Patent ID: 6576359
Filing Date: 2003-06-10
Classification: H01M,Y02E

Abstract:
In a method of operating a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell system comprising the principal steps of (1) providing a hydrogen-rich reformate gas having a first carbon monoxide content, and (2) subjecting said reformate gas to an oxidation reaction for oxidizing said carbon monoxide with oxygen in the presence of said hydrogen to produce a feed stream for said fuel cell which has a second carbon monoxide content less than said first content, the improvement comprising: generating a series of pulses of oxygen-containing gas and injecting said pulses into said reformate gas having said first carbon monoxide content, while varying at least one pulse feature selected from pulse duration and interval between pulses, to optimize consumption of said carbon monoxide from said fuel gas while minimizing consumption of hydrogen therefrom, to thereby produce said second carbon monoxide content less than said first content.