| US 7,521,146 B2 | ||
| Switching modes of operation of a fuel cell | ||
| Richard W. Mason, Rexford, N.Y. (US); Michael Pomykai, Scotia, N.Y. (US); and Timothy Lang, Starkville, Miss. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Plug Power Inc., Latham, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 27, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/319,044. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0148507 A1, Jun. 28, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. H01M 2/14 (2006.01); H01M 2/00 (2006.01); H01M 2/02 (2006.01); C25B 1/02 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 429—39 [429/34; 205/637] | 12 Claims |
| 1. A method usable with a fuel cell stack, comprising:
routing an anode exhaust of the fuel cell stack to an anode exhaust line;
isolating the anode exhaust from a cathode chamber of the fuel cell stack; and
while maintaining the isolation of the anode exhaust from the cathode chamber, selectively establishing communication between
the cathode chamber of the fuel cell stack and the anode exhaust line based on a mode of operation of the fuel cell stack,
wherein the act of selectively establishing communication comprises:
connecting a cathode inlet of the fuel cell stack to the anode exhaust line in response to the fuel cell stack being configured
to operate as an electrochemical pump.
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