Patent ID: 7736441

Claim:
A method of cleaning one or more fluid plenums of an electrode assembly, the method comprising: isolating a plurality of fluid ports in communication with the fluid plenum; differentiating the fluid ports into respective sets of one or more plenum input ports and one or more plenum output ports; engaging the input and output ports with respective cleaning fluid couplings, wherein each of the cleaning fluid couplings is configured to form a sealed interface with the port with which it is engaged; directing a cleaning fluid through the fluid plenum by providing one or more cleaning fluid supply ducts in communication with the plenum input ports and one or more cleaning fluid waste ducts in communication with the plenum output ports and creating a fluid pressure differential ΔP=P IN −P out across the plenum input and output ports, wherein the cleaning fluid is directed through the fluid plenum by varying the manner in which the fluid ports are differentiated into respective sets of input and output ports; the pressure differential ΔP is large enough to force cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid supply duct to the cleaning fluid waste duct through the fluid plenum, the pressure differential ΔP is maintained below the pressure differential failure threshold of the sealed interfaces at the plenum fluid input and output ports, and the respective pressures P IN , P out at the plenum input and output ports are maintained below the absolute pressure failure thresholds of the sealed interfaces at the plenum input and output ports.