Patent ID: 8790618

Claim:
A method for starting up a hydrogen-generation assembly that includes a hydrogen-producing region (HPR) and a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) assembly, the hydrogen-producing region having HPR hydrogen-producing, HPR shutdown, HPR dormant, and HPR startup states, the PSA assembly having PSA hydrogen-purifying, PSA shutdown, PSA dormant, and PSA startup states, and the PSA assembly further having an internal pressure, the method comprising: supplying a feedstock supply stream to the hydrogen-generation assembly while in the HPR hydrogen-producing state to produce a mixed gas stream containing hydrogen gas as a majority component and further containing other gases; supplying the mixed gas stream to the PSA assembly while in the PSA hydrogen-purifying state to produce a product hydrogen stream having a greater concentration of hydrogen gas and/or a lower concentration of the other gases than the mixed gas stream; utilizing a HPR shutdown sequence to transition the HPR from the HPR hydrogen-producing state to the HPR dormant state and utilizing a PSA shutdown sequence to transition the PSA assembly from the PSA hydrogen-purifying state to the PSA dormant state; and utilizing a HPR startup sequence to transition the HPR from the HPR dormant state to the HPR hydrogen-producing state and utilizing a PSA startup sequence to transition the PSA assembly from the PSA dormant state to the PSA hydrogen-purifying state, wherein at least the PSA startup sequence includes supplying hydrogen gas to the PSA assembly from a hydrogen source, wherein the utilizing the PSA startup sequence includes utilizing the PSA startup sequence at least partially concurrently with the HPR startup sequence and further wherein the utilizing the PSA startup sequence begins after initiating and before completing the HPR startup sequence to transition the HPR from the HPR dormant state to the HPR hydrogen-producing state.