Patent ID: 7548683

Claim:
A coolant conditioning system for supplying a coolant to at least one fuel processing subsystem, the coolant conditioning system comprising: a coolant storage tank; a pump to supply a coolant flow, the pump including a pump inlet and a pump outlet; at least one coolant preheater connected to a reformate flow to transfer heat from the reformate flow to the coolant flow, the at least one coolant preheater including a coolant inlet connected to the pump outlet and a coolant outlet; a heater connected to the coolant outlet to selectively add heat to the coolant flow when the temperature of the coolant flow at the coolant outlet falls below a minimum temperature, the heater including a heater inlet for the coolant and a heater outlet for the coolant; at least one outlet flow path to direct a portion of the coolant flow from the heater outlet to the at least one fuel processing subsystem; and a return flow path to return a remainder of the coolant flow from the heater outlet to the storage tank.