Importance

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Abstract

The invention is a hydride bed water recovery system for a fuel cell power plant that has at least one fuel cell having an electrolyte between anode and cathode electrodes for producing an electric current from a reducing fluid and an oxidant stream. A coolant loop directs a coolant fluid from a coolant reservoir through a coolant passage to the fuel cell and back to the reservoir. A process exhaust passage receives a cathode exhaust stream from the fuel cell and directs the stream away from the fuel cell and into a hydride bed cooler that passes the stream in heat exchange relationship with a condensing hydride bed of the cooler so that the bed cools the process exhaust stream to condense water out of the stream. In a preferred embodiment, the hydride bed cooler is a two-pair hydride bed cooler that includes a first pair and a second pair of hydride beds, and each pair includes a high temperature hydride bed, and a low temperature hydride bed so that each pair of hydride beds operates in alternating regeneration and cooling modes.

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First Claim