fields or both the Mth and the (M&#x2212;1)th flow fields. The fuel recycle impeller is a blower (), an ejector () or an electrochemical hydrogen pump (). Fuel from a source () may be applied both to the first fuel flow field () and an additional fuel flow field () of a series of flow fields to reduce pressure drop and flow rate requirements in the first of the series of flow fields and assure more fuel in the additional fuel flow field. Flow to the additional fuel flow field may be controlled by voltage () in such field or fuel content () of its exhaust. Transient fuel volume is provided by a tank ().

Fuel cell system having inlet fuel to more than one and/or recycle to less than all of the fuel fields

The invention is a hydrogen passivation shut down system for a fuel cell power plant (). An anode flow path () is in fluid communication with an anode catalyst () for directing hydrogen fuel to flow adjacent to the anode catalyst (), and a cathode flow path () is in fluid communication with a cathode catalyst () for directing an oxidant to flow adjacent to the cathode catalyst () of a fuel cell (). Hydrogen fuel is permitted to transfer between the anode flow path () and the cathode flow path (). A hydrogen reservoir () is secured in fluid communication with the anode flow path () for receiving and storing hydrogen during fuel cell () operation, and for releasing the hydrogen into fuel cell () whenever the fuel cell () is shut down.

A method for operating a fuel cell power plant to supply power to an internal load and an external load, includes the steps of evaluating power needs of the internal and external loads to determine a fixed IDC value sufficient to supply the needs; providing auxiliary power to the internal load and output power to the external load so as to maintain operation of the fuel cell power plant at the fixed IDC value; and adjusting at least one of the auxiliary power to the internal load and output power to the external load so as to maintain operation of the fuel cell power plant at the fixed IDC value.

A fuel cell power plant system includes the ability to operate an enthalpy recovery device even under cold conditions. A bypass arrangement allows for selectively bypassing one or more portions of the enthalpy recovery device under selected conditions. In one example, the enthalpy recovery device is completely bypassed under selected temperature conditions to allow the device to freeze and then later to be used under more favorable temperature conditions. In another example, the enthalpy recovery device is selectively bypassed during a system startup operation. One example includes a heater associated with the enthalpy recovery device. Another example includes preheating oxidant supplied to one portion of the enthalpy recovery device.

Low temperature fuel cell power plant operation

A vane () at the juncture of orthogonal conduits () allows flow of air to and from the air inlet/outlet manifold () of a fuel cell stack () when it is disposed in a first position, and totally blocks the conduits () so as to isolate the air flow fields of the fuel cells () when in a position normal to the first position. A vane () can comprise the divider of the air inlet/outlet manifold when in a vertical position, and totally block off the manifold when in a horizontal position. A vane () can align with the divider () of an air inlet/out manifold when in a vertical position, and block the passage between the manifold and conduits () when in a horizontal position. Similar vanes may be used for single-valve selection of flow or containment of fuel reactant gas.

Single valve fuel cell stack gas flow and containment

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South Windsor, CT, United States of America

Paul R Margiott