Claims
- 1. A water management subsystem for a fuel cell system, comprising:
a gas conduit containing gas at a first pressure; a water tank containing water, the water having a level within the tank, the water tank having an inlet orifice below the water level; a drain conduit having a first end and a second end, the drain conduit being connected at the first end to the gas conduit, the drain conduit being further connected at the second end to the inlet orifice of the water tank; and wherein the water level and the inlet orifice have a vertical height of water between them corresponding to a head pressure greater than the first pressure.
- 2. The water management subsystem of claim 1, further comprising:
a water level sensor adapted to measure the water level; the water tank having a second inlet orifice; a water supply connected to the second inlet orifice of the water tank; and a controller connected to the water level sensor, the controller being adapted to feed water to the tank from the water supply when the sensor indicates the water level is below a predetermined threshold.
- 3. The water management subsystem of claim 1, further comprising:
a water level sensor adapted to measure the water level; the water tank having a drain; a controller connected to the water level sensor, the controller being adapted to open the drain when the sensor indicates the water level is above a predetermined threshold, the controller being further adapted to close the drain when the sensor indicates the water level is below a predetermined threshold.
- 4. The water management subsystem of claim 1, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode tailgas oxidizer.
- 5. The water management subsystem of claim 1, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode fuel outlet conduit of a fuel cell.
- 6. The water management subsystem of claim 1, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode fuel inlet conduit of a fuel cell.
- 7. The water management subsystem of claim 1, wherein the water tank further comprises a gas inlet and a gas vent, wherein at least a portion of a cathode inlet air stream of a fuel cell is circulated through the water tank from the gas inlet to the gas vent.
- 8. The water management subsystem of claim 7, wherein the gas vent is in fluid communication with an air inlet of an oxidizer.
- 9. The water management subsystem of claim 1, wherein the water tank further comprises a gas inlet and a gas vent, wherein at least a portion of a cathode exhaust air stream of a fuel cell is circulated through the water tank from the gas inlet to the gas vent.
- 10. The water management subsystem of claim 9, wherein the gas vent is in fluid communication with an air inlet of an oxidizer.
- 11. A water management subsystem for a fuel cell system, comprising:
a gas conduit containing gas at a first pressure; a water collection tank containing water and an atmosphere, the water having a level within the tank, the water collection tank having an inlet orifice below the water level, and the tank atmosphere having a second pressure; a drain conduit having a first end and a second end, the drain conduit being connected at the first end to the gas conduit, the drain conduit being further connected at the second end to the inlet orifice of the water collection tank; wherein the water level and the inlet orifice have a vertical height of water between them corresponding to a head pressure; and wherein the sum of the second pressure and the head pressure is greater than the first pressure.
- 12. The water management subsystem of claim 11, further comprising:
a water level sensor adapted to measure the water level; the water collection tank having a second inlet orifice; a water supply connected to the second inlet orifice of the water collection tank; and a controller connected to the water level sensor, the controller being adapted to feed water to the tank from the water supply when the sensor indicates the water level is below a predetermined threshold.
- 13. The water management subsystem of claim 11, further comprising:
a water level sensor adapted to measure the water level; the water tank having a drain; a controller connected to the water level sensor, the controller being adapted to open the drain when the sensor indicates the water level is above a predetermined threshold, the controller being further adapted to close the drain when the sensor indicates the water level is below a predetermined threshold.
- 14. The water management subsystem of claim 11, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode tailgas oxidizer.
- 15. The water management subsystem of claim 11, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode fuel outlet conduit of a fuel cell.
- 16. The water management subsystem of claim 1, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode fuel inlet conduit of a fuel cell.
- 17. The water management subsystem of claim 11, wherein the water tank further comprises a gas inlet and a gas vent, wherein at least a portion of a cathode inlet air stream of a fuel cell is circulated through the water tank from the gas inlet to the gas vent.
- 18. The water management subsystem of claim 17, wherein the gas vent is in fluid communication with an air inlet of an oxidizer.
