Patent ID: 6887605

Claim:
A fuel cell system, comprising: a source of hydrogen gas; a fuel cell stack including at least one fuel cell including an anode chamber and a cathode chamber, wherein the fuel cell stack is adapted to receive a flow containing hydrogen gas from the source and to produce an electric current therefrom and, wherein the anode chamber is adapted to receive at least a portion of the flow containing hydrogen gas from the source; a purge assembly including at least one purge valve adapted to selectively purge the anode chamber of the at least one fuel cell to reduce the concentration of a selected composition therein with a stream containing at least a portion of the flow containing hydrogen gas from the source; a sensor assembly including at least one sensor adapted to measure a value of a process parameter representative of the performance of the fuel cell stack; and a controller adapted to actuate the purge assembly if the value of the process parameter exceeds a determined value.