Patent ID: 7410710

Claim:
A method for determining which condition in a fuel processor has initiated a shutdown of the fuel processor, comprising: generating a plurality of shutdown initiator signals, each corresponding to one of a plurality of shutdown conditions and indicating whether such condition is present wherein the shutdown initiator signals include signals indicating at least one of an undesired temperature, an undesired pressure, an undesired concentration, a low fuel pressure, a high fuel pressure, a high anode tailgas oxidizer heater temperature, a high anode tailgas oxidizer inlet temperature, high anode tailgas oxidizer mid bed temperature, a high anode tailgas oxidizer top bed temperature, a high anode tailgas oxidizer top skin temperature, a high temperature on the inlet to an autothermal reformer, a high temperature on an exit from the autothermal reformer, a high temperature on the exit from a preferential oxidizer, a high temperature on an exit from a Zinc Oxide bed, a high temperature in a reactor shell for the autothermal reformer, a low pressure for the delivery of a process feed gas to the autothermal reformer, a low temperature for an anode tailgas oxidizer, an anode tailgas oxidizer light off timer expired, a high temperature for a shift process, a remote control emergency switch activated, an emergency stop switch has been thrown, a control stop switch has been thrown, power has been turned off to the system, a gas has been detected in the cabinet of the ATR, and a stop switch on the control panel has been thrown; reading the shutdown initiator signals within a predetermined window; detecting within the predetermined time window that at least a first one of the read shutdown initiator signals indicates that a corresponding first shutdown condition has occurred; and identifying the corresponding first shutdown condition as the firstout.