- 19. The water management subsystem of claim 11, wherein the water tank further comprises a gas inlet and a gas vent, wherein at least a portion of a cathode exhaust air stream of a fuel cell is circulated through the water tank from the gas inlet to the gas vent.
- 20. The water management subsystem of claim 19, wherein the gas vent is in fluid communication with an air inlet of an oxidizer.
- 21. A water management subsystem for a fuel cell system, comprising:
a gas conduit containing gas at a first pressure; a water collection tank containing water and an atmosphere, the water having a level within the tank, the water collection tank having an inlet orifice above the water level, and the tank atmosphere having a second pressure; a drain conduit having a first end and a second end, the drain conduit being connected at the first end to the gas conduit, the drain conduit being further connected at the second end to the inlet orifice of the water collection tank; wherein a portion of the drain conduit forms a water trap bend, the water trap bend containing water, the water in the trap bend having a vertical height corresponding to a head pressure; and wherein the sum of the second pressure and the head pressure is greater than the first pressure.
- 22. The water management subsystem of claim 21, further comprising:
a water level sensor adapted to measure the water level; the water tank having a second inlet orifice; a water supply connected to the second inlet orifice of the water collection tank; and a controller connected to the water level sensor, the controller being adapted to feed water to the tank from the water supply when the sensor indicates the water level is below a predetermined threshold.
- 23. The water management subsystem of claim 21, further comprising:
a water level sensor adapted to measure the water level; the water tank having a drain; a controller connected to the water level sensor, the controller being adapted to open the drain when the sensor indicates the water level is above a predetermined threshold, the controller being further adapted to close the drain when the sensor indicates the water level is below a predetermined threshold.
- 24. The water management subsystem of claim 21, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode tailgas oxidizer.
- 25. The water management subsystem of claim 21, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode fuel outlet conduit of a fuel cell.
- 26. The water management subsystem of claim 21, wherein the gas conduit comprises an anode fuel inlet conduit of a fuel cell.
- 27. The water management subsystem of claim 21, wherein the water tank further comprises a gas inlet and a gas vent, wherein at least a portion of a cathode inlet air stream of a fuel cell is circulated through the water tank from the gas inlet to the gas vent.
- 28. The water management subsystem of claim 27, wherein the gas vent is in fluid communication with an air inlet of an oxidizer.
- 29. The water management subsystem of claim 21, wherein the water tank further comprises a gas inlet and a gas vent, wherein at least a portion of a cathode exhaust air stream of a fuel cell is circulated through the water tank from the gas inlet to the gas vent.
- 30. The water management subsystem of claim 29, wherein the gas vent is in fluid communication with an air inlet of an oxidizer.
- 31. A method of water management for a fuel cell system, comprising:
flowing a fuel cell process stream containing liquid water through a gas conduit at a first pressure; draining the liquid water from the gas conduit into a drain conduit; draining the liquid water through the drain conduit into an inlet orifice of a water collection tank, wherein the inlet orifice is located below a water level of the water collection tank; and maintaining the water level of the water collection tank such that a second pressure of water at the inlet orifice is greater than the first pressure of the process stream.
- 32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:
circulating air through the water collection tank.
- 33. The method of claim 31, further comprising:
circulating a cathode exhaust stream from a fuel cell through an atmosphere of the water collection tank to an oxidizer.
- 34. A method of water management for a fuel cell system, comprising:
flowing a fuel cell process stream containing liquid water through a gas conduit at a first pressure; draining the liquid water from the gas conduit into a drain conduit; draining the liquid water through the drain conduit into an inlet orifice of a water collection tank, wherein the inlet orifice is located above a water level of the water collection tank; and maintaining the water level of the water collection tank such that a second pressure of water at the inlet orifice is greater than the first pressure of the process stream.
- 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:
circulating air through the water collection tank.
- 36. The method of claim 34, further comprising:
circulating a cathode exhaust stream from a fuel cell through an atmosphere of the water collection tank to an oxidizer.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/309,078, filed Jul. 31, 2001, naming Walsh et al. as inventors, and titled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING CONDENSATE IN AN INTEGRATED FUEL CELL SYSTEM.” That application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60309078 |
Jul 2001 |
US |