초록 ▼

Ammonia which is present in fuel cell power plant water in free form, in ionic form, and in forms combined with carbon dioxide, is removed from the power plant water by steam stripping. Water which has been used to cool the fuel reformer effluent, and thus has become contaminated with ammonia, is fe

Ammonia which is present in fuel cell power plant water in free form, in ionic form, and in forms combined with carbon dioxide, is removed from the power plant water by steam stripping. Water which has been used to cool the fuel reformer effluent, and thus has become contaminated with ammonia, is fed to a first steam stripper wherein a first portion of the ammonia contaminant is removed. The partially stripped water is then fed to a second steam stripper wherein further amounts of ammonia are removed from the water with steam. The ammonia laden steam from the two strippers is combined and vented through a single vent thus conserving the amount of water lost from the system.

대표청구항 ▼

In a closed water cycle fuel cell power plant, a method for removing ammonia, gaseous ammonium compounds such as ammonium carbonates and bicarbonates, and carbon dioxide contaminants from contaminated water in the power plant, said method consisting essentially of the steps of: (a) providing a strea

In a closed water cycle fuel cell power plant, a method for removing ammonia, gaseous ammonium compounds such as ammonium carbonates and bicarbonates, and carbon dioxide contaminants from contaminated water in the power plant, said method consisting essentially of the steps of: (a) providing a stream of the contaminated water at superatmospheric pressure and elevated temperature having an ammonia content of less than about 500 ppm by weight; (b) performing a first steam stripping operation on said stream of contaminated water by contacting the latter with steam to strip a first portion of the ammonia content from the water; (c) performing a second steam stripping operation on the contaminated water after said first steam stripping operation is completed to strip a second portion of the ammonia content from the water, said two steam stripping operations being operable to remove at least about 85% of the ammonia and about 99% of the carbon dioxide from the contaminated water stream; (d) combining contaminated steam exhausted from said second steam stripping operation with steam used in said first steam stripping operation during performance of the latter so that said first stripping operation is performed with a combined supply of steam and feeding combined contaminated steam exhausted from said first steam stripping operation into a condenser to condense water out of the combined contaminated steam; and (e) venting contaminated steam from the condenser at controlled rates so that the vented steam has a water content which is less than the available amount of water produced by the electromechanical reaction in the full cell power plant.