Two-dimensional numerical pore-scale investigation of oxygen evolution in proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells

Oxygen blocking the porous transport layer (PTL) increases the mass transport loss, and then limits the high current density condition of proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells (PEMEC). In this paper, a two-dimensional transient mathematical model of anode two-phase flow in PEMEC is established by the fluid volume method (VOF) method. The transport mechanism of oxygen in porous layer is analyzed in details. The effects of liquid water flow velocity, porosity, fiber diameter and contact angle on oxygen pressure and saturation are studied. The results show that the oxygen bubble transport in the porous layer is mainly affected by capillary pressure and follows the transport mechanism of ‘pressurization breakthrough depressurization’. The oxygen bubble goes through three stages of growth, migration and separation in the channel, and then be carried out of the electrolysis cell by liquid water. When oxygen breaks through the porous layer and enters the flow channel, there is a phenomenon that the branch flow is merged into the main stream, and the last limiting throat affects the maximum pressure and oxygen saturation during stable condition. In addition, increasing the liquid water velocity is helpful to bubble separation; changing the porosity and fiber diameter directly affects the width of pore throat and the correlative capillary pressure; increasing porosity, reducing fiber diameter and contact angle can promote oxygen breakthrough and reduce the stable saturation of oxygen.     

Experimental investigation on the heat and water transfer enhancement in a membrane-based air-to-air humidifier at insulation condition

In the present study, a membrane-based air-to-air planar humidifier (MAPH) with baffle-blocked flow channels and a common MAPH are fabricated, tested and compared. These MAPHs are well thermal insulated from their surroundings. Polyoxymethylene (POM) plates with some unique properties such as large tensile and flexural strength, high chemical resistance and high stiffness are used to create channels at dry and humid sides of MAPHs. The obtained findings revealed that the higher heat and water transfer rates and smaller dew point approach temperature (DPAT) in entire tested flow rates occurs in baffle-blocked MAPH. To evaluate the MAPH performance with considering the pressure drop, a dimensionless parameter, performance evaluation criteria (PEC), is introduced. At flow rates less than 1 m³/h, PEC is less than 1, indicating a decline in MAPH performance with considering the pressure drop. In baffle-blocked MAPH using water trap in the inlet of dry side leads to the performance deterioration. Additionally, the increased relative humidity (RH) of humid side inlet causes an increase in DPAT, consequently, the performance deterioration.     

Coupling effects of water content,temperature, oxygen density,and polytetrafluoroethylene loading on oxygen transport through ionomer thin film on platinum surface in catalyst layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

In this work, coupling effects of water content, temperature, oxygen density, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) loading on oxygen transport through an ionomer thin film on a platinum surface in a catalyst layer of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell are investigated using molecular dynamics approach. Taguchi orthogonal algorithm is employed to comprehensively analyze the coupling effects in a limited number of cases. It is found that the effect of operation temperature is the weakest among the four factors, which has the smallest effect index 14.4. Coupling effects including the PTFE loadings on the oxygen transfer through the ionomer thin film is uncovered. Less PTFE loadings should be beneficial for the oxygen transfer. The chemical potential gradient is considered as the major driven force for the oxygen transport through the ionomer thin film, and oxygen density is the dominating factor, significantly affecting the chemical potential in the thin film.     

Techno-economic assessment of hydrogen refueling station: A case study in Croatia

Hydrogen refueling station (HRS) capacity and location depend on the users, which makes it difficult to select the most favorable option before potential users are actually identified. As in Croatia, at least for now, there are no hydrogen users, this study considers a wide range of HRS capacities and their different configurations. These include hydrogen production and charging station within one existing wind farm in Croatia or both nearby the users, the hydrogen production within the wind farm and the charging station nearby the users, while hydrogen is delivered to the station with a tube trailer, and configuration of hydrogen production within the wind farm with a mobile charging station in case of several users in different locations. Each HRS configuration is evaluated by the obtained levelized cost of hydrogen depending on the capital, and operation and maintenance costs within the HRS techno-economic analysis provided.     

Construction and analysis of photovoltaic directly coupled conditions in PEM electrolyzer

The Markov model and the PEM electrolyzer system model for directly coupled photovoltaic are combined to construct an efficient and reliable working condition that fits the fluctuation characteristics of solar energy. The working condition is designed through genetic algorithm so that the average coupling efficiency of the system can reach 98.8%. Then, the durability and recovery test are conducted on the basis of the constructed conditions. It is found that the attenuation rate at the current density of 1A/cm² under the photovoltaic fluctuating condition reached 7.8mV/h, which is twice that under the constant current condition. The charge transfer impedance (R_ct) is the main factor leading to the degradation. It is proved by the recovery experiment that the increase of R_ct is related to the pollution of metal ions. After pickling to remove some metal ions, R_ct can be significantly reduced by 46.8% and 65.2%, respectively. After the durability test, the voltammetric charges under the photovoltaic fluctuating condition and the constant current condition are reduced by 48.3% and 19.1% It indicates that the photovoltaic fluctuation condition will accelerate the attenuation of the effective reaction area of MEA, which is irreversible even after pickling. It can be observed from the SEM images that the catalyst layer of MEA has more obvious peeling under the photovoltaic fluctuation condition, which is not conducive to material transmission and destroys the transmission channel of ions and electrons. This result can provide a reliable reference for the coupling design of PEM electrolyzer and renewable energy in the future.     

