Method of delivering fuel and air to a fuel cell system

摘要

A method for removing sulfur-containing species from a liquid hydrocarbon fuel and capturing a portion of vaporized sulfur-free fuel to be processed into hydrogen for use in a fuel cell engine. Sulfur is removed by heating the fuel under pressure to keep the fuel in the liquid phase, and passing it over a sulfur trap that contains an adsorbent bed that adsorbs the sulfur-containing species in the fuel. The sulfur-free fuel is depressurized to a two-phase hydrocarbon mixture. The vapor/liquid mixture is separated, and the liquid portion is sent to a fuel processor system. The vapor portion is sent to a vapor canister where it is adsorbed on an activated carbon adsorbent. The adsorbed hydrocarbon vapors are desorbed from the vapor trap by purging it with air when the fuel cell engine is first started up.