FUEL CELL POWER PLANT COOLANT CLEANING SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

In a process for deaerating and purifying both the water which is recirculated in a coolant loop through a stack of fuel cells (12) and the make-up water for the coolant loop, a portion of the water from the coolant loop is blown down into a deaerator water reservoir to which make-up water is added as required by the coolant loop. Water is withdrawn from the reservoir, purified, and then introduced into the coolant loop at a rate sufficient to maintain the desired amount of water circulating in the coolant loop. The blowdown provides some of the heat for deaerating the water; and the rate of blowdown flow into the reservoir is sufficient to maintain an acceptable level of impurities in the recirculating coolant loop water. Preferably, the blowdown flow rate is controlled as a function of the amount of make-up water required to be added to the coolant loop.