Impact of air contamination by NOx on the performance of high temperature PEM fuel cells

High temperature PEM fuel cells show enhanced tolerances regarding fuel impurities like CO for use in various applications. However, the impact of air impurities like NO_x on the cell behavior is not completely understood yet. This study provides systematic investigation during 500 h of operation in presence of cathode air containing 10 ppm NO or NO₂. Nitrogen oxides provoke a strongly and linearly decreasing voltage of 245.3 ± 18.5 μV h⁻¹ and highly comparable damage that verifies similar HT-PEMFC degradation via both oxides. Cyclic voltammetry and electron microscopy reveal the loss of electrochemical catalyst surface by selectively poisoned surface and enforced catalyst particle growth. Impedance spectroscopy reveals besides increased electrode charge transfer resistances an affected proton conductivity. In contrast, SO₂/NO₂ impurity mixture in real occurring ratio causes less voltage decay due to a positive SO₂ impact through H₂SO₄ formation causing further shown and discussed effects like nitrate formation and discharge.     

Novel composite membrane based on zirconium phosphate-ionic liquids for high temperature PEM fuel cells

Composite membranes composed of zirconium phosphate (ZrP) and imidazolium-based ionic liquids (IL), supported on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were prepared and evaluated for their application in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM) operating at 200 °C. The experimental results reported here demonstrate that the synthesized membrane has a high proton conductivity of 0.07 S cm^?1, i.e, 70% of that reported for Nafion. Furthermore, the composite membranes possess a very high proton conductivity of 0.06 S cm^?1 when processed at 200 °C under completely anhydrous conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicate the formation of very small particles, with diameters in the range of 100–300 nm, within the confined pores of PTFE. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) reveals a maximum of 20% weight loss up to 500 °C for the synthesized membrane. The increase in proton conductivity is attributed to the creation of multiple proton conducting paths within the membrane matrix. The IL component is acting as a proton bridge. Therefore, these membranes have potential for use in PEM fuel cells operating at temperatures around 200 °C.     

Performance assessment of gas crossover phenomenon and water transport mechanism in high pressure PEM electrolyzer

To improve proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzes’ performance the voltage loss through them should be avoided. In this work, it is intended to analyze losses including of diffusion loss, ohmic loss due to electrode, bipolar plate (BP), and membrane resistances, and gas crossover associated with the water transferring mechanisms. All of the losses are associated with water transferring mechanisms, which is created due to electro-osmoic drag, pressure differential between the anode and cathode sides, and diffusion. Furthermore, the effect of membrane thickness, cathode pressure, and operating temperature on the hydrogen crossover is examined. In addition, the contribution of ohmic loss due to electrode bipolar plate (BP), and membrane resistances is studied and, the contribution of different losses on the cell performance is discussed. Results show that raising cathode pressure from 1 to 40 bar lead to the increment of anodic hydrogen content from 1.038% to 21% at the specific current density of 10,000 A/m2. Enhancing the thickness of membrane has considerable impact on decrementing anodic hydrogen content, but the mass transfer loss rises from 0.022 to 0.027 V with enhancing membrane thickness from 50 to 300 μm, respectively. Furthermore, the contribution of voltage losses, assigned to each of losses are equal to 85%, 3%, and 12% for activation, diffusion and ohmic losses, respectively. It is found that, from the reported contribution for ohmic loss, the contribution of electrode BP, and membrane resistances are 31% and 69%, respectively.     

Study of new flow field geometries to enhance water redistribution and pressure head losses reduction within PEM fuel cell

Efficiency of fuel cell is dependent on reactant distribution, products evacuation, pressure losses and many of these factors is dependent on the design of flow field plate. With an effective design, reactant distribution, pressure drop, and water and heat management can be further improved. In this work, two new designs, as multi-serpentine set-up with additional slots and hybrid geometry, on stainless steel bipolar plates, are presented. Electrical performance, and pressure head losses are analyzed by electrochemical methods such as polarization curve and use of electrochemical noise as a diagnostic tool to further understand the impact of water management on performance. On the one hand, multi-serpentine design shows the best electrical performance with an increase of 0.2 V (66%) at 0.9 A/cm² in comparison of traditional serpentine design. On the other hand, hybrid design reveals the lowest pressure head losses, with a decrease of 2 mbar (about 50%) in comparison of traditional serpentine design, and a higher stability with time that can be useful to downsize compressor and provide lower impact on fuel cell stack durability.