Patent ID: 7462413

Claim:
A fuel cell system comprising: at least one fuel cell configured to react fuel with oxygen to produce electricity and at least one reaction product, said at least one fuel cell comprising: an anode flowpath configured to route said fuel through at least a portion of said fuel cell; an anode in fluid communication with said anode flowpath and upon which a catalytic reaction with said fuel is configured to take place; a cathode flowpath configured to route said oxygen through at least a portion of said fuel cell; a cathode in fluid communication with said cathode flowpath and upon which a catalytic reaction with said oxygen is configured to take place; and a membrane disposed between said anode and said cathode such that electrolyte communication is established therebetween during operation of said system; an infeed device configured to selectively introduce to at least one of said anode flowpath and said cathode flowpath a chemical compound that upon mixing with said at least one reaction product lowers the freezing temperature of said at least one reaction product; a plurality of temperature sensors comprising a first temperature sensor configured to detect an ambient temperature outside said at least one fuel cell and a second temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature inside said at least one fuel cell; a data storage device which stores historical values of at least one of said temperature inside said fuel cell and said ambient temperature; and an analysis system signally cooperative with said data storage device, said analysis system configured to analyze trends with respect to said stored historical values to determine the likelihood that a present temperature condition will require said analysis system to instruct said infeed system to introduce said chemical compound into said fuel cell; a control system signally cooperative with said plurality of temperature sensors and said data storage device such that upon comparison of at least one temperature signal received from said plurality of temperature sensors to at least one of said historical temperature values, said control system generates at least one temperature-based control signal to activate said infeed device.