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Fuel cell with fuel monitoring system and method of useFuel cell with fuel monitoring system and method of use description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080231836, Fuel cell with fuel monitoring system and method of use. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of commonly owned, co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/196,685, filed on Aug. 2, 2005, the disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates generally to fuel cells and monitoring technologies. In particular, sensor arrays linked to a remote control system and information storage device are used to monitor system parameters in a fuel cell. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFuel cells are devices that directly convert chemical energy of reactants, i.e., fuel and oxidant, into direct current (DC) electricity. For an increasing number of applications, fuel cells are more efficient than conventional power generation, such as combustion of fossil fuel, as well as portable power storage, such as lithium-ion batteries. In general, fuel cell technology includes a variety of different fuel cells, such as alkali fuel cells, polymer electrolyte fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells and enzyme fuel cells. Today's more important fuel cells can be divided into several general categories, namely: (i) fuel cells utilizing compressed hydrogen (H2) as fuel; (ii) proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells that use alcohols, e.g., methanol (CH3OH), metal hydrides, e.g., sodium borohydride (NaBH4), hydrocarbons, or other fuels reformed into hydrogen fuel; (iii) PEM fuel cells that can consume non-hydrogen fuel directly or direct oxidation fuel cells; and (iv) solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) that directly convert hydrocarbon fuels to electricity at high temperature. Compressed hydrogen is generally kept under high pressure and is therefore difficult to handle. Furthermore, large storage tanks are typically required and cannot be made sufficiently small for consumer electronic devices. Conventional reformat fuel cells require reformers and other vaporization and auxiliary systems to convert fuels to hydrogen to react with oxidant in the fuel cell. Recent advances make reformer or reformat fuel cells promising for consumer electronic devices. The most common direct oxidation fuel cells are direct methanol fuel cells or DMFC. Other direct oxidation fuel cells include direct ethanol fuel cells and direct tetramethyl orthocarbonate fuel cells. DMFC, in which methanol is reacted directly with oxidant in the fuel cell, has promising power application for consumer electronic devices. SOFC convert hydrocarbon fuels, such as butane, at high heat to produce electricity. SOFC requires relatively high temperature in the range of 1000° C. for the fuel cell reaction to occur. The chemical reactions that produce electricity are different for each type of fuel cell. For DMFC, the chemical-electrical reaction at each electrode and the overall reaction for a direct methanol fuel cell are described as follows: Half-reaction at the anode: CH3OH+H2O→CO2+6H++6e− Half-reaction at the cathode: 1.5O2+6H++6e−→3H2O The overall fuel cell reaction:
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