The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 05, 1999
Filed:
Apr. 15, 1997
Valerie A Maston, Springfield, MA (US);
Leslie L VanDine, Manchester, CT (US);
Richard A Sederquist, Newington, CT (US);
Raymond M Smith, Windsor, CT (US);
Paul A Grubb, Ellington, CT (US);
Theodore S Malinowski, South Windsor, CT (US);
International Fuel Cells Corporation, South Windsor, CT (US);
Abstract
A system for generating a desired output gas from an input fuel for use in a downstream process is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of fuel processing units to generate the desired output gas, wherein each of the plurality of fuel processing units includes a reformer which uses waste gas output from the downstream process to facilitate the processing of the fuel. Each of the fuel processing units is operational over a range up to full capacity, wherein the plurality of fuel processing units are interconnected in an collective operating scheme to process the fuel. A control system is provided for controlling the plurality of fuel processing units in response to requirements of a dynamic load demand from the downstream operation. The control system is operative to adjust the operational level of each of the plurality of fuel processing units to produce individual responses from each of the fuel processing units. The individual responses are combined to produce a collective response for meeting the requirements of the dynamic load demand. A method for generating a desired output gas from an input fuel for use in a downstream process is also provided.