Hitachi, Ltd.

Shuzou Iwaasa

Motoo Yamaguchi

Saburo Yasukawa

Tsutomu Tsukui

Toshio Shimizu

Ryota Doi

A liquid fuel cell having a circulation system for a fuel mixture comprising fuel and water, which comprises a first tank containing water or a water-rich fuel mixture comprising water and fuel, a second tank containing fuel or a fuel-rich mixture comprising water and fuel, a first detector for detecting the liquid level of the fuel mixture in the circulation system, a second detector for detecting a fuel concentration of the fuel mixture in the circulation system, or an output from the fuel cell, or a load current of the fuel cell, a valve means for controlling flow of the water or the water-rich mixture in the first tank to the circulation system in accordance with the output from the first detector, and a valve means for controlling flow of the fuel or the fuel-rich mixture in the second tank to the circulation system in accordance with the output from the second detector, can be stably and efficiently operated for a prolonged time in spite of different consumption rates of fuel and water even if the load current or operating temperature of the fuel cell or the temperature or humidity of the atmosphere is changed.

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Hitachi, Japan

Shuzou Iwaasa