Generation of electricity from a fuel cell to drive a vehicle, uses purge circuit to deliver inert gas to anode to stop fuel cell operation and prevent fuel build up, and diverts combustive material away from anode

摘要

The fuel cell (1) has a cathode (C) supplied with combustive material and an anode (A) supplied with fuel (10). The combustive material (2) is carried in a transport gas. A purge circuit (5,6,7,8) delivers inert gas to the anode when the fuel cell is stopped, preventing fuel build up. The purge circuit diverts some of the transport gas away from the anode, and also separates (6) combustible material from the transport gas.